| 摘要 |
An apparatus for filling containers with viscous food product includes a plurality of pressure/vacuum fill head positioned above a plurality of containers. Each fill head includes a housing enclosing a plenum through which is longitudinally disposed a valve stem having in an outer cylindrical surface thereof a plurality of longitudinally disposed grooves terminated near a lower end of the stem by a cylindrical boss. The boss is biased into fluid pressure-tight sealing contact with a lower transverse end face of lower tubular portion of the housing by a helical compression spring which fits coaxially over a portion of the valve stem which protrudes upwardly from the housing, the spring being disposed between an upper transverse end wall of the housing, and the lower surface of a neck which protrudes radially outwardly from the upper end of the valve stem. Attached coaxially over the lower end portion of the fill head housing is a resilient circular sealing pad assembly which is compressed into a liquid pressure-tight sealing contact with a container rim, when a horizontally disposed press bar exerts a downward pressure on a resilient bumper at the upper end of the valve stem. Further downward motion of the press bar after downward motion of the valve housing is halted by contact with a container rim causes the valve stem to be displaced downwards within the housing against the restraining force of the compression spring, thus causing the boss at the lower end of the valve stem to extend outwardly from the lower housing seat. This causes an annular opening to be formed around the lower ends of the valve stem grooves, thus enabling pressurized liquid food product supplied to the head by a product inlet import protruding radially outward from the housing to flow into the container. Excess liquid food product and air displaced from the container are removed through a vacuum port which is disposed coaxially through the stem, the vacuum port having a lower opening which penetrates the lower end face of the valve stem, and an upper opening in the outer end of the neck which is connected to a vacuum source.
|
