Crane Device for Wrapped Quartz Glass Crucible Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Handling and packing of large-size quartz glass crucibles are challenging due to contamination risks during manual handling and packing, especially when trying to maintain cleanliness, as substances from the outer periphery can enter the inner peripheral portion during inspection and packing processes.
Innovation Solution
A crane device with four extendable arms and claws is designed to lift and place wrapped quartz glass crucibles into a packing container without direct contact, allowing for mechanical handling and minimizing contamination by supporting the crucible from the bottom and keeping the arms away from the wrap.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual operation is used to transfer the crucible into the container, then the operation is simple and flexible, but the cleanliness of the crucible inner peripheral portion deteriorates due to contamination from outer periphery substances
Solution Approach 1:
A bag-shaped wrapping is introduced as an intermediary between the crucible and the external environment. The crucible is sealed within the bag at its opening portion, creating a barrier that prevents substances on the outer periphery from entering the inner peripheral portion during handling and transfer operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful factor (contamination risk) is extracted from the crucible by separating the crucible interior from the external environment through sealing the opening portion within the bag. This isolation removes the pathway through which contamination could occur during manual handling.
2Productivity
If the crucible size is increased to improve manufacturing efficiency, then the productivity increases, but the ease of handling deteriorates and contamination susceptibility increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bag-shaped wrapping serves as a mediator that facilitates handling of large-size crucibles. By sealing the crucible within the bag, the system enables mechanical manipulation of the entire assembly, making it easier to handle larger crucibles without increasing contamination risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The handling system is segmented into distinct functional components: the crucible, the bag-shaped wrapping, and the sealing mechanism. This segmentation allows the wrapping and sealing system to be optimized for handling large crucibles independently from the crucible design itself.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If mechanical wrapping is implemented to prevent contamination, then the cleanliness is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bag-shaped wrapping acts as a simple intermediary structure that provides contamination protection without requiring complex wrapping devices. The crucible is simply placed within the bag and the opening is sealed, avoiding the need for complex mechanical wrapping systems.
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible bag-shaped wrapping made of thin material is used to enclose the crucible. This flexible shell provides contamination protection while being simple in structure and easy to manipulate, avoiding the complexity of rigid wrapping mechanisms.
4Ease of operation
If the crucible is simply packed in a bag without sealing, then the packing operation is simple, but the inner peripheral portion becomes contaminated by substances from the outer periphery
Solution Approach 1:
The opening portion of the crucible is sealed within the bag before the packing operation occurs. This preliminary sealing action prevents contamination from occurring during subsequent handling and transfer operations, maintaining simplicity while ensuring cleanliness.
Solution Approach 2:
The bag-shaped wrapping serves as an intermediary barrier that, when combined with sealing of the opening portion, prevents substances from the outer periphery from entering the inner peripheral portion during packing and handling operations.
Data Source
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AI summary
An object of the present invention is to provide a crane device suitable for handling a wrapped crucible, which crane device is capable of realizing mechanical handling of the wrapped crucible by way of a machine without manual work. In view of this, the present invention provides a crane device adapted to be capable of making reciprocal movements along a path between a position above a lifting-up point where a wrapped quartz glass crucible is placed and another position above a putting-down point where a packing container is placed and ascending to/descending from the path at each of the lifting-up point and the putting-down point, the crane device having: four arms extending in the ascend-descend direction and disposed at apexes of a quadrangle such that two arms paired on a diagonal line of the quadrangle are movable to advance to/separate from each other; and a claw provided at a rear end of each arm to extend in the advancing direction of the arm.