The present invention relates to a method and a tool for information output.
The prior art already shows tools for determining measurement values. The patent application publication CH 424 486 A refers to an adjustment and measuring gauge for adjusting the settings of woodworking machines. The measuring gauge comprises a slider, which is arranged in the area of a measuring stick scale for displaying readings. DE 93 01 968 U1 also discloses such a tool, which includes a tong-like means for gripping a workpiece and which has a measuring scale at the opposite end. These adjustment gauges known from prior art require the user to ascertain whether a measurement reading resulting from a performed measurement process is within the range of nominal values or whether the result of the measurement deviates from the nominal values. The assignment of measurement values to predefined nominal values by a user is prone to errors, as nominal values may change with regard to different work and adjustment processes.
Not only for measurement processes, but also for a large number of further work and adjustment processes, would methods and tools be desirable which present their results in a simple manner after taking measurements of parameters. It is desirable to do away as far as possible with the laborious and error-prone manual assignment of measurement values to information. Adjusting the settings of an apparatus and adapting a system to a later work process or to a product in particular require that conclusions are drawn about which setting adjustments to the apparatus or to the system are necessary or unnecessary. For inexperienced employees or employees being trained it would also be desirable to have a method and a tool which provides direct information or which indicates necessary settings or adjustments in addition to or in the place of providing merely measurement values. Furthermore, it may be in the interest of the users, and also useful in order to prevent errors while making settings, to be able to draw conclusions about necessary adjustments or settings from a performed measurement process without having to know the nominal measurement values.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a tool which make further information accessible without requiring users to assign parameters to predefined nominal values, and in particular to provide further information regarding the necessity or nonnecessity of adjusting the settings of an apparatus or a system. The method and the tool are furthermore intended to facilitate making adjustments to the settings of a system. They are also intended to reduce or prevent errors in adjusting the settings.
The invention provides that the method and the tool are intended for information output. The information output may be performed acoustically, for instance, but in a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention it is performed visually. In a first process step, one or more components in a system and/or one or more physical parameters of one or more components of an apparatus are determined and/or assessed. The apparatus may be a work machine or a work device, for instance. The components may be individual parts, for instance, of the work machine or of the work device, such as may support the function of said work machine or work device. The present invention is, however, not limited to such work machines or work devices, and the method and the tool may therefore be applied in a multitude of other apparatuses and systems.
A measuring apparatus and/or a measuring unit, for instance, may be used for determining and/or assessing one or more physical parameters. The physical parameters may be identified, for instance, as pressure and/or as force and/or as lengths or distances and/or as other physical parameters. According to the parameter that is supposed to be assessed or determined, the measuring device and/or the measuring unit may also comprise diverse measuring instruments. The measuring device and/or the measuring unit may, for instance, comprise one or more sensors for capturing physical parameters. Pressure sensors and/or tactile sensors and/or optical sensors and/or acoustic sensors may be part of a tool according to the invention, or they may contribute to performing the method according to the invention in a large variety of embodiments.
Further included is a first assignment means which associates a first is-information or a first is-not-information, respectively, to several parameters, which is- or is-not-information is displayed and/or output depending on the assessed parameters. In particular, there are at least two parameters to which a first is-information or a first is-not-information is associated. The assignment of the respective parameters to a first is- or is-not-information may be performed, for instance, by a computer-aided system. Is-information or is-not-information, in a preferred embodiment variant of the present invention, is absolute information, which may inform a user whether one or more components of the system or the apparatus fall within nominal conditions or whether they deviate from nominal conditions.
Additionally included is a second assignment means, which associates a second is-information or a second is-not-information, respectively, to several of the determined and/or assessed parameters, which is- or is-not-information is output and/or displayed depending on the determined and/or assessed parameters in addition to, or in place of, the first is- or is-not-information.
