High Precision Filling System

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

Containers that have been developed to contain and transport fluids having specific volumes are well known in the art, with many of these containers having some system in place to seal the container to preserve the fluid or contents in the container in one way or another. With the rise of assembly line processes and modem economies, it has become increasingly desired to mass-produce products that are as identical to each other as possible so that such a product is consistently uniform and can be fairly sold at a correspondingly consistent price. As such, several methods and systems have been developed to continuously produce sealed containers with a precise volume of fluid contained within. One more recent field that has struggled with achieving that mass-production ideal is the production of THC and CBD cartridges.

Most filling systems in the THC and CBD space have issues with dripping and precision dispensing. THC and CBD cartridges are typically small, handheld containers which may allow one to consume the products found therein. As known by those skilled in the art, these cartridges require a delicate mixture of both the CBD and THC oils that needs to be carefully recreated from one cartridge to the next in order to ensure a consistent product is being produced.

Proper dispensing of these fluids into cartridges or pods at a proper temperature has also been a challenging feat to accomplish. Dispensing oils at lower temperatures may cause air bubbles to form in the cartridge, which may result from the oil being viscous and the sudden cooling and hardening of these oils when they contact the cartridge or pod. In this case, these oils do not evenly fill the cartridge and the bubbles can make the occurrence of outward leakage or spillage of these oils common. On top of that, these air bubbles look unappealing to some, which could make these products harder to market and sell to potential customers. Additionally, terpenes, a fragile component of the THC and CBD oils, are prone to chemical decomposition when being dispensed into the cartridge. Currently employed dispensing and heating methods used to make these cartridges have given less than desirable results in terms of consistency from cartridge to cartridge. Therefore, it can be seen that improved methods and systems that may allow for the mass-production of near identical CBD/THC cartridges are needed and desired in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

To solve these and other problems, improved systems and methods are contemplated in which sealed containment vessels containing a precise volume of fluid at a desirous condition may be continuously produced. Such methods and systems may mass-produce substantially identical or nearly identical containment vessels each having the same precise volume of fluid contained within. The fluids in these containment vessels may be dispensed by smooth fluid flow so as to prevent uneven filling of these containment vessels, leading to undesirable defects like air bubbles from forming in the containment vessel. Furthermore, the quality of the components of the fluid may be maintained by the combination of the smooth fluid flow and the sealing of these containment vessels once the precise volume of fluid is dispensed therein.

According to a first exemplary embodiment, a method of preparing containment vessels which contain a fluid may be performed, such a method comprising the steps of providing a containment vessel, dispensing a precise volume of fluid via an auger filler such that the precise volume of fluid is contained in the containment vessel, and sealing the containment vessel. The auger filler may comprise a rotor at least partially enclosed by a stator. This rotor at least partially enclosed by the stator may define one or more cavities which may be at least partially filled with the fluid prior to such fluid being dispensed. The auger filler may be operative to dispense the precise volume of fluid by rotating the rotor relative to the stator in a first direction until the precise volume of fluid is dispensed followed by rotating the rotor relative the stator in a second direction. The first and second directions of rotation may be about a rotational axis, and these two directions may be of opposite angular directions to one another.

The volume of each of the one or more cavities may range from 0.1-1 ml. In certain embodiments, the volume of each of the one or more cavities may be the same or substantially the same. The one or more cavities may be completely filled with the fluid. In such an embodiment, the volume of the cavity could correspond to the same volume of fluid dispensed when such a cavity is exposed upon the rotation in the first direction.

The fluid to be dispensed may be a CBD oil, a THC oil, or a combination thereof. In this embodiment, the step of sealing the containment vessel may be performed 30 seconds or less after the step of dispensing the precise volume of fluid.

At least a portion of a cross section of the stator and at least a portion of a cross section of the rotor may be of a sinusoidal shape. Such a sinusoidal shape may help to define the one or more cavities.

The step of sealing the containment vessel may be operative to induce a containment pressure inside the containment vessel.

The fluid in the one or more cavities may be brought to a dispensing temperature prior to being dispensed. This could be via a temperature adjusting element being in thermal contact with the fluid and/or the temperature adjusting element heating/cooling another component which itself is in thermal contact with the fluid, such as air to be heated or cooled by the temperature adjusting element.

The auger filler may dispense the precise volume of fluid by rotating in the first direction the rotor relative to the stator about the rotation axis by at least a 360-degree rotation. The rotation of the rotor in the second direction may be operative to induce a suction effect, with this suction effect being operative to prevent any more of the fluid from being dispensed from the auger filler and to prevent dripping and/or leaking of the fluid from the auger filler.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a system for preparing containment vessels containing a fluid is contemplated. This system may comprise an auger filler operative to dispense a precise volume of fluid such that the precise volume of fluid is contained in a containment vessel and a sealing unit operative to seal the containment vessel to define a prepared containment vessel. The auger filler could comprise a rotor at least partially enclosed by a stator, with this rotor at least partially enclosed by the stator defining one or more cavities operative to be at least partially filled by the fluid. The auger filler could further comprise a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, with the fluid inlet being operative to receive the fluid such that the fluid at least partially fills at least one of the one or more cavities. The auger filler may be operative to dispense the precise volume of fluid by rotating the rotor in a first direction such that fluid in the one or more cavities is dispensed from the fluid outlet until the precise volume of fluid is dispensed, followed by rotating the rotor in a second direction, the second direction being of the opposite angular direction as the first direction.

