Tna Australia Pty Limited

Mettler-Toledo Safeline Limited

Darren Ken Alchin

Alfred Alexander Taylor

Daren Butterworth

Marek Grus

Jaroslaw Krysiak

Matthew Rawstron

A former assembly () for a packaging machine. The former assembly () includes a frame () that supports a former shoulder (). The former shoulder () has a former opening () that is aligned with a tubular delivery chute (). Product is delivered to the chute (), from where product is delivered to the opening () and therefore the former shoulder (). The delivery chute () has an interior () having a plurality of projections () in the form of ridges (). The ridges are located at angular positions spaced about the generally central axis () and have their major direction of extension downward.

Former chute

Metal detector

A chute assembly () to deliver product to a former () of a packaging assembly. The chute assembly () includes a chute () that converges downwardly. Located adjacent the chute () is a metal detector () having a transmitting and receiving coils () of different diameters. The receiving coils () being adapted to provide a signal when metal is detected.

A metal detector () has a metallic enclosure () with entrance and exit apertures () whose cross-sectional areas differ from each other. Inside the enclosure is a coil system with a transmitter coil () and first and second receiver coils (). The apertures and the coil system enclose a detection zone () around a travel path on which objects under inspection move. The asymmetric detection zone has a variable cross-section along the travel path and the coils differ in size from each other. The receiver coils are connected in series, but their windings are wired with the opposite sense of rotation relative to each other. Energizing the transmitter coil generates a primary electromagnetic field that induces a first voltage and a second voltage in the corresponding receiver coils. Despite the asymmetry, the respective voltages cancel each other when no metal is present in the object investigated.

Metal detector for production and packaging lines

A weighing machine () that may be scales employed in the packaging industry to deliver batches of product to a packaging machine below the weighing machine (). The weighing machine () has a plurality of troughs () along which the product passes and that extend downwardly away from a generally central upright longitudinal axis (). Each trough () extends downwardly from an inlet portion () to an outlet portion (), with the outlet portion () spaced radially and angularly from the inlet portion () relative to the axis ().

Product distribution chute for a weighing machine (scales)

An apparatus () to aid in locating articles in bags produced by a packaging machine (). The apparatus () includes a reservoir () to which the articles are delivered, with a plurality of discharge locations being located at angular spaced positions about the reservoir (). Each of the discharge locations () includes an upwardly facing aperture () through which the articles are delivered to a central chute () from where the articles are located in the bags being formed. Adjacent each discharge location () is a conveyor device () that moves angularly so as to take articles from the reservoir () to the associated aperture ().

Growing community of inventors

Holsworthy, Australia

Darren Ken Alchin