The system according to the invention is a container flow system. The container flow system may comprise, for instance, a conveying device, preferably a horizontal conveying device and/or other means for conveying containers along a transport path. The containers are guided and/or directed between at least two components in a predetermined transport direction and/or along a predetermined transport path. It is therefore possible for one or more of the components to be designed as guide plates and/or guide bars and/or guide walls. The first and/or the second is-not-information may therefore indicate no necessary adjustment of at least one component for directing and guiding containers between two components. The nominal arrangement and/or the nominal alignment of the components may be defined such that the containers keep a defined distance to those components between which the containers are being guided and/or directed in the predetermined transport direction and/or along the predetermined transport path. The distance may be defined such that the containers can be directed in an optimal manner without being jammed. It is therefore possible to output the is-information or the second is-information in the instance of the relative distance of two of the components deviating from a predefined range. If the relative distance between the components is too large and/or too small, it is intended that the is-information and/or the second is-information is output and/or displayed. The first is-information and the first is-not-information may inform a user about the necessity or non-necessity of readjusting one or more components of the system in order to establish a nominal alignment in a first section, while the second is-information and the second is-not-information may inform a user about the necessity or non-necessity of readjusting one or more components of the system in order to establish a nominal alignment in a further section. The first assignment means and/or the second assignment means may accordingly take into account the container geometry and in particular the maximum container diameter.
It is conceivable to include the possibility of selecting between the output of the first is- or is-not-information and the output of the second is- or is-not-information. It may be provided, for instance, that a physical parameter is assessed and that a first is- or is-not-information is output and/or displayed and a second is- or is-not-information is output and/or displayed in dependence on the assessed parameter. The output or display may be performed, for instance, by acoustic signals and/or in a visual manner. This may be effected, for instance, by using a colored display (green=is-information; red=is-not-information) or by using digits (0=is-information or readjusting is not necessary; 1=is-not-information) or by using other suitable signals. Further possibilities for indicating an is-information and/or an is-not-information by means of visual signals are known to those skilled in the art. It is therefore not necessary to explicitly cite these possibilities. Furthermore, a display unit or a display or the like may be provided, which is intended for outputting or displaying the respective is- or is-not-information. It is further conceivable that the first is- or is-not-information is output and/or displayed simultaneously with the second is- or is-not-information. The output or display may be performed analogously, preferably, however, the output or display is performed in a digital manner.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method for information output is provided by means of the alignment and/or the arrangement of one or more readjustable and/or resettable components in a system or in an apparatus. It is thereby possible for the determined and/or assessed physical parameters to refer to the actual arrangement and/or to the actual alignment of one or more of the components. It is conceivable that the system according to the invention is defined in three-dimensional space, for instance. One embodiment of the present invention may comprise means for optical acquisition of the actual arrangement and/or the actual alignment of one or more components in the system. Camera systems and optical sensors are suitable examples for performing the method. The parameters may be determined and/or assessed by data on the alignment and/or arrangement of one or more components in three-dimensional space, for instance. These components may accordingly possess an actual arrangement and/or an actual alignment in three-dimensional space. Furthermore, the parameters may may be formed as distance parameters that refer to the relative distance of one or more components of the apparatus or the system. It may also be provided that several determining and/or assessment processes are performed and that for each determining and/or assessment process either the first is-information or the second is-information indicates a necessary readjustment and/or resetting of one or more components in the system or in the apparatus in order to establish a nominal alignment. Each determining and/or assessment process may be performed at a certain position of one or more components in a system and/or one or more components in an apparatus. Two or more determining and/or assessment processes may be performed one after the other, for instance. Furthermore, it may be provided that for each determining and/or assessment process either the first is-not-information or the second is-not-information indicates no necessary readjustment and/or resetting of one or more components in the system or in the apparatus in order to establish a nominal alignment. Furthermore, it may be provided that the first is-information or the second is-information indicates a necessary readjustment and/or resetting of one or more components in the system in order to establish a nominal alignment.
The parameters may be defined, for instance, by data on the relative distance of two or more components to each other. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the relative actual distance and/or the relative actual alignment of each of at least two components to each other is determined and/or assessed. Preferably, the process of determining and/or assessing is performed by mechanical means, which at least in parts have a surface contact with at least one of the components during the determining and/or assessment process of the respective parameters or of the relative distance. A tool as described in detail in the following may in particular be provided as such a mechanical means.
