PILL DEVICE APPARATUS, SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR INTRUSION DETECTION

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to a vent tube apparatus, system and methods incorporating a ball cage with a modified pill device design comprising a traceable material such as a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag for use in conjunction with a filling machine during container filling operations for a quicker and more accurate detection of the location of the pill device to the extent it becomes detached from the ball cage during filling operations, and to increase the safety of the filling operation and reduce costs and time when a malfunction occurs.

Claims

1. A vent tube and ball cage apparatus for use in filling a container during a filling process in which the ball cage is attached to the vent tube, and the vent tube is attached to a filling machine, comprising: a vent tube body, said vent tube body being hollow and comprising a vent tube opening, said vent tube body configured to be attached to a filling machine and configured to vent a gas from the container during the filling process; a ball cage, said ball cage comprising an opening, said ball cage attached to said vent tube body at said vent tube opening; a pill device, said pill device having an oblong shape and having a bottom portion that is spherical, said pill device configured to be located inside said ball cage opening, said pill device further comprising a top portion, and a cylinder portion, said cylinder portion providing said oblong shape of said pill device; and an indicator, said indicator being housed in said pill device, such that if said pill device is removed from said filling machine, said pill device can be detected using an indicator detection system.

2. The vent tube and ball cage apparatus in claim 1, wherein said top portion comprises a beveled edge.

3. The vent tube and ball cage apparatus in claim 1, wherein said top portion comprises a flat bottom.

4. The vent tube and ball cage apparatus in claim 1, wherein said top portion comprises a spherical end.

5. The vent tube and ball cage apparatus in claim 1, wherein said indicator is a Radio Frequency Identification tag.

6. The vent tube and ball cage apparatus in claim 1, wherein said indicator detection system is a Radio Frequency Identification reader.

7. The vent tube and ball cage apparatus in claim 1, wherein said housed in said pill device means enclosed during an injection molded process.

8. The vent tube and ball cage apparatus in claim 1, wherein said housed in said pill device means attached during a machining process.

9. The vent tube and ball cage apparatus in claim 1, wherein said pill device is prevented from rotating in more than one axis due to said oblong shape.

10. The vent tube and ball cage apparatus in claim 1, wherein said indicator is a magnet.

11. A pill device for use with a vent tube and ball cage apparatus for filling a container in a filling machine in which the vent tube is configured to vent a gas from the container during a filling process, comprising: a top portion, a cylinder portion and a bottom portion, said pill device configured such that said cylinder portion creates an oblong shape; said pill device configured to be located in a ball cage opening in said ball cage, such that said ball cage prevents said pill device from rotating in more than one axis due to said oblong shape; said bottom portion configured in a spherical shape; an indicator, said indicator being housed in said pill device, such that if said pill device is removed from said ball cage opening, said removal from said ball cage opening can be detected using an indicator detector.

12. The pill device in claim 11, wherein said top portion comprises a beveled edge.

13. The pill device in claim 11, wherein said top portion comprises a flat bottom.

14. The pill device in claim 11, wherein said top portion comprises a spherical end.

15. The pill device in claim 11, wherein said indicator is a Radio Frequency Identification tag.

16. The pill device in claim 11, wherein said indicator detector is a Radio Frequency Identification reader.

17. The pill device in claim 11, wherein said housed in said pill device housing means enclosed during an injection molded process.

18. The pill device in claim 11, wherein said housed in said pill device housing means attached during a machining process.

19. The pill device in claim 11, wherein said indicator is a magnet.

Description

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0031] In order to solve the above-mentioned shortcomings in filling operations, the present disclosure utilizes apparatus, system and/or methods for determining the location of a novel flat bottom or oval pill device, ball cage, traceable vent tube, or removable vent tube tip or cap when the filling machine malfunctions and one of these devices, or a portion thereof, becomes detached from the filling machine and, in special cases, falls or intrudes into a container being filled. In particular, the disclosure utilizes a novel flat bottom or oval pill device, ball cage, traceable vent tube, or removable vent tube tip or cap modified in some way with a traceable material, such as an RFID tag or a magnet, and can incorporate a system and methods for scanning a filling machine, as well as food or beverage containers, using sensing technologies, such as RFID technology.

[0032] Additionally, the modified pill device, such as the flat bottom or oval pill device design, differs from the standard polypropylene or thermoplastic ball in that the shape of the pill device is oblong and not spherical. The modified shape allows the pill device to continue moving in the z-axis inside the ball cage without tumbling. Thus, the pill device is capable of performing its intended function of moving up on the z-axis to engage the vent tube opening to prevent the escaping of gases when needed.

[0033] Although other designs are possible, the modified pill device design disclosed herein differs from the polypropylene or thermoplastic ball in that the shape of the pill device is oval or spherical on the first side and either oval or spherical, or flat or beveled on the second side, and not spherical on the second side. As such, the first novel pill device design is oval or spherical on one side and flat bottom or beveled on the other side, while the second novel pill device design is oval or spherical on both sides. Other designs can be incorporated in which the shape allows the particular device to continue moving in the z-axis inside a ball cage without tumbling. Thus, the pill device is capable of performing its intended function of moving up on the z-axis to engage the vent tube opening to prevent the escaping of gases when needed.

