FILLER APPARATUS AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME

• US 20150083231A1
• Filed: 09/25/2014
• Published: 03/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Louis Hebert
• Original Assignee: Louis Hebert
• Inventors: Hbert, Louis
• Granted Patent: US 9,718,213 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 137/15.01
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 13/02 Feeding the unshaped material to moulds or apparatus for producing shaped articles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/0402 Cleaning, repairing, or assembling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/4245 Cleaning or steam sterilizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/598 With repair, tapping, assembly, or disassembly means

Abstract

The present document describes filler apparatus, washing and maintenance support station and methods of using the same. The support station is for supporting a filler container, a volumetric container and/or a sliding plate of the filler apparatus. The washing and maintenance support station comprises a support main frame; a filler container corresponding mating connector on the support main frame for releasably connecting with a filler container mating connector; a volumetric container mount receiving section on the main frame below the filler container corresponding mating connector for releasably mounting a volumetric container mount; and a sliding plate receiving support on the main frame below the volumetric container mount receiving section for releasably supporting a sliding plate substantially flat section. When displaced vertically relative to the support main frame, the filler container, the volumetric container and the sliding plate are capable of engagement with respectively the filler container corresponding mating connector, the volumetric container mount receiving section and the sliding plate receiving support to be disengaged.

Claims

1. A filler apparatus to be mounted on at least one of a main frame and a support station defining a mount receiving section extending therefrom, the filler apparatus comprising:

a sliding plate;

a volumetric container adapted for releasable engagement with and above the sliding plate; and

a filler container for receiving a moldable material and adapted for releasable engagement with and above the volumetric container, the volumetric container for receiving the moldable material from the filler container;

wherein at least one of the filler container, the volumetric container and the sliding plate is adapted for releasable mounting and alignment with the mount receiving section of the at least one of the main frame and the support station; and

further wherein the filler container, the volumetric container and the sliding plate are, when displaced vertically, releasably engageable to and disengageable from the at least one of the main frame and the support station as a single sub-assembly.

2. The filler apparatus of claim 1, wherein the filler container further comprises a supporting plate defining a mating connector for releasably connecting with a corresponding mating connector on the support station.

3. The filler apparatus of claim 2, wherein the mating connector comprises a plurality of mating connectors for releasably connecting with a plurality of mating connectors on the support station.

4. The filler apparatus of claim 2, wherein the corresponding mating connector comprises at least one of:

a hook section and a latch section, and further wherein the mating connector comprises an opening for releasably connecting with the at least one of;

a hook section and a latch section.

5. The filler apparatus of claim 1, wherein the volumetric container comprises a mount for releasably mounting on the mount receiving section of the at least one of the main frame and the support station.

6. The filler apparatus of claim 5, wherein the mount comprises a plurality of mounts for releasably mounting on a plurality of mount receiving sections of the at least one of:

a main frame and a support station.

7. The filler apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sliding plate comprises a substantially flat section to be supported by a receiving support of at least one of the main frame and the support station.

8. A washing and maintenance support station for supporting at least one of:

a filler container, a volumetric container and a sliding plate of a filler apparatus, the filler container having a filler container mating connector, the volumetric container having a volumetric container mount, the sliding plate having a sliding plate substantially flat section, the washing and maintenance support station comprising;

a support main frame;

a filler container corresponding mating connector on the support main frame for releasably connecting with the filler container mating connector;

a volumetric container mount receiving section on the support main frame below the filler container corresponding mating connector for releasably mounting the volumetric container mount; and

a sliding plate receiving support on the support main frame below the volumetric container mount receiving section for releasably supporting the sliding plate substantially flat section;

wherein when displaced vertically relative to the support main frame, the filler container, the volumetric container and the sliding plate are adapted for engagement or disengagement respectively with the filler container corresponding mating connector, the volumetric container mount receiving section and the sliding plate receiving support.

9. The support station of claim 8, wherein the filler container corresponding mating connector comprises a plurality of filler container corresponding mating connectors, each one of the plurality of filler container corresponding mating connectors extending upwardly from an upper portion of the support main frame.

10. The support station of claim 8, wherein the filler container corresponding mating connector comprises at least one of:

a hook section and a latch section for releasably connecting with an opening defined by the filler container mating connector.

11. The support station of claim 10, wherein the at least one of a hook section and a latch section comprises a support portion and an engagement portion pivotally extending from the support portion, and further wherein the engagement portion is capable of pivoting relative to the support portion between an engaged position where the at least one of a hook section and a latch section is releasably connected with the opening and a disengaged position.

12. The support station of claim 10, wherein the at least one of a hook section and a latch section comprises four hook sections or four latch sections for releasably connecting with four openings defined by the filler container mating connector.

13. The support station of claim 8, wherein the volumetric container mount receiving section comprises a plurality of volumetric container mount receiving sections for releasably mounting a plurality of volumetric container mounts, each one of the plurality of volumetric container mount receiving sections extending outwardly from an external frame portion of the support main frame.

14. The support station of claim 13, wherein each one of the plurality of volumetric container mount receiving sections comprises a first plate member and a second plate member distant from the first plate member, the first and second plate members defining a mounting passage for receiving a corresponding volumetric container mount of the plurality of volumetric container mounts.

15. The support station of claim 8, wherein the volumetric container mount receiving section further comprises a substantially flat receiving section for receiving a bottom portion of the volumetric container.

16. The support station of claim 8, wherein the sliding plate receiving support comprises a plurality of sliding plate receiving supports, each one of the plurality of sliding plate receiving supports inwardly extending from the support main frame for defining a receiving plan for horizontally supporting the sliding plate.

17. The support station of claim 8, wherein the support main frame defines a passage for allowing the at least one of:

a filler container, a volumetric container and a sliding plate of a filler apparatus to access an internal section defined by the support main frame.

18. A method for disengaging/engaging the parts of a filler apparatus from each other, the filler apparatus comprising a filler container, a volumetric container and a sliding plate, the method comprising:

displacing vertically relative to a support main frame the filler container, the volumetric container and the sliding plate while;

firstly engaging the filler container with the support main frame;

secondly engaging the volumetric container with the support main frame below the filler container; and

thirdly engaging the sliding plate with the support main frame below the volumetric container

thereby resulting in the parts of the filler apparatus being separated from each other where the order from top to bottom is;

the filler container, the volumetric container and the sliding plate.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising at least one of:

washing and maintaining at least one of;

the filler container, the volumetric container and the sliding plate.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising engaging the parts of the filler apparatus by:

displacing upwardly relative to the support main frame the sliding plate;

displacing upwardly relative to the support main frame the sliding plate supporting the volumetric container; and

displacing upwardly relative to the support main frame the sliding plate and the volumetric container supporting the filler container.