Recirculating Conveyor for Selective Component Replacement in Packaging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
High-productivity automatic packaging machines for consumer articles face inefficiencies in waste management, leading to unnecessary production stops and rejection of entire packets due to defective components, resulting in material and energy wastage.
Innovation Solution
A process utilizing a circuital conveyor system with intermittent motion and a control system to recirculate semifinished articles to inactive stations for reprocessing, allowing only defective components to be replaced, thus preventing entire packet rejection and optimizing material use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a component is defective but structurally sound, then production continues, but the entire packet is rejected at the end resulting in waste of good components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the packet into individual components (semifinished articles) that can be independently identified and separated. The control system detects defective components individually and triggers separation mechanisms to exclude only the defective component from the final packet, rather than rejecting the entire packet. This segmentation enables selective rejection of only the problematic component while preserving good ones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the defective component from the packet before final assembly. The control system identifies defective components and activates separation mechanisms that physically remove or exclude only the defective component from the packet formation process, allowing the remaining good components to be assembled into a valid packet.
2Reliability
If a structurally compromised component is detected, then production stops for manual rejection, but this causes loss of production time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements an automated quality control system that performs self-inspection and self-correction. Sensors continuously monitor components for structural defects, and when a defective component is detected, the system automatically activates separation mechanisms to exclude it from the packet. This automated self-service eliminates the need for manual intervention and production stops, maintaining continuous operation while ensuring quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a feedback mechanism where sensors continuously monitor component quality and provide real-time information to the control system. When a defective component is detected, the feedback loop immediately triggers separation mechanisms to exclude the defective component, enabling continuous automatic quality control without production interruptions.
3Productivity
If the machine operates at high productivity, then output increases, but waste management inefficiencies worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts defective components from the production stream at high speed using automated separation mechanisms. This allows the system to maintain high productivity by quickly identifying and removing only defective components, preventing the need to reject entire packets and thereby reducing waste while sustaining high output rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated quality control and separation system operates continuously at high speed without manual intervention. The system self-manages defect detection and component separation, enabling high productivity while minimizing waste by ensuring only truly defective components are rejected rather than entire packets.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Process for the management of waste with recirculation of semifinished articles (3) of at least part (2) of an automatic machine (1) for manufacturing or packing consumer articles; the process comprises the steps of: conveying, by means of a circuital conveyor system (4) and according to a first periodic law of motion, a plurality of semifinished articles (3) along a conveying path (CP); wherein the circuital conveyor system (4) comprises a normally operating portion (8) and a normally non-operating portion (9); checking, in a control area (IA), the quality and/or the position and/or the orientation of an article (3') being processed and/or of a component (11, 11") to be added to the article (3') being processed; and, in case the article (3') being processed and/or of a component (11, 11") are defective, a recirculation step, during which the article (3') being processed continues to be conveyed according to the first periodic law of motion through the normally non-operating portion (9) and the at least one inactive station (IS), recirculating by means of the circuital conveyor system (4) until returning to the normally operating portion (8).