A device, system, and method are provided for grinding, dispensing, and packaging a granular material into a receptacle to be obtained by a user. The device can include: a user interface; a canister comprising a dispensing mechanism and a grinder; a packaging system configured to physically manipulate and position a receptacle within the device, thereby eliminating the need for manual handling by the user; a receptacle-storage configured to house a plurality of receptacles and from which the packaging system can obtain a receptacle; a capping station configured to apply a covering onto a filled receptacle to prevent spillage and waste; an inventory database to store inventory information; a communication system to facilitate internet connectivity; and a recommendation system to recommend various recipes to the user. The description also discloses a system of interconnected kiosks for automatically grinding, dispensing, and packaging granular materials.

A container for a food product generally includes a tray and a cover attached to the tray by ultrasonic bonds. The tray includes a bottom having a perimeter and a sidewall extending along the perimeter of the bottom to form a cavity sized to receive the food product. The sidewall defines an opening for the food product to be placed into the cavity. The tray also includes a flange extending from an edge of the sidewall and around the opening. The flange has a single layer first area with a first thickness and a second area comprised of at least two layers with a second thickness. The second thickness is at least twice as thick as the first thickness. The ultrasonic bonds extend along the entire sidewall of the container to form a continuous, hermetic seal between the cover and the tray around the opening.

A container supply device includes a guide plate that guides stacking of a plurality of lids in a vertical direction, a lower claw capable of advancing/retreating and mounting a first container located at the lowermost position in a plurality of stacked containers, an upper claw capable of advancing/retreating and including a recess into which a flange portion of a second container sequentially stacked on the first container in the plurality of stacked containers is inserted, and a suction pad that adsorbs and separates the first container from the second container in a state where the second container is supported by the upper claw.

A vaping device system includes a first tray for holding vaping device bodies, the first tray having a plurality of voids, the voids holding a portion of a vaping device body to be filled with a substance. The first tray and the vaping device bodies are covered. A second tray for holding vaping device mouthpieces has a plurality of voids allowing the vaping device mouthpieces to be vertically aligned with the corresponding vaping device bodies of the first tray, each of the voids holding a portion of a vaping device mouthpiece to cap a corresponding vaping device body. The first tray is capable of being placed over a jig having a plurality of jig voids corresponding to the voids for holding the vaping device bodies.

Fluid liners and container assemblies for a spraying apparatus and related methods of use are provided. The disclosed liners include a side wall defining a fluid-containing portion and an open end, a flange extending outwardly from the side wall, and a latching member coupled to the flange, where the latching member includes a retaining feature for releasably coupling the side wall to a lid compatible with the liner. Disclosed fluid containers include a lid having a fluid outlet adapted to couple the lid to the spraying apparatus and a collapsible liner, where either the liner or lid comprises a latch that releasably couples the liner and the lid to each other. Advantageously, the fluid liners and fluid containers can provide enhanced storage options for container contents between spraying operations.

Method for providing a container with food, the method comprising: providing a container for infant formula food, adding the food, sealing the container with a gas-tight membrane seal, adding an inner scannable code on the gas-tight membrane seal, closing the container with a tamper-proof closure means, so that the inner scannable code is not scannable without breaking a part of the tamper-proof closure means, and storing the inner scannable code in a database.

Techniques and systems for seaming containers are described herein. The canning system can include a seamer assembly and a seamer controller. The seamer assembly includes a load cell assembly which weighs the containers and communicates with the seamer controller to determine if the container is to have a lid seamed onto the container based on the satisfaction of a predetermined weight criteria. The seamer controller is designed to receive weight measurements of the container, determine a weight criteria and whether the container has satisfied the weight criteria, command the seamer assembly whether to seam a lid to the container based on the satisfaction of the weight criteria, and send a command to the reject station to remove the container if the weight criteria is not satisfied.

A double-headed tube structure and a double-headed tube structure are disclosed. The method includes the steps: a first tube head being sealedly welded to a first end portion of a tube body using a first mold, and then the first mold being removed; a second mold being inserted through the first tube head to a second end portion the tube body, the second end portion, an annular retaining member and a second tube head being sealedly welded together, and then the second mold being removed. The structure is that the second tube head is sealdedly welded to the tube body through the annular retaining member. The first and second tube heads are sealedly welded at both ends of the tube body by a two-step forming process. Through the annular retaining member, the tube body is not deformed in the two-step forming process, thereby improving the welding and sealing effect.

A system for packaging a food product in a container generally includes a conveyance apparatus operable to move trays in a machine direction, a delivery apparatus operable to deposit the food product into cavities of the trays, and a positioning apparatus operable to position covers relative to the trays. The positioning apparatus is configured to position each cover on a respective tray to overlap a flange of the respective tray. The system also comprises an ultrasonic bonding apparatus configured to receive the flange and the cover of each container in the nip between a first bonding module and a second bonding module. At least one of the first bonding module and the second bonding module vibrates at an ultrasonic frequency and delivers ultrasonic energy to at least one of the cover and the flange to seal the container.

A container carrier application system is provided. The system includes a controller, a conveyor, a container positioning device, and an application device. The conveyor conveys a plurality of groups of containers from a supply side to an output side. The container positioning device positions each group of containers for application of a container carrier, and the application device applies the container carrier to the group. A motion of the container positioning device and a motion of the application device are synchronized to coordinate a position of the group with a position of the container carrier to be applied to the group. The controller is configured to control a conveyance speed of the groups such that a gap is introduced between a first group and a second group as they are conveyed along the conveyor, the gap being spaced in a conveyance direction of the containers.