Bag-Making Apparatus Jamming Prediction and Cycle Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Jamming occurs in bag-making and packaging apparatuses when articles fall irregularly, leading to operational faults and product damage due to inappropriate timing of articles reaching the sealing jaws, causing defects and fouling.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating a prediction unit that uses an article sensor to compare fall timings with stored settings to predict potential jamming, thereby preventing the cutting and transverse sealing mechanisms from operating when jamming is likely, and adjusting the permission time based on actual jamming occurrences to optimize operations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the cutting mechanism operates in every cycle to maintain productivity, then productivity is improved, but articles may escape from the film tube when jamming occurs causing defects

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepackaging cycle continuityVSAvoidproduct defect rate
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The prediction unit performs preliminary detection of article fall timing using the article sensor before the cutting and sealing operations. By predicting potential jamming conditions in advance based on article position and timing, the system can prevent defective products before they occur, resolving the contradiction between continuous operation and defect prevention

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If the transverse sealing mechanism operates in every cycle to maintain productivity, then productivity is improved, but articles may escape from the film tube when jamming occurs causing operational faults

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepackaging cycle continuityVSAvoidsealing operation reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The prediction unit performs preliminary detection of article fall timing before the transverse sealing operation. By predicting potential jamming conditions in advance, the system can prevent sealing operations that would cause articles to escape, ensuring reliable sealing operations while maintaining overall productivity through selective operation skipping

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If the permission time is set strictly to prevent jamming, then reliability is improved, but productivity decreases due to more frequent operation skips

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvejamming prevention accuracyVSAvoidpackaging cycle efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses feedback from the article sensor to continuously monitor article fall timing and provides this information to the prediction unit. This feedback mechanism allows the system to dynamically adjust operation decisions based on actual article positions, preventing jamming while minimizing unnecessary operation skips that would reduce productivity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3480124B1Bag-making and packaging apparatus
Publication Date: 2020.03.25 ISHIDA CO LTD
  • EP3480124B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3480124B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3480124B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A bag-making and packaging apparatus (20) creates one product per cycle by packaging articles in a bag made from a film. The bag-making and packaging apparatus includes a longitudinal sealing mechanism (23), a guide, an article sensor (26), a transverse sealing mechanism (24), a cutting mechanism (25), and a prediction unit (27). The guide guides the articles which fall from above into a film tube. The transverse sealing mechanism (24) forms a transversely sealed part in the film tube with each cycle. The cutting mechanism (25) cuts the film tube in the transversely sealed part with each cycle. The prediction unit (27) predicts whether or not jamming of the articles could occur in the transverse sealing mechanism on the basis of an output of the article sensor with each cycle. When the prediction unit (27) has predicted that the jamming could occur in a certain cycle, the cutting mechanism (25) does not cut the film tube in the certain cycle.