FIELD OF THE INVENTION;

The present invention generally relates to weighing and dispensing of free flowing granular products and more particularly to an automatic device to accurately weigh and dispense free flowing granular products like rice, sugar, grains, pulses etc,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

Weighing, packing and coding are highly necessary for the retail commerce. Weighing and Packing is the early phase of the retail commerce in the modern distribution system of grains, pulses, sugar and the like commodities, and requires speed and accuracy. Speed is required for the same machine to handle more quantity of product. Accuracy is required for the customer to get the real value for his money spent and save the seller from the loss due to excess weight. Packaging provides convenience of handling, avoid loss during transit and protect it from pests and the like, gives better present ability and thereby marketability.

Manual weighing and bagging was the method used in India due to the availability of cheap labour and very high cost of automated machines. Now the scenario has changed. Automation has become cheaper and finds its application worldwide. In the older installations, the delivery spout of most of the mass storage silos was at a very low level of 1.5 to 2 meters from the floor level suitable for human operator standing on the floor. But the available automated weighing and bagging system needs at least 5 meters of head space. These systems cannot be easily adapted to the existing mass storage silos. Only new factory can plan and adapt to the available weighing and bagging system as the silo delivery system has to be above 5 meters or more from the ground level for the installation of the weighing and bagging system. But this will involve more capital cost for the civil construction as the factory roof has to be higher, the silo pedestals have to be taller and the bucket elevators to lift the product to the silo also need be taller to lift the material to such heights.

United States patent number 4280538 to Dale P. Hazelbaker entitled "Insulation packaging machine" relates to a machine and method of packaging loose fill material such as fiber insulation into a rectilinear bag. It consists of a storage tank above a trough enclosing twin counter rotating augers which forcibly drive the loose fill material into a passageway over which the bag is stretched, forcing the bag off the stretcher as it is filled. A hinged can assembly containing the bag is guided along a track as the bag is filled and forcibly moved off the stretcher, presenting the filled bag to an operator who removes it and seals the bag.

United states patent number 2260718 to John D Merrifield entitled "Weighing and packaging machine" relates to a device that is preset to accurately and continuously weigh out desired amounts of material and deliver the same to bagging or packaging devices at rapid, regular intervals, and in which, the entire operation will be automatic.

United States patent number 936557 to William Emery Nickerson entitled "automatic weighing apparatus" relates to machines for obtaining desired quantities of material, which machines operate by separating a stream of material into successive series of proportional increments and distributing these increments in order among a number of receptacles until a definite gross quantity of material is operated upon.

United States patent number 3498020 to Paul Eppenberger entitled "Sack-filling equipment" relates to sack and bag filling equipment capable of automatically weighing charges of the material, filling each weighed charge into bags or sacks, and marking and closing the filled bags and sacks

United States patent number 3045770 to Haver Fritz entitled "Packing machine for granular and powdered materials" relates to stationary valve bag packing machines in which the empty bag stands on a balance and filling and weighing is done in one operation.

United States patent number 4567820 to Frank E. Munsell entitled "silo bag packing machine" relates to apparatus for use in compacting various types of materials such as grain or green forage into large air-tight tubes or bags. The apparatus includes an auger for packing the materials which is supported in part by bearing means located outside of the material flowpath and in part by an extended section supported by the material itself thereby eliminating the possibility of material becoming entangled or jammed. A retractable conveyor assembly is also incorporated therein which may be easily moved between operating and transport positions. An optional grain loading auger is also disclosed which is particularly well suited for transfering grain or like materials from a transporter to the packing apparatus.

United States patent number 3837507 to Lepley J et al entitled "Adjustable bottom discharge for silo" relates to Adjustable discharge means mounted adjacent to the bottom of a silo having a discharge opening therein and including a shield member over said discharge opening to prevent clogging thereof. One side of the shield member being open for the admission of material to be discharged there through and the movement of material in discharged direction is controlled by a baffle member movable relative to the open side of the shield member and also adapted to close the opening at the completion of a discharge operation.

