Automatic Article Picking Station with Sensor-Controlled Conveyor
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic picking up stations for articles in packaging machines suffer from inefficiencies due to article misalignment and increased speed, leading to a loss of articles and reduced operational efficiency, resulting in higher operating costs.
Innovation Solution
An automatic station with a conveyor system, pick-up unit, stop unit, and control system that includes positioning and presence sensors to detect and control the movement and picking up of articles, ensuring efficient translation and stopping to maximize article retrieval from both initial and secondary regions on the conveyor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the number of articles and the speed of the movement system are increased, then the productivity of the packaging line is improved, but the percentage of articles picked up is reduced due to article loss
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor surface is divided into two distinct regions: a first region where articles are initially positioned and a second region where articles are redirected. This segmentation allows the system to handle articles in different zones with different control strategies, enabling efficient picking up while managing high-speed article flow without loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The detection system performs preliminary detection of article positioning before the actual pick-up operation. The control system uses this advance information to plan and execute the pick-up sequence optimally, ensuring that articles are picked up in the correct order even at high speeds, thereby preventing article loss while maintaining productivity.
2Productivity
If articles are picked up at high speed from random positioning, then the productivity is improved, but the manufacturing precision of article picking up is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The detection system continuously monitors article positioning and provides real-time feedback to the control system. This feedback loop enables the control system to adjust the pick-up sequence dynamically based on the actual positions of articles, ensuring high picking up speed while maintaining accurate article selection without requiring precise initial article positioning.
3Manufacturing precision
If a detection system is used to detect article positioning before pick-up, then the manufacturing precision is improved, but the device complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The detection system serves multiple functions: it detects article positioning for the pick-up sequence, provides feedback for real-time control adjustments, and enables the control system to optimize the picking up process. This multi-functionality justifies the added complexity by delivering comprehensive precision and efficiency benefits across the entire pick-up operation.
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic station for picking up articles which can be used in a machine for packaging articles, which achieves a greater efficiency, relative to the prior art stations, in terms of percentage of the articles picked up.