Low-Friction Bag Closing Conveyor to Prevent Bag Wrap-Around
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bag closing machines suffer from issues of bag necks bunching and wrapping around delivery conveyor wheels, leading to tangling and operational inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A bag closing apparatus with friction-reducing drive and follower wheels, utilizing materials like PTFE and anodized aluminum with low static dry coefficients of friction, to minimize bag wrap-around and ensure smooth delivery into closures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional drive wheels and follower wheels are used to deliver bag necks into closures, then the bag closing operation can be performed, but the bag necks will bunch and wrap around the wheels causing tangling and operational inefficiencies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the friction parameter of the wheel surfaces by applying friction-reducing coatings (such as PTFE/Teflon) to the drive wheels and follower wheels. This parameter change reduces the coefficient of friction between the wheels and the bag necks, preventing the bags from wrapping around and tangling on the wheels while maintaining effective bag neck delivery into closures
2Reliability
If friction-reducing surfaces are applied to the wheels, then bag wrap-around is reduced, but the complexity of the wheel manufacturing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite material solutions by coating the wheel surfaces with friction-reducing materials such as PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene/Teflon) or using anodized aluminum. These composite material applications provide the low-friction surface needed to prevent bag wrap-around while maintaining the structural integrity and manufacturability of the wheel components
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
The apparatus effectively reduces bag wrap-around and tangling, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing maintenance needs by ensuring seamless bag closure application.
Implementation Method 1
The drive wheels each comprise a circumferential outer periphery having a friction-reducing surface having a static dry coefficient of friction of at most 0.2. The follower wheels each have a circumferential outer periphery having a friction-reducing surface having a static dry coefficient of friction of at most 0.2.
Data Source
AI summary
A bag closing apparatus is provided having a frame, a closure strip guide, a clip separator, and a bag feed conveyor. The frame is configured to carry a strip of closures. The closure strip guide is configured to guide a strip of closures. The clip separator is configured to sever a terminal closure on a strip of closures exiting the strip guide. The bag feed conveyor has a pair of laterally spaced-apart drive wheels and a complementary pair of laterally spaced-apart follower wheels urged into engagement for coaction with the drive wheels to deliver a bag neck into the terminal closure. The drive wheels and the follower wheels each comprise a circumferential outer periphery having a friction-reducing surface having a static dry coefficient of friction of at most 0.2. A method is also provided.