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US 4,437,497 AGranted
Ultrasonic control of filling a container
OwnerFrederick A. Enanderinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for filling containers with liquid and the like which reflects ultrasonic pulses from the surface of the liquid as it rises in the container being filled. Range gates at predetermined fill levels control throttling down and/or shut off of the filling liquid.
Claims23
A method for filling a container or the like with flowable material to a predetermined level using ultrasonic energy comprising the steps of:
- holding the container in position to receive the material;
- initiating a flow of material into the container;
- directing bursts of ultrasonic energy toward the container to be filled from a source disposed adjacent to the container, the bursts being spaced apart at intervals;
- activating a sensing means disposed adjacent to the container;
- opening a gate at a predetermined delay with respect to a burst of ultrasonic energy, the predetermined delay corresponding to the time required for a burst to travel from the source to the predetermined level and for its echo to return to the sensing means;
- sensing the passage of an echo of a burst through the gate when the gate is open, the sensing of the echo being at the time the flowable material has attained the predetermined level;
- and
- terminating the flow of material into the container in response to the sensing of the echo of a burst of ultrasonic energy at the predetermined delay.
5 more elements
Apparatus for filling a container or the like with flowable material to a predetermined level using ultrasonic energy comprising:
- means for holding the container in position to receive the material;
- means for initiating a flow of material into the container;
- source means disposed adjacent to the container for directing bursts of ultrasonic energy toward the container to be filled, the bursts being spaced apart at intervals;
- echo sensing means disposed adjacent to the container;
- a gate which opens at a predetermined delay with respect to a burst of ultrasonic energy, the delay corresponding to the time required for the burst to travel to the predetermined level and for its echo to return to the echo sensing means;
- means for sensing the passage of an echo of a burst through the gate when the gate is open, the sensing of the echo being at the time the flowable material has attained the predetermined level;
- and
- means for terminating the flow of material into the container in response to the sensing of the echo of a burst of ultrasonic energy at the predetermined delay.
5 more elements
An apparatus for filling containers with flowable material and the like comprising:
- a fill station for supporting a container in position to be filled
- fill tube means at the fill station for filling the container;
- fill valve means coupling a source of flowable material to the fill tube, the fill valve means being responsive to a control signal for shutting off flow of material to the fill tube;
- timing means for providing first pulses and comparison pulses, each comparison pulse being generated at a predetermined time after each first pulse;
- ultrasonic transducer means disposed at the fill station for sensing the level of flowable material in the container, the transducer means being responsive to each first and to each comparison pulse from the timing means to transmit a burst of high frequency ultrasonic energy in response to each pulse, the ultrasonic transducer means receiving the echo of each burst of ultrasonic energy;
- and
- comparator means responsive to receipt of echoes from the first and from the comparison bursts for providing a control signal when at least two successive received echoes have the same echo times corresponding to the predetermined echo time of a filled container, whereby the fill valve means is closed in response to the control signal to shut off the flow of material to the fill tube.
4 more elements
A method for filling a container or the like with flowable material to a predetermined level using ultrasonic energy comprising the steps of:
- initiating a flow of material into the container;
- directing bursts of ultrasonic energy from a directing means towards the container to be filled, the bursts being spaced apart at intervals;
- sensing an echo at a predetermined delay with respect to a burst of ultrasonic energy when the predetermined level is reached;
- terminating the flow of material into the container in response to the sensing of the echo of a burst of ultrasonic energy at the predetermined delay;
- and
- selecting the interval of time between successive bursts to provide a predetermined interval between a first and a second burst and another but different predetermined interval between a second and a third burst, each of the predetermined interval and the other predetermined interval being longer than the time required for a burst to travel to the surface of the flowable material at the predetermined level and the echo to return back;
- in which the step of sensing comprises sensing that at least two successive echoes have been received which have the same delay time as that required for sound to travel from the directing means to the surface of the material when at the predetermined level and back.
4 more elements
A method for filling a container or the like with flowable material to a predetermined level using ultrasonic energy comprising the steps of:
- initiating a flow of material into the container;
- directing bursts of ultrasonic energy toward the container to be filled, the bursts being spaced apart at intervals;
- sensing an echo at a predetermined delay with respect to a burst of ultrasonic energy when the predetermined level is reached;
- terminating the flow of material into the container in response to the sensing of the echo of a burst of ultrasonic energy at the predetermined delay;
- and
- directing a jet of gaseous fluid against the surface of the material being flowed into the container to displace bubbles, foam and the like on the surface of the material in the container to insure that a true surface is presented to the bursts of ultrasonic energy.
