CA2228112A1 - Apparatus and method for filling various containers with liquid or viscous materials - Google Patents

Abstract

The containers are filled with product whose flow rate, pressure, and density vary; products can range from liquid to paste, with or without chunks.
Product is channeled partly toward the control valve and partly into monitored pressure anal compression chambers.
The first stage in filling the container is accomplished at a faster flow rate (which depends on tie consistency of the substance), while the last stage is slower for the sake of precision in attaining the target weight.
An expert system subjects all process and product variables to servo control in order to provide the efficiency and the yields expected of a packaging process.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention consists of a new, highly accurate process, run by an expert system, for filling containers of various kinds with products of different consistencies and densities; products can range from liquid to paste, with or without chunks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Filling machine is the generic name for a device that puts products into containers. These machines are commonly used in various sectors of industry and business.
There are many types of products to be packaged: dry ones, ranging from powders to large pieces of different sizes and shapes, pre-packaged or not; and liquids of various consistencies.
Volumetric measuring systems are used in most filling systems. For example, one type of system works by measuring the product right in the container using a level sensor.
Another kind measures the product by the amount of time it takes to flow into the container. Valve systems are included in this category. These two systems may be gravity-fed or pressure-fed. Pressure can be generated by pumps with diaphragms, gears, pistons, etc. The level sensor or counter sends a signal to shut off the product flow, regardless of the consequences of product accumulating in the flow pipe.
Volumetric measuring systems may also use a cylindrical chamber with a piston, whose position determines the volume of product to be transferred into the container. The piston draws the product by suction from the tank into a cylindrical z, chamber. A valve is activated to c;hannel the product to the container, and the piston forces it in.
Weight-based systems use a stationary scale. The product is transferred to the scale using gravity or an auger, the scale sends a signal to the cutoff, and the product accumulates either in a tank, for liquids, or right in the flow pipe, for compressible substances.
To the applicant's knowledge, there is no process for weighing and filling containers that is as ffE~xible as the one presented here.
The system is a complex integration of several components, using advanced mechanical, electrical and computer technologies. The goal is to control weight and fill rate at all times in spite of considerable variations in pressure, flow rate, consistency, density, and viscosity, while processing in a closed vessel.

The main purpose of the invention is to achieve a universal filling process capable of filling medium- to large-sized containers at high speeds, with high accuracy and repeatability.
The containers are of different sizes and shapes, and the products have different flow rates, densities, and consistencies:
They can be liquid, low to high viscosity, or paste, and they may have chunks of various sizes and shapes.
The invention is an integration of volumetric and weight-based measuring principles with an expert system that can integrate variables of the new process and product variables in order to attain target flow rates and weights.
This invention uses pressure and compression chambers to allow product to accumulate as the flow rate through the control valve is adjusted during the last part of the X11 cycle, until the weighing system signals that the target weight has been attained.
In order to make a filling process work for products ranging from liquid to paste, many variables must be dealt with that influence filling accuracy. The products used vary in pressure, density, viscosity, texture, flow rate, etc. due to prior processing, and the weighing system can be influenced by the speed at which substances flow into the container or their impact on the bottom of the container.

Besides reducing deposit weights, the system takes measurements that are reliable a:nd repeatable regardless of the variables, thanks to an expert; system that integrates all variables and can react to and act. on the various constituent parts of the automatic filling system, as detailed in the technical description in this document.
,7 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS) The filling machine integrates two main systems (see attached drawing), unit A and unit B. Unit A, the subject of this patent application, can be used in several other kinds of systems. It raises the container to the dispensing nozzle, weighs it and rotates it all at the same time. The function of unit B is to feed the product into the monitored pressure and compression chamber and into the container during rapid first-stage filling.
The cylinder in the pressure and compression chamber is activated at a level that is pre-set. using statistical curves of product weight, in order to control the product's discharge force, the speed at which it comes out, and when the feed valve should be closed.
The dispensing and filling unit (B) is made up of 1) the feed valve,

2) a pressure gauge,

3) a pressure and weight control chamber,

4) the cylinder that fills and empties the control chamber, and

5) a control valve for the first stage of filling, which cuts off product intake when the cylinder completes the fill cycle.
All components of unit B and all of unit A are monitored by a computer. The expert system's algorithms analyze and react in real time based on the weight readings.

Claims