Abstract: A supplying apparatus and a supplying method of granular material in which granular material is supplied to a measuring container provided on a lower side so as to reach a target measurement value which is determined in advance. The supplying apparatus includes a storage container storing granular material, a valve body provided in the storage container so as to be opened when granular material is supplied, and a control section controlling open and close operations of the valve body. The control section keeps the valve body at an open position until a detection value of a detecting section of the measuring container becomes a predetermined value smaller than the target measurement value when the target measurement value exceeds a threshold value which is determined in advance. The control section opens the valve body in a pulsed way until the detection value of the detecting section becomes the target measurement value when the target measurement value is under the threshold value.

Abstract: A filling system for filling powder into a target container to be sealed has a metering device for metering a partial quantity of the powder to be filled in. A compaction element for the powder is arranged below the metering device. The compaction element can be lowered from above into the target container. The compaction element is a shaking element with a shaking drive. During filling of the target container with the powder, the shaking element at least partially projects from above into the target container. The shaking element has a bottom edge provided with a shaking projection, wherein the shaking projection, beginning at the bottom edge, extends downwardly. During filling of the target container with the powder, only the shaking projection of the shaking element projects from above into the target container and the shaking element as a whole does not contact the target container.

Abstract: A beverage dispensing system comprising a dispensing port for dispensing a beverage, a drip tray located below the dispensing port for collecting the beverage dispensed and an antenna located between the dispensing port and the drip tray is provided. The beverage dispensing system is RFID-enabled by configuring the antenna to receive signals from radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

Abstract: A beverage dispensing system comprising a dispensing port for dispensing a beverage, a drip tray located below the dispensing port for collecting the beverage dispensed and an antenna located between the dispensing port and the drip tray is provided. The beverage dispensing system is RFID-enabled by configuring the antenna to receive signals from radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

Abstract: An apparatus for filling cups has a conveyor for displacing the cups in a horizontal transport direction stepwise along a horizontal transport path and at least two dosing units spaced in the transport direction from each other above the path and each including a supply of a fluent material and valve and pump means for ejecting doses of the material. A manifold includes a pair of intake conduits each extending generally in the horizontal transport direction and each connected to a respective one of the dosing units for receiving the material doses therefrom and a distributor body between the dosing units, formed with a pair of grooves each connected to a respective one of the tubes, and forming a pair of outlet passages open vertically downward toward the path so that material fed generally horizontally from the dosing units to the body issues downward from the body.

Abstract: An apparatus for use in a filling system is provided. The apparatus includes a product filling machine having a top portion and a base portion. A conveyor is also provided for transporting containers to be filled in a conveying direction. The conveyor is arranged on the base portion of the filling machine. A fill pump system is arranged at the top of the filling machine above the conveyor. An adjustable mounting mechanism for connecting the fill pump system at the top of the filling machine and for adjusting the location of the fill pump system in the conveying direction is also provided.

Abstract: Two or more of a bottle-cleaning operation, a bottle-filling operation, a cap-dispensing operation, and a cap-affixing operation simultaneously process arrays of equally sized containers in an x-y array by engaging the bottles with movable heads of a head-carrying assembly. The containers can be a compressed array of bottles or a case of bottles in a box or the like. The nozzles for the cleaning and filling operations, and cap-handling devices for the dispensing and affixing operations can be repositioned for change to a new container size, for example with motor driven positioners. At least a subset of the heads are displaced along the axes of the container array, into registry with bottle arrays of the different size bottles. Preferably, each operational system in sequence is independently controlled to effect a container size change, such that the production line can be changed to the new size as the leading edge of containers of the new size arrive at the respective operational system.

Abstract: A filling machine for containers simultaneously fills an array of containers, for examples immediately following depalletizing, and includes motor driven positioners for the nozzles to accommodate changes in the size of container being run. The containers are laterally abutted to occupy evenly spaced container positions, and the array can be compressed by a contoured push bar to force the entire array into registry. The nozzles are flexibly coupled to a source of material to be discharged into the containers, and are mechanically moved by actuators that displace at least a subset of the nozzles along the axes of the array. In this way the nozzles are moved into registry with the container array. The nozzles are also vertically movable relative to the containers, and each includes a valve opened by contact with a respective container, for discharging only into occupied container positions and not voids in the array.

Abstract: An in-line liquid filling machine and method of filling containers. In certain embodiments a a single row of containers is indexed past a plurality of filling nozzles which are in turn interconnected with a manifold which receives a single fill of material from a dosing structure. If all nozzles are dispensing simultanteously a total fill of material is received at one time, the nozzles distributing aliquot parts of the total fill to the row, with each container sequentially passing under each filling nozzle. If only alternate groups of nozzles are to be filling at any one time, the fill delivered by the dosing structure is proportionate to the total fill as the nozzles dispensing the fill are proportionate to the total number of nozzles. The dosing structure typically includes a single pump. Filling-time and indexing-time cycles typically are performed sequentially, but in certain embodiments they may be performed simultaneously.

Abstract: In a system for filling granular material into hard gelatin capsule wherein the granular material is portioned to a predetermined quantity by volume in a metering chamber and the portioned granular material mostly gravitates to a body of the hard gelatin capsule positioned beneath the metering chamber, an artificial force is exerted by a pusher rod on the granular material remaining in the metering chamber after the beginning of the gravitation. There also is an improved system for adjusting the capacity of the metering chamber. The improvements result in a greatly increased number of capsules which may be handled and filled at a time, a reduction in time required for the process and correspondingly in area occupied by the machine, and a remarkable improvement in the productivity. The uniformity and accuracy in the quantity of the granular material actually filled in the capsule are also remarkably improved.

Abstract: A dispensing apparatus for aseptic measurement and filling of a fluid product is proposed, which, particularly as a result of the simple embodiment of a control slide valve, is especially suitable for the development of a multiple dispensing apparatus. A groove-like recess provided in the control slide serves both to connect the fluid reservoir chamber with the dispensing chamber and to connect the dispensing chamber with the particular container to be filled.