This system may further comprise a temperature adjusting element operative to bring the fluid to a dispensing temperature prior to the fluid being dispensed. This dispensing temperature could be operative to decrease the viscosity of the fluid to allow for smoother fluid dispensing via smooth fluid flow. Additionally, or alternatively, the dispensing temperature may be operative to prevent at least one component of the fluid from chemically decomposing.

In some embodiments, the system may further comprise a priming motor operative to pump the fluid into the fluid inlet to at least partially fill at least one of the one or more cavities.

In some embodiments, the system may be operative to produce 100 or more prepared containment vessels in one hour of operation. In more preferred embodiments, the system may produce 500 or more containment vessels in one hour of operation. In more highly preferred embodiments, the system may produce 1000 or more containment vessels in one hour of operation. In the most preferred embodiments, the system may produce 1500 or more containment vessels in one hour of operation.

The system could further comprise an electric motor. The electric motor may or may not have feedback. This electric motor may be operative to carry out the rotation of the rotor in the first direction and the second direction. The electric motor may further be operative to rotate the rotor in the first direction by a first angular value and the second direction by a second angular value. In such an embodiment, the rotation in the first direction by the first angular value may be operative to dispense the fluid contained in one of the one or more cavities. This first angular value may be at most a 360-degree rotation. The rotation in the second direction by the second angular value may be operative to prevent the fluid contained in the one or more cavities from being dispensed and to prevent the fluid from dripping and/or leaking from the auger filler.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a rotary index machine according to a preferred embodiment of the presently contemplated methods and systems;

FIG. 2 depicts a bottom plan view of an exemplary embodiment of an auger filler;

FIG. 3 depicts a side cross-sectional view of the same auger filler along line 3 of FIG. 2 in a first state;

FIG. 4 shows the same side cross-sectional view of the same auger filler after being rotated in a first direction by 360 degrees to be brought to a second state;

FIG. 5 shows the same side cross-sectional view of the of the same auger filler after being rotated in a second direction by 360 degrees to be brought to a third state;

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a horizontal pump assembly of the auger filling stage of the presently contemplated methods and systems; and

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a vertical pump assembly of the auger filling stage of the presently contemplated methods and systems.

Common reference numerals are used throughout the drawings and the detailed description to indicate the same elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, and it is not intended to represent the only form in which the present invention may be implemented or performed. The description sets forth the functions and sequences of steps for practicing the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments and that they are also intended to be encompassed within the scope of the invention.

Disclosed herein are methods and systems for preparing sealed containment vessels by filling such vessels with a precise volume of fluid and sealing the vessel. The precise volume of fluid may be dispensed into the container via an auger filler which is both operative to dispense small fractions of a volume of the fluid and prevent drip/excess fluid from being dispensed. Temperature adjusting elements may be incorporated into or may act upon the auger filler, containment vessels, and/or other components and features of the methods and systems contemplated herein, such as a fluid reservoir, in order to allow for smooth fluid flow to aid in the dispensing of the precise volume of fluid. These temperature adjusting elements may additionally be operative to maintain a condition and/or a state of the fluid (such as preventing components of the fluid from decomposing). The containment vessel may then be sealed, one example of which being via placing a cap onto the containment vessel and sealing the containment vessel with the cap. The sealing of the containment vessel may be operative to maintain a condition of the fluid inside the containment vessel and/or induce a certain condition inside the containment vessel (such as inducing a containment pressure above atmospheric pressure inside the containment vessel). Such sealing of the containment vessel may define a prepared containment vessel. A programmable logic controller (PLC) may control the operation of the features and mechanisms of these methods and systems in order to ensure that prepared containment vessels that are nearly identical in terms of the volume of fluid and contents found therein are being produced continuously. The PLC may also be capable of changing variables of these methods and systems, such as the volume of fluid being dispensed, to continually produce a different type of prepared containment vessel. A microcontroller may be used either in place of the PLC or alongside the PLC to similarly control the operations of the features and mechanisms of these methods and systems.

The systems and methods disclosed herein can be used for any type of application in which fluid can be dispensed into a containment vessel. One skilled in the art, however, may recognize that the systems and methods disclosed herein may be better suited to fit particular applications in which it is desirable to prepare sealed containment vessels containing a precise volume of fluid while maintaining/inducing some condition inside the containment vessel. The methods and systems disclosed herein have been found to be effective at producing near identical cartridges of CBD and THC oils. Such cartridges made by these systems and methods have been shown to be of a high quality since the techniques utilized may prevent the decomposition of active species like terpenes, the inconsistent filling of these cartridges, and the formation of air bubbles in the cartridges, all of which are prevalent problems known well by those in the art. It is envisioned that the methods and systems disclosed herein may be used in other fields outside of the CBD/THC space as well, such as preparing consumable beverages, perfumes, makeup, solutions for laboratory experiments, chemical products, glues, epoxies etc.

