Volumetric Drawing-off Rotary Apparatus

Abstract

The apparatus comprises a revolving assembly on which are mounted dispensing devices arranged below a tank and each comprising a pump arranged vertically in which slides a piston controlled by a rail rigid with a stationary frame and a distributing member connecting the pump with the tank and setting up a communication between the tank and the pump or between the pump and the receptacle, said revolving assembly being formed of two elements adapted to rotate bodily and separable from one another, the distributing members being mounted on one of these elements while the pumps are mounted on the other element.

Description

The present invention has essentially for its object a volumetric drawing-off rotary apparatus for delivering into receptacles or vessels such as pots, pans, jugs, jars, bottles, flasks, etc. a predetermined quantity of liquid, fluid, or semifluid product such as milk, yogurt jam, etc. contained in a tank, vat, bowl, basin or the like.

In apparatus of this type known at present, the tank containing the product to be distributed is supported by a revolving assembly constituted by a vertical shaft and comprises a plurality of dispensing devices secured to the lower wall thereof and arranged annularly on the said wall. Each dispensing device is constituted by a vertical pump in which slides a piston controlled by a rail rigid with a stationary frame, the suction into and the delivery from this pump taking place, respectively, during the downward motion and during the upward motion of the piston, and by a rotary plug distributing member controlled by stationary stops and connecting the pump and the tank and setting, depending on its angular position, a communication between the tank and the pump or between the pump and a distribution pipe communicating with the receptacle. This plug is located in a bore provided in the pump body itself, so that the pump proper and the distributing member are not separable from one another. This results in that the disassembling of one of these elements for cleaning or repair purposes entails a standstill of the other.

The dispensing devices of the volumetric drawing-off apparatus of the known types are moreover secured to the tank which carries them by means of nuts and stops which render their disassembling time consuming and delicate, and this is a serious drawback for apparatus used for food products which must be cleaned and disassembled frequently in order to meet the severe health rules to which they are subjected. Moreover, in the dispensing devices of the known drawing-off apparatus, the guiding of the piston is ensured by skids, slides, shoes or the like which slide in slots provided at the lower portion of the pump body. Now it is known from experience that these skids, which bear only upon the edges of the slots, do not ensure a sufficient guiding and give rise to frequent seizings or jammings.

Lastly, in plants of known types, the receptacles to be filled are located below the pumps, so that the product is liable to become polluted in case of leakage from these pumps.

The volumetric drawing-off apparatus according to the invention has for its purpose to avoid these drawbacks and is remarkable notably in that the revolving assembly is formed of two elements adapted to rotate bodily and separable from one another, the distributing members being mounted on one of these elements of the revolving assembly, while the pumps proper are mounted on the other element of the revolving assembly.

Owing to this arrangement, the pump proper and the distributing member thereof, while being operatively interconnected, are however constructionally distinct. This results in particular in that the access to the distributing member on the one hand and to the pump proper on the other hand is greatly facilitated and therefore cleaning and repairs are much easier to perform. On the other hand, the replacement of a pump by another does not compel to change the distributing member associated therewith.

According to another characteristic feature of the invention, the aforesaid revolving assembly is formed of two coaxial shafts, one of which is an outer shaft supporting the pumps and the other an internal shaft supporting the said distributing members and movable vertically with respect to the outer shaft, both shafts being adapted to rotate bodily by means of a splined connection.

The separation of the distributing members from the pump bodies may be achieved by mere translation of the inner shaft.

According to another characteristic feature of the invention, the distributing members are individually secured to one and the same support which is rigid with the said inner shaft and which also carries the aforesaid tank.

Still according to the invention, the pumps are individually secured to one and the same support rigid with the said outer shaft.

Such an individual mounting of the distributing members and of the pump on their respective supports allows to associate a pump of a given type with several types of distributing members and vice versa; moreover, the distributing members and the pumps form two assemblies which may be spaced from one another or brought together by means of a single operation.

Other characteristic features and advantages of the invention will appear as the following description proceeds.

In the appended drawings given solely by way of example:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view along the axis of rotation of a drawing-off apparatus according to one form of embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view upon the line II--II of FIG. 1, partially broken away;

FIG. 3 is a section upon the line III--III of FIG. 1 and shows a partial top view of the supporting plate of the distributing devices;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view upon the line IV--IV of FIG. 1 and shows, to a larger scale, a detail of embodiment of a pump.

