Method and Apparatus for Facilitating Filling a Container
Apparatus for delivering a plurality of containers to a plurality of filling machines for filling of the containers with a substance. The apparatus includes a feeding assembly including a first staging area aligned with a first filling machine of the plurality of filling machines for facilitating delivery of containers of the plurality of containers from the first staging area to the first filling machine, a second staging area aligned with a second filling machine of the plurality of filling machines for facilitating delivery of containers of the plurality of containers from the second staging area to the second filling machine, and a receiving area adjacent a supply of the plurality of containers. The feeding assembly is configured to move containers of the plurality of containers from the receiving area to the first staging area and to move containers of the plurality of containers from the receiving area to the second staging area. Each of the first and second staging areas is configured to receive containers of the plurality of containers from the receiving area.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/210,385, filed Aug. 24, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates generally to containers, and more specifically to apparatus, assemblies, and methods for facilitating filling containers with a substance.
At least some known methods of filling empty containers with a substance, for example filling empty bags with starch, sugar, dry chemicals, cement, or concrete mix, are sometimes more difficult, costly, and time-consuming than may be desired. In commercial operations where numerous filling machines are used to fill as many empty containers in as short a time as possible, it may be particularly challenging to feed containers to each of the filling machines as quickly as they are filled. Accordingly, a potential production rate of the filling machines may not be achieved because of a bottleneck of containers fed to the filling machines. For example, at least some known systems for filling empty bags with concrete mix use one feeding machine to feed empty bags to numerous filling machines. Accordingly, the filling machines may sometimes fill each empty bag with concrete faster than empty bags are fed thereto, possibly decreasing an overall production of bags filled with concrete mix. Some known systems for filling empty bags with concrete mix use a dedicated feeding machine for each filling machine. However, such systems using a dedicated feeding machine for each filling machine may supply each feeding machine from a separate supply of empty bags, thereby possibly increasing a cost and/or a complexity of supplying the empty bags as well as possibly decreasing an amount of space adjacent the filling machines.
Moreover, at least some known containers may be difficult to open and/or maintain open for filling thereof, possibly increasing a cost and/or complexity of feeding machines used to feed containers to the filling machines. For example, bags used to contain concrete mix may be folded generally flat for storage when empty. Such bags sometimes include an opening adjacent an end thereof for filling the bag with concrete mix. When such bags are folded generally flat, the opening may be closed. When a feeding machine feeds an empty bag to a filling machine, the feeding machine may therefore open (and maintain) the opening as it delivers the empty bag to the filling machine so a dispenser on the filling machine communicates with the opening to fill the bag with concrete mix. At least some known systems use a pneumatically or hydraulically driven claw to both grip an empty bag for delivery of the bag to a filling machine and maintain the opening. However, such pneumatically or hydraulically driven claws may increase a cost and complexity of the system. At least some known systems may also use an insert, which may also be pneumatically or hydraulically driven, to initially open the opening, possibly further increasing a cost and complexity of the system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONIn one aspect, apparatus is provided for delivering a plurality of containers to a plurality of filling machines for filling of the containers with a substance. The apparatus includes a feeding assembly including a first staging area aligned with a first filling machine of the plurality of filling machines for facilitating delivery of containers of the plurality of containers from the first staging area to the first filling machine, a second staging area aligned with a second filling machine of the plurality of filling machines for facilitating delivery of containers of the plurality of containers from the second staging area to the second filling machine, and a receiving area adjacent a supply of the plurality of containers. The feeding assembly is configured to move containers of the plurality of containers from the receiving area to the first staging area and to move containers of the plurality of containers from the receiving area to the second staging area. Each of the first and second staging areas is configured to receive containers of the plurality of containers from the receiving area.
In another aspect, a method is provided for delivering a plurality of containers to a plurality of filling machines for filling the plurality of containers with a substance. The method includes loading a first container of the plurality of containers on a receiving area of a feeding assembly having a first staging area and a second staging area, wherein the feeding assembly is configured to move containers of the plurality of containers from the receiving area to the first and second staging areas, guiding the first container into the first staging area, removing the first container from the first staging area, delivering the first container to a first filling machine of the plurality of filling machines, loading a second container of the plurality of containers on the receiving area of the feeding assembly, guiding the second container into the second staging area, removing the second container from the second staging area, and delivering the second container to a second filling machine of the plurality of filling machines.