United States patent number 589287 to Francis Ii entitled "Weighing and bagging machine" relates to a weighing and bagging machine comprising a stream-controlling mechanism whereby the supply of material to the load-receiver of the weighing mechanism is properly regulated or graduated during weighing of a load and instantly stopped or cut off at the right time.

Though prior art discloses various automated weighing and dispensing systems adaptable to storage silos, their usability becomes limited as they cannot be adapted for silos with low delivery height. Silo lifting has to be performed in order to adapt to the existing weighing and bagging system and it is very difficult and costly. As a solution to the existing problem, the present invention provides an ultra compact automated device that can be easily mounted to existing storage silo and can be very well adapted to low level silo systems to accurately weigh and dispense free flowing granular products. The trolley mounted version can be taken to any of the silos thus eliminating installation of separate device on sites with multiple silos.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

The objective of the present invention is to provide an ultra compact automated weighing and dispensing device that can be adapted to silos even with a delivery height as low as 2 meters from the ground.

The automated weighing and dispensing device includes a delivery spout with bag clamping arrangement, multiple load cells,electronic controller, solenoid valves to control pneumatic cylinderswhich operatesfeeding gates for coarse / moderate / fine feeding.air service station, displays, control switches, pushbuttons and all associated electrical and pneumatics. The clamping mechanism for different sizes of bags can be easily adapted / mounted and are equipped with rubber grip mechanism which enables to hold the bag with the weighed product from 5 kg to 75 kg.

According to the present invention, the bag is clamped to the delivery spout. On initiating the start command, all the feeding delivery gates get opened till the coarse set weight is achieved. The weight is sensed by load cells and communicated to the electronic controller that gives command to the pneumatically operated feed gates to close partially or to shut off the feed. The feeding of material is carried out in three stages, i.e., coarse feed, moderate feed and fine feed which are controlled by the electronic controller. In-flight compensation setting is done automatically by the controller through its self learning feature / manually which can be selected. During filling, when the set weight is reached the bag is automatically released. The input signal to the controller is obtained from multiple load cells. The display deviceshows the parameters and pushbuttons are used to set the parameters of measurement. The device can be either mounted on to a storage silo or on a self standing portable trolley.

These objectives and advantages of the invention will become more evident from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying pictures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING:

The objective of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the device with components;

FIG. 2 illustrates feeding gate assembly;

FIG. 3 illustrates detachable clamping mechanism;

FIG. 4 illustrates self standing portable trolley mounted with compact device.

REFERENCE NUMERALS:

Feed gate assembly (1)

Electronic Controller (2)

Delivery spout (quick changeable) (3)

Load cells (4)

Feed gate shutter (5)

Coarse feed pneumatic cylinder (6)

Moderate feed pneumatic cylinder (7)

Fine feed pneumatic cylinder (8)

Spout arrangement for different bag /pouch size (9) (10) & (11)

Telescopic chute (12)

Trolley (13)

Compact device (14)

Bag clamping Pneumatic cylinder (15)

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

Aspects of the present invention described herein, discloses an ultra compact automated high speed weighing and dispensing device (14). The features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

According to the present invention, the device (14) consists of a delivery spout (3) with bag clamping arrangement (9) (10) & (11), bag clamping pneumatic cylinder (15), multiple load cells (4),pneumatically operated feeding gates assembly (1) for coarse/ moderate/ fine feeding, electronic controller (2), solenoid valves to control pneumatic cylinders, display, control switches, pushbuttons and air service station. The device (14) has the ability to accurately weigh and dispense at least ten sets of 10 kg measurement per minute of a free flowing granular product like rice, sugar, pulses, wheat or similar product with accuracy of +/- 15gms in the measurement of 10 kg. Telescopic chute (12) is used to connect the device (14) to silo/bulk hopper.

Fig.2 illustrates the feeding gate assembly (11) for feeding granular products. Feeding gate assembly (11) includes coarse feed gate, moderate feed gate and fine feed gate. These feed gates are operated pneumatically by coarse feed pneumatic cylinder (6), moderate feed pneumatic cylinder (7) and fine feed pneumatic cylinder (8) respectively. Feed gate shutter (5) is used to shut off the feed that is controlled by the electronic controller (2).

