Transporting Apparatus with Adjustable Wheel Guides
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transporting apparatuses for packaging machines face challenges in precision movement, flexibility, and ease of assembly/disassembly, particularly in aseptic environments, due to issues like contamination, electrostatic charges, and high power requirements, and are not suitable for pharmaceutical and food applications.
Innovation Solution
A transporting apparatus with a guide arrangement featuring three parallel guides and wheels with adjustable positions to maintain constant contact, allowing precise movement without steering wheels, and enabling easy assembly/disassembly for cleaning and sterilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If support elements are removably connected to the transport belt by hooking devices, then ease of assembly and disassembly is improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for additional coupling mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The transport system is divided into modular components: transport belt, support elements (godets), and carriages with wheels. Each component can be independently assembled, removed, and replaced. The support elements are segmented and can be selectively attached or detached from the transport belt using simple hooking devices, enabling easy maintenance and sterilization without disassembling the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a static, fixed configuration to a dynamic, adaptable configuration. The support elements and carriages can be dynamically assembled and disassembled based on operational requirements, such as changing container sizes or performing cleaning cycles. This dynamic reconfigurability is achieved through simple coupling mechanisms that allow rapid attachment and detachment.
2Manufacturing precision
If carriages with fixed axis wheels are used, then manufacturing precision is improved, but adaptability deteriorates when navigating guides with different bending radii
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel assembly is made dynamic through the adjustable support arm mechanism. The support arm can rotate and adjust the wheel's position and orientation in real-time as the carriage moves along the guide. This dynamic adjustment allows the fixed-axis wheel to maintain precise contact with guides of varying curvature, combining the precision of fixed-axis wheels with the adaptability needed for complex guide geometries.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a rotational degree of freedom to the wheel assembly through the support arm. Instead of the wheel being fixed in a single plane, the support arm allows the wheel to move in an additional rotational dimension, enabling it to adapt to guides with different bending radii while maintaining precise contact and movement control.
3Adaptability or versatility
If steering carriages with freely rotating wheel pairs are used, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using complex steering mechanisms with freely rotating wheel pairs, the invention employs a simpler dynamic system: a support arm that can rotate to adjust the wheel's position. This dynamic adjustment achieves the necessary adaptability for navigating various guide configurations without requiring elaborate steering mechanisms, thereby reducing device complexity and cost while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts only the essential adaptive function needed from the complex steering mechanism. Rather than implementing a full steering system with multiple degrees of freedom, the support arm provides just the necessary rotational adjustment to accommodate different guide curvatures, eliminating unnecessary complexity while retaining adaptability.
4Ease of operation
If sliding support elements are used on longitudinal guides, then ease of operation is improved, but harmful factors increase due to material particles, electrostatic charges, and high power requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the sliding mechanical contact system with a rolling contact system. Instead of support elements sliding along longitudinal guides, carriages with wheels roll along the guides. This substitution eliminates the generation of material particles and electrostatic charges associated with sliding friction, while also reducing the power required to move the transport belt, as rolling friction is significantly lower than sliding friction.
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
The apparatus ensures precise and accurate container movement with negligible clearances, reduces wear and contamination, and facilitates rapid and simple assembly/disassembly, making it suitable for aseptic environments and reducing operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
provided with rollers or wheels with a fixed axis arranged for rolling along a suitable guide or rail
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for transporting objects includes a guide arrangement for supporting and guiding along a movement path at least one carriage supporting a support element suitable for receiving at least one object. A movement arrangement moves the carriage along the movement path. The carriage is provided with rolling elements and the guide arrangement includes at least three guides that are parallel to one another, each of which is arranged for supporting and guiding a respective rolling element in an operative configuration of the carriage. The guides define respective movement profiles conjugated and shaped so that each rolling element abuts on the respective guide at each point of the latter along the movement path. The rolling elements are arranged at the vertices of a triangle with respect to a plane that is parallel to the guides.