Hopper Guide Surface for Self-Aligning Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Operators face difficulties in determining the positional relationship between the hopper and the supporting body when attaching the hopper, and need to support the relatively heavy hopper during positioning, which complicates the attachment process.
Innovation Solution
The article retaining device features a hopper with an extending portion that aligns with a guide surface on the supporting body, allowing guided movement and engagement, which simplifies the attachment process by supporting the hopper's weight and facilitating easy alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the hopper is made relatively heavy to ensure structural stability, then the stability of the object's composition is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates because operators need to support the heavy hopper during positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The guide surface acts as an intermediary between the hopper and the supporting body. It provides a controlled path that guides the extending portion during attachment, allowing the hopper to be positioned accurately without requiring operators to manually support its full weight throughout the positioning process.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide surface is pre-configured on the supporting body to create a predetermined path. This preliminary structural arrangement enables the hopper to self-align and be guided into the correct position during attachment, eliminating the need for operators to continuously support and adjust the hopper's position.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the hopper is made relatively heavy to ensure structural stability, then the stability of the object's composition is improved, but the productivity deteriorates because the attachment process becomes more time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The guide surface serves as a mediator that accelerates the attachment process by providing automatic alignment. The extending portion is guided along the predetermined path, quickly achieving proper positioning and engagement without requiring time-consuming manual adjustment, thus maintaining high attachment efficiency despite the hopper's weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide surface enables the hopper to self-align and self-position during attachment. The extending portion automatically follows the predetermined path created by the guide surface, allowing the system to perform its own positioning function without requiring continuous operator intervention, thereby improving attachment efficiency.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the hopper is made relatively heavy to ensure structural stability, then the stability of the object's composition is improved, but the device complexity increases because additional positioning mechanisms are required
Solution Approach 1:
The guide surface acts as a simple intermediary structure that provides guidance without requiring complex positioning mechanisms. It is a straightforward structural feature on the supporting body that creates a predetermined path, avoiding the need for additional motors, sensors, or complex adjustment mechanisms while still achieving accurate positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide surface enables the system to self-position the hopper using only the structural geometry of the guide surface and extending portion. This self-guiding mechanism eliminates the need for external positioning devices or complex control systems, maintaining device simplicity while ensuring stable attachment.
Data Source
AI summary
An article retaining device includes a hopper configured to temporarily retain articles and discharge the articles, and a supporting body configured to detachably support the hopper. The hopper has a main body configured to retain the articles, and an extending portion that extends along a width direction of the main body. The supporting body has an engaging portion that engages with the extending portion, and a guide surface configured to guide movement of the extending portion to the engaging portion when the hopper is attached.