The present invention generally relates to a nozzle attachment for removing residual material retained on the dispensing nozzle of a fluid dispenser by a gas flow at a discharge nozzle during intermittent fluid dispensing operations involving opening and shutting off of a fluid dispenser. The gas flow creates a shearing force at the discharge end of the nozzle that dislodges and blows off any residual material clinging to the discharge end after a prior dispensing operation or cycle.
Positive flow cut off of a filling apparatus is difficult to achieve in sanitary valves, especially when viscous fluids are being dispensed which have a tendency to leave tailings that cling to the dispenser nozzle after a dispensing cycle. For example, when running hot process cheese at 160 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, it is difficult to achieve positive flow cutoff in a filling apparatus using conventional sanitary filling valves. Upon full closure of a dispensing valve, residual cheese tends to adhere to external valve surfaces. This retention can lead to unacceptable variability in weight control for the packaged cheese. In addition, the residue can become dislodged at a later time, and possibly drip or otherwise drop onto an underlying conveyor belt or other surfaces. Removal of the drip or tailing residues from the nozzle by mechanical or manual means is generally difficult or overly burdensome in practice.
The prior art reflects a number of different approaches to preventing build-up of residue of dispensed material on dispenser nozzles. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,309,958; 4,970,985; 4,350,187; 3,926,229, and Japanese published appln. nos. all generally describe a dispensing apparatus including means for removing tailings and the like by which air or a gas is blown out of a hole or array of gas passageways provided in the dispensing head itself. However, these approaches require fundamental design changes in the dispenser head or filling valve construction. It would be highly desirable to solve the tailings problem in a manner which can be implemented on existing dispensing head equipment with little modification or retrofitting required on the dispenser head, especially with respect to the wetted parts of the dispenser head.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,226,565 and 5,447,254 describe nozzle attachments or fittings for dispensers for use in nozzle cleaning or shut-off drip protection. Both patents provide air passageways that direct air at the discharge end of a nozzle in which the air passageway is partly defined by dispenser head components and not the nozzle attachment exclusively. The attachment of the nozzle attachment and detachment requires the use of tools and the attachment uses wetted parts of the nozzle in the blow off operation.
A need still exists for fluid dispenser arrangements that will ensure that residual material is cleaned off of dispenser nozzles as part of each dispensing cycle so that the amount of food dispensed from one filling cycle to the next does not vary. Further, there is a need for a solution to the nozzle clinging/dripping problem that does not require fundamental design changes in the dispensers.
This invention provides an improved nozzle attachment for removing residual material from the discharge ends of dispenser nozzles used for dispensing flowable materials. The invention also provides a dispenser incorporating the improved nozzle attachment and methods of their use in filling procedures. According to an embodiment, the nozzle attachment of this invention is an assembly of a relatively small number of discrete parts that can be readily assembled into a unified component for installation on a nozzle, and which also can be easily dismantled into its individual parts for inspection and cleaning-out-of-place or manual cleaning. Therefore, in one aspect, the nozzle attachment is conveniently used for sanitary dispensing applications, although not limited thereto. In one aspect, no tools are required to couple the nozzle attachment to a nozzle nor are they needed to dismantle it for inspection and cleaning, as the device can be assembled and disassembled completely by hand.
In accordance with an embodiment, the nozzle attachment provides the gaseous hydrodynamic system used to create the “blow off” force and effect on nozzle residue, and the fluid dispenser head is not modified to support that function other than providing a suitable mounting surface thereon for the nozzle attachment. Therefore, the nozzle attachment can be easily used on many different types of fluid dispensing heads. It is preferred to provide a nozzle attachment that can be readily attached or detached from a nozzle to facilitate full inspection and/or cleaning without the need for tools to disconnect or to disassemble the nozzle attachment for cleaning. To this end, in one embodiment a quick connect and disconnect device that is operable manually without the need to use tools to attach and detach the nozzle attachment to the nozzle. In one aspect, the quick connect and disconnect device comprises a clamping retainer for clamping the attachment to an attaching portion of the dispensing nozzle without the use of a tool. Preferably, a split ring clamping retainer is used and threaded members including wing nuts are manually threaded to tighten or loosen the clamping force.
