Pharmaceutical Package Sorting via Belt Conveyor and Pusher
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic sorting systems for pharmaceutical products are mechanically complex and costly, with high installation and maintenance requirements, making them unreliable for efficient sorting and stock management in pharmacies.
Innovation Solution
A mechanically simple apparatus using a combination of belt conveyors, photoelectric cells, and a pusher unit with a pneumatic actuator to orient and identify packages, allowing precise handling and sorting with low costs, utilizing barcode reading and sonar for accurate positioning and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If mechanically complex handling robots and video cameras are used to grasp and identify pharmaceutical products, then automation and identification capability are improved, but device complexity and installation/maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical handling robots with a combination of belt conveyors and a simple pusher mechanism. Packages are transported automatically via conveyors and oriented using a pusher that applies force to adjust package position, eliminating the need for complex robotic grasping and manipulation systems while maintaining automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses optical scanning (video cameras or scanners) to create a digital representation of the package barcode, which is then processed by a computer to determine sorting destination. This copying approach allows identification without physical manipulation, reducing mechanical complexity.
2Extent of automation
If mechanically complex handling robots are used for sorting, then automatic sorting capability is improved, but installation and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive robotic systems with simpler, more maintainable components: belt conveyors for transport, a pusher mechanism for orientation, and optical scanners for identification. These components are commercially available, easier to install, and require less specialized maintenance than custom robotic systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The belt conveyors serve multiple functions: transporting packages, positioning them for scanning, and delivering them to sorting destinations. The pusher mechanism both orients packages and guides them to the correct output, reducing the number of specialized components needed.
3Measurement precision
If packages are handled by complex robots, then sorting accuracy is improved, but reliability decreases due to mechanical complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical handling with automated conveyor systems that provide consistent, repeatable package positioning. The optical scanning system provides reliable identification without the variability introduced by mechanical grasping and manipulation, improving both accuracy and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the package's own barcode to determine its destination, eliminating the need for external intervention or complex decision-making algorithms. The conveyor system automatically positions and transports each package based on its identified destination, reducing points of failure.
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
Enables reliable, efficient sorting and storage of pharmaceutical products with low installation and maintenance costs, ensuring accurate identification and orientation for optimal warehouse management.
Implementation Method 1
When a package comes near to the edge 11a, the photocell 12 detects it and emits an electrical signal
Implementation Method 2
each of which is labelled and carries a bar-code that, as it is known, provides information which can be read by optical devices relative to the drug
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
For automatically sorting out packaged pharmaceutical products, the apparatus comprises several belt conveyors for taking pharmaceutical packages from an inlet receptacle where different kinds of packages are put randomly and transferring the packages along a given path to a final output station where the packages are to be individually positioned and oriented in a predetermined manner, after having identified the pharmaceuticals through barcodes readers. In a package orientation station a horizontal belt conveyor (17) is associated with a fixed, rectilinear abutment surface (18) which extends perpendicularly with respect to the movement of the belt (17). Due to the movement of the belt (17) one face of each package (P) abuts against the fixed surface (18), thus orienting the package.