US 11,945,708 B2
Machine and method for filling containers with liquid contents
Ludwig Clüsserath, Bad Kreuznach (DE)
Assigned to KHS GmbH, Dortmund (DE)
Appl. No. 17/607,209
Filed by KHS GmbH, Dortmund (DE)
PCT Filed Apr. 30, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/062014
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 28, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/225087, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 12, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 102019111929.4 (DE), filed on May 8, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0219962 A1, Jul. 14, 2022
Int. Cl. B67C 3/10 (2006.01); A23L 2/54 (2006.01); B67C 3/22 (2006.01); B67C 3/26 (2006.01); B67C 7/00 (2006.01)
CPC B67C 3/10 (2013.01) [A23L 2/54 (2013.01); B67C 3/225 (2013.01); B67C 3/2617 (2013.01); B67C 7/004 (2013.01); A23V 2002/00 (2013.01); B67C 2007/006 (2013.01); B67C 2007/0066 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus comprising a filling machine that fills containers with liquid, said filling machine comprising filling positions, each of which comprises a filling element, wherein each of said filling elements comprises a seal that seals a container's mouth, a filling valve, a gas valve, a liquid channel that, when said filling valve is opened, is in fluid communication with said container's interior, and a gas channel that, when said gas valve is open, is in fluid communication with said container's interior, wherein said filling machine is configured to introduce an inert gas into said container's interior via said gas channel to create a preload pressure in said container such that said inert gas in said container dissolves in said liquid, wherein said filling machine is further configured to introduce a volume of liquid into said container's interior through said liquid channel at a filling pressure that exceeds said preload pressure, and wherein said inert gas is selected from the group consisting of nitrogen gas and carbon-dioxide gas, wherein said filling element is configured to measure pressure in said container's interior, and wherein each filling element comprises a protection space and a closing device, wherein said protection space is adjacent to said seal, and wherein said closing device is configured to close said container with a closure while said container is in said protection space.