Container Clamp with Detachable Bearing Block
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container filling systems are prone to damage due to inaccurate bottle transfers caused by tolerances and asynchronously running stars, leading to excessive forces that can destroy individual grippers and the entire system.
Innovation Solution
A container clamp design with elastically resilient arms that can slide past a fixing bolt and release when excessive force is applied, allowing the clamp to fall out of its holder without damaging the system, featuring a bearing block with pivotable arms held by a tension spring and external bearing elements that detach from retaining webs under stress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If container clamps are used with fixed mounting on the transport star, then the clamps can maintain stable gripping force, but the system becomes vulnerable to damage from excessive forces during inaccurate transfers
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp assembly is designed to transition from a fixed state to a detachable state dynamically. The arms are held in a loaded state by retaining webs during normal operation, but can automatically detach when excessive force is applied, allowing the system to adapt to abnormal conditions while maintaining stable operation during normal conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The retaining webs are designed with specific geometric features that allow them to break away under excessive force. This pre-designed failure mechanism cushions the system by allowing controlled detachment of clamps before the excessive force can damage the entire system, protecting the transport star and other components.
2Manufacturing precision
If the clamp arms are made rigid to maintain gripping precision, then the clamps can hold containers securely, but they cannot release automatically under excessive stress
Solution Approach 1:
The arms transition from a rigid held state to a detachable state dynamically. During normal operation, the arms maintain their position with gripping precision. When excessive force is applied, the arms automatically detach from the retaining webs, allowing the system to adapt to abnormal conditions while maintaining precision during normal conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The retaining webs act as an intermediary element between the rigid arms and the transport star. The webs provide the holding force to maintain arm position during normal operation, but are designed to fail in a controlled manner under excessive force, enabling automatic release while maintaining gripping precision during normal conditions.
3Ease of manufacture
If the clamp design uses simple fixed mounting, then the structure remains simple and easy to manufacture, but it cannot protect the system from damage during inaccurate transfers
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp assembly is segmented into detachable components: arms, bearing block, and retaining webs. This segmentation allows the assembly to be simple yet functional, with each component having a specific role. The retaining webs are designed as sacrificial elements that can break away to protect the system, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while adding protective functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The design converts the potential harm of excessive force into a beneficial protective mechanism. The retaining webs are designed to fail under excessive force, transforming what would be a damaging event into a controlled release mechanism that protects the transport star and other system components from damage.
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
Ensures that only the individual clamp is compromised in case of errors, preventing damage to the entire system by automatically releasing and falling out when excessive stress is exceeded, thus protecting the system from major damage.
Implementation Method 1
the two clamp arms 5 and 6, which are positioned pivotably on the bearing block 3 and are held together by means of a tension spring 7
Implementation Method 2
A variant of the design of the container clamp according to the invention is that the length of at least the arm on the bearing block that is at the front in the direction of movement is dimensioned such that when lateral pressure is applied, the arm slides past the fixing bolt and jumps off the fixing bolt to release the block. It is expedient if both arms have a length that allows jumping off the fixing bolt. The arms on the bearing block are expediently formed from an elastically resilient material.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a container clamp (2) or container clip provided on conveying elements in container filling installations for receiving the neck of a container, particularly a bottle, each clamp (2) or clip comprising a bearing block (3). The aim of the invention is to protect such installations by special clamping designs so that improper strain would result in the failure of only a single clamp and any further damage to the installations could be avoided. Said aim is achieved in that the bearing block (3) comprises holding elements (8, 9) which detach at least partially from the bearing and holding device (10, 11) when a lateral pivoting range or a lateral force is exceeded, wherein the bearing block (3) or the container clamp (2) or container clip is released to fall on the ground.