Manual Balancing Weight Dispenser with Fixed Cutter
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated balancing weight dispensing machines are expensive and require significant maintenance, making them unaffordable and impractical for small tire workshops, and they result in substantial waste of balancing weight material due to inefficient cutting and handling processes.
Innovation Solution
A manually operated dispenser that uses a belt of balancing weights attached to a common tape carrier, with a fixed cutter positioned between adjacent weights for precise cutting, allowing for individual mass adaptation with minimal waste and easy operation by untrained personnel, featuring a simple design with few serviceable parts and a backup system for reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated balancing weight dispensing machines are used, then productivity and precision are improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The automated dispensing system is segmented into modular components: a reel holding multiple balancing weights, a simple manual cutter, and a tape carrier. This segmentation allows the complex automated function to be achieved through simple, interchangeable parts that can be manually operated while maintaining high productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The dispenser is designed to be self-servicing through its reel-based mechanism where multiple balancing weights are automatically fed one by one as the reel rotates, eliminating the need for complex automated feeding systems while maintaining continuous operation capability.
2Manufacturing precision
If automated cutting mechanisms are used, then cutting precision is improved, but device complexity and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cutter is designed as a simple, replaceable component with a fixed blade that can be easily replaced when dull or damaged. This disposable-like approach to the cutting tool eliminates complex maintenance mechanisms while maintaining cutting precision through frequent, simple blade replacements.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the cutter complex and precise with automated positioning, the invention inverts the approach by using a simple fixed cutter配合a precisely positioned reel that brings the balancing weight to the cutter at the correct position, achieving precision through the reel positioning rather than the cutter mechanism.
3Ease of operation
If balancing weights are delivered in boxes with segments, then handling and storage are simplified, but material waste increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple balancing weights are merged onto a single tape carrier attached to a reel, creating a continuous supply chain where weights are fed one by one. This merging eliminates the need for separate box packaging while enabling precise dispensing of individual weights, reducing material waste through exact portion control.
Solution Approach 2:
The balancing weights are pre-attached to the tape carrier in the correct sequence and positioning before use, allowing the operator to simply pull and cut the required portion without needing to handle individual weights or perform preliminary assembly, thus simplifying operation while minimizing waste.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a movable cutter is used, then cutting flexibility is improved, but device complexity and safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a movable cutter that requires complex control mechanisms, the invention inverts the approach by using a fixed cutter and achieving flexibility through the movable reel that brings different balancing weights to the stationary cutting point, maintaining safety while preserving adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tape carrier acts as an intermediary between the balancing weights and the fixed cutter, allowing flexible positioning and selection of weights to be cut while keeping the cutter itself stationary and safe, eliminating direct contact between the operator and moving cutting elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A balancing weight dispenser has a balancing weight storage space for storing a belt of balancing weights on a reel, a belt guide, and a cutter at one end of and/or along a length of the belt guide. The cutter comprises a knife, which is fixedly attached to the balancing weight dispenser. For delivery of a required amount of balancing weight mass, the belt of balancing weights is pulled from the reel until the desired number of balancing weights has been obtained. In the next step, the belt of balancing weights is cut, preferably between two adjacent balancing weights, to separate the selected portion of balancing weights from the remaining belt of balancing weights. The remaining belt falls back to the guide and remains in a desired position for receiving the next portion of balancing weights. This manually operated balancing weight dispenser can be provided at significantly lower costs compared to the automated high performance balancing weight dispensers as known from the prior art. It is very robust and has no serviceable parts.