Section Bar Unloading Rack With Inclined Pockets to Prevent Scraping

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing work centers for processing section bars made of aluminum, light alloys, or PVC face issues with large-sized assembly, low unloading productivity, and damage due to section bars scraping in horizontal pockets during storage.

Innovation Solution

The work center design includes a compact unloading unit with inclined pockets and a transfer assembly that moves section bars vertically to prevent scraping, ensuring high productivity and minimizing damage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the store comprises racks with horizontal pockets for storing section bars, then the section bars can be stored in the store, but the section bars scrape along the pockets and are damaged

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesection bar integrityVSAvoidscraping damage
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The invention changes the geometric parameter of the storage pockets from horizontal to inclined (with an inclination angle of 5-45 degrees relative to the horizontal plane). This parameter change prevents section bars from scraping along the pocket surfaces during storage, as the inclined orientation eliminates the sliding contact that causes damage while still allowing effective storage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If the unloading unit has a simple transfer mechanism, then the device complexity is reduced, but the productivity becomes smaller than the processing station productivity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveunloading productivityVSAvoidunloading unit complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention implements a dynamic transfer mechanism where the transfer assembly can move between different positions (first position for loading, second position for unloading) and the pockets can be tilted between storage and transfer orientations. This dynamic capability allows the unloading unit to match the productivity of the processing station by enabling rapid transfer operations without requiring overly complex mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Area of stationary object

If the store and unloading unit are designed with traditional horizontal storage, then the structure is simple, but the assembly becomes relatively large-sized

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveunloading unit footprintVSAvoidstorage structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention utilizes the vertical dimension by inclining the pockets at an angle rather than storing section bars horizontally. This dimensional change allows the storage system to achieve compact footprint while maintaining storage capacity, as the inclined arrangement optimizes space utilization in the vertical direction and reduces the horizontal space required for the same storage capacity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentEP4112223B1Work centre to process section bars, in particular made of aluminium, light alloys, PVC or the like
Publication Date: 2024.02.07 FOM INDUSTRIE SRL
  • EP4112223B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4112223B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4112223B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A work centre to process section bars (2) has a feeding device (17) to feed the section bars (2) through at least one processing station (16) and an unloading station (12) to retrieve the section bars (2) that were just processed from the feeding device (17) and store them in a store (47) having at least one rack (52), which is delimited by a substantially horizontal bottom wall (53) and is provided with a plurality of inclined pockets (54), each delimited by two side walls (55) parallel to one another and inclined at an angle other than 90° relative to the bottom wall (53).