GB1265801A - - Google Patents

Abstract

1,265,801. Filling containers. PEMBROKE CARTON & PRINTING CO. Ltd. 3 April, 1969 [5 Jan., 1968], No. 738/68. Heading B8C. A container is filled with pulverulent material by charging a magazine chamber 12 from a supply source, filling a fixed volume chamber 31 from the magazine chamber and then transferring the contents of the fixed volume chamber to the container. Preferably the chambers are arranged one above the other with the outlets at the bottom and the pulverulent material is moved by gravity or differential gas pressure. The chambers are separated from each other, from the outlet and from the hopper by valves. The filler units may be located around the perimeter of a ring rotatable in a circular path and the magazine chamber may be filled from the hopper while the fixed volume chamber is emptying into the container. The pulverulent material is supplied to hopper 11 which is closed by valve 50. The material may be fluidized by air from pipe 11d passing through porous wall 11c. Valve 50 is operated by double acting piston 50d and seats against a rubber lining 50c on the walls of hopper 11. The magazine chamber 12 has porous walls 13, 13a, lined in parts with a non-porous layer 13b and is surrounded by wall 14 defining a cavity which can be connected via pipe 16 to a compressed air or vacuum supply for increasing or decreasing the pressure in the chamber 12. Flow of pulverulent material into the chamber is aided by air supplied through pipe 17 into the annular space surrounding the end of funnel 11. The base of the magazine chamber is closed by an inflatable valve comprising rubber members 51b supplied from the compressed air supply via pipe 51a. The fixed volume mounted below valve 51b comprises frusto-conical downward diverging porous walls surrounded by non-porous walls 14 to form a cavity 33 and closed at the base by a sliding plate 35. Below plate 35 is mounted the discharge nozzle 36 over which a bag 40 can be mounted. The bag can be evacuated via pipe 41 and may be held in place by clamps (not shown). The porous walls of the magazine and fixed volume containers permits the increase or decrease of pressure in these containers thus allowing the pulverulent material to be moved quickly under the differential pressure and increasing the compaction of the material.