Patent ID: 7360637

Claim:
A product metering system comprising: A) a transport mechanism for transporting individual product units in lanes to a staging area ahead of a subsequent product unit handling operation said mechanism for transporting having an upstream and a downstream end; B) a moveable stop for restraining the flow of product units before they enter the subsequent handling operation on either a lane by lane or bulk basis; C) a mechanism for detecting when a predetermined quantity of product has accumulated in each lane of the staging area comprising; i) a support over the transport mechanism; ii) a flange extending downward from the support over each of the lanes; iii) registering individual apertures in each of the flanges; and iv) a sensor comprising; a) a photo eye located at one end of the support structure; and b) a rotating arm having a sensor end that contacts product units passing thereunder and a flag end that selectively covers and uncovers the individual apertures such that when a predetermined number of product units has entered the staging area all of the apertures are uncovered the photo eye detects that all lanes are full and triggers the restraint mechanism; and D) a restraint mechanism for restraining by individual lane further quantities of product before they enter the staging area once the predetermined quantity of product has accumulated in each lane as detected by the sensor and then releasing the predetermined quantity of product to the subsequent product handling operation.