Filling Plant Control for Energy Reduction During Standstills
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for controlling filling systems in the food or beverage industry result in high energy and consumable consumption during production standstills, such as retooling or cleaning, leading to inefficient operations.
Innovation Solution
A method that detects the operating state of the filling system to determine if energy and consumable consumption can be reduced, and if so, reduces energy consumption or puts consumers into an idle state or lowers their power usage, optimizing energy and consumable usage based on the detected state, allowing for efficient operation during production interruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all consumers are operated and supplied with energy during production standstill to ensure immediate availability, then system readiness is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the operating state of consumers adjustable based on production requirements. During production standstills, consumers are dynamically switched between fully operational, partially operational, and standby states. This allows the system to adapt energy consumption to actual production needs while maintaining the capability for rapid resumption when production restarts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of consumers during production standstills. Instead of maintaining constant full-power operation, the system modifies parameters such as power level, operational intensity, or complete shutdown of non-critical consumers. This parameter adjustment reduces energy consumption during idle periods while preserving the ability to quickly restore full operation when needed.
2Use of energy by moving object
If consumers are switched off during production standstill to reduce energy consumption, then energy efficiency is improved, but system readiness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments consumers into different categories based on their criticality and restart characteristics. Critical consumers that can be quickly restarted are switched off during standstills, while non-critical consumers with long startup times are maintained in a partially operational or standby state. This segmentation allows the system to optimize energy consumption without significantly compromising overall system readiness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by maintaining certain consumers in a partially operational or standby state before production actually needs to restart. This preliminary preparation ensures that when production resumes, the system can quickly return to full operation without requiring complete system startup, thus balancing energy efficiency with system availability.
3Loss of substance
If consumers are put into idle state to reduce consumable consumption, then consumable efficiency is improved, but operational capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by putting consumers into an idle or reduced-power state during production standstills rather than complete shutdown. This partial operation consumes fewer consumables (energy, water, compressed air) than full operation, yet maintains enough operational capability to quickly resume production when needed, avoiding the complete loss of operational capability that would result from total shutdown.
Data Source
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AI summary
The method involves detecting an operating state of a filling plant (100), and determining whether consumption of energy i.e. electric energy, and/or consumption of consumables e.g. cleansing agents, of a consumer e.g. treatment unit, of the filling plant is reducible for a predetermined period for the detected operating state. The energy consumption and/or the consumable consumption of the consumer is reduced based on a measured ambient parameter, after the determination process. The consumer is switched-off in case of production interruption. An independent claim is also included for a filling plant comprising a control element to detect an operating state of the filling plant.