Lid Guide and Destacking Feed for Precise Capper Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing feed devices for can seamers face issues with reliable lid transport and format changes, leading to potential lid misalignment and increased downtime due to the need for replacing entire stacking screws when adapting to different lid sizes or formats.
Innovation Solution
A feed device with a lid guide that allows only parallel movement of lids, eliminating the need for ramps and ensuring precise alignment, combined with a modular stacking device that separates lids using a separate support element, allowing for quick format adjustments without replacing the entire stacking device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the entire stacking screw is replaced during format changes, then lid separation reliability is maintained, but device complexity and downtime increase
Solution Approach 1:
The stacking screw is divided into modular segments: a reusable main body and interchangeable format-specific components (support elements, separating elements, guide surfaces). This allows format changes without replacing the entire stacking screw, reducing complexity and downtime while maintaining reliability through consistent main body design.
Solution Approach 2:
The stacking device incorporates adjustable and interchangeable components that can be dynamically reconfigured for different lid formats. The support elements and separating elements can be swapped to adapt to various lid sizes and shapes, enabling the same stacking screw to reliably handle multiple formats.
2Ease of operation
If ramps are used in the lid guide, then lid transport is enabled, but lid alignment precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using ramps to guide lids downward, the invention uses parallel guide surfaces that move lids horizontally or along a flat plane. This inversion of the guiding approach eliminates the alignment errors introduced by ramp angles while maintaining effective lid transport through the closing device.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid guide features localized parallel guide surfaces specifically designed to maintain lid orientation and alignment during transport. These guide surfaces provide precise lateral constraints without the distorting effect of ramps, ensuring lids remain properly aligned throughout the closing process.
3Manufacturing precision
If the stacking screw is designed for a specific format, then lid separation precision is improved, but adaptability to different can shapes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The stacking screw main body is designed as a universal platform that can accommodate multiple lid formats through interchangeable support elements and separating elements. This multi-functional design allows a single stacking screw to precisely handle various lid sizes and shapes by simply swapping format-specific components, rather than requiring dedicated stacking screws for each format.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention enables format adaptation by changing physical parameters of the stacking screw components - specifically the dimensions and configurations of support elements and separating elements. These parameter changes allow the same basic stacking mechanism to precisely adapt to different lid formats while maintaining separation precision through proper component selection.
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
Ensures reliable and efficient lid transport, reduces downtime during format changes, and allows for a wider range of can shapes to be processed without lid misalignment, enhancing operational stability and adaptability.
Implementation Method 1
The stacking screw 10' is driven by the drive 40', whereby it performs a rotational movement about the axis Y'. The spiral groove 11' engages with an edge region of an individual lid 101' and is shaped such that it can move an individual lid 101' from the feeder 41' and, by the rotational movement 13' of the destacking screw 10', convey and discharge it downwards
Implementation Method 2
a lid guide (15A, 15B) for guiding the lid (101) along a guide plane (E) to the closer (100)
Implementation Method 3
The lids 101' are conveyed downwards by gravity toward the destacking screw 10'.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a feeding device (1001) for feeding a lid (101) to a capper (1000), comprising a lid guide (15A, 15B) for guiding the lid (101) along a guide plane (E) to the capper (1000), a lid feeder for inserting a lid (101) into the lid guide (15A, 15B), and a movement device (10) arranged on the lid guide (15A, 15B), which is movably arranged such that the lid (101) can be moved along the guide plane (E) by the movement device (10). The lid guide (15A, 15B) is shaped and arranged on the lid feeder such that the lid (101) can be moved in the lid guide (15A, 15B) exclusively parallel to the guide plane (E).