Filling Turret Controller Identifies Defective Valves via Conveyance Distance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional filling/sealing devices face challenges in accurately identifying and adjusting defective filling valves without incurring high equipment costs and reducing productivity, as they require multiple detectors and must stop operation to correct failures.
Innovation Solution
The device employs a turret conveyance system with specified pitches from the filler to the inspection device, allowing the controller to identify and correct filling failures without stopping the filler's operation, using a simplified configuration that integrates the filler and sealing devices with forwarding turrets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple detectors are provided in the conveyance path to identify filling failures, then the accuracy of identifying defective valves is improved, but the equipment cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the identification function from multiple detectors and concentrates it into a single detector combined with a controller that uses conveyance distance information. The controller calculates which valve caused the filling failure by determining the conveyance distance from the filler to the inspection device, eliminating the need for multiple detectors along the conveyance path while maintaining accurate identification capability
Solution Approach 2:
The controller acts as an intermediary that processes information from a single detector and combines it with conveyance distance data to identify the defective valve. This intermediary function allows the system to achieve the same identification accuracy as multiple detectors would provide, but with reduced equipment cost by using one detector plus computational logic instead of multiple physical detectors
2Reliability
If the filler operation is stopped to adjust the filling valve, then the filling failure can be corrected, but the productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification of the defective valve using the single detector and controller calculation method, determining which valve is faulty before any correction is needed. This preliminary identification allows the system to prepare for correction without stopping production, as the exact location and cause of the filling failure are already known when the container reaches the adjustment point
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the filling valve during continuous operation rather than requiring a static stoppage. The controller can modify filling parameters in real-time based on the identified defective valve, allowing the filler to maintain continuous operation while correcting filling failures, thus preserving productivity while ensuring reliability
3Device complexity
If a single detector is used with conveyance distance calculation, then the equipment cost is reduced, but the accuracy of identifying defective valves may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from the single detector's signal, combined with conveyance distance information, to accurately identify the defective valve. The controller processes the detector signal in conjunction with known conveyance distances to calculate which specific valve caused the filling failure, providing the same level of identification accuracy as multiple detectors would provide
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of multiple physical detectors with a computational approach using a single detector and controller calculations. By substituting physical detector elements with computational logic that processes conveyance distance data, the system maintains accurate identification capability while reducing equipment cost and complexity
Data Source
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AI summary
A filling device with a filling failure is identified less costly, and the filling amount by the filling device is adjusted quickly. The filling/sealing device includes a filler 2 including a filling turret 20 having a plurality of holding parts 2P and a filling device 21 provided for each of the holding parts 2P to fill a container with a liquid content, forwarding turrets 4A and 4B that hold and turret-convey a container W transported from the filling turret 20, a sealing device 3 that seals the container W transported from the forwarding turrets 4A and 4B with a lid, an inspection device 50 provided in the path, in which the container W is held and turret-conveyed, to inspect a filling amount in the container W, and a controller 6 that identifies a filling device 21 with a filling failure on the basis of an inspection result from the inspection device 50 and controls the filling amount by the filling device 21.