Container filling machine, particularly for concentrated liquid pigment
First Claim
1. A container filling device comprising a liquid source, a dispensing nozzle having an inside diameter, a valve between the nozzle and the liquid source, a mechanical actuator for the valve, and a horizontal support surface for a container below the nozzle, characterized by(a) barrier means for separating the nozzle and the support surface on a front side of the barrier means from the liquid source and the valve actuator on a rear side of the barrier means;
- (b) positioning means in the support surface for positioning a container below the nozzle and opening means in the support surface for permitting liquid to pass through the support means when a container is not positioned below the nozzle, the opening means having a diameter at least as large as the inner diameter of the nozzle;
(c) the nozzle comprising an outlet tube and a plurality of nozzle heads, each of the plurality of nozzle heads comprising quick-connect coupling means for attaching the nozzle head to the outlet tube, the outlet tube being fixed in height with respect to the horizontal support surface, each of the plurality of nozzle heads being of different lengths to provide a nozzle outlet spaced a desired distance above containers of different heights;
(d) a liquid depth sensor vertically adjustable with respect to the nozzle for accommodating containers of different heights; and
(e) the liquid source comprising a container separate from the device, a pulsating pump for drawing liquid from the container, and a pulse dampening means between the pump and the valve, the pulse dampening means comprising a length of flexible tubing for carrying the liquid, a jacket around and spaced from the length of tubing, and means for controlling pressure in the jacket.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A simple, low-cost container filling machine includes a pulse pump for drawing high-density, high viscosity, thixotropic pigment from a shipping container, an accumulator for smoothing flow of the pigment, a non-adjustable and replaceable anti-drip dispensing tube, an adjustable optical level sensor, and electronic means for setting the optical sensor. A fixed platform for containers being filled includes anti-splash and aligment devices.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A container filling device comprising a liquid source, a dispensing nozzle having an inside diameter, a valve between the nozzle and the liquid source, a mechanical actuator for the valve, and a horizontal support surface for a container below the nozzle, characterized by
(a) barrier means for separating the nozzle and the support surface on a front side of the barrier means from the liquid source and the valve actuator on a rear side of the barrier means; -
(b) positioning means in the support surface for positioning a container below the nozzle and opening means in the support surface for permitting liquid to pass through the support means when a container is not positioned below the nozzle, the opening means having a diameter at least as large as the inner diameter of the nozzle; (c) the nozzle comprising an outlet tube and a plurality of nozzle heads, each of the plurality of nozzle heads comprising quick-connect coupling means for attaching the nozzle head to the outlet tube, the outlet tube being fixed in height with respect to the horizontal support surface, each of the plurality of nozzle heads being of different lengths to provide a nozzle outlet spaced a desired distance above containers of different heights; (d) a liquid depth sensor vertically adjustable with respect to the nozzle for accommodating containers of different heights; and (e) the liquid source comprising a container separate from the device, a pulsating pump for drawing liquid from the container, and a pulse dampening means between the pump and the valve, the pulse dampening means comprising a length of flexible tubing for carrying the liquid, a jacket around and spaced from the length of tubing, and means for controlling pressure in the jacket.
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- 2. A container filling device comprising a source of liquid, a dispensing nozzle, a valve between the nozzle and the liquid source, a mechanical actuator for the valve, a mechanical linkage connecting the mechanical actuator to the valve, a horizontal support surface for a container below the nozzle, and barrier means for separating the nozzle, the valve, and the support surface on a front side of the barrier means from the liquid source and the valve actuator on a rear side of the barrier means, the mechanical linkage extending through the barrier means.
- 9. A container filling device comprising a source of liquid, a dispensing nozzle, and a horizontal support surface for a container below the nozzle, characterized in that the nozzle comprises an outlet tube and a plurality of nozzle heads, each of the plurality of nozzle heads comprising quick-connect coupling means for attaching the nozzle head to the outlet tube, the outlet tube being fixed in height with respect to the horizontal support surface, each of the plurality of nozzle heads being of different lengths to provide a nozzle outlet spaced a desired distance above containers of different heights.
- 13. In a container filling device comprising a liquid source, a dispensing nozzle, a valve between the nozzle and the liquid source, an actuator for the valve, and a horizontal support surface for a container below the nozzle, the improvement wherein the liquid source comprises a container separate from the device, a pulsating pump for drawing liquid from the container in pulses, and a pulse dampening means between the pump and the valve for controllably reducing the magnitude of the pulses, the pulse dampening means comprising a length of flexible tubing for carrying the liquid, a jacket around and spaced from the tubing, and means for controlling pressure in the jacket.
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15. A container filling device comprising a source of liquid, a dispensing nozzle, a valve between the nozzle and the liquid source, a mechanical actuator for the valve, a horizontal support surface for a container below the nozzle, a barrier means for separating the nozzle and the support surface on a front side of the barrier means from the liquid source and the valve actuator on a rear side of the barrier means, a liquid depth sensor on a front side of the barrier means and depth control circuitry connected to the sensor, the depth control circuitry being on the rear of the barrier means, the nozzle comprising an outlet tube on the front side of the barrier means and a plurality of nozzle heads, each of the plurality of nozzle heads comprising quick-connect coupling means for attaching the nozzle head to the outlet tube, the horizontal support surface being fixed with respect to the outlet tube, each of the plurality of nozzle heads being of different lengths to provide a nozzle outlet spaced a desired distance above containers of different heights.
Specification