Adaptive Control of Cigarette Maker and Packer Group Efficiency
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for controlling cigarette makers, packing machines, and buffers in automated cigarette production face inefficiencies due to varying production speeds and frequent stops, leading to reduced productivity and increased rejects.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that dynamically adjust operating parameters based on real-time efficiency measurements of both the cigarette maker and packing machine, using sensors to monitor buffer filling levels and production outputs, to optimize the correlation between their operation states and buffer filling levels, thereby enhancing overall group efficiency and reducing stops.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the cigarette maker and packing machine run at different predetermined production speeds, then productivity is improved, but the buffer filling level varies over time causing frequent stops
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic speed adjustment where the control unit continuously monitors buffer filling level and automatically adjusts the production speeds of the cigarette maker and/or packing machine in real-time. This dynamic control allows the system to adapt to varying buffer conditions, maintaining operational stability while maximizing productivity during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs feedback control by continuously monitoring the buffer filling level and using this information to adjust the production speeds of upstream and downstream machines. The control unit receives feedback from buffer level sensors and modifies operational parameters accordingly, creating a closed-loop control system that balances productivity and reliability.
2Reliability
If the cigarette maker speed is reduced when buffer filling level exceeds a threshold, then stops are reduced, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a static speed reduction approach, the patent implements dynamic speed adjustment based on real-time buffer monitoring. The system maintains high productivity by only reducing speed when necessary (when buffer level approaches critical thresholds) and restores full speed when buffer conditions are favorable, optimizing the balance between operational continuity and production output.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit dynamically changes operational parameters (production speed) based on buffer filling level conditions. By adjusting speed thresholds and hysteresis parameters, the system optimizes the balance between preventing stops and maintaining productivity, allowing flexible adaptation to different operational scenarios.
3Device complexity
If fixed threshold values are used for buffer level control, then control is simple, but adaptability to varying production conditions is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms static threshold-based control into dynamic adaptive control. The control unit continuously monitors actual production speeds, buffer filling rates, and level changes, adjusting speed thresholds and hysteresis parameters in real-time based on observed system behavior. This enables the simple control structure to adapt to varying production conditions automatically.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system performs self-adjustment by automatically learning from its operational experience. The control unit monitors system performance and autonomously modifies control parameters (thresholds, hysteresis widths) to optimize operation under different production conditions, eliminating the need for manual reconfiguration while maintaining simplicity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
There is provided a method of controlling operation of a group comprising a cigarette maker, a cigarette packing machine and a buffer, operation of the cigarette maker and of the cigarette packing machine depending on a filling level of the buffer. The method comprises: setting at least one operating parameter of the group at a starting value, the parameter correlating an operation state of the cigarette maker or the cigarette packing machine with the filling level of the buffer; operating the group for a first cycle time based on the at least one operating parameter; determining a group comparative efficiency as the ratio between a maker operating efficiency and a packing machine efficiency over the first cycle time; and at the end of the first cycle time resetting the at least one operating parameter at an updated value depending on the determined group comparative efficiency.