Bottle Nesting Apparatus with Scalloped Fly Bar
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for moving bottles on conveyors are inefficient, achieving only up to 5 bundles per minute due to the slow formation of nested structures, which requires additional machinery and tray-based stabilization.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a first conveyor for releasing bottles in a staggered arrangement onto a second conveyor, facilitated by guides and a scalloped fly bar, allowing for the formation of stable nested bundles that can be moved at higher speeds by guiding and pushing the bottles into a nested configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If bottles are pushed onto a conveyor from the side to form nested structures, then a stable nested arrangement is achieved, but the operational speed is limited to less than 5 bundles per minute
Solution Approach 1:
Bottles are pre-arranged in lanes on the first conveyor with their positions predetermined to facilitate nesting. The lanes are configured in advance with specific spacing and positioning so that when bottles are released, they naturally form nested structures without requiring slow manual positioning or side-pushing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor system is divided into multiple lanes on the first conveyor, with bottles segregated into different lanes. This segmentation allows bottles to be released in an organized staggered pattern, enabling rapid formation of nested bundles while maintaining stability through the structured lane arrangement.
2Stability of the object's composition
If trays are used to provide stability for moving bottles, then bottle stability is improved, but additional machinery and equipment are required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the tray component from the system. Instead of using separate trays to provide stability, the bottles themselves form stable nested structures through the conveyor arrangement. This removes the need for additional tray-placement machinery and simplifies the overall system.
Solution Approach 2:
The stability function previously provided by trays is merged into the bottle arrangement itself. The nested configuration of bottles on the conveyor provides inherent stability without requiring separate stabilization components, combining the transport and stabilization functions into a single integrated system.
3Stability of the object's composition
If bottles are released in a staggered arrangement to facilitate nesting, then nested structure formation is improved, but the release mechanism must be precisely controlled
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses movable gates that can be dynamically adjusted to control bottle release. The gates are positioned at different locations along the conveyor lanes, allowing flexible control of the staggered release pattern. This dynamic adjustment capability enables precise positioning control without requiring complex fixed positioning mechanisms for each bottle.
Data Source
AI summary
The objective of this invention is to provide an apparatus for forming a stable arrangement of bottles so they can be moved on an inline conveyor system. This is accomplished by an apparatus for nesting bottles comprising a first conveyor having lanes of bottles, and a second conveyor, wherein a fixed number of bottles from each lane is released from each lane in a staggered arrangement to facilitate nesting of the released bottles and then pushing and guiding the released bottles from the first conveyor onto a second conveyor so that the bottles form a nested bundle.