Automatic Carousel Machine for the Metered Feeding and Packaging of Fluid Products

The invention relates to automatic machines for the metered feeding and packaging in bottles, flacons or other containers of fluid products in general and in particular liquid or cream products, for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, or other use.

Known high-output machines are normally of the carousel type and have at each operating point a metered volume feeder which is alternately connected to the product supply reservoir and to the nozzle which discharges the portion into the packaging containers. These machines are remarkably bulky and complex in construction and therefore present maintenance problems due to the difficulty of access to the many components installed in the machines. Owing to the considerable quantity of the various components, the stages of washing and sterilization of the machine require relatively long periods, the more so because of the necessity of thermally treating the said components.

In order to partially avoid these disadvantages, carousel or transfer machines have been devised, with a limited number of metered volume feeders which operate in sequence, with an alternating movement, while the containers to be filled advance with a continuous movement. These machines, which are less complex and less bulky than the former type, still have the disadvantage of disturbing, with the alternating movement of the feeders, the flow of sterile air which is normally created in the environment in which the machine operates when the products to be packaged require this condition. Moreover, even if the feeding stations are operated with appropriate acceleration and deceleration, the latter machines are markedly slower than the former and give rise to vibrations which, inter alia, may cause the product to drip from the feed nozzles.

The invention is intended to avoid these and other disadvantages with the following idea for a solution. Within a high-output automatic machine of the carousel type, the feeders, present in the proportion of one for each operating point of the carousel, or in another appropriate quantity, are arranged outside the carousel, together with the supply reservoir of the product to be fed, and, with the interposition of suitable valve means, the same feeders can be connected alternately to the said reservoir and to the product feed nozzles of the operating points of the carousel, this last connection being made by means of a rotary joint which is disposed on the carousel itself, coaxially with the carousel, and is characterized by high reliability in operation.

In a possible extension of this solution, the rotary joint may be designed to form distribution chambers which, on completion of the discharge of the portion of product into the container, interrupt the connection of each nozzle to the corresponding metered volume feeder which can switch to a connection to the reservoir for the formation of a subsequent portion of product, while the isolated nozzles can be temporarily connected to a suction source which retains the residual product in them and avoids dripping. The selective connection of auxiliary longitudinal channels of the product feed nozzles to a sanitizing gas source can be provided through suitable channels made in the rotary joint.

The machine made according to the principles stated above is of simplified construction, permits operation in an undisturbed flow of sterile air, and makes it possible to have the feeders with their switching valves and the product supply reservoir in a position remote from the carousel for packaging the portions of product, and enables these components to be reached rapidly and conveniently for all maintenance requirements.

Further characteristics of the invention, and the advantages derived therefrom, will be apparent from the following description of some preferred embodiments of the invention, swown in the annexed drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a digrammatic plan view of the machine;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross section taken along the line II--II of FIG. 1, of a detail of the machine according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial side elevation of the machine;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show details of the machine taken along the section lines IV--IV and V--V of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a view of the machine similar to that of FIG. 2 during the the washing and sterilization operations;

FIG. 7 is a partially sectioned plan view of a variant embodiment of the machine;

FIG. 8 shows other details of the variant of FIG. 7, sectioned along the line VIII--VIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 shows a further constructional variant embodiment of the principal component of the machine in section as in FIGS. 2 or 8;

FIG. 10 shows further constructional details of the variant in FIG. 9 in section along the line X--X, and

FIG. 11 shows in plan view a detail of a variant of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

With reference to FIGS. 1-2-3-4-5, it will be seen that the machine comprises a vertical turret 1 which, by suitable means, is caused to rotate continuously in the direction indicated for example by the arrow F, and that a disc 2 of any suitable material for the formation of a rotary joint, for example a ceramic material, is fixed to the turret. The disc 2 is surrounded by a metal ring 3 integral with the said disc and having a plurality of external and angularly equidistant radial collars 4 which form sockets of a known type, with rapid bayoneted fittings, for nozzles 5 directed downwards and used for feeding the portions of product. Carousel devices of any suitable known type, which are consequently not illustrated, operate in phase and integrally with the turret 1 (see FIG. 1 ) and pick up the empty containers 6 from a supply line 7, place a container tinder each nozzle, raise the container during the filling stage, lower it at the end of this stage, and then transfer each filled con Gainer to an output line 8.

