METHOD AND FILLING DEVICE FOR FILLING FLEXIBLE CONTAINERS WITH POURABLE PRODUCTS

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers in general to a method and device for aseptic filling of flexible containers with pourable product. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and device for filling flexible containers with tubular spout delimiting a product passage and as defined in the appended claims.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Liquid food products, such as wine, milk, juices, beverages, etc., are sometimes packaged in flexible containers having at least one spout. These containers are commonly called bag-in-box containers. The container spout provides an opening through which pourable product is supplied to the flexible container portion during the container filling operation. The container is typically filled in a filling machine, through a machine filling valve provided with at least one nozzle. In the known filler devices, a valve nozzle is inserted into the container spout, causing the liquid product to flow through the nozzle into the container. When the container is full, the flow of liquid product is stopped and the nozzle is withdrawn from the container spout, usually by moving the valve away from the container. The container spout is then sealed to prevent the liquid product from leaking out of the container during transporting and handling.

Dripping of the liquid product in the device must be avoided, as any residual liquid product on the container and/or in a sterile filling area could lead to potential contamination due to spoilage. Due to the flexible nature of the bag-in box containers, it has been found to be challenging to control the filling. A known solution for filling flexible containers by using a filling valve inserted into the container spout and then using steam injection for cleaning is disclosed by EP2028108, which is a common technology today. A variable amount of steam is injected just after filling of the container to ensure aseptic removal of the filling head from the container and/or the spout thereof. This injection is usually made when the filling valve is still inside the spout of the container. By the steam injection, or steam puffing, the risk of the product dripping outside the container during sealing the container can be reduced. However, there may be a risk of dripping caused by a vacuum effect or a kind of a syringe effect, which occurs when the filling valve is lifted from the spout of the container. Additionally, due to the different filling conditions, e.g. viscosity of the product, pressure during the filling, bag volume, etc., there is also a risk of contamination since some of the product may remain in the steampipe and burn inside. Thus, despite existing anti-dripping and aseptic solutions in filling devices, there is still room for improvements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the present invention is in view of the known technology to provide a filling device for filling flexible containers containing liquid products, in particular, but not exclusively liquid food products, which is capable of resolving the drawbacks of the prior art in a simple and particularly functional manner.

In detail, one object of the present invention is to provide a filling device for filling flexible containers containing liquid products which can avoid, or at least minimize, the dripping of the product to be filled inside and/or outside the container. Furthermore, it is an objective to eliminate problems related to the process step of steam injection/puffing. Even though steam puffing has its advantages in the filling process, it has been noted that the steam puffing may be related to problems of cross-contamination. Furthermore, the steam puffing arrangement makes the filling process and the filling device design complicated. It is therefore an additional objective of the present invention to provide a filling device and method which avoid cross-contamination and dripping and simplify the filling process and filling valve design.

These and other objects are achieved according to the present invention by providing a filling device for filling containers containing liquid products as set forth in the attached claims.

Further features of the invention are underlined by the dependent claims, which are an integral part of the present description.

The filling device according to the present inventio is configured for filling a flexible container with a pourable product and comprises a product inlet, a filler valve device connected to an aseptic chamber comprising a product outlet, which is arranged connectable to a spout of the flexible container. The filler valve device further comprises an axially movable internal shutter having a centre axis, an upper end and a lower end, the lower end being kept within the aseptic chamber during the axial movement of the internal shutter. The internal shutter encloses a product space defined by an inner wall of the internal shutter and the product space has an inlet end and an outlet end, and an axially movable valve, which is coaxially arranged in the internal shutter and is movable to a closed position in which the valve seals the outlet end or to an open position in which the valve opens the outlet end to release the pourable product from the product space. According to the invention, the valve is arranged in a non-contact manner at an axial distance from the spout both in the open and closed position, i.e. during the whole filling operation. By keeping the valve device at a distance from the spout, the vacuum effect leading to dripping can be avoided and contamination during the filling can be avoided.

The internal shutter and the valve can be arrangeable to an upper closed position (I), in which the lower end of the internal shutter is arranged within the aseptic chamber at a distance from the product outlet, and the valve is arranged to seal the product space towards the outlet end, and to a lower closed position (II) in which the internal shutter is arranged in a fluid-tight contact with a rim of the spout of the flexible container and the valve head is arranged to seal the product space towards the outlet end, and to a lower open position, in which the internal shutter is arranged in a fluid-tight contact with a rim of the spout of the flexible container and the valve head is arranged to open the product space and the outlet end towards the product outlet. In the lower closed or open position, the internal shutter is arranged to be in contact with the rim of the spout without substantially entering the spout interior inside the periphery of the spout. Thus, by the valve can be kept at a distance from the spout during all steps of the filling process.

