Bottle Crate With Elevated Seats For Automatic Gripper Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bottle crates are unable to accommodate bottles of two substantially different diameters and heights while allowing for efficient charging and discharging by standard automatic grippers.
Innovation Solution
The crate features carefully designed bottle pockets with dividers and supporting elements that adjust the height of bottles with different diameters, ensuring their tops lie in the same plane, enabling seamless operation with automatic grippers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If bottles of different sizes are stored in the crate using elastic securing means, then the crate can accommodate various bottle types, but the bottle tops lie at different planes preventing automatic gripper operation
Solution Approach 1:
The crate employs different types of supporting elements (first supporting elements for shorter bottles, second supporting elements for taller bottles) at different locations within the crate structure. Each supporting element is specifically designed to compensate for the height difference of its corresponding bottle type, ensuring that all bottle tops align with the common top plane required for automatic gripper operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention addresses the height difference problem by introducing a vertical dimension solution through elevated supporting elements. These supporting elements rise from the bottom mesh to specific heights that match the respective bottle heights, effectively adding a vertical adjustment dimension that compensates for the inherent height variations between different bottle types while maintaining horizontal alignment for gripper operation.
2Reliability
If standard elastic securing means are used, then bottles can be held securely, but the structure becomes complex and cannot be easily modified for different bottle configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The crate is divided into multiple functional zones with different supporting elements positioned at specific locations (first supporting elements at certain positions, second supporting elements at other positions). This segmentation allows each zone to be optimized for specific bottle types while maintaining overall structural integrity and simplifying the design compared to a fully adjustable system.
Solution Approach 2:
The crate structure is designed with multiple types of supporting elements that can accommodate different bottle configurations within a single unified structure. The bottom mesh and sidewalls serve multiple functions: providing structural support, defining pockets for different bottle types, and enabling automatic gripper operation through the common top plane alignment.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The present invention discloses a crate (10) for accommodating bottles (20, 30) of two substantially different diameters and heights to be charged or discharged by automatic grippers. It consists of two parallel and oppositely situated longer sidewalls (11) and shorter sidewalls (12) over the bottom mesh (14), mutually connected with dividers (13). Below dividers' intersections (19), four-sided bottle supporting elements (15) are formed, on joints of the said dividers (13) with the sidewalls (11, 12) two-sided supporting elements (17) are formed, and each corner of the crate (10) is equipped with a supporting element (16). The top surfaces of all supporting elements (15, 16, 17) are positioned at the same height (h) from the bottom mesh (14) defining the elevated seat for the first type of bottles (20) and, simultaneously, their side surfaces define the pockets for receiving the second type of bottles (30).