Any type of fluid can be used, including, but not limited to, water, milk, blood, gasoline, alcoholic substances, oils, plant extracts, aqueous solutions, gases, prepolymers, polymers, and combinations thereof. In preferred embodiments, THC and CBD oils can be used as the fluid. Alternatively, a solid component may be used as a species to be dispensed into the containment vessel. Depending on the application, it may be necessary to use solids of a smaller size or utilize solids that have fluid like properties (such as fine sand) in order to dispense the species into the containment vessel with the desired precision. Combinations of a solid and a liquid may be utilized too, such as simple mixtures of the two, suspensions, emulsions, or combinations thereof.

Similarly, any type of containment vessel may be utilized in the methods and systems contemplated herein. The containment vessels may be operative to receive and contain fluid, and the containment vessels may further be operative to be sealed in one form or another. Preferably, smaller containment vessels that can be comfortably handheld will be used, as it is much simpler and easier to dispense a precise volume of fluid and maintain/induce a particular condition inside a containment vessel according to the present methods and systems in smaller containment vessels when compared to larger containment vessels; that being said, these methods and systems need not be limited in this manner. The containment vessel may have some form of an inlet or opening which may receive the fluid being dispensed such that the fluid is contained in the containment vessel. Additionally, the containment vessel may have a section onto which a cap may be placed, and this section may allow the cap to at least partially cover the inlet or opening. This cap may seal the containment vessel or may be used to seal the containment vessel, as will be described later herein.

The systems and methods contemplated herein may embody themselves in the form of an assembly-line process. As such, the steps and features discussed herein may be done manually by someone, automatically by mechanical and/or electrical devices, or a combination thereof. In a preferred embodiment, a rotary index machine may be used to provide a containment vessel, fill it with one or more fluids, and cap the containment vessel quickly and efficiently. A programmable logic controller (hereinafter “PLC”) and/or a microcontroller may be operative to control the operation of the various features and mechanisms found in these assembly-line processes. As will soon be shown, the PLC and/or microcontroller may cause the assembly-line to continuously produce prepared containment vessels that are nearly identical to one another in terms of the volume and quality fluids found therein and the condition maintained/induced therein; the PLC and/or microcontroller may also change variables of the assembly-line units to continuously produce a different kind of prepared containment vessel that differs in those properties of volume and quality of fluids and/or condition maintained/induced in the containment vessel.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a rotary index machine according to a preferred embodiment of the presently contemplated methods and systems is shown. The rotary index machine 100 here has six different stages that a containment vessel 102 may be introduced to and transported between. In this embodiment, the containment vessel 102 is brought through a sequence of stages in the following order: a loading stage 104, a first auger filling stage 106, a second auger filling stage 108, a cap placement stage 110, a cap pressing stage 112, and an outlet stage 114. The stages of the system and the order of these steps need not be limited to what is shown in FIG. 1, and as such there could be a differing number of stages and/or a different ordering of these stages. For example, there could be only one auger filling stage or there could be more than two auger filling stages. Similarly, the cap placement stage 110 and the cap pressing stage 112 could be consolidated into one stage or spread out over more than two stages (i.e., to place more than one cap, to apply more than one type of seal, and/or to reinforce a seal from a previous step).

In the loading stage 104, a containment vessel 102 is provided and placed into a socket 116. This socket 116 may be operative to hold the containment vessel 102 and keep the containment vessel 102 in the proper position and orientation needed in order for the following stages to function properly. Ideally, the socket 116 will keep the containment vessel 102 upright and conveniently expose a first end portion of the containment vessel 102. This first end portion of the containment vessel 102 may have an opening. Such exposure of the first end portion of the containment vessel 102 by the socket 116 may allow fluid 118126 to be dispensed into and contained by the containment vessel 102 via being received by this opening and entering through it. Additionally, the exposure of the first end portion could allow for the cap to be placed on the containment vessel 102 to cover the opening and for the opening of the containment vessel 102 to be sealed. The rotary index machine 100 may have a rotating member 122 operative to transport the sockets 116, which may hold the containment vessels 102, between the different stages of the rotary index machine 100 via rotation of the rotating member 122. It is contemplated, however, that other structures may be used to transport the sockets 116 without requiring rotational movement (i.e., other forms of translational movement like conveyor belts that start and stop when needed). In this FIG. 1, it can be seen that the rotating member 122 may support six sockets 116 each operative to hold a containment vessel 102. In other embodiments a rotary index machine may be capable of supporting more or less sockets 116. It can be seen that this type of rotary index machine 100 allows for improved efficiency, as each of the stages of the rotary index machine 100 may simultaneously act upon different containment vessels 102, which could minimize the idle time of these stages in a continuous process flow. In some embodiments, 100 or more near identical or substantially identical prepared containment vessels 102 may be produced by these methods and systems per hour of operation. In more preferred embodiments, 500 or more near identical or substantially identical prepared containment vessels 102 may be produced per hour. In even more highly preferred embodiments, 1000 or more near identical or substantially identical prepared containment vessels 102 may be produced per hour. In the most preferred embodiments, 1500 or more near identical or substantially identical prepared containment vessels 102 may be produced per hour.

