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.
Claims15
A machine for closing pre-filled cones, comprising:
- a height detector;
- a tip gripper;
- and
- a controller coupled to the height detector and the tip gripper, wherein the controller is configured to:
- detect, with the height detector, a top of a material filled into a cone,
- grab, with the tip gripper, a portion of the cone above the detected top of the material, the portion determined by adding a predetermined offset above the detected top of the material, and
- rotate, with the tip gripper, the grabbed portion of the cone to form a twist.
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 gone below the detected height;
- and
- rotating, about a longitudinal axis of the cone, the tip gripper to form a twist.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium (CRM) comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to:
- detect, with a height detector, a height of a fill material in the cone;
- calculate a grab point by adding a predetermined offset to the detected height;
- grip, with a tip gripper, the cone at the grab point;
- grip, with a body gripper, the gone below the detected height;
- and
- rotate, about a longitudinal axis of the cone, the tip gripper to form a twist.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.