Dual-Gate Fastener Metering for Consistent Single-Part Feed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated feeder mechanisms for delivering fasteners to industrial equipment, such as rail vehicles, suffer from inconsistency in feed rate, leading to inefficiencies in construction operations.
Innovation Solution
A metering system with a frame, first and second gates, and an actuator, where the gates alternate to block and allow fasteners to pass through a chute at controlled intervals, ensuring a consistent feed rate of one fastener at a time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated feeder mechanisms use magnetic conveyor or spring-loaded pads, then fasteners can be conveyed and retained, but the feed rate becomes inconsistent causing delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the fastener feed control into two separate gates (first gate and second gate) that operate independently but cooperatively. Each gate controls a specific aspect of the feed: the first gate controls fastener release from the queue, while the second gate controls fastener discharge to the equipment. This segmentation allows precise control of the feed rate to ensure exactly one fastener is delivered at a time, eliminating the inconsistency problems of magnetic conveyors and spring-loaded pads.
Solution Approach 2:
The first gate acts as an intermediary between the fastener queue and the second gate. It temporarily holds and releases fasteners in a controlled manner, mediating the flow between the storage area and the discharge area. This intermediary mechanism ensures that fasteners are released one at a time to the second gate, which then discharges them to the equipment, thereby maintaining consistent and reliable feed rate.
2Quantity of substance
If known mechanisms feed fasteners using frictional interference, then fasteners can be retained in queue, but they occasionally feed two fasteners at once or feed blanks instead of fasteners
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates a controller that monitors and coordinates the operation of both gates. The controller ensures that the first gate only releases one fastener at a time to the second gate, and the second gate only discharges when a fastener is properly positioned. This feedback control mechanism prevents errors such as feeding two fasteners at once or feeding blanks, ensuring accurate and reliable fastener delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the unreliable friction-based retention mechanism with a positive mechanical blocking system using two gates. Instead of relying on frictional interference that can slip or fail, the gates provide definite mechanical barriers that either completely block or completely allow fastener passage. This substitution eliminates the occasional feeding errors associated with friction-based systems.
3Productivity
If automated feeder mechanisms are designed to supply fasteners one at a time, then controlled feed rate is achieved, but delays occur reducing construction efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The two gates operate in a continuous cyclic sequence: while the first gate is blocking fasteners, the second gate discharges a fastener; then the first gate releases a fastener while the second gate prepares to discharge. This continuous alternating operation ensures that the equipment never waits for fasteners and the queue never overflows, maintaining continuous useful action and eliminating operation delays that reduce construction efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A metering system includes a frame, first and second gates, and an actuator. The frame defines a chute configured to receive a supply of fasteners and maintain the fasteners in a line. The first and second gates are each mounted to the frame and movable to advance into the chute and retract away from the chute. The actuator is mechanically coupled to the first gate and configured to advance and retract the first gate relative to the chute. The second gate is configured to move based on the movement of the first gate so that as the first gate advances into the chute to block movement of the fasteners in the chute the second gate retracts, and as the first gate retracts away from the chute the second gate advances into the chute to block the movement of the fasteners in the chute.