[0034] The shapes described above also allow for the incorporation of an RFID tag or another indicator in a location in the novel pill device such that the RFID tag (or whichever device is used to track the device), is always in the same relative location in the ball cage. For example, since the shape of the novel pill device limits the device rotation inside the ball cage, the RFID tag or other indicator will always be on a plane perpendicular to the direction of the vent tube, if that is the desired location. Other orientations can be used to meet systems requirements. Since the shape of the novel pill device only allows for rotation or movement in one axis (besides the z-axis), there will be less contact with the inside of the ball cage and less damage to the novel pill device as it is used in the filling operation.

[0035] As such, the present disclosure solves the problems facing the packaging industry, and in particular, the beverage filling industry as described above. The present disclosure incorporates a solution for consistent detection of a novel flat bottom or oval pill device, ball cage, traceable vent tube, or removable vent tube tip or cap intrusion into a container, which will exceed the current standards at specific beverage manufacturing plants.

[0036] At large automated beverage manufacturing plants, aluminum cans are a commonly used container for product. As described above, when a plastic vent tube or a propylene ball falls into an aluminum can as it is being filled, the inductive and capacitive technologies normally used to detect metal vent tubes or thermoplastic balls, cannot detect the foreign object through the aluminum can. As a result, expensive X-ray systems must be used or the product is considered wasted.

[0037] The present disclosure solves this inherent problem by incorporating or implementing an RFID tag or a magnet into each novel flat bottom or oval pill device, ball cage, traceable vent tube, or removable vent tube tip or cap and associated monitoring systems. The incorporated RFID tag can be used on metal, metal-plastic hybrid, ball cage, plastic vent tubes, vent tube caps and into the novel pill device designs with the same result. By placing an in-line identification gate or RFID scanner or reader, or another similar reader, after the filling process occurs, and a continuous monitoring system on the filling machine any such pill device, ball cage, traceable vent tube, or removable vent tube tip or cap can be reliably tracked if it becomes detached from the filling machine during the filling process.

[0038] By tagging the pill device, ball cage, traceable vent tube, or removable vent tube tip or cap with an RFID transponder, a magnet or other tagging technologies, routine consistency checks will not have to be performed. Further, other materials may now be considered as containers for the packaging side of the manufacturing facilities.

[0039] The vent tube and pill device detection systems used in conjunction with the present disclosure has several components, such as chips, tags, readers and antennas. By incorporating an RFID tag, transponder, or other tagging technology into the vent tube or pill device designs, these devices can be tracked using the same transponder or tag reading system as described above.

[0040] Since, in the case of an RFID tag, the transponder is created by attaching a small silicon chip to a small flexible antenna; the chip can be used to record and store information. To read the transponder and locate the specific vent tube or pill device designs, the RFID reader sends out a radio signal to be absorbed by the antenna and reflected back as a return signal delivering information from the transponder chip memory.

[0041] In use, the container filling machine operates in its normal manner with empty containers sent down a conveyor to the filling section of the system. The vent tube (with or without the pill device designs) is then lowered (or the empty container is raised) to come in contact or near contact with the container. The container is filled with the product as described above, and the pill device, ball cage, traceable vent tube, or removable vent tube tip or cap is removed from the filled container. The filled container is then covered and/or sealed. This filling process fills thousands of containers each minute.

[0042] In the present disclosure, a traceable vent tube cap can be attached to an existing vent tube to allow standard vent tubes to become traceable vent tubes. Alternatively, the modified pill device design containing a traceable device can be used in a ball cage instead of a polypropylene ball, to allow standard vent tubes or ball cages to become traceable vent tubes or ball cages.

[0043] If, during these high-speed operations, a vent tube malfunctions (i.e., the vent tube, ball cage or pill device detaches or sheers from the filling machine, and falls into the container), the RFID transponder incorporated into the vent tube, vent tube cap, modified pill device (or a combination of the devices) will likewise fall into the filled container.

[0044] Using the vent tube detection system, the system can have immediate information that the vent tube has detached from the filling system and precisely which container the pill device, ball cage, traceable vent tube, or removable vent tube tip or cap is located. Depending on the type of system and the indicator being used, the reader of the vent tube detection system can be anywhere from 1 foot to 20 to 30 feet from the location of the container or filling machine. Further, handheld RFID tag or magnetic readers can be used at the time of the malfunction to assist in finding the broken pill device, ball cage, traceable vent tube, or removable vent tube tip or cap.

[0045] The pill device, ball cage, traceable vent tube, or removable vent tube tip or cap detection system can be set up at various locations in the filling plant in order to make sure that a pill device, ball cage, traceable vent tube, or removable vent tube tip or cap has not become accidentally detached into a filled container before the container is shipped out of the plant.

[0046] These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings, the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, and the recited claims, which follow.

DRAWINGS

[0047] The preferred embodiments of the disclosure will be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to the limit the disclosure, where like designations denote like elements, and in which:

[0048] FIG. 1 illustrates a filling machine in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0049] FIG. 2 illustrates an inspection system for inspecting empty and full containers in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0050] FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a vent tube incorporating indicators in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0051] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary indicator detection system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0052] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary replaceable and/or traceable vent tube cap incorporating an indicator in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0053] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary portion of a standard filling machine indicating a standard vent tube.

[0054] FIG. 7A illustrates an exemplary vent tube ball cage incorporating a standard ball in accordance with the prior art.

[0055] FIG. 7B illustrates an exemplary vent tube ball cage incorporating a modified pill device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0056] FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate an exemplary modified pill device incorporating an oval design in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0057] FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary modified pill device incorporating a flat bottom design in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0058] FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary ball cage incorporating a flat bottom pill device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.