PACKLINE USA, LLC has secured a major milestone in the Food and Beverage industry by winning Swanson Reed’s Patent of the Month for January 2026 for an outstanding invention. This innovation focuses on a newly awarded patent titled ‘Automatic food product filling device’. The patent describes systems and methods for automatic filling of packaging with a food product that includes both a solid and a liquid. A filling device includes: a vessel configured to hold the food product; a first piston system configured to push a portion of the food product within the vessel through a first through hole in a bottom of the vessel. The first piston system includes: a first piston; and a first sleeve that surrounds at least a portion of the first piston. The filling device further includes first actuators configured to independently actuate the first piston and the first sleeve such as to cause the portion of the food product to be pushed through the first through hole in the vessel.

Overcoming Complex Filling Challenges

In the United States, developing this kind of advanced manufacturing equipment can qualify for the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit. To be eligible, the development activities must satisfy the IRS’s four-part test. Here is how PACKLINE USA’s invention exemplifies these rules:

• Permitted Purpose: The objective must be to create a new or improved product or process. This patent clearly outlines a new, improved method and system for the automatic filling of mixed-phase (solid and liquid) food products.
• Technological in Nature: The R&D must rely on the hard sciences. The design of vessels, pistons, sleeves, and independent actuators relies heavily on the principles of mechanical engineering and fluid dynamics.
• Elimination of Uncertainty: The company had to overcome technical challenges, such as determining the exact mechanical configuration needed to successfully push a solid/liquid mixture through a hole without damaging the product or clogging the machine.
• Process of Experimentation: The engineers likely engaged in systematic trial and error—evaluating different piston and sleeve designs, and testing actuator timing algorithms—to achieve the perfect fill rate and consistency.

3 Practical Applications Qualifying for R&D Tax Credits

For food manufacturers and equipment designers adopting or iterating upon this technology, the following practical applications could trigger further R&D tax credit eligibility:

1. Handling Delicate Solid Inclusions: Iteratively developing and testing the machine’s actuator timing to dispense fragile solids (e.g., soft fruit pieces in yogurt, or boba pearls in liquids) without crushing them during the piston stroke. The experimentation required to optimize the pressure and speed meets the criteria for eliminating uncertainty.
2. High-Temperature Filling Adaptations: Engineering a modified vessel and piston prototype to accommodate high-temperature products (like boiling soups or stews). This would involve experimenting with new alloys or food-grade polymers to account for the thermal expansion of the sleeve and piston materials, relying on materials science and mechanical engineering.
3. Viscosity Optimization Algorithms: Designing, programming, and evaluating custom actuator control systems to optimize the fill speed for highly viscous, mixed-phase products (like chunky salsa, relishes, or thick sauces). Testing different code iterations to eliminate splashing, prevent air pockets, and ensure exact volume per package constitutes a qualified process of experimentation.