Conveyor Alignment for Sliced Goods Packaging

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for packaging sliced goods, such as cheese or sausage, fail to maintain precise alignment and formatting due to positional changes during transport on multiple conveyor belts, requiring manual corrections to ensure accurate placement in packaging machines.

Innovation Solution

The method involves longitudinally aligning goods just before transfer to the loading belt and performing transverse alignment before entering buffer zones, ensuring precise positioning and formatting only at the end of the conveyor system, eliminating the need for manual corrections.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If goods are positioned longitudinally in the initial area of the feeder and transported through multiple conveyor belts, then buffering capacity is provided, but positioning precision is lost due to position changes during transport

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebuffering capacityVSAvoidpositioning precision
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The goods are longitudinally positioned in advance at the outlet end of the inserter, just before transfer to the loading belt, rather than at the initial area. This preliminary positioning ensures that the positioning action occurs after buffering but before final placement, resolving the contradiction by timing the positioning action optimally in the process sequence

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The longitudinal positioning function is extracted from the initial positioning area and relocated to the outlet end of the inserter. This separation allows the initial area to focus on buffering while the outlet end handles precise positioning, eliminating the conflict between buffering and positioning precision

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Productivity

If multiple conveyor belts are used for buffering, then continuous supply is enabled, but manual correction is required to maintain positioning accuracy

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontinuous supplyVSAvoidmanual correction requirement
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs automatic longitudinal positioning at the outlet end using the conveyor belts themselves, eliminating the need for manual intervention. The conveyor system serves its own positioning function through controlled movement and synchronization, making the system self-sufficient and removing the manual correction step

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Manufacturing precision

If goods are positioned just before transfer to loading belt, then positioning precision is maintained, but buffering capacity is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepositioning precisionVSAvoidbuffering capacity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The inserter is divided into distinct functional zones: an initial area for buffering with multiple conveyor belts, and an outlet end area for precise longitudinal positioning. This segmentation allows each zone to specialize in its function - the initial area provides buffering capacity while the outlet end ensures positioning precision, resolving the contradiction through spatial functional division

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP2030898B2Method for operating a feeding conveyor
Publication Date: 2016.09.28 MULTITEC HLDG
  • EP2030898B2 patent drawingFigure 1~2

AI summary

The method involves lateral and a longitudinal alignment of conveying goods (3) and forwarding of the aligned conveying goods toward a packaging machine. The alignment of conveying goods is done in longitudinal manner within the end area of the insert before the delivery of the conveying goods to an insertion belt (14). The lateral alignment of the conveying goods is done before the longitudinal adjustment of the conveying goods.