Container Gripper with Coaxial Hollow Bodies for Fast Size Change
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gripping and transport devices for bottle-like containers require frequent manual exchange of gripping arms to accommodate containers of different sizes and shapes, leading to laborious and time-consuming adjustments and potential contamination, resulting in business interruptions and increased maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A gripping and transport device with a carrier plate and positioning plate that can be rotated about an axis, featuring adjustable height and coaxially arranged hollow bodies, allowing the gripping arms to adapt to various container sizes and shapes without exchanging the arms, while protecting internal mechanics from contamination and maintaining balance during rotation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If gripping arms are exchanged manually to accommodate different container sizes and shapes, then adaptability is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to business interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The gripping arm pair is made dynamically adjustable through a telescopic mechanism allowing continuous length modification. The first gripping arm and second gripping arm can extend or retract relative to each other, enabling the same gripping device to adapt to various container diameters without manual exchange, thus maintaining productivity while achieving versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The effective gripping length parameter is made variable through the telescopic adjustment mechanism. By changing the extension state of the gripping arms, the device can accommodate different container sizes, transforming a fixed-parameter system into a variable-parameter system that maintains both adaptability and continuous operation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If gripping arms are exchanged manually, then adaptability is improved, but loss of time increases due to adjustment requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic mechanism enables dynamic adjustment of gripping arm length during operation. The adjustable connection allows the gripping arms to be extended or retracted as needed, eliminating the time-consuming manual exchange process while maintaining the ability to adapt to different container dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
A single gripping arm pair is designed to perform multiple functions by accommodating various container sizes through telescopic adjustment. This universal design eliminates the need for multiple specialized gripping arms, thereby reducing adjustment time and maintaining continuous productivity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If gripping arms are exchanged manually, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple arm types
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using multiple static gripping arm types, the invention employs a single dynamic gripping arm pair with telescopic adjustment capability. This reduces device complexity by consolidating multiple components into one adjustable mechanism, while maintaining the ability to handle various container sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
A universal gripping arm design with telescopic functionality replaces multiple specialized gripping arms. This single multi-functional component can accommodate different container diameters through adjustment, thereby reducing the overall number of parts and simplifying the device structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a gripping and transporting device (1) for gripping, holding, guiding, and transporting containers, in particular bottle-like containers, comprising a support plate (2) and an adjusting plate (3) which can be rotated about a rotational axis (5) of the device. The device has at least one container gripping device (7) with at least one first gripping arm pair (8), at least one second gripping arm pair (9), and a control cam (10) as an opening or closing means of the gripping arm pairs of the at least one container gripping device. The at least one first gripping arm pair is pivotally secured to the support plate, and the at least one second gripping arm pair is pivotally secured to the adjusting plate. Furthermore, the gripping arm pairs of the at least one container gripping device can be moved from a gripping position into an open position or vice versa by means of the control cams of the container gripping device. The aim of the invention is to provide a gripping and transporting device which can be adapted to containers and which is protected against dirt. This is achieved in that the support plate has a first hollow body (12), and the adjusting plate has a second hollow body (13), wherein the adjusting plate can be vertically adjusted relative to the support plate along the rotational axis. Additionally, the first and second hollow body are arranged coaxially to the rotational axis of the device and can be moved into each other upon a vertical adjustment of the adjusting plate.