Container Cleaning Lane Locking for Defective Bottle Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Container cleaning machines face issues with damaged containers blocking the system, leading to reduced throughput due to the need to shut down entire lanes when a single container holder malfunctions, causing contamination and potential damage to new containers.
Innovation Solution
A container cleaning machine with independently actuable locking elements per lane that can block only defective lanes, allowing other lanes to continue operation, and a control unit to manage locking element positions and actuations based on sensor feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the entire machine is blocked to prevent contamination from damaged containers, then container safety is improved, but throughput is significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The machine is divided into multiple independent lanes, each with its own locking element. When a damaged container is detected in one lane, only that specific lane is blocked by activating its locking element, while other lanes continue to operate normally. This segmentation prevents contamination in the affected lane without stopping the entire machine, thereby maintaining overall throughput.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a lane is blocked to prevent damage to new containers, then container integrity is improved, but lane productivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The locking element is positioned upstream in the lane to block damaged containers before they can reach and damage new containers or contaminate the receptacle. By taking preliminary action to intercept and isolate the damaged container, the system prevents harmful effects while allowing the lane to resume normal operation quickly, minimizing productivity loss.
3Adaptability or versatility
If independent locking elements are added to each lane, then selective blocking capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each locking element is designed as a universal component that can be used across multiple lanes, with the same basic structure and operation principle. The locking elements perform multiple functions: they block damaged containers, prevent contamination, and can be independently controlled. This universality allows the system to achieve selective blocking capability without proportionally increasing overall complexity, as the same design pattern is replicated across lanes.
Data Source
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Figure 3a~3c
AI summary
Container cleaning machine for cleaning containers, such as bottles, comprising a plurality of lanes in which containers can be transported in a single row in a transport plane, and a plurality of removal devices, each assigned to a lane, which can remove a container from the lane and feed it to a container receiving unit of the container cleaning machine, which can transport a container through a cleaning area of the container cleaning machine, wherein at least one lane comprises an independently actuable locking element that can be moved from above the transport plane towards the transport plane in order to block the removal of a container from the lane by the removal device.