Guide-Member Feeding Layout for Long-Article Weighing Transfer
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing combination weighing machines face jamming issues when distributing and feeding long articles from a distribution table to a transport feeder due to the articles being transported in a circumferential direction with their longitudinal direction aligned with the circumferential direction of the distribution table.
Innovation Solution
A distributing and feeding apparatus with guide members that redirect the longitudinal direction of articles from the circumferential to the radial direction, using guide members with extending and upright portions to interfere with articles on a distribution table, combined with transport feeders having U-shaped cross-sections and widened side surfaces to align articles correctly for radial transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the distribution table transports articles in the circumferential direction with the longitudinal direction of articles aligned with the circumferential direction, then the articles can be continuously transported, but jamming occurs at the transport feeder discharge point
Solution Approach 1:
The guide members are positioned to preliminarily redirect articles from the circumferential direction to the radial direction before the articles reach the transport feeder discharge point. This preliminary directional change prevents the articles from being discharged parallel to the transport feeder, eliminating the root cause of jamming while maintaining continuous transport capability
Solution Approach 2:
Guide members serve as intermediary elements between the distribution table and transport feeders. These guide members intercept articles in transit and redirect their longitudinal direction from circumferential to radial alignment, mediating the transition between the two transport directions and preventing direct discharge that causes jamming
2Reliability
If guide members redirect articles to radial direction, then jamming is reduced, but the article transport path becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member configuration is segmented into multiple individual guide members distributed around the distribution table periphery. Each guide member independently redirects articles in its local zone from circumferential to radial direction, breaking down the complex redirection task into simpler, distributed units that collectively achieve the overall directional transformation
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of attempting to redirect all articles through a single complex mechanism, the invention inverts the approach by using multiple simple guide members positioned strategically around the distribution table. Each guide member performs a simple local redirection, and the cumulative effect of multiple simple actions achieves the complex overall redirection goal
Data Source
AI summary
A distributing and feeding apparatus includes a distribution table configured to circumferentially distribute a long article and being fed from above, and transport the article in a circumferential direction such that a longitudinal direction of the article is along the circumferential direction of the distribution table at an outer peripheral portion, a plurality of guide members provided around the outer peripheral portion of the distribution table, and a plurality of transport feeders arrayed radially around the distribution table, and configured to transport the article in a radial direction while aligning the article received from the distribution table so as to face the radial direction. The guide member is provided so as to interfere with the article transported at the outer peripheral portion of the distribution table so that the longitudinal direction of the article is directed from the circumferential direction to the radial direction.