Hydraulically controlled portioner apparatus

A portioning assembly adapted for coupling between a supply of product and a product filling device in order to deliver successive portions of the product to the filling device, said portioning assembly comprising:

• hydraulic product pumping means including
• structure defining a product chamber, and a product inlet and a product outlet in communication with said chamber;
• product dispensing means shiftably positioned within said product chamber and selectively shiftable therein for expelling product from said product chamber through said outlet;
• hydraulic motive means including a hydraulic chamber, means defining a pair of hydraulic fluid openings in communication with said hydraulic chamber, a shiftable motive element within said hydraulic chamber and shiftable in response to the delivery of pressurized hydraulic fluid to one of said openings, and motive power output means operably coupled with said motive element and extending out of said hydraulic chamber;
• means operably connecting said output means and said product dispensing means for product expelling movement of the product dispensing means in response to said shifting movement of said motive element;
• hydraulic control means including double-acting piston and cylinder means having a control cylinder normally filled with hydraulic fluid, a bidirectionally shiftable control piston within said control cylinder, and a pair of spaced-apart, hydraulic fluid ports respectively located on opposite sides of said piston and in communication with the interior of said control cylinder,
• said control piston being bidirectionally shiftable within said control cylinder between spaced apart limits defining the stroke length of the control piston;
• and
• power means operatively coupled with said hydraulic control means and said openings for back and forth shifting of said control piston along said stroke length between said limits in order to generate successive charges of pressurized hydraulic fluid from said ports, there being means for replenishing the supply of hydraulic fluid within said cylinder as said successive charges are generated, said power means further including structure for delivery of said successive charges from said ports to said one opening for said shifting of said product dispensing means a distance correlated with said stroke length, whereby said successive portions are delivered from said outlet to said filling device.