In FIGS. 2 and 5 it will be seen that the nozzles 5 are connected to corresponding holes 9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16 formed radially in the disc 2, of varying lengths, and connected through corresponding vertical end holes 109-110-111-112-113-114-115-116 to corresponding concentric annular channels 209-210-211-212-213-214-215-216 formed with precise spacing from each other on the upper face of the disc 2 and having their centers in the axis of this disc.

A disc 17 of suitable material, for example, once again, a ceramic material, bears on the disc 2 with a frontal seal and is keyed axially to a shaft 18 connected to means which prevent its rotation, keep it pressed downwards and, when commanded, can raise it through a precise distance (see below). The shaft 18 has a tapered upper end part 118, which passes through the stop ring 218, an axial hole in the disc 17, and the central conical part 119 of a cover 19 integral with the said disc. The section of shaft 118 is provided with an axial threaded socket into which can be screwed the screw 120 of a knob 20 which, by its conical socket 220, is fitted on the projection 119 of the cover and holds the assembly 17-18-19-20 together.

The disc 2 has an axial cylindrical projection of round section 102, with an outer seal 21, and this projection is housed rotatably in an axial socket 22 of the fixed disc 17, which is provided with an enlarged upper section 122, so that, when the discs 2 and 17 are in contact with each other as in FIG. 2, the said seal 21 does not touch parts of the rotating disc 2. The disc 17 has a laterally attached annular body 23 which projects for a precise distance below the said disc, which rotatably surrounds the disc 2 and which is provided with an annular groove with a seal 24 next to the disc 2. When the discs 2 and 17 are in contact with each other, as in FIG. 2, the disc 2 has an outer annular recess 25 next to the seal 24 which therefore does not bear on rotating parts.

From FIGS. 3 and 4 it will be seen that the cover 19 has, on its perimeter, an integral downward extension 219 which engages with a corresponding slot in the body 23 and which meets the ends of ducts 26-27-28-29-30-31-32-33 which communicate with corresponding horizontal holes 126-127-128 -129-130-131-132-133 which are provided in the fixed disc 17 and which in turn have their ends connected to corresponding descending holes 226-227-228-229-230-231-232-233, each of which opens above one of the concentric annular channels 209-210-211-212-213-214-215-216 in the rotating disc 2.

From FIG. 1 it will be seen that the previously mentioned ducts 26 to 33 are connected, with the interposition on of corresponding valve means indicated as a whole by 34, to corresponding metered volume feeders 35-36-37-38-39-40-41-42 which, with the interposition of other valve means indicated as a whole by 43, can be connected to the supply reservoir 44 of the product to be fed and packaged. The assembly of parts 34 to 44 can be located outside the environment 45 in which the machine according to the invention operates and in which known means can maintain a controlled and sterile atmosphere. It is to be understood that the feeders and the valve means can be disposed in any suitable way, not necessarily in line as shown in FIG. 1, but, for example, on a circumference, for driving by means of a barrel cam which is brought into synchronized rotation with the turret 1.

The operation of the machine designed in this way is simple and evident. By the use of means 46 which can be easily made by persons skilled in the art, and which can operate in phase with the angular displacement of each nozzle 5, the metered volume feeders and the corresponding valve means 34-43 are selectively arranged for the suction of a portion of product from the reservoir 44 when a container 6 moves away from a nozzle and the nozzle is moved to interact with a subsequent container, and are arranged for discharge of the portion of product into the container through the rotary joint formed by the discs 2 and 17, when each nozzle passes through that section of the carousel in which the container 6 is raised and engaged by the corresponding nozzle. The appropriate end configuration of the nozzles 5, which creates capillary retention effects, a siphon configuration of the nozzles if required, a brief connection of the nozzles with the feeders in the suction stage before their removal from the feeders, and other solutions known in the field of feeders, will be provided to avoid the dripping of product from the nozzles when the full containers move away from them and the nozzles move towards the next empty container.

