Coil String Staging Buffer for Mattress Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manufacturing process for pocketed coil springs often results in manufacturing downtime due to differences in coiler and assembler speeds, jamming issues, material changes, and operator errors, leading to inefficiencies in producing mattress assemblies.
Innovation Solution
A continuous coil string staging system with a staging apparatus that includes an input, a buffer, and an output to store and manage a continuous coil string, ensuring a steady supply to the assembler, preventing tangling, and maintaining a buffer capacity sufficient for assembly, thereby reducing downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the assembler and coiler operate at different rates without a buffer, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but manufacturing downtime increases due to waiting for coil strings
Solution Approach 1:
The coil string staging apparatus stores a buffer of continuous coil string in advance before the assembler needs it. The staging area accumulates coil strings produced by the coiler, ensuring that when the assembler operates, there is already a supply of coil strings ready, eliminating waiting time and maintaining continuous production flow.
2Volume of stationary object
If the coil string is stored in a compact buffer, then space is saved, but the coil string may become tangled
Solution Approach 1:
The staging apparatus divides the buffer space into multiple tiers or levels, with each tier holding a separate section of the continuous coil string. This segmentation prevents different sections from mixing and tangling while still achieving compact space utilization through vertical arrangement of multiple storage levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The coil string is wound in a controlled manner within the staging buffer, with inner sections nested within outer sections in an organized fashion. This nesting arrangement allows compact storage while maintaining order and preventing tangling through systematic layering of the coil string.
3Productivity
If the coiler operates continuously at high speed, then production efficiency increases, but jamming issues and operator errors may cause interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The staging apparatus creates a buffer stock of coil strings in advance, cushioning against potential interruptions from jamming, material changes, or operator errors. When such interruptions occur at the coiler, the assembler can continue operating using the pre-staged coil strings, maintaining production continuity and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A continuous coil string staging system is provided herein that includes at least one coiler configured to output at least one continuous coil string, at least one assembler configured to assemble the at least one continuous coil string into a mattress assembly, and at least one coil string staging apparatus disposed between the at least one coiler and at the least one assembler. The at least one coil string staging apparatus can have an input, a staging buffer, and an output such that the coil string staging apparatus receives the at least one continuous coil string that is output from the at least one coiler and outputs the at least one continuous coil string to the assembler such that there is a buffer of coil string available to the assembler. Various coil string staging apparatuses and methods are also provided herein.