Elastic Sleeve Bottle Gripper for Reduced Cap Height Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bottle grippers face challenges in securely gripping and handling modern PET bottles with reduced screw cap height and varying neck shapes, leading to instability and increased stress during high-speed handling and acceleration, especially with larger and heavier bottles.
Innovation Solution
A bottle gripper design featuring a cylindrical housing with an elastic sleeve and an insert comprising axially flexible fingers, allowing for a rigid and precise contact with the bottle head, which can be deformed radially using pressure fluid to provide a stable and secure grip, capable of handling bottles with varying dimensions and shapes without the need for multiple gripper designs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an elastic sleeve is used to grip the bottle head, then the gripper can adapt to varying bottle dimensions and shapes, but the contact surface wears quickly and bottles may come loose during high-speed handling
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic sleeve is segmented into multiple radial sections that can independently deform and conform to the bottle head surface. This segmentation allows the sleeve to adapt to various bottle shapes while distributing the gripping force across multiple contact points, preventing slippage during high-speed handling.
Solution Approach 2:
Different radial sections of the elastic sleeve have different local properties - some sections are designed with higher elasticity to conform to curved surfaces, while others have higher friction coefficients to prevent slippage. This local differentiation enables the sleeve to simultaneously adapt to varying bottle shapes and maintain secure grip.
2Loss of substance
If the screw cap height is reduced to save material, then manufacturing cost decreases, but the gripper cannot securely grip the bottle head
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic sleeve acts as a flexible shell that can deform to envelop and secure the reduced-height screw cap. The flexibility allows the sleeve to conform to the smaller gripping surface area provided by the reduced cap height, maintaining secure grip despite the reduced material usage in the cap itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic sleeve's parameters (elasticity modulus, thickness, friction coefficient) are optimized to compensate for the reduced screw cap height. By adjusting these parameters, the sleeve generates sufficient normal force and friction to securely grip the smaller gripping surface area.
3Productivity
If high-speed handling and high acceleration are used to increase productivity, then production rate increases, but torque moments and stresses on the gripper increase
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic sleeve is pre-loaded with a certain degree of compression before gripping the bottle. This preliminary action creates an initial normal force that generates sufficient friction to prevent slippage during high-speed handling and high-acceleration phases, reducing the torque moment stress on the contact surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic sleeve has a curved, spheroidal contact surface that matches the curvature of the bottle head and screw cap. This curvature distribution allows for more uniform stress distribution during high-speed handling, reducing peak stresses and torque moments on localized contact points.
4Manufacturing precision
If a rigid contact surface is used for precise gripping, then positioning precision improves, but the gripper cannot adapt to varying bottle neck shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic sleeve transitions from a rigid state during positioning (maintaining precision) to a deformable state during gripping (providing adaptability). The dynamic adjustment of the sleeve's elasticity allows it to maintain precise positioning while conforming to varying bottle neck shapes during the gripping phase.
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
The solution ensures a firm and reliable grip on bottles of varying sizes and shapes, reducing wear on contact surfaces, minimizing the risk of bottles coming loose, and allowing for efficient handling of heavy and tall bottles at high speeds, while requiring minimal modifications to existing gripper holders.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic sleeve, which is arranged in the housing and adapted to be deformed radially inwards when a pressure fluid is introduced into a space between the housing and the sleeve
Implementation Method 2
when a pressure fluid is introduced into a space between the housing and the sleeve
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3
AI summary
A bottle gripper comprising a substantially cylindrical housing (10) and an elastic sleeve (20), which is arranged in the housing and adapted to be deformed radially inwards when introducing a pressure fluid into a space between the housing and the sleeve. An insert (30, 330, 430) is insertable in the housing (10) and the sleeve (20). The insert comprises an annular base portion (31) and a number of fingers (32) which extend axially from the base portion and are radially flexible.