Intermediate Bottom for Roller Cage Parcel Sorting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Direct sorting of parcels into roller cages poses a risk of damage due to falling height, especially with heavy parcels, and existing solutions fail to optimize filling efficiency while minimizing damage effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method and equipment that progressively lower an intermediate bottom within the roller cage, controlled by sensors and programmable logic controllers, using reflex photocells and motorized wrapping rollers to manage parcel placement and reduce kinetic energy, allowing for active control of parcel placement and gentle accumulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If direct sorting into roller cages is used, then productivity and filling efficiency are improved, but parcel damage increases due to falling height
Solution Approach 1:
An intermediate bottom is placed in the roller cage before sorting begins, preparing a cushioning surface that will absorb impact energy when parcels fall from the sorting machine. This preliminary preparation prevents damage without interrupting the sorting process.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate bottom acts as an intermediary element between the falling parcels and the roller cage bottom. It absorbs the kinetic energy of falling parcels through deformation and friction, reducing impact forces while allowing direct sorting to continue.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a temporary bottom is added to reduce falling height, then parcel damage is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate bottom is made from inexpensive, easily replaceable materials such as foam sheets, fabric, or flexible plastic. These materials can be quickly installed and removed without complex mechanisms, reducing device complexity while providing effective cushioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate bottom uses flexible materials like foam, fabric, or thin plastic sheets that can deform under impact forces. These flexible structures provide damage reduction without requiring rigid, complex support mechanisms.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If elastic means are used to support the intermediate bottom, then damage rate is reduced, but filling efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate bottom is designed to be automatically compressed by falling parcels themselves, eliminating the need for external elastic support mechanisms. The parcels' own weight provides the necessary cushioning action, maintaining filling efficiency while reducing damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex elastic support mechanisms from prior art are removed entirely. Instead, the intermediate bottom rests directly on the roller cage bottom or on simple guides, allowing parcels to naturally compress it during the sorting process without additional mechanical complexity.
4Productivity
If the intermediate bottom is lowered progressively, then filling efficiency is optimized, but control system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate bottom is designed to lower automatically as parcels accumulate on it during the sorting process. The weight of the parcels themselves provides the force to progressively push the flexible bottom downward, eliminating the need for active control systems while optimizing filling efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate bottom transitions from a static position to a dynamic, progressively lowering position as sorting continues. This dynamic adaptation to the accumulating parcel load optimizes filling efficiency without requiring complex control mechanisms.
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
This solution reduces parcel damage and optimizes filling efficiency by actively managing the falling height and placement of parcels, ensuring minimal interference with the sorting process and maintaining high throughput.
Implementation Method 1
Information useful for the control system is particularly volume and weight of each sorted item and status of few reflex photocells equipped on the chute of the sorter that guides the sorted package to fall into the roller cage. The reflex photocells are able to detect if, at a certain distance, there is an obstacle, by measuring intensity of the light reflected by the obstacle.
Implementation Method 2
The programmable logic controller (PLC) of the sorter determines the operation of each of the equipment according to the disclosed method. Two or more reflex photocells looking from the chute to the roller cage entry can form a light barrier which informs the control system when the heap of sorted parcel has reached a given threshold.
Data Source
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AI summary
Method and equipment for transfering parcels and packets directly into roller cages reducing damage rate due to falling height. The purpose is achieved by automatically inserting into the roller cage (4) a temporary intermediate bottom (8) that will limit the maximum falling height of parcels. No special predisposition or modifications to the roller cages are necessary. The intermediate bottom can be actively set at one or more levels inside the roller cages and then removed, without causing damages to the packets and parcels accumulated. Operation is controlled by the sorter programmable logic controller, using photocells barrier to monitor the roller cage filling, and optimized taking into account the weight and volume of sorted items (17) already sorted and those that are still on the sorter (1) directed to the roller cage. The intermediate bottom (8) can be part of a belt (7), which contains an opening for letting the parcels fall in the cage. Alternatively, the intermediate bottom (8) can be part of an articulated curtain with a pneumatic cushion.