Sausage Cutting Sensor System for Twist Point Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sausage separation technologies face challenges in achieving high precision and speed, particularly when dealing with chains of sausages of varying diameters and short chains, leading to inefficiencies and increased waste due to inaccurate cuts.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of at least one additional sensor positioned upstream of the cutting point, which can operate independently or in conjunction with the first sensor, enhances the detection accuracy of twist points, ensuring precise cutting by generating an infrared light shell that scans and transmits the precise position of twist points to the cutting point.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a single sensor is used to detect the twist point, then the device complexity is low, but the measurement precision and cutting accuracy are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is segmented into multiple independent sensors positioned at different locations upstream of the cutting point. Each sensor detects the twist point independently, and the system can select or combine their readings to achieve higher measurement precision without requiring a single complex sensor system.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple sensors provide feedback about the twist point position from different vantage points. The system processes this feedback information to determine the most accurate measurement, enabling high precision cutting while maintaining relatively simple individual sensor components.
2Productivity
If the cutting speed is increased to improve productivity, then the production efficiency increases, but the cutting precision decreases leading to more waste
Solution Approach 1:
The twist point position is detected and determined in advance by multiple sensors before the cutting action occurs. This preliminary detection allows the system to prepare the cutting parameters and ensure high precision even when the cutting process itself is rapid, thus maintaining both high productivity and high manufacturing precision.
3Measurement precision
If sensors are positioned closer to the cutting point to improve detection accuracy, then the measurement precision increases, but the reliability decreases due to interference from the cutting process
Solution Approach 1:
The detection function is segmented across multiple sensors positioned at different distances from the cutting point. Sensors farther from the cutting point operate in a more stable environment with less interference, providing reliable baseline measurements, while the system integrates this with closer sensors to achieve both reliability and precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses intermediate sensor positions as mediators between the distant stable detection zone and the close high-precision detection zone. These intermediate sensors help bridge the trade-off by providing data that combines the stability of distant detection with the precision needed for accurate cutting.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution significantly reduces waste and increases profitability by ensuring high precision and accuracy in cutting, even with chains of sausages having different diameters and in situations where the first sensor's accuracy is insufficient, thereby optimizing the production process.
Implementation Method 1
The sensors generate an infrared light shell which scans the twist point of the chain of sausages
Data Source
AI summary
A device for separating individual sausages (12), which are separated from one another by twist points (15), at a cutting point (5), wherein a sensor (6) for detecting the twist point (15) is connected upstream of the cutting point (5), wherein, upstream of the cutting point (5), there is positioned at least one further sensor (7) which runs parallel to the sensor (6) and which is located closer to the cutting point (5) than the sensor (6), wherein the sensors (6, 7) each generate an infrared light shell.