Cork Stoppers Quality Segmentation and Reassembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The cork industry faces challenges in maximizing the value of medium and low-quality cork stoppers due to excessive lenticel size and quantity, as well as critical defects, which affect sealing properties and visual appeal, leading to low market value and material devaluation.
Innovation Solution
A device and method that rotate and image-capture cork stoppers using digital cameras to identify better and worse quality halves, allowing precise cutting and separation into two halves of better quality, which are then reassembled to create higher-value stoppers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If medium and low quality cork stoppers are sealed (filled) to improve lenticel defects, then visual appearance and sealing performance are improved, but the product remains low-value and raw material devaluation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The cork stopper is divided into two halves along its longitudinal axis. One half contains the defective side with larger lenticels and critical defects, while the other half contains the better quality side. This segmentation allows the defective portion to be separated and discarded, while the quality portion is preserved and reused.
Solution Approach 2:
The defective half of the cork stopper is extracted and removed from the system. Only the quality half, free from critical defects and excessive lenticels, is retained for assembly into new stoppers. This extraction eliminates the need for sealing treatments while maximizing material value.
2Reliability
If cork stoppers with critical defects are rejected to prevent liquid leakage, then sealing reliability is improved, but raw material devaluation and loss occur
Solution Approach 1:
By cutting the stopper longitudinally into two halves, the system can identify and separate the defective half containing critical defects from the quality half. This allows selective use of the quality portion while discarding only the defective portion, rather than rejecting the entire stopper.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention recognizes that different regions of the same cork stopper have different quality characteristics. One side may have critical defects while the other side maintains good quality. The local quality approach allows utilization of the good quality region while eliminating the defective region.
3Measurement precision
If digital imaging and precision cutting devices are implemented to separate cork halves, then quality selection precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Traditional manual inspection and cutting methods are replaced with an automated system using digital cameras for quality assessment and a cutting device for precise separation. This substitution of mechanical/manual operations with automated imaging and cutting systems improves precision while reducing human labor requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Digital cameras create optical copies (images) of the cork stopper surfaces to analyze quality characteristics. These digital representations allow for precise identification of lenticels and critical defects without physically contacting or damaging the cork, enabling accurate quality assessment.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a novel device and process do use cork stoppers including a support platform (1), a device (2) capable to rotate a cork stopper, at least three digital chambers (3,4 and 5) capable of obtaining images of the stopper's surface (body and extremities), two means of support (6) and (7), a device for discharging stoppers (8) and a cutting device (9) capable for separating at least one cork stopper into two halves. The present invention provides the selection of the best quality cork's surface, the final result of the process being a cork stopper composed of two or more parts of better quality from two or more cork stoppers.