Defected Cigarette Catcher System with Optical Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Defected or damaged cigarettes cause frequent machine stoppages and waste in cigarette packaging machines due to getting stuck in vibrating feeder channels, leading to significant production losses.
Innovation Solution
A system with a helix roller and optical sensors to catch and remove defected cigarettes, using vibrating feeders driven by three motors to stop their movement and electropneumatically controlled directing flaps to ensure only proper cigarettes are transferred, minimizing downtime and preventing flow interruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If defected/damaged cigarettes are allowed to pass through the vibrating feeder channels, then the packaging machine can maintain continuous operation, but machine stoppages and production losses occur due to jams caused by defected cigarettes
Solution Approach 1:
The optical sensor detects defected cigarettes before they reach the packaging machine, and the directing flap redirects them into separate channels in advance, preventing potential jams before they occur and maintaining continuous packaging operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system divides the cigarette flow into separate paths using directing flaps and channels, isolating defected cigarettes from the main production stream, allowing the packaging machine to continue operating with good cigarettes while defective ones are handled separately
2Reliability
If a detection and removal system is implemented to catch defected cigarettes, then machine downtime is reduced, but device complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The optical sensor acts as an intermediary detection device that identifies defected cigarettes, while the directing flap serves as a mechanical mediator that redirects them, creating a simple yet effective detection-and-removal system without complex machinery
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical inspection mechanisms with optical sensing technology, using light-based detection instead of mechanical probing, thereby reducing overall system complexity while improving detection capability
3Productivity
If directing flaps are used to redirect defected cigarettes, then cigarette flow interruption is prevented, but loss of substance occurs due to separation of defected cigarettes from the main stream
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the defected cigarettes from the main stream using directing flaps, separating them into dedicated waste channels, thereby maintaining continuous flow of good cigarettes while removing only the defective portions
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
The system effectively reduces machine downtimes by catching and removing defected cigarettes, preventing jams and maintaining continuous production by isolating the affected section, thus minimizing production losses and ensuring occupational safety.
Implementation Method 1
catch the defected and vertical cigarettes in the cigarette line with the channels and sensor duo
Implementation Method 2
a multiple of vibrating feeder channels at the entrance of a cigarette packaging machine
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a system for detecting and catching the damaged or defected cigarettes while feeding them to a packaging machine, which are transported by a conveyor in the mass production process and come to a multiple of vibrating feeder channels at the entrance of a cigarette packaging machine through a vertical channel.