Method of filling a container with animal litter

• US 9,656,770 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2014
• Issued: 05/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Inventors: Ikegami, Takeshi, Hiroshima, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Maust, Timothy L
• Assistant Examiner(s): KELLY, TIMOTHY PATRICK
• Application Number:
  US14/265,814
• Publication Number:
  US 20150314895A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,119 Days
• Field of Search: 141 83, 141103-106
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/06 by gravity flow
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/32 by weighing check-weighing of filled containers or receptacles B65B1/46
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/36 by volumetric devices or methods checking volume of filled material B65B1/48
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 2039/009 Multiple outlets
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 29/00 Packaging of materials presenting special problems
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 43/56 movable stepwise to position container or receptacle for the reception of successive increments of contents

Abstract

A filling method for filling a container with animal litter, whereby large-sized granules and small-sized granules can be easily filled into containers in a predetermined blending ratio, and essentially the same blending ratio can be maintained for different containers. In a supply step in which the animal litter is supplied to a hopper, the animal litter is allowed to freely drop from above the storage space of the hopper, and in the storage space there are formed a first region in which the blending ratio of the small-sized granules with respect to the large-sized granules in a unit mass of the animal litter is equal to or less than the predetermined blending ratio and a second region in which the ratio is greater than the predetermined blending ratio, in an arrangement along the lengthwise direction of the storage space. Also, in a filling step in which the animal litter is filled into containers, delivery holes capable of delivering the animal litter of the first region and delivery holes capable of delivering the animal litter of the second region are selected, and the animal litter is delivered in the predetermined amount at least once each from each of the selected delivery holes, filling the containers so that the large-sized granules and small-sized granules in the unit amount are in the predetermined target blending ratio.

Claims

1. A method of filling a container with animal litter, wherein animal litter including large-sized granules having predetermined particle diameters and small-sized granules having particle diameters smaller than the large-sized granules is supplied to a storage hopper having a storage space extending in one horizontal direction, and the animal litter stored in the storage space is delivered from a plurality of delivery holes including one or more first region delivery holes provided in a first region formed in the storage space and one or more second region delivery holes provided in a second region formed in the storage space, the plurality of delivery holes being provided along a lengthwise direction of the storage space on a bottom edge side of the hopper, and filled into containers that are to be filled,

the method comprising a supply step in which the animal litter is supplied into the storage space of the hopper, a measuring step in which the animal litter in the storage space is delivered from each of the plurality of delivery holes and blending ratios of the large-sized granules and the small-sized granules per a predetermined unit amount of the animal litter delivered from each of the plurality of delivery holes is measured, and a filling step in which the animal litter is filled into the containers through a delivery hole selected from the plurality of delivery holes based on measurement results obtained in the measuring step,

wherein in the supply step, the animal litter is freely dropped from above the storage space of the hopper, so that the first region and the second region are formed in the storage space aligning in the lengthwise direction of the storage space, and the animal litter in the first region has a first blending ratio of the small-sized granules with respect to the large-sized granules per the predetermined unit amount of the animal litter which is equal to or less than a predetermined blending ratio, and the animal litter in the second region has a second blending ratio of the small-sized granules with respect to the large-sized granules per the predetermined unit amount of the animal litter which is greater than the predetermined blending ratio,

and in the filling step, the one or more first region delivery holes among the plurality of delivery holes that deliver the animal litter from the first region and the one or more second region delivery holes among the plurality of delivery holes that deliver the animal litter from the second region are selected based on the measurement results obtained in the measuring step, and the animal litter is delivered by a predetermined amount from each of the selected delivery holes at least once each and filled into the containers, so that each of the containers has the large-sized granules and small-sized granules in a predetermined target blending ratio per the predetermined unit amount of the animal litter.

2. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 1, wherein in the supply step, the free dropping of the animal litter from above the storage space of the hopper is carried out at a center location in the lengthwise direction of the storage space.

3. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 1, wherein the one or more first region delivery holes comprise a plurality of first region delivery holes at sections located in the first region and the one or more second region delivery holes comprise a plurality of second region delivery holes at sections located in the second region of the animal litter in the storage space, and in the filling step, the animal litter is delivered through the plurality of delivery holes from the first region and the second region into the containers, simultaneously and in equal amounts, simultaneously filling the animal litter into the containers.

4. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 1, wherein the hopper has, with a dropping target location in the storage space of the animal litter during the supply step as a reference point, a first delivery hole group comprising a first group of the plurality of delivery holes disposed close to one end in the lengthwise direction of the storage space and a second delivery hole group comprising a second group of the plurality of delivery holes disposed close to the other end,

the first delivery hole group and second delivery hole group each having n number of the delivery holes, wherein in the filling step, the animal litter is delivered from each of injection holes of the first delivery hole group, and filled into the containers disposed for each delivery hole, and then animal litter is delivered and filled from each injection hole located at an nth to a 1st position from a reference point of the second delivery hole group, into each container that has been filled with the animal litter from each injection hole located at a 1st to an nth position from a reference point of the first delivery hole group.

5. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 1, wherein the hopper is provided with the plurality of delivery holes aligned at equal spacing and in a straight line along the lengthwise direction of the storage space.

6. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 1, wherein the filling step fills the containers with the animal litter by simultaneously delivering the animal litter from two or more different delivery holes among the plurality of delivery holes into the container.

7. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 1, wherein the measuring step measures the blending ratios of the large-sized granules and the small-sized granules per the unit amount of the animal litter by using a sieve to sift predetermined amounts of the animal litter delivered from the plurality of delivery holes that are to be measured, into the large-sized granules and the small-sized granules.

8. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 2, wherein the one or more first region delivery holes comprise a plurality of first region delivery holes at sections located in the first region and the one or more second region delivery holes comprise a plurality of second region delivery holes at sections located in the second region of the animal litter in the storage space, and in the filling step, the animal litter is delivered through the plurality of delivery holes from the first region and the second region into the containers, simultaneously and in equal amounts, simultaneously filling the animal litter into the containers.

9. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 2, wherein the hopper has, with a dropping target location in the storage space of the animal litter during the supply step as a reference point, a first delivery hole group comprising a first group of the plurality of delivery holes disposed close to one end in the lengthwise direction of the storage space and a second delivery hole group comprising a second group of the plurality of delivery holes disposed close to the other end,

the first delivery hole group and second delivery hole group each having n number of the delivery holes, wherein in the filling step, the animal litter is delivered from each of injection holes of the first delivery hole group, and filled into the containers disposed for each delivery hole, and then animal litter is delivered and filled from each injection hole located at an nth to a 1st position from a reference point of the second delivery hole group, into each container that has been filled with the animal litter from each injection hole located at a 1st to an nth position from a reference point of the first delivery hole group.

10. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 3, wherein the hopper has, with a dropping target location in the storage space of the animal litter during the supply step as a reference point, a first delivery hole group comprising a first group of the plurality of delivery holes disposed close to one end in the lengthwise direction of the storage space and a second delivery hole group comprising a second group of the plurality of delivery holes disposed close to the other end,

the first delivery hole group and second delivery hole group each having n number of the delivery holes, wherein in the filling step, the animal litter is delivered from each of injection holes of the first delivery hole group, and filled into the containers disposed for each delivery hole, and then animal litter is delivered and filled from each injection hole located at an nth to a 1st position from a reference point of the second delivery hole group, into each container that has been filled with the animal litter from each injection hole located at a 1st to an nth position from a reference point of the first delivery hole group.

11. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 8, wherein the hopper has, with a dropping target location in the storage space of the animal litter during the supply step as a reference point, a first delivery hole group comprising the plurality of delivery holes disposed close to one end in the lengthwise direction of the storage space and a second delivery hole group comprising the plurality of delivery holes disposed close to the other end,

the first delivery hole group and second delivery hole group each having n number of the delivery holes, wherein in the filling step, the animal litter is delivered from each of injection holes of the first delivery hole group, and filled into the containers disposed for each delivery hole, and then animal litter is delivered and filled from each injection hole located at an nth to a 1st position from the reference point of the second delivery hole group, into each container that has been filled with the animal litter from each injection hole located at a 1st to an nth position from the reference point of the first delivery hole group.

12. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 2, wherein the hopper is provided with the plurality of delivery holes aligned at equal spacing and in a straight line along the lengthwise direction of the storage space.

13. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 3, wherein the hopper is provided with the plurality of delivery holes aligned at equal spacing and in a straight line along the lengthwise direction of the storage space.

14. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 8, wherein the hopper is provided with the plurality of delivery holes aligned at equal spacing and in a straight line along the lengthwise direction of the storage space.

15. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 4, wherein the hopper is provided with the plurality of delivery holes aligned at equal spacing and in a straight line along the lengthwise direction of the storage space.

16. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 10 wherein the hopper is provided with the plurality of delivery holes aligned at equal spacing and in a straight line along the lengthwise direction of the storage space.

17. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 11, wherein the hopper is provided with the plurality of delivery holes aligned at equal spacing and in a straight line along the lengthwise direction of the storage space.

18. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 2, wherein the filling step fills the containers with the animal litter by simultaneously delivering the animal litter from two or more different delivery holes among the plurality of delivery holes into the container.

19. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 3, wherein the filling step fills the containers with the animal litter by simultaneously delivering the animal litter from two or more different delivery holes among the plurality of delivery holes into the container.

20. The method of filling a container with animal litter according to claim 8, wherein the filling step fills the containers with the animal litter by simultaneously delivering the animal litter from two or more different delivery holes among the plurality of delivery holes into the container.