In conventional rinser machines, the valves are mechanically operated through cams that are subject to wear, and the injection time of the rinsing fluid can only be varied by manually changing the position of these cams. The new, patented, spraying valve designed by Promec is of the “MEMBRANE” type, with two distinct operating positions: OPEN AND CLOSED (BISTABLE VALVE). The special shape of the valve body and the fact that the fluid only comes into contact with a membrane (made of food grade material and FDA compliant), ensures that it is in total conformity with aseptic processing criteria and standards.
The innovation resides not only in the geometry of the valves but in their control system and in the management of the treatment times, which can be preset and separate for each bottle size, as well as remaining constant even when the hourly output of the machine is varied.
Each valve has a “permanent magnet” installed inside it which is activated-deactivated by an external magnetic field, thereby allowing the valve to move from the closed position to the open one, and vice versa, without any contact between the fixed and moving parts. The value is opened by a special magnetic actuator and remains “stably” in the open position, allowing the sterilizing fluid to flow through. After a preset time interval – variable according to requirements – a second magnetic actuator causes the closing of the valve, which remains stably closed. The wear problems typically caused by the interacting components of conventional valves are therefore eliminated. By varying the angle of action of these external magnetic fields, it is possible to automatically vary the injection angle, synchronizing it with the speed of the machine, and hence with the hourly output. The injection time thus remains unvaried, for each bottle size, and does not depend on the speed of the machine.
With this system, it is possible to obtain the same results as those achieved with electronically operated machines, but without the complications inherent to electronic systems, given the absence of electrical components.
A further advantage of this innovative solution consists of the greater quantity of fluid per time unit, resulting in increased efficacy of the washing process, thanks to larger areas for fluid passage compared to conventional valves.
