Cap Sorting Device With Magnetic Dowel Retainers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cap sorting devices in the bottling industry fail to ensure 100% verification and rejection of incorrectly aligned or poor-quality caps, leading to inefficiencies and downtime in production lines, especially when dealing with multi-component caps that can disintegrate during alignment.
Innovation Solution
A cap sorting device with a stationary disc featuring feeding, correctly aligned, and incorrectly aligned cap grooves, equipped with magnetically controlled dowel retainers and adjustable control sectors, allowing for independent operation and enhanced cap separation using compressed air nozzles and undulated surfaces for precise sorting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple aligners are used to ensure 100% rejection of incorrectly aligned caps, then sorting reliability is improved, but device complexity and production line downtime increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple aligning functions into a single integrated device. The first aligner aligns caps in one orientation while the second aligner aligns caps in a perpendicular orientation, both within one sorting device. This merging eliminates the need for separate multiple aligners while maintaining 100% rejection capability for incorrectly aligned caps.
Solution Approach 2:
The sorting device performs multiple functions simultaneously: it aligns caps in two different orientations, verifies alignment correctness, and sorts both correctly and incorrectly aligned caps into separate discharge channels. This multi-functionality replaces what would traditionally require multiple separate devices.
2Ease of operation
If manual removal of scrap caps is performed, then ease of operation is improved, but productivity and time loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device automatically performs the function of manual scrap removal. The sorting mechanism automatically directs incorrectly aligned caps to a separate discharge channel, eliminating the need for operators to manually stop the line and remove defective caps. The system serves itself by continuously sorting and separating defective caps without human intervention.
3Measurement precision
If traditional sorting devices are synchronized with aligners, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and operational flexibility worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sorting function from the aligner system, making it an independent device. The sorting device operates autonomously without requiring synchronization with external aligners, while maintaining its own verification capability through the two-aligner mechanism integrated within the sorting device itself.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional aligners are used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but sorting precision and multi-component cap handling worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The device segments the alignment verification process into two distinct aligners working in sequence. The first aligner handles primary alignment while the second aligner verifies perpendicular alignment. This segmentation allows each aligner to be simpler in design while collectively achieving high sorting precision for multi-component caps.
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 continuous operation of production lines by ensuring accurate sorting of caps without the need for synchronization with aligners, reducing downtime and improving the handling of composite caps by allowing 100% correct alignment and separation of cap components.
Implementation Method 1
At the upper ends of the dowel retainers there are magnets mounted. First and second control sectors are set above the rotating disc, made of a ferromagnetic material
Implementation Method 2
nozzles for supplying compressed air are mounted to the bottom surface of the bearing disc, thus assisting separation of the caps to the respective discharging grooves
Data Source
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AI summary
(54) The device consists of a stationary bearing disc (1) to which a motor-reducer group (2) is attached, which is connected to a rotating disc (3), along the periphery of which movable dowel retainers (4) are mounted. Above the rotary disc (3), the first (5) and the second control sector (6) made of ferromagnetic material are set. An aligned caps feeding groove (9), correctly aligned caps discharging groove (10) and incorrectly aligned caps, fault caps and / or parts thereof discharging groove (11) are arranged to a stationary bearing disc (1). Between the stationary (1) and the rotating disc (3) a removable format part (13) is set, on which periphery there are seats (14) for the caps 8 formed. Side removable spacers (16) are set on the periphery of the stationary disk ( 1 ). Each retainer (4) consists of a movable cylindrical body (17) with a circlip (18), a locking cone (19) and a return spring (23) in its bottom part. At the top of the cylindrical body (17) a permanent magnet (21) is mounted.