From FIG. 6 it will be seen that, before the commencement of each operating cycle, the machine is arranged fop washing and sterilization in the following way. The turret 1 is stopped, while the shaft 18 is raised by an amount sufficent to separate the upper disc 17 from the lower disc 2 as shown in FIG. 6, so that a space 47 is formed between the two discs and is completely sealed from the exterior by the contact of the seal 21 with the lower and non-enlarged part of the socket 22 and by the contact of the seal 24 with the upper non-tapered part of the disc 2. In these conditions, detergent and sanitizing fluids pass through the whole feeding circuit of the machine to completely clean and sterilize the said circuit.

The variant in FIGS. 7 and 8 shows that the rotary joint formed by the discs 2 and 17 can be made to form a distribution chamber which connects the nozzles 5 to the feed circuits of the portions of product, only over a part of the round angle. From these figures it will be seen that the circuit connected to the nozzles 5 terminates on the upper face of the disc 2 with only the vertical holes 109-110-111-112-113-114-115-116 shown by hatching in FIG. 7. The vertical holes 226 to 233, which open on the lower face of the fixed disc 17 and connected to the corresponding product feed ducts 26 to 33, communicate with concentric channels 326 to 333 which open on the lower face of the said disc 2 and have the shape off a circular sector and a size such that they cover, for example, approximately 180.degree. of this disc. When the holes 109 to 116 in the rotating disc 2 pass over the channels 326 to 333, the nozzles 5 are connected to the metered volume feeders and receive from them the portion of product to be introduced into the containers 6. The holes 109 to 116 which depart from the channels 326 to 333 can interact with closed parts of the lower face of the fixed disc 17 so that they are isolated from the feeders which are switched to the suction stage to form the next portion of product or, as illustrated in the example in FIGS. 7 and 8, the said holes 109 to 116 may interact with a recess 48 opening on the lower face of the fixed disc 17 and connected at hole 49 to a suction source which exerts its effect on the nozzles 5 when they are in their inoperative passage, in order to prevent the dripping of product from the nozzles. The variant shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is based on the preceding variant and demonstrates the possibility of blowing into the containers 6, during the interaction with the product portion feeding carousel, an inert gas and/or one having characteristics promoting the preservation of the packaged product. In this case, the nozzles 5 have, in addition to the product conveying channel 105, corresponding longitudinal gas supply channels 205, meeting the same number of holes 50 opening on to the upper face of the rotating disc 2, disposed for example on the periphery of this disc and located on an ideal circumference which has its center in the axis of rotation of the rotary joint. In the course of the movement in which the nozzles 5 interact with the containers 6 for the introduction of the portions of product into them, the holes 50, indicated by broken lines in FIG. 10, interact in their turn with a channel 51 in the form of a sector of a circle, which also has its center in the axis of the rotary joint, opens on the lower face of the fixed disc 17, covers, for example, approximately 180.degree. of the disc, and is connected to at least one sanitizing gas delivery duct 52.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description refers to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, to which numerous modifications may be made without thereby departing from the principle of the invention. For instance, according to the embodiment shown diagrammatically in FIG. 11, the concentric channels formed in the fixed disc 17, and of which only one is shown at 333' in FIG. 11, are extended by an angle minor than 180.degree., and for instance by an angle of 140.degree.. Thanks to the said feature, it will be possible to double the vertical holes 109 to 116 connected to the distribution nozzles and formed on the disc 2, since it will be possible to provide a second hole 109' (to 116') at a position diametrically opposed, that is offset by 180.degree. on the disc 2 with respect to the first hole 109. The said pairs of holes 109 and 109' (but 110--110';111--111' . . . 116--116') will cooperate in successive times with the corresponding channels 326' to 333' extending by 140.degree..