Bottling Plant Individual Bottle Tracking via Sequential Codes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial bottling plants lack the ability to track and trace individual bottle operations through the bottling process, making it difficult to identify defects and optimize the production process, as they primarily focus on batch-level monitoring and do not allow for real-time control or correction of specific bottling steps.
Innovation Solution
A bottling plant and process that include a detection sensor and electronic unit to assign a sequential identification code to each bottle and associate it with measurement data from diagnostic sensors at each machine, enabling detailed tracking and control of the rinsing, filling, capping, and labeling steps, and preventing unsuitable bottles from proceeding through the process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If batch-level monitoring is used in conventional bottling plants, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to track and trace individual bottle operations is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monitoring system to assign individual identification codes to each bottle and track them through separate operational stages (rinsing, filling, capping, labeling). This segmentation enables individual bottle tracking without requiring a completely complex centralized system, as each stage records data independently for its assigned bottles.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by assigning identification codes to bottles before they enter the bottling process and maintaining this tracking throughout. This allows individual bottle operations to be recorded and traced from the outset, preventing information loss without requiring complex real-time intervention mechanisms.
2Manufacturing precision
If real-time monitoring of individual bottles is implemented, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system is segmented into discrete detection points at each operational stage (rinsing machine, filling machine, capping machine, labeling machine). Each detection point records specific parameters for its stage, enabling precise tracking of individual bottles through the entire process without requiring a single complex centralized control system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by recording operational data for each identified bottle at each stage and making this information available for quality control decisions. This feedback mechanism enables precise manufacturing control by allowing operators to trace and correct issues at specific stages based on recorded data from individual bottles.
3Loss of information
If individual bottle tracking is implemented, then loss of information is reduced, but productivity decreases due to additional processing time
Solution Approach 1:
Identification codes are assigned to bottles in advance before they enter the bottling line, and tracking data is recorded automatically at each stage without requiring manual intervention. This preliminary action and automated recording minimize additional processing time while maintaining complete traceability of individual bottle operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses self-service mechanisms where detection sensors and recording devices automatically capture operational data for each identified bottle without requiring manual data entry or intervention. This automation reduces the time overhead for tracking while maintaining complete information about individual bottle operations throughout the process.
Data Source
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AI summary
Bottling plant for containers with liquids, which comprises a filling machine (3), a capping machine (4) and a labeling machine (5). Transportation means (7) adapted to move the containers through the machines of the plant without changing their order are provided. A centralized logic control unit (32) controls the machines to carry out the relative operations in sequence on the single containers. The plant is provided with a detection sensor (33) arranged in the vicinity of the inlet section (8) of the transportation means to intercept the containers that move forward; such sensor is in communication with the logic control unit in order to assign a sequential identification code to each container. Diagnostic means are associated with one or more of the operative machines of the plant in order to detect data identifying the operations that the single containers undergo, such that the control unit can associate the code of each container with a corresponding measurement value received by the diagnostic means. The labeling machine then prints on the label of each container the relative identification code and the corresponding measurement value.