Container Clamp Gripper Arms with Curved Control Grooves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container clamps for transporting containers, such as beverage bottles, face challenges in providing precise control over holding force, self-locking to prevent unintentional opening, and ease of cleaning, particularly in hygienic environments like the food processing industry.
Innovation Solution
A container transport device with a support body and container clamp featuring gripper arms that pivot about a vertical axis, controlled by a rotatable control unit with a cam mechanism and control bolts, ensuring precise control and self-locking through curved control grooves, reducing wear, and maintaining a simple, easy-to-clean design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a simple structural design of container clamp is used, then ease of cleaning is improved, but control precision over holding force deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The control grooves are designed with curved paths instead of linear guides, allowing the control pins to follow arc-shaped trajectories. This curvature enables precise control of the gripping arms' movement while maintaining a simple overall structure that is easy to clean, as the curved grooves can be easily manufactured and cleaned compared to complex linear guide systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from linear control groove paths to arc-shaped paths in a rotational dimension. The control pins move along curved grooves as the control unit rotates, adding a dimensional aspect to the control mechanism that improves precision without significantly increasing structural complexity or cleaning difficulty.
2Reliability
If a self-locking mechanism is added to prevent unintentional opening, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The arc-shaped control grooves inherently provide self-locking functionality. As the control unit rotates, the control pins follow curved paths that naturally lock the gripping arms in position during rotation, preventing unintentional opening without requiring additional locking components or mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The control mechanism itself provides the self-locking function through the geometry of the control grooves. The system uses its own rotational movement and the curved groove design to automatically lock and secure the gripping arms, eliminating the need for separate locking devices or complex control systems.
3Measurement precision
If control pins move in opposite directions in control grooves, then control precision is improved, but wear on moving parts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The arc-shaped control grooves guide the control pins along curved paths, allowing them to move in opposite directions as the control unit rotates. This curved guidance maintains precise control while distributing wear more evenly across the groove surfaces, reducing concentrated stress and wear at single points compared to linear guide systems.
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 device achieves precise control over the opening and closing of gripper arms, prevents unintentional opening, and ensures easy cleaning, meeting high hygienic standards while minimizing installation space and wear on moving parts.
Implementation Method 1
a control device coupled to the control unit for actuating by means of a control cam, wherein the control device has a control roller which is actuated by means of a control cam
Implementation Method 2
each control pin is movably mounted in the respective control groove in one of the gripping arms, so that with a rotary movement of the control unit, the control bolts in the control grooves are moved in opposite directions and the gripping arms are pivoted around the pivot axis
Implementation Method 3
a spring element, which generates a preload on the gripping arms
Implementation Method 4
a magnetic clamping device, which generates a preload on the gripping arms, wherein the two magnetic bodies are arranged with respect to their polarity and proximity such that they repel each other
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device for transporting containers, having a carrying body with a container clamp, having two gripping arms, for holding a container by its neck or neck region, wherein each gripping arm is mounted on the carrying body so as to be pivotable about a vertical pivot axis, and a control unit, which is rotatable about an axis of rotation and is mounted on the carrying body, for actuating the gripping arms, and an actuating device, coupled to the control unit, for actuation by a control cam are arranged. In order to provide a device for transporting containers, which has a simple structure, is easy to clean and is controllable particularly precisely, and, in addition to having a small size, provides protection against unintentional opening, the invention provides for the control unit to comprise a rotatably mounted main body having carrying arms extending out of the main body, wherein a control pin is arranged on each carrying arm and each gripping arm has, at its outer end, a gripping portion for holding the container and, at an inner end opposite to the outer end, in each case a control slot, wherein the particular pivot axis is arranged between the two ends and each control pin is mounted in a movable manner in the particular control slot in one of the gripping arms, such that when the control unit rotates, the control pins move in the control slots and the gripping arms are pivoted about the pivot axis between an open position and a gripping position.