In yet another aspect, a transfer assembly is provided for delivering a container to a filling machine configured to fill the container with a substance. The container includes an opening having an open position and a closed position. The transfer assembly includes a body and a gripping mechanism mounted on the body for attaching the body to the container. At least a portion of the body is movable for delivering the container from a source of the container to the filling machine when the container is attached to the body. The transfer assembly also includes a biasing mechanism mounted on the body. The biasing mechanism includes a spring. The biasing mechanism is configured to hold the opening in the open position when the container is attached to the body.
In even another aspect, a method is provided for delivering a container to a filling machine for filling the container with a substance. The method includes loading the container onto a receiving area of a feeding assembly such that the container is orientated generally vertically on the feeding assembly, moving the container from the receiving area to a staging area of the feeding assembly while the container is oriented generally vertically on the feeding assembly, removing the container from the staging area, and delivering the container to the filling machine.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONReferring now to the drawings, and more specifically to
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Although filling machines 108 may be any filling machine, in one embodiment one or more of filling machines 108 is a valve bag filling machine, commercially available from Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation of Chicago, Ill. The apparatus 100 may include any number of filling machines 108.
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In some embodiments, feeding assembly 102 includes a receiving gate (generally designated by 117) for guiding movement of container 10 as container 10 is moved by transfer assembly 116 and after transfer assembly 116 has detached from container 10 (e.g., movement of container 10 after container 10 has been dropped by transfer assembly 116). Although receiving gate 117 may guide movement of containers 10 in any suitable way, manner, fashion, method and/or by any means, etc., in the exemplary embodiment receiving gate 117 includes two spaced-apart plates 119 and 121 for capturing containers 10 therebetween to guide containers 10 onto feeding assembly 102. In some embodiments, plates 119 and/or 121 include an upper portion (generally designated by 123) that is obliquely angled with respect to a body 125 of plates 119 and/or 121 (and generally angled away from each other in the exemplary embodiment) to facilitate capturing containers 10 between plates 119 and 121. In some embodiments, receiving gate 117 includes a stop (generally designated by 127) thereof for selectively preventing containers 10 from reaching feeding assembly 102 after transfer assembly 116 has detached therefrom. For example, container 10 may be improperly positioned with respect to feeding assembly 102 after transfer assembly 116 has detached from container 10 such that container 10 does not properly travel along feeding assembly 102. For example, if the edge (e.g., edge 26, 28, 18, or 22) of container 10 that will be placed on (by transfer assembly 116) and supported by surface 129 (
Transfer assembly 116 may attach to containers 10 in any suitable manner, fashion, and/or by any suitable means, etc (e.g., gripping containers 10 with fingers (not shown) or inserting a support (not shown) within containers 10). As shown in
Although transfer assembly 116 may transfer containers 10 at other rates, in some embodiments transfer assembly 116 transfers containers 10 from magazine 104 to feeding assembly 102 at a rate of between about 15 and 45 containers per minute. In some embodiments, a plurality of transfer assemblies 116 may be used to transfer containers from one or more magazines 104 to feeding assembly 102 to increase the rate of transfer. For example, in some embodiments wherein a plurality of transfer assemblies 116 are used, an overall rate of transfer of containers 10 to feeding assembly 102 may be between about 20 and about 100 containers per minute. The apparatus 100 may include any number of transfer assemblies 116.
