Movable Suction Cup Sleeve for Egg Sorting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing egg sorting installations face challenges in reliably extracting non-compliant eggs from a conveyor belt due to non-uniform egg sizes and complex pneumatic control systems, which can lead to health risks and inefficient egg collection.
Innovation Solution
The installation features movable tubular support sleeves for suction cups, allowing selective control of suction cup engagement with eggs, ensuring only necessary cups contact eggs, reducing health risks and simplifying pneumatic management, and enabling adaptation to varying egg sizes through radial movement and actuator control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all suction cups are positioned to contact eggs in the picking position, then egg collection coverage is improved, but health risks increase due to unnecessary contact
Solution Approach 1:
The suction cups are made dynamically controllable through movable support sleeves that can selectively extend toward or retract from the roller periphery. This allows the system to adapt the contact state of each suction cup individually, enabling contact only when egg collection is required while avoiding contact during non-collection periods, thus resolving the contradiction between coverage and health risks
2Device complexity
If fixed suction cups are used on the roller, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to varying egg sizes is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The movable support sleeves enable each suction cup to dynamically adjust its radial position relative to the roller. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the suction cups to adapt to eggs of varying sizes by extending or retracting to achieve optimal contact, while the overall structure remains relatively simple without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms for each cup
3Reliability
If selective valve control is used for each suction cup, then extraction reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the selective control function from the pneumatic system and relocates it to the mechanical positioning system. Instead of using complex valves to control which suction cups are pressurized, the system uses movable support sleeves to selectively position only the required suction cups into contact with eggs. This mechanical selection approach maintains extraction reliability while significantly simplifying the pneumatic control system
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 solution ensures reliable and efficient extraction of non-compliant eggs by minimizing unnecessary contact with suction cups, reducing health risks, and simplifying pneumatic control, while accommodating eggs of different sizes.
Implementation Method 1
a suction cup fixed to a tubular support sleeve mounted on said roller and opening into the interior of said roller, said tubular support sleeve defining an internal conduit provided with a lateral orifice capable of creating communication between said suction cup and a main chamber formed inside said roller maintained under depression relative to the surrounding air
Data Source
Figure 1~7
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
Unit for sorting parts moving along a conveyor belt comprising a transfer device (3) which comprises a roller (31) which is rotatably movable above the belt and a plurality of gripping tools (32) at the periphery of the roller which are each capable of selectively removing a part from the belt when the tools are brought into a removal position, each tool comprising a suction cup (321) attached to a tubular support sleeve (322) which is capable of creating a connection between the suction cup and an internal chamber (312) of the roller, said connection being kept at a negative pressure relative to the surrounding air, all of the suction cups which are brought into the removal position being depressurised, each sleeve being mounted so as to be translatably movable along the axis thereof through a wall (311) of the roller, an actuator (34) being designed to selectively control, in the removal position, the movement of the sleeve so that the suction cup engages with the part to be removed.