CONTAINER FILLING APPARATUS

Abstract: Apparatus for delivering objects to a container so that damage to the objects is avoided, wherein the container is supported on or by a movable support which maintains substantially constant the distance the objects must fall when being delivered to the container regardless of the fill level of the container. The apparatus also allows weighing and counting of the objects.

Description: Container Filling Apparatus This invention relates to container filling apparatus, and relates more particularly but not exclusively to apparatus for filling containers such as bags or boxes with a crop such as potatoes . Conventionally, seed potatoes are harvested and put into potato stores directly from the fields in the mixture of harvested sizes as and then dried for a period of about 4 weeks before being sold. When an order is received for a particular size of potato, the potatoes in store are sorted for size and quality, and then packed into bags or boxes as appropriate. It is normal to supply seed potatoes in a number of different sized containers, such as 10kg, 25kg and 50kg bags, 1000kg cardboard boxes and 10.00kg wooden boxes. However, one of the disadvantages of this conventional system is that sorting and grading of potatoes is required after the order is received and immediately before the containers are filled. Therefore it may be necessary for the grading line to sort and grade, for example, 20 tons of one variety of seed potato and then 20 tons of another variety. Before the second variety can be sorted and graded, it is necessary to strip and clean the grading line. This non-productive procedure can take 30 to 40 minutes and may need to be done four or five times a week. It therefore results in an average 2 to 3 hours stoppage time per week during which there is no useful output from the grading line. In addition, when the potato variety is changed, it takes the staff on the grading line a certain period of time to adjust to the new variety and there is the added problem that different customers may require different packaging. There is also the problem that existing grading and sizing machinery tends to damage the potatoes and that this damage may not be visible before the potatoes are discharged into the appropriate container. It is therefore desirable to store these graded and sized seed potatoes in appropriate conditions for a given period of time before potatoes are loaded into containers and the potato-filled containers supplied to customers. However, existing machinery for filling the containers tends to damage seed potatoes as the seed potatoes enter the container, especially when the container is empty and the seed potatoes have to fall through the full height of the container onto the bottom of the container. In accordance with the present invention there is provided apparatus for filling a container with a plurality of objects, the apparatus comprising transportation means to transport the objects to an opening in the container, support means to support the container, the support means comprising a moveable member which contacts the container and moves the bottom of the container relative to the opening of the container during filling of the container with the objects from the transportation device, such that the distance from a delivery end of the transportation means adjacent the opening in the container to the moveable member increases as the container is filled with the objects. Typically, the container may have substantially rigid sidewalls and the moveable member forms the base of the container, so that the moveable member moves relative to the container sidewalls to increase the distance between the opening and the base as the container is filled. Alternatively, form of the invention, the container may have flexible sidewalls and the moveable member contacts the base of the container and moves away from the opening in the container as the container is filled, so that the sidewalls of the container move from a contracted condition to an extended condition. Typically, where the apparatus comprises the container with rigid sidewalls and a moveable base, the moveable member may move to remove the base of the container and permit the objects to fall on to a second transport means located below the base, and the second transport means may then transport the objects to the opening of the container having flexible sidewalls and a moveable base plate which engages with the flexible sidewall container. In this form of the invention the container with rigid sidewalls typically acts as a measuring container which typically moves the moveable member to open the base when the quantity or weight of objects in the container reaches or exceeds a predetermined threshold value . Alternatively, the container comprises flexible sidewalls, and the moveable member moves towards and away from the opening of the container a plurality of times during the filling of the container. Typically, the transport means and the second transport means move relative to the opening in the container, so that objects dispensed to the container are evenly distributed. Alternatively, the apparatus may comprise a container having substantially rigid sidewalls and a moveable member forming the base of the container, and a support means for a flexible wall container and a separate transport means to convey objects either to the container having rigid sidewalls or to the flexible walled container mounted on the support means. Typically, the support device may be adapted to support flexible walled containers, such as bags, and also rigid walled containers, such as boxes. Typically, the apparatus is for filling a container with a crop, such as potatoes and preferably seed potatoes. Typically, the transport means are conveyor belts or rotating rollers, or a combination of conveyor belts and rotating rollers. Preferably, the apparatus comprises two containers, two support means and transport means which is moved between the two containers mounted thereon, so that the transport means starts to fill the second container when the first container has been filled. This gives the advantage of permitting container filling to continue during the replacement of the filled container with an empty container. Typically, when the rigid-walled container is supported on the support means the support means tilts the rigid- walled container during filling of the container. Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figs 1-4 schematically illustrate successive stages in a cycle of operation of a first embodiment of the invention; Figs 5-8 schematically illustrate successive stages in a cycle of operation of a second embodiment of the invention; Fig 9 schematically illustrates a third embodiment of the invention; Figs 10-15 schematically illustrate successive stages in a cycle of operation of a fourth embodiment of the invention; and Figs 16 and 17 schematically illustrate a side and plan view of a further embodiment. Referring first to Figs 1 to 4, there is shown a bag filling apparatus 20 which comprises a hopper 22 that is vertically moveable in a controlled manner by means of a hoist 24 or any other suitable arrangement. The bag filling apparatus 20 also comprises a belt conveyor 26 whose speed can be varied between standstill and a maximum. The discharge end of the conveyor 26 is displaceable in a horizontal direction either to lie over the near edge of the hopper 22 (Figs 1-3) or over the centre of the hopper 22 (Fig 4) . The apparatus 20 is intended to fill non-rigid bags with up to 1000kg of potatoes in a manner which reduces the damage caused to potatoes when they are simply dropped into bags, unlike conventional bag-filling arrangements. An initially empty bag 30 is placed on the hopper 22 in a vertically collapsed and horizontally open condition, as depicted in Fig 1. The hoist 24 is operated so as to raise the bag-carrying hopper 22 to bring the open top of the bag 30 to just below the level of the discharge end of the conveyor 26. Handles (not shown) on the bag 30 are hooked onto suspension brackets (not shown) forming part of the apparatus 20 so that the bag 30 will be suspended by its handles if the hopper 22 is lowered below the height at which the hopper 26 holds up the bottom of the bag 30. The discharge end of the conveyor 26 is horizontally displaced to bring it over the near edge of the bag 30. The conveyor 26 is then started up so that its top surface is moving towards the open top of the bag 30, and a succession of potatoes 40 are placed on the top surface of the conveyor 26 so as to be conveyed towards the open top of the bag 30. Because of the vertically collapsed initial condition of the bag 30, the potatoes 40 have a minimal distance to fall before landing on the bottom of the bag 30, as depicted in Fig 1. Once the potatoes 40 have piled up in the bag 30 to the state depicted in Fig 1, the hopper 22 is lowered by suitable operation of the hoist 24, either continuously or in discrete steps, and potato loading is continued with the hopper height being selected to minimise potato drop height until the bag 30 is about 75 - 80% full as depicted in Fig 2. Next, the hopper 22 is moved up and down as depicted in Fig 3, into and out of contact with the bottom of the bag 30, the handles engaged with the suspension brackets supporting the bag 3a when the hopper 22 is not in contact with the bag 3a. This procedure distributes the potatoes 40 already loaded into the bag 30 and ensures that the bottom corners of the bag 30 are full. The conveyor 26 may be temporarily halted and/or placement of potatoes 40 on the conveyor 26 may be temporarily discontinued during this redistribution of pre-loaded potatoes. Finally, the hopper 22 is fully lowered so that the bag 30 is suspended on its handles free of contact with hopper 22, and the discharge end of the conveyor 26 is horizontally moved to lie over the middle of the bag 30 as shown in Fig 4. Motion of the conveyor 26 and supply of potatoes 40 to the conveyor 26 is resumed, if temporarily discontinued, so that loading of potatoes 40 into the bag 30 resumes or continues. When the bag 30 is fully loaded (as determined by weight or volume), the conveyor 26 is withdrawn, and the loaded bag is unhooked and removed (e.g. by a fork-lift truck, not shown) as completion of a bag-loading cycle of operation of the apparatus 20. Unhooking of the loaded bag 30 is facilitated by raising the hopper 22 sufficiently to take the weight of the bag 30 and its load of potatoes 40 off the bag handles. This advantageously places the hopper 22 in its raised position ready to receive an empty bag for the next cycle of bag filling) . Figs 5-8 show apparatus 50 for batch-weighing potatoes in a manner which reduces the damage caused to potatoes and other crops when they are tipped into the fixed hoppers of prior art batch-weighing machines. The apparatus 50 comprises a hopper 52 having parallel sidewalls 54 and a moveable floor 56 whose position and alignment is controlled by suitable means (not shown in Figs 5-8). A controllable conveyor 58 supplies seed potatoes to the hopper 52 in a manner similar to the previously described conveyor 26. At the start of a batch-weighing cycle of operations, the hopper 52 is empty of potatoes and its floor 56 is raised to lie a short distance below the top of the hopper sidewalls 54, as shown in Fig 5. The conveyor 58 is started up to deliver seed potatoes into the hopper 52 such that they pile up on the hopper floor 56 between the sidewalls 54. Because of the initially raised position of the hopper floor 56, the potatoes fall a minimal distance (which is substantially less than the distance to fall into conventional hoppers having floors at a fixed and