Container Transport Control Using Sensor Drones to Prevent Damage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Container treatment systems in the beverage processing industry face challenges in accurately regulating operating parameters, leading to damage such as bruising, scratching, and jamming of containers during transport, due to undetectable forces and complex sensor limitations, making it difficult to identify and address issues in real-time.
Innovation Solution
A container treatment system that incorporates a drone equipped with acceleration and pressure sensors to measure forces acting on it, transmitting data to a control unit to adjust operating parameters like drive torque and gripping force, ensuring targeted regulation and minimizing container damage by simulating the conditions of actual containers within the transport system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional sensors and control units are used to monitor container transport, then the system structure remains simple, but forces acting on containers cannot be detected, leading to undetected damage
Solution Approach 1:
A drone is introduced as an intermediary object between the transport device and the control system. The drone carries sensors (acceleration sensor and pressure sensor) that measure forces acting on containers indirectly through the drone's own acceleration and pressure data, enabling force detection without direct contact sensors on the containers themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional direct-contact force sensors with an indirect measurement approach using acceleration sensors and pressure sensors mounted on a drone. The mechanical force measurement is substituted by measuring the drone's dynamic response (acceleration and pressure) to the forces transmitted through container contact.
2Reliability
If operating parameters are not regulated in real-time, then the control system remains simple, but container damage occurs due to uncontrolled forces during transport
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit receives real-time data from the drone's sensors (acceleration and pressure measurements) and uses this feedback to dynamically regulate operating parameters of the transport device. This closed-loop control system adjusts transport conditions based on actual force measurements, preventing container damage while maintaining system adaptability.
3Productivity
If the number of containers added to mass flow is increased to improve throughput, then productivity increases, but container jamming and crushing occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts transport parameters based on real-time force measurements from the drone. When container density in the mass flow increases, the system can adaptively modify transport speed, acceleration rates, or spacing to prevent jamming and crushing, allowing higher throughput while maintaining safe operating conditions through continuous parameter optimization.
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
This solution enables precise and real-time control of operating parameters, reducing container damage, improving throughput, and facilitating error detection and correction, thereby enhancing the efficiency and reliability of container handling processes.
Implementation Method 1
the drone comprises an acceleration sensor for measuring an acceleration acting on the drone
Implementation Method 2
a pressure sensor for measuring a pressure acting on the drone in the transport device
Data Source
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Figure 3a~3e
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AI summary
The invention relates to a container-handling facility for handling containers such as cans or the like in the beverage-processing industry, wherein the container-handling facility comprises at least one transport device for transporting the containers and a drone that can be brought into the transport device, wherein the drone has an acceleration sensor for measuring an acceleration acting on the drone and a pressure sensor for measuring a pressure acting on the drone in the transport device, wherein the drone can transmit data corresponding to a measured acceleration and a measured pressure to a control unit, and wherein the control unit is designed to regulate at least one operating parameter influencing the acceleration of the drone and/or the pressure acting on the drone, according to a comparison between the data received by the drone and nominal values for the operating parameter and/or the acceleration and/or the pressure, which are stored in a memory.