Rotatable Grippers for Group Container Feeding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container feeding systems face challenges in efficiently feeding containers in groups to cycled treatment machines, particularly when using continuous supply methods, as they often require interruptions and are not adaptable to uninterrupted transport movements.
Innovation Solution
A device with rotatable or pivotable grippers is used to pick up and transfer containers from a continuous stream, allowing simultaneous group pickup and adaptation to the transport movement, ensuring uninterrupted operation and efficient feeding to cycled processing machines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If containers are continuously fed via a rotary feeder, then the transport flow is uninterrupted, but interrupting the inlet device to pick up containers in groups is very disadvantageous and reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The inlet device is divided into a rotary feeder section for continuous supply and a linear transport section for group pickup. The grippers are segmented into multiple units that can independently pick up containers at different positions along the linear section, allowing group formation without interrupting the overall continuous feed from the rotary feeder.
Solution Approach 2:
A linear transport section acts as an intermediary between the rotary feeder and the group pickup mechanism. Containers are first continuously fed by the rotary feeder onto the linear section, where they are then picked up in groups by the grippers. This intermediary section allows the continuous flow from the rotary feeder to be converted into grouped delivery without interrupting either process.
2Adaptability or versatility
If grippers are used to pick up containers from a moving stream, then group feeding is achieved, but the grippers must be stationary or move in a fixed pattern, making adaptation to continuous transport difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The grippers are designed with rotational freedom about a vertical axis, allowing them to dynamically adjust their orientation and position as they move along the linear transport section. This dynamic capability enables the grippers to adapt to the continuous movement of containers from the rotary feeder while maintaining their gripping function, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and complexity.
3Productivity
If the inlet device is interrupted to feed containers in groups, then group processing is enabled, but the continuous transport flow is broken, causing loss of time and reduced efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous useful action by keeping the rotary feeder operating without interruption while the linear transport section and grippers handle the group formation and transfer. The containers continue to flow continuously through the system, and the group pickup process occurs alongside the continuous feed rather than interrupting it, thereby eliminating idle time and maintaining productivity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device for the grouped take-up and feeding of a group of containers (BG) to a cyclical processing machine, comprising a cyclical take-up system for taking up the group of containers (BG). The device comprises an intake system in the form of an endless conveyor section (TS) and a supply system. The intake system (2) has a linear conveyor section portion and the intake system is designed for suspended conveying of the containers along the conveyor section (TS). A transfer apparatus is provided in a transition region between the intake system and the take-up system, the transfer apparatus comprising a plurality of grippers for taking-up a group of containers (BG) from the continuous stream of containers in the region of the conveyor section portion (LTS) of the intake system, and being suitable for feeding the taken-up group of containers (BG) to the cyclical take-up system. The grippers of the transfer apparatus are designed, particularly advantageously, to rotate or pivot about a vertical axis of rotation (DA), in order to take up the containers (B) of the group of containers (BG) that are moved along the conveyor section portion (LTS).