U.S. patent application number 12/798548 was filed with the patent office on 2010-11-04 for device and method for removing objects from a moving transport device.
This patent application is currently assigned to KRONES AG. Invention is credited to Thorsten Gut.
Application Number | 20100276248 12/798548 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42226419 |
Filed Date | 2010-11-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100276248 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gut; Thorsten |
November 4, 2010 |
Device and method for removing objects from a moving transport
device
Abstract
A device and a method for removing objects (12) froth a moving
transport device (14) having objects (12) standing in a row
thereon, including a removing device (20) for pushing and thus
removing selected objects (12) at a right angle or any other angle
with respect to the direction of travel of the transport device
(14). The removing device (20) is formed by a position-controlled
linear actuator (22).
Inventors: |
Gut; Thorsten;
(Neutraubling, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Davidson, Davidson & Kappel, LLC
485 7th Avenue, 14th Floor
New York
NY
10018
US
|
Assignee: |
KRONES AG
Neutraubling
DE
|
Family ID: |
42226419 |
Appl. No.: |
12/798548 |
Filed: |
April 6, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
198/370.02 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65G 47/46 20130101;
B65G 47/71 20130101; B07C 5/3408 20130101; B65G 47/82 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
198/370.02 |
International
Class: |
B65G 47/34 20060101
B65G047/34 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 29, 2009 |
DE |
10 2009 003 847.7 |
Claims
1. A device for removing objects from a moving transport device
having objects standing in a row thereon, comprising: a removing
device for pushing and thus removing selected objects at a right
angle or any other angle with respect to a direction of travel of
the transport device, the removing device including a
position-controlled linear actuator.
2. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the linear actuator
includes a position-controlled electric linear motor.
3. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the linear actuator is
coupled to a controller allowing presetting of various movement
parameters of the linear actuator.
4. The device as recited in claim 3 wherein the controller controls
total travel, speed of travel and/or acceleration of the linear
actuator.
5. The device as recited in claim 3 wherein the controller varies
the movement parameters of the linear actuator during movement of
the linear actuator.
6. The device as recited in claim 3 further comprising a sensor
coupled to the controller, the sensor for detecting parameters
concerning weight and/or center of gravity of the objects.
7. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the linear actuator is
initializable prior to start-up and/or on the fly.
8. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein a following error of
the linear actuator is detectable.
9. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein a position of the
linear actuator is adjustable during operation.
10. The device as recited in claim 9 wherein the positional
adjustment is controllable by a controller, depending on detected
sensor values with respect to parameters of the objects depending
on weight and/or center of gravity and/or size.
11. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein the objects comprise
beverage containers and/or bottles pushable in a lateral direction
from the transport device, the transport device being a conveyorm,
onto one or more removing lines by the position-controlled linear
actuator, the linear actuator being designed as pusher.
12. A method for removing objects from a moving transport device
having objects standing in a row thereon by a removing device for
pushing and thus removing selected objects at a right angle or any
other angle with respect to the direction of travel of the
transport device, comprising: removing the objects with assistance
of a position-controlled linear actuator.
13. The method as recited in claim 12 wherein the linear actuator
is controlled by a controller for presetting various movement
parameters of the linear actuator.
14. The method as recited in claim 12 wherein the control means
controls total travel, speed of travel and/or acceleration of the
linear actuator.
15. The method as recited in claim 13 wherein the movement
parameters are varied during the movement of the actuator.
16. The method as recited in claim 13 wherein the linear actuator
is driven depending on parameters concerning weight and/or center
of gravity of the objects.
17. The method as recited in claim 12 wherein the linear actuator
is initialized prior to start-up and/or on the fly.
18. The method as recited in claim 12 further comprising detecting
a following error of the linear actuator.
19. The method as recited in claim 12 wherein a positional
adjustment of the linear actuator is performed by a controller,
depending on detected sensor values, with respect to parameters of
the objects depending on weight and/or center of gravity and/or
size.
20. The method as recited in claim 12 wherein the objects comprise
beverage containers and/or bottles pushable in a lateral direction
from the transport device, the transport device being a conveyor,
onto one or more removing lines by the position-controlled linear
actuator, the linear actuator being designed as pusher.
Description
[0001] This claims the benefits of German Patent Application DE
2009 003 847.7, filed Apr. 29, 2009 and hereby incorporated by
reference herein.
[0002] The invention relates to a device for removing objects from
a moving transport means. The invention further relates to a
corresponding method for removing objects from a moving transport
means.
BACKGROUND
[0003] In bottle filling plants and transport means for bottles,
measures need to be taken to separate flawed and/or damaged bottles
from a continuous conveyed stream. A variety of systems for
removing flawed bottles from a continuous stream of bottles are
known. They use pushing means, so-called "pushers", which push the
flawed bottles in a lateral direction out of the stream of bottles.
