Control systems and methods of dispensing items
AssigneeCampbell Soup Company
InventorJohn Baranowski
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A control system for regulating a dispenser that includes a feeder bowl and a plurality of dispensing paths is disclosed. The control system includes a control unit for controlling a rotation drive for rotating the dispensing paths, a feeder bowl vibration device for vibrating the feeder bowl, and at least one dispensing path vibration device for vibrating the dispensing paths, such that the feeder bowl receives a plurality of items and supply the items uniformly to each of the dispensing paths, and the dispensing paths dispense the items singularly.
Claims20
A control system for regulating a dispenser, wherein the dispenser comprises a feeder bowl and one or more dispensing paths, wherein the control system comprises:
- a control unit for controlling each of:
- a feeder bowl vibration device for vibrating the feeder bowl;
- a rotation drive for rotating the one or more dispensing paths;
- and
- at least one dispensing path vibration device for vibrating the one or more dispensing paths;
- and
- one or more dispensing heads, wherein each of the one or more dispensing heads receives items from at least one of the one or more dispensing paths and comprises:
- a dispensing chute for directing a first plurality of the received items toward the dispenser, wherein at least one physical characteristic of each of the first plurality of the received items is within a predetermined range of physical characteristics;
- and
- a diversion chute for directing a second plurality of the received items away from the dispenser.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.