Method of operating a product filler head system

Abstract

A product filler head system having an input conveyor with a first drive motor for delivering product items, an index pusher for receiving the product items from the input conveyor, accumulating the product items into groups of a selected size and releasing the groups onto a staging area, the index pusher including a second drive motor, an index lug chain for receiving selected numbers of the groups of product items from the index pusher and displacing the selected number of groups of product along the staging area, the index lug chain including a third drive motor, a ram for displacing the groups of product items from the staging area into a receptacle, the ram including a fourth drive motor, and a selectively programmable computer control for individually actuating the first, second, third and fourth motors such that speeds of the conveyor, index pusher and lug chain are synchronized with respect to each other and with sequencing of the ram, so that changes in the size of the groups of product items and changes in arrangement of the array of groups of product items are compensated for by selective programming of the computer control to vary relative speeds and sequencing of the first, second, third and fourth motors. Consequently, in order to vary the size and arrangement of groups onto the staging area, the index lug chain is replaced with an index lug chain having lugs of the desired spacing, and the computer control is programmed to correspondingly adjust the speeds and sequencing of the input conveyor, index pusher, index lug chain and ram to coordinate these components with respect to each other, thereby eliminating the need for mechanical interconnection between these components and the replacement of mechanical components such as sprockets and the like to vary the relative speed and timing of the components.