Cyclically weighing bulk solid material

Claim 2

In a method for cyclically weighing flowable bulk solid material as part of a dispensing process comprising the steps of: supplying said material from a continuously operating controllable delivery feed arrangement to a weigh-pan, generating a signal indicative of the amount of material in the weigh-pan, terminating supply of said material from said feed arrangement when said signal indicates a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, causing the weigh-pan, after receiving and weighing all the material supplied by said feed arrangement up to the said termination of said supply, to deliver its contents, and preparing the weigh-pan for the next cycle, the improvement comprising: predetermining a rate of delivery from said weigh-pan in accordance with the requirements of said dispensing process in terms of the average amount delivered per cycle and the cycling frequency, supplying from said feed arrangement material to said weigh-pan through valve means in which said material accumulates when said weigh-pan is not receiving material from said valve means, and controlling said controllable feed arrangement to supply said material substantially at said predetermined rate.

Claim 3

A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of inhibiting, during an early part of the cycle, termination of the supply of said material from said feed arrangement on said signal indicating a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, whereby to avoid said termination of the predetermined weight being prematurely registered on account of the inertia of the initial supply dropped from the feed arrangement.

Claim 4

In a method for cyclically weighing flowable bulk solid material as part of a dispensing process comprising the steps of: supplying said material from a continuously operating controllable delivery feed arrangement to a weigh-pan, generating a signal indicative of the amount of material in the weigh-pan, terminating supply of said material from said feed arrangement when said signal indicates a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, causing the weigh-pan, after receiving and weighing all the material supplied by said feed arrangement up to the said termination of said supply, to deliver its contents, and preparing the weigh-pan for the next cycle, the improvement comprising: predetermining a rate of delivery from said weigh-pan in accordance with the requirements of said dispensing process in terms of the average amount delivered per cycle and the cycle frequency, supplying from said feed arrangement material to said weigh-pan through valve means in which said material accumulates when said weigh-pan is not receiving material from said valve means, controlling said controllable feed arrangement to supply said material substantially at said predetermined rate; inhibiting, during an early part of the cycle, termination of the supply of said material from said feed arrangement on said signal indicating a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, whereby to avoid said termination of the predetermined weight being prematurely registered on account of the inertia of the initial supply dropped from the feed arrangement; and producing a rate-of-fill signal by producing the time-derivative of the weight of said weigh-pan during a cycle, and cancelling the inhibition of said termination of the supply of said material to the weigh-pan when said time-derivative becomes zero.

Claim 5

In a method for cyclically weighing flowable bulk solid material as part of a dispensing process comprising the steps of: supplying said material from a continuously operating controllable delivery feed arrangement to a weigh-pan, generating a signal indicative of the amount of material in the weigh-pan, terminating supply of said material from said feed arrangement when said signal indicates a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, causing the weigh-pan, after receiving and weighing all the material supplied by said feed arrangement up to the said termination of said supply, to deliver its contents, and preparing the weigh-pan for the next cycle, the improvement comprising: predetermining a rate of delivery from said weigh-pan in accordance with the requirements of said dispensing process in terms of the average amount delivered per cycle and the cycle frequency, supplying from said feed arrangement material to said weigh-pan through valve means in which said material accumulates when said weigh-pan is not receiving material from said valve means, controlling said controllable feed arrangement to supply said material substantially at said predetermined rate; inhibiting, during an early part of the cycle, termination of the supply of said material from said feed arrangement on said signal indicating a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, whereby to avoid said termination of the predetermined weight being prematurely registered on account of the inertia of the initial supply dropped from the feed arrangement; and producing a rate-of-fill signal by producing the time-derivative of the weight of said weigh-pan during a cycle, and cancelling the inhibition of said termination of the supply of said material to the weigh-pan when said time-derivative becomes zero.

