Gripper Slide Traversing System for Compact Slicing Machines
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing slicing machines face challenges in independent control of individual grippers and have a high overall height, complicating transport and usage in confined spaces due to the design of the gripper slide and sliding shaft system.
Innovation Solution
The gripper slide is attached to an intermediate traversing element that moves at a higher speed and shorter distance, using a traction element unit or multi-stage traversing system, allowing for independent gripper control and reducing the machine's height by encapsulating energy transmission along shorter lengths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the gripper slide is moved along a long gripper guide with a fixed slide drive at the rear end, then the drive force can be transmitted to the gripper slide, but the individual gripper drives for actuating the grippers are transmitted via the sliding shaft from a fixed position, which makes it very difficult to control the individual grippers independently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the gripper system into independent modules by equipping each gripper with its own motor drive unit. This segmentation allows each gripper to be controlled independently without relying on a common sliding shaft mechanism, thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical sliding shaft transmission system with individual motor drives for each gripper. This substitution eliminates the complex mechanical coupling that made independent control difficult, while simplifying the overall system architecture.
2Force
If the slide drive is arranged in a fixed position at the rear end of the slide guide and the inclined backward and upward guide of the slide are used, then the drive force can be transmitted to the gripper slide, but this results in a large overall height of the machine which complicates transport and limits its use in low halls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the gripper guide and slide drive movable rather than fixed, allowing the system to adapt its configuration. The movable gripper guide can be adjusted to different positions and angles, enabling effective drive force transmission while reducing the overall machine height for compact installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent reconfigures the drive system to operate in a more horizontal orientation rather than the traditional inclined upward configuration. By changing the spatial arrangement from a steep incline to a flatter configuration, the machine achieves effective force transmission with reduced vertical height.
Data Source
AI summary
As a fast and compact slide drive for a gripper slide, a traversing unit such as a traversing traction element unit is provided.