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Staging areas 120 are generally aligned with a corresponding filling machine 108 to facilitate delivery of containers 10 to filling machines 108. For example, when apparatus 100 includes more than one filling machine 108, feeding assembly 102 may include more than one staging area 120. In the exemplary embodiment, apparatus 100 includes an equal number of staging areas 120 and filling machines 108. In some embodiments, apparatus 100 includes a different number of staging areas 120 than filling machines 108. The apparatus 100 may include any number of staging areas 120. Each staging area 120 is generally aligned with one or more filling machine(s) 108 to facilitate delivery of containers 10 received from receiving area 114 to the filling machine 108 that the particular staging area 120 is aligned with. For example, in the exemplary embodiment, apparatus 100 includes four staging areas 120a, 120b, 120c, and 120d that are each aligned with one filling machine 108a, 108b, 108c, and 108d, respectively. Any of staging areas 120a, 120b, 120c, and 120d may be referred to herein as a first and/or a second staging area. Any of filling machines 108a, 108b, 108c, and 108d may be referred to herein as a first and/or a second filling machine. Although staging areas 120 are shown in
Using the exemplary embodiment as an example, to feed a plurality of filling machines 108 from magazine 104, feeding assembly 102 will move some of the containers 10 contained within magazine 104 from receiving area 114 to staging area 120a for delivery to filling machine 108a. Similarly, feeding assembly 102 will move some of containers 10 contained within magazine 104 from receiving area 114 to staging area 120b for delivery to filling machine 108b, feeding assembly 102 will move some of containers 10 contained within magazine 104 from receiving area 114 to staging area 120c for delivery to filling machine 108c, and feeding assembly 102 will move some of containers 10 contained within magazine 104 from receiving area 114 to staging area 120d for delivery to filling machine 108d. To facilitate moving containers 10 to different staging areas 120a, 120b, 120c, and 120d, apparatus 100 may include a guide (generally designated by 122) configured to guide containers 10 to each of staging areas 120a, 120b, 120c, and 120d. Guide 122 may be configured to guide containers 10 to each of staging areas 120a, 120b, 120c, and 120d in any suitable fashion, manner, arrangement, and/or by any means, etc. In some embodiments, guide 122 is operatively connected to feeding assembly 102 between receiving area 112 and each of staging areas 120a, 120b, 120c, and 120d for guiding containers 10 to various staging areas 120a, 120b, 120c, and 120d as feeding assembly 102 moves containers 10.
As an example of one suitable fashion, manner, arrangement, and/or means, etc., of guide 122, in the exemplary embodiment guide 122 includes one or more movable members 124 and one or more non-movable members (generally designated by 131). In the exemplary embodiment, guide 122 includes two non-movable members 131a and 131b. Movable members 124 are each movable to selectively guide containers 10 into a corresponding staging area 120. As shown in
Referring to
Transfer assemblies 106 and/or any portion thereof may move between feeding assembly 102 and filling machines 108 in any suitable manner, fashion, and/or by any means, etc. However, in the exemplary embodiment, a body (generally designated by 130) of each of transfer assemblies 106 is mounted on a rail 132 extending between filling machines 108 and staging areas 120 for movement along rail 132 (and with respect to feeding assembly 102 and filling machines 108). In some embodiments, for example, movement of body 130 and/or portions thereof along rail 132 is at least partially driven by a fluid, for example, pneumatically and/or hydraulically. Moreover, in some embodiments, and for example, movement of body 130 and/or portions thereof along rail 132 is at least partially driven by electricity. As shown herein, rail 132 is shown as mounted on feeding assembly 102 and filling machines 108. However, rail 132 may be mounted anywhere, such as, but not limited to, a floor and/or a ceiling.
Transfer assemblies 106 may each remove containers 10 from staging areas 120 and/or deliver containers 10 to filling machines 108 in any suitable way, manner, fashion, method and/or by any means, etc. As shown in
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Movement of arm 134 and/or portions thereof may be driven by any suitable means. In some embodiments, for example, movement of arm 134 and/or portions thereof is at least partially driven by a fluid, for example, pneumatically and/or hydraulically. Moreover, in some embodiments, and for example, movement of arm 134 and/or portions thereof is at least partially driven by electricity.
In some embodiments, a container 10 may be rejected from a filling machine 108, for example, because container 10 is damaged, because container 10 is not orientated properly with respect to filling machine 108 such that dispenser 154 does not communicate with opening 30, because opening 30 did not completely or partially open, and/or because filling machine 108 failed to begin filling container 10. In some embodiments, if a container 10 is rejected from a filling machine 108, transfer assembly 106 may move container 10 away from filling machine 108 and release container 10. For example, transfer assembly 106 may release container 10 (e.g., drop container 10 onto a floor (not shown)) at a location that does not interfere with operation of apparatus 100.
Although the apparatus, assemblies, and methods described and/or illustrated herein are described and illustrated herein with respect to a bag, and more specifically with respect to a bag for containing concrete mix, the apparatus, assemblies, and methods described and/or illustrated herein are not limited to bags nor concrete mix. Rather, the apparatus, assemblies, and methods described and/or illustrated herein are applicable to any container.
Exemplary embodiments of apparatus, assemblies, and methods are described above in detail. The apparatus, assemblies, and methods are not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, but rather, components of each apparatus and assembly, and steps of each method, may be utilized independently and separately from other components and steps described herein. Each apparatus and assembly component, and method step, can also be used in combination with other components and/or method steps.
When introducing elements of the apparatus, assemblies, and/or methods described and/or illustrated herein and/or embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
While the apparatus, assemblies, and methods described and/or illustrated herein have been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the apparatus, assemblies, and method described and/or illustrated herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims.