The invention further relates to a tool for information output which may comprise a base body and a measuring unit for determining and/or assessing one or more physical parameters of one or more components of a system and/or of an apparatus. Furthermore, the tool may comprise a first assignment means for assigning several parameters to a first is- or to a first is-not-information, respectively, wherein the first is- or the first is-not-information can be output and/or displayed by the tool depending on the determined and/or assessed parameters. The output and/or display may be effected by the tool in a visual or acoustical manner, for instance. The tool according to the invention also comprises a second assignment means for assigning several parameters to a second is- or to a second is-not-information, respectively, wherein the second is- or the second is-not-information can be output and/or displayed by the tool depending on the determined and/or assessed parameters.
According to the invention, the tool is used for systems in which the first component and the second component are designed as readjustable guide bars and/or readjustable guide elements for guiding and/or directing containers on a conveyor. The readjustment may thereby be defined as a readjustment of the relative distance of the guide bars and/or guide elements to each other. The conveyor may be designed as a horizontal conveying device, for instance.
If the base body has a suitable geometric design, it is furthermore possible to verify and, if required, set and/or adjust the height or the distance of the first component and the second component in relation to a bottom surface, for instance a conveyor, and preferably a horizontal conveyor. The first and the second component can thereby abut on one of sides of the base body facing the first and the second component. The base body may accordingly comprise two parallel or at least nearly parallel stop surfaces for one component each of the apparatus or of the system.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the base body of the tool comprises a first arm section, which is brought into a surface contact with a first component, and a second arm section with a measuring unit, which is brought into a surface contact with a second component, for instance by means of a plug gauge, for determining and/or assessing parameters about the relative actual distance of the first component to a second component. The tool may also comprise means for the digital display of the is- and/or of the is-not-information. The means for the digital display are thereby preferably arranged on the tool.
The measuring unit may furthermore comprise an indicator and/or an indicator may be arranged on the measuring unit. When the measuring unit and/or parts of the measuring unit are shifted, the indicator comes to present and/or display the respective is- and/or is-not-information. The indicator may be arranged on a plug gauge or it may be part of a plug gauge, for instance. The indicator may also point at the respective is- and/or the respective is-not-information, for instance. It may also be provided that the is-information and the is-not-information are visibly applied onto the tool and that the indicator comes to point at the respective information when the stop element is shifted. The indicator moves, for instance, together with the measuring unit when the measuring unit is shifted and/or together with parts of the measuring unit when these are shifted. In a further embodiment, the indicator may be designed as a digital part of the measuring unit. The is-information and the is-not information may be indicated, for instance, by different colors, for example by green and red, with the colors being visibly applied onto the tool. The indicator may be guided in a receiving slot so that the measuring unit is limited in its shifting range. If a digital indicator is used, it is possible for the indicator to point at the respective information when the measuring unit is shifted.
The first arm section may be arranged between the two components while assessing and/or determining the physical parameters. It is also possible that, while assessing and/or determining the physical parameters, the measuring unit and/or parts of the measuring unit are brought into surface contact with one of the outer sides of the second component, which outer side of the second component is averted from the first component. If the first arm section is located between the two components, it may also be provided that said first arm section or parts of said first arm section abut on the first component during the process of assessing and/or determining the physical parameters.
For easier handling, the base body of the tool may comprise a recess, which is designed as a handgrip and/or a handle. Handles and/or handgrip s may also be separate parts that are additionally arranged on the base body.
In summary, the advantages of the present invention lie in being able to prevent erroneous settings of guide rails or guide bars. Furthermore, the invention facilitates fast and precise adjustment setting. Dysfunctions during production start are also prevented, as are subsequent corrections of the rail setting. Other advantageous effects are the reduction of rejects and the improvement of the installation's efficiency.
In the following passages, the attached figures further illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and their advantages. The size ratios of the individual elements in the figures do not necessarily reflect the real size ratios. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention.
The same or equivalent elements of the invention are designated by identical reference characters. Furthermore and for the sake of clarity, only the reference characters relevant for describing the respective figure are provided. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples of the tool and the method according to the invention, while indicating preferred embodiments, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous changes and modifications can be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention and that such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is, therefore, intended that the appended claims cover all such equivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
List of Reference Characters
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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DE102011050715.9 | May 2011 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2012/058127 | 5/3/2012 | WO | 00 | 11/19/2013 |