Universal Guide Element for Container Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing guide rail systems for conveyor belts in the drinks manufacturing industry are inflexible and require different railings for various container types, leading to increased complexity and costs due to the need for multiple components and profiles.
Innovation Solution
A guide arrangement featuring a clamp element with a C-shaped profile that holds a guide element with curved holding sections, allowing for versatile use with different guide devices and easy adaptation by reversing the guide element, which can accommodate various container types using the same basic elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If different railings are used for different container types, then container guidance is optimized, but device complexity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide element is designed with a universal structure that can accommodate multiple container types through a single standardized component. The C-shaped clamp element combined with the guide element featuring holding sections creates a multi-functional system that guides different container types without requiring multiple specialized railings, thus reducing device complexity while maintaining guidance reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide element incorporates curved holding sections that can adapt to different container geometries. The curvature of the holding sections allows the same guide element to accommodate various container types dynamically, enabling the system to adapt its guiding characteristics without physical reconfiguration.
2Reliability
If multiple guide arrangements are maintained for different containers, then container-specific guidance is achieved, but production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The standardized guide element with C-shaped clamp and curved holding sections serves as a universal component that can be manufactured once and used for multiple container types. This eliminates the need to produce and maintain multiple specialized guide arrangements, significantly reducing manufacturing costs while preserving container-specific guidance capabilities through geometric adaptation.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide element achieves adaptation to different container types through changes in geometric parameters rather than changing the entire guide arrangement. By adjusting the positioning and orientation of the curved holding sections, the same guide element can accommodate different container dimensions and shapes, reducing production costs associated with creating multiple specialized components.
3Adaptability or versatility
If guide arrangements are changed frequently to accommodate different containers, then versatility is improved, but changeover time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The universal guide element design allows for rapid changeovers by eliminating the need to replace entire guide arrangements. The same standardized component can be quickly repositioned or reoriented to accommodate different container types, significantly reducing changeover time while maintaining high versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide arrangement is segmented into modular components including the C-shaped clamp element and the guide element with holding sections. This segmentation allows for quick assembly and disassembly, enabling fast changeovers between different container types without requiring complex reconfiguration of the entire guide system.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1d
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~5c
AI summary
The invention relates to a guide arrangement for guiding moving containers with at least one guide element which extends at least sectionally along the transport path of the containers in a predetermined direction of extension and at least one holding device which holds the guide element at a predetermined position relative to the transport path.According to the invention, the holding device has a clamping element (6) which clamps the guide element, wherein the clamping element (6) rests against the guide element in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension, and the guide element has in its cross-section two holding sections (9a, 9b) as well as a wall section formed between these holding sections (9a, 9b) and integrally with these holding sections (9a, 9b), wherein these holding sections (9a, 9b) are curved at least by 90°, and an outer circumference of the holding sections (9a, 9b) is in contact with the clamping element (6) at least partially, and the guide element has a recess formed by the wall section and the holding sections (9a, 9b) by which a further guide device (12) can be held.