Container filling apparatus and method

• US 8,701,721 B2
• Filed: 02/29/2012
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GFY Products, LLC
• Original Assignee: Caneel Associates, Inc.
• Inventors: Seeman, Daniel Jonathan, Privette, Dewey, Seeman, Donna Elizabeth
• Primary Examiner(s): Huson, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): ARNETT, NICOLAS ALLEN
• Application Number:
  US13/408,443
• Publication Number:
  US 20130220477A1
• Time in Patent Office: 783 Days
• Field of Search: 141/5, 141/9, 141/83, 141/94, 141/95, 141/156, 141/157, 141/181, 141/392
• US Class Current: 141/95
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/36 by volumetric devices or methods checking volume of filled material B65B1/48
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 3/04 Methods of, or means for, filling the material into the containers or receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 3/30 by volumetric measurement
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 39/12 movable towards or away from container or wrapper during filling or depositing
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/145 for fluent material
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/01 electric

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are provided for controlling flow of a flowable material. The flowable material passes from a product supply through one or more valves which are coupled to a controller. The controller is also coupled to one or more sensors operable to generate a signal indicating whether flowable product is present or not present at a specific level within a container. The controller is programmed to operate the valves based on signals received from the sensors. The sensors may be associated with the feed container and used to control metering of flowable product out of the feed container, or they may be associated with a container and used to control filling of the container with flowable product.

Claims

1. An apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product, the apparatus comprising:

(a) a product supply operable to create a flow of the flowable product;

(b) a manifold;

(c) a flow pathway along which the flowable product flows from the product supply to the manifold;

(d) a plurality of filling stations at which containers are filled with the flowable product, each filling station comprising,

(i) a fill valve assembly connected to the manifold by a flow pathway along which the flowable product flows from the manifold to the fill valve assembly, the fill valve assembly comprising a fill valve and a nozzle connected to a downstream end of the fill valve and configured to direct, during a filling operation, the flowable product into a container located beneath the nozzle; and

(ii) a capacitive sensor mounted in a preselected position relative to the apparatus and configured such that, during a filling operation, the capacitive sensor is operable

(A) to sense, through the container, when the flowable product reaches a predetermined fill level within the container, and

(B) to generate a signal in response to the sensing of the flowable product reaching the predetermined fill level within the container,

(C) wherein the predetermined fill level corresponds to the threshold of the capacitive sensor'"'"'s range for first sensing the flowable product within the container,

(D) wherein the sensor is disposed outside the container and does not physically contact the flowable product or the container during the filling operation, and

(E) wherein the positioning of the capacitive sensor is adjustable prior to the filling operation, whereby different predetermined fill levels within a container can be selected, and whereby different container configurations can be filled to a predetermined fill level at the filling station, by adjusting the positioning of the capacitive sensor; and

(e) a controller operably coupled to each respective capacitive sensor at the filling stations, wherein the controller is configured to independently operate the fill valve at each respective filling station in response to receiving the generated signal from the capacitive sensor at such filling station so as to close the fill valve and stop flow of the flowable product into a container at such filling station.

2. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein the flowable product contains an abrasive.

3. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1 further comprising a support configured to carry containers, and wherein at each filling station the nozzle and the support are configured to move relative to each other.

4. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 3, wherein at each filling station the sensor is configured in a fixed position relative to the support during a filling operation.

5. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein at each filling station the sensor is configured in a fixed position relative to the nozzle during a filling operation.

6. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein at each filling station the fill valve comprises a pinch valve.

7. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein the product supply comprises at least one feed container and a pump.

8. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a programmable logic controller.

9. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to fill containers with a gel comprising abrasives.

10. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to fill containers with a hand soap comprising pumice.

11. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein at each filling station the capacitive sensor is configured to be positioned above a container during a filling operation.

12. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein at each filling station the capacitive sensor is configured to be positioned above a shoulder of a container, but below a mouth of the container, during a filling operation.

13. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein at each filling station the capacitive sensor is configured to be positioned proximate a shoulder of a container during a filling operation.

14. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, further comprising, at each filling station, a bracket on which the capacitive sensor is mounted, the capacitive sensor being mountable to the bracket in a manually adjustable manner to effect manual adjustment of the positioning of the capacitive sensor relative to the apparatus prior to a filling operation.

15. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein at each filling station the capacitive sensor is elongate and includes a distal tip directed toward, and positioned above the top of, a container being filled during a filling operation.

16. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein at each filling station the capacitive sensor is elongate and includes a distal tip directed toward, and positioned above a shoulder but below a mouth of, a container being filled during a filling operation.

