Flighted Conveyor Insert for Robotic Food Picking
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Solution Overview
Problem
In flighted conveyors used for handling tubular food products like sausages, smaller diameter products often become loose due to flight spacing designed for larger diameters, leading to inefficient picking by robotic tools due to off-center positioning.
Innovation Solution
The use of inserts positioned through the flights of the conveyor, which centrally locate undersized tubular food products between adjacent flights, ensuring consistent positioning for robotic picking and minimizing missed picks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If flight spacing is designed for largest diameter food product, then larger products are properly positioned, but smaller diameter products become loose and off-center
Solution Approach 1:
The flighted conveyor is segmented into multiple zones along its length, with each zone having flights spaced according to the specific product diameter requirements. This allows different sections of the conveyor to handle different product sizes with appropriate spacing, resolving the contradiction between accommodating range of sizes and maintaining positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight spacing is made dynamically adjustable rather than fixed, allowing the conveyor to adapt flight distances based on the specific product being handled. This dynamic adjustment mechanism enables the system to maintain optimal positioning accuracy across different product diameters without requiring multiple fixed conveyor configurations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If flight spacing is increased to accommodate largest product, then larger products fit properly, but smaller products become loose between flights
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor is divided into multiple flight sections with different spacing configurations. Each section can be independently adjusted or configured to match the specific product diameter, ensuring that smaller products remain securely positioned while larger products can still be accommodated, thereby maintaining reliable positioning for robotic picking across all product sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight spacing parameter is made variable rather than fixed, allowing it to be changed according to the specific product diameter being handled. This parameter adjustment capability enables the conveyor to maintain optimal conditions for both small and large products, resolving the reliability issue with consistent positioning.
3Adaptability or versatility
If common flighted conveyor is used for all sausage sizes, then conveyor versatility is improved, but smaller products become off-center and loose
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system is segmented into adjustable flight sections that can be independently configured for different product sizes. This segmentation allows a single conveyor to handle multiple sausage diameters with appropriate spacing in each section, maintaining manufacturing precision for small products while preserving versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight spacing is made dynamically adjustable, allowing the conveyor to adapt to different product sizes in real-time. This dynamic capability enables a single conveyor to maintain central positioning precision for small diameter products while continuing to accommodate larger products, thus resolving the contradiction between versatility and precision.
4Productivity
If robotic tool approaches small diameter product between flights, then picking operation is performed, but seal quality deteriorates due to off-center positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor is segmented into zones with appropriate flight spacing for different product sizes. This segmentation ensures that small diameter products are always positioned centrally in their designated zones, providing reliable seal quality for robotic picking while maintaining continuous productivity across all product types.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight spacing is pre-configured or pre-adjusted according to the specific product diameter before the robotic picking operation begins. This preliminary positioning action ensures that small diameter products are already centrally located when the robotic tool approaches, guaranteeing good seal quality and high pick success rate without compromising productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed to a flighted conveyor insert for robotic picking of food products and a flighted conveyor having the same. In one forth, an insert for a flighted conveyor, such as a bucket chain, defines a forward edge configured for insertion through an aperture of a flight of the flighted conveyor such that when the insert is attached to the flight, the forward edge is positioned on a first side of the flight; and a rear edge configured such that when the insert is attached to the flight, the rear edge is positioned on a second side of the flight that is oppose to the first side of the flight.