End-Face Inspection Triggering for High-Speed Smoking Rod Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
The overspeed of products during transfer between conveyors in the manufacturing process leads to product breakage, slipping, and inaccurate optical inspection due to positional deviations, resulting in blurred images and unreliable quality assurance.
Innovation Solution
A position sensor triggers the camera to capture images when the product is in a defined position, adjusting the camera's distance and focal plane to ensure sharp imaging, independent of product length or format changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the longitudinal conveyor operates at overspeed to prevent product accumulation, then productivity is improved, but product breakage increases due to axial and radial forces
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the trigger timing based on measured product position and conveyor speed parameters. By calculating the optimal trigger moment considering the elliptical path and overspeed variations, the inspection occurs at the precise moment when products are in the correct position, eliminating the need to reduce conveyor speed and avoiding product breakage while maintaining high productivity
2Productivity
If the longitudinal conveyor operates at overspeed, then productivity is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to positional deviations
Solution Approach 1:
A position sensor continuously monitors the actual position of products on the conveyor and feeds this information back to the control system. The control system uses this feedback to calculate the optimal trigger moment for the camera, compensating for positional deviations caused by overspeed and ensuring precise inspection despite high-speed operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static inspection timing to dynamic trigger timing. The trigger moment is continuously adjusted based on real-time product position measurements and conveyor speed variations, allowing the system to maintain measurement precision while operating at high speeds with overspeed conditions
3Measurement precision
If manual adjustment of camera distance is performed for different product formats, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and operation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically determines the optimal trigger moment and camera settings based on real-time product position measurements and format detection. The control system self-adjusts without requiring manual intervention, eliminating the need for complex manual adjustment mechanisms and reducing operational complexity while maintaining measurement precision across different product formats
4Productivity
If the camera captures images at high conveyor speed, then productivity is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to motion blur
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary measurement of product position using a position sensor before triggering the camera. This preliminary action allows the control system to calculate and prepare the optimal trigger moment in advance, ensuring the camera captures the image at the precise moment when products are in the correct position, thereby maintaining image sharpness while operating at high conveyor speeds
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a device (10) for inspecting an end face (51) of a rod-shaped smoking article (5), wherein the smoking articles (5) can be fed onto a guide device (4) in a longitudinally axial arrangement and can be conveyed transversely axially from the longitudinally axial guide device (4) via a transverse conveyor (2), comprising a camera (20) which is configured to capture images of the end face (51) located in a capture position (III), and an electronic signal processing device (24) for evaluating the images captured by the camera (20). A position sensor (13) directed towards a measurement position (II) is provided, which generates a signal when the smoking articles (5) are conveyed through the measurement position (II) and transmits it to the camera (20), and the camera (20) can be triggered and/or moved into a trigger position depending on the signal from the position sensor (13).