Narrow Roll Handling Carriage Spacing and Stacking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for handling narrow rolls, particularly self-adhesive laminate rolls, face challenges due to their varying widths, diameters, and materials, leading to inefficient storage and transportation, with issues such as damage, sticking, and difficulty in maintaining precise orientation and spacing during handling.
Innovation Solution
A flow-through warehouse system with carriages that move narrow rolls along isles, maintaining a consistent distance between them to prevent sticking and damage, while optimizing storage space and allowing for efficient sorting and stacking, using carriages that can handle multiple rolls simultaneously and avoid rotating them to maintain their axial direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If narrow rolls are stored in racks without maintaining distance between them, then storage space is optimized, but rolls may stick together or get damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary element (spacing device or buffer) between narrow rolls in racks to prevent direct contact. This intermediary maintains the necessary distance to avoid sticking and damage while allowing efficient space utilization. The carriage system also acts as an intermediary during transfer operations, controlling the positioning and spacing of rolls.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the distance parameter between rolls based on their properties (width, diameter, material). By changing the spacing parameter adaptively, the system prevents sticking and damage while optimizing storage density. The carriage system modifies positioning parameters in real-time during handling operations.
2Productivity
If carriages move narrow rolls quickly through the warehouse, then productivity is improved, but precision in maintaining distance and orientation may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual or simple mechanical handling with an automated carriage system that uses controlled movement mechanisms. This substitution enables high-speed operation while maintaining precision through automated control, resolving the contradiction between speed and accuracy in roll positioning and spacing.
Solution Approach 2:
The carriage system incorporates feedback mechanisms to continuously monitor and adjust the position and orientation of narrow rolls during rapid movement. This feedback control ensures that distance and orientation accuracy are maintained even at high speeds, enabling both productivity improvement and precision maintenance.
3Productivity
If multiple carriages are used to handle rolls simultaneously, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the handling system into multiple independent carriage units that can operate in parallel. Each carriage is a standardized module with similar functionality, allowing the system to scale productivity by adding units without proportionally increasing overall complexity. The segmented approach enables modular management and maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The carriage system is designed with universal, multi-functional components that can handle various roll sizes and perform multiple operations (transport, positioning, stacking). This universality reduces the need for specialized equipment for each function, thereby limiting the increase in complexity despite enhanced parallel handling capacity.
4Manufacturing precision
If rolls are handled without rotation to maintain axial direction, then orientation precision is improved, but handling flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The carriage system employs dynamic positioning capabilities that allow controlled rotation only when necessary for loading/unloading, while maintaining fixed axial orientation during transport. This dynamic approach enables the system to adapt to different handling requirements without compromising the precision of axial direction maintenance during critical transport phases.
Data Source
AI summary
An arrangement for handling narrow rolls includes a flow-through warehouse, which includes an inlet end and an outlet end. The narrow rolls are handled such that the narrow rolls are fed into the inlet end in a first direction. The flow-through warehouse further includes at least two rack rows having a second direction transverse to said first direction, at least two isles having the second direction and carriages that move the narrow rolls into a rack and from a rack and also carry them in the second direction. At least one carriage moves along each isle, at least two isles include carriages that are capable of sorting the narrow rolls, and at least one carriage is sorting the narrow rolls for forming a customer stack. The customer stack is formed of several narrow rolls and delivered from the outlet end to be transported to a customer.