Method and apparatus for accurately dispensing viscous products into successive containers

Claim 1

A method of accurately dispensing a desired weight of viscous product into successive containers, comprising the steps of: intermittently moving successive containers along a first path through a plurality of stations; intermittently dwelling successive containers in the first path for a preselected period of time at the plurality of stations; partially filling successive containers with a quantity of product while said containers dwell in the first path at a first station; further partially filling successive containers with an automatically adjustable quantity of product while said containers dwell in the first path at a second station to bring successive containers within a desired product weight range; transferring successive containers between the first path and a second path at a third station concurrently with the dwell of successive containers during said preselected time period in the first path at said first and second stations, said transferring of said successive containers being affected by moving successive containers along the second path to and from a dwell position therein at controlled rates of deceleration and acceleration, respectively, to avoid causing any possible deleterious effects upon an intervening weighing step, and dwelling successive containers in the second path for a period of time which is less than said preselected period of time in which successive containers dwell in the first path at said first and second stations; weighing successive containers while said containers dwell in the second path at said third station and producing successive voltage signals representing product weights of said weighed containers; responding to voltage signals, which are produced by weighing said containers at said third station, of magnitudes within preset ranges, which respectively represent overweight and underweight conditions of the weighed containers by producing a control signal corresponding to each of said voltage signals responded to; accumulatively summing and holding as numerical counts said control signals such that a control signal, which represents one of either the underweight or overweight condition of the weighed containers, will be added to the numerical count representing the one of said conditions and subtRacted from the numerical count representing the other of said conditions, and transferring said control signals which are accumulatively in excess of a preselected number of control signals which represents the development of an accumulative trend to either an overweight or underweight condition in the product fill of successive weighed containers; and receiving said transferred control signals, and then automatically adjusting said partial filling of subsequent successive containers at said second station in order that the weights of successive containers will be within the desired product weight range.

Claim 2

A method of accurately dispensing a desired weight of viscous product into successive containers, comprising the steps of: intermittently moving successive containers along a first path through a plurality of stations; intermittently dwelling successive containers in the first path for a preselected period of time at the plurality of stations; partially filling successive containers with a quantity of product while said containers dwell in the first path at a first station; further partially filling successive containers with an automatically adjustable quantity of product while said containers dwell in the first path at a second station to bring successive containers within a desired product weight range; transferring successive containers between the first path and a second path at a third station concurrently with the dwell of successive containers during said preselected time period in the first path at said first and second stations, said transferring of said successive containers being affected by moving successive containers along the second path to and from a dwell position therein at controlled rates of deceleration and acceleration, respectively, to avoid causing any possible deleterious effects upon an intervening weighing step, and dwelling successive containers in the second path for a period of time which is less than said preselected period of time in which successive containers dwell in the first path at said first and second stations; weighing successive containers while said containers dwell in the second path at said third station and producing successive voltage signals representing product weights of said weighed containers; responding to voltage signals, which are produced by weighing said containers at said third station, of magnitudes within preset ranges, which respectively represent overweight and underweight conditions of the weighed containers by producing a control signal corresponding to each of said voltage signals responded to; accumulatively summing and holding as numerical counts said control signals such that a control signal, which represents one of either the underweight or overweight condition of the weighed containers, will be added to the numerical count representing the one of said conditions and subtRacted from the numerical count representing the other of said conditions, and transferring said control signals which are accumulatively in excess of a preselected number of control signals which represents the development of an accumulative trend to either an overweight or underweight condition in the product fill of successive weighed containers; and receiving said transferred control signals, and then automatically adjusting said partial filling of subsequent successive containers at said second station in order that the weights of successive containers will be within the desired product weight range.

