Roll Material Transport Vehicle With Reversible Buffer Placement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing transport vehicle systems struggle to deliver roll materials to a buffer in accordance with the winding direction required in the next process, especially when conditions around the buffer prevent passage onto desired supports.

Innovation Solution

A transport vehicle system with two transport-vehicle-side supports and a buffer equipped with parallel buffer-side supports, controlled by a controller that determines and adjusts the winding direction of roll materials through reversing operations and placement changes, allowing the roll materials to be delivered to the buffer in the required orientation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If two supports are disposed spaced along the traveling direction to hold two roll materials on the buffer side, then storage capacity is improved, but the ability to change winding direction fails when conditions around the buffer prevent passage onto desired supports

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestorage capacityVSAvoidwinding direction change capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The transport vehicle dynamically changes its traveling direction based on the determined target buffer-side support. The controller instructs the transport vehicle to reverse its traveling direction when the target support is on the opposite side, enabling adaptive response to different buffer conditions while maintaining the ability to deliver roll materials to any of the two buffer-side supports

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system inverts the conventional approach by having the transport vehicle reverse its traveling direction to access different buffer-side supports. Instead of moving the buffer or using complex transfer mechanisms, the solution reverses the vehicle's orientation to deliver roll materials to the appropriate support based on winding direction requirements

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Productivity

If the transport vehicle delivers roll materials directly from previous process station to next process station, then transport efficiency is improved, but the ability to accommodate winding direction requirements of the next process is lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransport efficiencyVSAvoidwinding direction accommodation
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary determination of the target buffer-side support based on the winding direction requirements of the next process before the transport vehicle arrives. The controller预先 instructs the transport vehicle on which support to target, allowing the vehicle to maintain efficient direct delivery while adapting to different winding direction requirements through selective support targeting

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4606735A1Transport vehicle system
Publication Date: 2025.08.27 MURATA MASCH LTD
  • EP4606735A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4606735A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4606735A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The transport vehicle system (100) includes: a transport vehicle (1) including two transport-vehicle-side supports (15); a buffer (3) into which roll material (R) is temporarily carried from the transport vehicle (1) before being transported from a first process to a second process; and a controller (7) configured to control the transport vehicle (1). The buffer (3) includes two buffer-side supports (35). The controller (7) determines, based on the winding direction of the roll material (R) before being carried into the buffer (3) and the winding direction of the roll material (R) required in the second process, whether the winding direction needs to be changed, and if it is determined that the winding direction needs to be changed, causes the transport vehicle (1) to perform a winding-direction-changing operation including an operation of reversing the traveling direction of the transport vehicle (1) and an operation of changing placement of the roll material (R) between the two buffer-side supports (35).