According to the form of embodiment shown in the drawings, the drawing-off apparatus, which is an eight-pump apparatus, is composed essentially of a stationary frame 1 on which is secured a cylindrical base member 2 arranged vertically. A first hollow shaft 3, called outer shaft, is rotatably mounted within the base member 2, the said shaft being carried at the upper portion of the said base member 2 through the medium of a thrust ball bearing or the like 4 and of a supporting ring 5 fitted onto the upper portion of the said shaft 3 and resting on the thrust bearing 4. Antifriction rings 6a and 6b are provided between the shaft 3 and the base member 2 at the upper portion and at the lower portion of the assembly, the said rings ensuring the centering or alignment of the shaft with respect to the base member. At the lower portion of the shaft 3 is keyed a driving gear 7 connected by means of a transmission to the driving motor of the plant. The said transmission and motor are not shown.

Within the outer shaft 3 an in coaxial relationship to the latter is mounted a second shaft 9, called inner shaft, provided at its lower portion with an internal thread and screwed onto a threaded member 10 rotatably carried by the stationary frame and which will be described later. The shafts 3 and 9 together form the revolving assembly of the apparatus.

The shaft 9 carries a ring or crown 8 secured to the upper portion thereof and carrying a central support 11 serving as a support for eight distributing members, each denoted generally by the reference number 12, and for the tank, vat, bowl, basin or the like 13 containing the product to be distributed.

The central support 11 which, seen from above, has the shape of an octagon, is provided in its central portion with a substantially circular-shaped recess 14 opening onto its upper face 11a. From this recess 14 eight channels 15 proceed radially and form a first series of channels, each of the channels opening onto one of the faces of the octagonal peripheral wall 11b of the plate 11, substantially in the central portion of the said facet. A second series of channels 16, equal in number to the channels 15, therefore eight in number, are also provided in the plate 11, each of these channels being right-angled and opening on the one hand onto a facet of the peripheral wall 11b of the support, below a channel 15, and on the other hand onto its bottom wall 11c.

The tank or the like 13 containing the product to be distributed is provided at its lower portion with lugs 17 and is secured, by means of bolts 18 passing through apertures, slots or cuts 19 opening onto the edges of the said lugs, to the upper face 11a of the support 11. Such a fastening method enables easy disassembling and reassembling of the tank on the support. The tank 13 communicates directly with the recess 14.

On each one of the facets of the peripheral wall 11b of the support 11 is secured a distributing member 12 constituted by a three-way cock. This member comprises a body 20 provided internally with a cone-shaped bore 21 and is bored with a channel 22 opening on the one hand into the bore 21 and on the other hand onto the front face of the body 20 abutting against the support 11. A rotary cone-shaped plug 23 made from an antisticking or antiseizing material is located in the bore 21, the said plug comprising two radial channels 24a, 24b arranged at right angles and opening onto its cone-shaped wall and an axial channel 24c opening onto its smaller base, and communicating with the radial channels 24a, 24b. The cone-shaped plug 23 is made to bear upon the bore 21 by means of a spring 25 bearing upon a closing plate 26 removably secured to the body 20, for instance by means of a screw 27 as shown or by means of a bayonet system, thus enabling easy disassembling and reassembling of the said plug, for instance for cleaning purposes. The plug 23 is provided with a stem, core or the like 28 carrying two fingers 29 serving to drive the same in rotation when they hit, during the rotation of the apparatus, stationary stops (not shown) provided to this end. The body 20 is also provided with an outlet 30 for the filling of the receptacles R.

Each distributing member 12 is so placed on one of the faces of the peripheral wall 11b of the support 11 that the channel 22 communicates with one of the conduits 15 of the support 11, while the axial portion of the channel 24 of the plug 23 communicates with the corresponding right-angled channel 16 of the support 11, the radial portion of this channel 24 communicating with either the channel 22 or the outlet 30, depending on the angular position of the said plug. The distributing members 12 are individually secured to the support 11 by means of bolts 32 screwed into the said support and bearing through the medium of small plates 33 upon the flanges 20a of the bodies 20. Each bolt serves to secure two adjacent distributing members. The fact that each distributing member is secured individually to the plate 11 enables easy disassembling and reassembling.

