Bottle Cell Optical Inspection to Prevent Jamming in Bottle Washers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bottle cleaning machines face issues with mechanical stress leading to damage and jamming of bottle cells, which are difficult to detect reliably using current inspection methods, resulting in false positives and negatives and production disruptions.
Innovation Solution
An optical inspection method using cameras to image bottle cells from the neck side, analyzing image data for defect conditions, and a control system to exclude defective cells from the feed, allowing for reliable detection and prevention of further insertion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If mechanical scanning inspection devices or single reflective light barriers are used to detect defective bottle cells, then inspection capability is provided, but reliable detection is achieved with false positives and negatives occurring
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical scanning inspection devices with an optical imaging system using cameras to capture images of bottle cells. This substitution allows for more reliable defect detection by visually capturing the state of bottle cells and using image processing to identify defects, thereby eliminating the reliability issues associated with mechanical scanning devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates optical copies (images) of bottle cells using cameras and processes these copies to detect defects. By working with image data rather than directly interacting with the physical bottle cells during inspection, the system achieves higher reliability in defect detection without causing mechanical stress or contamination.
2Productivity
If bottle cells are continuously transported through cleaning zones, then productivity is maintained, but defective bottle cells cause production disruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs defect inspection on bottle cells before they are fed with bottles, identifying defective cells in advance. By detecting defects preliminarily during the return transport phase, the system prevents defective bottle cells from entering the cleaning zones and causing production disruptions, thereby maintaining both productivity and operational continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the imaging system continuously monitors bottle cells and provides defect information to the control system. This feedback allows the control system to selectively prevent bottle feeding to defective cells while maintaining continuous operation of non-defective cells, resolving the contradiction between productivity and operational continuity.
3Reliability
If optical imaging is used to inspect bottle cells during operation, then reliable defect detection is achieved, but additional inspection infrastructure is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the imaging system to serve multiple functions: it inspects bottle cells for defects, monitors the cleaning process, and provides data for quality control. By making the inspection system multi-functional, the patent reduces the need for separate dedicated inspection infrastructure, thereby achieving high reliability without excessive device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the inspection function with the existing bottle cell transport and cleaning infrastructure. The imaging system is integrated into the return transport path, utilizing the existing mechanical structure and workflow. This merging approach achieves reliable defect detection without requiring completely separate complex inspection infrastructure.
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
Enables reliable identification and prevention of defective bottle cells, minimizing production downtime and ensuring continuous operation by electronically marking and blocking defective cells from further use.
Implementation Method 1
The bottle cells are imaged using reflected light with at least one camera, preferably a digital one. This produces at least one end-face view of a segmented opening formed on the bottle cell
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3F
AI summary
A method for inspecting bottle cells (2) and a correspondingly configured bottle cleaning machine (1) are described, wherein the bottle cells are optically inspected from the bottle neck side. By imaging the bottle cells, digitally comparing the resulting image data (BD) with reference data (RD) of proper and/or empty bottle cells to check for the presence of at least one defect, and then removing bottle cells deemed defective from the bottle feed, defective bottle cells can be reliably detected and further damage and/or production downtime can be avoided.