Automated Beverage Container Changeover System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing beverage containers face challenges with long changeover times and product waste due to inefficient management of residual products and manual interventions, leading to increased operator involvement and system downtime.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that optimize the consumption of beverage containers and closures by determining residual quantities and automating the product change process, allowing for seamless transitions between products and minimizing waste, with the ability to specify target quantities and automate processes such as rinsing and cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual intervention is used to determine when to stop supplying objects on transport devices, then operator experience and motivation play a decisive role, but this leads to long changeover times and increased product waste
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual estimation and decision-making with an automated detection system that uses sensors (optical, capacitive, inductive, or microwave) to automatically detect the quantity of objects on transport devices. This substitution eliminates dependence on operator experience and motivation, enabling precise automated control of supply cessation timing, thereby reducing changeover times and product waste while maintaining operational simplicity.
2Productivity
If the supply of objects is stopped too early or too late, then the system stops or there is a delay due to long emptying times, but determining the optimal stop point is complex for each product
Solution Approach 1:
The detection system is designed to automatically adapt to different products through self-calibration or pre-stored product parameters. The system autonomously determines the optimal stop point for each product type without requiring complex manual configuration, thereby maintaining system continuity and productivity while minimizing the complexity burden on operators during product changes.
3Measurement precision
If iterative trial and error approach is used to determine quantities, then numbers can be stored in a controller, but this must be carried out in a complex manner for each product
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection and calibration during initial setup or commissioning phases. Product-specific quantity parameters are determined in advance and stored in the controller's memory. During actual production changes, the system directly retrieves and applies these pre-determined parameters, eliminating the need for repeated complex iterative adjustments for each product while maintaining high measurement precision.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a large number of open points have to be dealt with during commissioning or after a product change, then estimating the number of products on a transport device becomes necessary, but this increases changeover times
Solution Approach 1:
The detection system provides real-time feedback on the actual quantity of objects on transport devices. This feedback information is continuously monitored and used to automatically adjust supply cessation timing. The system adapts to different product scenarios dynamically based on detected quantities, thereby maintaining product change flexibility while eliminating time-consuming manual estimation processes during commissioning and product changes.
Data Source
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Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The invention relates to a device and a method for producing beverage containers (20), having the following steps: • - feeding plastic preforms to a shaping device (2); • - shaping the plastic preforms (10) into the plastic containers (20) by means of the shaping device (2); • - transporting the plastic containers (20) to a filling device (4); • - filling the plastic containers (20) with a liquid by means of the filling device (4), said filling device (4) having a storage container for the liquid to be filled; and • - closing the filled containers with closures, wherein a product changeover of first containers to be filled with a first liquid to second containers to be filled with a second liquid is carried out, a target quantity of the beverage containers to be filled with the first liquid is specified for the purpose of said product changeover, and a remaining quantity of the liquid to be filled is determined in order to allow the liquid to be filled, the first containers, or the first container closures to be used to the greatest possible extent during the product changeover; and the user can determine whether the first liquid to be filled, the first beverage containers, or the first container closures should be used to the greatest possible extent.