relatively low height much beneath the discharge end of a potato conveyor) . As the potatoes pile up inside the hopper 52 to reach or approach the top of the hopper 52, the hopper floor 56 is lowered as shown in Fig 6. This progressive lowering of the hopper floor 56 increases the capacity of the hopper 52 without substantially increasing the distance that incoming potatoes delivered by the conveyor 58 have to fall. Lowering of the hopper floor 56 can be controlled by the measured weight of dispensed potatoes rather than as a function of elapsed time. As the loading procedure continues and the hopper floor 56 lowers to near the bottom of the hopper 52 (see Fig 7), the predetermined batch weight will be reached, as monitored for example by load cells under the hopper floor 56 or by back-pressure in the floor hoist. As an alternative to batch weighing, the apparatus 50 can be used to produce batches of a predetermined volume, as noted, for example, by the hopper floor 56 lowering by a predetermined maximum extent and the hopper 52 subsequently filling to the top of the sidewalls 54. When the predetermined batch weight, number or volume is reached, loading of potatoes is halted by stopping the conveyor 58 or the supply of potatoes thereto. One edge of the hopper floor 56 is then lowered below the bottom edge of the adjacent hopper sidewall 54 to act as a discharge ramp (see Fig 8). The batch of potatoes then rolls onto a receiving surface 60 which may be a further conveyor (see Fig 9 ) or a chute (not depicted) which transports the potatoes to a further stage, for example, for packaging. To ready the apparatus 50 for a further cycle of operations, the hopper floor 56 is returned to the raised position as shown in Fig 5. The apparatus 50 is suitable for measuring batches of potatoes up to 50kg in weight. Fig 9 shows apparatus 70 for filling bags and sacks with seed potatoes and the like, while minimising drop distances reduce damage. In the apparatus 70, a vertically short annular inlet member 72 provides a cylindrical surface onto which the open end of a sack 74 can be removably clamped by any suitable means. The body of the initially empty sack 74 is supported on a tiltable support 76 which is initially set to the shallow angle shown in full lines in Fig 9, but which can be selectively dropped to a substantially vertical angle as depicted in dashed lines in Fig 9. The upper part of the inlet member 72 is shaped as a shallow funnel to gather and channel potatoes delivered by a conveyor 60. The delivered potatoes fall through the inlet member 72 and into the sack 74. The initial position of the sack 74 ensures that at the start of a cycle the incoming potatoes fall a minimum distance and roll down into the sack 74. During filling of the sack 74, the tiltable support 76 can be lowered continuously or in several steps, or slowly dropped to be substantially vertical at a suitable stage in the filling cycle. The initial shallow-angle support of the sack 76 ensures that the first potatoes to enter the sack 74 roll into the sack 74 and do not drop the full height to land on its empty lower end, as is the case with conventional sack- filling machines. Although the potato supplying arrangement in the apparatus 70 may take any suitable form, it is preferable to use a tandem batch-weighing system comprising two side-by-side batch-weighing arrangements 50, as previously described with reference to Figs 5-8, operated to discharge alternately onto the conveyor 60. By arranging the relative timing of the two batch- weighing cycles such that one of the batch weighing arrangements 50 discharges when the other of the two batch weighing arrangements 50 is about half-way through its own respective cycle, surges of potatoes will be minimised and sack-loading productivity will be maximised. Figs 10-15 show a box-filling system 80 for filling non-flexible boxes having capacities in the range from 500kg to 1200kg. The box-filling system 80 is double- ended, i.e. it is intended for alternate filling of boxes in either of two distinct locations within the system 80 so that a box can continue to be loaded in one location while a previously filled box in the other location is removed and replaced with an empty box. Figs 10-14 respectively show successive stages in a half-cycle of box-filling operations, the other half- cycle being a mirror sequence of operations, in reverse, of which Fig 15 depicts the first. Of the two box locations within the apparatus 80, one is at the extreme left of each of Figs 10-15, while the other box location is at the extreme right of these Figs. At each box location is independently operable equipment for controllably raising, lowering, and tilting the respective box, such equipment being omitted from Figs 10-15 for clarity. A horizontally displaceable bi-directional conveyor 82 is located within the apparatus 80 to convey potatoes from a central source (not depicted in Figs 10-15) to the two box locations in turn. The direction of movement of the upper surface of the conveyor 82 is reversible i.e. the direction of conveyance is selectively leftwards or rightwards (as viewed in Figs 10-15). Also, the conveyor 82 is horizontally displaceable from right to left as viewed in Figs 10- 14, and vice versa to bring the discharge end of the conveyor 82 progressively from over the near edge of one of the boxes 84 (Fig 10) to a point adjacent but not beyond the far edge of the other box 86 (Fig 14). The conveyor 82 then undergoes a mirror image of these Fig 10 to Fig 14 movements in the next half-cycle However, at all times one part of the conveyor 82 remains under the central source so that the conveyor 82 always catches and distributes potatoes supplied from the central source. A half-cycle of operations of the box-filling system 80 will now be detailed. Starting at Fig 10, box 84 has just been filled and box 86 is beginning