Elastic Coupled Transport Device for Pharmaceutical Article Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for transferring pharmaceutical articles from a counting machine to containers moving on a conveyor line face inefficiencies due to unpredictable article supply intervals, leading to productivity issues and potential missed filling opportunities, as well as inadequate dust removal during transfer.
Innovation Solution
A transport device featuring tubular elements with elastic coupling mounted wheels, allowing stable vertical positioning and adaptive movement along curved and straight pathways, ensuring continuous transfer without halting the containers and enhanced dust removal through aspiration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If containers are halted at the outlet of the counting machine for filling, then articles can be inserted in the exact predetermined number, but productivity decreases because the number of containers that can be filled per minute becomes very low
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the filling process into multiple parallel stages by using multiple tubular elements arranged in series. Each tubular element can independently receive articles from the counting machine and transfer them to containers, allowing simultaneous operation of multiple filling units without halting the conveyor line.
Solution Approach 2:
Articles are counted and prepared in advance by the counting machine before being transferred to the tubular elements. The tubular elements are pre-positioned along the conveyor line, ready to receive and transfer articles continuously without requiring container halts.
2Ease of operation
If tubular elements move along a circular pathway, then they can transit below the outlet and above containers, but the trajectory is curved which may affect stability during transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The support arms are designed to be movable and adjustable, allowing the tubular elements to dynamically adapt their position and orientation. This enables the system to maintain vertical stability during transfer while accommodating the circular movement pathway required to transit from below the outlet to above the containers.
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 solution stabilizes the transfer of pharmaceutical articles, maintains productivity by allowing continuous container filling without halting, and improves dust removal efficiency by adapting to pathway changes and maintaining tubular element stability during transfer.
Implementation Method 1
A transport device featuring tubular elements with elastic coupling mounted wheels, allowing stable vertical positioning and adaptive movement along curved and straight pathways
Implementation Method 2
enhanced dust removal through aspiration
Data Source
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AI summary
The transport device (9) comprises: a support element (91) fixable to a container element (TC), and to be constrained to a movement organ for moving the container element (TC); at least a carriage (92), fixed to the support element (91); a pair of internal wheels (94) and a pair of external wheels (95) on the carriage (92) so that between the pair of internal wheels (94) and the pair of external wheels (95) there is space necessary for them to be able to engage with a guide rail and roll slidingly on the guide rail. The pair of internal wheels (94) are rotatably mounted on relative pins (940) which are predisposed on the carriage (92) by means of an elastic coupling and the pair of external wheels (95) are rotatably mounted on relative pins (950) which are predisposed on the carriage (92) by means of an elastic coupling, so that the position of the relative axes can be elastically yielding so that the interaxis between the pins can vary as a consequence of stresses to which the wheels (94, 95) can be subjected during running thereof along the guide rail caused by a change of direction of the guide rail.