Patent ID: 7952037

Claim:
A method of forming portions of fibrous material and of removing the same by an endless conveyor ( 15 ) having at least one path of holders ( 14 ) for a respective portion of the fibrous material, comprising the steps of: a) weighing individual portions of the fibrous material; b) determining which of the weighed individual portions satisfy predetermined conditions as acceptable portions; c) detecting and ejecting as defective portions the weighed individual portions that do not satisfy the predetermined conditions; d) filling cyclically the holders ( 14 ) with the acceptable portions of the weighed individual portions at least two filling lines ( 36 - 39 ) of at least one filling station ( 11 , 12 ); e) following the detecting of a defective portion, sensing as a defective-portion holder the holders ( 14 ) that one of the at least two filling lines ( 36 - 39 ) originally predetermined for filling the holders ( 14 ) would have filled with the defective portion had the weighed individual portion satisfied the predetermined conditions; f) tracking the position of the sensed defective-portion holder during the conveying movement thereof, at least until the defective-portion holder is filled by a compensating filling line, the compensating filling line being another of the at least two filling lines ( 36 - 39 ) other than the filling lines ( 36 - 39 ) originally predetermined for filling the defective-portion holder; and g) using the compensating filling line, filling the defective-portion holder with an acceptable portion that satisfies the predetermined conditions.