Horizontal-Axis Carousel Packaging Machine for Compact Workstation Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional carousel packaging machines with a vertical axis of rotation face challenges such as limited accessibility, complex maintenance, increased footprint, and costly power connections, which hinder flexibility and efficiency in handling various container shapes and sizes.
Innovation Solution
A carousel with a horizontal axis of rotation and synchronized counter-rotating gripping members maintains constant container orientation, allowing easy access, reduced footprint, and simplified maintenance, while eliminating the need for motors and complex connections by using external motors and contactless couplings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the carousel is arranged with a vertical axis of rotation, then the machine can accommodate multiple workstations around the wheel, but the machine extends horizontally with a large footprint and workstations are difficult to access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a vertical-axis carousel (horizontal plane operation) to a horizontal-axis carousel (vertical plane operation). This dimensional change allows the machine to extend vertically rather than horizontally, reducing the machine's footprint while maintaining workstation capacity. The carousel rotates in a vertical plane, enabling workstations to be arranged along the vertical path.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the conventional carousel configuration by rotating the axis from vertical to horizontal. This inversion fundamentally changes the machine's spatial arrangement, allowing workstations to be positioned for optimal accessibility from the front while the carousel operates in a vertical plane, thus reducing the horizontal footprint.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the carousel is arranged with a vertical axis of rotation, then workstations can be positioned around the machine, but accessibility for operators and maintenance is limited
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the carousel axis from vertical to horizontal, the workstations are repositioned in three-dimensional space. This allows all workstations to be accessible from the front of the machine, eliminating the need for operators to access components from the rear or sides, thereby improving ease of operation and maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The inverted carousel configuration repositions workstations so that they face the operator from the front, rather than requiring circumferential access around a vertical axis. This inversion of the conventional arrangement dramatically improves accessibility for both operation and maintenance activities.
3Productivity
If the carousel is arranged with a vertical axis of rotation, then containers can be processed in sequence, but the machine requires considerable horizontal space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent exploits the vertical dimension by arranging the carousel on a horizontal axis, allowing containers to move through workstations in a vertical path. This enables high productivity with multiple workstations while minimizing the horizontal space occupied by the machine, as the container sequence extends vertically rather than horizontally.
4Productivity
If motors are mounted on the rotating carousel to achieve maximum efficiency, then process efficiency is improved, but weight and cost increase and complex power connections are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the motors from the rotating carousel and relocates them to stationary positions. The drive mechanism uses a stationary motor that transfers power to the carousel through a stationary-to-rotating interface, eliminating the need for complex rotating power connections while maintaining process efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a stationary drive mechanism as an intermediary between the power source and the rotating carousel. This intermediary transfers rotational motion and power without requiring direct motor mounting on the rotating component, thereby simplifying power connections while maintaining efficient process control.
Data Source
AI summary
A carousel-type packaging machine comprising a plurality of workstations adapted to carry out a sequence of packaging operations and a rotating carousel arranged to move the containers through said workstations, wherein the carousel is arranged with a horizontal rotation axis and includes counter-rotating gripping members adapted to maintain containers in a constant trim during the rotation of the carousel through the various steps of the packaging process; the gripping members are further equipped with movable grippers controlled by motors associated with the workstations.