Rotating Carousel Buffer for Automated Brick Laying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated brick laying machines face challenges in efficiently conveying and managing diverse building elements, particularly when damage occurs, requiring objects to be reversed and reordered, which disrupts the construction process.
Innovation Solution
A machine with a turret-mounted boom and a multi-bay carousel system, where the carousel is rotatable and equipped with grippers to align and transfer objects between the turret, boom, and stick, allowing for controlled movement and storage of objects, enabling efficient transfer and reordering of building elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If objects are conveyed in a fixed sequence along the boom, then the construction process maintains order, but when damage occurs the entire process must be reversed and reordered, causing disruption and loss of time
Solution Approach 1:
The carousel is divided into multiple independent bays (at least three bays) that can be independently positioned and accessed. This segmentation allows damaged objects to be removed and replaced without affecting the positioning or content of other bays, enabling continuous operation while maintaining object sequence integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The carousel acts as an intermediary buffer between the object source and the boom conveyance system. Objects can be staged in carousel bays before being transferred to the boom, allowing the system to handle damaged objects or sequence adjustments without disrupting the main conveyance flow.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single bay carousel is used, then the structure is simple, but it cannot provide buffering capacity for damaged objects or sequence reordering
Solution Approach 1:
The carousel is divided into multiple independent bays (at least three bays) that can be independently positioned and accessed. This segmentation allows damaged objects to be removed and replaced without affecting the positioning or content of other bays, enabling continuous operation while maintaining object sequence integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The multiple bays are integrated within a single rotating carousel structure, nesting the buffering capability within the existing rotational mechanism. This provides enhanced functionality without requiring completely separate storage systems.
3Productivity
If the carousel rotates continuously to maintain object flow, then productivity is improved, but precision in positioning specific bays for transfer operations becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The carousel operates with periodic rotation to bring different bays into the transfer position at predetermined intervals. This periodic motion allows the system to maintain high productivity through continuous cycling while ensuring precise positioning of specific bays during transfer operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors and control mechanisms that monitor the position of carousel bays and provide feedback to the control system. This enables precise positioning of bays for object transfer while maintaining continuous rotational motion for overall productivity.
Data Source
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Figure 5A
AI summary
A machine for conveying objects, including: a base; a turret mounted to the base for rotation about an axis, the turret including a turret mounted track, and a turret shuttle with a gripper to grip an object, the turret shuttle mounted on the turret mounted track; a boom mounted to the turret, whereby turret rotation sweeps the boom radially about the axis, the boom including: a boom mounted track extending therealong, a boom shuttle with a gripper to grip an object, the boom shuttle mounted to the boom mounted track, and a carousel located proximal to the base extending around the turret and rotatable about the axis, the carousel having a plurality of object bays, the carousel being controllably rotatable about the axis to locate any of the object bays proximal to the turret mounted track for transfer of an object between the object bay and the turret shuttle.