Transport system for containers in the beverage industry and lubrication method
AssigneeKrones AG
InventorMatthias Meier
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A transport system for containers in the beverage industry, with a first container conveyor including a conveyor belt for conveying the containers, and a lubrication system including an applicator for applying a lubricant to the conveyor belt of the first container conveyor, wherein the transport system comprises a second container conveyor with a further conveyor belt for conveying the containers, and the lubrication system includes a mobile robot which has the applicator arranged thereon and a floor-supported undercarriage, for applying the lubricant in an automated selectively to the conveyor belt of the first container transporter or the conveyor belt of the second container conveyor.
Claims18
A transport system for containers in the beverage industry, with
- a first container conveyor including a conveyor belt for conveying the containers, and
- a lubrication system including an applicator for applying a lubricant to the conveyor belt of the first container conveyor,
- wherein
- the transport system comprises a second container conveyor with a further conveyor belt for conveying the containers,
- the lubrication system includes a mobile robot, wherein the mobile robot has the applicator arranged thereon and a floor-supported undercarriage for applying the lubricant in an automated manner selectively to the conveyor belt of the first container conveyor or the conveyor belt of the second container conveyor, and
- the mobile robot includes a control unit for controlling both the floor-supported undercarriage and the applicator, and wherein the mobile robot is configured to both move autonomously in the transport system via the floor-supported undercarriage and to autonomously move the applicator for applying the lubricant, wherein the lubrication system includes a friction coefficient measuring device arranged on the mobile robot and used for ascertaining a friction coefficient of the conveyor belts of the first and second container conveyors, wherein the friction coefficient measuring device communicates with a database for retrieving nominal friction coefficients of different container types therefrom and/or for determining the nominal friction coefficient on a basis of similar container types.
A lubrication method for a transport system for containers in the beverage industry, wherein the containers are conveyed with a conveyor belt of a first container conveyor, and wherein a lubricant is applied to the conveyor belt of the first container conveyor by means of an applicator of a lubrication system,
- wherein
- by means of a floor-supported undercarriage, the applicator is moved in an automated manner from the first container conveyor to a second container conveyor through a mobile robot, so as to apply the lubricant by the applicator to a conveyor belt of at least a second container conveyor, wherein the mobile robot includes a control unit for controlling both the floor-supported undercarriage and the applicator, and wherein the mobile robot is configured to both move autonomously in the transport system via the floor-supported undercarriage and to autonomously move the applicator for applying the lubricant, wherein the lubrication system includes a friction coefficient measuring device arranged on the mobile robot and used for ascertaining a friction coefficient of the conveyor belts of the first and second container conveyors, wherein the friction coefficient measuring device communicates with a database for retrieving nominal friction coefficients of different container types therefrom and/or for determining the nominal friction coefficient on a basis of similar container types.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.