The outer shaft 3 carries a support, secured to its upper end, for the cylindrical pump bodies 40, the said support being constituted by a hollow hub, core or the like 41 whose outer wall is provided with eight cavities 42 in the shape of uniformly distributed semicircular alveoli, each of the said cavities being provided for receiving a pump 40. The hub 41 is secured by means of bolts 43 to a sleeve 44 welded to the upper portion of the outer shaft 3. In addition, it is internally splined and meshes with a splined ring 45 rigid with the inner shaft 9. The pump bodies 40 are secured individually to the hub 41 by means of bolts 47 screwed into the said hub and of clamping straps 48 traversed by the said bolts and bearing upon the pump bodies.

Each clamping strap is substantially rectangular in shape and serves to clamp two adjacent pumps. It is sufficient to unfasten it and rotate it through 90.degree. to completely clear both alveoli and free both pumps. Each pump body 40 is prevented from rotating in its cavity by a key 49. Each pump body 40 internally comprises a first cylindrical chamber 50 open at its upper portion and in which slides a piston 51, and a second chamber 52 extending in prolongation of the chamber 50 downwards and communicating with the exterior through its open lower end. The pump 40 is provided at its lower portion with two slots 53 for the passage of a pin 54 which traverses the lower end of the pistons 51 and carries two rollers 55a and 55b. The pin 54 is provided with guiding skids, slides or shoes 56, preferably of plastics or the like, each skid 56 comprising a portion 56a traversing the slot 53 in which it is located and bearing upon the edges of the said slot, and on the other hand a portion 56b bearing by its face 56c upon the outer wall of the pump body, the said face 56c being in the shape of an arc of a circle whose radius corresponds to that of the pump body (see FIG. 4).

Each pump body 40 abuts normally, i.e., in the working position of the apparatus, against the lower face 11c of the central support 11, in alignment with one of the channels 16, and is provided on its upper edge with a seal 57.

The rollers 55a, 55b bear upon the upper edges of two annular rails 58a, 58b respectively, both of which are carried by the base member 2. One of these rails 58a whose upper edge is in the shape of an ellipse inclined with respect to the horizontal and controls the upward motion and the downward motion of the piston 55, is unremovably secured to the upper portion of the base member 2, while the other rail 58b whose upper edge is in the shape of a horizontal circle and keeps the piston at standstill in its lower position, is slidingly mounted on the lower portion of the said base member. The base member 2 is provided at its lower portion with a thread 59 on which is screwed an element 60 internally threaded and provided with a hand wheel 61. On the member 60 is rotatably mounted a ring 62 on which is secured the rail 58b. A key 63 sliding in a vertical groove 64 of the thread 59 prevents the rotation of the ring 62 when the element 60 is made to rotate by means of the hand wheel 61. This rotation enables to adjust the cam 58b with respect to the cam 58a, therefore to adjust the travel of the piston 51 and consequently the quantity of product poured into each receptacle.

The aforesaid threaded element 10 which carries the inner shaft 9 is driven in rotation by means of a disengageable hand wheel 65 and a bevel gearing 66 whose output shaft 67 engages in a recess of the said threaded element. The threaded element 10 is provided with a collar 68 forming a double shouldering and on either side of which are placed an upper thrust bearing 69 and a lower thrust bearing 70. The lower bearing 70 bears upon an annular ring 71 which is itself rigid with a seat 72 secured to the frame 1. The upper bearing 69 bears upon an annular ring 73 which may abut against the lower edge of the outer shaft 3 or on the contrary leave a certain play between itself and the said lower edge of the shaft 3.

It is seen that by driving the threaded element 10 in rotation by means of the disengageable hand wheel in one direction of rotation or the other, the inner shaft 9 is made to slide upwards or downwards and therefore the support 11 is made to move away from or nearer to the pumps 40.

By rotating the threaded element 10 in the direction of the arrow F1, i.e., by screwing it into the inner shaft 9 the plate 11 is made to move nearer to the pumps, this being obtained by a single operation, thus ensuring a balanced or equal tightening of the seals 58 provided on the upper edge of the pumps, against the lower face 11c of the plate 11. When the tightening is achieved, the stress resulting from the tension of the inner shaft 9 and from the compression of the outer shaft is supported by the upper bearing 69. The apparatus may be started without the tightening being modified.

On the contrary by making the threaded element 10 rotate in the direction of the arrow F2, i.e., by unscrewing it from the inner shaft 9, the latter is driven upwards, thus relieving the upper bearing 69. By continuing to unscrew the element 10, the collar 68, after having taken up the play, bears upon the lower bearing 70. The inner shaft is then driven upwards and rises to a sufficient height to clear the pumps.

