Integrated Conveyor Capper for Pharmacy Bottles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mail order pharmacies face inefficiencies in automating the process of placing standard and safety caps on bottles, often requiring human intervention and leading to errors in cap placement, which can disrupt the high-volume processing of prescriptions.
Innovation Solution
An integrated conveyor system that uses RFID tags, barcode labeling, and sensors to automate the placement of caps, ensuring the correct type of cap is applied to each bottle, with a divert mechanism for incorrect caps, allowing for continuous processing and reduced backlog.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If separate conveyor lines are used for standard caps and safety caps, then human intervention is reduced, but device complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines separate conveyor lines for standard caps and safety caps into a single integrated conveyor line. The system uses a sensor to detect which type of cap each bottle requires and directs the appropriate cap to the bottle, eliminating the need for multiple separate lines while maintaining automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The single conveyor line is designed to handle both standard cap placement and safety cap placement operations. The system uses a processing system that receives signals from sensors and controls cap dispensing devices to provide universal functionality for different cap types on one line.
2Manufacturing precision
If manual inspection of cap placement is performed, then cap accuracy is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs sensors and processing systems that automatically detect and verify cap placement accuracy without human intervention. The sensor detects whether the correct cap type is on each bottle, and the processing system automatically identifies and diverts bottles with incorrect caps, enabling self-inspection and self-correction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to provide real-time feedback on cap placement accuracy. The processing system receives signals from sensors detecting cap presence and type, processes this information, and automatically diverts bottles with incorrect caps, creating a closed-loop feedback system that ensures accuracy while maintaining high speed.
3Manufacturing precision
If bottles with incorrect caps are removed from the conveyor line, then product quality is improved, but processing time increases due to backlog
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs cap verification early in the process using sensors positioned along the conveyor line. Bottles with incorrect caps are identified and diverted promptly after cap application, preventing backlog accumulation and allowing continuous processing of correctly capped bottles.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts or diverts only the specific bottles with incorrect caps from the main conveyor line, leaving the continuous flow of correctly capped bottles undisturbed. This selective removal minimizes disruption to overall processing while ensuring quality control.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system increases efficiency by enabling one conveyor line for both standard and safety caps, minimizing errors and human intervention, ensuring correct cap placement while maintaining high throughput.
Implementation Method 1
a first RFID reader for reading the RFID tag of containers on the conveyor line as they pass near the location of the second device
Implementation Method 2
a first sensor for sensing if the bottles passing the first sensor have a safety cap
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated conveyor line system for placing safety and non-safety caps onto bottles traveling on the same conveyor line. A network of sensors and RFID readers determine the location of bottles and ensure that the right cap is placed on each bottle. The processing system controlling the hardware components instructs the appropriate components to divert bottles to a reject holding queue when the system detects a bottle having the wrong type of cap.