Adjustable Overhead Transfer Flights for Cookie Slug Changeover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food handling systems require significant time and effort to change between different slug sizes of cookies or sandwiches when loading into trays, as they necessitate the exchange of apparatus parts.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with an overhead transfer mechanism featuring adjustable pusher and retainer flights, allowing for the flexible adjustment of slug size by changing the distance between these flights, enabling the transfer of a pre-selected number of edge-standing items from a counting conveyor to a tray loading area without part exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If part exchange is used to change slug size, then slug size can be changed, but machine downtime increases and operational efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus employs adjustable flights (pusher flight and retainer flight) that can be dynamically repositioned along the conveyor to change slug size. The flights are mounted on adjustable mechanisms allowing operators to modify the spacing between them without part exchange, enabling continuous adaptation to different production requirements while maintaining operational continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameter of flight spacing to achieve slug size variation. By adjusting the distance between the pusher flight and retainer flight, the apparatus can accommodate different numbers of cookies per slug (e.g., 6-pack to 12-pack configurations) without modifying the fundamental structure or exchanging parts, thus resolving the contradiction between adaptability and time loss.
2Adaptability or versatility
If part exchange is required for slug size change, then different slug sizes can be achieved, but operational complexity and labor effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable flight mechanism transforms a static, fixed-configuration system into a dynamic, easily reconfigurable one. Operators can simply move the flights along the conveyor to desired positions using adjustment mechanisms, eliminating the need for disassembly, part removal, or complex reconfiguration procedures associated with part-exchange systems.
3Device complexity
If fixed flight spacing is used, then the apparatus structure is simple, but adaptability to different slug sizes is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system is segmented into adjustable sections with independently positionable flights. This segmentation allows the spacing between flights to be modified to accommodate different slug sizes while maintaining the overall simplicity of the conveyor structure. The modular adjustment capability adds versatility without fundamentally complicating the apparatus design.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus that loads horizontally oriented slugs of edible, edge-standing items into trays includes a tray delivery mechanism having a tray infeed for receiving trays, a tray outfeed from which filled trays can be removed from the apparatus and a tray conveyor that moves the trays from the tray infeed to the tray outfeed. An over head transfer mechanism is disposed above the tray conveyor. The over head transfer mechanism includes a pusher flight and a retainer flight. The pusher flight and retainer flight are configured to cooperate to transfer a pre-selected number of edge-standing items forming the slug from a counting conveyor to a tray loading area. The overhead transfer mechanism includes a flight adjustment system that adjusts a distance between the retainer flight and the pusher flight to change the pre-selected number of edge-standing items transferred by the over head transfer mechanism from the counting conveyor to the tray loading area.