Bagging Machine Tubular Sheath Folding and Welding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bagging machines for elongated food products, such as bread, suffer from weak bottom seals that can tear easily, especially when products are dropped, and require manual handling and storage, which is inefficient and prone to errors.
Innovation Solution
A semi-automatic bagging machine that uses a tubular sheath of heat-sealable material and paper, with a mechanism to fold and weld the sheets in a multilayer configuration, creating a stronger bottom seal by interconnecting strips from both materials, ensuring the bag's integrity and ease of use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a simple welding mechanism is used to join the sheath sheets, then the device complexity is reduced, but the bottom seal strength becomes insufficient and tears easily under product weight
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom seal is segmented into multiple welding zones: a first welding zone that welds the first sheet to itself forming a folded bottom, and a second welding zone that welds the second sheet to the first sheet. This segmentation allows each welding zone to perform a specific function, distributing the structural load and achieving superior bottom seal strength without requiring an overly complex single-step welding mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The first sheet is folded back onto itself before welding, creating a pre-formed folded structure at the bottom. This preliminary folding action prepares the material configuration in advance, allowing the subsequent welding mechanism to simply join the pre-positioned layers rather than having to create both the fold and weld in a single complex operation.
2Productivity
If manual bag preparation and filling is used, then manufacturing precision and automation requirements are reduced, but productivity decreases and error rates increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sheath is designed to be self-forming through its tubular structure and automatic folding mechanism. The first sheet automatically folds back onto itself and the second sheet automatically folds over to enclose the product, eliminating the need for manual bag preparation. This self-service capability enables high-speed automated operation while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheath is pre-configured as a tubular structure with the first sheet already positioned to fold back. This preliminary preparation of the sheath structure allows the automated filling mechanism to simply insert the product without having to manually form the bag, thereby increasing productivity while keeping automation requirements manageable.
3Strength
If the sheath is cut and welded without folding, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but the bottom seal becomes weak and yields under product weight
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom formation process is segmented into distinct folding and welding operations. The folding mechanism creates the bottom configuration separately from the welding mechanism that secures it. This segmentation allows the folding mechanism to be relatively simple while achieving the necessary structural strength through the multi-layer welded configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The bottom seal is formed as a composite structure combining the first sheet folded back onto itself and the second sheet welded to the assembly. This composite construction, with multiple layers of material bonded together, achieves superior strength without requiring an excessively complex folding mechanism, as the strength comes from the multi-layer composite rather than the complexity of the folding action.
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 machine produces bags with a significantly stronger bottom seal that reduces the likelihood of tearing and allows for efficient, semi-automatic packaging of elongated food products, improving handling and storage efficiency by ensuring the bag's integrity and ease of use.
Implementation Method 1
welding means, in particular a heating blade, for and able to weld the first and second strips together and at least with the third strip
Data Source
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AI summary
The machine (2) has a welding device for welding a set of strips, formed in a synthetic material sheet (82), together with another set of strips formed in a paper sheet (84). A folding unit has a flat plate (156) moved between first and second positions along an axis (Y100) perpendicular to a progression direction (D1) of a wound tubular sheath (8). The plate is remote from the sheath in the first position. The plate pushes the sheath from a side of the synthetic material sheet toward a side of the paper sheet in the second position by folding the sheets at folds between the strips. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a pouch for bagging elongate food products (2) a method for bagging elongate food products.