Prism Drivers for Trolley Alignment in Food Ovens
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat treatment devices for food products face challenges in precisely positioning loading trolleys due to uneven floors and height differences, requiring manual alignment and increasing installation space with existing solutions.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of vertically movable carriers with drive systems and centering mechanisms, such as prism-shaped drivers and sensors, allows for automatic alignment and precise positioning of loading trolleys, ensuring reproducible and precise placement regardless of floor conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual alignment is used to position the loading trolley, then the positioning can be adapted to uneven floors, but the process becomes time-consuming and requires significant manual effort
Solution Approach 1:
The loading trolley automatically centers itself using the prism-shaped drivers and guide rods during the coupling process. The geometric shape of the prism drivers interacts with the guide rods to self-align the trolley without requiring manual intervention, thereby reducing both manual effort and positioning time
Solution Approach 2:
The prism-shaped drivers are pre-positioned on the heat treatment device before the loading trolley arrives. When the trolley couples to the device, the pre-positioned drivers automatically engage with the guide rods and initiate the centering action, eliminating the need for subsequent manual alignment
2Manufacturing precision
If a portal with carriers is added to enable automatic coupling, then positioning precision is improved, but the installation space is considerably increased
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding a portal that extends the horizontal installation space, the solution uses vertical prism-shaped drivers that engage with guide rods. The centering action occurs in the vertical dimension through the prism geometry, achieving precise positioning without increasing the horizontal footprint
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than having the loading trolley actively seek out a positioning mechanism on a portal, the invention inverts the approach by having fixed prism drivers on the heat treatment device that passively center the trolley as it couples. This eliminates the need for the portal structure while maintaining automatic positioning
3Device complexity
If only a stop is used for positioning the loading trolley, then the device complexity is reduced, but the positioning precision is insufficient due to uneven floors and height differences
Solution Approach 1:
The prism-shaped drivers are pre-positioned at specific locations on the heat treatment device before the loading trolley arrives. These pre-positioned drivers automatically engage with the guide rods on the trolley during coupling, establishing precise alignment without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The prism-shaped drivers have an asymmetric geometric shape that provides a unique orientation and engagement point with the guide rods. This asymmetric geometry ensures precise positioning in a single orientation, eliminating the need for complex adjustment mechanisms while maintaining high positioning precision
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
This solution enables efficient, precise, and automated positioning of loading trolleys, reducing manual effort and installation space requirements while ensuring reliable operation across varying floor conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a drive is provided for vertically moving the carriers in order to move the carriers out of the entry position of the heat treatment device by lifting them vertically and to couple the loading trolley with the receptacles on the loading trolley by lifting it vertically
Implementation Method 2
at least one of the receptacles has a projection, preferably in the form of a rod-shaped element, which can be centered with an associated driver
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for the heat treatment of food products, comprising a heat treatment device (12) having at least one oven unit (14, 6) with a cooking chamber (15, 17), which is designed for receiving product carriers (19) with food products, and comprising at least one charging trolley (18) for receiving at least one charging rack (20, 22) for a plurality of product carriers (19), which can be coupled to the heat treatment device (12) to move the at least one charging rack (20, 22) with product carriers (19) back and forth between the at least one oven unit (14, 16) and the charging trolley (18), wherein catches (34, 36, 52, 54) are provided on the heat treatment device (12), to which receiving means (48, 49, 50) are assigned on each charging trolley (18), and a drive (46) is provided for vertical movement of the catches (34, 36, 52, 54) in order to couple the catches (34, 36, 52, 54) to the receiving means (48, 49, 50) on the charging trolley (18) from the entry position of the charging trolley (18) via vertical lifting and to align the charging trolley (18) with the catches (34, 36, 52, 54) with further lifting, until same reaches a defined end position in the working position (Fig. 1).