3 more elements
Apparatus for filling a container or the like with flowable material to a predetermined level using ultrasonic energy comprising:
- means for initiating a flow of material into the container;
- means for directing bursts of ultrasonic energy toward the container to be filled, the bursts being spaced apart at intervals;
- means for sensing an echo at a predetermined delay with respect to a burst of ultrasonic energy when the predetermined level is reached;
- means for terminating the flow of material into the container in response to the sensing of the echo of a burst of ultrasonic energy at the predetermined delay;
- and
- means for selecting the interval of time between successive bursts to provide a predetermined interval between a first and a second burst and another but different predetermined interval between a second and a third burst, each of the predetermined interval and the other predetermined interval being longer than the time required for a burst to travel to the surface of the flowable material at the predetermined level and the echo to return back;
- and
- in which the means for sensing comprises means for detecting that at least two successive echoes have been received which have the same delay time as that required for sound to travel from the directing means to the surface of the material and back when at the predetermined level.
5 more elements
Apparatus for filling a container or the like with flowable material to a predetermined level using ultrasonic energy comprising:
- means for initiating a flow of material into the container;
- means for directing bursts of ultrasonic energy toward the container to be filled, the bursts being spaced apart at intervals;
- means for sensing an echo at a predetermined delay with respect to a burst of ultrasonic energy when the predetermined level is reached;
- means for terminating the flow of material into the container in response to the sensing of the echo of a burst of ultrasonic energy at the predetermined delay;
- and
- means for directing a jet of gaseous fluid against the surface of the material being flowed into the container to displace bubbles, foam and the like on the surface of the material in the container to insure that a true surface is presented to the bursts of ultrasonic energy.
3 more elements
An apparatus for filling containers with flowable material and the like comprising:
- fill station means for supporting a container in position to be filled;
- fill tube means at the fill station means for filling the container;
- fill valve means coupling a source of flowable material to the fill tube means, the fill valve means being responsive to a control signal for shutting off flow of material to the fill tube means;
- timing means for providing first pulses and comparison pulses, each comparison pulse being generated at a predetermined time after a first pulse;
- ultrasonic transducer means disposed at the fill station for sensing the level of flowable material in the container, the transducer means being responsive to each first and to each comparison pulse from the timing means to transmit a burst of high frequency ultrasonic energy, the ultrasonic transducer means receiving the echo of each burst of ultrasonic energy;
- comparator means responsive to the received bursts for providing a control signal when at least two successive received bursts each have a first predetermined echo time corresponding to the echo time of a filled container, whereby the fill valve means is closed in response to the control signal to shut off the flow of material to the fill tube;
- a second comparator means for determining when the arrival times of successive received bursts each have a second predetermined echo time corresponding to the echo time of a partially filled container;
- and
- means responsive to the determination that two successive received pulses which have the second predetermined time have been received for transmitting a throttle control signal to the fill valve means to partially close the fill valve means.
6 more elements
An apparatus for filling containers with flowable material and the like comprising:
- fill station means for supporting a container in position to be filled;
- fill tube means at the fill station means for filling the container;
- fill valve means coupling a source of flowable material to the fill tube means, the fill valve means being responsive to a control signal for shutting off flow of material to the fill tube means;
- timing means for providing synchonizing pulses and comparison pulses, each comparison pulse being provided at a predetermined time after a synchronizing pulse;
- ultrasonic transducer means disposed at the fill station for sensing the level of flowable material in the container the transducer means being responsive to each synchronizing pulse and to each comparison pulse from the timing means to transmit a burst of high frequency ultrasonic energy in response to each pulse, the ultrasonic transducer means receiving the echo of each burst of ultrasonic energy;
- comparator means responsive to receipt of echoes of the synchronizing bursts and the comparison bursts for providing a control signal when at least two successive received echoes have the same echo times corresponding to the echo time of a filled container, the comparator means including signal storage means coupled to the ultrasonic transducer means for receiving the echo of each burst;
- and
- means coupled to the comparator means for testing the stored signals and transmitting the control signal to the fill valve means to at least partially close it.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.