Segmented Gripper Heads for Bottle Crate Sorting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bottle sorting systems are energy and time inefficient due to the need for large gripper heads to repeatedly move and twist to accommodate and fill bottles in undefined crates, requiring continuous conveyor lines and significant energy for acceleration and deceleration.
Innovation Solution
The system splits the large gripper head into smaller, independently controllable gripper heads with two individually controllable grippers each, allowing for minimalistic sorting processes that involve exchanging one or two bottles per cycle, reducing the need for extensive conveyor line operation and energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a large gripper head with many individual grippers is used to sort bottles in undefined crates, then the system can handle complex bottle arrangements, but the energy consumption and time required for acceleration and deceleration increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single large gripper head into multiple smaller gripper heads arranged in series. Each smaller gripper head has fewer individual grippers (e.g., 2-4 instead of 20+), reducing the mass that needs to be accelerated and decelerated. The control unit coordinates these segmented gripper heads to work together on different sections of the same bottle crate, achieving full coverage while minimizing energy consumption through reduced moving mass.
2Productivity
If a single large gripper head moves repeatedly to pick and place bottles, then sorting can be performed, but the time required for multiple back-and-forth trips increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the gripper head into multiple smaller units distributed along the conveyor path, the system eliminates the need for repeated long-distance travel. Each segmented gripper head handles a specific zone, allowing parallel operation and reducing the number of travel cycles required to complete sorting.
Solution Approach 2:
The loading detection device预先 detects the bottle arrangement pattern before sorting begins. The control unit uses this information to pre-plan the sorting operations, determining which segmented gripper heads will act on which bottles and in what sequence, optimizing the sorting process to minimize travel time and maximize throughput.
3Ease of operation
If the bottle crate must remain within reach of a single gripper head, then sorting can be completed, but a discontinuous conveyor line is required with frequent starting and braking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments both the gripper head and the conveyor line into multiple zones. Each segmented gripper head is responsible for a specific zone along the continuous conveyor path. This allows the conveyor to run continuously without stopping, as each zone can be processed independently by its assigned gripper head, eliminating the need for frequent starting and braking.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1c
Figure 2~3
AI summary
The invention relates to a bottle sorting system comprising: - a conveyor (12) for conveying indefinitely filled bottle crates (16), - a control unit with an interface via which the filling patterns of each bottle crate (16) determined by a filling recognition device can be transmitted to the control unit, - a bottle storage arrangement and - a transfer device for transferring bottles, wherein the control unit is configured to control the transfer device to transfer bottles between the bottle crates (16) and the bottle storage arrangement.The invention is characterized in that the transfer device comprises a plurality of functionally identical, independently controllable gripper heads (22) arranged one behind the other in the conveying direction of the conveying path (12), each having exactly two individually controllable single grippers (221, 222) and each of which is assigned a bottle storage unit (20) arranged outside the conveying path.