One-Piece Container Gripper With Integrated Spring and Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container grippers are not suitable for securely holding and transporting filled containers with high weight or mass, especially at high speeds, due to centrifugal and centrifugal forces during rotation, and are often mechanically complex and expensive.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece container gripper with flat arms, a resilient spring section, and a locking mechanism made from stainless steel, which provides a resilient clamping force and automatic locking, eliminating the need for additional springs and joints, allowing for secure holding and easy cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional container grippers are used, then the structure is simple, but they cannot securely hold heavy containers at high speeds due to centrifugal forces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single one-piece gripper element made of elastic material. The gripper integrates the clamping arms, spring sections for generating closing force, and blocking sections for locking - all in one monolithic structure without separate joints or components. This merging resolves the contradiction by achieving secure holding through integrated elastic deformation and blocking mechanisms while avoiding complex assemblies of multiple parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes elastic deformation parameters of the material to create a gripper that dynamically adapts its clamping force. The spring sections are designed to deform elastically under centrifugal force, automatically increasing the closing force on containers as rotational speed increases. This parameter change approach allows the gripper to maintain secure holding of heavy containers at high speeds without requiring complex active control mechanisms.
2Reliability
If additional springs and joints are used to improve gripping force, then the gripping reliability improves, but the manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates separate springs and joints by integrating the spring function directly into the monolithic gripper structure. The spring sections are formed as continuous elastic elements within the one-piece construction, requiring only punching and bending operations for manufacturing. This merging dramatically simplifies production while maintaining reliable gripping force through the inherent elastic properties of the material.
Solution Approach 2:
The one-piece gripper design uses simple punching and bending operations on elastic material, creating a cost-effective component that can be manufactured in large quantities. The design accepts that individual grippers may wear or deform over time and can be replaced economically, rather than investing in complex, expensive mechanisms that require precision manufacturing and assembly.
3Reliability
If complex blocking mechanisms are added to prevent container ejection, then the transport reliability improves, but the device complexity and cleaning difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The blocking function is merged into the same one-piece structure that provides clamping. The blocking sections are formed as integral parts of the elastic gripper body, using the same material and manufacturing process. This integration achieves container retention through a unified structure rather than adding separate blocking mechanisms, thereby maintaining simplicity while improving reliability.
4Productivity
If the gripper structure is made more complex to handle high-speed rotation, then the transport capability improves, but the ease of cleaning deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The one-piece construction eliminates joints, gaps, and overlapping parts where contamination could accumulate. The monolithic structure with integrated spring sections and blocking features has no hidden crevices, making it easily accessible for cleaning and sterilization processes. This merging of functions into a single smooth structure simultaneously enables high-speed transport capability while maintaining excellent cleaning accessibility.
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
The solution enables inexpensive production, secure transport of heavy containers, resistance to corrosion, and easy cleaning, while avoiding complex mechanisms and difficult-to-access areas.
Implementation Method 1
mit dem einer Federstelle aufgebogenen Sperrabschnitts, der zwischen einer die Öffnung des Behälteraufnahmeraums blockierenden Stellung und einer die Öffnung des Behälteraufnahmeraums freigebenden Stellung verschiebbar ist
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
Container gripper by means of which containers are retained in suspended fashion at a container region (2.1) beneath a container mouth (2.2), for example bottles at a bottleneck, having two arms or segments (6, 7) which, on a front side (4.1) of the container gripper (4), form a container mount (11) between them and can be moved apart from one another, counter to the action of a closing force, in order for the container mount (11) to be opened, wherein the container gripper (4), for this purpose, is produced with the segments (6, 7), which form the container mount (11), and with a spring portion (8), which acts between said segments (6, 7) and prestresses the segments (6, 7) into the closed position, and wherein the container gripper is produced in one piece with a locking portion (9), which can be moved resiliently between a position in which the container gripper (4) is locked and a position in which the container gripper (4) is not locked.