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Title:
FILLING ARRANGEMENT
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2009/027946
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The invention discloses a filling arrangement with at least one inclined chute being associated with at least one supply chamber and being adapted to lead to a container, such as a bottle, to be filled.

Inventors:
LAING ROBERT JAMES (ZA)
DU TOIT PIERRE (ZA)
WIEHAHN GEORGE (ZA)
Application Number:
PCT/IB2008/053495
Publication Date:
March 05, 2009
Filing Date:
August 29, 2008
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
H G MOLENAAR & CO PTY LTD (ZA)
LAING ROBERT JAMES (ZA)
DU TOIT PIERRE (ZA)
WIEHAHN GEORGE (ZA)
International Classes:
B65B25/04; B65B3/06; B65B35/26
Foreign References:
JP2001151201A2001-06-05
JPH0577812A1993-03-30
EP1010972A12000-06-21
US4693285A1987-09-15
GB2038766A1980-07-30
US6625961B12003-09-30
US2280776A1942-04-28
US20020046551A12002-04-25
JPH09208040A1997-08-12
Other References:
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN & JP 2001 151201 A (NISSIN FOOD PROD CO LTD) 05 June 2001
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN & JP 05 077812 A (NIKKO:KK) 30 March 1993
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN & JP 09 208040 A (BRIDGESTONE CORP) 12 August 1997
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
GERNTHOLTZ, Richard, Otto, Paul et al. (P.O. Box 8, 8000 Cape Town, ZA)
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Claims:

CLAIMS

1. A filling arrangement including at least one inclined chute being associated with at least one supply chamber and being adapted to lead to a container to be filled.

2. A filling arrangement as claim in claim 1, in which each supply chamber has an inner sheath and an outer sheath that are movable relative to each other to allow for altering the volume within the supply chamber.

3. A filling arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which each supply chamber has a removable gate being adapted to allow any contents within the supply chamber to be exhausted therefrom.

4. A filling arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which a number of chutes are provided on a chute ring that is associated with a rotary pocket filling machine.

5. A filling arrangement as claimed in claim 4, in which each supply chamber is a pocket in the rotary pocket filling machine.

6. A filling arrangement as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, in which each chute is inclined operatively downwardly and radially inwardly towards a centre of the chute ring.

7. A filling arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which each chute is tapered to be narrower towards its end remote from its associated supply chamber.

8. A filling arrangement as claimed in claim 7, in which each chute has a wider and shallower cross-section at its end beneath its supply chamber, while having a narrower and deeper cross section at its end remote from its associated supply chamber.

9. A filling arrangement as claimed in claim 8, in which the wider end of each chute has a width being equal to or wider than a diameter of its associated supply chamber.

10. A filling arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which each chute is provided with a funnel near its end leading to a container.

11. A filling arrangement as claimed claim 10, in which the funnel is provided at the end of the chute leading to a container.

12. A filling arrangement as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11, in which the funnel is conically shaped and has an outlet with a smaller diameter than a diameter of a container neck of a container to be filled.

13. A filling arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which includes vibrating means to vibrate a container during a filling operation.

14. A filling arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which is arranged to allow at least two neighbouring chutes from two or more neighbouring supply chambers to be directed towards a single container.

15. A filling arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the container is a bottle.

16. A filling arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

Description:

FILLING ARRANGEMENT

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a filling arrangement and a method for packaging agricultural produce.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for packaging agricultural produce that is susceptible to spoilage and thus has a relatively limited shelf life.

BACKGROUND TO INVENTION

Fruit produce that has traditionally been sold in cans is normally inserted into a can by using a pocket filling machine. Such a filling machine has a number of cylindrical pockets, with each pocket having substantially the same volume and diameter as one of the cans. Fruit is then placed into each of the pockets to fully fill them and any excess fruit is removed. Thereafter a gate at the base of each pocket opens to allow the fruit to fall into a can located below that pocket.

Such pocket filling machines have been successfully used in the can industry for a number of years. However, a difficulty has arisen since the introduction and use of plastic bottles to package the fruit. Plastic bottles normally have a neck for receiving a lid or cap and both the bottle and the cap have a uniform external diameter, which is advantageous for packaging the bottles on store shelves. This requires the neck of the bottle to have a smaller diameter compared to the body of the bottle. The diameter of the pockets of the pocket filling machine must thus be reduced to the same diameter as the bottle neck to avoid fruit spilling over the sides of the neck, which consequently leads to longer filling times when filling plastic bottles in comparison to tin cans.

Furthermore, to increase the aesthetics of the plastic bottles and also to make packaging more efficient, the plastic bottles are often provided in shapes other than cylindrical, e.g. square shaped bottles. When filling fruit pieces into such non-cylindrical bottles, the fruit often gets caught in the corners and does not pack efficiently resulting in gaps forming between the fruit pieces. Thus the

requisite volume of fruit is not easily filled into the bottles and it takes longer for the fruit to settle and to fill the required volume of fruit.

It is an object of the invention to suggest a filling arrangement, which will assist in overcoming these problems.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the invention, a filling arrangement includes at least one inclined chute being associated with at least one supply chamber and being adapted to lead to a container to be filled.

Each supply chamber may have an inner sheath and an outer sheath that are movable relative to each other to allow for altering the volume within the supply chamber.

