US2174420A - Vacuum siruping machine - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 26, 1939. KANTOR 2,174,420

VACUUM SIRUPING MACHINE Filed May 7, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l To W n/0M INVENTOR. BY farm as anzor,

7 ATTORNEYS.

Sept; 26, 1939. J. KANTOR VACUUM SIRUIING MACHINE Filed May 7, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [Iv/lip... a a m as INVENTOR. Jame; 4121:101

ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE VACUUM SIRUPING MACHINE Application May '7, 1937, Serial No. 141,320

2 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in bottle filling machines and particularly to that type of bottle filling machines for filling bottles with carbonated beverages wherein the bottle is adapted to receive initially a charge of sirup and then to be filled with carbonated water.

In machines of this type, a predetermined quantity of sirup, varying in accordance with the flavor of the sirup and in accordance with its specific gravity, is delivered to the bottle which is then delivered to a filling machine adapted to discharge therein a suflicient quantity of carbonated water to fill the bottle. In the present commercial type of carbonated water filling mal6 chine, the filling unit, especially for handling the larger sized bottles, say the thirty-two ounce bottle, has a standard capacity which is quite rapid. Due to the fact that the sirup which is adapted to be introduced into the bottles flows comparatively slow, it is necessary to either increase the size of the siruping machine, that is, provide a greater number of siruping heads or valves, or to provide some means for causing the sirup to flow more rapidly. Obviously, the

increase in the size of the siruper requires more floor space and is considerably more expensive to build.

Therefore, in order to increase the capacity of the siruper so that the effective speed of the filler need not be materially reduced, it is the object of my invention to provide means for causing the sirup to flow more rapidly into the bottle and, therefore, increase the effective filling speed of the machine as a whole.

For the purpose of disclosing my invention, I have illustrated an embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a siruping machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the vacuum valve ring embodied in my invention;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view thereof taken .on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 5 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the vacuum timing ring embodied in my invention;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig, 5;

50 Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the vacuum valve actuating ring embodied in my invention;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line iii-10 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic View showing the relation between the vacuum timing ring, the vacuum valve operating ring and the siruping 5 valve operating cam; and

Fig. 12 is a detailed section of the mounting for the timing rings.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated,

I provide a suitable base I on which the difl0 ferent parts are mounted, which base is adapted to rotate and carry with it a plurality of vertically movable bottle supports 2 adapted to be operated by a piston mechanism 3 operating on a suitable cam for causing the supports to be 15 raised and lowered. Rotating with this base member I is the siruping tank 4 adjustably supported by means of a sleeve 5 on a center post 6. This center post is provided with a threaded adjusting nut 1 whereby the vertical height of 2 the tank 4 may be adjusted to meet the various requirements.

The tank 4 is provided with an annular well 8 in which is adapted to operate a series of siruping measuring valves. Each one of these 25 valves comprises a delivery tube 9 adapted to project upwardly into the tank 4 and downwardly and, when the bottle is in siruping position, into the bottle to receive the sirup. A bottle sealing bell l I is vertically movable on that 30 part of the tube 9 extending below the tank and this bell is provided with a rubber sealing gasket l2 adapted to engage the top of the bottle and seal the same. The bell H has secured thereto and extending through the bottom of the 35 tank 4 an operating rod l3 provided at its upper end with a tube sealing cap l4 and adapted to support a measuring cup IS. The size of this cup may be varied in accordance with the desired predetermined amount of sirup to be de- 40 livered into each bottle. This cup is so positioned that when the bell II is in its lowermost position, the cup will be submerged in the well 8 and in the sirup contained in the tank. When the bell H is in its raised or high-most position, due to its engagement with the bottle, the bottom of the cup is just flush with the top of the tube 9 so that all of the contents of the cup will flow into the tube. It might be mentioned that when the bell H is in its lowermost position, the top of the tube is also closed by the sealing cap I4.

In the operation of so much of the machine as above described, the bottle is initially delivered to a bottle support which, in its receiving position, is in its lower position, as indicated at the right-hand of Fig. 1. As the machine rotates, the bottle support is raised by a properly conformed cam moving the top of the bottle into engagement with the bell H and seating the top of the bottle against the gasket l2, thus effectually sealing the bottle. At the same time, the projecting portion of the tube 9 is projected into the bottle and by the time the bottle is fully raised to its receiving position, the parts will be in the position illustrated at the left of Fig. 1 wherein it will be noted that the measuring cup has been raised by the engagement of the bell II with the bottle to the point where the cup I5 is in a delivering position, which position is above the level of the sirup in the tank. From this point on until the bottle again is lowered for delivery purposes, the sirup continues to flow from the cup I5 through the tube 9 into the bottle.

