US3556172A - Method of and apparatus for filling containers - Google Patents

Method of and apparatus for filling containers Download PDF

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Publication number
US3556172A
US3556172A US738638A US3556172DA US3556172A US 3556172 A US3556172 A US 3556172A US 738638 A US738638 A US 738638A US 3556172D A US3556172D A US 3556172DA US 3556172 A US3556172 A US 3556172A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
spillage
filling
containers
station
particulate product
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
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US738638A
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English (en)
Inventor
Samuel A Mencacci
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
INT MACHINERY CORP
INTERNATIONAL MACHINERY CORP
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INT MACHINERY CORP
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by INT MACHINERY CORP filed Critical INT MACHINERY CORP
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Publication of US3556172A publication Critical patent/US3556172A/en
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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B1/00—Packaging fluent solid material, e.g. powders, granular or loose fibrous material, loose masses of small articles, in individual containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, or jars
    • B65B1/20—Reducing volume of filled material
    • B65B1/24—Reducing volume of filled material by mechanical compression

Definitions

  • This invention pertains to automatically filling containers with a particulate product such as cut string beans, diced vegetables or sliced pickles. Spillage of the particulate product is collected downstream from a main filling station and conveyed upstream thereof to where it is fed into empty containers at a rate that allows only a portion of the container to be filled.
  • a particulate product such as cut string beans, diced vegetables or sliced pickles.
  • a vibratory feeder 48 Positioned along one side of the conveyor belt 22 is a vibratory feeder 48 (FIG. 1) which is fed by a supply hopper 50.
  • This feeder is the main fillingstation w'herebycontainers are filled with a particulate product and downstream therefrom is a product packer 52 (FIG. 2) that compacts the product within the containers.
  • a second vibratory feeder 54 Downstream from the product packer is a second vibratory feeder 54 that is fed by a supply hopper 56. The second vibratoryfeeder fills the top portions of the containers C after the product has been compacted by the product packer.
  • a shaker section 58 is positioned downstream from the I second vibratory feeder 54, as shown in IF IG. 2, and guide rails 60 of the shaker section are separated from guide rails 44.
  • the guide rails 60 are tilted slightly from vertical, as shown in FIG. 4, so that the open end 0 of the container C is inclined to a horizontal line 61 and the guide rails are connected by arms 62 to a shaking lever 64.
  • the shaking lever is fixed to a pivot shaft 66 that is oscillated by a crank arm 68 and a cam rod 70 extends downward from the crank arm to rest upon a cam 72.
  • the cam is keyed on a shaft 74 together with a driven sprocket 76 and a drive sprocket 78 is mounted on shaft 32.
  • a drive chain 80 connects the sprocket .wheels thus enabling the shaker section to be driven with the conveyor drive.
  • An idler roller 82 (FIG. 1) is rotatably mounted from the framework 12 at a location upstream fro-m vibratory feeder 48 and beneath the support rollers 24.
  • a drive roller 84 (FIG. 2) is mounted on shaft 74 and an endless conveyor belt 86 is trained about these rollers.
  • the upper run of conveyor belt 86 travels in an upstream direction, as indicated by arrow 88, and a trough 90 is positioned about the upper runs of conveyor belts '86 and 22. Spillage from containers C falls into the trough where it is collected on conveyor belt86 and then carried upstream.
  • FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section of a modified form of con- I .tainer filling apparatus embodying thepresent invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.
  • Drive pulley 16 which drives the conveyor belt 22'is keyed tota shaft 26, shown in FIG. 2, and a spur gear 28.is mounted on the same shaft.
  • Drive gear meshes with the spur gear and is keyed to a shaft 32 upon which a driven sprocket 34 is fixed.
  • a drive sprocket 36 is mounted onjthe drive shaft 38 of an electric motor 39 and a drive chain 40 is trained about the sprockets.
  • the drive chain Upon rotation of the drive sprocket, the drive chain turns the driven sprocketand drive gear which rotates the spur gear and drive pulley. Rotation ofthe drive pulley causes-the upper run of conveyor belt 22 to move in the direction of arrow 42.
  • Guide rails 44 are supported by arms 46 (FIGS. 1 and 3) that extend upward from the framework 12 on opposite sides Beneath roller 82 at the upstream end of conveyor belt 86 (FIG. 2) is a feed control system 92 that continuously weighs the spillage returned and regulates the rate of flow from feeders 48 and 54 in response to the spillage returned.
  • This system includes a constant speed-weighing belt 94 that is mounted on one side of a scale arm 96 while on the opposite sideof the arm is an electrical contact 98 and a weight 99 for balancing the arm to obtain a desired rate of feed. Spaced on opposite sides of the electrical contact are an upper contact 100 for reducing the rate of feed and a lower contact-102 that increases the rate of feed.
  • control box l04 that has manual control knobs 105 and 107 for regulating the feed rate independently of the scale arm.
  • the control box is supplied with AC powerthroughcable1106 and a lead cable 108 connects the control box with the controls of vibratory feeders 48 and 54.
  • Controlsystems suchas described are known as belt-weighing control systems and are standard commercial items so no further description is considerednecessary. The Syntron Division of FMC. Corporation at Homer City, Penn. manufactures such control systems.
  • Spillage returned by the constant speed-weighing help-94 drops into a rotary elevator 1 10 that is located upstream from feeder 48.
  • This rotary elevator is provided with a stationary structure that includes end plates 112 and-l 14' between which circular segments 116 and118 extend.
  • An opening l20 is provided between the circular segments atthe bottom portion thereof, while at the top portion an opening 122is provided with a funnel 123 suspended therefrom to direct spillageinto the open ends 0 of containers C.
  • a cylindrical drum 124 having radial pockets 126 is fitted about the circular segments and is rotatably supported on rollers 128 and 130.
  • rollers are mounted on shafts 132 and 134, respectively, and roller is driven by a drive chain 136 that is trained about a sprocket 137 on shaft 134 and a drive sprocket 138 that is mountedon the drive shaft of an electric motor 139.
