Modular Hopper Carrier Cross for Bulk Material Dosing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for dosing bulk materials, such as plastic granulate, face complexities in lifting cover plates, leading to increased effort and downtime during cleaning, and inefficiencies in feeding and weighing processes.
Innovation Solution
A device with a carrier cross of angled plates, where the material hopper cover extends over individual hoppers, featuring a dip tube for easy bulk material feeding and a modular design allowing simple lifting of hoppers for efficient cleaning, eliminating the need for complex lifting mechanisms and enabling parallel filling and quick batch composition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a complex lifting mechanism with piston-cylinder systems and guides is used for the cover plate, then the cover plate can be lifted and lowered, but the device complexity and cleaning time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cover plate is completely removed from the device structure, eliminating the need for any lifting mechanism. The material hopper is opened from the top by simply removing the cover plate, which can be placed aside or on the material supply line, converting a complex mechanical lifting problem into a simple removal action.
Solution Approach 2:
The material hopper is divided into separable components: the hopper body and the cover plate. This segmentation allows the cover plate to be independently removed without requiring mechanical lifting systems, simplifying the overall structure while maintaining functionality.
2Ease of manufacture
If the material hopper is cleaned by lifting the cover plate with complex mechanisms, then cleaning can be performed, but the cleaning time and system downtime increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cover plate is extracted as a separate removable component, allowing rapid removal and access to the material hopper interior for cleaning. This eliminates the time-consuming operation of operating complex lifting mechanisms and enables quick cleaning interventions.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning process is accelerated by skipping the intermediate steps of mechanical lifting and positioning. The cover plate is simply removed and set aside, allowing immediate access to the hopper interior for cleaning, thus rushing through the cleaning operation with minimal downtime.
3Productivity
If parallel filling from multiple material hoppers is used, then throughput for disproportionate granulate types increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The material supply system is segmented into multiple independent hoppers (at least two), each capable of being filled and operated independently. This segmentation enables parallel filling operations where different granulate types can be supplied simultaneously from different hoppers, increasing throughput without requiring complex integrated filling mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Each material hopper is designed as a universal component that can handle different types of granulate material. The hoppers are equipped with standardized features (such as vibration motors for discharge control) that allow them to perform multiple functions and work together in parallel, achieving high productivity through simple modular architecture rather than complex specialized 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 design simplifies the feeding process, reduces cleaning time, and minimizes system downtime, enhancing throughput and economic efficiency by allowing easy access and cleaning of individual hoppers, while ensuring precise dosing and mixing of plastic granules according to recipes.
Implementation Method 1
a weighing container with scales is provided in a dosing base unit
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
A device for dosing bulk material, in particular plastic granules, for machines that process plastic granules, in particular for injection moulding machines. The invention provides a bulk material feed (1), a material hopper (3) formed by multiple, preferably four, individually removable material hopper containers (2) and arranged under the bulk material feed (1) and ending in a dosing base device (4), and, optionally, a weighing container with a scale in the dosing base device (4). The individual material hopper containers (2) are arranged on a support spider (5) and the support spider (5) is formed by support spider plates (11) arranged vertically and perpendicular to one another. The support spider is mounted on the housing of the dosing base device (4). The support spider (5) has a height (h), which is at least the height (h1) of the material hopper container (2), which extends over the dosing base device (4), and corresponds to the immersion depth (h2) of the material hopper (3) into the dosing base device (4). A material hopper cover (6) is provided on the end of the support spider (5) facing away from the dosing base device (4).