Counter pressure filler apparatus, system, and related methods

1 . A counter pressure filling system comprising:

a counter pressure assembly fluidly coupled to a pressure relief assembly, the counter pressure assembly configured to receive and establish a seal with an opening of a first container, the pressure relief assembly having a first pump configured to control a first counter pressure of the first container in real-time, the counter pressure assembly having a nozzle assembly including a nozzle bar supporting a first nozzle comprising:

a carbonated liquid infeed port fluidly coupled to a carbonated liquid tank via a carbonated liquid line, the carbonated liquid tank having a carbonated liquid,

a gas infeed port fluidly coupled to a gas tank via a gas supply line, and

a pressure relief port fluidly coupled to a reservoir via a pressure relief line via the pressure relief assembly, wherein the first pump being fluidly coupled to the pressure relief port and configured to adjust pump speed in real-time; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the nozzle assembly and the first pump, the controller comprising a memory and at least one processor configured to:

determine the first container is in a filling position associated with the first nozzle;

set the nozzle bar to a blowout height, wherein the blowout height is a height at which the first nozzle is adjacent to an opening of the first container;

purge, via the first nozzle fluidly coupled to the gas tank, the first container with a supply of gas;

set the nozzle bar to a dive height, wherein the dive height is a height at which the first nozzle forms a seal with the opening of the first container;

establish, via the first nozzle fluidly coupled to the first pump, the first counter pressure inside the first container by maintaining the supply of gas; and

fill, via the first nozzle fluidly coupled to the carbonated liquid tank, the first container with a first supply of the carbonated liquid at a filling rate based on the counter pressure;

wherein the first pump can adjust pump speed in real-time to establish the first counter pressure and filling rate of the carbonated liquid into the first container.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the counter pressure assembly configured to receive and establish a seal with an opening of a second container, the pressure relief assembly having a second pump configured to control the counter pressure of the second container in real-time, and the nozzle bar supports a second nozzle fluidly coupled to the carbonated liquid tank via a second carbonated liquid line, the gas tank via a second gas supply line, and the reservoir via second pressure relief line, and wherein the controller is configured to command the second nozzle and the second pump independently from the first nozzle and the first pump, such that the controller is configured to:

determine the second container is in a filling position associated with the second nozzle;

set the nozzle bar to a blowout height, wherein the blowout height is a height at which the second nozzle is adjacent to an opening of the second container;

purge, via the second nozzle fluidly coupled to the gas tank, the second container with a supply of gas;

set the nozzle bar to a dive height, wherein the dive height is a height at which the second nozzle forms a seal with the opening of the second container;

establish, via the second nozzle fluidly coupled to the second pump, counter pressure inside the second container by maintaining the supply of gas; and

fill, via the second nozzle fluidly coupled to the carbonated liquid tank, the second container with a supply of the carbonated liquid at a filling rate based on the counter pressure;

wherein the second pump can adjust pump speed in real-time to adjust the second counter pressure and the filling rate of the carbonated liquid into the second container.

3 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a conveying assembly including an indexer configured to align the first container to the filling position associated with the first nozzle, wherein the conveying assembly communicatively coupled to the controller.

4 . The system of claim 3 , further comprising a control system coupled to the nozzle assembly and the conveying assembly, the control system comprising a pneumatical control or a servo motor, wherein the controller is configured to control a height of the nozzle bar and the indexer using the control system.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine the first container is filled with the carbonated liquid;

shutoff, via the first nozzle and based on the determination the container is filled, the supply of the carbonated liquid and the supply of the gas; and

set the nozzle bar to the blowout height to break the seal with the opening of the first container.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the determination that the first container is filled with the carbonated liquid is based on a signal received from a liquid overflow sensor.

7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the liquid overflow sensor is configured to send the signal based on a configurable sensitivity threshold.

8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the configurable sensitivity threshold is selected based on a property of the carbonated liquid.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the determination that the container is in the filling position is based on a photoelectric sensor.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to display a graphical user interface (GUI) configured to receive user input including the blowout height and the dive height.

11 . A counter pressure filling method comprising:

positioning a filling nozzle adjacent to an opening of a container;

purging, via the filling nozzle fluidly coupled to a gas tank, the container with a gas from the gas tank;

positioning the filling nozzle against the opening of the container to form a seal;

establishing, via the filling nozzle fluidly coupled to a pump, counter pressure inside the container by maintaining supply of the gas to the container; and

filling, via the filling nozzle fluidly coupled to a carbonated liquid tank, the container with a carbonated liquid from the carbonated liquid tank at a filling rate based on the counter pressure;

wherein pump speed can be adjusted in real-time to adjust the counter pressure and the filling rate of the carbonated liquid into the container.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

determining the container is filled with the carbonated liquid;

shut off, via the filling nozzle and based on the determination the container is filled, the supply of the carbonated liquid and the supply of the gas; and

positioning the filling nozzle about the opening of the container such that the seal is broken.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein determining the container is filled with the carbonated liquid comprises receiving a signal from a liquid overflow sensor.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the liquid overflow sensor is configured to send the signal based on a configurable sensitivity threshold.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the configurable sensitivity threshold is selected based on a property of the carbonated liquid.

16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the counter pressure inside the container is less than an infeed liquid pressure of the carbonated liquid.

17 . A counter pressure filling system comprising:

a nozzle assembly including a nozzle bar supporting a first nozzle fluidly coupled to:

a carbonated liquid tank via a carbonated liquid line,

a gas tank via a gas supply line, and

a reservoir via a pressure relief line; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the nozzle assembly, the controller comprising a memory and at least one processor configured to:

determine a container is in a filling position associated with the first nozzle;

set the nozzle bar to a blowout height, wherein the blowout height is a height at which the first nozzle is adjacent to an opening of a container;

purge, via the first nozzle, the container with a supply of gas;

set the nozzle bar to a dive height, wherein the dive height is a height at which the first nozzle forms a seal with the opening of the container;

establish, via the first nozzle, counter pressure inside the container by maintaining the supply of gas;

fill, via the first nozzle, the container with a supply of a carbonated liquid at a filling rate based on the counter pressure;

determine the container is filled with the carbonated liquid based on a signal received from a liquid overflow sensor configured to send the signal based on a configurable sensitivity threshold;

shutoff, via the filling nozzle and based on the determination the container is filled, the supply of the carbonated liquid and the supply of the gas; and

set the nozzle bar to the blowout height to break the seal with the opening of the container.

18 . The system of claim 17 , further comprising a pressure relief assembly fluidly coupled to the nozzle assembly, the pressure relief assembly having a pump configured to control counter pressure of the container in real-time via a pressure relief port of the first nozzle, wherein the controller can adjust pump speed in real-time to establish the counter pressure and filling rate of the carbonated liquid into the container.

19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the nozzle assembly includes two or more nozzles supported on the nozzle bar, wherein the pressure relief assembly having two or more pumps, each pump operably coupled with each of the two or more nozzles and corresponding container to control counter pressure and filling rate of the carbonated liquid into the respective container.

20 . The system of claim 17 , further comprising:

a conveying assembly including an indexer configured to align each container to the filling position associated with the respective nozzle, wherein the conveying assembly communicatively coupled to the controller; and

a control system coupled to the nozzle assembly and the conveying assembly, the control system comprising a servo motor, wherein the controller is configured to control a height of the nozzle bar and the indexer using the control system.