  • Conveyor belt 86 carries the spillage upstream and drops the spillage on the constant speedweighing belt 94 that is balanced on one side of the scale arm 96. If the spillage returned by the conveyor belt is within a set limit, the scale arm will remain balanced and be conveyed into the rotary elevator 110. Should the spillage exceed the set limit, the scale arm will tilt causing the electrical contact 98 to make contact with the upper contact 100. This closes a circuit and reduces the rate of feed to vibratory feeders 48 and 54. As in the previous case, the spillage is conveyed into the rotary conveyor where it is collected in the radial pockets 126 and carried to the top opening 122. Here the spillage drops into funnel 123 and is redirected towards the open ends of empty containers passing under the funnel. The rate at which the spillage is fed to the containers is insufficient to fill a container before it is carried out of range of the funnel. Thus, the spillage does not overflow a second time and is carried away in the bottoms of the containers.
  • FIGS. and 6 A modified form of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. and 6 as a container-filling apparatus 140 of the rotary cylinder type.
  • a base member 141 holds a pair of rollers 142 and 143 that rotatably support one end of a cylindrical shell 144. The opposite end of the shell is supported by a base g the shell.
  • Theintermediate ring separates the shell interior into a main filling compartment 150 and a spillage-filling compartment 151.
  • Extending longitudinally of the shell are a plurality of flanges 152 that project inward at an acuteangle with the inner surface of the shell and form pockets between the rings.
  • a support member 153 is positioned opposite one end of the cylindrical shell 144 while a similar support member 154 is positioned opposite the other end.
  • a drive roller 155 is keyed to a drive shaft 156 that is held in place by the support member 153 and a driven roller l57 is keyed to a shaft 158 that is held in place'by the support member 154.
  • An endless conveyor belt 159 is trained about the drive and driven rollers for carrying containers C through the cylindrical shell in the direction of arrow 160. Tension in the conveyor belt is adjusted by an idler roller 161 at support member 153 and an idler roller 162 at support member 154.
  • an elongated bottomless trough 163 Positioned over conveyor belt 159 and the line of containers C is an elongated bottomless trough 163 supported at one end by leg 164 and at the opposite end by leg 165.
  • a divider plate 166 is fitted within the trough at a location opposite the intermediate ring 148 in the cylindrical shell 144 through which the trough extends. This divider plate separates the trough into a spillage funnel 167 and a main filling funnel 168, that direct a particulate material to flow towards the open end 0 of each container that passes below.
  • a stand 169 is positioned adjacent support member 153 and supports a motor 170.
  • the motor is provided with an eccentric drive connection to which one end of a connecting rod 171 is coupled.
  • the other end of the connecting rod is attached to a feeder tray 172 that extends into the cylindrical shell 144 to the main filling compartment 150.
  • the end of the feeder tray within the cylindrical shell is slidably supported on a bracket 173 extending outward from the trough 163.
  • a hopper 174 is mounted at the end of the feeder tray extending outside of the cylindrical shell and supplies the particulate product for filling containers.
  • a motor 175 is located at the end of the cylindrical shell 144 adjacent support member 154 and is provided with an eccentric drive connection to which one end of a connecting rod 176 is coupled.
  • the other end of the connecting rod is attached to a feeder tray 177 that extends into the cylindrical shell to the spillage-filling compartment 151.
  • the end of the feeder tray within the spillage-filling compartment is suspended by cables 178 and 179 from the trough 163 and is thus free to vibrate.
  • the feeder tray is positioned directly below conveyor belt 159 to receive spillage from containers C v and convey the spillage upstream into the spillage-filling compartment.
  • Operation of the modified form of invention begins with conveying a line of containers C on conveyor belt 159 in the direction of arrow 160.
  • Particulate product is fed from hopper 174 through feeder tray 172 to the main filling compartment 150.
  • the product falls to the bottom of the cylindrical shell 144 and is collected in the pockets formed by flanges 152.
  • Rotation of the cylindrical shell elevates the particulate product until it spills over the flange into the main filling funnel 168.
  • the product is directed towards the open end of each container that passes beneath the funnel.
  • Spillage from the containers is collected on feeder tray 177 and conveyed upstream to spillage-filling compartment 151. There the spillage drops into the cylindrical shell and is collected in the pockets formed by the flanges.
  • Rotation of the cylindrical shell elevates the spillage until it spills into the spillage funnel 167. There it is redirected towards the open ends of empty containers.
  • a method of filling containers open at one end with a particulate product comprising the steps of: conveying the containers past a filling station; directing the particulate product to flow towards the open end of each container that passses the filling station; collecting spillage of the particulate product; conveying the spillage uncommingled with said particulate product at said filling station to a point upstream from the filling station, and redirecting the spillage to flow toward towards the open ends of empty containers at said point upstream from the filling station.
  • Apparatus for filling containers open at one end with a particulate product comprising: means for moving said containers along a fixed path from an upstream position to a downstream position; filling means positioned along said fixed path for directing the particulate product to flow towards the open end of each container that passes the filling means; means for collecting spillage of the particulate product along the fixed path; conveyor means for moving said spillage uncommingled with said particulate product at said filling means to a point upstream from the filling means, and means for redirecting the spillage to flow towards the open ends of empty containers at said point upstream from the filling means.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Basic Packing Technique (AREA)
US738638A 1968-06-20 1968-06-20 Method of and apparatus for filling containers Expired - Lifetime US3556172A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US73863868A 1968-06-20 1968-06-20

