Vessel Filling System with Dynamic Level Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for filling drinking vessels automatically often result in inconsistent filling, where vessels of different heights or sizes receive inadequate or excessive liquid due to reliance on predetermined volume or fill level, leading to inefficiencies and potential spills or underfilling.
Innovation Solution
A system that determines the maximum fill level of a vessel and continuously monitors the actual fill level, using a control mechanism to maintain a predefined distance between the liquid surface and the vessel's rim, ensuring optimal filling by interrupting the filling process when the target level is reached, with adjustable settings for different beverages and transport scenarios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If filling is based on a predetermined volume or fill level, then the filling process is simple and automated, but vessels of different heights or sizes receive inconsistent filling (overflow or underfilling)
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts the target fill level based on the actual vessel geometry detected during operation. Instead of using a fixed predetermined fill level, the control unit calculates the appropriate target fill level by subtracting a safety distance from the detected maximum fill level, allowing the system to automatically adjust to vessels of varying heights and sizes while maintaining consistent optimal filling.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the fill level parameter dynamically based on vessel characteristics. By detecting the maximum fill level for each vessel and calculating a target fill level that maintains a predefined safety distance, the system adjusts the filling parameter (target fill level) to match each vessel's specific geometry, ensuring consistent filling across different vessel types.
2Productivity
If a fixed fill level is used for all vessels, then the filling process is efficient, but vessels with different diameters contain different volumes of liquid
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically determines the target fill level for each vessel based on its detected maximum fill level. By calculating the target fill level as the difference between the detected maximum and a predefined safety distance, the system efficiently adapts to vessels of different diameters and heights, ensuring that each vessel receives the appropriate volume while maintaining consistent safety margins.
3Device complexity
If the filling process uses a predetermined target level, then the control mechanism is simple, but it cannot accommodate vessels of varying heights without overflow or underfilling
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of the vessel's maximum fill level before determining the target fill level. By first detecting where the maximum fill level is located for each specific vessel and then calculating the appropriate target level based on that detection and a predefined safety distance, the system prepares the correct filling parameter in advance, ensuring adaptability to various vessel types while maintaining relatively simple control logic.
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 consistent and optimal filling of vessels of varying heights, reducing waste and spills, while allowing for user-defined settings to accommodate different beverage temperatures and transport conditions, ensuring reliable and cost-effective filling.
Implementation Method 1
The system has a first measuring device with which the maximum filling level defined by the upper edge of the drinking vessel to be filled is determined
Implementation Method 2
a first or a second measuring device determines the current actual filling level at least cyclically
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a system (10) for filling a drinking vessel (20) with a beverage, wherein a first measuring device (12a; 12) determines the maximum fill level (21) of the drinking vessel (20) to be filled, the fill level being defined by the upper edge (21) of the drinking vessel (20), wherein the first (12a; 12) or a second measuring device (12b) determines the current actual fill level (23) at least cyclically, and wherein a control means (13) automatically aborts the filling process as soon as the current actual fill level (23) substantially agrees with a predefined target fill level (22), wherein the target fill level (22) is determined from a predefined or individually definable distance (24) to the maximum fill level (21). The system (10) according to the invention guarantees optimal filling of vessels of any arbitrary height in a cost-effective and reliable manner.