The rotary index machine 100 may comprise a temperature adjusting element operative to heat or cool the socket 116 and/or the containment vessel 102 held in the socket 116. It is common for bubbles to form when a fluid is dispensed into a containment vessel, especially when the fluid is highly viscous and/or significantly warmer than the containment vessel 102; if the latter case applies, the fluid may quickly cool and harden when it contacts the containment vessel 102, leading to uneven filling of the containment vessel 102 and the formation of bubbles. This temperature adjusting element may prevent this from occurring by keeping the temperature of the containment vessel 102 similar to or near to that of the fluid. Additionally, such a temperature adjusting element may prevent components of the fluid in the containment vessel 102 from chemically decomposing, thus increasing the quality of the fluids therein. The temperature control of the fluid prior to being dispensed into the containment vessel 102 will be discussed later in the disclosure herein, which may operate alongside this temperature adjusting element. The PLC and/or microcontroller may be operative to change the temperature maintained or changed by the temperature adjusting element as needed for particular fluids and containment vessels 102. The temperature adjusting element may be any conventional heating source or methods including conventional forms of convective and/or conductive heat transfer, such as heated/cooled air, heated/cooled fluid, heating coils, or combinations thereof.

The sockets 116 could be configured so that they may hold more than one containment vessel 102. The sockets 116 may be modular, which could allow one to remove and replace sockets 116 with new sockets 116 that differ in configuration and construction. It may be necessary to change the socket 116 type if using a new type of containment vessel 102 since certain types of containment vessels 102 might not be capable of being properly held in particular sockets 116 due to size, shape etc. The PLC and/or microcontroller may be preprogramed to recognize certain types of sockets 116 and containment vessels 102, which may cause the PLC and/or microcontroller to change the parameters of the process so as to prepare containment vessels 102 that correspond to the sockets 116 and containment vessels 102 being utilized.

Within FIG. 1, it can be seen that after the containment vessel 102 is provided and loaded into the socket 116 in the loading stage 104, the socket 116 holding the containment vessel 102 can be transported to the first auger filling stage 106. Here, a first pump assembly 124 having an auger filler may be operative to dispense a first precise volume of a first fluid 118 into the containment vessel 102 through its opening to at least partially fill the containment vessel 102. The intricacies of the first pump assembly 124 and the auger fillers found therein will be detailed in the discussion of the following figures. The PLC and/or microcontroller may control the operation of the first pump assembly 124 to change and/or maintain the first precise volume being dispensed by the first pump assembly 124.

After the first auger filling stage 106, the socket 116 holding the containment vessel 102 may be moved to a second auger filling stage 108. This second auger filling stage 108 may be substantially similar to the first auger filling stage 106. This second stage 108 has a second pump assembly 130 which may be the same as the first pump assembly 124 in the first auger filling stage 106 or it may be configured differently. The second auger filling stage 108 may serve to dispense a second precise volume of a second fluid 126 into the containment vessel 102 to similarly fill the containment vessel 102 at least partially. This second fluid 126 may be the same fluid, different fluid, or at least partially comprised by the first fluid 118. The second precise volume could be the same as the first precise volume or differ from the first precise volume. In the preparation of CBD/THC cartridges, the methods and systems herein have been effective when one of the auger filling stages provides CBD oil to the containment vessel 102 while another auger filling stage provides THC oil to the containment vessel 102. As such, it can be seen that any number of auger filling stages may be provided such that any volume and any combination of fluids may be dispensed into the containment vessel 102.

After the second auger filling stage 108, the socket 116 holding the containment vessel 102 is transported to the cap placement stage 110. Here, a cap is placed on the containment vessel 102. The cap may be placed such that an opening of the containment vessel 102 is at least partially covered, which may be the same opening through which the fluids were introduced to fill the containment vessel 102 at least partially. The cap may incorporate and/or comprise a grommet which may allow the cap to be placed on the containment vessel 102 properly (such as by aligning it with an opening of the containment vessel 102 that the grommet may fit into or otherwise interact with and correspond to). The cap may take various forms depending on the final product of the prepared containment vessel 102. For example, the cap may be a mouthpiece that a consumer can use to consume the substances found inside. The cap could be similar to a simple cap on most conventional water bottles that is operative to be screwed onto the containment vessel 102. The PLC and/or microcontroller may control and change the operation of the cap placement stage 110 to correspond to different containment vessels 102, sockets 116, and/or caps. For example, a different kind of containment vessel 102 may require the cap to be placed in an area that is spatial different relative to the socket 116 than that of another containment vessel 102. Therefore, the PLC and/or microcontroller may cause the cap placement stage 110 to position the cap differently. The cap placement stage 110 may have a refillable supply or reservoir of caps which may be fed to the rotary index machine 100 by various methods such as a vibratory bowl feeder or automated robotic arms that grab and feed the caps.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the socket 116 holding the containment vessel 102 is transported to the cap pressing stage 112 after the cap placement stage 110. Here, a pressing device 128 may be operative to seal the containment vessel 102. This seal may partially or substantially seal the contents contained inside the containment vessel 102 so as to at least partially isolate the contents of the containment vessel 102 from the surrounding environment and/or at least partially reduce the flow of species in and out of the containment vessel 102. Preferably, this seal will preserve the contents of the species found in the containment vessel 102 and prevent such species from leaving the containment vessel as well as other species from entering the containment vessel as much as possible. An example of such a seal that could be utilized is a hermetic seal (airtight seal). This sealing may be accomplished by sealing an opening of the containment vessel 102. Ideally, the pressing device 128 does so by acting upon the cap that was placed on the containment vessel 102 or otherwise inducing the cap placed on the containment vessel 102 to seal the containment vessel 102. In one instance, a capping pressure may be applied to the cap by the pressing device 128 to seal the containment vessel 102. The pressing device 128 in this type of embodiment may take the form of a piston operative to impart the capping pressure onto the cap. The applied capping pressure may cause the cap to fit into a particular position operative to seal the containment vessel 102. In such a case, it may be desirous for the pressing device 128 to apply even pressure across the cap. In alternative instances, the cap, if made to screw onto the containment vessel, may be screwed on by the pressing device 128. The PLC and/or microcontroller may control and update the operation of the components of the cap pressing stage 112 for differing types of containment vessels 102, caps, fluids and/or the required pressing device 128 operation.

