Food Flipping Station for High-Speed Packaging Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food packaging systems rely on human operators to manually orient and align food items, leading to inefficiencies, errors, and increased labor costs due to the need for speed control, which can result in conveyor backups and incorrect packaging.
Innovation Solution
A delivery system with a balancer station, grouper station, and automated camera-based orientation system that uses a controller and processor to ensure accurate and efficient alignment and orientation of food items, including a flipping station to correct upside-down items.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If human operators manually orient and align food items on the conveyor, then the food items can be correctly positioned and oriented, but the labor cost increases and the process efficiency decreases due to the need for speed control to prevent conveyor backups
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical operation of human operators with an automated optical-mechanical system. Cameras capture images of food items on the conveyor, processors analyze the images to determine orientation and position, and actuators automatically adjust the food items. This substitution eliminates the need for human labor while maintaining or improving positioning accuracy and allowing the conveyor to operate at optimal speeds without manual intervention delays
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables the food packaging line to self-correct orientation and positioning issues automatically. The camera-based detection system identifies misplaced or misoriented food items, and the control system automatically activates actuators to correct these issues without human intervention. This self-service capability allows continuous operation at high throughput while maintaining product quality standards
2Productivity
If the conveyor speed is increased to improve throughput, then the packaging productivity increases, but the ability of human operators to manually correct orientation and positioning errors decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical correction with automated image processing and actuation. Cameras continuously capture images of food items on the conveyor, processors rapidly analyze the images to detect orientation and positioning errors, and actuators automatically correct these errors. This automated system operates at speeds matching the conveyor throughput, maintaining precision without the speed limitations of manual intervention
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a closed-loop feedback control mechanism where cameras continuously monitor food item orientation and position, the processor compares actual positions against target positions, and actuators make real-time corrections. This feedback loop operates at high speeds synchronized with conveyor movement, ensuring that orientation and positioning accuracy is maintained even at increased throughput levels
3Stability of the object's composition
If human operators manually balance the flow of food items across product lanes, then the even distribution is achieved, but the complexity of the operation increases and errors may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual flow balancing operations with an automated optical-detection and actuation system. Cameras monitor the distribution of food items across multiple product lanes, processors analyze the spatial distribution patterns, and actuators automatically redirect items to achieve even balancing. This automated system eliminates the complexity of manual coordination while providing consistent, error-free distribution control
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses optical copies (camera images) of the food item distribution to create a digital representation of the physical state. The processor analyzes this copy to determine balancing needs and generates control signals accordingly. This copying approach allows complex multi-lane distribution control to be managed through simple image analysis algorithms, greatly simplifying the operational complexity while achieving precise balancing
4Reliability
If human operators inspect food items for completeness and damage, then the quality control is maintained, but the time required for inspection increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection with automated optical inspection using cameras and image processing. Cameras capture high-resolution images of food items, processors analyze these images to detect completeness, damage, and orientation issues, and the system automatically flags or removes defective items. This automated inspection occurs at conveyor speeds that maintain or exceed manual inspection throughput, eliminating time loss while improving quality control consistency
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection system operates continuously without interrupting conveyor flow. Cameras continuously capture images, processors continuously analyze them in real-time, and defective items are automatically removed or flagged for removal. This continuous inspection process eliminates the stop-start nature of manual inspection, maintaining continuous production flow while ensuring thorough quality control of every food item
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A flipping station including a moving surface upon which an upside-down food item is placed and a ramp spaced from the moving surface so that a gap is defined between the moving surface and the ramp. The moving surface is moving at a sufficient speed so that the upside-down food item has sufficient momentum to travel past the gap and land on the ramp. A contact surface that is positioned past the gap at a contact position and is positioned above the ramp so that the upside-down food item is deflected backwards by the contact surface into the gap and the upside-down food item rotates 180° so as to land right-side up on a landing surface located below the ramp.