GB2222152A - Improvements in or relating to nozzles - Google Patents

Abstract

In a filler nozzle comprising a discharge flow passage 12 provided with closure means including cooperating closure members 13, 14 both displaceable between first and second locations at which the flow passage is respectively open and closed, the members 13, 14 when in their second locations present cooperating abutting closure surfaces. In a preferred embodiment the nozzle comprises a cylindrical body 11 with a flow passage 12 at right angles to its central axis and two arcuate closure members 13, 14 in sliding contact with the cylindrical surface of the body 11, are circumferentially displaceable by a resilient endless band 15 passing around both closure members 13, 14 and lying in planes substantially parallel with the central axis of the valve body 11. A bridge element 17 having arms 18, 19, engaged with the opposite sides of the band 15 is reciprocated to cause the band 15 to displace the closure members (13, 14) which preferably snap into their closure positions. In a further embodiment the members 13, 14 pinch closed a flexible flow passage liner (30 Fig. 4). <IMAGE>

Description

"IMPROVEES IN OR RELATING TO NOZZLES" This invention relates to nozzles and, more particularly, to filler nozzles requiring a substantial rapid and positive cut-off In the container filling industry there are a plurality of different arrangements for terminating discharge through a nozzle but a problem exists when filling containers with liquids or liquid phase materials in obtaining a shut-off without dripping. A particular problem with side closure nozzles arises from the deflection of the stream from the nozzle during closing.

Drips from the nozzle after closure, or deflection of the stream during closure, can lead to unacceptable contamination of the outside of the containers being filled, particularly when the containers have small diameter openings.

A further problem with the prior art filler nozzles is that the nozzle and closure arrangements are complicated and difficult to strip, clean, reassemble and re-set to reduce drips.

The present invention seeks to provide a filler nozzle arrangement which has a relatively rapid cut-off and is substantially effective in preventing after- closure dripping.

According to the present invention there is provided a nozzle arrangement comprising a nozzle member defining a discharge flow passage and closure means for closing said discharge flow passage, characterised in that said closure means comprising two co-operating closure members both of which are displaceable between first locations, at which said flow passage is open and unobstructed, and second locations at which said closure members close said flow passage, and wherein said closure members, when engaged in their respective flow passage closure locations, present cooperating abutting closure surfaces.

Preferably the arrangement includes resilient means arranged to displace said closure members towards their respective second locations, more preferably said resilient means comprise a resilient element comnon to both closure members and said resilient means is arranged to resiliently retains said closure members in their respective second locations with their abutting closure surfaces in pressure contact.

In one embodiment in accordance with the invention said resilient means comprise a coil spring, preferably a coil spring in the form of an endless band, but most preferably said resilient means comprise a flexible resilient member in the form of a continuous band of substantially uniform cross section, made of rubber, a rubber substitute or a flexible resilient plastics material.

In one preferred embodiment in accordance with the invention the nozzle comprises a substantially cylindrical body and said flow passage passes through said body at right angles to the central axis of the cylindrical body.

With such an arrangement the closure members comprise arcuate members, each in sliding engagement with at least part of the cylindrical surface of said cylindrical body, and said closure members are slidably displaceable over said cylindrical surface between their respective first and second locations.

Preferably said two closure members are maintained in contact with said cylindrical surface by said resilient means.

When said resilient means is in the form of a flexible resilient band said band preferably passes around both closure members and the axis of the band lies substantially in planes generally parallel to the central axis of the cylinder whilst said closure members are in their respective first and second locations and the axis of said band lies in a plane below the central axis of the cylindrical member when said closure members are in their respective second location so as to continuously urge the said closure members towards their closure positions.

In a preferred embodiment in accordance with the invention parts of the endless band parallel with the radial faces of the cylindrical element, or parts of the band parallel with the axis of the cylindrical element, are engageable by abutment surfaces whereupon with relative displacement between the nozzel and said abutment surfaces in one direction said said endless band parts are displaced in a direction to urge said closure members to their respective first locations and with relative displacement between said abutement surfaces and said band parts in the other direction the engaged endless band parts urge said closure members towards their respective second locations.

It will be seen that with such an arrangement the endless band forms a resilient link between said abutement faces and the closure members.

Preferably location means are provided for locating said closure members substantially at their respective second locations.

The invention will now be described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Fig. 1 shows, diagrammatically and in side view, a container filling arrangement in accordance with the present invention in the closed condition.

