Apparatus and method for delivering a product into a container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10913557-B2
Application number	US-201916682472-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 13, 2019
Priority date	Apr 22, 2015
Publication date	Feb 9, 2021
Grant date	Feb 9, 2021

Abstract

An apparatus for delivering a product into a container can include a filling unit, a drive unit configured to move the container with respect to the filling unit between a first position and a second position, and a controller. The filling unit can include a pump and a filling nozzle. The controller can: control delivery of the product through the filling nozzle; control the drive unit; register an operational end position of the drive unit corresponding to said second position; assign the registered operational position as a new initial position for the drive unit; calculate a new drive unit motion profile for controlling movement of the container from said second position to said first position based on said new initial position of the drive unit; and initiate delivery of the product through the filling nozzle into the container before the drive unit reaches said operational end position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for delivering a product into a container, the apparatus comprising:
a filling unit configured to deliver the product into the container, the filling unit comprising a pump and a filling nozzle, wherein the filling nozzle is positioned at a first end of the filling unit;
a drive unit configured to move the container with respect to the filling unit between a first position and a second position, wherein, in the first position, a bottom end of the container is positioned at a maximum distance from the filling nozzle, and wherein, in the second position, the bottom end of the container is positioned at a minimum distance from the filling nozzle; and
a controller configured to:
control delivery of the product through the filling nozzle;
control the drive unit;
register an operational end position of the drive unit corresponding to said second position of the container;
assign the registered operational end position as a new initial position for the drive unit;
calculate a new drive unit motion profile for controlling movement of the container from said second position to said first position based on said new initial position of the drive unit; and
initiate delivery of the product through the filling nozzle into the container before the drive unit reaches said operational end position;

wherein the filling unit further comprises an inlet valve and an outlet valve, the inlet and outlet valves configured to regulate a volume of product delivered into a fill volume and a volume of product delivered to the container respectively.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said drive unit motion profile is calculated as a function of a pump motion profile of the filling unit.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to calculate the drive unit motion profile by comparing the new initial position for the drive unit with a current product volume delivered by the pump converted into length units.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to update the drive unit motion profile by comparing the new initial position for the drive unit with a current product volume delivered by the pump converted into length units at certain predefined instances during filling of the container.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to calculate an actual product level in the container with respect to the new initial position of the drive unit by comparing the new initial position to a current product volume delivered by the pump converted into length units minus a constant multiplied by the converted volume squared.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
calculate drive unit compensation distances as a function of the actual product level at predefined positions of the drive unit; and
update the drive unit motion profile using said drive unit compensation distances.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
calculate a speed of the pump at predefined positions of the drive unit;
calculate drive unit compensation distances as a function of the pump speed at the predefined positions of the drive unit; and
update the drive unit motion profile using said drive unit compensation distances.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
calculate an acceleration of the pump at predefined positions of the drive unit;
calculate drive unit compensation distances as a function of the pump acceleration at the predefined positions of the drive unit; and
update the drive unit motion profile using said drive unit compensation distances.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the controller is further configured to instruct the drive unit to stay in the new initial position until a calculated position for the drive unit is less than the new initial position before moving the container away from the filling nozzle.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to control time instances at which the inlet and outlet valves open and close.

11. A method for filling a container with a product, the method comprising:
controlling a drive unit for moving the container with respect to a filling unit between a first position and a second position, wherein, in the first position, a bottom end of the container is positioned at a maximum distance from a filling nozzle, and wherein, in the second position, the bottom end of the container is positioned at a minimum distance from the filling nozzle;
registering an operational end position of the drive unit corresponding to said second position of the container as a new initial position for the drive unit;
opening a first end of the filling unit and delivering the product into the container;
moving the container away from the first end of the filling unit by controlling the drive unit to step through a number of predefined positions while filling the container with the product; and
closing the first end of the filling unit when the container has been moved to a predefined end position;
wherein said predefined positions of the drive unit during filling of the container are recalculated with respect to the new initial position, and wherein delivery of the product through the filling nozzle is initiated before the drive unit reaches said operational end position;
wherein the filling unit comprises an inlet valve and an outlet valve, and wherein the method further comprises controlling a volume of the product delivered into a fill volume of the filling unit and a volume of product delivered to the container respectively by controlling movement of the inlet and outlet valves of the filling unit.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the filling unit comprises a pump, and wherein the method further comprises calculating a motion profile for the drive unit by comparing the new initial position for the drive unit with a current product volume delivered by the pump converted into length units.

13. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the filling unit further comprises a pump, and wherein the method further comprises calculating an actual product level in the container with respect to the new initial position of the drive unit by comparing the new initial position to a current product volume delivered by the pump converted into length units minus a constant multiplied by the converted volume squared.

14. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising calculating a speed of the pump at predefined positions of the drive unit to obtain drive unit compensation distances as a function of the pump speed at each of the predefined positions of the drive unit.

15. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising calculating an acceleration of the pump at predefined positions of the drive unit to obtain drive unit compensation distances as a function of the pump acceleration at each of the predefined positions of the drive unit.

16. A computer storage system comprising a non-transitory storage device, said computer storage system having stored thereon executable program instructions that direct a computer system of an apparatus for filling a container with a product to at least:
control a drive unit for moving the container with respect to a filling unit between a first position and a second position, wherein, in the first position, a bottom end of the container is positioned at a maximum distance from a filling nozz

Assignees

• Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance

Inventors

• Lindberg Peter
• Ekberg Gert

Classifications

• B65B57/145

  for fluent material · CPC title

• B65B39/12

  movable towards or away from container or wrapper during filling or depositing · CPC title

• B65B3/30

  by volumetric measurement · CPC title

• B65B3/12 Primary

  mechanically, e.g. by pistons or pumps · CPC title

• B65B39/06

  adapted to support containers or wrappers · CPC title