It may be desired to prepare the containment vessel 102 in the cap pressing stage 112 such that a certain internal containment pressure is induced in the containment vessel 102 and upon the fluids found therein. As such, the cap pressing stage 112 may incorporate a pressure sensor and/or a torque limiting sensor to ensure the properly desired internal pressure is induced in the containment vessel 102. Additionally, or alternatively, it may be desired prepare the containment vessel 102 in the cap pressing stage 112 to maintain or induce a certain condition inside the containment vessel (maintaining the composition of the components of the fluid inside the containment vessel, keeping certain gasses inside the containment vessel such as inert gasses, etc.). Those skilled in the art would understand what types of conditions it could be desirous to maintain or otherwise induce in this sealing step for a given fluid and containment vessel 102. The capping pressure needed to induce the desired internal pressure may depend on the properties of the fluid present in the containment vessel 102, such as the viscosity and compressibility of the fluid.

The sealing step that may take place in this cap pressing stage 112 may be carried out quickly after the auger filling stage(s) 106108 and the cap placement stage 110. In certain embodiments, the containment vessel 102 may be sealed 30 seconds or less after the fluid is dispensed into the containment vessel 102. Sealing the containment vessel 102 quickly after the fluid is first contained in the containment vessel 102 may aid in maintaining the quality and composition of the fluid and other species inside the containment vessel 102. Particularly in the CBD/THC field, a cartridge is recommended to be sealed within 30 seconds after filing it with the right amount of CBD/THC oils. The systems and methods disclosed herein have been shown to meet this 30 second requirement while still being able to produce +1500 properly prepared and near identical cartridges per hour.

After the cap pressing stage 112, the containment vessel 102 may be in its final state; it may now be referred to as a prepared containment vessel 102. The prepared containment vessel 102 may contain one or more fluids of a certain composition at a precise volume and a desired containment pressure. The socket 116 holding the prepared containment vessel 102 may be moved to the outlet stage 114. The outlet stage 114 may simply remove or transport the prepared containment vessel 102 from the socket 116 where it may then be collected in a prepared containment vessel reservoir or otherwise transported, processed, and/or used as needed. The socket 116 may then be transported back to the loading stage 104 wherein a new containment vessel 102 may be loaded into the socket 116, after which this entire process may repeat itself.

At several points in the process, the containment vessels 102 may be rejected for one reason or another, usually to remove a containment vessel 102 that will not be near identical to the other containment vessels 102 being produced. Criteria for rejection may include an improper weight of the containment vessel 102 (which could result from a faulty containment vessel 102 or an improper volume of fluid dispensed therein), an incorrect placement of the cap, a faulty sealing of the containment vessel 102, and more. Visual systems and/or measuring systems may be incorporated into the rotary index machine 100 to measure and detect these defects. If a defect is found by such visual/measurement means, the containment vessel 102 may be rejected by ejecting the containment vessel 102 out of the socket 116 before the containment vessel 102 reaches the outlet stage 114 into a waste reservoir. Such a rejection system may prevent these defective containment vessels 102 from being produced alongside the non-defective prepared containment vessels 102. The PLC and/or microcontroller may change the parameters needed to reject a containment vessel 102 if a new type of containment vessel 102 and/or product is being produced by the rotary index machine 100.

Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 3, both a bottom plan view of an exemplary embodiment of an auger filler and a side cross-sectional view of the same auger filler along line 3 of FIG. 2 in a first state respectively are depicted. Here, the intricacies of an auger filler device 200 can be seen. The auger filler device 200 may comprise a tip 214, a fluid inlet 210 through which the auger filler device 200 may receive fluid 218, and a fluid outlet 212 through which fluid 218 may be dispensed. The auger filler device 200, like many conventional auger devices, may comprise a rotor 202 which may have a plurality of protrusions 204. The protrusions 204 may take the form of a singular continuous fin, one or more isolated segments, or a combination thereof. The protrusions 204 may additionally wrap around the rotor 202 similar to the configuration found in earth augers. The rotor 202 may be at least partially enclosed by a stator 206; this may cause the rotor 202 to form a seal with the stator 206 at various points such that cavities 208 are formed/defined. The cavities 208 may be isolated from the outside environment such that any fluid 218 contained in the volume of the cavities 208 is similarly isolated from the outside environment. The protrusions 204 could further form/define the cavities 208 via helping to define the shape of the cavities 208 in between protrusions 204. In this FIG. 3, it can be seen that a cavity 208 may reside in between certain protrusions 204.