to be loaded. Box 86 is raised and tilted as shown in Fig 10. The top surface of the conveyor 82 is moving from right to left, and the conveyor as a whole is horizontally displaced so that its left end is just over the near edge of the box 86. This allows the first potatoes entering the box 86 to roll down its near side, instead of dropping the full height of the box as in conventional box-filling machines . Referring now to Fig 11, as the quantity of potatoes in box 86 increases and builds up in the down-tilted side of the box, the tilt of the box 86 is reduced. At the same time, the previously filled box 84 is fully lowered in readiness to be removed from the system 80. Progressing to Fig 12, the build-up of potatoes in the near side of the box 86 continues and has reached an extent that the tilt of the box 86 can be reduced to zero while still allowing incoming potatoes to roll down the sloping face of the mound of potatoes, rather than dropping. Meanwhile, the previously filled box 84 has been removed from the other end of the system 80. As next shown in Fig 13, further filling of the box 86 is undertaken by displacing the whole of the conveyor 82 in a leftwards direction (as viewed in Fig 13) so that the discharge end of the conveyor 82 moves from the near edge of the box 86 towards the far side of the box 86, in order to facilitate good distribution of potatoes within the box 86. At the other end of the system 80, the location of the previously filled box 84 is now occupied by a new empty box 88. Fig 14 shows the conveyor 82 approaching its maximum leftwards displacement, adjacent the far edge of the box 86, in order to complete filling of the box 86 with potatoes. When load sensors (not shown) sense that the contents of the box 86 have reached a predetermined weight, the conveyor 82 is temporarily stopped. At the same time, the empty box 88 is raised in preparation for its filling. To commence the next half-cycle of operation of the system 80 as shown in Fig 15, in which box filling takes place in the right side of the system, the temporarily stationary conveyor 82 is displaced rightwards until its rightward end is just over the near edge of the previously raised and now tilted box 88. The conveyor 82 is then restarted but in the opposite direction of conveyance to that employed in Figs 10-14, i.e. upper surface of the conveyor 82 is now moving from left to right such that potatoes deposited in the middle of the conveyor 82 from the central source are carried towards the box 88. Further steps in the second half-cycle shown starting in Fig 15 will be mirror images of the operations shown in Figs 11-14, just as Fig 15 is a mirror image of Fig 10. To summarise operation of the system 80: a) during the first half-cycle, fill the box on the left; remove the full box on the right and replace it with an empty box. b) during the second half-cycle, fill the box on the right; remove the full box on the left and replace it with an empty box. A further embodiment 100 of the invention shown in Figs 16 and 17 can weigh and count the tubers as they are filled into containers such as bags or boxes . The device can control filling conveyors so that the full level can be determined by a set number of tubers and/or a set weight. If the fill is controlled by the number of tubers, then the resultant weight can be shown; conversely, if the fill is controlled by the weight, then the resultant number of tubers can be shown. The device can control the packing line so the line will stop when a total number of tubers or a total weight has been reached. The weigher can optionally tare automatically, and can continually monitor the crop for the number of tubers per 50kg of weight The crop is conveyed from the sorting table to the reversing conveyor by a flat belt 110 upon which the tubers T are piled at llOp. The belt 110 feeds the tubers T onto a roller table 120 which singulates the tubers T before they are passed on to belt 130 mounted on 4 weight cells 136. Through electronic (eg computer) control and calibration the tubers T are weighed on belt 130. There are shallow ribs on belt 130 to maintain the singulation of the tubers T. The singulated tubers pass between the light emitters and receivers of tuber counter 140. The tubers T are collected by belt 150 and conveyed left or right to fill respective bags/boxes etc. The information of weight and number of tubers is processed by the computer. The amount of tubers filled into the container can be controlled by: 1) a pre-determined number of tubers which can be specified in the control instructions. When this number is reached the computer can calculate the time needed for the last tuber of that number to reach the container, at which point the control system reverses belt 150. The read out on the panel can show the number of tubers and the weight of one bag/box until the other bag/box has been filled. This read out can later be used to automatically print this information for each bag/box. 2) a pre-determined weight of tubers which can be specified in the control instructions. When this weight has been reached the computer will calculate the time needed for the last tuber of that weight to reach the container, at which point the control system then reverses belt 150. The read out on the control Panel will show the weight and the number of tubes as for the previous example. The counter/weigher can continually monitor the number of tubers per 50kg weight. This is important information for the purchase of the seed and is presently unavailable. The control panel read out can show the average counts/50kg for each container and the degree of variation. This can also be automatically printed, processed by the computer and compared to parameters entered in the control panel to vary automatically the number of tubers in each container according to the 50kg count. This will allow the purchaser