Portion-wise Filling of Reservoir with Bulk Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for supplying electronic components to automated assembly processes are inefficient, as they require complex and costly component belt packaging, and existing vibration transporters face challenges in reliable refilling and contamination prevention when transferring bulk components from storage magazines to component supply devices.
Innovation Solution
A magazine with a receiving structure featuring multiple closable cavities and a cover structure that can be displaced to open cavities automatically, combined with a closure foil for controlled emptying, and a device for transferring components into a reservoir using gravity, ensuring accurate and contamination-free filling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If component belts are used to supply electronic components, then reliable component supply is ensured, but packing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential function of component supply from the complex belt structure and implements it through a simple gravity-fed magazine system. The magazine directly holds and feeds components without requiring belts, pockets, or complex packaging structures, thereby eliminating packing complexity while maintaining supply reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The magazine system uses simple, inexpensive components that can be easily replaced. Rather than investing in complex, expensive belt systems, the invention employs a disposable-like magazine that can be quickly changed when empty, reducing both cost and complexity while ensuring continuous reliable supply.
2Reliability
If component belts are used to supply electronic components, then reliable component supply is ensured, but waste material increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the belt component entirely from the system, extracting only the essential function of component transport and feeding. This eliminates the belt material that would otherwise become waste after component removal, while maintaining reliable component supply through the gravity-fed magazine system.
Solution Approach 2:
The magazine system is designed to be emptied completely and replaced, eliminating the gradual degradation and waste accumulation associated with belt systems. The entire magazine can be discarded or reused without generating intermediate waste materials, as components are transferred directly from the magazine to the assembly station.
3Ease of operation
If vibration transporters are used to transfer bulk components, then component individualization is achieved, but refilling reliability and contamination prevention are challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The magazine is divided into multiple separate compartments or sections, each capable of holding bulk components. This segmentation allows for controlled transfer of components from each section to the vibration transporter, enabling reliable refilling by managing smaller portions at a time and preventing contamination between different component batches.
Solution Approach 2:
The magazine serves as an intermediary storage device between bulk component storage and the vibration transporter. It provides a controlled interface for component transfer, allowing reliable refilling by mediating between the bulk storage and the individualization process, while preventing contamination through controlled access and transfer mechanisms.
4Ease of operation
If vibration transporters are used to transfer bulk components, then component individualization is achieved, but component loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the magazine into controlled sections and using a controlled transfer mechanism to the vibration transporter, components are handled in a more precise manner. This reduces random spilling and loss during the transfer process while maintaining the individualization function of the vibration transporter.
Solution Approach 2:
The magazine acts as an intermediary that provides controlled access to components for the vibration transporter. This mediation allows for precise portioning and transfer of components, reducing loss by ensuring that only the required amount is transferred at each cycle and by providing a controlled interface that prevents spilling and misplacement.
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 simple, reliable, and efficient refilling of bulk components into component supply devices, reducing waste and contamination risks while ensuring accurate component transfer and storage.
Implementation Method 1
The closure foil (225) is pulled away from the receiving cavities (112) in a soft, even and/or controlled manner
Implementation Method 2
transferred in a simple and effective manner into a container or reservoir (490) for a component supply device or into a filling funnel (493) of such reservoir under gravity
Data Source
AI summary
A magazine (200) is described for portion-wise receiving individualized bulk electronic components (298). The magazine (200) comprises (a) a receiving structure (110) which comprises multiple closable receiving cavities (112, 112a), which are arranged along a longitudinal axis (100a) of the receiving structure (110); (b) a cover structure (120) which is arranged at an upper side of the receiving structure (110), displaceable along the longitudinal axis (100a), so that in a closed position of the cover structure (120) all receiving cavities (112, 112a) are covered and in one opening position of multiple opening positions at least one receiving cavity (112) is free; and (c) a closure foil (225) which encompasses the cover structure (120) along the longitudinal axis (100a) in the form of a closed tape, wherein at least a part of the closure foil (225) is releasably connected to the receiving structure (110). Further, a device (430) is described for portion-wise transferring components (298) from one such magazine (200) into a reservoir (490) for a component supply device. Further, a method is described for portion-wise transferring components from one such magazine (200) into the one such reservoir (490).