The auger filler device 200 may be configured such that these cavities 208 define a meticulous volume. Specifically, the shape of the rotor 202, protrusions 204, and/or stator 206 may define the volume of the cavities 208. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, the cavities 208 and the volume therein are defined by the sinusoidal shape of the cross section of the stator 206 as well as the sinusoidal shape of the cross section of the rotor 202 and its protrusions 204. Specifically in this FIG. 3, the period of the sinusoidal shape of the combination of the rotor 202 and its protrusions 204 is twice that of the period of the sinusoidal shape of the inner surfaces of the stator 206 such that equal sized cavities 208 which may have the same volume are formed in between the protrusions 204. Those skilled in the art would recognize how to alter the shape and architecture of the rotor 202, the protrusions 204, and the stator 206 to form differently shaped cavities with different meticulous volumes. As such, the shape of these structures need not be sinusoidal as shown in FIG. 3. Additionally, the volume of the cavities 208 need not be the same from one cavity 208 to the next; that being said, in preferred embodiments the volumes of the cavities 208 are the same or substantially the same throughout the auger filler device 200. The volume of the cavities 208 may be operative to contain a volume less than or an identical volume of a fluid 218, with the latter case being the ideal embodiment. In the embodiment depicted in this FIG. 3, the cavities 208 are filled completely with a fluid 218. Preferably, the protrusions 204 are carefully and specifically shaped and spaced evenly such that each of the cavities 208 may have the same meticulous volume and may therefore contain the same volume of fluid 218, but in different embodiments the protrusions 204 can be shaped and spaced differently such that certain cavities 208 may be of a lesser or greater volume when compared to other cavities 208. In some embodiments, the cavities 208 may contain between 0.1-1 ml of fluid 218.

Brining our attention now to FIG. 4, the same side cross-sectional view of the same auger filler device after rotation in a first direction by 360 degrees to be brought to a second state is shown. The rotor 202 may be operative to rotate in a first direction 150 relative to the stator 206 about a rotation axis 219. Since this rotation of the rotor 202 is relative, the rotation may be via the rotor 202 itself directly being rotated or via the stator 206 itself being rotated. Ideally, the rotor 202 itself will be directly rotated while the stator 206 is stationary. This rotation axis 219 may be a longitudinal axis in the center of the rotor 202. The rotation axis 219 may also be coaxial with both the rotor 202 and the stator 206. The rotor 202, protrusions 204, and/or stator 206 may be constructed and configured such that the relative location of the cavities 208 and any species present therein are transported away from the fluid inlet 210 and towards the fluid outlet 212 during this rotation in the first direction 150. As such, it can be seen that the location of the cavities 208 need not be in a definite location, as the cavities 208 can “move” as the auger filler device 200 is operated.

When this manner of rotation occurs, a cavity 208 closest to the fluid outlet 212 may be exposed to the fluid outlet 212. If that particular cavity 208 contains fluid 218, the fluid 218 therein may be dispensed from the fluid outlet 212, after which the fluid 218 may ideally become contained in a containment vessel. The rotation in the first direction 150 may be operative to dispense fluid 218 contained in one cavity 218 if rotated by a first angular value (a value in radians or degrees). For instance, the auger filler device 200 is preferably configured such that one 360-degree rotation of the rotor 202 dispenses the fluid 218 contained in one cavity 208. In alternative embodiments, less than one full rotation or more than one full rotation may dispense the fluid 218 contained in one cavity 208. An electric motor may be incorporated into the auger filler device 200 which may ensure that the precise rotation of the rotor 202 to dispense a certain amount of fluid 218 is performed (ideally, one step of the step motor would dispense the fluid of just one cavity 208). This electric motor may be, for example, a stepper motor. The electric motor may or may not have feedback with the PLC and/or microcontroller, which may allow for the PLC and/or microcontroller to determine the functionality of the electric motor. Fluid 218 at the fluid inlet 210 may at least partially fill a cavity 208 when this rotation in the first direction 150 occurs.

The meticulous volume of the cavities 208 may therefore be structured such that, when fully filled with fluid 218, a rotation in the first direction 150 by the first angular value will dispense the same volume of fluid 218 from the fluid outlet 212. Such a system allows for great precision dispensing of fluid 218. As an example, if it is desirous to fill a containment vessel with 0.7 ml of fluid 218 and each of the cavities 208 are filled completely with 0.1 ml of fluid 218, a rotation in the first direction 150 by the first angular value can occur 7 times to dispense the 0.1 ml of fluid 218 in the cavities 208. Each iteration of the rotation in the first direction by the first angular value can occur continuously, in steps (pausing in between each rotation by the first angular value), or a combination thereof.

