Vacuum Suction Transfer Plate for Freeze Dryer Product Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing product treatment facilities, such as freeze dryers, face difficulties in conveying products from a transfer plate to a conveyor device due to offset arrangements and frictional effects, leading to disordered product placement and increased complexity in repositioning, especially in automated quality checks.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a suction surface with strategically arranged suction openings between the transfer plate and conveyor device, which sucks products onto the surface, preventing entrapment of subsequent rows and allowing for orderly transfer and higher conveying speeds, while maintaining contamination prevention by suctioning from below.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If products are pushed across the transfer plate in staggered rows to maximize container capacity, then the number of containers per transfer plate increases, but products from subsequent rows are carried along by friction with the foremost row, resulting in disordered placement on the conveyor
Solution Approach 1:
A suction surface is introduced as an intermediary element between the transfer plate and conveyor. This suction surface selectively holds only the foremost row of products through vacuum suction, preventing subsequent rows from being carried along by friction. The suction surface acts as a mediator that filters which products are transferred, ensuring orderly placement while maintaining high container capacity on the transfer plate
Solution Approach 2:
The suction surface extracts only the desired products (foremost row) from the mixed group of products on the transfer plate. By applying suction selectively to the bottom surface of products, it separates the foremost row from subsequent rows, taking out only the intended items for conveyance while leaving other products behind, thus preventing disordered placement
2Device complexity
If conventional pushing transfer is used without suction, then the device structure remains simple, but products from subsequent rows are inadvertently conveyed along with the foremost row
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs pneumatic suction through a suction surface with multiple suction openings to achieve precise product row separation. By applying vacuum pressure through the suction surface, only the foremost row of products is held in place while subsequent rows remain unaffected. This pneumatic mechanism provides accurate separation without requiring complex mechanical structures, resolving the contradiction between device simplicity and separation precision
Solution Approach 2:
The suction surface applies suction force locally and selectively to specific products based on their position. The suction openings are arranged to target only the foremost row of products, creating a localized effect that separates rows with high precision. This local application of suction force achieves accurate product row separation without requiring the entire transfer mechanism to be complex
3Force
If suction openings are positioned above products, then suction force can be applied effectively, but contamination risk increases in pharmaceutical freeze-drying applications
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of positioning suction openings above the products (conventional approach), the patent inverts the suction arrangement by placing openings below the transfer plate surface. The suction force is applied upward from beneath the products, effectively holding them in place while maintaining a physical barrier that prevents contamination. This inverted configuration resolves the contradiction by achieving both effective suction force and contamination prevention
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
Ensures only the foremost row of products is conveyed, maintaining order and enabling accurate tracking of product positions, allowing for efficient and contamination-free operation, particularly in pharmaceutical freeze drying.
Implementation Method 1
a suction surface with suction openings is provided in the transition area between the transfer plate and the conveying device, through which the products are drawn onto the suction surface
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is an unloading device (10) for a product processing unit, comprising a transfer plate (12) for transferring a plurality of successive rows of a plurality of processed products (14) to a conveying apparatus (16). Said unloading device (10) is characterized in that a suctioning section (18) comprising suction ports (20) for suctioning the products onto the suctioning section (18) is arranged between the transfer plate (12) and the conveying apparatus (16).