Patent ID: 7569778

Claim:
An arrangement for conveying sticky and/or flexible product material to a weighing system, comprising: an infeed configured to hold the product material for conveyance to the weighing system and comprising a central part; a plurality of dosing mechanisms positioned around the central part, the central part being configured to direct the product material radially outward to the plurality of dosing mechanisms, the dosing mechanisms being operable for controllably conveying product material portions from the infeed to the weighing system; and a control unit operable to control the dosing mechanisms to convey a desired portion of product material to the weighing system; wherein each of the dosing mechanisms comprises: a trough connected to the infeed and configured to receive product material from the infeed; a transport screw arranged in the trough and operable to convey the product material from the infeed through the trough to the weighing system, wherein the transport screw is configured as a single continuous rod defining a hollow single helix having an increasing pitch along its length; and a motor operably coupled to the transport screw to drive the transport screw in response to the control unit.