Publications (1)

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US3556172A true US3556172A (en) 1971-01-19

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US738638A Expired - Lifetime US3556172A (en) 1968-06-20 1968-06-20 Method of and apparatus for filling containers

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US3556172A (Direct)
BE (1) BE734318A (Direct)
DE (2) DE1929442A1 (Direct)
ES (1) ES367724A1 (Direct)
FR (1) FR2011265A1 (Direct)
GB (1) GB1213117A (Direct)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3809132A (en) * 1972-06-23 1974-05-07 Food Packers Equipment Co Inc Food packing machine
US4142560A (en) * 1978-02-08 1979-03-06 Solbern Corp. Open-type filling machine
US4947903A (en) * 1988-10-21 1990-08-14 Beckwith Robert H Material recovery apparatus

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2487296A1 (fr) * 1980-07-28 1982-01-29 Femia Remplisseuse automatique de recipients notamment avec des produits alimentaires
DE3536173A1 (de) * 1985-10-10 1987-04-16 Bosch Gmbh Robert Vorrichtung zum abmessen und abfuellen von mengen aus zerbrechlichem stueckigem gut
CN117382992B (zh) * 2023-12-06 2024-03-08 潍坊奥龙锌业有限公司 一种氧化锌自动包装装置

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2429864A (en) * 1943-10-16 1947-10-28 Syntron Co Dry feeding machine having means responsive to weight of material already dischargedfrom automatically movable hoppers
US3217760A (en) * 1963-01-04 1965-11-16 Bernard C Eisenberg Machine and method for filling containers
US3298404A (en) * 1963-07-12 1967-01-17 Solbern Mfg Co Machine and method for filling containers to a predetermined level

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2429864A (en) * 1943-10-16 1947-10-28 Syntron Co Dry feeding machine having means responsive to weight of material already dischargedfrom automatically movable hoppers
US3217760A (en) * 1963-01-04 1965-11-16 Bernard C Eisenberg Machine and method for filling containers
US3298404A (en) * 1963-07-12 1967-01-17 Solbern Mfg Co Machine and method for filling containers to a predetermined level

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3809132A (en) * 1972-06-23 1974-05-07 Food Packers Equipment Co Inc Food packing machine
US4142560A (en) * 1978-02-08 1979-03-06 Solbern Corp. Open-type filling machine
US4947903A (en) * 1988-10-21 1990-08-14 Beckwith Robert H Material recovery apparatus

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR2011265A1 (Direct) 1970-02-27
GB1213117A (en) 1970-11-18
DE1929442A1 (de) 1970-01-22
ES367724A1 (es) 1971-07-01
BE734318A (Direct) 1969-11-17
DE1966092A1 (de) 1971-07-22

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