Automated Bottle Sorting System for Mixed Crate Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Beverage manufacturers face challenges in sorting returned bottle crates containing mixed bottle types, damaged, and foreign bottles efficiently for effective cleaning and reuse.
Innovation Solution
A mechanical sorting system with multiple transport and sorting sections, utilizing a bottle recognition system and transport frames to separate and reassemble bottles into single-type crates, ensuring accurate type identification and sorting without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual sorting methods are used, then sorting accuracy can be maintained, but productivity is low and labor costs are high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical sorting with an automated system that uses optical detection (cameras) to identify bottle types and mechanical actuators (pneumatic or robotic) to execute sorting actions. This substitution enables high-speed automated sorting while maintaining accuracy through image recognition technology.
Solution Approach 2:
The sorting system is designed to automatically detect, identify, and sort bottles without human intervention. The system uses its own integrated sensors and actuators to perform the entire sorting process autonomously, maximizing productivity while reducing labor requirements.
2Productivity
If bottles are sorted by type, then cleaning efficiency improves, but time for sorting increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs bottle type identification and sorting decisions in advance, before bottles reach the cleaning area. By detecting and categorizing bottles at the point of entry using optical sensors, the system pre-determines sorting paths and groupings, enabling rapid processing without delaying cleaning operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The sorting process is designed to continue without interruption as bottles flow through the system. Multiple sorting stations operate simultaneously and in sequence, with bottles being continuously detected, identified, and sorted in a streamlined workflow that eliminates idle time and maintains constant productive action.
3Quantity of substance
If damaged and foreign bottles are included in sorting, then quantity of bottles processed increases, but sorting precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The optical detection system is designed to identify specific local characteristics of bottles such as shape, color, and structural features that distinguish valid bottles from damaged or foreign objects. By focusing detection on these localized visual properties, the system maintains high sorting accuracy even when processing large quantities of mixed bottles.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where detected bottle characteristics are continuously analyzed and compared against predefined criteria. This feedback loop enables real-time adjustment of sorting decisions, ensuring that damaged or foreign bottles are correctly identified and separated while maintaining high processing throughput.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an installation for sorting empty goods in the form of transport or bottle crates having bottles present therein, having a bottle removal position, in which the bottles are removed from the transport crates, and having at least one loading or packing position, in which the bottles, following sorting, are inserted into the transport containers such that the bottles are sorted by type.