Fig.3 illustrates the detachable clamping mechanism. The delivery spout (3) with the bag clamping arrangement (9) (10) & (11) is suitable to clamp different sizes of bag from 5kg to 75 kg carrying capacity and is equipped with special rubber grip mechanism to hold the bag along with the weighed product. The clamping mechanism depends on the weight of the bag. The device (14) can be easily mounted to any storage silo or mounted to a trolley (11) that is pushed to a delivery mechanism as shown in fig.4. The device (14) is suitable for adapting silo delivery height as low as 2 meters from the ground.

In a detailed description of the invention, having the bag placed in position to the delivery spout (3), anelectrical command can be initiated(Pedal switch/push button/ any similar device) to start operation, so that the material flows to the bag through the feeding gates (1). The weight of bag is sensed prior to the feed and has the feature to tare the weight of the bag before the feed starts. The weight is sensed on real time by the load cells (4) and communicated to the electronic controller (2) which gives command to the pneumatically operated feed gate assembly (1) to close partially or to shut off the feed.

Further, the feeding of material is carried out in three stages, i.e., coarse feed, moderate feed and fine feed which are controlled by the electronic controller (2). All the feeding delivery gates are kept open till the coarse set weight is achieved. Then the coarse feed gate is closed and only moderate feed gate feed is operated. Once the moderate feed weight is achieved, this gate will partially close and only a fine feed slit remains open and that also closes on achieving the ultimate set weight. In-flight compensation can be set manually or the controller has the feature to automatically set the in flight compensation within four or five measurements in auto in-flight compensation mode. After filling, on reaching the set weight, the bag is released automatically.

The advantages of the present invention includes: (i) ultra compact device (ii) could be adapted to any mass storage system like silos; (iii) easily adapted to the present low level silo systems; (iv) system being portable it could be moved to existing silo; (v) could handle ten weighing per minute of 10 Kg bag of rice, wheat, sugar or pulses.

We Claim:

1. A device (14) for weighing and dispensing free flowing granular products comprising: (a) Delivery spout (3), wherein said spout have bag clamping arrangement (9), (10) & (11); (b) Multiple load cells (4), wherein said load cells is to sense the weight of the feed; (c) Feed gate assembly (1), wherein said feed gate assembly are operated pneumatically by pneumatic cylinders; (d) Telescopic chute (12), wherein said chute is to connect said device (14) to silo/bulk hopper; (e) Electronic controller (2), wherein said controller is to adjust said feed gate opening and closing; (f) pushbuttons wherein said pushbuttons is to set parameters; (g) display device to show said parameters; (h) Control switches; and (i) Air service station.

2. The device (14) according to claim 01, wherein said feed gate opening and closing depend on the weight sensed by said load cells.

3. The device (14) according to claim 01, wherein said feed gate assembly includes coarse feed gate, moderate feed gate and fine feed gate.

4. The device (14) according to claim 01, wherein said pneumatic cylinders include coarse feed pneumatic cylinder (6), moderate feed pneumatic cylinder (7), fine feed pneumatic cylinder (8) and bag clamping cylinders (15).

5. A device (14) according to claim 01, wherein said controller (2) has the ability to tare the weight of the bag before the feed starts.

6. A device (14) according to claim 01, wherein said controller (2) has the ability to automatically or manually set the in-flight compensation.

7. A method for weighing and dispensing free flowing granular products with the device (14) of the present invention comprising: (a) clamping the bag to the delivery spout; (b) initiating the flow of material into the bag through said delivery spout; (c) opening of coarse / moderate / fine feed gates of feed gate assembly (1); (d) closing of said coarse feed gate after achieving set coarse weight; (e) closing of said moderate feed gate on achieving the set weight; (f) closing of said fine feed gate after achieving final set weight less in flight material; (g) sensing the weight of said material by said load cells (4); (h) communicating said sensed weight to electronic controller (2) to command the pneumatically operated said feed gate assembly (1) to close partially or to shut off the feed and (i) releasing the bag automatically.