Method for packaging ground coffee

A method for placing a predetermined amount by weight of ground coffee into open-ended coffee cans that are each sized to hold such amount for subsequent vacuum packing comprising the steps of:

• transporting a sequence of open empty coffee cans to a ground coffee weighing and filling station;
• supplying prior to vacuum packing, along a feed path, to the coffee cans at the latter station while vibrating the cans, a predetermined amount by weight of ground coffee whose density may be at any value within a predetermined density range and storing portions of said predetermined amount of ground coffee outside the cans in columns that rest upon the ground coffee that is in the cans;
• compressing peripherally located portions of the columns of ground coffee to a predetermined head level in the coffee cans, at said station by compressing most of the ground coffee columns around the feed paths while leaving uncompressed ground coffee column portions in the feed path;
• and delivering the uncompressed ground coffee column portions into the respective cans after completing the compression step.

A method for placing a predetermined amount by weight of ground coffee into an open-ended container that is sized to hold such amount for subsequent vacuum packing, comprising the steps of:

• supplying, along a feed path, the open end of the container with said predetermined amount by weight of ground coffee whose density may be at any value within a predetermined density range and storing part of said predetermined amount of ground coffee having a low density outside the container in a column that rests upon the ground coffee inside the container;
• compressing a peripherally located portion of the ground coffee that is in the column into the container while a portion of said column of ground coffee is uncompressed and is still outside the container, and compressing said peripherally located portion of ground coffee to an extent so as to provide internal container space that is sized to accommodate, after compression and substantially without spillage, the portion of ground coffee that is umcompressed and outside the container, said coffee compression being kept sufficiently low to avoid excessive compression of the ground coffee inside said container;
• and
• delivering said uncompressed ground coffee column portion into the container after the compressing step.

A method for placing a predetermined amount by weight of ground coffee into open-ended coffee cans that are each sized to hold such amount for subsequent vacuum packing comprising the steps of:

• transporting a sequence of open empty coffee cans to a ground coffee weighing and filling station;
• supplying, to the coffee cans at the latter station and along feed paths, a predetermined amount by weight of ground coffee whose density may be at any value within a predetermined density range and storing part of said predetermined amount of ground coffee having a low density outside the cans in columns that rest upon the ground coffee inside the cans;
• compressing a peripherally located portion of the ground coffee, that is inside and above a predetermined head level in the coffee cans, at said station while column portions of said predetermined amount of ground coffee for the coffee cans are left uncompressed outside the coffee cans and at said station, and compressing said peripherally located portion of ground coffee in the coffee cans to the head level;
• and
• gravity feeding said uncompressed column portions that are outside the coffee cans into the respective cans after completing the compression step whereby the ground coffee can be transported inside the cans substantially without spillage of ground coffee.