Fill system including a fill valve housing with interchangeable sanitary cover and clean-in-place manifold

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A filling system is set forth that assists in overcoming many of the foregoing problems.
The filling system comprises a valve housing having a flow channel, an inlet to the flow channel, and an outlet from the flow channel.
The valve housing has a flange extending therefrom about at least a portion of the periphery of the valve housing.
A valve member is disposed in the valve housing for controlling fluid flow from the outlet of the valve housing.
A clean-in-place manifold is provided for use during a clean-in-place operation of the packaging machine.
The clean-in-place manifold has an inlet and an outlet and a flange disposed about at least a portion of the periphery of the inlet of the manifold.
A sanitary cover is provided for use during a production cycle of the machine.
The sanitary cover comprises a shield portion and a securement portion.
The securement portion comprises a collar extending from the shield portion and a flange disposed about at least a portion of the periphery of the collar.
A tri-clamp is provided for alternately securing the flange of the clean-in-place manifold to the flange of the valve housing and the flange of the sanitary cover to the flange of the valve housing.
To this end, the tri-clamp is provided with a groove that simultaneously grips the flange of the housing and the flange of the other component to hold them fast to one another.
Such an arrangement facilitates fast and simple configuration of the fill system between its configuration during a production cycle of the machine and its configuration during a clean-in-place cycle of the machine.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the accompanying detailed description when taken in conjunction with the following drawings.