METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING DAMP, STICKY OR UNEVENLY-SHAPED MATERIAL FROM A CONTAINER

摘要

Various methods and devices are described and claimed which move doses of material, which may be solid, liquid or a combination of the two, from a container to a dosing station from which the dose is conveyed to a receiving station. In one embodiment a dose is lifted through the container in a receptacle. At the dosing station the dose is removed from the receptacle, before or during which it may be metered. The receptacle, which may be reciprocable, may be partially defined by a plunger face, in which case the dose may be removed by advancing the plunger with respect to the sides of the receptacle. Alternatively the receptacle may be mounted on a continuous conveyor. In either case the dose may be transferred at the dosing station by a reciprocable actuator.