Due to the fact thatthe sirup is comparatively heavy or thick and flows fairly slowly, the period, if gravity alone is depended upon for causing the sirup to flow, is a comparatively long period In order to overcome this difiiculty and to speed up the flow of sirup from the cup l5, I provide a means whereby a partial vacuum is pulled in the bottle, thus materially accelerating the flow of the sirup into the bottle. The partial vacuum is established coincidently with the-arrival of the measuring cup at its delivery position so that the quick ficw of the sirup will be established as soon as the cup is ready for delivery. As long as the tube 9 is filled with the flowing sirup, the vacuum in the bottle may be maintained due to the fact that the only entry into the bottle is sealed by the'sirup. As soon, however, as the tube commences to empty and the cup proper has become emptied, there would be a tendency for the vacuum in the bottle to cause a spraying of the remnant of the sirup in the tube into the bottle and at the same time destroy the vacuum in the bottle by" the admission of air through the tube 9. The spraying action of the sirup into the bottle has a tendency to cause a foaming of the sirup which is objectionable in that, for one reason, when the carbonated liquid is admitted to the bottle, the carbonated liquid is caused to foam, thereby preventing the proper filling of the bottle.

In order, therefore to produce a proper vacuum in the bottle. during the delivery of the greater portion of the sirup into the bottle and at the same time out off this vacuum immediately prior to the delivery of the last remnant of the sirup through the tube and thereby permit this portion of the sirup to flow by gravity, I provide means whereby the pulling of the vacuum in the bottle may be closed and the vacuum connection with the bottle shut oif' immediately prior to the emptying of the sirup tube. To this end, therefore, I provide an annular support casting it surrounding the sleeve 5 and secured by suitable bolts it to the bottom i! of the tank 4 so that the casting will rotate with the tank. On the bottom of the casting it, I mount a supporting ring it for supporting the valve mechanism. On this ring, I-mount a vacuum control ring I 9 which surrounds'the lower portion of the casting it. Above this ring and mounted on the top surface thereof I provide a valve actuating. ring 2t and above this ring and slidably engaging the same, I provide a header ring 2!. This header ring is biased into frictional engagement with the valve timing ring and vacuum timing ring through the medium of a compression spring 22 surrounding a post extending downwardly from a post supporting ring 24 clamped by the bolts Iii to the tank. The opposite end of this post engages in a suitable guiding opening 23' in the ring 2 i, In this ring 2 l, I mount the vacuum control valves 25, one for each of the siruping valves. Each vacuum valve is connected to its corresponding siruping valve by a flexible hose connection 26 which extends to a bell l I and communicates through a port ill with the interior of this bell at the points where the tube 8 extends through the bell and is thereby placed in com-- munication with the bottle when the bell engages the bottle. Each of the valves 25 is provided with a poppet valve 253 biased in a closed position by suitable coiled spring as and each of the valves 25 communicates with a port 3b which, in turn, is adapted to communicate with the vacuum control slot 35 in the vacuum control ring I9. The vacuum timing slot 3i communicates through the medium of a port 32v with a suitable connection 33 with the vacuum producing pump or other desired apparatus. Thisconnection consists of a suitable hose 3Q connecting into a coupling 35 which, in turn, is connected with a pipe 36 leading to the vacuum pump. lhe coupling 35 is stationarily mounted and carries a sleeve Si" in which is vertically movable a holding rod 38. The upper end of this rod receives a clamping member or holding member 39 secured thereto by a bolt 40 and this clamping member is adapted to clamp over and engage an extension ill of the valve timring 2. A. suitable pin 52 extends into the extension ll to prevent rotation of the ring 20. The vacuum control ring is is clamped between the clamp-ing member a shoulder on the rod 38- to also maintain this ring in a stationary relation, although by loosening the nut 59, the" ring may be adjusted around to different positions to thereby relatively adjust the slot 3i relative to the camming groove '33 in the valve timing ring 25 In order to reduce the friction, I prefer to introduce. between the ring l9 and the ring l8, suitablefiber ring 58 and a suitable lubricant may be introduced between the rings through an opening la from the grease cup i5.

