Dispensing System Using Magnetic Roller Displacement Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensing systems for tickets and paper products face challenges in accurately and efficiently separating individual items from a continuous strip, particularly in maintaining consistent contact and measuring displacement with varying ticket thicknesses, leading to errors in positioning and dispensing.
Innovation Solution
The system employs a displacement sensor and passive rollers with magnetic sensors to measure the rotation of a magnet attached to the passive roller, allowing for precise displacement measurement and separation of tickets along perforated lines, using a tension mechanism to maintain continuous contact and minimize errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a displacement sensor is used to measure ticket displacement, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A passive roller with an attached magnet serves as an intermediary between the ticket and the displacement sensor. The roller is rotated by the ticket surface during movement, and the magnet's angular displacement is registered by the sensor to determine ticket displacement characteristics without requiring direct contact measurement between sensor and ticket
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct mechanical displacement measurement with a magnetic field-based measurement system. Instead of using complex mechanical encoders or direct optical measurement systems, a simple magnet attached to the passive roller interacts with a magnetic displacement sensor, substituting mechanical measurement complexity with a simpler magnetic sensing approach
2Reliability
If passive rollers are used to rotate with ticket surface, then measurement reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The passive roller is designed to be self-actuating, rotating automatically as the ticket surface passes over it during normal dispensing operation. No separate motor or actuation mechanism is required - the ticket itself provides the rotational force through friction contact, making the measurement system self-powered and more reliable
Solution Approach 2:
The passive roller serves multiple functions simultaneously: it maintains contact with the ticket surface for reliable displacement tracking, rotates to convert linear ticket movement into angular magnet displacement, and provides a mounting point for the magnet that interfaces with the displacement sensor. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables accurate and reliable dispensing of tickets with high precision in displacement measurement and positioning, reducing errors associated with ticket thickness variations and maintaining consistent contact, resulting in improved dispensing accuracy and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
registering, by the at least one displacement sensor, at least one angle of displacement of at least one magnet attached to an idle roller
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, the instant invention provides an exemplary method for dispensing that at least includes: initiating a movement of a dispensing object along a dispensing passage of a dispensing device; determining, by a displacement sensor, a magnitude of a displacement of the dispensing object along the dispensing passage based on remotely measuring, by the displacement sensor, a characteristic associated with the dispensing object during the movement of the dispensing object along the dispensing passage; generating an indication by the displacement sensor when the magnitude of the displacement is equal to or exceeds a pre-determined distance value; separating, based on the indication, a portion from the dispensing object to form a remaining portion of the dispensing object and a separated portion of the dispensing object; and dispensing the separated portion of the dispensing object from the dispensing device.