17. The apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product of claim 1, wherein at each filling station the capacitive sensor is elongate and includes a distal tip directed toward, and positioned proximate a shoulder of, a container being filled during a filling operation.

18. An apparatus for filling containers with a flowable product, the apparatus comprising:

(a) a product supply operable to create a flow of the flowable product;

(b) a manifold;

(c) a flow pathway along which the flowable product flows from the product supply to the manifold;

(d) a plurality of filling stations at which containers are filled with the flowable product, each filling station comprising,

(i) a fill valve assembly connected to the manifold by a flow pathway along which the flowable product flows from the manifold to the fill valve assembly, the fill valve assembly comprising a fill valve and a nozzle connected to a downstream end of the fill valve and configured to direct, during a filling operation, the flowable product into a container located beneath the nozzle; and

(ii) a capacitive sensor mounted in a preselected position and configured such that, during a filling operation, a distal tip of the capacitive sensor is positioned proximate a top of the container and the capacitive sensor is operable

(A) to sense, through the container, when the flowable product reaches a predetermined fill level within the container, and

(B) to generate a signal in response to the sensing of the flowable product reaching the predetermined fill level within the container,

(C) wherein the predetermined fill level corresponds to the threshold of the capacitive sensor'"'"'s range for first sensing the flowable product within the container,

(D) wherein the sensor is disposed outside the container and does not physically contact the flowable product during the filling operation, and

(E) wherein the positioning of the distal tip of the capacitive sensor is adjustable prior to the filling operation, whereby different predetermined fill levels within a container can be selected, and whereby different container configurations can be filled to a predetermined fill level at the filling station, by adjusting the positioning of the distal tip of the capacitive sensor; and

(e) a controller operably coupled to each respective capacitive sensor at the filling stations, wherein the controller is configured to independently operate the fill valve at each respective filling station in response to receiving the generated signal from the capacitive sensor at such filling station so as to close the fill valve and stop flow of the flowable product into a container at such filling station.

19. A method for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, comprising the steps of:

(a) causing a flowable product to flow from a product supply to a manifold;

(b) causing the flowable product to separately flow from the manifold to each of a plurality of filling stations and, at each filling station,

(i) causing, during a filling operation, the flowable product to flow through a fill valve assembly into a container located at the filling station beneath the fill valve assembly, and

(ii) using a capacitive sensor mounted in a preselected position and configured such that, during a filling operation, the capacitive sensor is positioned proximate a top of the container, sensing through the container when the flowable product reaches a predetermined fill level within the container, and generating a signal in response to the sensing of the flowable product reaching the predetermined fill level within the container, wherein the predetermined fill level corresponds to the threshold of the capacitive sensor'"'"'s range for first sensing the flowable product within the container, and wherein the sensor is disposed outside the container and does not physically contact the flowable product during the filling operation; and

(c) using a controller operably coupled to each respective capacitive sensor at the filling stations and configured to independently operate the fill valve assembly at each respective filling station, stopping flow of the flowable product into the container at each filling station in response to receiving a generated signal from the capacitive sensor at such filling station;

(d) wherein the method further comprises a preliminary step of adjusting the capacitive sensor at each filling station based on the predetermined fill level at which the containers of the particular size and configuration are to be filled.

20. The method of claim 19 for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, wherein the preliminary step comprises calibrating filling at a filling station by positioning the capacitive sensor relative to one of the containers at the filling station that has been filled to the predetermined fill level with the flowable product.

21. The method of claim 19 for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, wherein the flowable product comprises an abrasive.

22. The method of claim 19 for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, wherein the flowable product comprises a gel containing abrasives.

23. The method of claim 19 for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, wherein the flowable product comprises a hand soap containing pumice.

24. The method of claim 19 for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, wherein at each filling station the capacitive sensor is positioned above the top of the container during a filling operation.

25. The method of claim 19 for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, wherein at each filling station the capacitive sensor is positioned above a shoulder of the container, but below a mouth of the container, during a filling operation.

26. The method of claim 19 for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, wherein at each filling station the capacitive sensor is positioned proximate a shoulder of the container during a filling operation.

