Flipper Arm Mechanism for Non-Round Container Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rotary container inspection machines face challenges in orienting non-round containers, particularly flask-shaped containers, at the outfeed station to ensure proper alignment and orientation for efficient handling and inspection.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus comprising a flipper arm with a cam surface and spring biasing, which engages and rotates non-round containers to orient their long width dimension radially with respect to the conveyor axis, utilizing a flexible resilient flap and a pivotally mounted flipper arm with a concave cam surface and abutment surface to stabilize the containers at the desired orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If flexible resilient fingers are used to position containers, then container orientation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flipper arm is divided into functionally distinct segments: a cam surface portion that engages the container to initiate rotation, and an edge portion that completes the orienting action. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function efficiently, improving container orientation while keeping the overall device simple with only one moving component per container position.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using multiple fingers to push containers into orientation from various directions, the invention uses a single flipper arm that rotates containers by engaging their undersides and flipping them into the correct orientation. This inverted approach simplifies the device structure while maintaining effective orientation control.
2Device complexity
If a single flipper arm is used to orient containers, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability of orientation may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The flipper arm is designed to dynamically adapt to containers of varying sizes through spring biasing that allows the arm to flex and adjust its engagement point on the container. The cam surface geometry also dynamically guides the rotation process, ensuring reliable orientation regardless of container dimensions within the designed range.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring biasing force and cam surface geometry are designed to accommodate parameter variations in container size and shape. By changing the physical parameters of the flipper arm system (spring constant, cam profile), the device maintains reliable orientation across different container types without requiring multiple specialized components.
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
Effectively orients flask-shaped containers at the outfeed station, ensuring they are aligned with the conveyor axis for proper deposition and transport, addressing the inefficiencies in existing technologies that fail to consistently orient non-round containers.
Implementation Method 1
a spring biasing the flipper arm toward the conveyor
Implementation Method 2
The flipper arm has a cam surface disposed to be engaged by a container carried by the conveyor as the container approaches the outfeed station of the conveyor to cam the flipper arm outwardly with respect to the conveyor
Implementation Method 3
The flipper arm has an edge adjacent to the cam surface for engaging and rotating the container as the container moves out of engagement with the cam surface and the flipper arm moves inwardly under force of the spring
Data Source
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AI summary
Apparatus for controlling orientation of non-round containers (30) at an outfeed station (34) of a container inspection machine (20) having a rotary conveyor (22) with pockets (28) in which the containers are individually disposed includes a flipper arm(50) disposed adjacent to the conveyor and a spring (64) biasing the flipper arm toward the conveyor. The flipper arm has a cam surface (52) disposed to be engaged by a container carried by the conveyor as the container approaches the outfeed station of the conveyor to cam the flipper arm outwardly with respect to the conveyor and against the force of the spring. The flipper arm has an edge (76) adjacent to the cam surface for engaging and rotating the container as the container moves out of engagement with the cam surface and the flipper arm moves inwardly under force of the spring. The flipper arm preferably is mounted to pivot around an axis, and the spring preferably biases the flipper arm around the axis toward the conveyor. The cam surface preferably is concave, and the edge of the flipper arm preferably is at an edge of the cam surface remote from the pivot axis of the flipper arm. The flipper arm preferably also includes an abutment surface (78) extending from the edge of the flipper arm to stabilize the container at the orientation to which the flipper arm rotates the container.