These pushers are normally operated with compressed air, which has
the unwanted effect that, if there is a change in the bottles
transported in the system, the operating pressure has to be
adjusted for the new type of bottle; the position with respect to
the conveyor belt also has to be corrected manually.
[0004] This concept has been known for a long time and is
considered prior art. However, it is disadvantageous in that it
strongly limits the modulation capability and the controllability
of these pneumatic pushing means. The control parameters and/or the
trigger times and/or the position of the pusher must be manually
adjusted to any changed circumstances, such as different bottle
sizes and/or fill levels of the transported bottles.
BACKGROUND
[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
removing system allowing better and faster adjustment of the
control parameters for the removing means to varying
requirements.
[0006] The present invention provides a system for removing objects
particularly comprising beverage containers, bottles or the like.
This removal may be a removal from a moving transport device with
objects standing in a row thereon. Furthermore, a removing device
serves to push and thus remove the selected objects. The selected
objects may include bottles, containers or the like that are flawed
or soiled.
[0007] The process of removing selected objects may be performed at
a right angle or at any other angle with respect to the direction
of travel of the transport device. The removing device depends on a
main control distributing the selected objects to one or more
lines.
[0008] According to the present invention, the removing device is
formed by a position-controlled linear actuator, which is designed
as a pusher and pushes the selected objects in a lateral direction
from a conveyor onto a single or one of several removing lines. A
removing line may be a transport belt returning the objects to a
cleaning machine. The objects are returned, for example, if the
objects have been found to be soiled. A further removing line may,
for example, be designed as a transport belt delivering the objects
to a container positioned below the transport belt. This container
may, for example, serve to collect all objects no longer suitable
for further processing. In addition, the removing lines may include
elimination chutes.
[0009] The position-controlled linear actuator is characterized by
uniform power transmission and power generation. In comparison to
gear-based mechanisms, it thus has advantages regarding positioning
accuracy and dynamics. Furthermore, the position-controlled linear
actuator includes an electric linear motor which has a built-in,
integrated position control and may be parameterized by a guiding
system. This means that the linear actuator or the electric linear
motor is coupled to a controller that allows presetting various
movement parameters of the actuator.
[0010] The force exerted by the removing device, with which the
selected objects are pushed from the transport device, depends on
the resistance expected from the selected objects and/or their
weight. The force applied for pushing may differ from object to
object and must be adjusted correspondingly. By way of example,
empty bottle inspection includes removing soiled or damaged objects
from the transport device. The soiled objects must be treated with
the energy required for their empty weight, whereas objects with
remnants, such as remaining cleaning fluid, have about twice this
weight so that they must be removed using more force. The situation
is similar with filled objects. In a fill level monitor arranged
downstream of a filling machine, objects that are unsatisfactorily
filled are removed. Again, half-filled objects have less weight
than objects nearly reaching the ideal fill level.
[0011] Basically, the ideal parameters for the removal of standing
objects may be preset for the objects. For example, the controller
allows controlling total travel, speed of travel and/or
acceleration of the actuator for removing the objects as desired.
The necessary parameters are previously input in the controller.
However, the control parameters of the actuator may optionally be
varied during movement. In addition, an absolute zero position of
the actuator with respect to the belt and with respect to the
objects may be preset.
[0012] For setting the actuator acceleration, various sets of
parameters may be created in the controller. These sets of
parameters depend on the state of the object; for example, a first
set of parameters may be fill level monitoring. If the fill level
monitor detects insufficient or excess filling of an object, the
object is to be removed with the help of the removing device. A
further set of parameters might allow the removing device to remove
empty or insufficiently filled objects according to what is defined
in the corresponding set of parameters.
[0013] The required parameters for the fill level monitor may be
determined by a sensor that is coupled to the controller and
outputs a signal to the removing device if a set of parameters is
triggered. In addition, the sensor may serve to detect parameters
concerning weight and/or center of gravity of the objects, and may
also output the values to the controller. The sensor may, for
example, be implemented as a camera or any other optical
detector.
[0014] The camera, as sensor, allows simple monitoring of the fill
level for removal purposes. The filling of the objects is
determined. If the filling state of an object is full, half-full or
empty, the object is removed according to the applied set of
parameters. These sets of parameters are preset in the controller
for each type.
[0015] The linear actuator may be initialized prior to start-up
and/or on the fly; this means that, if there is a following error
in the linear motor, the position of the motor may be adjusted
during operation. In this context, following error means an error
caused by speed between target position and actual position. This
means that an actual value of the pusher lags behind the target
position value. This following error may, for example, be detected
due to a deviation and/or irregularity of an actual position value
curve in a control diagram showing actual values and target values.
Increasing the speed amplification factor decreases the following
error.
