Conveyor Intervention Device for Upright Product Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conveying systems face instability and product falls due to long, lightweight items like bottles and jars, which are prone to tipping over during vertical transport, leading to disruptions and potential machine stoppages.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a detection module to identify lying-down products on a conveyor line, a removal module to automatically remove them, and a control module to manage the removal process, ensuring products remain upright during transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If products with long vertical dimensions are conveyed, then productivity is improved by continuous flow, but stability deteriorates causing products to fall
Solution Approach 1:
The detection module identifies lying-down products before they reach processing stations, and the removal module extracts them in advance. This preliminary action prevents the instability problem from affecting downstream operations, allowing continuous conveying to proceed without interruptions.
Solution Approach 2:
The removal module selectively extracts problematic lying-down products from the conveyor stream. By taking out only the unstable products that are detected, the system maintains continuous flow for stable products while eliminating the stability issue caused by long vertical dimensions.
2Reliability
If detection and removal systems are added to identify and remove lying-down products, then reliability is improved by preventing machine stoppages, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The detection module uses optical or sensor-based detection instead of complex mechanical inspection systems. This substitution provides reliable detection of lying-down products while keeping the device structure relatively simple and easy to maintain.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically detects and removes lying-down products without requiring manual intervention or complex control systems. The removal module is designed to operate autonomously based on detection signals, simplifying the overall control architecture while maintaining high reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
An intervention device (1) for a conveyor line conveying products to be moved in an upright position, i.e. the largest dimension thereof being perpendicular to the normally horizontal conveying plane, such as bottles of liquid, the device including: a detection module (2) for detecting the position of the products in a detection area (3) on the conveyor line; a removal module (4) for gripping and removing products that are lying down from a removal area (5) on the conveying line; and a control module (6) receiving information from the detection module (2) and controlling the removal module (4) accordingly. A corresponding method is also described.