Patent ID: 7159373

Claim:
An installation for filling crates with floating objects, comprising: a tank for receiving at least one crate to be filled; a device for loading and unloading said at least one crate into and from the tank; at least one supply channel for a water flow able to transport floating objects and connected to the tank to supply same; a supply circuit, able to maintain in said at least one supply channel a water supply delivery (Q 3 ), appropriate for transporting floating objects to the tank; a filling circuit, able to maintain a water filling delivery (Q 1 ), through the tank and into said at least one crate contained therein so as to introduce the transported floating objects thereto; the filling circuit including at least one water outlet from the tank to provide the filling delivery (Q 1 ), wherein: the supply circuit includes at least one bypass branch from said at least one supply channel at an entrance to an upper portion of the tank, so as to divide the supply delivery (Q 3 ) arriving at a downstream end of said at least one supply channel connected to the tank into a first component forming the filling delivery (Q 1 ) and a second component forming a bypass delivery (Q 2 ) that does not pass through the tank; a filling and supplying pump for the filling circuit and for the supply circuit, the filling and supply circuits being adapted to feed said filling and supplying pump, firstly with the filling delivery (Q 1 ) emerging from said at least one water outlet from the tank and secondly with the bypass delivery (Q 2 ).