US 11,970,382 B2
Filling device configured to fill articles with a pourable product
Filippo Bandini, Parma (IT); and Michele Ollari, Parma (IT)
Assigned to SIDEL PARTICIPATIONS
Appl. No. 17/787,588
Filed by SIDEL PARTICIPATIONS, Octeville-sur-Mer (FR)
PCT Filed Dec. 19, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/086187
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 20, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/121593, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 24, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0411248 A1, Dec. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. B67C 3/28 (2006.01); F16K 31/08 (2006.01)
CPC B67C 3/28 (2013.01) [F16K 31/086 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A filling device (5) configured to fill articles (2) with a pourable product and comprising:
a tubular body (10) having a longitudinal axis (B) and internally defining a flow channel (11) for feeding the pourable product towards one empty article (2) at a time;
a valve member (18) engaging the tubular body (10) and axially movable within the flow channel (11) to allow or prevent the flow of the pourable product towards said article (2); and
magnetic actuator (20) configured to drive axial movement of the valve member (18) within the flow channel (11);
said magnetic actuator (20) comprising a driven magnetic assembly (24) carried by the valve member (18) and a driving magnetic assembly (25) arranged outside the flow channel (11) and configured to be magnetically coupled with the driven magnetic assembly (24) to control the movement of the valve member (18) within the flow channel (11);
said driving magnetic assembly (25) having a pair of first magnetic elements (26) arranged at diametrically opposite lateral sides of said tubular body (10) and said driven magnetic assembly (24) having at least one second magnetic element (30) arranged within said valve member (18);
wherein each one of said first magnetic elements (26) comprises two first magnetic dipoles (51) arranged in axial succession relative to one another, at the same radial distance from said axis (B), and in respective positions such that the relative magnetic poles of equal signs axially face one another;
wherein said second magnetic element (30) comprises two second magnetic dipoles (52) arranged in axial succession relative to one another, at the same radial distance from said axis (B), and in respective positions such that the relative magnetic poles of equal signs axially face one another;
wherein each first magnetic element (26) further comprises a third magnetic dipole (53) axially interposed between said two first magnetic dipoles (51) and including magnetic poles arranged in radial succession relative to said axis (B), the radially innermost magnetic pole of said third magnetic dipole (53) having sign equal to the signs of the magnetic poles of said first magnetic dipoles (51) facing one another axially; and
wherein the first magnetic elements (26) radially face the second magnetic element (30) so that the magnetic poles of the first and third magnetic dipoles (51, 53) and the magnetic poles of the second magnetic dipoles (52) having opposite signs face one another radially.