In an embodiment, the nozzle attachment includes a retainer by which it is releasably attachable to a dispensing nozzle, and a pair of hollow-bodied nozzle attachment components that define, when nested together, an intervening space that serves as a gas passageway in-between them into which pressurized gaseous fluid can be introduced. The introduced pressurized gas flows into the gas passageway and from there is directed to a discharge opening thereof provided at a lower axial end of the nested nozzle attachment components. The gas passageway present in the assembled nozzle attachment is adapted to emit a gas stream at an inward and downward angle relative to a discharge end of the dispensing nozzle effective to create a shearing force at the discharge end of the nozzle that dislodges and removes any residual material clinging to the discharge end after a prior dispensing operation or cycle. This ensures that residual material is cleaned off of the dispenser nozzles as part of each dispensing cycle so that the amount of food dispensed from one filling cycle to the next does not vary.
The nozzle attachment of this invention is generally applicable to dispenser nozzle arrangements used to dispense viscous fluid materials. These viscous fluid materials include edible materials and foods that can be processed in a flowable state, such as process cheese, dairy cream, mayonnaise, meats, peanut butter, and so forth. The nozzle attachment is especially well-suited for nozzled fluid dispensers used to dispense higher viscosity or tackier fluid food products having a greater tendency to cling to dispensing nozzles, although it also can be used to advantage with fluid dispensers used for other types of fluids having those attributes. These other types of viscous materials can include polymeric compositions, plastic compositions, hot melt adhesives, and so forth.
In one embodiment, the nozzle attachment includes an outer nozzle attachment component comprising a cylindrical portion having an inner surface with an inner diameter, and a flanged surface extending radially outward at one axial end thereof and an inward-facing beveled surface at the other axial end thereof, and further including an air inlet adapted to receive pressurized gas through the cylindrical portion. It also includes an inner nozzle attachment component including a cylindrical portion having an outer surface with an outer diameter that is smaller than the inner diameter of the outer nozzle attachment component. The inner attachment component has a collar extending radially outward at one axial end thereof, and an outward-facing beveled surface at the other axial end thereof. The inner nozzle attachment component is adapted to be nested within the outer nozzle attachment component by positioning of its collar on the flanged surface of the outer nozzle attachment component. When nested, an internal upper gas passageway is defined between the outer surface of the inner nozzle attachment component and the inner surface of the outer nozzle attachment component that is in communication with the gas inlet of the outer nozzle attachment component. The nozzle attachment includes a retainer adapted to releasably retain the outer nozzle attachment component on the nozzle while the inner nozzle attachment component is nested therein.
This nesting configuration of the two components also defines a lower gas passageway having a gas discharge opening that is defined between the outward-facing beveled surface of the inner nozzle attachment component and the inward-facing beveled surface of the outer nozzle attachment component. The lower gas passageway is in fluid communication with the upper gas passageway. The lower gas passageway is adapted by its configuration to direct pressurized gas at an inward and downward angle at the discharge end of the nozzle. The gas emitted by the nozzle attachment at the discharge opening creates a shearing force at the discharge end of the nozzle that will dislodge and remove any residual material clinging to the discharge end after the most recent dispensing operation. This ensures all product dispensed per dispensing cycle gets packaged in that cycle, and that uniform amounts of food are dispensed in each dispensing cycle. Herein, the nested components are easily assembled or disassembled by moving the nested inner component axially relative to the outer component. This allows quick separation for cleaning and re-assembly after cleaning.
In another embodiment, there is a fluid dispenser for use in intermittent dispensing operations that incorporates the nozzle attachment described herein. The dispenser includes a dispenser body having a fluid inlet communicating with a fluid passageway, and the discharge nozzle having the discharge end from which fluid is dispensed. There is a valve stem positioned within the fluid passageway adapted to be controllably moved vertically up and down within the fluid passageway by an actuator. A valve head is located in the discharge end of the discharge nozzle. The nozzle attachment is used after each dispensing cycle to eliminate residue clinging from the discharge end of the nozzle.
In one preferred embodiment, the dispenser valve head has a truncated cone shape having increasing diameter axially nearer the discharge end of the nozzle and smaller diameter axially further from the discharge end of the nozzle. The truncated-cone shaped valve head has a first diameter adapted to seal with the discharge passageway of the nozzle to stop fluid flow out of the discharge end of the nozzle when the valve stem is sufficiently vertically upraised, and a second diameter, smaller than the first diameter, in which a gap is provided between the second diameter and inner walls of the discharge passageway of the nozzle when the valve stem is sufficiently vertically lowered, to permit flow of fluid out of the discharge end of the nozzle until the valve stem is raised again.
