Generic devices for filling cans or similar containers with a liquid fill, for example with an uncarbonated liquid fill, are known. These devices comprise, for example, a rotor that can be driven to rotate about a vertical machine axis, the rotor having a large number of filling positions, each with a can holder and with a filling element arranged above the can holder on the rotor or on a filling element support located there. The cans to be filled are fed to the rotor or to the filling positions at a can pick-up station and are moved by the rotor to a can set-down station.
In order to accurately fix the can's position or orientation relative to the filling element, it is known to provide a fixing and centering bell on the filling element and to move he filling element and the can to be filled relative to one another in such a way that the can is centered by the fixing and centering bell and is held with its can opening bearing tightly against the filling element.
One disadvantage of this is that the centering bells result in considerable design complexity and that the touching of the top of the cans by the fixing and centering bells risks contaminating the cans and the fill accommodated inside the cans. Unfortunately, the contamination even of just one fixing and centering bell results in the contamination of whole batches of cans.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds