Method and apparatus for filling a container with fiber

Abstract

An apparatus for filling containers with loose fill material, comprising an opener for opening the fill material into a separated condition suitable to be injected into the container. A blower communicates with the opener for entraining the opened fill material in a pressurized air stream, and a nozzle communicates with the blower for directing the pressurized air stream and entrained fill material into the container. An air pressure gauge operatively communicates with the pressurized air stream for determining the pressure in the air stream and an increase in air pressure indicative of a predetermined amount of fill material in the container. A flow controller communicates with the pressurized air stream for starting and stopping the injection of fill material into the container.

1 . An apparatus for filling containers with loose fill material, comprising:
 (a) an opener for opening the fill material into a separated condition suitable to be injected into the container;   (b) a blower communicating with the opener for entraining the opened fill material in a pressurized air stream;   (c) a nozzle communicating with the blower for directing the pressurized air stream and entrained fill material into the container;   (d) an air pressure gauge operatively communicating with the pressurized air stream for determining the pressure in the air stream and an increase in air pressure indicative of a predetermined amount of fill material in the container; and   (e) a flow controller communicating with the pressurized air stream for starting and stopping the injection of fill material into the container.   
   
   
       2 . An apparatus according to  claim 1 , and including a fill material conveying manifold interconnecting the opener and blower for receiving opened fill material from the fill material opener and conveying the fill material to the blower. 
   
   
       3 . An apparatus according to  claim 2 , and including first and second spaced-apart blowers and nozzles for permitting first and second separate container-filling operations to be carried out simultaneously and independently. 
   
   
       4 . An apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the shut-off comprises a shut-off gate operatively associated with the flow controller and positioned intermediate the blower and the manifold. 
   
   
       5 . An apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the shut-off comprises first and second shut-off gates for permitting the flow of air-entrained fill material to be individually interrupted during two simultaneous and independent container-filling operations. 
   
   
       6 . An apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the pressure gauge includes a visual indicator of the air pressure in the pressurized air stream. 
   
   
       7 . An apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the pressure gauge operatively communicates with the pressurized air stream downstream of the blower and upstream of the nozzle. 
   
   
       8 . An apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the flow controller includes a shut-off device for stopping the injection of air-entrained fill material into the container in response to a predetermined increase in air pressure. 
   
   
       9 . An apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the flow controller includes a manually-operated device for stopping the injection of air-entrained fill material into the container in response to a predetermined increase in air pressure. 
   
   
       10 . An apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the flow controller includes an automatic shut-off for stopping the injection of air-entrained fill material into the container in response to a predetermined increase in air pressure. 
   
   
       11 . An apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the container comprises a flexible fabric bag-like structure such as a pillow or cushion. 
   
   
       12 . A fiber dispensing control apparatus for controlling the flow of air-entrained fiber from a fiber supply system into a container, comprising:
 (a) an air pressure gauge adapted to communicate with the fiber supply system for determining the air pressure within the fiber supply system; and   (b) a flow controller operatively associated with the air pressure gauge and responsive to an increase in the air pressure within the fiber supply system indicative of a predetermined amount of fiber in the container.   
   
   
       13 . A fiber-dispensing control apparatus according to  claim 12 , and including a manually-operated device for starting the flow of fiber into the container. 
   
   
       14 . A fiber-dispensing control apparatus according to  claim 12 , and including a manually-operated device for stopping the flow of fiber into the container. 
   
   
       15 . A fiber-dispensing control apparatus according to  claim 12 , and including an automatically-operated device for stopping the flow of fiber into the container. 
   
   
       16 . A method of dispensing fill material entrained in a moving air stream into a container, and comprising:
 (a) determining an air pressure within the moving air stream indicative of a predetermined amount of fill material in the container;   (b) sensing the air pressure within the fill material supply system;   (c) sensing the increase in the air pressure within the moving air stream indicative of a predetermined amount of fill material in the container; and   (d) stopping the flow of fill material into the container.   
   
   
       17 . A method according to  claim 16 , and the step of stopping the flow of fill material into the container includes the step of automatically stopping the flow of fill material into the container. 
   
   
       18 . A method according to  claim 16 , and including the step of providing an alarm indicative of a predetermined amount of fill material in the container, wherein the step of stopping the flow of fill material into the container comprises manually stopping the flow of fill material into the container by an operator in response to the alarm. 
   
   
       19 . A method according to  claim 18 , wherein the alarm is an audible or visual alarm. 
   
   
       20 . A method according to  claim 18 , wherein the fill material is selected from the group consisting of staple fibers, chopped feathers, down, foam or plastic.