For purposes herein, the term “fluid” means materials in a wet flowable condition, including liquids, slurries, emulsions, pastes, creams, hot melts, and so forth. The term “gas” can mean dry gases, and vapors, such as steam. The term “manual cleaning” means total disassembly for cleaning and inspection. “Clean-out-of-place” or “COP” means a part can be partially dissembled and cleaned, such as in specialized COP pressure tanks. “Clean-in-Place” or “CIP” means no disassembly or partial disassembly is required to clean a part. “Sanitize” or “sanitary” and the like refers to the reduction of microorganisms to levels considered safe from a public health standpoint. “Sterilize” or “sterile” and the like refers to the statistical destruction and removal of all living organisms.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detail description of preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:
The features depicted in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Similarly numbered elements in different figures represent similar components unless indicated otherwise. Elements and dimensions in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.
Referring to
The valve head 11 is normally maintained in a closed position in which it is seated against the inner walls 13 of the discharge end 14 of the nozzle 15 in a sealing relationship. The dimensions of the valve head 11 and inner walls 13 at the discharge end 14 of the nozzle 15 are machined to have very close tolerances so that an essentially gap-free seal is made between the valve head 11 and the inner walls 13 of the valve head 11, so that leakage is minimized during nondispensing times of operation.
In this non-limiting illustration, a biasing means, such as a return spring 16 located in an actuator 17, is used to keep the valve head 11 normally in the closed position. The valve head 11 is connected to the actuator 17 via a valve stem 18. The valve stem 18 can be vertically reciprocated by the actuator 17, as indicated by the double-arrow in
In order to move the valve head 11 to an open position and permit flow of fluid out of the dispenser 100, pressurized air is introduced into a cavity 21 in the actuator 17 via a port 21 by way of an air line 32 connected to a supply source of pressurized air 27 (“S1”). The flow or pressurized air through line 32 is preferably controlled via valve 26 (“V1”), which is operated by a controller 28, such as a microprocessor-based controller, via a communication line 34. The controller 28 can be interfaced and programmed via communication line 31. Radio frequency signal control techniques and the like also could be used.
Referring to
In one preferred embodiment, the valve head 11 has a truncated cone-shaped body. The valve head 11 tapers inward in the upward axial direction. The valve head makes a tight seal with inner walls 13 of the nozzle 15. As illustrated in
After a desired amount of fluid is discharged from the dispenser 100, the valve head 11 is returned to its closed, seated position within the nozzle 15. In this illustration, the valve 26 is closed by the controller 28 and pressurized air in line 32 can be bled off at valve 26. Upon doing this, biasing action of the return spring 16 pulls the valve stem 18 vertically upward until the valve head 11 seats again in sealing relationship inside the discharge end 14 of the nozzle 15.
In this non-limiting illustration, the fluid dispenser involves a single seat, shut-off valve system with positive control. It will be appreciated that the actuator 17 alternatively could be a manual actuator as used to control up and down vertical movement of the valve head 11. The actuator 17 itself basically can incorporate features and functions used in such mechanisms in conventional filling valves. The open yoke feature 23 shown in
While the valve head 11 is in the closed position and before initiating the next dispensing cycle, a nozzle attachment 10 according to an embodiment of the invention is employed to eliminate any residue of dispensed fluid left clinging to the discharge end 14 of nozzle 15. The nozzle attachment 10 is releasably attached to the nozzle 15, preferably prior to initiating the dispensing operation.
As shown in
As shown in
Pressurized gas fed into the gas passageway 440 comprised of fluidly communicating gas passageways 43 and 44 in the nozzle attachment 10 are emitted from a discharge opening 47 at the lower axial end 48 of the nozzle attachment 10. This emitted gas 49 has a trajectory making an angle β (beta) with the horizontal plane 141 of the discharge end 14 of the nozzle 15. The horizontal plane 141 of the discharge end 14 extends generally perpendicular to axial direction 12. The force associated with the stream of pressurized gas 49 exiting the nozzle attachment 10 is effectively used to blow food residues off the discharge end 14 of the nozzle 15 by action of shearing forces.
