| 摘要 |
A method, apparatus, and system for separating and distributing food product bits provided in bulk form from a supply source to a packager. The present invention is particularly suitable for a combination weighing machine, such that the apparatus includes an inlet chute, a dispersion table, a driving mechanism, and a plurality of batch handling units. The inlet chute directs a stream of food product bits from the supply source to the dispersion table. The driving mechanism is coupled to the inlet chute for raising and lowering the inlet chute relative to the dispersion table, for example, in response to a controller-supplied signal. The plurality of batch handling units receive, accumulate, and selectively dispense charges of the food product bits from the dispersion table to the packager. During use, the inlet chute is directed to a lowered position to facilitate food product bit accumulation on the dispersion table. In this regard, the inlet chute can include a skirt forming a plurality of flexible tabs for effectuating food product bit accumulation. Over time, the food product bits are relatively uniformly dispersed on the dispersion table. The inlet chute is then maneuvered to a raised position, whereby the food product bits flow to all of the product batch handling units. With this method and apparatus, a wide variety of food product bits, including relatively sticky products such as gelatin-based fruit snacks, are consistently and optimally processed and packaged.
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