Fig. 2 shows, diagramnatically, a plan view of the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 shows, diagramnatically, a detailed view from below of the abutting regions of the closure members illustrated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 shows, in cross section, an alternative embodiment in accordance with the invention.

In this description the terms "upper" "lower" and "vertical" apply to the apparatus in its position of use.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1 a cylindrical nozzle body 11 has a bore, generally indicated by reference 12, passing vertically therethrough at right angles to the central axis of the body 11. In its upper regions the passage 12 is threaded to receive the threaded end of a supply duct S and in its lower regions the duct 12 is reduced in cross section, indicated by numeral 12a.

Thus container contents, including liquids and liquid phase materials, supplied by the duct S to the nozzle body 11 will flow through the flow passage 12 and through the reduced cross section 12a of duct 12 to a container (not shown) below the nozzle 11 when the nozzle is in a discharge condition.

Closure members, generally indicated by reference numerals 13 and 14, of arcuate form have their inner radii substantially equal to the radius of the cylinder 11, the members 13 and 14 are arranged one to either side of the vertical axis through the cylinder 11 and said members 13 and 14 have an axial length substantially equal to the axial length of the cylinder 11.

The closure member 13 comprises an arcuate base 13a with side walls 13b and 13c upstanding from its arcuate side edges and, in the illustrated example, the side walls 13b and 13c terminate short of the lowermost radial edge 13d of the base 13a by an amount slightly greater than the radius of the part 12a of the through bore 12.

The closure member 14 is a mirror image of the member 13 and thereby comprises a base 14a with upstanding walls 14b and 14c which terminate short of the lowermost radial edge 14d of the base 14a by an amount slightly greater than the radius of the part 12a of bore 12.

The upstanding side walls 13b, 13c, each have an arcuate recess 13e, the side walls 14b and 14c each have an arcuate recess 14e, and an endless band 15 is located in the recesses 13e and 14e so as to lie in a substantially horizontal plane below the axis of cylinder 11 whilst the closure members 13 and 14 are in their respective valve closure positions. The endless band 15 is made from a flexible resilient material, such as a rubber, rubber substitute or a suitable resilient flexible plastics material, and the band 15 is in tension for all positions of the members 13 and 14 on the body 11.

The duct S slidably passes through a bore 16 in a bridge part 17, so that the bridge part 17 is slidably displaceable in the vertical direction, and bridge part 17 presents downwardly depending arms 18 and 19. The arm 18 presents upper and lower abutement surfaces 18a and 18b respectively engageable with that length of the band 15 extending between the side walls 13b and 13c of closure element 13 and the arm 19 presents upper and lower abutement surfaces 19a and 19b respectively which are engageable with that length of the band 15 between the side walls 14b and 14c of element 14.

The bridge 17, with arms 18 and 19, is vertically displaceable via a yoke 20 which acts on pins 21 outstanding from the bridge 17, a fixed pivot pin 22 passes through the mid-length regions of yoke 20 and that end of yoke 20, remote from the pins 21, is displaceable via a pneumatic piston and cylinder arrangement ( not shown).

As will be seen from Fig. 3 the cylindrical body 11 presents two studs 23 and 24 in that vertical plane passing through the central axis of cylindrical 11 and equally spaced one on either side of the outlet from the part 12a of duct 12. The lowermost edges 13d and 14d of closure members 13 and 14 include recesses 13f and 13g and 14f and 14 respectively and which have a slightly greater radius than that of the pins 23 and 24, whereupon, with the closure members 13 and 14 in a valve closure condition, the radial faces 13d and 14d of members 13 and 14 are in abutting relationship, the pin 23 is housed with clearance within recesses 13f and 14f and the pin 24 is housed with clearance in the recesses 13g and 14g.

The operation of the embodiment will now be described.

With the arrangement in the closure position, as-shown in Fig. 1, the yoke 20 has been rotated anti-clockwise to lower the bridge 17, and arms 18 and 19, so that the downwardly facing abutment surfaces 18a and 19a contact those parts of endless band 15 between the side walls 13b and 13c of element 13 and the side walls 14b and 14c of element 14 respectively. The closure members 13 and 14 are in their respective closure positions with their lowermost radial edges 13d and 14d in abutting relationship and the band 15 is placing said radial edges in compressive abutment so that the outlet from bore part 12a is effectively sealed.