The retainer 70 includes an internal circumferential groove 71 that is dimensioned to conformably receive the nozzle skirt 40 under an upper protrusion 74 of the retainer 70, while concurrently receiving a flanged portion 53 of the outer nozzle attachment component 42 in a conforming manner above a lower protrusion 75 of the retainer 70. The outer nozzle attachment component 42 includes a circumferential groove 73 immediately below its flanged portion 72, which conformably receives the lower protrusion 75 of the retainer 70.
In this non-limiting illustration, ferrules 764 and 766 are clamped using a tightening mechanism 760 using a sealing gasket 765. As illustrated in more detail in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring again to
As shown in
As shown in
For the purpose of quick connect assembly and disassembly without the use of tools, the inner nozzle attachment component 41 is adapted to be concentrically nested within the outer nozzle attachment component 42 by positioning of its collar 64 on the flanged surface 53 of the outer nozzle attachment component 42. The inner nozzle attachment component 41 has an inner radial surface 409 which is sized to slip over and concentrically surround the outer surface 161 of the discharge end 14 of nozzle 15. The gap size provided between the outer nozzle surface 161 is not particularly limited as long as the gas emitted from discharge opening 47 can be maintained at sufficient force to shear tailings off the end of the dispenser nozzle. For example, the gap (not shown) can be about 0.1 to about 0.2 inch, or some other positive value.
When the inner and outer nozzle components 41 and 42 are nested, not only is an internal upper gas passageway 43 is defined between the axially extending side surfaces of the components that encompasses the full circumference of the attachment 10, but also an inwardly and downwardly angled lower gas passageway 44 is defined between the inner and outer nozzle attachment components 41 and 42. The lower gas passageway 44 is in fluid communication with the upper gas passageway 43, which together form a continuous single gas passageway 440 between the gas inlet 57 and the discharge opening 47.
As seen in
Also, the emitted gas stream 49 also will incorporate a downward force to help clean/remove any residual material that may curl or wrap around the outside diameter of the valve. These “blow off” forces can be applied to residual material clinging, dripping, drooling, curling, sticking, or otherwise remaining as a tailing on the discharge end 14 of the nozzle 15 after a prior dispensing procedure ensures all product dispensed per dispensing cycle gets packaged in that cycle, and that uniform amounts of food are dispensed in each dispensing cycle.
In one embodiment, an external supply 30 (“S2”) of sanitary or sterile gas under pressure is used to feed pressurized gas 301 into the nozzle attachment 10. A valve 29 (“V2”) can be controlled automatically via controller 28. For example, a microprocessor-based controller 28 can be used to synchronize the timing of the movement of the valve head 11 in the dispenser 100 and the release of the pressurized gas 49 through the blow off nozzle attachment in-between filling cycles. The controller 28 also can be used to time the duration of release of pressurized gas 301 into the nozzle attachment 10. The sanitary or sterile gas that can be used includes, for example, inert gas, heated air, nitrogen, or steam, and so forth. It will be appreciated that the pressurized gas 300 does not necessarily have to be sanitary or sterile gas for all applications in which the nozzle attachment 10 can be used in conjunction with a dispensing head or filling valve, especially in many applications not involving foods. In one non-limiting embodiment, about a 0.5 to 1.0 second, more particularly about a 0.6 to 0.8 second, blast of air, at about 50 to 100 psig, more particularly about 70 to 80 psig, is emitted from the blow off nozzle attachment 10 to provide a blow off force at the discharge end 14 of the nozzle 15. The blow off air can be performed as a rapid series of pulses or as a single blast for each residue elimination procedure.
After performing the blow off procedure using nozzle attachment 10, a weight sensing means (not shown) can be used to measure the specific amount of fluid dispensed in the most recent dispensing and nozzle cleaning cycle, and that information can be transmitted to controller 28 via communication line 31. The controller 28 can determine if the dispensed amount is within predefined tolerances, before initiating the next dispensing cycle.
The dispensers adapted with the nozzle attachment described herein can be conveniently and efficiently used to fill a plurality of containers in sequence, or otherwise dispense uniform amounts of fluid in sequence.
As will be appreciated, while the outer and inner nozzle attachment components 42 and 41, respectively, are illustrated in this example as including cylindrical body portions, their body portions are not limited to that geometry. They are hollow body portions that can be virtually any geometric shape in cross-section, e.g., circular, square, octagonal, and so forth, as long as they are dimensioned with diameters meeting the requirements of this invention and providing an adequate central opening in the inner nozzle attachment component to permit the valve head to be extended through it in an unobstructed manner. For convenience sake, the inner and outer body portions generally will be used having the same type of geometry other than the respective radial dimensions thereof. Regular geometric shapes are preferred, and cylindrical shapes are more preferred, although not required.
