Vibrating Trough Wedge Sections for Shingled Product Reconnection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vibrating chutes in food production struggle with automatic reconnection of shingled products, particularly rectangular or square products, leading to high costs and errors due to manual intervention and increased operational personnel requirements.
Innovation Solution
A vibrating chute with wedge-shaped sections that actively lift and lower products, allowing for automatic reconnection by lifting products relative to the base surface, reducing gaps and eliminating the need for manual intervention, regardless of product shape, and minimizing format changeover time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual intervention is used to reconnect broken product strands, then connection accuracy is improved, but labor costs and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vibrating trough with wedge-shaped sections enables automatic reconnection of broken product strands without manual intervention. The wedge-shaped sections create relative motion between products that automatically closes gaps and reconnects strands, making the system self-servicing for strand reconnection tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The vibrating trough uses controlled vibration to create relative motion between products on the conveyor strand. This mechanical vibration causes products to shift and close gaps automatically when strands break, enabling automatic reconnection without manual intervention while maintaining connection accuracy.
2Reliability
If additional sensors are added to detect and respond to strand breaks, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the inherent mechanical properties of the vibrating trough and wedge-shaped sections to automatically detect and respond to strand breaks through the physical behavior of products during vibration, eliminating the need for additional sensors while maintaining reliable automatic reconnection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces electronic sensor-based detection systems with a purely mechanical solution using vibrating troughs and wedge-shaped sections. The mechanical vibration and product interaction naturally indicate strand continuity or breaks, eliminating the need for complex sensor systems while maintaining reliability.
3Device complexity
If conventional vibrating conveyors are used without wedge-shaped sections, then device simplicity is maintained, but automatic strand reconnection capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor surface is segmented into wedge-shaped sections that create differential motion between adjacent product areas. This segmentation enables automatic strand reconnection through controlled relative movement, adding minimal structural complexity while achieving high automation for gap closure.
Solution Approach 2:
The wedge-shaped sections are strategically placed at specific locations on the vibrating trough to create localized relative motion where needed for strand reconnection. This local modification maintains overall system simplicity while enabling automatic reconnection capability at critical points.
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
Enables cost-effective and reliable automatic reconnection of shingled products, reducing operational personnel and disruptions in the production chain without requiring additional sensors, allowing for efficient gap closure and uniform transport across various product shapes.
Implementation Method 1
the wedge-shaped sections each have an ascending area on a side facing the starting point, over which the products are raised relative to the base surface during transport, and a descending area on a side facing the end point, at which the products fall back to a lower point of the transport surface during transport
Implementation Method 2
the transport surface is configured to support the products and to be vibrated in order to transport the products along the transport surface from a starting point to an end point of the transport surface
Data Source
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Figure 5
AI summary
The present invention relates to a vibrating trough (1) for transporting shingled products (2) in food production comprising a transport surface (3) which is designed to carry the products (2) and is excited to vibrate in order to transport the products (2) along the transport surface (3) from a starting point (A) to an end point (E) of the transport surface (3), wherein the transport surface (3) has wedge-shaped sections (4) which are arranged on a base area (5) of the vibrating trough (1), wherein the wedge-shaped sections (4) each have an ascending region on a side oriented toward the starting point (A) via which the products (2) are lifted with respect to the base area (5) during transport, and a dropping-off region (4b) on a side oriented toward the end point (E) at which the products (2) drop back during transport to a lower lying point on the transport surface (3).