Pressure-Bar Slat Alignment in Magazines Without Manual Stops
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for stacking elongated objects like lumber or battens often result in misalignment due to vibrations and inaccuracies during feeding and unloading, requiring manual operator intervention to align ends on the same plane.
Innovation Solution
A device with adjustable pressure bars on a slide, actuated by a linear motor, aligns elongated objects by moving them against a stop surface, ensuring ends are aligned without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual operator intervention is used to align elongated objects in the magazine, then alignment precision is improved, but productivity is reduced due to shutdowns and manual operation time
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables automatic alignment of elongated objects in the magazine without requiring operator intervention. The pressure bars automatically push objects against the stop surface to align their ends, eliminating manual adjustment operations and maintaining continuous system operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical alignment operation is replaced by an automated device consisting of pressure bars mounted on a movable carriage. The carriage is actuated by a linear motor to automatically position pressure bars that push objects into alignment against the stop surface.
2Manufacturing precision
If the system is shut down for manual alignment, then alignment precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment device operates continuously without requiring system shutdowns. The carriage can be actuated at any time to align objects in the magazine, maintaining continuous productive action while ensuring proper alignment when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The device performs alignment automatically without operator intervention, eliminating the time loss associated with manual intervention and system shutdowns.
3Device complexity
If pressure bars are fixed in position, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to different object dimensions is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure bars are mounted on a movable carriage that can be actuated along the longitudinal axis of the magazine. This dynamic positioning capability allows the pressure bars to reach different objects at various depths in the magazine, providing adaptability to different object dimensions and stack configurations without increasing individual bar complexity.
4Manufacturing precision
If multiple pressure bars are used to align multiple objects, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple pressure bars are combined on a single movable carriage structure. This allows simultaneous alignment of multiple objects in the magazine while sharing common actuation mechanisms, reducing overall device complexity compared to having separate actuation systems for each pressure bar.
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
Automatically aligns elongated objects within existing magazines, allowing continuous operation without shutdowns, and adapts to different dimensions and orientations of objects.
Implementation Method 1
A spring is provided that loads each pressure rod away from the carriage at its free end
Implementation Method 2
The carriage itself is adjustable by a linear motor in the direction of the longitudinal extension of the elongated objects
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A device for aligning elongated objects, such as slats (1), which are arranged one above the other in a magazine, comprises a slide (3) with several pressure bars (8). The slide (3) is movable back and forth in the direction of the longitudinal extension of the elongated objects, such as the slats (1), so that the slats (1) can be moved in their longitudinal direction until they abut a stop surface (2) arranged opposite the slide (3). In this position, the ends of the slats (1) adjacent to and in contact with the stop surface (2) are aligned with each other, so that the slats (1) are aligned.