Angled Roller Conveyor for Sample Cup Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing feeder/conveyor mechanisms for disc-shaped objects, such as sample cups, lack the precision and automation needed to efficiently and timely transfer samples from a production line to an analyzer and back, resulting in variability in sampling intervals and increased manpower requirements.
Innovation Solution
A feeder/conveyor system utilizing rotating spaced cylinders at a small acute angle to form a queue and transport disc elements, with a single belt drive mechanism and optical sensors for automatic detection and gating, allowing for on-demand processing and efficient return of tested samples.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If conveyer belts are used to transport sample cups, then automation is improved, but precision in positioning and timing is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system is divided into multiple independently controllable roller segments. Each roller can be individually actuated by sensors and control mechanisms, allowing precise positioning of sample cups at specific locations along the conveyor path while maintaining overall automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor system uses dynamic control where rollers can change their rotational state on demand. Sensors detect sample cup positions and trigger selective rotation of specific rollers to advance cups to precise positions, enabling both automation and precision through real-time adaptive control.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual operation is used to transport and test samples, then flexibility and adaptability are improved, but productivity and time efficiency are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors to automatically detect sample cups on the conveyor and triggers selective roller rotation based on detected positions. The system serves itself by autonomously determining when and where to advance samples without manual intervention, maintaining flexibility while dramatically improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
Sensors continuously monitor the conveyor for sample cup positions and provide feedback to the control system. This feedback enables automatic decision-making about when to rotate rollers and advance samples, creating a closed-loop system that combines adaptability with high-speed automated operation.
3Loss of time
If samples are tested immediately after removal from production line, then loss of time is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Sample cups are pre-positioned on the conveyor during normal operation, and the system is ready to immediately advance and test samples when sensors detect their presence. This preliminary preparation eliminates delays while the modular sensor-roller architecture keeps complexity manageable through standardized components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables efficient, automated queuing and transportation of disc elements, reducing manual labor and ensuring timely testing by allowing samples to be processed as soon as possible after removal from the production line, with improved precision and reduced variability in sampling intervals.
Implementation Method 1
The rollers may include an optical sensor for detecting the presence of elements thereon
Implementation Method 2
The support rollers extend in parallel downward at an incline from the bearing supports, and are rotated in the same angular direction so that adjacent surfaces of the rollers move in opposite directions to both spin and advance the discs along the rollers
Data Source
AI summary
An improved disc feeder/conveyor (2) with optical sensor (200) and return chute (10) for multiple industrial, commercial or agricultural applications. The conveyor (2) comprises a pair of co-rotating (or counter-rotating) roller shafts (11A, 11B) driven by a belt (104) drive. The rollers (11A, 11B) are non-parallel, slightly angled, and the rotation of the shafts frictionally engages, the sample caps or other elements being advanced away from the production line causing the items seated thereon advance. Sensors (200, 202) detect the presence/absence of items on the rollers for gating. Another pair of co- or counter-rotating roller shafts (15A, 15B) may act as a return chute (10).