To bring the arrangement from its closure position to its open or discharge condition it is only necessary to actuate the piston and cylinder arrangement (not shown) to effect clockwise rotation of yoke 20, thereby to raise the bridge 17 and arms 18 and 19. With such displacement the abutment surfaces 18b and 19b engaged their respective parts of band 15 and, as the upward displacement continues, those parts of band 15 engaged by surfaces 18b and 19b will be elevated.

Initially, there will be resistance to movement of the closure members 13 and 14 but as the parts of band 15 engaged by surfaces 18b and 19b are deflected from the general plane of the band 15 the tension in the band 15 increases until the closure members 13 and 14 are forced to displace upwardly, sliding on the cylindrical surface of cylinder 11, and with the initial resistance to displacement overcome the closure members 13 and 14 "snap" to their respective first positions, defining an open condition for the arrangement.

In the illustrated embodiment the band 15 will lie in a plane above the axis of cylinder 11 when the closure members 13 and 14 are in their first locations so that the said band 15 continues to retain the closure members 13 and 14 on the cylindrical surface of cylinder 11.

With the closure members 13 and 14 in their respective first positions container contents can flow from the supply duct S through the bore 12 and the bore part 12a to a container (not shown) below the bore part 12a.

To terminate the flow of container contents through the arrangement the piston and cylinder arrangement (not shown) is actuated to angularly displace the yoke 20 anti-clockwise, thereby to lower the bridge 17 and arms 18 and 19. As arms 18 and 19 lower the abutment surfaces 18a and 19a engage the parts of band 15 between side walls 13b, 13c and 14b and 14c respectively and deflect said parts downwardly out of the general plane of the band 15. As the tension in band 15 increases the resistance to movement of closure members 13 and 14 is overcome and said members are displaced downwardly, over the cylindrical surfaces of cylinder 11, and effectively "snap" into their closure positions, as shown in Fig. 1, to terminate the discharge from bore part 12a.

In the event that one of said closure members 13 or 14 should displace in advance of the other member the leading member 13 or 14 will have its displacement arrested by the studs 23 and 24 until the slower clamping member 13 or 14 arrives at its closure position. It should be noted however that because of the "snap" action of the band 15 the time interval between the two clamping members 13 and 14 reaching their respective closure positions is very small so that deflection of the stream of container products from the bore part 12a is avoided.

Further, as the band 15 maintains the abutting surfaces defined by the lowermost edges 13d and 14d of closure member 13 and 14 in pressure contact whilst said members are in their closure positions S, dripping of container contents from the bore part 12a is completely eliminated.

It should also be noted that by providing a resilient link (band 15) between the closure members 13 and 14 and the displacing arms 18 and 19, and thereby obtaining a "snap" displacement of the members 13 and 14 between their respective first and second locations a most rapid opening and closure of the arrangement is obtained.

The clamping members 13 and 14 are preferably metal members and the cylinder body 11 is preferably a so-called "self lubricating" plastics material so that the coefficient of friction between the closure members 13 and 14 and the body 11 is relatively low. Further, surface areas of the cylindrical surface of the body 11 may be undercut to reduce the area of contact between the closure members 13 and 14 and the body 11.

It would also be appreciated that as the closure members 13 and 14 are retained with the cylindrical body 11 only by the resilient band 15 the stripping, cleaning and re-assembly of the arrangement is greatly simplified and can be carried out without the use of tools and, as the closure members 13 and 14 are interchangeable and their respective settings are automatically determined by the studs 23 and 24, stripping, cleaning, and re-assembly can be carried out by persons with very little tuition.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4 parts identical to those described and illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 embodiment have been identified by identical numerals and thus a cylindrical nozzle 11 is screwed onto a supply duct S, closure elements 13 and 14 engage the cylindrical surface of cylindrical nozzle 11 and comprise bases 13a and 14a respectively with side walls 13b, 13c and 14b and 14c respectively (only the upstanding walls 13c - and 14c can be seen in the cross sectional view) and the closure members 13 and 14 are retained with the cylindrical nozzle 11 by an endless band 15. The endless band 15 is engaged by a displacing apparatus, comprising a bridge 17 and arms 18 and 19 displaceable by a yoke 20, arranged and operating in identical manner to that illustrated in Fig. 1.

