Abstract: A material feeder for dispensing batches of material which includes a refrigerated enclosure, a material feeder, a feeder drive arrangement, a scale and a controller. The feeder is housed within the refrigerated enclosure, and is removably coupled to the drive arrangement such that the complete feeder arrangement which is exposed to the material (e.g., foodstuffs such as shredded cheese) may be removed from the enclosure for cleaning at a location separate from the enclosure such as a dishwasher. The scale is connected to a container which catches the material dispensed by the feeder and produces a weight signal such is applied to the control unit. The control unit operates the drive unit which rotates a plurality of feed screws in the feeder at two speeds.

Abstract: A loss-in-weight feeder for discharging a flowable material from a reservoir through a controllable discharge member, including a closed loop controller configured to compare the actual rate at which material is discharged from the reservoir to a desired discharge rate. During operation, a racheting process is used to avoid the use of spurious weight signals to determine the material weight in the feeder for purposes of properly controlling the discharge rate.

Abstract: A feed hopper assembly for feeding granular material to a feed screw in the bottom of the hopper, the assembly including a frame for supporting a flexible type feed hopper, one or more roller assemblies mounted on the frame in a position to engage the sides of the feed hopper, each roller assembly including a shaft and a tube mounted for rotary motion on the shaft, the shaft being eccentrically mounted on the frame to move the tube into and out of engagement with the hopper.

Abstract: A loss-in-weight feeder for discharging a flowable material from a reservoir through a controllable discharge member, including a closed loop controller configured to compare the actual rate at which material is discharged from the reservoir to a desired discharge rate. During the "refill" mode of operation, the desired discharge rate is adjusted as a function of both the density of the incoming material and the current weight of material in the reservoir. During steady-state operation, the discharge rate is adjusted in accordance with, inter alia, short term changes in the actual discharge rate which exceed a predetermined threshold value.