Automated fill detection for pre-filled cones
AssigneeIsland Packaging and Import, LLC
InventorsIrvine Alcaraz Manalang, Felix La Pietra, William Cabusao Serafica, Daniel Anthony Grachico
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and apparatuses for detecting the fill height of a pre-filled cone and closing the cone are disclosed. A height detector, such as a laser rangefinder, detects the height of a pre-filled cone. A gripper then grips the pre-filled cone at the height plus a predetermined offset, the offset calculated to result in an optimum packing of cone fill material. The gripper then closes the cone by rotating to form a twist, which is then trimmed to the height plus the predetermined offset. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.
Claims4
A method for closing a pre-filled cone, comprising:
- detecting, with a height detector, a height of a fill material in the cone;
- calculating a grab point by adding a predetermined offset to the detected height;
- gripping, with a tip gripper, the cone at the grab point;
- gripping, with a body gripper, the cone below the detected height;
- and
- rotating, about a longitudinal axis of the cone, the tip gripper to form a twist, a number of rotations of the tip gripper to form the twist determined based on the predetermined offset.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.