Movable Bulkhead for Container Processing System Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container treatment systems face challenges in effectively isolating individual stations to prevent contamination during cleaning, requiring complex and time-consuming adjustments of transfer wheels and suction devices to avoid corrosion damage from aggressive cleaning agents.
Innovation Solution
A container treatment system with at least two conveyor devices in adjacent areas, where one is controllable and the other is non-controllable, using a movable bulkhead element to separate the areas, allowing for simplified maintenance and cleaning without shifting the transfer wheels, and eliminating the need for complex adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If transfer wheels are shifted to avoid collision with bulkheads during cleaning, then contamination is prevented, but device complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of moving the transfer wheels to avoid the bulkhead, the bulkhead is moved to avoid the transfer wheels. The bulkhead is designed to be displaceable in the transport direction, allowing it to be positioned out of the way during cleaning operations while maintaining the separation function during normal operation. This inverts the conventional approach of moving the transfer mechanism rather than the partition element.
Solution Approach 2:
The bulkhead is designed with dynamic positioning capability, allowing it to be displaced in the transport direction between different positions. During cleaning operations, the bulkhead can be moved to a position that does not interfere with the transfer wheels, and during normal operation, it returns to its separating position. This dynamic characteristic eliminates the need for complex transfer wheel adjustments.
2Reliability
If suction devices are installed to prevent corrosion from cleaning agents, then component protection is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into separable zones using the displaceable bulkhead, which creates distinct areas that can be independently cleaned. This segmentation allows cleaning agents to be contained within specific zones rather than spreading to all components, reducing the need for complex suction devices to capture and remove aggressive cleaning agents from the entire system.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If individual stations are shielded from one another during cleaning, then contamination is prevented, but changeover time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bulkhead's ability to be displaced in the transport direction enables rapid reconfiguration of the cleaning zones. During cleaning operations, the bulkhead can be quickly moved to allow access to different stations without requiring complex mechanical adjustments of transfer wheels. This dynamic positioning minimizes the time required to switch between cleaning different stations while maintaining effective separation and contamination prevention.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C~2D
AI summary
The invention relates to a container-processing system (10) having at least two conveying devices (30) circulating in respective different but adjacent system regions (16, 18, 20), wherein the conveying devices (30) each have a plurality of container grippers (54) and, in pairs, define respective transfer regions (40, 42), each transfer region being jointly touched by the two adjacent conveying devices (30). The at least two adjacent system regions (16, 18, 20) are delimited by respective machine protection means (44) and can be accessed separately from each other. The at least two system regions (16, 18, 20) can be at least partially separated from each other by means of a movable, single- or multi-part partition element (12, 14), which can be inserted into or removed from a transport and/or transfer path of containers between the at least two conveying devices (30). The partition element (12, 14) follows a direction of motion oriented substantially perpendicular to the transport plane (56) or transport direction direction of the containers when the partition element separates the at least two conveying devices (30) located in the respective system regions (16, 18, 20) from each other or when the partition element unblocks the transport and/or transfer path between the conveying devices (30). The invention further relates to method for producing two separated regions in a container-processing system (10) having at least two conveying devices (30) circulating in respective different but adjacent system regions (16, 18, 20).