JPWO2021055673A5 - - Google Patents

Claims (14)

a rotatable central hub defining an opening extending vertically therethrough;
a plurality of circumferentially spaced drop buckets supported on the hub, each drop bucket having an open top, an open bottom aligned with the opening, and an outer wall; drop buckets spaced apart in the direction;
a plurality of funnel assemblies mounted on the hub, each funnel assembly having an upper inlet disposed below the bottom opening of a corresponding drop bucket and a lower dispensing outlet; assembly and
a stationary slide plate disposed vertically between the funnel assembly and the drop bucket, the slide plate having an upstream end and a downstream end when viewed in the direction of rotation of the turret; and has upper and lower surfaces and inner and outer edges, and the slide plate directs flow from the bottom of the drop bucket through an opening in the hub to the inlet opening of the funnel assembly. a fixed slide plate including a tapered portion that progressively tapers in diameter toward the downstream end of the slide plate such that the diameter of the passage increases progressively with the taper of the slide plate; and,
A rotary filling machine equipped with 2. The rotary filling machine of claim 1, wherein the inner edge of the tapered portion of the slide plate is continuously tapered over at least a majority of the tapered portion. The rotary filling machine of claim 1, wherein the slide plate extends through an arc of 180 degrees to 320 degrees. 4. The rotary filling machine of claim 3, wherein the tapered portion of the slide plate extends through an arc of at least 150 degrees. 5. The rotator of claim 4, wherein the upstream portion of the slide plate is not tapered, and the tapered portion of the slide plate extends from the upstream portion of the slide plate to the downstream end of the slide plate. filling machine. 5. The rotary filling machine of claim 4, wherein the slide plate is integrated into a ring attached to the hub over the opening in the hub. 2. The rotary filling machine of claim 1, wherein each drop bucket has first and second opposing end walls and inner and outer wall portions, each abutting an associated end of the end walls. 8. The rotary filling machine of claim 7, wherein each drop bucket has at least one partition extending between the inner and outer walls to define a separate chamber within the drop bucket. 9. The rotary filling machine of claim 8, wherein each drop bucket has at least two partitions generally equally spaced from each other between the first and second end walls. 2. The rotary filling machine of claim 1, wherein each funnel assembly has an inner expansion chamber dimensioned and configured to progressively expand material falling therethrough. The expansion chamber of each funnel assembly is adjacent to first and second opposing upper walls and first and second opposing lower walls, and the walls are adjacent to the first upper wall. 11. A rotary filling machine as claimed in claim 10, arranged and configured such that material impinging on the second lower wall is directed towards the exterior of the expansion chamber. The funnel assembly has an upper funnel and a lower funnel, the expansion chamber is disposed within the upper funnel, and the lower funnel has a flow path having a lower portion that is sloped at an acute angle relative to the upper portion thereof. The rotary filling machine according to claim 10, which exhibits the following. 11. The rotary filling machine of claim 10, further comprising a funnel knocker positioned to resiliently impinge on the funnel assembly during rotation of the rotary filling machine. 11. The rotary filling machine of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of fingers projecting into the funnel assembly between the inlet and the outlet proximate an axial centerline of the funnel assembly.