Container Gripper Height Centering for Stable High-Speed Transfer
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container grippers exhibit vertical play, particularly at the front end, leading to instability and precision issues during high-speed container handling, especially with PET bottles, necessitating precise alignment and angular stability to ensure reliable transfer.
Innovation Solution
A container gripper design incorporating height guide and centering elements to minimize vertical play, using a height control element fixed to the transport device and height centering elements on each gripper finger, ensuring precise gripping and stable transport, even with narrow openings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional bearing pins are used for mounting gripper fingers, then the structure is simple, but vertical play occurs at the front end leading to instability
Solution Approach 1:
A height guide element is introduced as an intermediary component between the bearing pin and the gripper finger. This height guide element acts as a mediator that prevents vertical play while maintaining the simplicity of the bearing pin structure. The height guide element guides the vertical position of the gripper finger, ensuring stable gripping without requiring a complex bearing structure.
2Manufacturing precision
If high precision positioning is implemented for reliable container transfer, then gripping precision is improved, but the system becomes more complex and harder to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The height guide element and height centering elements work together in a self-centering mechanism that automatically maintains precise positioning of the gripper finger. The design allows the system to self-correct minor misalignments through the geometric relationship between the height guide element and the height centering elements on the gripper finger, eliminating the need for complex adjustment mechanisms while maintaining high positioning precision.
3Manufacturing precision
If minimal vertical play is achieved through complex mechanisms, then gripping precision is improved, but cleaning access and component replacement become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The height control system is segmented into separate, easily replaceable components: the height guide element mounted on the transport device and the height centering elements mounted on the gripper finger. This segmentation allows each component to be independently accessed, cleaned, and replaced without disassembling the entire gripper mechanism, maintaining minimal vertical play while ensuring easy maintenance access.
4Productivity
If high transport speeds of over 60,000 containers per hour are achieved, then productivity is improved, but the requirement for angular stability and precision increases
Solution Approach 1:
The height guide element and height centering elements establish the correct vertical positioning and angular alignment of the gripper finger before the container transfer operation begins. This preliminary centering action ensures that the gripper finger is precisely positioned and angularly stable prior to engaging with the container, enabling high-speed operation of over 60,000 containers per hour while maintaining the required precision and stability.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The invention relates to a container gripper (1), in particular for transporting containers (2) and/or for arranging on a container transport star, as well as a container treatment system, in particular a container filling system.According to the invention, the container gripper has at least one, preferably two, gripper fingers (3b) for holding a container (2) to be transported, at least one bearing pin (4) for each gripper finger (3b) for pivoting each gripper finger (3b) between a gripping position for holding a container (2) and a release position for dispensing or receiving a container (2), a height guide element (5) arranged in a fixed position relative to the bearing pin(s) (4), and a height centering element (6b) fixed to each gripper finger (3b), wherein the height guide element (5) and the height centering element(s) (6b) interact in a guiding manner at least in the area of the gripping position of the gripper finger(s) (3b) such that any vertical play of the gripper finger (3b) is limited.