Claims
1. An apparatus for filling a plurality of containers, the apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of staging areas comprising a first staging area and a second staging area;
- a plurality of filling machines configured to fill the plurality of containers with a substance, wherein the plurality of filling machines comprises a first filling machine aligned with the first staging area and second filling machine aligned with the second staging area;
- a feeding assembly for moving the plurality of containers to the plurality of staging areas, wherein the feeding assembly is configured to move first containers of the plurality of containers to the first staging area, and the feeding assembly is configured to move second containers of the plurality of containers to the second staging area; and
- at least one transfer assembly for transferring the plurality of containers from the plurality of staging areas to the plurality of filling machines, wherein the at least one transfer assembly is configured to attach to the first and second containers in the first and second staging areas, respectively, and the at least one transfer assembly is movable with respect to the plurality of staging areas and the plurality of filling machines to deliver the first and second containers to the first and second filling machines, respectively.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising a guide configured to guide the first and second containers to the first and second staging areas, respectively.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the guide comprises a plurality of movable members that are operable to guide the first and second containers to the first and second staging areas, respectively.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising:
- a magazine for containing the plurality of containers; and
- a container placement assembly configured to remove the plurality of containers from the magazine and place the plurality of containers on the feeding assembly.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the feeding assembly comprises a conveyor.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the feeding assembly is configured move the first and second containers to the first and second staging areas, respectively, while the first and second containers are orientated in a substantially flat, vertical configuration, with respective edges of the first and second containers supported by the feeding assembly.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first and second containers each include an opening having an open position and a closed position, and wherein the at least one transfer assembly is configured to hold the openings of the first and second containers in the open position during delivery of the first and second containers to the first and second filling machines, respectively.
8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first and second containers are bags.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one transfer assembly comprises:
- a first transfer assembly for transferring the first containers from the first staging area to the first filling machine; and
- a second transfer assembly for transferring the second containers from the second staging area to the second filling machine.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one transfer assembly comprises a body movable along a rail extending between the feeding assembly and the plurality of filling machines.
11. An apparatus for filling a plurality of containers, the apparatus comprising:
- at least one staging area;
- at least one filling machine configured to fill the plurality of containers with a substance;
- a feeding assembly configured to move at least one container of the plurality of containers to the at least one staging area while the at least one container is orientated in a substantially flat, vertical configuration, with an edge of the at least one container supported by the feeding assembly; and
- at least one transfer assembly that is movable with respect to the at least one staging area and the at least one filling machine, wherein the at least one transfer assembly is configured to attach to the at least one container in the at least one staging area, the at least one transfer assembly is configured to position an opening of the at least one container in an open position, and the at least one transfer assembly is configured to deliver the at least one container to the at least one filling machine while holding the opening of the at least one container in the open position.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one transfer assembly comprises a biasing mechanism configured to hold the opening of the at least one container in the open position, wherein the biasing mechanism comprises at least two arm members biased towards each other by a biasing member and configured to squeeze opposite edges of an end of the at least one container.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the biasing member comprises a spring.
14. The apparatus of claim 12, comprising a guide assembly configured to guide the at least one container to the at least one staging area, wherein the at least one transfer assembly is configured to contact the guide assembly while attaching to the at least one container, such that the at least two arm members are forced apart against a biasing force of the biasing member and thereby spread across the end of the at least one container.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one transfer assembly is configured to rotate or move away from the at least one staging area after contacting the guide assembly such that the at least two arm members move towards each other under the biasing force and thereby squeeze the opposite edges of the end of the at least one container.
16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one transfer assembly comprises a gripping mechanism configured to attach to the at least one container.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the gripping mechanism comprises at least one suction mechanism.
18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one container is a bag.
19. The apparatus of claim 11, comprising:
- a magazine for containing the plurality of containers; and
- a container placement assembly configured to remove the at least one container from the magazine and place the at least one container on the feeding assembly.
20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one transfer assembly is movable along a rail extending between the feeding assembly and the at least one filling machine.