Claim 6

In a method for cyclically weighing flowable bulk solid material as part of a dispensing process comprising the steps of: supplying said material from a continuously operating controllable delivery feed arrangement to a weigh-pan, generating a signal indicative of the amount of material in the weigh-pan, terminating supply of said material from said feed arrangement when said signal indicates a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, causing the weigh-pan, after receiving and weighing all the material supplied by said feed arrangement up to the said termination of said supply, to deliver its contents, and preparing the weigh-pan for the next cycle, the improvement comprising: predetermining a rate of delivery from said weigh-pan in accordance with the requirements of said dispensing process in terms of the average amount delivered per cycle and the cycle frequency, supplying from said feed arrangement material to said weigh-pan through valve means in which said material accumulates when said weigh-pan is not receiving material from said valve means, controlling said controllable feed arrangement to supply said material substantially at said predetermined rate; and producing a rate-of-fill signal by producing the time-derivative of the increasing weight of said weigh-pan during a cycle, and controlling said controllable feed arrangement in accordance with said rate-of-fill signal.

Claim 7

In a method for cyclically weighing flowable bulk solid material as part of a dispensing process comprising the steps of: supplying said material from a continuously operating controllable delivery feed arrangement to a weigh-pan, generating a signal indicative of the amount of material in the weigh-pan, terminating supply of said material from said feed arrangement when said signal indicates a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, causing the weigh-pan, after receiving and weighing all the material supplied by said feed arrangement up to the said termination of said supply, to deliver its contents, and preparing the weigh-pan for the next cycle, the improvement comprising: predetermining a rate of delivery from said weigh-pan in accordance with the requirements of said dispensing process in terms of the average amount delivered per cycle and the cycle frequency, supplying from said feed arrangement material to said weigh-pan through valve means in which said material accumulates when said weigh-pan is not receiving material from said valve means, controlling said controllable feed arrangement to supply said material substantially at said predetermined rate; and producing a rate-of-fill signal by producing the time-derivative of the increasing weight of said weigh-pan during a cycle, and controlling said controllable feed arrangement in accordance with said rate-of-fill signal.

Claim 8

In an apparatus for cyclically weighing flowable bulk solid material as part of a dispensing arrangement, comprising: a continuously operating, controllable delivery feed arrangement, a weigh-pan receiving material from said feed arrangement, control means comprising: a signal generator indicative of the amount of material in the weigh-pan, supply terminating means operative to terminate supply of said material from said feed arrangement when said signal generator indicates a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, and delivery control means operative to cause the weigh-pan, after receiving and weighing all the material supplied by said feed arrangement up to the said termination of said supply, to deliver its contents and to prepare the weigh-pan for the next cycle, the improvement comprising: valve means in said controllable feed arrangement for controlling the supply of said material to said weigh-pan, in which said material can accumulate when said weigh-pan is not receiving material from said valve means, said control means further comprising means for controlling said controllable feed arrangement.

Claim 9

In an apparatus for cyclically weighing flowable bulk solid material as part of a dispensing arrangement, comprising: a continuously operating, controllable delivery feed arrangement, a weigh-pan receiving material from said feed arrangement, control means comprising: a signal generator indicative of the amount of material in the weigh-pan, supply terminating means operative to terminate supply of said material from said feed arrangement when said signal generator indicates a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, and delivery control means operative to cause the weigh-pan, after receiving and weighing all the material supplied by said feed arrangement up to the said termination of said supply, to deliver its contents and to prepare the weigh-pan for the next cycle, the improvement comprising: valve means in said controllable feed arrangement for controlling the supply of said material to said weigh-pan, in which said material can accumulate when said weigh-pan is not receiving material from said valve means, said control means further comprising means for controlling said controllable feed arrangement.

