Segmented Gripper for Automated Barrel Unloading
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manual handling of wooden barrels for loading and unloading in shipping containers is time-consuming, personnel-intensive, and risky, and existing automation technologies struggle with the variability in barrel size and shape due to their handmade nature and reuse, making efficient unloading difficult.
Innovation Solution
An industrial robot with a gripper designed to engage wooden barrels from the front side, using a pneumatic or mechanical design that can adjust to variations in size and shape, allowing for automated unloading without requiring access from multiple sides.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If standard automation equipment is used for unloading barrels, then automation level increases, but the equipment cannot handle tightly stacked barrels with limited maneuvering space
Solution Approach 1:
The gripper is divided into two separate gripping members (first gripping member and second gripping member) that can independently engage the barrel from opposite sides. This segmentation allows the gripper to handle barrels in tight spaces where a single large gripping mechanism would not fit, while still providing automated handling capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The gripping members are designed to engage the barrel from horizontally opposite sides rather than from above or below. This dimensional change allows the gripper to access tightly stacked barrels in the limited space of a shipping container, enabling automation without requiring excessive maneuvering room.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual handling is used for loading and unloading barrels, then flexibility to handle variable barrel sizes is maintained, but time consumption and personnel requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The gripping members are designed with movable elements that can adjust their position and orientation to accommodate variations in barrel dimensions. The first and second gripping members can independently adapt to different barrel sizes and conditions, maintaining the flexibility of manual handling while achieving automated operation speeds.
Solution Approach 2:
The gripper system can adjust its gripping parameters (such as gripping force, position, and orientation) to handle barrels with varying sizes and conditions. This parameter adaptability allows automated handling of handmade barrels that deviate from standard dimensions, maintaining versatility while improving productivity.
3Volume of stationary object
If barrels are loaded as tightly as possible to minimize shipping costs, then space utilization improves, but access for unloading becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The two gripping members are positioned asymmetrically on the gripper body, allowing one gripping member to engage the barrel from the front while the other engages from the side. This asymmetric configuration enables the gripper to access and retrieve barrels from tightly stacked arrangements where symmetric grippers would not fit.
Solution Approach 2:
The gripper acts as an intermediary mechanism that bridges the gap between the tightly packed barrel arrangement and the unloading process. By using two gripping members that can engage from different directions, the system can access barrels in confined spaces without requiring additional maneuvering room in the shipping container.
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
Facilitates safe, fast, and flexible automation of barrel unloading, reducing worker risk and improving efficiency by accommodating variations in barrel dimensions and conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a vacuum gripper configured to engage a wooden barrel from above to lift it up vertically
Data Source
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AI summary
Apparatus (10) for lifting an elongated container (1), in particular a wooden barrel, wherein the elongated container (1) has a convex shape with a circular top surface (4), a circular bottom surface (5) parallel to the top surface (4), and a convex outer surface (6) which connects the top surface (4) and the bottom surface (5) forming a bulge (3) at a centre portion of the elongated container (1) between the top surface (5) and the bottom surface (4), the bulge (3) defining a centre width (8) of the elongated container (1). The convex outer surface (6) is a smooth surface comprising a front surface (6a) and a back surface (6b) defined by a centre plane (C) intersecting a centre point of each of the top surface (4) and the bottom surface (5), the front surface (6a) defining a front side of the elongated container (1). The apparatus (10) is configured to perform a pick operation from the front side of the elongated container, the pick operation including approaching and gripping the elongated container (1) from the front side. During the pick operation, an outer dimension (D) of the apparatus (10) in a direction perpendicular to an elongated direction (7) defined by the elongated container (1) is smaller than the centre width (8) of the elongated container (1).