Bar Storage Support Plane for Automated Bundle Feed Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for storing and managing long, oblong bars in bundles are complex, prone to bending and twisting due to their weight and shape, requiring manual intervention and dedicated structures, leading to inefficiencies and machine downtimes when changing bar formats for user machines.
Innovation Solution
An automated apparatus with a support plane and containing and translation units that move bars from a bundle feed zone to a delivery zone, featuring movable containing elements and devices that can switch between lowered and raised positions to support and release bars, allowing for efficient and homogeneous storage and distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If bridge cranes and feed planes are used to transfer bars from warehouse to user machine, then bars can be supplied to user machines, but the procedure becomes extremely complex requiring dedicated structures and manual operators
Solution Approach 1:
The support plane is divided into multiple compartments that can independently store different types of bars. This segmentation allows simultaneous storage and quick access to various bar types without requiring complete system reconfiguration, thereby reducing complexity while maintaining productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The apparatus serves multiple functions: it acts as both a storage facility and a distribution system. The support plane with movable compartments can store bars and automatically deliver them to the user machine, replacing the need for separate warehouse and feed station operations.
2Ease of operation
If manual operators guide and position bar bundles from warehouse to work plane, then proper positioning is achieved, but time consumption and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service through automated mechanisms. The movable compartments automatically position bars on the support plane without human intervention, and the bridge crane operator only needs to perform simple loading operations, significantly reducing both time and skill requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Bars are pre-organized in the movable compartments before being needed. This preliminary arrangement allows for rapid deployment when bars are required, eliminating the need for manual positioning operations at the moment of delivery.
3Adaptability or versatility
If bar bundles are transferred repeatedly between warehouse and feed plane, then different bar types can be supplied, but machine downtimes occur during format changes
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus maintains continuous supply capability by keeping multiple bar types simultaneously available in different compartments. When one bar type is depleted, another can be immediately supplied without interrupting the user machine operation, ensuring continuous useful action.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple bar types are pre-loaded into different compartments of the support plane before the user machine begins operation. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for format changes during operation, preventing machine downtimes.
4Ease of manufacture
If operators reassemble and re-bundle residual bars on the feed plane, then bundles can be returned to warehouse, but the process becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The movable compartments automatically manage the bundling and repositioning of residual bars. When a compartment is emptied, it automatically returns to its initial position, and the system maintains organized storage without requiring manual reassembly operations.
Data Source
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AI summary
Apparatus to store bars (B) comprising a support plane (11), a bundle feed zone (12) and a bar delivery zone (13) associated with respective opposite ends of said support plane (11), wherein said support plane (11) comprises a unit (14) to move said bars (B) in a direction of movement (Z) at least from said bundle feed zone (12) to said bar delivery zone (13).