The essential difference between the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4 and that illustrated in Fig. 1 resides in that the through bore 12 in the Fig. 4 embodiment includes a counter-bore 12b in its lower regions, the supply duct S presents a hollow spigot Sa and a flexible liner element 30, conveniently comprising a length of flexible tubing, is frictionally engaged on the spigot Sa and protrudes from the lower regions of the counter-bore bore 12, such that its discharge outlet 30a is below the paths of the bases 13a and 14a, as will be seen from Fig. 4.

Thus, with this embodiment and with the bridge 17 and arms 18 and 19 elevated by clockwise rotation of the yoke 20, the closure members 13 and 14 are in their first location to permit discharge from the duct S through the bore of the liner 30 and out from the outlet 30a of liner 30. When termination of discharge is required the yoke 20 is rotated anti-clockwise, under the action of its pneumatic and piston arrangement (not shown), the bridge 17 and arms 18 and 19 are lowered so that the abutment surfaces 18a, l9a of arms 18 and 19 respectively deflect the engaged parts of the endless band 15 downwardly, whereupon the tension in the band 15 causes closure members 13 and 14 to be slideably "snapped" towards their closure positions and, in so closing, the abutment faces 13d and 14d of elements 13 and 14 engage and squeeze the lower regions of the liner 30 to close the outlet 30a and prevent further discharge therefrom. To revert to discharge it is only necessary to reverse the above steps.

It. will again be noted that the "snap" action of the closure members 13 and 14 effect a very rapid closure of the outlet 30a and, by retaining a pressure closure of the liner 30, is most effective in preventing drips.

Whilst the present invention has been described by way of example with reference to specific examples the invention is not restricted thereto and many modifications and variations will be apparent to persons skilled in the art.

Claims (15)

Claims

1 A filler nozzle arrangement comprising a nozzle member defining a discharge flow passage and closure means for closing said discharge flow passage characterised in that, said closure means comprise two co-operating closure members both of which are displaceable between first locations, at which said flow passage is open and unobstructed, and second locations at which said closure members close said flow passage, means for displacing said closure members between their respective first and second positions and wherein said closure members, when engaged in their respective flow passage closure locations, present co-operating abutting closure surfaces.

2 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claim 1 characterised in that said nozzle member comprises a substantially cylindrical body and the axis of said flow passage passes through the central axis of the cylindrical body and at right angles thereto.

3 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claim 2 characterised in that the closure members comprise arcuate members, the concave faces of said closure members are in sliding engagement with surfaces presented by the cylindrical surface of said cylindrical body and said closure members are circumferential slidably displaceable over said surfaces between their respective first and second locations.

4 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claim 1,2, or 3 characterised in that said means for displacing the said closure members include resilient means arranged to displace said closure members towards their respective second locations.

5 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claim 4 when dependent on claim 3 characterised in that said resilient means continuously maintain said two closure members in contact with said cylindrical surfaces.

6 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claim 4 or 5 characterised in that said resilient means comprise a resilient element common to both closure members and said resilient means is arranged to resiliently retain said closure members in their respective second locations with their abutting closure surfaces in pressure contact.

7 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claims 4,5 or 6 characterised in that said resilient means comprise a coil spring.

8 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claim 7 characterised in that the said coil spring is in the form of an endless band,

9 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claim 4,5 or 6 characterised in that said resilient means comprise a flexible resilient member in the form of a continuous band of substantially uniform cross section, made of rubber, a rubber substitute or a flexible resilient plastics material.

10 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claim 4,5,6,7,8 or 9, characterised in that said resilient means is in the form of a continuous, flexible resilient band, said band passes around both closure members, the axis of the band lies substantially in planes generally parallel to the central axis of the cylinder whilst said closure members are in their respective first and second locations, and the axis of said band lies in a plane below the central axis of the cylindrical body when said closures members are are in their respective second locations.

11 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claim 10 characterised in that said closure members present means for locating the said resilient band substantially on or at the circumferential mid-region of each closure member.

12 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claims 10 or 11 characterized in that said means for displacing said closure members between their respective first and second positions include a bridge member presenting two depending arms, one on each side of the cylindrical body.each said arm being engaged with the length section of the said flexible member adjacent thereto, and the said bridge member being arranged for reciprocation towards and away from the nozzle member to effect displacement of the closure members between their respective outlet open and closed positions.

13 A filler nozzle arrangement according to any preceding claim characterised in that means are provided for locating said closure members substantially at their respective second locations

14 A filler nozzle arrangement according to claim 13 characterised by location pins presented by the cylindrical body and an arcuate recess in each closure member locatable on each said location pin.

15 A filler arrangement, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.