Conveyor Chute Unblocking via Reverse Impulse
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Solution Overview
Problem
In high-speed manufacturing facilities, preforms on conveyors often become jammed due to swinging or collision, leading to blockages that require manual intervention or ejection, disrupting the continuous flow of thermoplastic preforms.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced to detect blockages using sensors and apply a counter-impulse to the preforms, reversing their direction to dislodge them from fixed faces, allowing them to return to their freely suspended position without manual intervention, utilizing conveyor mechanisms like rotating bowls or brush-driven slides.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If hollow bodies are transported at high speed in a slide conveyor, then productivity is improved, but blockages occur when hollow bodies swing and contact fixed faces
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of preventing hollow bodies from swinging or blocking the conveyor, the invention reverses the approach by allowing blocking to occur but then applying a reverse impulse to dislodge the blocked hollow bodies. The conveyor applies a counter-impulse in the opposite direction to move the blocked hollow body away from the fixed face, transforming the blocking problem into a可控 (controllable) temporary state that is automatically resolved.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses periodic detection and impulse application. Sensors periodically detect blockages, and when detected, a reverse impulse is periodically applied to dislodge the blocked hollow bodies. This periodic monitoring and corrective action maintains continuous operation at high speed while preventing sustained blockages.
2Reliability
If manual intervention is used to clear blockages, then reliability is improved by removing blocked hollow bodies, but loss of time increases due to operator intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The system makes the conveyor self-servicing by automatically detecting blockages through sensors and automatically resolving them through reverse impulses. No manual operator intervention is needed - the system detects its own problems and corrects them autonomously, eliminating downtime associated with manual intervention while maintaining reliable blockage resolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback through sensors that continuously monitor the conveyor for blockages. When a blockage is detected, the sensor signals the control system to apply a reverse impulse. After the impulse dislodges the blocked hollow body, the sensor verifies resolution and normal operation resumes. This closed-loop feedback ensures rapid automatic response to blockages without manual intervention.
3Reliability
If ejection mechanisms are used to remove blocked hollow bodies, then blockage resolution is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding complex ejection mechanisms to remove blocked hollow bodies, the invention extracts or removes the need for such mechanisms entirely. By using a simple reverse impulse approach, the system achieves blockage clearance without requiring additional ejection devices, thereby maintaining simplicity while resolving blockages effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than using complex mechanisms to eject blocked hollow bodies forward or sideways, the invention inverts the approach by applying a reverse impulse that moves the blocked hollow body backward away from the fixed face. This simple reversal eliminates the need for complex ejection mechanisms while achieving reliable blockage clearance.
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 method automatically resolves blockages, maintaining preform flow and reducing downtime by allowing blocked preforms to rejoin the conveyor stream, eliminating the need for manual operator intervention and ejection processes.
Implementation Method 1
détecter le blocage du filetage des préformes, par example au moyen d'un capteur de passage des préformes
Implementation Method 2
leur appliquer un contre-coup pour inverser leur sens de déplacement, afin de les déloger de la face fixe
Implementation Method 3
ils occupent à nouveau, sous l'effet de la pesanteur, leur position en libre suspension dans la trémie
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for unblocking the movement of hollow bodies travelling in a line in a conveyor (19), including: a guiding chute (33) in which each hollow body is intended to take up a freely suspended position; means for continuously driving hollow bodies into the chute (33) in a direction of movement; a hollow body being likely to take up a position in which it is stuck against a stationary surface (44, 54) of a member that complements the chute and thus to block the movement of the hollow bodies that build up behind same, characterised in that it includes an unblocking step which consists of applying an unblocking pulse to the hollow bodies of the blocked line against the direction of movement in order to move the blocking hollow body away from the stationary surface (44, 54) and to allow the blocking hollow body to swivel into the freely suspended position thereof in the chute (33).