Product Grouping Apparatus with Movable Runners and Pushers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for forming groups of food products like biscuits side-by-side prior to packaging are prone to compromising the integrity of stacked products due to inertial actions when laterally aligning and slowing down conveyors.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus comprising an inlet conveyor with pushers and a grouping device with movable runners and a feeding conveyor that aligns and forms groups of products without exposing them to excessive inertial forces, ensuring stable side-by-side arrangement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a second inlet conveyor is used to laterally align products by pushing them sideways, then groups of products can be formed, but the stacks of products are exposed to inertial actions that may cause products to fall from the stacks
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the grouping function into separate operational phases: first transporting products along the conveyor, then using pushers to laterally displace them into adjacent positions. This segmentation allows the stacking integrity to be maintained during transport while enabling group formation through controlled lateral pushing actions by the pusher mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The pushers act as intermediary elements between the conveyor and the products. Instead of directly manipulating the stacks laterally which would cause inertial effects, the pushers provide a controlled intermediate mechanism that gently displaces products into adjacent positions without exposing stacks to harmful inertial forces.
2Manufacturing precision
If the inlet conveyor is slowed down to align products laterally, then groups of products can be formed, but the stacks of products are exposed to inertial actions
Solution Approach 1:
The pushers are positioned in advance along the conveyor to perform lateral displacement actions just before the products reach the grouping zone. This preliminary positioning and gentle pushing action achieves precise lateral alignment without requiring sudden conveyor speed changes that would generate harmful inertial forces on the stacks.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3A
AI summary
An apparatus for forming groups of products, comprising a plurality of runners (22) each of which has at least one seat (28) for a respective unit (4), wherein said runners (22) are movable independently from each other along a grouping path (B) which passes through a receiving station (21) and a releasing station (39), and wherein an inlet conveyor (10) is configured to insert each unit (4) into respective seats (28) of said runners (22) in the receiving station (21).