Patent ID: 6152192
Filing Date: 2000-11-28
Classification: F17C,G05D

Abstract:
A controller for a container filling system which includes plural conduits for respectively coupling to sources of a plurality of different compressed gases, a manifold coupled to the conduits and adapted to be coupled to plural product containers to be filled, and pumps respectively coupled between the sources and the conduits, the controller comprising:valves connected between the conduits and the manifold,a reference container communicating with the manifold,a weight sensor coupled to the reference container for providing a weight signal representative of the weight of gas in the reference container,a user interface, anda processor coupled to the pumps and to the weight sensor and to the valves and to the user interface and executing a stored program routine automatically to operate the pumps and the valves for filling the product containers with a gas load in accordance with a predetermined formula which specifies the proportions of the gases in the load and the order in which they are to be added to the product containers, the program routine including (a) a portion responsive to the user interface for establishing and storing the formula, (b) a portion for calculating the weight of each gas to be added based upon the formula proportions, and (c) a portion responsive to the weight signal and the calculated weights for selectively actuating the pumps and the valves for filling the reference container with the calculated gas weights and simultaneously filling the product containers in accordance with the formula.