Container Closure Feeding System with Pre-Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage bottling plants face difficulties in accessing and maintaining fault points in the feeding system, particularly with air conveyors and long, sloping conveyors, which limits accessibility and reliability, and can lead to faulty container closures reaching the capping process.
Innovation Solution
A device with a sorting mechanism, inspection device arranged before the elevator, and a chain conveyor system is implemented, allowing for easy access to fault points, pre-sorting of closures, and ensuring only correctly aligned and dimensioned closures reach the higher elevations, reducing maintenance needs and operational disruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If air conveyors or inclined belt conveyors are used as elevators to transport closures to required height, then closures can be transported to the capper level, but accessibility to fault points becomes difficult and maintenance becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The transport system is segmented into two distinct parts: an inclined conveyor for elevation change and a horizontal conveyor for final positioning. This segmentation allows the elevation-critical function to be separated from the accessibility-critical function, enabling easy maintenance of the horizontal section while the inclined section remains optimized for height transport.
Solution Approach 2:
A horizontal conveyor acts as an intermediary component between the inclined conveyor and the capper. This intermediary element provides a accessible transition zone where closures are fed horizontally into the capper, allowing operators to easily access and maintain the feeding mechanism without needing to work at elevated positions.
2Measurement precision
If inspection device is arranged after the elevator at high level, then closures can be inspected at capper level, but accessibility for operators becomes limited and maintenance difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of placing the inspection device at the traditional high-level position after elevation, the inspection is performed at ground level before the closures enter the inclined conveyor. This inverted arrangement maintains inspection quality while placing all inspection components within easy operator reach at accessible heights.
3Length of stationary object
If long sloping conveyors are used to reach high elevations, then closures can be transported to required height, but accessibility to fault points becomes difficult and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The single long sloping conveyor is segmented into two shorter conveyor sections: an inclined conveyor for elevation and a horizontal conveyor for positioning. This reduces the complexity of any single conveyor component while achieving the same overall height reach, and improves accessibility to fault points on the horizontal section.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a device (1) for feeding container closures to a capper (10) in a beverage bottling plant, comprising a sorting unit (2), a vertical conveyor (5) and an inspection device (4), wherein the inspection device (4) is arranged in front of the vertical conveyor (5).