Claim 3

A method of accurately dispensing a desired weight of viscous product having both liquid and solid components into successive containers, comprising the steps of: intermittently moving successive containers along a first path through a plurality of stations; intermittently dwelling successive containers in the first path for a preselected period of time at the plurality of stations; partially filling successive containers with a quantity of solid product while said containers dwell in the first path at a first station; further partially filling successive containers with an automatically adjustable quantity of solid product while said containers dwell in the first path at a second station to bring successive containers within a desired total solid product weight range; transferring successive containers between the first path and a second path at a third station concurrently with the dwell of successive containers during said preselected time period in the first path at said first and second stations; weighing successive containers while said containers are in the second path at said third station and producing successive voltage signals representing total solid product weights of said weighed containers; responding to voltage signals, which are produced by weighing said containers at said third station, of magnitudes within preset ranges which respectively represent overweight and underweight conditions of the weighed containers by producing a control signal corresponding to each of said voltage signals responded to; transferring said control signals which are accumulatively in excess of a preselected number of control signals which represents the development of an accumulative trend to either an overweight or underweight condition in the solid product fill of successive weighed containers; receiving said transferred control signals, and then automatically adjusting said partial filling of subsequent successive containers at said second station in order that the weights of successive containers will be within the desired solid product weight range; and trim filling successive containers with liquid product while said containers are in the second path at said third station to provide a final increment of the desired product weight, said trim filling step depending upon said weighing step to sense the need for the final increment fill of liquid product and to regulate said trim filling step in delivering the final increment of liquid product, if needed, to successive containers.

Claim 4

A method of accurately dispensing a desired weight of viscous product having both liquid and solid components into successive containers, comprising the steps of: intermittently moving successive containers along a first path through a plurality of stations; intermittently dwelling successive containers in the first path for a preselected period of time at the plurality of stations; partially filling successive containers with a quantity of solid product while said containers dwell in the first path at a first station; further partially filling successive containers with an automatically adjustable quantity of solid product while said containers dwell in the first path at a second station to bring successive containers within a desired total solid product weight range; transferring successive containers between the first path and a second path at a third station concurrently with the dwell of successive containers during said preselected time period in the first path at said first and second stations; weighing successive containers while said containers are in the second path at said third station and producing successive voltage signals representing total solid product weights of said weighed containers; responding to voltage signals, which are produced by weighing said containers at said third station, of magnitudes within preset ranges which respectively represent overweight and underweight conditions of the weighed containers by producing a control signal corresponding to each of said voltage signals responded to; transferring said control signals which are accumulatively in excess of a preselected number of control signals which represents the development of an accumulative trend to either an overweight or underweight condition in the solid product fill of successive weighed containers; receiving said transferred control signals, and then automatically adjusting said partial filling of subsequent successive containers at said second station in order that the weights of successive containers will be within the desired solid product weight range; and trim filling successive containers with liquid product while said containers are in the second path at said third station to provide a final increment of the desired product weight, said trim filling step depending upon said weighing step to sense the need for the final increment fill of liquid product and to regulate said trim filling step in delivering the final increment of liquid product, if needed, to successive containers.

Claim 8

An apparatus for accurately dispensing a desired weight of viscous product into successive containers, comprising: a conveyor means for intermittently moving successive containers along a first path through a plurality of stations and for intermittently dwelling successive containers in the first path for a preselected period of time at the plurality of stations; a first station having first means for partially filling successive containers with a quantity of product while said containers dwell in the first path at said first station; a second station having second means for further partially filling successive containers with an automatically adjustable quantity of product while said containers dwell in the first path at said second station to bring successive containers within a desired product weight range; a third station having means for transferring successive containers between the first path and a second path and for moving said containers along the second path to and from a dwell position therein concurrently with the dwell of successive containers during said preselected time period in the first path at said first and second stations, said transferring and moving means comprising means for receiving and holding successive containers in the second path concurrently with the dwell of successive containers in the first path at said first and second stations during a period of time equal to said preselected period of time; and means for weighing successive containers while said containers are in said dwell position in the second path at said third station to produce successive voltage signals representing product weights of said weighed containers; and means for moving said receiving and holding means to move said containers along the second path in order to bring said containers into and out of contact with said weighing means and for dwelling said receiving and holding means as said containers are being weighed during a period of time which is less than said preselected period of time in which successive containers dwell in the first and second stations, said moving means operable to move said containers into and out of contact with the weighing means at controlled rates of deceleration and acceleration, respectively, in order to avoid causing any possiblE deleterious effects upon said weighing means; a trend control means having means for responding to voltage signals, which are produced by the weighing of said containers by said weighing means at said third station, of magnitudes within preset ranges which respectively represent overweight and underweight conditions of the weighed containers and producing a control signal corresponding to each of said voltage signals responded to; and means for accumulatively summing and holding as numerical counts said control signals such that a control signal, which represents one of either the underweight or overweight condition of the weighed containers, will be added to the numerical count representing the one of said conditions and subtracted from the numerical count representing the other of said conditions, and for transferring said control signals which are accumulatively in excess of a preselected number of control signals which represents the development of an accumulative trend to either an overweight or underweight condition in the product fill of successive weighed containers; and means for receiving said transferred control signals from said trend control means to automatically adjust said second partial filling means at said second station to fill subsequent successive containers with such a quantity of product that the weight of successive containers will be within the desired product weight range.