The filler valve device may comprise means to fix the spout in an aligned manner with the filler valve device. In this way disturbances in the filling process in aseptic conditions can be reduced.

The valve may comprise a shaft and a valve head. The valve head may have a larger transversal cross-sectional extension than the shaft. The product space may have a tapering shape towards the outlet end. In this way it can be ensured that the valve is kept at a distance from the product outlet at all times and in a secure way.

The valve head may comprise sealing means arranged in fluid tight contact with the internal wall of the product space to provide a fluid tight seal in the closed position.

The sealing means may have a circular shape in cross-section or comprise at least one rounded portion in contact with the inner wall of the internal shutter portion.

The internal shutter portion may comprise outlet sealing means at the lower end thereof. The sealing means may be configured to provide the fluid-tight contact with the spout of the flexible container.

The present invention further relates to a method of filling a flexible container with a pourable product with a filling device comprising a product inlet, an axially movable filler valve device comprising an axially movable valve fluidly connected to a product space and an aseptic chamber comprising a product outlet, the method comprising the steps of connecting a spout of the flexible container to the product outlet; connecting the filler valve device to the spout in a closed position (II) in a fluid tight manner wherein the valve is arranged at an axial distance from the spout; filling the container by moving the valve away from the product outlet to an open position (III) at an axial distance D3 in a non-contact manner with the spout and releasing the pourable product contained in the product space via the product outlet and the spout to the flexible container; and stopping the filling when the flexible container has reached a desired filling level by bringing the valve to the lower closed position in which it seals the product space towards the product outlet at an axial distance D2 from the spout.

The method may further comprise moving the filler valve device to an upper closed position, in which the filler valve device is arranged at a distance D from the product outlet or the spout.

In the method the filling device may be of the type as defined and may comprise an axially movable internal shutter, which comprises the valve arranged coaxially with the internal shutter in the product space, and wherein the internal shutter may be connected to an aseptic chamber comprising the product outlet.

In the method of device described above, the axial distance D2 is smaller than the axial distance D3, which is smaller than the axial distance D.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of a filling device for filling containers according to the present invention will be clearer from the following exemplifying and non- limiting description, with reference to the enclosed schematic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the filling device for filling flexible containers according to the present invention, wherein the filler valve device of the filling device is shown in an upper closed position (I) with no contact with the flexible bag spout;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the filling device also shown in FIG. 1 and showing the filler valve device in a lower closed position (II) in contact with the spout of the flexible container; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the filling device also shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and showing the filler valve device in a lower open position (III) in contact with the spout of the flexible container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the Figures, a filling device 10 is shown. The filling device 10 is designed to be a part of a filling machine (not shown) for filling containers containing liquid products. For example, each container may be of the flexible type, having at least one spout through which the liquid product is dispensed during the container filling operation. As also previously mentioned, the flexible containers of this type may be more complicated to fill than rigid containers, since such flexible, bag-in-box type containers do not have a rigid and/or fixed volume. Therefore, in the previous solutions, the flexible container has been arranged in a direct contact with the filling valve of the filling machine to enable secure filling of the flexible container. The mechanical contact during the filling may result in creation of vacuum when removing the nozzle from the spout, so called “syringe effect”, wherein small droplets of the product may contaminate the filling valve. The contamination of the filling valve in proximity of the mechanical contact point may be difficult to clean, which leads to problems with contamination. By the arrangement of the present invention, these problems may be eliminated or at least considerably reduced. Additionally, the steam puffing or steam injection after the filling valve device is removed from the mechanical contact with the spout of the bag can be omitted.

The filling device of the present disclosure is configured for filling a flexible container comprising a rigid spout. The shape of the flexible container is affected by the enclosed product both during filling of the container and after a product has been filled in the container. This is in contrast to rigid containers, which keep the same shape before, during and after filling. Therefore, bottles can be easily kept in place by for example gripper devices. The filling device of the present disclosure is configured to fill flexible containers such that the container is allowed to change the shape during the filling operation while it is kept safely fixed to the filling device or machine. The filling device may comprise a dedicated fixing system for this purpose. For example, the fixing system may comprise in the lower end of the filler valve device means, for example a diaphragm or any other suitable type of means, to keep the rim or neck of the spout aligned with the filler valve device.