Each supply chamber may have a removable gate being adapted to allow any contents within the supply chamber to be exhausted therefrom.

A number of chutes may be provided on a chute ring that is associated with a rotary pocket filling machine.

Each supply chamber may be a pocket in the rotary pocket filling machine.

Each chute may be inclined operatively downwardly and radially inwardly towards a centre of the chute ring.

Each chute may be tapered to be narrower towards its end remote from its associated supply chamber.

Each chute may have a wider and shallower cross-section at its end beneath its supply chamber, while having a narrower and deeper cross section at its end remote from its associated supply chamber.

The wider end of each chute may have a width being equal to or wider than a diameter of its associated supply chamber.

Each chute may be provided with a funnel near its end leading to a container.

The funnel may be provided at the end of the chute leading to a container.

The funnel may be conically shaped and have an outlet with a smaller diameter than a diameter of a container neck of a container to be filled.

The filling arrangement may include vibrating means to vibrate a container during a filling operation.

The filling arrangement may be arranged to allow at least two neighbouring chutes from two or more neighbouring supply chambers to be directed towards a single container.

The container may be a bottle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

In the drawings there is shown in :

Figure 1 : A perspective view from below of a filling arrangement according to the invention;

Figure 2: A perspective view from above of a chute ring shown in the filling arrangement of Figure 1; and

Figure 3: A sectional side view of the filling arrangement of Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

Referring to the drawings, a filling arrangement in accordance with the invention, generally indicated by reference numeral 10, is shown. The filling arrangement 10 includes a rotary pocket filler 12 having a supply chamber 14 with a number of annular pockets 16. Each pocket 16 has an inner sheath 18 and an outer sheath 20, which are movable relative to each other to allow for altering the volume of the pocket 16. In Figure 3, the upper part of the drawing is split into a compressed and extended configuration, thereby showing the pocket 16.1 with the sheaths 18.1,20.1 fully compressed so that the pocket 16.1

has the smallest volume allowed, while showing the pocket 16.2 with the sheaths 18.2,20.2 fully extended so that the pocket 16.2 has the largest volume allowed. At the operative base of each pocket 16, there is provided a removable gate 22.

The filling arrangement 10 further has a chute ring 24 located operatively below the pocket filler 12 and suspended therefrom by connecting arms 26. The chute ring 24 includes a number of chutes 28, each being associated with a pocket 16, leading from beneath their respective pockets 16 into conical funnels 30. The chutes 28 are inclined downwardly and radially inwardly towards the centre of the chute ring 24. The chutes 28 are tapered towards the funnels 30 so that they have a broader shallower cross-section at their ends that are located beneath the pockets 16, while having a narrower deeper cross-section at their ends leading into the funnels 30. The broader ends of the chutes 28 have a width being equal to or wider than the diameters of their associated pockets 16.

Beneath the chute ring 24 is a conventional rotary conveyor belt supporting containers or bottles 32 (shown in figure 3) having bottle necks 34. The funnels 30 have outlet openings 36 that are smaller in diameter than the diameter of the bottle necks 34 so that the outlets of the funnels 30 can be flush with or extend at least partially into the necks 34 during a filling operation. This prevents or largely reduces contamination of a sealing flange of the bottles 32 by accidental spillage of the fruit.

In use, the volume of the pockets 16 will be set according to the type of fruit being filled and also according to the volume of the bottles 32 to be filled. A supply of fruit is provided in the chamber 14 and filled into each of the pockets 16, with any excess fruit being wiped off from the top opening of the pockets 16. When the gates 22 are opened, the fruit falls onto and slides down the chutes 28. The tapering of the chutes 28 assists in stringing out the fruit pieces as they slide down towards the funnels 30 so that they are able to pass easily through the bottle neck 34. The stringing out and narrowing of the filling stream further assists in controlling the delivery of the fruit to the bottles 32 and improves the packing density of the fruit within the bottles 32, thus enabling all the fruit from the pockets to be inserted into their associated bottles 32. The

bottles 32 and the funnels 30 are vibrated during a filling operation to assist in settling of the fruit inside the bottles 32.

Depending on the size of the funnels 30, variously shaped bottles 32 with variously sized necks 34 can be filled from the same pocket filler 12. This allows more extensive use of the filling arrangement and alleviates the need for the pockets 16 and the bottle necks 34 to have the same diameters. A further advantage is that the diameter and shape of the pockets 16 can be altered so that the pockets 16 are optimised for the fruit to be bottled.

Due to the radially inward direction of the chutes 28, the pitch or spacing between adjacent bottles 32 is reduced. This assists in further production on a filling line as the subsequent sealing of the bottles can occur at a higher tempo and also with less wastage of sealing film.

In an alternative embodiment, drawings of which are not shown, two or more neighbouring chutes 28 from two or more neighbouring pockets 16 can be directed to the same funnel 30. This allows filling of a bottle 32 at a higher tempo than filling from a single pocket 16 with a single chute 28. Furthermore, different types of fruit can be placed into the neighbouring pockets 16 allowing a fruit medley to be concurrently packaged into the bottles 16. This has the advantage in that the fruit medley is mixed up within the bottles 16 during the filing process and thus avoids the fruit being filled in separate layers on top of each other.