Blank Stack Storage with Lifted Guide for Jam-Free Feeding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blanks storage units face issues with improper supply and positioning of blanks, leading to clogging, tearing, and reduced production efficiency, particularly with thin or flexible blanks.
Innovation Solution
A storage unit with a movable support device and guide device that adjusts friction levels through a lifting trajectory, facilitating the sliding of blanks from an inlet to an outlet section, ensuring proper positioning and preventing accumulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If blanks are moved through the storage unit on a fixed support device, then the structure is simple, but blank accumulation and clogging occur at the inlet section
Solution Approach 1:
The support device is made movable along the feed trajectory, transitioning between a first position (reducing friction) and a second position (increasing friction). This dynamic adjustment allows the system to prevent blank accumulation and clogging while maintaining structural simplicity, resolving the contradiction between device complexity and supply reliability.
2Strength
If friction between blanks and support device is high, then blanks are securely transported, but blank tearing occurs during movement
Solution Approach 1:
The support device dynamically adjusts friction levels by moving between positions: at the inlet section, it reduces friction to enable smooth blank entry and prevent tearing; downstream, it increases friction to securely transport blanks. This resolves the contradiction between blank integrity and movement smoothness.
Solution Approach 2:
Different friction characteristics are applied at different locations along the feed trajectory. The support device provides low friction at the inlet section where blanks enter, and high friction in the downstream section where secure transport is needed. This local differentiation prevents blank tearing while ensuring reliable transport.
3Productivity
If blanks are fed at high speed, then production efficiency is high, but improper positioning and clogging increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support device dynamically adjusts its position and friction characteristics to match the feeding speed requirements. At high speeds, it optimizes the friction profile to prevent clogging while maintaining positioning accuracy, allowing high productivity without sacrificing manufacturing precision.
4Ease of manufacture
If the support device is fixed in position, then the device is simple to manufacture, but blank accumulation occurs at the inlet section
Solution Approach 1:
The support device incorporates movability along the feed trajectory, allowing it to adjust its position dynamically. This prevents blank accumulation at the inlet section by creating movement space, while the overall device structure remains relatively simple to manufacture, balancing ease of manufacture with prevention of material accumulation.
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 solution effectively prevents blank damage and accumulation while maintaining high production speeds, ensuring precise box formation without interrupting the operation.
Implementation Method 1
a guide device intended to facilitate the sliding of the blanks in a section of the feed trajectory adjacent to the inlet section
Data Source
Figure 1~1A
Figure 1B~2B
Figure 2~2A
AI summary
A blanks storage unit (1) for storing a stack of blanks (100) comprises an inlet section (2) and an outlet section (3) of said blanks, a feed device (5) comprising a support device (20) intended to restingly receive said blanks (100) of said stack of blanks and a feed element (21) for moving said blanks (100) along a feed trajectory (M) from said inlet section (2) towards said outlet section (3); a guide device (30) intended to facilitate the sliding of the blanks (100) in a section (M1) of the feed trajectory (M) adjacent to the inlet section (2), wherein at least one of said support device (20) and said guide device (30) is movable with respect to the other along a lifting trajectory (M3) between a transport configuration (T) in which said support device (20) defines in said section (M1) a feed plane of said blanks (100) and said blanks (100) rest on said support device (20) and a sliding configuration (T1) in which said guide device (30) is at least partially lifted with respect to said support device (20) and said blanks (100) rest on said guide device (30) to be guided in sliding along said section (M1) towards said outlet section (3).