The filling device comprises at least one filler valve device. A liquid product supply line is provided for supplying a pourable product to the filling valve device. By pourable product is meant a product which can be caused to flow in a continuous stream. Thus, the product has a viscosity which can form a continuous stream. In the present context, the liquid product P can be a liquid food product, a beverage, such as wine, milk, juices, or other non-carbonated beverages, but may even be a product having a higher viscosity like puree, jam or similar.

The filler valve device 12 of the filling device 10 is now described more in detail, and reference is equally made to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The filler valve device 12 is presented in different operational positions I-III, i.e. in an upper closed position (I), lower closed position (II) and lower open position (III), in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

The filling device 10 is configured to receive a flexible container of the type described above and is configured for filling the flexible container 20 with a pourable product P. The filling device 10 comprises a product inlet 14 and a product outlet 18. In the shown embodiment, the product outlet 18 is placed in an aseptic chamber 16. The product outlet 18 is connectable to a rigid spout 19 of the flexible container 20 through which spout the pourable product is filled. The product outlet 18 may contain or be connected to means (not shown in detail) to receive and fix a rigid spout 19 of the flexible container 20 to the aseptic chamber 16 in an aseptic manner. Since the product outlet 18 and the spout 19 of the container 20 are arranged in connection with the aseptic chamber 16, aseptic conditions during the filling can be ensured.

The filling device 10 further comprises a filler valve device 12, which is fluidly connectable to the product inlet 14 and the product outlet 18. The filler valve device 12 comprises an axially movable internal shutter 30 which has a longitudinally extending centre axis A. The Internal shutter 30 encloses a product space 32, which is configured to receive and temporarily contain the pourable product P received from the product inlet 14 before it is supplied through the product outlet 18 to the flexible container 20.

The product space 32 is defined by an inner wall 38 of the internal shutter 30. The product space 32 extends between an inlet end 44 and an outlet end 46 inside the internal shutter 30 and may have a varying axial cross-sectional shape therebetween. The inlet end 44 is arranged in fluid connection with the product inlet 14 and the outlet end 46 is arranged in fluid connection with the product outlet 18. The product space 32 is adapted to house a valve 40 in addition to the product to be supplied to the flexible container.

The internal shutter 30 extends axially between an upper end 34 and a lower end 36 of the internal shutter 30. The lower end 36 is kept within the aseptic chamber 16 during the axial movement of the internal shutter. The lower end 36 comprises or is connected to an outlet sealing means 37, which, when the lower end 36 is connected to the product outlet 18 and to the spout 19 of the flexible container, seals the connection in a fluid tight manner. As mentioned above, the product space 32 is arranged in fluid connection with the product outlet 18. This connection is via the lower end 36 of the internal shutter 30.

The internal shutter 30 is arranged movable in the axial direction A within the aseptic chamber 16 to an upper, closed position (I) and to a lower closed position (II) or open position (III). The internal shutter is provided with a lifting/lowering means configured to provide the axial movement. This device can be of any known type and is not described herein in detail. The lower end 36 of the internal shutter is kept within the aseptic chamber 16 during the axial movement of the internal shutter between the different operational positions. In this way, the parts of the filling device which are in contact with the flexible container during filling of the pourable product can be kept within the aseptic area, and risk for contamination is reduced.

The internal shutter houses an axially movable valve 40, which is arranged to open or close the product space 32 towards the product outlet 18. The valve 40 is arranged coaxially with and inside of the internal shutter 30 and is at least partly arranged within the product space 32. The valve 40 is connected to a means to lift and lower the valve together and independently of the internal shutter, and the means can be of any known type. The valve 40 comprises a shaft 41 and a valve head 43 comprising a sealing means 42 surrounding the lower end of the valve head 43. The valve head 43 has a broader cross-sectional extension in a transversal direction T than the upper portion comprising the shaft 41. The valve 40 is movable in the axial direction between the closed position, in which it closes the outlet end 46 of the product space 32 to retain the pourable product in the product space or to open the outlet end 46 to release the pourable product from the product space 32. By the sealing means 42, the outlet end 46 towards the product outlet 18 can be sealed in a fluid tight manner when the valve device is in its closed position.