The rotation in the first direction 150 may cause a cavity 208 closest to the fluid inlet 210 to form. It can be seen in FIG. 4 that this particular newly formed cavity 208 does not contain any fluid 218 in it. This could be a result of no fluid 218 being received by the fluid inlet 210. If instead fluid 218 was present at the fluid inlet 210, the rotation in the first direction 150 may cause some of this fluid 218 at the fluid inlet 210 to at least partially fill the newly formed cavity 208.

Looking now at FIG. 5, the same side cross-sectional view of the of the same auger device after being rotated in a second direction by 360 degrees to be brought to a third state is shown. The rotor 202 may be operative to rotate relative to the stator 206 in a second direction 160 opposite to that of the first direction 150 about the same rotation axis 219. The first 150 and second direction 160 may be of opposite angular directions relative to the rotation axis 219. For example, the first direction 150 may be a clockwise direction relative to the rotation axis 219 and the second direction 160 may be a counterclockwise direction relative to the rotation axis 219. As such, it can be seen that the rotation in the first direction 150 and the second direction 160 can be akin to the rotation of a cork-screw. When the rotor 202 is rotated in this second direction 160, a suction effect 170 may be created. This could be due to the sudden formation of a cavity 208 closest to the fluid outlet 212, which may cause air to rush in into the auger filler device 200 just before the cavity 208 is formed and sealed from the outside environment. This may pull in fluid 218 that remains at or near the tip 214 and/or the fluid outlet 212 of the auger filler device 200, preventing both excess drippage and/or leaking of the fluid 218 and overfilling of the containment vessel.

The auger filler device 200 may thus operate and dispense a precise volume of fluid 218 by rotating the rotor 202 in the first direction 150 so as to dispense fluid 218 contained in the cavities 208 until a precise volume of fluid 218 has been dispensed, followed by rotation of the rotor 202 in the second direction 160 to prevent more fluid 218 from leaking or dripping out of the fluid outlet 212 via this suction effect 170. It can be seen then that this auger fluid device 200, when incorporated into the auger filling stages of a system or method contemplated herein, may dispense a precise amount of fluid into a containment vessel by rotating the rotor 202 in the first direction 150 by a first rotational value (i.e., a given amount of degrees or radians that corresponds to the volume of fluid to be dispensed by the auger/received by the containment vessel) by a certain number of iterations followed by the subsequent rotation of the rotor 202 in the second direction 160 by a certain rotational value operative to prevent more fluid 218 from dripping into the containment vessel and/or out of the fluid outlet 212 when there is no containment vessel available to receive such fluid, thus reducing waste. The aforesaid electric motor may be operative to ensure the properly rotational value is utilized in both directions of rotation. In the preferred embodiments wherein the protrusions 204 are shaped to make evenly spaced cavities 208, the rotational values utilized may be consistent from one iteration to the next if the same type of containment vessel needs to be prepared with the same volume of fluid 218. Such a system has been shown to operate within a control of 0.01 ml of fluid 218 dispensed.

In preferred embodiments of the methods and systems contemplated herein, fluid 218 may be supplied at the fluid inlet 210 of an auger filling device 200 so that the cavities 208 may continue to be filled with the fluid 218. A containment vessel may be placed or provided so that it may receive fluid 218 dispensed from the fluid outlet 212. The rotor 202 may be rotated relative to the stator 206 in a first direction 150, continuously and/or in steps via an electric motor, until the precise volume of fluid 218 is contained in the containment vessel. Immediately after this precise volume is dispensed, the rotor 202 may be rotated relative to the stator 206 in a second direction 160 to prevent more fluid 218 from filling the containment vessel and to prevent leakage/dripping of the fluid from the auger filler. This containment vessel may then be transported elsewhere, after which a new containment vessel may be provided or placed to receive fluid 218 from the fluid outlet 212. The rotational processes may then be carried out again for this new containment vessel and any subsequent containment vessels that are provided.

The PLC and/or microcontroller may ensure that the proper volume of fluid 218 is being dispensed by the auger filler device 200. This may be by measuring the fluid 218 exiting from the fluid outlet 212, measuring the fluid 218 that is collected and contained in the containment vessel, or a combination thereof. As such, the PLC and/or microcontroller may change the operation of the auger filler device 200 by changing the speed and frequency of the rotation in the first 150 and second direction 160 as needed to ensure the proper volume is being dispensed into the containment vessel and the least amount of fluid 218 is being wasted. The PLC and/or microcontroller may also change the operation of the auger filler device 200 in response to a different type of containment vessel being prepared, a different type of fluid 218 being dispensed, and/or a different type of product being produced. The auger filler device 200, like most other components and features herein, may be removed and replaced with a different auger filler device 200 that differs in properties like size and volume of cavities 208 therein and rotation required for a precise volume of fluid 218 to be dispensed, and as such the PLC and/or microcontroller can react and change the necessary control mechanisms to cause the auger filler device 200 to dispense the desired amount of fluid 218.

The auger filler device 200 may incorporate a temperature adjusting element similar to that of the rotary index machine. This temperature adjusting element may heat/cool the fluid 218 and/or maintain the temperature of the fluid 218 as it travels through the auger filler device 200. The fluid 218 being dispensed by the auger filler device 200 could be very viscous and thus resistant to smooth fluid flow. Such turbulent fluid flow may prevent the auger filler device 200 from dispensing the precise volume of fluid 218 into the containment vessel even if the auger filler device 200 is operated optimally (i.e., slow flow of fluid 218 out of the fluid outlet 212). As such, the temperature adjusting element may be required adjust the temperature of the fluid 218 so as to lower the viscosity of the fluid 218 and/or make the fluid 218 more susceptible to smooth and predictable fluid flow. The temperature of the fluid 218 herein may correlated or be related to the temperature the containment vessel and/or socket is set to, the benefits of which were mentioned previously. The same heating/cooling methodologies may be used here as those that were mentioned in the discussion of the temperature adjusting element of the rotary index machine. The PLC and/or microcontroller may control the heating/cooling capability of the temperature adjusting element of the auger filler device 200 and may change the temperature adjusting element's operation in response to different types of fluid 218 as well as the usual varied conditions like the type of containment vessel and auger filler device 200. The PLC and/or microcontroller may additionally take into account components of the fluid 218 and prevent the temperature from being raised too high or too low which could otherwise result in the burning off or decomposition of essential/desirable components of the fluid 218 (such as terpenes).

Looking now to FIG. 6, an exemplary embodiment of a horizontal pump assembly of the auger filling stage of the presently contemplated methods and systems is depicted. The horizontal pump assembly 220 may comprise an auger filler device, similar to that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, enclosed in front shaft region 222. A pump outlet 224 may be operative to dispense any fluid dispensed out of the fluid outlet of the auger filler device, after which such fluid may be received and contained by the containment vessel. The fluid inlet of the auger filler device may receive the fluid via a fluid reservoir 226 supplying fluid that is fluidly connected to the fluid inlet via a reservoir conduit 228. The fluid received in this manner may fill a cavity of the auger filler device, as mentioned earlier. The fluid reservoir 226 depicted here has a conical shape, but the fluid reservoir 226 may shaped and configured in different fashions, and it may be ideal to configure the fluid reservoir 226 for particular types of fluids. Additionally, the fluid reservoir 226 need not be in such close proximity to the rest of the horizontal pump assembly 220 as shown here; in such a case the fluid conduit 228 may extend further away from the rest of the horizontal pump assembly 220. This could be desirable and/or required in certain circumstances such as if the fluid being utilized is a flammable oil that needs to be kept further away from devices and mechanisms that could ignite it. The fluid reservoir 226 may have a port to refill the fluid when the reservoir is running low on fluid and/or the fluid reservoir 226 may be a removable and replaceable unit. The PLC and/or microcontroller and/or some notification mechanism (an LED light or an audio notification, for instance) may alert one to the fact that the fluid reservoir 226 is running low on a supply of fluid.

The fluid reservoir 226 and/or the fluid conduit 228 may comprise and/or incorporate a temperature adjusting element similar to that of the rotary index machine or the auger filler device. Like those temperature adjusting elements, the PLC and/or microcontroller can change the operation of this temperature adjusting element to maintain/induce a temperature of the fluid prior to the fluid being pumped through the auger filler and into the containment vessel. It can therefore be seen that the temperature of the fluid throughout the processes and systems disclosed herein may be kept at a certain temperature range and/or changed as the fluid flows through these processes and systems, ideally such that a smooth flow of the fluid may allow for a precise volume of fluid to be dispensed into the containment vessel and the components of the fluid are prevented from chemically decomposing.

The rotor of the auger filler device in this horizontal pump assembly 220 may be rotated relative to the stator by a priming motor 230. The priming motor 230 may cause a gearbox enclosed in rear shaft region 232 to carry out such rotation in the first direction and the second direction by being operatively coupled to the auger filler device via an auger coupling 234. The priming motor 230 may be further operative to pump the fluid into the fluid inlet of the auger filler device. The fluid may be very viscous, so such a priming motor 230 may need to be operative to push the fluid such that the cavities of the auger filler device may be substantially filled with the fluid. The previously mentioned PLC and/or microcontroller may control the operation of the motor 230 and thus the gearbox to ensure the components of the horizontal pump assembly 220 are being operated to produce the desired containment vessel. The horizontal pump assembly 220 may additionally include a priming port 236 to position the horizontal pump assembly 220. This could be used to position the horizontal pump assembly 220 in a proper location to dispense fluid into the containment vessels; this location may be associated with an assembly line process similar to the previously shown rotary index machine.

Bringing our attention now to FIG. 7, an exemplary embodiment of a vertical pump assembly of the auger filling stage of the presently contemplated methods and systems is depicted. This is an alternative embodiment of the pump assembly shown in FIG. 4. It can thus be seen that the components of the pump assembly can generally be shaped, molded, and/or configured in a number of different embodiments while still being able to properly dispense the fluid. Since the auger filler device's cavities may be sealed and isolated from the outside environment, fluid can be contained in this vertical pump assembly 240 without gravity forcing it out of the pump outlet 224. Most of the features of this vertical pump assembly 240 are similar to those found in the horizontal pump assembly 220 and as such similar reference numerals are used to correspond to similar features found in this embodiment.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including various ways of preparing containment vessels containing a precise volume of fluid. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.

High Precision Filling System

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Provisional Applications (1)