Machine foot for container handling machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing machine feet for container treatment machines in hygienically sensitive areas, such as food production and processing, are limited in their adjustment range and suitability for large spindles, and they fail to adequately conceal functional elements and protruding parts, compromising hygiene standards.
Innovation Solution
A height-adjustable machine base with a coaxially arranged, circumferentially extending protective sleeve that covers the support unit, providing a larger adjustment range and protecting the threaded sections and other components from contamination, while allowing for easy inspection and service access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a simple threaded design is used for machine feet, then manufacturing is easier and structure is simpler, but adjustment range is limited and suitability for large spindles is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a telescopic structure where the upper tubular part contains the lower tubular part, allowing one component to be nested within another. This nesting arrangement enables extended adjustment range while maintaining a compact retracted profile, and supports larger spindle dimensions without proportionally increasing overall footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
The machine foot is divided into separate telescopic segments (upper tubular part and lower tubular part) that can move independently relative to each other. This segmentation allows the adjustment mechanism to achieve larger travel distances through coordinated movement of multiple sections, rather than relying on a single threaded interface.
2Ease of operation
If threaded sections are exposed for adjustment functionality, then height adjustment is enabled, but hygiene requirements are compromised due to contamination risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a hygienic cover made of flexible material that can be rotated around the threaded sections. This thin-walled cover encloses the contamination-prone threaded areas while allowing operational access through rotation, effectively isolating the threads from product residues and contaminants during non-adjustment periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The hygienic cover is designed to be dynamically movable (rotatable) rather than fixed, allowing it to transition between covering the threaded sections for hygiene protection and exposing them for adjustment operations. This dynamic behavior enables the system to switch between protected and accessible states as needed.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If threaded sections are concealed to improve hygiene, then contamination is reduced, but adjustment functionality becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The hygienic cover serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a protective enclosure for the threaded sections, provides a rotation mechanism for access, and maintains a smooth cleanable surface. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, keeping the overall structure relatively simple despite the added hygiene protection capability.
4Reliability
If machine feet are designed for hygienic areas with covered threads, then cleanliness is improved, but service access becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The hygienic cover is designed to be dynamically movable (rotatable) rather than fixed, allowing service personnel to easily rotate it away from the threaded sections during adjustment or maintenance operations. This dynamic accessibility maintains hygiene protection during normal operation while enabling quick service access when needed, without requiring disassembly or complex removal procedures.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a machine foot (1) for container handling machines comprising at least one carrier unit (2), which extends along a main axis (HA) and is adaptable in height, and at least one support unit (3) arranged coaxially with the carrier unit (2). The carrier unit (2) comprises at least one carrying spindle (4) connected to a base plate (6) and a load sleeve (5) axially surrounding portions of the carrying spindle (4). The carrying spindle (4) has at least one external thread portion (7) and the load sleeve (5) has at least one corresponding internal thread portion (8), the load sleeve (5) being adjustably connected to the carrying spindle (4). The support unit (3) rests on the load sleeve (5) and a top free end portion (4.1) of the carrying spindle (4) protrudes into an interior space in the support unit (3). Furthermore, the machine foot (1) has a coaxially arranged protective sleeve (10) running around the periphery, the protective sleeve (10) being arranged on the support unit (3) so as to be movable in a vertical direction (Rv), and in at least one vertical end position (P1) the protective sleeve (10) shields at least the carrier unit (2) against the environment.