27. A method for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, comprising the steps of:

(a) causing a flowable product to flow from a product supply to each of a plurality of filling stations and, at each filling station,

(i) causing, during a filling operation, the flowable product to flow through a fill valve assembly into a container located at the filling station beneath the fill valve assembly, and

(ii) using a capacitive sensor mounted in a preselected position and configured such that, during a filling operation, the capacitive sensor is positioned proximate a top of the container, sensing through the container when the flowable product reaches a predetermined fill level within the container, and generating a signal in response to the sensing of the flowable product reaching the predetermined fill level within the container, wherein the predetermined fill level corresponds to the threshold of the capacitive sensor'"'"'s range for first sensing the flowable product within the container; and

(b) using a controller operably coupled to each respective capacitive sensor at the filling stations and configured to independently operate the fill valve assembly at each respective filling station, stopping flow of the flowable product into the container at each filling station in response to receiving a generated signal from the capacitive sensor at such filling station;

(c) wherein the method further comprises a preliminary step of calibrating filling at each filling station by positioning, at each filling station, the capacitive sensor relative to a container of the particular size and configuration to be filled which container has been filled to the predetermined fill level, the positioning of capacitive sensor comprising adjusting the mounting of the capacitive sensor to the threshold at which the capacitive sensor first senses the flowable product within the container at the predetermined fill level.

28. The method of claim 27 for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, wherein at each filling station the capacitive sensor is elongate and includes a distal tip directed toward a container being filled during a filling operation.

29. The method of claim 28 for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, wherein at each filling station the distal tip of the capacitive sensor is positioned above the top of the container during a filling operation.

30. The method of claim 28 for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, wherein at each filling station the distal tip of the capacitive sensor is positioned above a shoulder of the container, but below a mouth of the container, during a filling operation.

31. The method of claim 28 for filling containers of a particular size and configuration with a flowable product, wherein at each filling station the distal tip of the capacitive sensor is positioned proximate a shoulder of the container during a filling operation.

32. A method for filling first and second groups of containers with a flowable product, each container of the first group being of a particular size and configuration, and each container of the second group being of a different particular size and configuration, the method comprising the steps of:

(I) for the first group of containers,

(a) causing the flowable product to flow from a product supply to a manifold;

(b) causing the flowable product to separately flow from the manifold to each of a plurality of filling stations and, at each filling station,

(i) causing, during a filling operation, the flowable product to flow through a fill valve assembly into a container of the first group located at the filling station beneath the fill valve assembly, and

(ii) using a capacitive sensor mounted in a first preselected position and configured such that, during a filling operation, the capacitive sensor is positioned proximate a top of the container, sensing through the container of the first group when the flowable product reaches a predetermined fill level within the container of the first group, and generating a signal in response to the sensing of the flowable product reaching the predetermined fill level within the container of the first group, wherein the predetermined fill level corresponds to the threshold of the capacitive sensor'"'"'s range for sensing the flowable product within the container of the first group; and

(c) using a controller operably coupled to each respective capacitive sensor at the filling stations and configured to independently operate the fill valve assembly at each respective filling station, stopping flow of the flowable product into the container of the first group at each filling station in response to receiving a generated signal from the capacitive sensor at such filling station;

(d) wherein the method further comprises a preliminary step of calibrating filling at each filling station by positioning, at each filling station, the capacitive sensor relative to a container of the particular size and configuration of the first group which container has been filled to the predetermined fill level, the positioning of the capacitive sensor comprising adjusting the mounting of the capacitive sensor to the threshold at which the capacitive sensor will first sense flowable product at the predetermined fill level within the container of the particular size and configuration of the first group; and

(II) for the second group of containers, and after filling of the first group,

(a) recalibrating filling at each filling station for the second group of containers by repositioning, at each filling station, the capacitive sensor relative to a container of the particular size and configuration of the second group which container has been filled to the predetermined fill level, the positioning of the capacitive sensor comprising adjusting the mounting of the capacitive sensor to the threshold at which the capacitive sensor will first sense flowable product at the predetermined fill level within the container of the particular size and configuration of the second group;

(b) causing the flowable product to flow from the product supply to the manifold;

(c) causing the flowable product to separately flow from the manifold to each of the plurality of filling stations and, at each filling station,

(i) causing, during a filling operation, the flowable product to flow through the fill valve assembly into a container of the second group that is located at the filling station beneath the fill valve assembly, and

(ii) using the capacitive sensor mounted in a second, different preselected position and configured such that, during a filling operation, the capacitive sensor is positioned proximate a top of the container of the second group, sensing through the container of the second group when the flowable product reaches a predetermined fill level within the container of the second group, and generating a signal in response to the sensing of the flowable product reaching the predetermined fill level within the container of the second group, wherein the predetermined fill level corresponds to the threshold of the capacitive sensor'"'"'s range for sensing the flowable product within the container of the second group; and

(d) using the controller, stopping flow of the flowable product into the container of the second group at each filling station in response to receiving a generated signal from the capacitive sensor at such filling station.