Foam Container Centering Elements for Robotic Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing tolerances in particle foam containers used for transporting piece goods in the automotive industry lead to imprecise positioning, making it difficult for robots to reliably grip components.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating centering elements made of harder materials like glass fiber-reinforced polyamide, which are manufactured with lower tolerances, to achieve precise alignment and positioning of containers through interlocking mechanisms, ensuring accurate vertical and horizontal placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If containers are manufactured from particle foam as single-piece structures, then manufacturing simplicity and soft inner surface are improved, but positioning precision deteriorates due to accumulated manufacturing tolerances
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into two functional parts: the particle foam container body (for simplicity and soft inner surface) and separate centering elements made of precise material (for positioning accuracy). This segmentation allows each part to be optimized independently - the foam body for ease of manufacture and the centering elements for manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines two different materials with complementary properties: particle foam (soft, easy to manufacture, absorbs shocks) and hard precise material (metal or thermoplastic with low manufacturing tolerances). The centering elements made of hard material are integrated with or attached to the foam container body, creating a composite structure that achieves both ease of manufacture and high positioning precision.
2Manufacturing precision
If manufacturing tolerances are reduced to improve positioning precision, then robotic gripping reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The precision requirement is segmented from the main container body and concentrated into specific centering elements. Only these localized elements require high manufacturing precision and hard material, while the majority of the container body can remain simple foam structures. This reduces overall device complexity compared to manufacturing the entire container with high precision.
Solution Approach 2:
High manufacturing precision and hard material are applied locally only where needed (at the centering elements that interface with robots and other containers), while the rest of the container body maintains simple foam construction. This localized application of precision requirements minimizes the impact on overall device complexity and manufacturing cost.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device (10, 110) for transporting unit loads with several stacked identical containers (20), each having a base body (22) open to a top (24) made of a foam, in particular a particle foam, wherein, with the exception of the uppermost container (20), each container (20) is closed at the top by the next uppermost container (20).It is provided that each container (20) has at least two centering elements (30, 32) made of a material harder than the foam, wherein in all containers (20) at least one second centering element (32) is spatially oriented in the same way with respect to a first centering element (30), and wherein each centering element (30, 32) has a first centering portion (40) projecting from the top (24) of the respective base body (22) and a second centering portion (42) projecting from a bottom (38) of the respective base body (22), which are configured such that the first centering portion (40) of each of the centering elements (30, 32) of each container (20) except the uppermost container (20) and the second centering portion (42) of an identical centering element (30, 32) of the next uppermost container (20) Containers (20) interlock.The device comprises a lid (26) closing the uppermost container (20) and a base (18) identical in construction to the lid (26), on which the lowermost container (20) rests, wherein the lid (26) and the base (18) each have several centering elements (44, 46) corresponding in number and position to the number and position of the centering elements (30, 32) of the containers (20), wherein the centering elements (44, 46) of the lid (26) each rest on one of the centering elements (30, 32) of the uppermost container (20) and wherein each of the centering elements (30, 32) of the lowermost container (20) rests on the centering elements (44, 46) of the base (18).