Central Rail Adjustment for Multi-Conveyor Width Change Safety
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container processing installations face challenges in safely and efficiently adjusting railings to accommodate objects of different sizes and formats, often requiring manual intervention and increasing the risk of human error and injury.
Innovation Solution
An industrial installation with a distributed arrangement of transport devices and a sensor system for monitoring regions along adjustable railings, allowing for automated, centralized adjustment of railings, which can be stopped or paused if a person is detected, and includes output devices for warning signals to prevent accidents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual adjustment of railings is used to accommodate different container sizes, then adaptability is improved, but safety deteriorates due to increased risk of human error and injury
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical adjustment with an automated sensor-based system. Sensors detect persons in monitoring regions, and the control device automatically prevents or stops railing adjustments when persons are detected, eliminating the need for manual intervention and associated safety risks
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service operation where the installation automatically monitors and controls railing adjustments without human intervention. The sensor system and control device work autonomously to ensure safety while maintaining adaptability for different container sizes
2Reliability
If protective enclosures are provided for transport devices, then safety is improved, but device complexity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical protective enclosures with a sensor-based monitoring and control system. The sensor system detects persons in monitoring regions, and the control device manages adjustment operations accordingly, achieving safety without requiring additional mechanical enclosure structures
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system acts as an intermediary between persons and the adjustment mechanism. Instead of using physical barriers, the system introduces sensors and control logic that mediate the interaction, allowing safe operation without enclosures
3Ease of operation
If decentralized adjustment triggering is used for each transport device, then autonomy is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to increased adjustment time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the adjustment control of multiple transport devices into a single centralized process. The control device coordinates adjustments across all transport devices simultaneously based on sensor input, reducing total adjustment time while maintaining safety through unified monitoring
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous adjustment operations by coordinating multiple transport devices to adjust simultaneously rather than sequentially. This maintains productive flow while the sensor system continuously monitors for persons to ensure safety throughout the process
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 safe, automated, and efficient adjustment of railings, reducing the risk of injury and eliminating the need for protective enclosures, while minimizing downtime and costs by ensuring adjustments only occur when no personnel are in the monitored areas.
Implementation Method 1
monitoring several monitoring regions which each extend along one of the several adjustable railings (and are therefore associated with the particular rail, for example), for person detection (e.g., by image recognition, movement detection, temperature detection, and/or acoustic detection)
Implementation Method 2
monitoring several monitoring regions which each extend along one of the several adjustable railings (and are therefore associated with the particular rail, for example), for person detection (e.g., by image recognition, movement detection, temperature detection, and/or acoustic detection)
Implementation Method 3
monitoring several monitoring regions which each extend along one of the several adjustable railings (and are therefore associated with the particular rail, for example), for person detection (e.g., by image recognition, movement detection, temperature detection, and/or acoustic detection)
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates, inter alia, to an installation comprising several transport devices for transporting objects through the installation, wherein the several transport devices are arranged distributed in the installation and each have at least one adjustable railing for setting the transport width. A sensor system is designed to monitor several monitoring regions that each extend along one of the several adjustable railings for person detection. A processing device is configured to operate the several transport devices for jointly adjusting the adjustable railings depending on the monitoring of the several monitoring regions via the sensor system. Advantageously, the installation can enable a safe and automated central adjustment of all rails of the installation.