Referring again to
The nozzle attachment of the present invention has many advantages and benefits. The nozzle attachment can be readily detached from a filling valve nozzle. Herein, the term filling valve nozzle is used to be generic to the entire dispensing head such as illustrated in
No tools are needed to assemble or dismantle (disassemble) the nozzle attachment part, as this can be done fully by hand in a “tool-less manner.” All the internal surfaces and parts of the nozzle attachment can be inspected after disassembly of the component. The nozzle attachment also could be used in a clean-out-of-place mode where the part is dismantled substantially but not completely during inspection and cleaning procedures, depending on where the cleaning concerns are the greatest with respect to the part. For example, it may not be necessary to fully dismantle the wing-nut tightening parts for cleaning procedures used in some in applications, such as some non-food processing applications.
The nozzle attachment has no grooves, hidden surfaces, or recesses in which food particles might be entrapped and harbored to create a potential contamination risk. The nozzle attachment also can be used in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) applications in high micro environments in connection with dispensing liquid or otherwise flowable product into packages to eliminate oxygen from head space and provide shelf stable products.
The nozzle attachment is particularly well-suited for food processing operations in which flowable food is being intermittently dispensed from a dispenser in uniform amounts. Examples of such foods that can be processed in a flowable state, include, for example, process cheese, dairy cream, mayonnaise, meats (e.g., beef, pork, poultry, or combinations thereof, liquid eggs, fruit-containing materials or beverages, peanut butter, and so forth. In one embodiment, the nozzle attachment addresses the weight control and dripping problem associated with prior fluid-form food dispensers by use of a timed sanitary air blow upon closure of a filling valve, around the entire shear surface area, to pulse the residual fluid into a primary filled package. Gas flow is balanced and aimed downward to disallow lateral blow off concerns.
The nozzle attachment of this invention is dairy, meat, or poultry compatible. The nozzle attachment of this invention can be used on most standard sanitary filling valves, and it can be interchanged between filling valves of the same size. The nozzle attachment of this invention can be used in food processing applications as a clean-out-of-place or manually cleanable part. It has no hidden passageways, which permits full inspection and cleaning. The nozzle attachment can be used in conjunction with the most rapid fill and low tolerance weight operations because it does not adversely affect the weight operation. The nozzle attachment can be used to remove residual material adhering to the end of the valve as well as provide gas flush capabilities for modified atmosphere packaging (“MAP”) for all the benefits gained with reduced oxygen levels. In an alternative embodiment, the nozzle attachment also permits the gas blow system to be directly connected to a Clean-In-Place (CIP) system.
In one non-limiting example, a sanitary design of the nozzle attachment can be provided by use of stainless steel for all parts of the nozzle attachment. For example, stainless steel can be used for all parts of the nozzle attachment. Alternatively, the various nozzle attachment parts also can be made of other suitable materials that can be shaped into the applicable configurations, such as plastic materials, ceramic materials, and so forth, and, if desired or necessary, can be maintained in a sanitary condition. The same or different types of such materials can be used for the various parts of a given nozzle attachment.
In addition, the wetted parts of the dispenser, including, for example, the valve stem, valve head, and valve body, also can be made out of stainless steel. Stainless steel could be used for the yoke, actuator cylinder, and other non-wetted parts of the fluid dispenser, although the filling valve construction is not limited thereto. For example, the valve head, and so forth, alternatively could be a fluoropolymer construction, or a fluoropolymer-coated metal construction, or other material that is essentially inert and stable in the filling environment. The valve head also could include a fluoropolymeric or EPDM sealing ring, and the like, retained in an integral circumferential groove to provide the valve seat.
It will be understood that the teachings of the present invention are readily adaptable to many types of fluid dispensers that intermittently dispense liquids other than those specifically shown or identified herein. For example, the nozzle attachment could be used with nozzled dispensers used for other types of flowable viscous materials, such as molten polymeric compositions, plastic compositions, hot melt adhesives, and so forth.
While the invention has been particularly described with specific reference to particular process and product embodiments, it will be appreciated that various alterations, modifications and adaptions may be based on the present disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20050056707 A1 | Mar 2005 | US |