Claim 9

An apparatus for accurately dispensing a desired weight of viscous product into successive containers, comprising: a conveyor means for intermittently moving successive containers along a first path through a plurality of stations and for intermittently dwelling successive containers in the first path for a preselected period of time at the plurality of stations; a first station having first means for partially filling successive containers with a quantity of product while said containers dwell in the first path at said first station; a second station having second means for further partially filling successive containers with an automatically adjustable quantity of product while said containers dwell in the first path at said second station to bring successive containers within a desired product weight range; a third station having means for transferring successive containers between the first path and a second path and for moving said containers along the second path to and from a dwell position therein concurrently with the dwell of successive containers during said preselected time period in the first path at said first and second stations, said transferring and moving means comprising means for receiving and holding successive containers in the second path concurrently with the dwell of successive containers in the first path at said first and second stations during a period of time equal to said preselected period of time; and means for weighing successive containers while said containers are in said dwell position in the second path at said third station to produce successive voltage signals representing product weights of said weighed containers; and means for moving said receiving and holding means to move said containers along the second path in order to bring said containers into and out of contact with said weighing means and for dwelling said receiving and holding means as said containers are being weighed during a period of time which is less than said preselected period of time in which successive containers dwell in the first and second stations, said moving means operable to move said containers into and out of contact with the weighing means at controlled rates of deceleration and acceleration, respectively, in order to avoid causing any possiblE deleterious effects upon said weighing means; a trend control means having means for responding to voltage signals, which are produced by the weighing of said containers by said weighing means at said third station, of magnitudes within preset ranges which respectively represent overweight and underweight conditions of the weighed containers and producing a control signal corresponding to each of said voltage signals responded to; and means for accumulatively summing and holding as numerical counts said control signals such that a control signal, which represents one of either the underweight or overweight condition of the weighed containers, will be added to the numerical count representing the one of said conditions and subtracted from the numerical count representing the other of said conditions, and for transferring said control signals which are accumulatively in excess of a preselected number of control signals which represents the development of an accumulative trend to either an overweight or underweight condition in the product fill of successive weighed containers; and means for receiving said transferred control signals from said trend control means to automatically adjust said second partial filling means at said second station to fill subsequent successive containers with such a quantity of product that the weight of successive containers will be within the desired product weight range.