[0016] The positional adjustment of the linear actuator may be
controlled by the controller, depending on the detected sensor
values, with respect to object parameters depending on weight
and/or center of gravity and/or size. If a new type of object is
supplied to the transport device, the horizontal position of the
actuator relative to the object is automatically adjusted.
[0017] In addition to the device, the invention also includes a
method for removing objects. This removal is performed in a moving
transport device with objects standing in a row thereon. For their
removal, the selected objects are pushed at a right angle or at any
other angle with respect to the direction of travel of the
transport device by a removing device. The removal of the selected
objects is thus performed with the help of a position-controlled
linear actuator formed by a position-controlled electric linear
motor. This linear actuator or electric linear motor is driven by a
controller for presetting various movement parameters of the
actuator.
[0018] The actuator is controlled by the controller, which controls
total travel, speed of travel and/or acceleration. The control
parameters may be varied during the movement of the actuator. For
example, the actuator is driven depending on parameters concerning
weight and/or center of gravity of the objects, and the linear
actuator may also be initialized prior to start-up and/or on the
fly.
[0019] By the detection of a following error of the linear
actuator, its position may be adjusted during operation. The
positional adjustment is controlled by the controller, depending on
the detected sensor values, with respect to object parameters
depending on weight and/or center of gravity and/or size.
[0020] In the method for removing objects, the objects comprise
beverage containers and/or bottles that are pushed in a lateral
direction from a conveyor onto one or more removing lines by means
of the position-controlled linear actuator designed as a
pusher.
[0021] Further features, objects and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which serves
as a non-limiting example and refers to the accompanying
drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The only figure, FIG. 1, shows a schematic view of a device
for removing objects.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] The schematic view of FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an
inventive device 10 for removing objects 12. These objects 12 may
particularly comprise bottles or the like. In the present
embodiment, the device 10 consists of a total of three transport
belts 14, 18. One transport device 14 operates so that the objects
12 will pass a sensor 40 in an upright position. The sensor 40
recognizes the type of object 12 and sends the data of this type to
a controller 30.
[0024] If, during fill level monitoring, the sensor 40 detects that
the objects 12 are not full, but only half-full, a signal is
transmitted to the removing device 20. This signal transmission is
performed with the help of the controller 30, which is operatively
connected to a linear actuator 22. The linear actuator 22 comprises
a position-controlled electric linear motor 24. The various
movement parameters of the linear actuator 22 are previously stored
so that the linear motor 24 may execute the control commands
transmitted from the controller 30.
[0025] After the signal has been transmitted from the controller
30, the flawed objects 12 are removed with the help of a pusher 26.
The pusher 26 is driven with the help of the position-controlled
linear actuator 22 and may remove the flawed objects 13 via one or
more removing lines 18 arranged next to each other. In addition to
the actual transport device 14 transporting the objects 12 in the
direction of further processing T, the removing lines 18 arranged
next thereto transport the flawed objects 13 either to their
disposal T1 or to a return transport belt T2.
[0026] The return transport belt T2 receives removed, flawed
objects 13 that are to be returned, for example, to a cleaning
machine. In FIG. 1, this return transport belt T2 is the second
removing line 18 arranged next to the transport belt for disposal
T1, which, in turn, is arranged next to the transport device 14.
This parallel arrangement of the removing lines 18 is to be
considered as only one of several possible embodiments. It is also
conceivable that there are more than two or only one removing line
18.
[0027] Basically, it is useful to preset the ideal parameters for
upright removal in the controller 30 when introducing objects 12.
For example, various sets of parameters depending on the bottle
state may be defined for the acceleration in the control means 30.
These parameters are stored for each type. Since different object
or bottle sizes may have different positions of the center of
gravity, the settings of the pusher 26 must be correspondingly
adjusted to ensure failure-free removal. It may also be necessary
to use other control parameters for moving heavier objects to the
removing lines 18 than those used for lighter objects. In the
context of detecting the filling state by means of sensor 40, these
parameters may have to yield to further parameters focusing on
weight and/or center of gravity.
[0028] Only the use of an electric linear motor 24 as pusher
actuator allows a tailored transfer of the flawed objects 13 to one
of the desired removing lines 18. In contrast thereto, the pushers
used in prior art, which are driven pneumatically, only allow
relatively rough positioning during removal, because there is no
position-controlled actuator.
[0029] The invention is not limited to the above embodiments.
Instead, a variety of alternatives and modifications is
contemplated that make use of the inventive idea and thus also fall
within the scope of the invention.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0030] 10 device [0031] 12 objects [0032] 13 flawed objects [0033]
14 transport device [0034] 18 removing lines [0035] 20 removing
device [0036] 22 linear actuator [0037] 24 linear motor [0038] 26
pusher [0039] 30 controller [0040] 40 sensor [0041] T transport
belt for further processing [0042] T1 transport belt for disposal
[0043] T2 return transport belt
* * * * *