Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Plural materials – material supplies or charges in a receiver – Selectively utilized sources
Patent
1996-06-26
1997-11-04
Recla, Henry J.
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Plural materials, material supplies or charges in a receiver
Selectively utilized sources
141 87, 141 94, 141367, B65B 104
Patent
active
056829302
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing automatically selected detergents and other cleaning liquids into designated containers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In many industrial and semi-industrial situations, for example in large kitchens or in hotels, it is necessary to regularly fill small containers with cleaning and sanitizing liquids from bulk containers of such liquids. Typically this is done by filling the small container from a manually operated tap connected to the corresponding bulk container of desired liquid.
It is commonplace for supplies of different liquids to be provided at the same place. Where this happens, there is an obvious risk that the wrong liquid might be filled into the wrong container as labeled for a different liquid. Attempts have been made to overcome this problem in manual filling systems by color coding the sources of liquid and the containers but this does not entirely eliminate the possibility of human error.
Attempts have also been made to overcome this problem by use of electronic automated filling systems. These systems tend to be very complex, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,591 where a paint can has attached to it a bar code label which represents a relocatable memory address of the controller computer which stores the color formula to be dispensed into the paint can and other information. Hence the bar code on the paint can can be read at a plurality of scanning stations to determine its route through the automated paint hatching system for producing paint cans of any size and color. The paint cans are not reused, hence subsequent destruction of the bar code label is irrelevant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,935 describes an interlock system which is used in dispensing various types of stored polymeric resins to a plastic extruder. Hoses from the various storage bins for polymeric resin have connected thereto a removable key loosely attached to the hose by a tether. The key is inserted in a control box to signify thereby the resin available from the corresponding hose. If there is a match within the computer control system with what is identified by insertion of the key in the control box, plastic resin material can be delivered through the flexible hose. The problem, however, in tethering a key to a supply hose is that the tether can be broken with the consequent accidental replacement of the wrong key on that particular hose.
In order to prevent the dispensing of the wrong liquid into the wrong container, applicant has provided a dispensing system for filling a container with the correct liquid in accordance with the system described in its co-pending published European application EP-A-0 564 303. That system only has the capability of filling a container with a specific liquid which corresponds with a predetermined contents profile of the container.
The present invention, in its different aspects, is aimed at overcoming or ameliorating the above-described problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a dispenser for dispensing a liquid into a container of a predetermined profile comprises: container; two positions; moved in a predetermined way by a container profile and the control means in response to at least one key being moved, actuates the valve means to dispense liquid from said plurality of sources into the container.
The keys can be in a horizontal row and move in a substantially horizontal plane. The container can be formed with a number of recesses so that, upon being slid into the support, some keys are not moved at all, because such recesses are aligned with those keys.
The support can be a platform on top of which the container sits, but it is preferably a cradle which holds the container by its upper portion--for example its neck --with the major part of the container depending from the cradle. This latter arrangement has the advantage that different size bottles can be filled from the same dispenser without major adjustment, unlike the former arrangement in which the distanc
REFERENCES:
patent: 4386640 (1983-06-01), Carr et al.
patent: 4977935 (1990-12-01), Durkee, Jr. et al.
patent: 5083591 (1992-01-01), Edwards et al.
patent: 5597019 (1997-01-01), Thomas et al.
Diversey Corporation
Douglas Steven O.
Recla Henry J.
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