The shape of the product space 32 may vary along the extension of the centre axis A. The product space may have a broader cross-sectional extension in an area where the valve head 43 is movably located. The cross-sectional shape of the product space 32 preferably tapers towards the outlet end 46 and the lower part 36 of the internal shutter. In this way it can be ensured in a simple way that the valve head can be arranged in a non-contact manner at an axial distance from the spout 19 both in the open and closed position. When the valve is in the closed position (I, II), the valve head 43 is located at a distance from the outlet end 46. The sealing means 42 is arranged in contact with the inner wall 38 and the valve head 43 to ensure that the pourable product is kept within the product space 32 in a fluid tight manner until the valve 40 is opened.

Reference is made to FIG. 1, which shows the filler valve device and the internal shutter 30 in the upper closed position (I) arranged such that the lower end 36 of the internal shutter 30 is arranged within the aseptic chamber 16 at a distance D from the product outlet 18. In this upper closed position, the valve 40 is arranged to seal the product space 32 towards the outlet end 46 of the product space and the lower end 36 of the internal shutter 30. The internal shutter is not in contact with the spout 19 of the flexible container 20.

FIG. 2 shows the valve device and the internal shutter 30 in the lower closed position (II), where the lower end 36 of the internal shutter 30 is arranged in connection with the product outlet 18, to which the spout 19 is fixed. The internal shutter 30 is suitably arranged in contact with a rim 51 of the spout without entering the interior of the spout 19. In this way vacuum effect can be further avoided when the internal shutter is removed from the contact with the spout. The sealing means 37 is in contact with the spout 19 in a fluid tight manner. The valve head 43 is arranged at a distance D2 from the spout 19.

FIG. 3 shows the valve device and the internal shutter 30 in the lower open position (III), where the pourable product P is released to the product outlet 18, to which the spout 19 is fixed. The valve head 40 is arranged at a distance D3 from the spout 19 to open the product space 32 towards the product outlet 18. The distance D3 is larger than the distance D2, and the valve 40 is not in contact with the spout during the filling. Therefore, the problem with creation of the vacuum effect is avoided.

The present invention also relates to a method of filling a flexible container with a pourable product P with a filling device comprising a product inlet 14 and a filler valve device 12 with a valve 40, which is axially movable. The filler valve device further comprises a product space and may comprise an axially movable internal shutter 30 comprising the valve 40 in a coaxial manner with the internal shutter in the product space 32 of the internal shutter. The filler valve device and the internal shutter thereof may be connected to an aseptic chamber 16 comprising a product outlet 18. The filling device 10 may be of the type described above and as shown in FIG. 1-3 but is not limited thereto. The method comprises a step of connecting a spout of the flexible container to the product outlet 18. The filler valve device may comprise a dedicated system to keep the spout and the rim thereof aligned with the filler valve device. The internal shutter 30 is then arranged to a lower closed position (II), in which the internal shutter 30 is connected to the spout 19 in a fluid tight manner and the valve 40 is arranged at an axial distance D2 from the spout. After securing the spout to the filler valve device, filling of the container can be initiated by moving the valve 40 with the valve head 43 away from the product outlet to an open position (III). Thus, the filling can be made in a non-contact manner with the interior of the spout and the pourable product contained in the product space can be released via the product outlet 18 and the spout 19 to the flexible container 20. When the flexible container has reached a desired filling level, the method comprises stopping the filling by bringing the valve, i.e. by lowering the valve, to a closed position in which it seals the product space towards the product outlet.

After completing the filling, the filler valve device and the internal shutter 30 can be arranged to an upper closed position (I). Cleaning of the filler valve device can be performed between the filling sequences, in which the container is filled and the then removed, or whenever necessary.

The filling device and the filler valve device 12 may be connected to a sterile fluid supply hydraulically connected with the filling valve device for supplying at least one sterile fluid to the filler valve device 12. The sterile fluid can be generated from a sterile fluid source, and the sterile fluid can be steam. The sterile fluid can be injected into the filler valve device to flush it in a known manner, and thereby remove any residual product from the filler valve device.

It is thus seen that the filling device for filling containers containing liquid products according to the present invention achieve the previously outlined objects.

The filling device for filling containers containing liquid products of the present invention thus conceived is susceptible in any case of numerous modifications and variants, all falling within the same inventive concept; in addition, all the details can be substituted by technically equivalent elements. In practice, the materials used, as well as the shapes and size, can be of any type according to the technical requirements.

The scope of protection of the invention is therefore defined by the enclosed claims.