Clock Hand Packaging Pallet for Automation and Damage Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacture of small horological components like clock hands is delicate, as they are prone to damage during handling and inspection due to lack of a rigid support, making automation challenging and affecting the quality and finish of the components, especially when made of precious metals.
Innovation Solution
A packaging system comprising a pallet with bores and recesses for holding clock hands, allowing for secure storage and handling, combined with an automated production means that includes stamping, milling, and diamond cutting units, enabling efficient manufacturing, washing, and inspection without direct pressure on the hand body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If hands are inserted on perforated and slit paper cards, then manual handling is enabled, but the hands are prone to deformation and damage from friction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a rigid support structure (pallet with recesses) as an intermediary between the hand and the handling process. This mediator provides a stable base that prevents deformation during manual operations, eliminating the friction-induced damage caused by direct contact with paper cards while still enabling ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the flexible paper card mechanical system with a rigid pallet structure. This substitution eliminates the compliance and friction characteristics of paper that cause hand deformation, while maintaining the ability to handle and position hands during manufacturing operations.
2Device complexity
If paper support is used for hands, then storage is simplified, but inspection and correction operations become difficult due to lack of rigid bearing surface
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid pallet serves as a mediator that provides a stable reference plane for inspection and correction operations. This intermediary structure enables precise measurement and correction of hand geometry by providing a known, rigid bearing surface, while still maintaining simple storage capabilities through the pallet's structured design.
3Ease of operation
If manual threading insertion is used, then hands can be placed on paper cards, but automation becomes difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual threading insertion mechanism with a rigid pallet system that accommodates hands in predetermined recesses. This substitution enables automated placement and handling, as the rigid structure provides precise positioning references that can be easily programmed into automated systems, eliminating the need for complex manual threading operations.
4Manufacturing precision
If hands are made of precious metal, then aesthetic quality is improved, but loss in shavings or treatment baths becomes a critical risk
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid pallet acts as a mediator that secures hands during manufacturing operations, preventing them from falling into shavings or treatment baths. The structured recesses and support surfaces provide controlled containment, reducing the risk of precious metal loss while maintaining the ability to achieve high aesthetic finishes through precise manufacturing operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Packaging (1) for clock hands (2) with a pipe (4) and a body (5), including a pallet (10) for receiving, holding, storing and carrying hands (2) having the same height, including bores (11) for receiving the pipes (4) according to a constant pitch, adjacent to recesses (12) for housing the hand bodies (5) resting on an upper surface (13), each pallet (10) including a position index device (20), and a spacer (15) for cooperating such that it bears against a lower surface (14) of another pallet (10) and extending, from the upper surface (13), over a height which exceeds that of the hand bodies (5), each pallet (10) having a transverse bearing surface (130) for receiving the bearing surfaces (3) of the hands (2), and, parallel thereto, oblong pieces (131), the width whereof is adapted for the insertion of robotic grippers or tweezers for loading/unloading hands.