Delivery Tray Adapter for Precise Beverage Capsule Printing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food product printing systems are time-consuming, expensive, and require sophisticated sensing systems to locate and print on individual items, with loading and unloading on conveyors being impractical and affecting print quality.
Innovation Solution
A system with an adapter assembly for a food product printer that includes beverage capsule holders and a receiving arm, allowing for automatic and continuous printing on multiple beverage capsules using a delivery tray and a printer with an extendable and retractable arm, eliminating the need for complex sensing and ensuring accurate positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a conveyor belt or tray system is used to support multiple food products for printing, then productivity increases, but device complexity and cost increase due to required sensing systems and sophisticated positioning mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an adapter assembly as an intermediary component that couples beverage capsules to a simplified positioning arm. This adapter includes a holder that receives the capsule and positioning features that interface with the arm, eliminating the need for complex sensing systems while enabling multi-product printing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the complex sensing and positioning functions from the conveyor system and replaces them with a simplified arm mechanism. The positioning intelligence is moved from active sensing to passive mechanical features in the adapter assembly, reducing overall system complexity
2Productivity
If loading and unloading of food products is performed on a moving conveyor or tray, then continuous printing is achieved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to difficulty in accurate positioning and adverse effects on print quality
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter assembly includes pre-configured positioning features and support surfaces that are designed beforehand to ensure accurate capsule placement. The holder geometry and interface features are predetermined to maintain precise positioning throughout the printing process, preventing quality degradation during continuous operation
3Productivity
If a commercial-scale printer is used to print on an array of food products, then productivity increases, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the printing system into a simplified printer unit and a separate adapter assembly that handles positioning and product support. This segmentation allows the printer itself to remain simple while the adapter provides the multi-product capability, avoiding the need for a complex commercial-scale printing system
Data Source
AI summary
An adapter assembly for a food product printer having a plurality of beverage capsule holders and aa adapter for coupling to a print positioning arm of the food product printer. Each beverage capsule holder has an interior cavity configured to receive a beverage capsule therein, an open top for exposing a print surface of the beverage capsule received therein and a perimeter support surface positioned on an exterior surface thereof and extending outwardly therefrom, the perimeter support surface spaced apart vertically from a base of the beverage capsule holder. The adapter is configured to receive and hold the base of the beverage capsule holder such that the beverage capsule holder is retained in an upright position and at the adapter.