It will be obvious that, due to the fact that the vacuum valve supporting ring El rotates with the tank and with the filling valves and due to the fact that the rings 59 and 29 are maintained stationary, there will be a relative movement between valves and rings so that as each poppet valve stem passes out of the cammed groove 43, each valve will be moved to an open position and at the same time placed in communication with the vacuum pump through the slot 3 I.

In order that the relative positions of the valve timing cam groove 63, the vacuum connecting slot 3! and the positions of the siruping valves or rather the cups lb of the siruping valves may be more fully understood, I have il'ustrated in Fig. 11, diagrammatically, the relationship be tween. the timing cam groove t3, the vacuum timing slot 3!, and the elevating cam of the siruping device. The diagrammatic illustration presumes upon a siruping device having sixteen siruping valves. The portion it of the cam indicates that period during which the bottle receiving supports are in their lower position and, therefore, the sirup receiving cups iii are in their lowered position as well as the bottle bell l i. Each one of the lines numbered l to 56 indicates the relative position of a siruping valve. It will be noted that from approximately position H to position I4, each siruping valve is in its closed position and that the bottle support is in its lowermost position wherein it receives a bottle. It will also be noted that, due to the cam groove 43, from position l3 to position I, each of the vacuum valves 25 is in its closed position. By the time the bottle has been raised to its completely elevated position and therefore the sirup cup l5 raised to its completely elevated position, as at the point 41 at station I, it will be seen that the corresponding vacuum valve 25 will commence to open as the same passes out of the cam groove 43. It will also be seen that at this point, the vacuum timing slot 3| will be placed in communication with the vacuum producing pump and that, therefore, a vacuum will be pulled in the bottle. The period for which this vacuum is pulled extends from station I, with the vacuum control ring IS in its widest open position, to a point a little past station I, at which time the vacuum control slot will have been closed and the communication between the bottle and the vacuum pump shut off. This point of shutting off the vacuum is just before the tube 9 empties so that, as before stated, gravity alone will be relied on for draining the tube and there will be no danger of spraying the liquid in the tube into the bottle.

In some instances, where smaller sized cups are used for delivering a smaller quantity of sirup or where the sirup flows more freely so that the period on which the vacuum is adapted to pull is desired to be shorter, the vacuum timing ring l9 may be moved around to a position where the slot 3| is in the position illustrated in dotted lines or any intermediate positions. In this instance, it will be noted that the timing slot 3| ends at about station 4, thereby materially reducing the period on which a vacuum is pulled in the bottle.

To be sure, there is a certain portion of this slot overlapping the cam groove 43 but it will be noted that this does not afiect the pulling of the vacuum in the bottle because as long as the stems of the vacuum valves operate in the cam groove 43, the valves will be closed and there will be no conmiunication between the bottle and the vacuum pump.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a siruper, the combination with a sirup containing tank having a fixed discharge tube extending above the sirup in said tank and projecting below said tank, a measuring cup slidably mounted on said tube in said tank and adapted to discharge its contents when elevated above the level of the sirup into said tube, a bottle sealing bell slidably mounted on said tube and connected to said cup, means for moving the bottle relatively to said bell and tube to engage said bell and seal the bottle and project the tube into the bottle while moving said bell on said tube to move said cup into its discharge position, a conduit communicating through said sealing bell with the interior of the bottle, vacuum producing means adapted to be placed in communication with said conduit, a normally closed valve controlling the communication between said conduit and vacuum means, and means operated by the movement of said valve with said tank for maintaining said valve in its open position throughout a portion of the travel of said bottle with said tank.

2. In a, siruper, the combination with a sirup containing tank having a fixed discharge tube extending above the sirup in said tank and projecting below said tank, a measuring cup slidably mounted on said tube in said tank and adapted to discharge its contents when elevated above the level of the sirup into said tube, a sealing bell slidably mounted on said tube and connected with said cup, means for moving a bottle relatively to said tube, into sealing engagement with said bell and moving said bell relatively to said tube to elevate said cup, a conduit communicating with the interior of the bottle through said sealing bell, a normally closed valve in said conduit, means operated by a rotative movement of said tank for placing said valve into communication with a vacuum producing means for a period less than the emptying period of said cup, and means operated by a rotative movement of the tank for opening said Valve during said predetermined period.

JAMES KANTOR.

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