Drop-down device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025042678-A1
Application number	US-202418792191-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 1, 2024
Priority date	Aug 3, 2023
Publication date	Feb 6, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A dosing apparatus includes a doser mechanism that discharges an index amount of a granular material based on drawing the granular material from an intake hopper. A drop-down device is coupled between the intake hopper and a supply hopper and enables enable a flow of the granular material from the supply hopper to the intake hopper through a conduit. The drop-down device restricts a flow rate of the flow of granular material through the conduit based on directing the flow around a slat extending into the conduit. The slat has an upper slat surface that is angled downwards at an inclination angle that may correspond to an angle of repose of the granular material.

First claim

What is claimed:

1 . A dosing apparatus, comprising:
an intake hopper that is configured to hold an amount of a granular material, the intake hopper configured to receive the granular material through an intake hopper inlet opening at a top end of the intake hopper; a doser mechanism coupled to the intake hopper, the doser mechanism including an auger conveyor extending into the intake hopper, the doser mechanism configured to discharge an index amount of the granular material based on operation of the auger conveyor to draw a portion of the granular material from the intake hopper; a supply hopper configured to hold a supply amount of the granular material, the supply hopper configured to supply the granular material through a supply hopper outlet opening at a bottom end of the supply hopper; and a drop-down device coupled between the supply hopper and the intake hopper, the drop-down device including a conduit structure configured to define a conduit extending along a central longitudinal axis in flow communication between the supply hopper outlet opening and the intake hopper inlet opening to enable a flow of the granular material from the supply hopper to the intake hopper through the conduit, wherein the drop-down device is configured to restrict a flow rate of the flow of granular material through the conduit based on directing the flow of the granular material around a slat extending into the conduit, the slat having an upper slat surface that is angled downwards from a first end that is proximate to an inner surface of the conduit structure to a second end that is distal to the inner surface at an inclination angle, the inclination angle corresponds to an angle of repose of the granular material.

2 . The dosing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the upper slat surface is a planar surface that extends along a plane that is angled at the inclination angle.

3 . The dosing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the drop-down device includes a plurality of slats extending into the conduit, the plurality of slats including the slat.

4 . The dosing apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of slats includes at least two slats that are offset from each other in a vertical direction extending parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the conduit.

5 . The dosing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the at least two slats at least partially overlap in the vertical direction.

6 . The dosing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the at least two slats extend into the conduit from opposite side ends of the conduit.

7 . The dosing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein
the plurality of slats are offset from each other in the vertical direction, and vertically adjacent slats of the plurality of slats extend into the conduit from opposite side ends of the conduit.

8 . A packaging machine, comprising:
the dosing apparatus of claim 1 ; a packaging supply device configured to supply a strip of packaging material that is folded to establish a folded strip of packaging material that defines an open enclosure having an enclosure opening, wherein the dosing apparatus is configured to discharge the index amount of the granular material into the open enclosure through the enclosure opening to at least partially fill a distal portion of the open enclosure with the index amount of the granular material; a sealing device configured to join opposing surfaces of the folded strip of packaging material to isolate the distal portion of the open enclosure from a remainder of the open enclosure that includes the enclosure opening such that the isolated distal portion of the open enclosure establishes a sealed enclosure that contains the index amount of the granular material in the folded strip of packaging material; and a cutting device configured to separate the sealed enclosure from a remainder of the folded strip of packaging material to establish an article of packaging that contains the index amount of the granular material.

9 . A dosing apparatus, comprising:
a doser mechanism including a cylindrical shell and an auger conveyor, the cylindrical shell having a doser inlet opening and a doser outlet opening, the auger conveyor extending through the cylindrical shell and further extending through the doser inlet opening; an intake hopper, the intake hopper including an intake hopper structure defining an intake hopper enclosure, an intake hopper inlet opening extending through a top wall of the intake hopper structure, and an intake hopper outlet opening extending through the intake hopper structure at a location that is below the intake hopper inlet opening, wherein the doser mechanism is coupled to the intake hopper such that the auger conveyor extends through both the doser inlet opening and the intake hopper outlet opening into the intake hopper enclosure; a supply hopper including a supply hopper structure defining a supply hopper enclosure, a supply hopper outlet opening extending through a bottom wall of the supply hopper structure; and a drop-down device coupled between the supply hopper outlet opening and the intake hopper inlet opening, wherein the drop-down device includes
a conduit structure defining a conduit having a central longitudinal axis and extending along the central longitudinal axis between a drop-down inlet opening at a top end of the conduit structure and a drop-down outlet opening at a bottom end of the conduit structure, and
a slat having a first end that is proximate to at least one inner surface of the conduit structure and a second end that is distal to the at least one inner surface of the conduit structure in relation to the first end and is proximate to the drop-down outlet opening in relation to the first end, the slat including an upper slat surface extending from the first end to the second end such that the upper slat surface is angled toward the drop-down outlet opening from the first end at an inclination angle.

10 . The dosing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the upper slat surface is a planar surface that extends along a plane that is angled at the inclination angle.

11 . The dosing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the inclination angle is about 35 degrees.

12 . The dosing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the drop-down device includes a plurality of slats extending from one or more inner surfaces of the conduit structure into the conduit, the plurality of slats including the slat.

13 . The dosing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of slats includes at least two slats that are offset from each other in a vertical direction extending parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the conduit.

14 . The dosing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the at least two slats at least partially overlap in the vertical direction.

15 . The dosing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the at least two slats extend into the conduit from opposite side ends of the conduit.

16 . The dosing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein
the plurality of slats are offset from each other in the vertical direction, and vertically adjacent slats of the plurality of slats extend into the conduit from opposite side ends of the conduit.

17 . The dosing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the drop-down device includes a slot opening extending through a thickness of the conduit structure, the slat extending through the slot opening into the conduit through the thickness of the conduit structure.

18 . The dosing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the drop-down device further includes a sleeve structure configured to receive and horizontally surround the supply hopper outlet ope

Assignees

• Altria Client Services Llc

Inventors

• Williams Dwight David
• Woods Dremere Kevon

Classifications

• B65G47/19

  having means for controlling material flow, e.g. to prevent overloading · CPC title

• G01F11/24

  for fluent solid material · CPC title

• B65B1/40

  by timing of filling operations · CPC title

• B65B65/006

  Multiple parallel packaging lines · CPC title

• B65B37/02

  by gravity flow · CPC title