On the hub 41 is secured an annular table or platform 75 surrounding the pumps at their upper portion and onto which the receptacles are brought and then discharged by means of an ingress device and an egress device (not shown). On the hub 41 is also secured a guide star 76 serving to position each receptacle below the outlet 29 of each distributing member 12. A stationary guide 77 prevents the receptacles from falling. Such an arrangement of the table or platform in the vicinity of the upper portion of the pumps avoids any hazard of pollution of the product in the receptacles as a result of accidental leakage from the pumps.

Of course, the invention is by no means limited to the method of embodiment described and represented which has been given by way of example only. In particular, it comprises all the technical equivalents to the means described as well as their combinations if the latter are carried out according to the spirit of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for dispensing into containers a determined quantity of a liquid, fluid or semifluid product comprising a stationary frame, a first rotatable member supported on said stationary frame, a plurality of pumps carried on said first rotatable member, each of said pumps having an open end, a second rotatable member supported on said stationary frame, a support carried on said second rotatable member, a tank mounted on said support and containing the product to be dispensed, said support being formed with a first series of internal channels each communicating with said tank and with a second series of internal channels each communicating with an opening provided on a wall of said support said opening being in alignment with the open end of one of said pumps, a plurality of distributing devices, each being adapted to establish a communication between one of the channels of the first series of channels and one of the channels of the second series of channels, means for connecting said first rotatable member to said second rotatable member, said connecting means being adapted to cause said members to rotate jointly, while allowing a linear displacement of one of said members with respect to the other, and driving means for linearly moving said one member between a retracted position for which said support wall is in contact with the upper ends of said pumps and an extended position for which said support wall is remote from said upper ends.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first and second rotatable members comprise respectively a vertical hollow shaft and a vertical inner shaft mounted within said outer shaft in coaxial relationship to the latter, and wherein said connecting means comprise a first and a second splined member rigid with said outer shaft and said inner shaft respectively, said splined members being in meshing engagement.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said support is mounted at the upper end of said inner shaft the latter being movable vertically with respect to said outer shaft and to said stationary frame.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said support is provided with an upper wall, a peripheral wall and a bottom wall and comprises a recess opening onto said upper wall and communicating with said tank, the channels of the aforesaid first series of channels opening on the one hand into the said recess and on the other hand onto said peripheral wall, the channels of the aforesaid second series of channels opening on the one hand onto said peripheral wall and on the other hand onto said bottom wall.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said distributing devices are removably secured on said support each distributing device being placed opposite two channels opening onto said peripheral wall.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each aforesaid distributing device comprises a housing provided with a cone-shaped bore which receives a cone-shaped rotatable plug applied against said bore by a spring bearing upon a closing plate removably mounted on said housing.

7. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said tank is removably mounted on the said upper wall of the support and comprises an open lower end communicating directly with the aforesaid recess.

8. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a hub member rigid with said outer shaft and having a peripheral wall provided with a plurality of semicircular cavities each of which receives one of said pumps.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein clamping straps are mounted on said hub each one of said clamping straps being adapted to bear upon two pumps located in two adjacent cavities.

10. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each pump comprises a vertical cylindrical body provided at its upper portion with a cylindrical chamber and at its lower portion with two lateral slots, a piston slidably mounted in said chamber, a pin traversing the lower end of said piston and said slots, said pin carrying two rollers emerging from said cylindrical body.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said pin is provided with skid members made from plastic material and comprising a portion which traverses said slots and a portion located outwardly of said pump body and bearing upon the external wall of the said pump body.

12. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said outer shaft is supported, through the medium of a thrust bearing, by a cylindrical sleeve rigid with said stationary frame and is provided with a gear for driving the same in rotation.

13. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said driving means comprises a threaded element rotatably mounted on said stationary frame and supporting said inner shaft at the lower end thereof, said threaded element being provided to be screwed into and unscrewed from said inner shaft.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said threaded element bears, through the medium of two thrust bearings, upon either an upper ring rigid with said outer shaft or a lower ring rigid with said stationary frame.

15. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein a disengageable hand wheel is connected to the said threaded element through the medium of a bevel gearing, whereby the rotation of said hand wheel causes the rotation of said threaded element and the vertical motion of said inner shaft.

16. An apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a first annular ramp of generally cylindrical configuration, fixedly mounted on said stationary frame and a second annular ramp of generally cylindrical configuration, disposed in coaxial relationship to said first annular ramp, said second annular ramp being movable axially with respect to said first ramp, said ramps being engaged by said rollers to cause said pistons to reciprocally move in said chambers.