Cheese Ripening Scalera with Partitioned Aisles and Automated Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cheese ripening storage racks, or 'scaleras', pose safety hazards due to the high flammability and weight of cheeses, leading to dangerous handling operations and potential fires, as well as complex and risky maneuvers at great heights.
Innovation Solution
A modified 'scalera' design featuring inclined shelves, a movable slider system with automatic guidance, and integrated lift and shifter mechanisms allows for safe and efficient handling of cheeses, including quality inspection and branding, by partitioning aisles into sub-aisles for easy access and using handling means like grabbing apparatuses and cleaning tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual handling operations are performed at high shelves, then cheese handling is possible, but operator safety is compromised due to high weight and height
Solution Approach 1:
A trolley equipped with a grabbing apparatus serves as an intermediary device between the operator and the cheese. The operator remains safely on the ground while the grabbing apparatus, extended via a telescopic boom, performs the actual cheese handling at high shelves. This mediator eliminates direct exposure to hazardous conditions while maintaining operational capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical lifting and reaching operations with an automated grabbing apparatus mounted on a mobile trolley. The grabbing apparatus, controlled by the operator, substitutes human physical effort and exposes the operator to no safety risks while maintaining full cheese handling capability.
2Productivity
If branding operations are performed on cheese, then product identification is achieved, but fire hazard increases due to cheese flammability
Solution Approach 1:
The branding iron is held and operated through the grabbing apparatus, creating a physical barrier between the heat source and the cheese. The grabbing apparatus acts as a thermal buffer, allowing branding operations to proceed while minimizing direct heat transfer and reducing fire risk to the highly flammable cheese.
Solution Approach 2:
The system design anticipates the fire hazard by incorporating the grabbing apparatus as a protective buffer before the branding operation begins. This preliminary protective measure is built into the system architecture, cushioning against the potential harmful effect of fire before it can occur during branding.
3Quantity of substance
If high shelves are used for cheese storage, then storage capacity is increased, but handling complexity and danger increase
Solution Approach 1:
The trolley is designed with a telescopic boom that can dynamically extend and retract, and a grabbing apparatus that can open and close. This dynamic capability allows the system to adapt to different shelf heights and cheese positions, simplifying handling operations while maintaining high storage capacity through vertical shelving.
Solution Approach 2:
The grabbing apparatus automatically grasps and releases cheese based on operator control signals, eliminating the need for complex manual manipulation. The system performs the complex gripping and positioning actions automatically, reducing operational complexity despite high shelf storage requirements.
4Reliability
If automated handling systems are introduced, then operator safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automated handling system is segmented into distinct functional modules: a mobile trolley base, a telescopic boom mechanism, and a grabbing apparatus. This segmentation allows each component to be independently controlled and maintained, reducing overall system complexity while achieving automated safe handling operations.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3a~4
AI summary
A storage unit (1) for the ripening of food items (1a) is provided, which comprises racks (2) spaced apart so as to define aisles (2b), each defining a longitudinal axis (2a) and comprising shelves (21) for supporting food items (1a) along a single row of said food items (1a); a movable vehicle (3) for the handling of the food items (1a); partitions (4) adapted to partition the aisle (2b) into sub-aisles (4a), each adapted to support the movable vehicle (3), thus allowing it to slide along the sub-aisle (4a); a lift (5) adapted to move the movable vehicle (4) among the sub-aisles (4a); and a shifter (6) adapted to move the movable vehicle (3) among the aisles (2b).