Robot Container Allocation for Mixed Product Bundling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing apparatuses for producing container bundles are inefficient in producing bundles with different products, as they require stopping and retooling to change products, and lack a structured allocation of containers with different products.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus comprising a container inlet, an inspection apparatus for detecting container contents, a robot for moving containers based on detection and control signals, and a packer that produces bundles according to a predetermined pattern, allowing for efficient combination of different containers into bundles without re-sorting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional rigid apparatuses are used for producing container bundles, then the production process is simple, but the apparatus requires stopping and retooling to change products, reducing productivity and flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts container allocation based on real-time detection signals and control signals. The robot adaptively moves containers to different inlet lanes according to the predetermined pattern, enabling the apparatus to handle multiple product types without retooling while maintaining continuous production.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system changes operational parameters (container routing decisions) based on detection signals about container contents. This allows the same apparatus to produce different product combinations by varying the allocation pattern rather than physical reconfiguration.
2Adaptability or versatility
If modern filling valves fill different products per round, then product variety increases, but the lack of structured allocation into bundles makes multi-product filling inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The inspection apparatus provides real-time feedback about container contents to the control system. This feedback loop enables the robot to make informed routing decisions, ensuring that containers with different products are correctly allocated to appropriate inlet lanes according to the predetermined bundle pattern.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-plans the allocation of containers to inlet lanes based on the predetermined pattern before the bundling process begins. This preliminary organization ensures that when containers are fed into the packer, they are already in the correct sequence and position for efficient multi-product bundle formation.
3Ease of manufacture
If containers are pre-sorted into lanes before bundling, then bundle formation is simplified, but the apparatus complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines the sorting and bundling functions into a single integrated process. The robot performs both the allocation (sorting) and the placement (bundling preparation) in one operation, eliminating the need for separate pre-sorting equipment while achieving the same organizational result.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot acts as an intermediary between the container inlet and the packer inlet. It temporarily holds and repositions containers, mediating the transfer from the mixed container inlet to the organized inlet lanes of the packer without requiring permanent sorting infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for producing container bundles, comprising a container inlet for transporting containers that contain product, an inspection apparatus for individually detecting the containers, wherein the inspection apparatus is configured, based upon the detected containers, to output a detection signal, a packer inlet with one or more inlet lanes, a robot that is configured to move the containers, entering via the container inlet, to the one or more inlet lanes of the packer inlet on the basis of the detection signal and a control signal, and a packer that is configured to produce, on the basis of a predetermined pattern, a container bundle, comprising a plurality of containers, from the containers guided on the packer inlet.