of the seed to plan with increased accuracy. The equipment in the system 80 for raising, lowering and tilting boxes would normally include side members to locate the boxes accurately, and to restrain the boxes during tilting. These side members are preferably made adjustable to accommodate boxes of different sizes. Moreover, the system controls are preferably linked to such adjustable side members to respond automatically to the different loading parameters of different boxes as indicated by the variable positions of these side members, i.e. repositioning the side members automatically selects the appropriate one of a plurality of pre-programmed operational cycles of the system 80. Thus a further optional embodiment of the invention comprises transportation means to transport the objects to an opening in the container, support means capable of supporting the container, means for monitoring the weight of the container as it is being filled, and means for monitoring the number of items being filled into the container. This embodiment can optionally be combined with the feature of the movable support means to alter the distance between the bottom of the container and the transportation means. Modifications and improvements may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims: Claims 1. Apparatus for filling a container with a plurality of objects, the apparatus comprising transportation means to transport the objects to an opening in the container, support means for the container, the support means producing movement of the bottom of the container relative to the opening of the container during filling of the container with the objects from the transportation device, such that the distance from a delivery end of the transportation means adjacent the opening in the container to the support means increases as the container is filled with the objects. 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container has substantially rigid sidewalls and the support means is movable relative to the container sidewalls to increase the distance between the opening and the base as the container is filled. 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the support means is movable to displace the base of a first container and deliver the objects to a second transport means. 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second transport means delivers the objects to the opening of a second container having flexible sidewalls and supported by a moveable base plate. 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the base on the first container opens when the quantity or weight of objects in the first container reaches or exceeds a predetermined threshold value. 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container has flexible sidewalls and the support means moves the base away from the opening in the container as the container is filled, such that the sidewalls of the container move from a contracted condition to an extended condition. 7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the support means cycles towards and away from the opening of the container during the filling of the container. 8. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the transport means and/or the second transport means are movable relative to the opening in the container. 9. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, having a container with substantially rigid sidewalls, a flexible-walled container and a separate transport means to convey objects either to the container having rigid sidewalls or to the flexible walled container. 10. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the support device is adapted to support flexible walled and/or rigid walled containers. 11. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the objects comprise tubers. 12. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the transport means comprise conveyor belts and/or rollers. 13. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising two or more containers and wherein the transport means can deliver objects to respective containers in sequence. 14. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the support means tilts the container during filling. 15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the support means alters the angle of tilt of the container during filling. 16. Apparatus for filling a container with a plurality of objects, the apparatus comprising transportation means to transport the objects to an opening in the container, support means capable of supporting the container and maintaining within predetermined ranges the distance an object drops between a delivery end of the transportation means adjacent the opening in the container and the container as it is filled with the objects. 17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein the range varies by substantially 1-lOcm. 18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 or claim 17 wherein the range varies by substantially l-5cm. 19. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, having means for monitoring the weight of the container as it is being filled, and means for monitoring the number of items being filled into the container. 20. Apparatus for filling a container with a plurality of objects, the apparatus comprising transportation means to transport the objects to an opening in the container, support means capable of supporting the container, means for monitoring the weight of the container as it is being filled, and means for monitoring the number of items being filled into the container. 21. Apparatus as claimed in claim 20, having the features specified in any one of claims 2-14.

Inventors: STUART ALAN DONALD, STUART, ALAN, DONALD
Applicants: GORDON & INNES LIMITED, STUART ALAN DONALD, STUART, ALAN, DONALD
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B65B25
IPC codes: B65B25, B65B43