Dual-Face Control Cam for Gentle Container Clamping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional clamping devices for holding containers in beverage filling plants experience issues with sudden gripping and releasing due to unilateral pretension, leading to wear and potential damage to containers, and require complex designs with high production costs.
Innovation Solution
A control cam with dual coupling elements, each having a first and second coupling face, provides a permanent guided force for clamping arms, ensuring controlled opening and closing without sudden movements, reducing wear and enhancing container handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If passive clamping devices are used with stiff gripper arms, then the structure is simple, but the container is exposed to high forces on insertion causing scratches and surface damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state and mechanical properties of the clamping arms by introducing form-elastic materials and spring elements, transforming them from stiff, rigid components into flexible, adaptable components that can deform elastically during container insertion while maintaining clamping force
2Object-affected harmful factors
If active clamping devices with multiple components are used, then secure and gentle container holding is achieved, but the device becomes complicated to clean and has high production cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate components (clamping arms, springs, actuators) into an integrated system where the control cam directly actuates the clamping arms through coupling elements, eliminating the need for separate bushes, connecting elements, and pretension devices while maintaining the gentle clamping action
Solution Approach 2:
The control cam serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both the actuating mechanism for opening and closing the clamping arms and as the pretensioning element through its dual coupling faces, replacing multiple specialized components with a single multi-functional element
3Device complexity
If unilateral pretension with single contact face control cam is used, then the control mechanism is simple, but sudden gripping and releasing occurs causing wear and potential container damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces asymmetry in the control cam design by providing different coupling faces (first and second coupling faces) with different orientations and characteristics, allowing the cam to exert controlled forces in both opening and closing directions rather than relying on a single symmetric contact face
4Ease of operation
If control cam with increasing radius contact face is used to open clamping arms, then the opening action is achieved, but the contact face geometry becomes complex and wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control cam into distinct functional zones with different geometric characteristics: a first coupling face region for opening action and a second coupling face region for closing action, each optimized for its specific function rather than using a single continuously varying radius geometry
Data Source
AI summary
A clamping device including a control cam and a control cam for controlling the position of clamping arms which are pivotable relative to one another, each with a holding portion in a clamping device, including a shaft portion for pivotable mounting of the control cam about a control cam pivot axis in a hub portion of a carrier plate of the clamping device, and at least one coupling element for coupling the control cam to a clamping arm of the clamping device, wherein the control cam is pivotable about the control cam pivot axis between a predefined open position and a predefined closed position, and the at least one coupling element is configured in the form of a slotted groove for receiving a control bolt arranged on a clamping arm, or in the form of a control bolt for penetration into a slotted groove arranged on a control arm.