Device and method for preventing faults of an oven for producing containers, in particular cans

1 . A device for preventing faults of an oven for the production of containers comprising:

a conveyor unit with transport pins, the conveyor unit being designed for conveying the containers along a drying section;

at least one measuring unit configured to ascertain an inlet number of containers entering an observation section of the drying section and an outlet number of containers exiting the observation section; and

a control device configured to determine an amount of container loss on the basis of a deviation between the inlet number and the outlet number.

2 . A device according to claim 1 , wherein the measuring unit is further designed to ascertain at least one actual control variable for controlling the observation section, wherein the actual control variable is a conveying speed of the conveyor unit, a transport density along the observation section, a torque of a drive unit driving the conveyor unit, a fluid flow control variable for controlling at least one fluid flow device for supplying the containers with a fluid flow along the observation section, a temperature of the fluid flow, a target temperature of the containers, a heating temperature of the observation section, a heating temperature profile along the observation section, and/or a heating power of a heating device of the oven,

wherein the transport density characterizes a conveyed number of containers per unit of time.

3 . A device according to claim 2 , wherein the control device is further designed to output an adjustment command for adjusting at least one target control variable for controlling the conveyor unit and/or the oven on the basis of at least one of the inlet number, the outlet number, the amount of container loss, and the at least one actual control variable, wherein the target control variable is the conveying speed of the conveyor unit, the transport density along the observation section, the torque of the drive unit driving the conveyor unit, the fluid flow control variable for controlling the at least one fluid flow device for supplying the containers with the fluid flow along the observation section, the temperature of the fluid flow, the target temperature of the containers, the heating temperature of the observation section, the heating temperature profile along the observation section, and/or the heating power of the heating device of the oven.

4 . A device according to claim 1 , wherein the measuring unit is further designed to ascertain at least one actual control variable and/or at least one target control variable,

wherein the actual control variable and/or the target control variable is for controlling the conveyor unit and characterizes a conveying speed of the conveyor unit and/or a transport density along the observation section, wherein the transport density characterizes a conveyed number of containers per unit of time, and/or

wherein the actual control variable and/or the target control variable is for controlling the oven and is a fluid flow control variable for controlling at least one fluid flow device for supplying the containers with a fluid flow along the observation section of a heating device of the oven, a temperature of the fluid of the fluid flow, a target temperature of the containers, a heating temperature, and/or a heating temperature profile at least along the observation section.

5 . A device according to claim 3 ,

wherein the at least one measuring unit is further designed to ascertain at least one container property, wherein the container property is one of a container type, a container body and a container geometry of the containers, and

wherein the control device is further configured to output an adjustment command for adjusting the at least one target control variable for controlling the conveyor unit and/or the oven,

wherein the adjustment command is still based on the container property.

6 . A device according to claim 3 ,

wherein the control device is further designed to determine an adjustment command for adjusting the at least one target control variable for controlling the conveyor unit and/or the oven such that the amount of container loss is minimized.

7 . A device according to claim 6 ,

wherein the adjustment command is still based on a first priority level, and

wherein the first priority level comprises predetermined legally prescribed upper and/or lower limits of the actual control variable and/or the target control variable, and the adjustment command adjusts the target control variable in such a way that the target control variable reaches at most the upper and/or lower limit.

8 . A device according to claim 7 ,

wherein the adjustment command is based on a second priority level, which is subordinate to the first priority level, and

wherein the second priority level characterizes at least one of:

minimized energy consumption of the conveyor unit, the observation section, the at least one heating device, the at least one fluid flow device, and/or the oven required for producing the containers, and

minimized amount of container loss.

9 . A device according to claim 6 ,

wherein the control device is further designed to determine the adjustment command on the basis of a contact pressure of the containers for stabilizing the containers on the conveyor unit, the contact pressure being based on at least one of a container property, the conveying speed, a container density, and the fluid flow applied to the containers, in particular along the observation section, and

wherein the contact pressure is a minimum contact pressure which stabilizes the containers on the conveyor unit.

10 . A device according to claim 8 ,

wherein the control device is further designed to output control information, and

wherein the control information characterizes at least one of the inlet number, the outlet number, the amount of container loss, the at least one actual control variable, the at least one target control variable, the adjustment command, the observation section, the container property, a first priority level, the second priority level, and the minimum contact pressure for stabilizing the containers on the conveyor unit.

11 . A device according to claim 1 , further comprising a display unit designed to display the control information.

12 . A device according to claim 8 , further comprising a display unit designed to display the control information,

wherein the display unit is designed to receive an input, and/or

wherein the device further comprises an input unit which is designed to receive the input,

wherein the input comprises at least one of the at least one actual control variable, the at least one target control variable, the adjustment command, the observation section, the container property, the first priority level, the second priority level, and the minimum contact pressure for stabilizing the containers on the conveyor unit, and

wherein the control device is designed to receive the input and, on the basis of the input, to determine the at least one actual control variable, the at least one target control variable, the observation section, the container property, the first priority level, the second priority level, and/or the contact pressure, and/or to output the adjustment command on the basis of the input.

13 . A device according to claim 1 ,

wherein the drying section comprises two or more observation sections,

wherein the at least one measuring unit is designed, with respect to at least one of the two or more observation sections, to ascertain an inlet number of containers entering the at least one observation section and an outlet number of containers exiting the at least one observation section, and

wherein the control device is designed to

determine an amount of container loss of the at least one observation section on the basis of a deviation between the inlet number and the outlet number of the at least one observation section.

14 . A device according to claim 2 ,

wherein the drying section comprises two or more observation sections,

wherein the at least one measuring unit is designed, with respect to at least one of the two or more observation sections, to ascertain an inlet number of containers entering the at least one observation section and an outlet number of containers exiting the at least one observation section, and

wherein the control device is designed to determine an amount of container loss of the at least one observation section on the basis of a deviation between the inlet number and the outlet number of the at least one observation section,

wherein the at least one measuring unit is designed in relation to the at least one of the two or more observation sections to ascertain at least one actual control variable for controlling the conveyor unit and/or the oven, in particular the at least one observation section.

15 . A device according to claim 3 ,

wherein the drying section comprises two or more observation sections,

wherein the at least one measuring unit is designed, with respect to at least one of the two or more observation sections, to ascertain an inlet number of containers entering the at least one observation section and an outlet number of containers exiting the at least one observation section, and

wherein the control device is designed to determine an amount of container loss of the at least one observation section on the basis of a deviation between the inlet number and the outlet number of the at least one observation section,

wherein the control device is further designed with respect to the at least one or and/or a further one of the two or more observation sections for outputting at least one adjustment command for adjusting at least one target control variable for controlling the conveyor unit and/or the oven, in particular for controlling the at least one observation section, on the basis of at least one of at least one of the amount of container loss and the at least one actual control variable of the at least one observation section.