21. A method for filling a plurality of containers with a substance, the method comprising:
- moving at least one first container of the plurality of containers to a first staging area via a feeding assembly;
- moving at least one second container of the plurality of containers to a second staging area via the feeding assembly;
- transferring the at least one first container from the first staging area to a first filling machine using at least one transfer assembly, wherein transferring the at least one first container from the first staging area to the first filling machine comprises attaching the least one transfer assembly to the at least one first container, and moving the at least one transfer assembly with respect to the first staging area and the first filling machine to deliver the at least one first container to the first filling machine; and
- transferring the at least one second container from the second staging area to a second filling machine using the at least one transfer assembly, wherein transferring the at least one second container from the second staging area to the second filling machine comprises attaching the at least one transfer assembly to the at least one second container, and moving the at least one transfer assembly with respect to the second staging area and the second filling machine to deliver the at least one second container to the second filling machine.
22. The method of claim 21, comprising maintaining the first and second containers in a substantially flat, vertical configuration, with respective edges of the first and second containers supported by the feeding assembly, while moving the first and second containers to the first and second staging areas, respectively.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the at least one first container and the at least one second container are bags.
24. The method of claim 22, wherein the at least one first container and the at least one second container each include an opening having an open position and a closed position, and wherein the at least one transfer assembly is configured to hold the openings of the at least one first container and the at least one second container in the open position during delivery of the at least one first container and the at least one second container to the first and second filling machines, respectively.
25. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one transfer assembly comprises:
- a first transfer assembly for transferring the at least one first container from the first staging area to the first filling machine; and
- a second transfer assembly for transferring the at least one second container from the second staging area to the second filling machine.
26. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one transfer assembly comprises a body movable along a rail extending between the feeding assembly and the first and second filling machines.
27. A method for filling a plurality of containers with a substance, the method comprising:
- moving at least one container of the plurality of containers to at least one staging area via a feeding assembly while the at least one container is orientated in a substantially flat, vertical configuration, with an edge of the at least one container supported by the feeding assembly; and
- transferring the at least one container from the at least one staging area to at least one filling machine using at least one transfer assembly, wherein transferring the at least one container from the at least one staging area to the at least one filling machine comprises attaching the least one transfer assembly to the at least one container in the at least one staging area, positioning an opening of the at least one container in an open position, and delivering the at least one container to the at least one filling machine while holding the opening of the at least one container in the open position.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein holding the opening of the at least one container in the open position comprises using a biasing mechanism of the at least one transfer assembly to squeeze opposite edges of an end of the at least one container.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein the biasing mechanism comprises at least two arm members biased towards each other by a biasing member.
30. The method of claim 29, comprising using a guide assembly to guide the at least one container to the at least one staging area, and wherein the method comprises contacting the guide assembly with the transfer assembly while attaching the transfer assembly to the at least one container in the at least one staging area, such that the at least two arm members are forced apart against a biasing force of the biasing member and thereby spread across the end of the at least one container.
31. The method of claim 30, comprising rotating or moving the at least one transfer assembly away from the at least one staging area after contacting the guide assembly with the at least one transfer assembly, such that the at least two arm members move towards each other under the biasing force and thereby squeeze the opposite edges of the end of the at least one container.
32. The method of claim 27, wherein attaching the at least one transfer assembly to the at least one container in the at least one staging area comprises contacting the at least one container with a gripping mechanism of the at least one container.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein the gripping mechanism comprises at least one suction mechanism.
34. The method of claim 27, wherein the at least one container is a bag.
35. A transfer assembly for delivering a container to a filling machine configured to fill the container with a substance, wherein the container includes an opening having an open position and a closed position, said transfer assembly comprising:
- a first body, wherein at least a portion of said first body is movable for delivering the container from a source of the container to the filling machine when the container is attached to said first body;
- a gripping mechanism for attaching said first body to the container, said gripping mechanism comprising a second body mounted on said first body and at least one suction device mounted on the second body and configured to attach the container using a pressure differential; and
- a biasing mechanism mounted on said second body, the biasing mechanism including two members hingedly mounted on the second body and being biased at least partially towards each other by a spring, wherein said biasing mechanism is configured to hold the opening in the open position when the container is attached to said body.
36. The transfer assembly of claim 35, wherein the first body is movable along a rail extending between the source of the container and the filling machine.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 29, 2009
Publication Date: Aug 20, 2009
Inventors: Christopher Stephan Wadium (Salt Lake City, UT), David Loyd Sorensen (Sherwood, OR), Jeffrey Edward Kopish (Park City, UT), Benjamin Bradly Petersen (Tooele, UT), R. Phillip Vanausdal (Salt Lake City, UT), Kenneth David Goodworth (Grantsville, UT)
Application Number: 12/431,858
International Classification: B65B 3/02 (20060101); B65B 43/42 (20060101);