Claim 10

In an apparatus for cyclically weighing flowable bulk solid material as a part of a dispensing arrangement, comprising: a continuously operating, controllable delivery feed arrangement, a weigh-pan receiving material from said feed arrangement, control means comprising: a signal generator indicative of the amount of material in the weigh-pan, supply terminating means operative to terminate supply of said material from said feed arrangement when said signal generator indicates a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, and delivery control means operative to cause the weigh-pan, after receiving and weighing all the material supplied by said feed arrangement up to the said termination of said supply, to deliver its contents and to prepare the weigh-pan for the next cycle, the improvement comprising: valve means in said controllable feed arrangement for controlling the supply of said material to said weigh-pan, in which said material can accumulate when said weigh-pan is not receiving material from said valve means, said control means further comprising means for controlling said controllable feed arrangement; and differentiating means for producing a rate-of-fill signal for said weigh-pan.

Claim 11

In an apparatus for cyclically weighing flowable bulk solid material as a part of a dispensing arrangement, comprising: a continuously operating, controllable delivery feed arrangement, a weigh-pan receiving material from said feed arrangement, control means comprising: a signal generator indicative of the amount of material in the weigh-pan, supply terminating means operative to terminate supply of said material from said feed arrangement when said signal generator indicates a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, and delivery control means operative to cause the weigh-pan, after receiving and weighing all the material supplied by said feed arrangement up to the said termination of said supply, to deliver its contents and to prepare the weigh-pan for the next cycle, the improvement comprising: valve means in said controllable feed arrangement for controlling the supply of said material to said weigh-pan, in which said material can accumulate when said weigh-pan is not receiving material from said valve means, said control means further comprising means for controlling said controllable feed arrangement; and differentiating means for producing a rate-of-fill signal for said weigh-pan.

Claim 12

Apparatus according to claim 19, in which said differentiating means forms part of the said control means.

Claim 13

Apparatus according to claim 5, comprising inhibiting means inhibiting, during an early part of the cycle, termination of the supply of said material from said feed arrangement on said signal generator indicating a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan.

Claim 14

In an apparatus for cyclically weighing flowable bulk solid material as part of a dispensing arrangement, comprising: a continuously operating, controllable delivery feed arrangement, a weigh-pan receiving material from said feed arrangement, control means comprising: a signal generator indicative of the amount of material in the weigh-pan, supply terminating means operative to terminate supply of said material from said feed arrangement when said signal generator indicates a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, and delivery control means operative to cause the weigh-pan, after receiving and weighing all the material supplied by said feed arrangement up to the said termination of said supply, to deliver its contents and to prepare the weigh-pan for the next cycle, the improvement comprising: valve means in said controllable feed arrangement for controlling the supply of said material to said weigh-pan, in which said material can accumulate when said weigh-pan is not receiving material from said valve means, said control means further comprising means for controlling said controllable feed arrangement; inhibiting means inhibiting, during an early part of the cycle, termination of the supply of said material from said feed arrangement on said signal generator indicating a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan; and differentiating means for producing a rate-of-fill signal for said weigh-pan and zero-rate-of-fill detection means controlling said inhibiting means to cancel the inhibiting effect thereof on detection of a zero-time-derivative.

Claim 15

In an apparatus for cyclically weighing flowable bulk solid material as part of a dispensing arrangement, comprising: a continuously operating, controllable delivery feed arrangement, a weigh-pan receiving material from said feed arrangement, control means comprising: a signal generator indicative of the amount of material in the weigh-pan, supply terminating means operative to terminate supply of said material from said feed arrangement when said signal generator indicates a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan, and delivery control means operative to cause the weigh-pan, after receiving and weighing all the material supplied by said feed arrangement up to the said termination of said supply, to deliver its contents and to prepare the weigh-pan for the next cycle, the improvement comprising: valve means in said controllable feed arrangement for controlling the supply of said material to said weigh-pan, in which said material can accumulate when said weigh-pan is not receiving material from said valve means, said control means further comprising means for controlling said controllable feed arrangement; inhibiting means inhibiting, during an early part of the cycle, termination of the supply of said material from said feed arrangement on said signal generator indicating a predetermined amount of material in the weigh-pan; and differentiating means for producing a rate-of-fill signal for said weigh-pan and zero-rate-of-fill detection means controlling said inhibiting means to cancel the inhibiting effect thereof on detection of a zero-time-derivative.