Automated Bar Handling With Sensor Counting for Entangled Bundles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for handling metal bars, particularly in the distribution and processing industries, face challenges such as manual operation difficulties, entanglement issues, and inefficiencies in selecting and grouping bars, leading to errors and potential safety risks.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus comprising a loading unit with transporter elements, a selector unit with gripping and detachment mechanisms, and sensors to automatically detect and count bars, along with a weighing unit and control unit to manage the selection and grouping process, ensuring efficient and automated handling of metal bars.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual extraction and counting of bars from bundles is performed, then flexibility in handling different bar configurations is maintained, but operator safety risks increase and processing efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical extraction with an automated extraction device that uses a mobile extractor element to automatically remove bars from bundles. The system substitutes human operators with mechanical automation, eliminating safety risks while maintaining continuous processing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The extraction device is designed to automatically perform extraction and counting operations without human intervention. The system self-regulates the extraction process, counts bars automatically using sensors, and manages the feeding of processing machines, making the operation autonomous and efficient.
2Quantity of substance
If bars are supplied in bundles from rolling or drawing processes, then transportation and storage efficiency improve, but extraction difficulty increases due to entanglement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dedicated extraction device with a mobile extractor element that selectively removes individual bars or groups of bars from densely packed bundles. The extractor element is designed to penetrate and extract bars from the entangled bundle structure without requiring manual untangling.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile extractor element acts as an intermediary between the bundled bars and the processing system. It facilitates the transition from bundled storage form to individual bar processing by automatically separating and feeding bars to the processing machine.
3Productivity
If bar supply is estimated by overall weight, then processing speed improves, but counting accuracy deteriorates due to weight variations among bars
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces weight-based estimation with an automated optical or sensor-based counting system. Sensors detect and count individual bars as they are extracted and fed to the processing machine, providing accurate numerical counts regardless of weight variations among bars.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates automatic counting feedback that provides real-time information about the number of bars processed. This feedback mechanism ensures accurate tracking of bar quantities delivered to processing machines, eliminating the inaccuracies of weight-based estimation.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus for handling bars (31), in particular metal bars, including a loading unit (22) provided with transporter elements (25) to transfer a series of bars (31) toward a selector unit (34); the selector unit (34) includes a gripping device (35) configured to remove one or more bars (31) from the transporter elements (25) of the loading unit (22) and to release them toward a subsequent collection station (43) and also includes sensors (41) configured to automatically detect at least the number of bars (31) removed and released by the gripping device (35) toward the collection station (43).