Flour Litter Collection With Vibrating Inclined Receiving Body
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for collecting flour or meal litter in dough processing environments lead to accumulation and adherence, causing hygiene issues and operational disruptions due to scattering and blockages.
Innovation Solution
A device with a collecting chute and a movable, non-rotatable receiving body that slopes into the chute, using sliding or vibrating movements to guide litter into the chute, combined with a discharge mechanism like a screw conveyor, prevents accumulation and scattering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a shaking tray or conveyor belt is used to collect litter, then the litter can be moved for collection, but the litter accumulates and adheres on the collecting surface causing hygiene issues and blockages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a movable receiving body that can oscillate or move in a plane parallel to its tangent plane, transforming the static collecting surface into a dynamic one. This movement prevents litter from adhering and accumulating by continuously changing the contact points between the litter and the receiving body surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The receiving body is designed to vibrate or oscillate during operation, creating mechanical vibration that prevents litter from adhering to the surface. This vibration ensures that litter remains loose and can be efficiently directed into the collecting chute without accumulation.
2Productivity
If up and down movement is applied to lift a tray for litter collection, then the litter can be removed from the belt, but the flour or meal scatters and atomizes causing more problems
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of vertical lifting motion, the patent employs horizontal or planar movement of the receiving body. This dynamic approach allows litter to be swept along the inclined surface into the chute without the vertical acceleration that causes scattering and atomization of fine particles like flour.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by using a receiving body that moves parallel to its surface rather than perpendicular to it. This inverted motion strategy collects litter effectively while avoiding the harmful scattering effect caused by vertical lifting motions.
3Productivity
If a conveyor belt is used to collect litter, then the litter can be transported, but the litter adheres to the belt surface shifting the problem rather than solving it
Solution Approach 1:
The receiving body incorporates oscillating or vibrational movement that prevents litter from adhering to its surface. This dynamic motion ensures that litter remains loose during transport and is continuously directed toward the collecting chute, eliminating the adherence problem associated with static conveyor belts.
4Device complexity
If a stationary collecting surface is used, then the structure is simple, but the litter accumulates and cakes on the surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces minimal complexity by adding oscillating or vibrational movement to the receiving body. This simple dynamic mechanism effectively prevents litter accumulation and caking without requiring complex mechanical structures, maintaining ease of manufacture while solving the adherence problem.
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
Effectively collects and directs litter into the chute, minimizing adherence and scattering, ensuring hygiene and preventing operational disruptions.
Implementation Method 1
it moves via the receiving body into the collecting chute... whether or not partly under the influence of gravity
Implementation Method 2
the receiving body comprises or is formed by an essentially plate-shaped part... substantially flat or formed concave such that at least that portion on which litter or scrapings lands is oriented under a sloping in the direction of the collecting chute
Implementation Method 3
the receiving body is movable... using sliding or vibrating movements to guide litter into the chute
Data Source
AI summary
Device for collecting litter or scrapings, in particular flour or meal, comprising a collecting chute for receiving litter or scrapings, extending in a width direction, a movable catching body extending diagonally from a highest part to a lowest part over an area in which the litter or granule is to be collected and where the lowest part is adjacent to the collecting chute or connects to the collecting chute or discharges into the chute, and a drive unit for moving the receiving body.