Claim 10

An apparatus for accurately dispensing a desired weight of viscous product having both liquid and solid components into successive containers, comprising: a conveyor means for intermittently moving successive containers along a first path through a plurality of stations and for intermittently dwelling successive containers in the first path for a preselected period of time at the plurality of stations; a first station having first means for partially filling successive containers with a quantity of solid product while said containers dwell in the first path at said first station; a second station having second means for further partially filling successive containers with an automatically adjustable quantity of solid product while said containers dwell in the first path at said second station to bring successive containers within a desired total solid product weight range; a third station having means for transferring successive containers between the first path and a second path and for moving said containers along the second path to and from a dwell position therein concurrently with the dwell of successive containers during said preselected time period in the first path at said first and second stations, said transferring and moving means comprising means for receiving and holding successive containers in the second path concurrently with the dwell of successive containers in the first path at said first and second stations during a period of time equal to said preselected period of time; and means for weighing successive containers while said containers are in said dwell position in the second path at said third station to produce successive voltage signals representing total solid product weights of said weighed containers; and means for moving said receiving and holding means to move said containers along the second path in order to bring said containers into and out of contact with said weighing means and for dwelling said receiving and holding means as said containers are being weighed during a period of time which is less than said preselected period of time in which successive containers dwell in the first and second stations, said moving means operable to move said containers into and out of contact with the weighing means at controlled rates of deceleration and acceleration, respectively, in order to avoid causing any possible deleterious effects upon said weighing means, and third means for trim filling successive containers with liquid product while said containers are dwelling in the second paTh at said third station to provide a final increment of the desired product weight, said third means depending upon said weighing means to sense the need for the final increment fill of liquid product and to regulate said third means in delivering the final increment of liquid product, if needed, to successive containers; a trend control means having means for responding to voltage signals, which are produced by the weighing of said containers by said weighing means at said third station, of magnitudes within preset ranges which respectively represent overweight and underweight conditions of the weighed containers and producing a control signal corresponding to each of said voltage signals responded to; and means for accumulatively summing and holding as numerical counts said control signals such that a control signal, which represents one of either the underweight or overweight condition of the weighed containers, will be added to the numerical count representing the one of said conditions and subtracted from the numerical count representing the other of said conditions, and for transferring said control signals which are accumulatively in excess of a preselected number of control signals which represents the development of an accumulative trend to either an overweight or underweight condition in the solid product fill of successive weighed containers; and means for receiving said transferred control signals from said trend control means to automatically adjust said second partial filling means at said second station to fill subsequent successive containers with such a quantity of solid product that the weight of successive containers will be within the desired solid product weight range.

Claim 11

An apparatus for accurately dispensing a desired weight of viscous product having both liquid and solid components into successive containers, comprising: a conveyor means for intermittently moving successive containers along a first path through a plurality of stations and for intermittently dwelling successive containers in the first path for a preselected period of time at the plurality of stations; a first station having first means for partially filling successive containers with a quantity of solid product while said containers dwell in the first path at said first station; a second station having second means for further partially filling successive containers with an automatically adjustable quantity of solid product while said containers dwell in the first path at said second station to bring successive containers within a desired total solid product weight range; a third station having means for transferring successive containers between the first path and a second path and for moving said containers along the second path to and from a dwell position therein concurrently with the dwell of successive containers during said preselected time period in the first path at said first and second stations, said transferring and moving means comprising means for receiving and holding successive containers in the second path concurrently with the dwell of successive containers in the first path at said first and second stations during a period of time equal to said preselected period of time; and means for weighing successive containers while said containers are in said dwell position in the second path at said third station to produce successive voltage signals representing total solid product weights of said weighed containers; and means for moving said receiving and holding means to move said containers along the second path in order to bring said containers into and out of contact with said weighing means and for dwelling said receiving and holding means as said containers are being weighed during a period of time which is less than said preselected period of time in which successive containers dwell in the first and second stations, said moving means operable to move said containers into and out of contact with the weighing means at controlled rates of deceleration and acceleration, respectively, in order to avoid causing any possible deleterious effects upon said weighing means, and third means for trim filling successive containers with liquid product while said containers are dwelling in the second paTh at said third station to provide a final increment of the desired product weight, said third means depending upon said weighing means to sense the need for the final increment fill of liquid product and to regulate said third means in delivering the final increment of liquid product, if needed, to successive containers; a trend control means having means for responding to voltage signals, which are produced by the weighing of said containers by said weighing means at said third station, of magnitudes within preset ranges which respectively represent overweight and underweight conditions of the weighed containers and producing a control signal corresponding to each of said voltage signals responded to; and means for accumulatively summing and holding as numerical counts said control signals such that a control signal, which represents one of either the underweight or overweight condition of the weighed containers, will be added to the numerical count representing the one of said conditions and subtracted from the numerical count representing the other of said conditions, and for transferring said control signals which are accumulatively in excess of a preselected number of control signals which represents the development of an accumulative trend to either an overweight or underweight condition in the solid product fill of successive weighed containers; and means for receiving said transferred control signals from said trend control means to automatically adjust said second partial filling means at said second station to fill subsequent successive containers with such a quantity of solid product that the weight of successive containers will be within the desired solid product weight range.