Materials feeding system with level sensing probe and method for automatic bulk density determination

A method of controlling the feed rate of a material feeding system to achieve a desired feed rate, the system having a supply vessel filled to a level with material, a refill means, a level sensing means, a feeding assembly for feeding material from the supply vessel at a selected feed rate, wherein the assembly has a motor with a maximum speed, a scale and a controller, comprising the steps of:

• sensing the level of material in the supply vessel and generating a high level signal corresponding to the level of material;
• transmitting the high level signal to the controller;
• weighing the feeding system and generating a weight signal corresponding at least to the weight of the material in the supply vessel;
• transmitting the weight signal to the controller;
• calculating a maximum feed rate based in part on the high level signal and the weight signal;
• and
• controlling the feed rate based in part on the maximum feed rate by generating and transmitting a control signal from the controller to the motor so that the motor runs at a desired speed.

A method of feeding material at a controllable rate comprising the steps of:

• placing material to be fed having a bulk density into a supply vessel;
• releasing material from the supply vessel into a feeding mechanism;
• displacing material from the feeding mechanism at a controllable displacement rate;
• refilling the supply vessel with new material when a pre-determined amount of material remains in the supply vessel;
• weighing at least the material in the supply vessel;
• sensing the level of material in the supply vessel wherein the steps of weighing and level sensing are performed on the same material;
• and
• calculating the bulk density of the new material in the supply vessel based at least in part on the weight of the new material in the supply vessel and the level of new material in the supply vessel.