Bottle Tag Placement Assembly for Continuous High-Speed Web Feeding
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the packaging industry, there is a need for a reliable and efficient method to place tags with elastic anchor bands onto objects, such as beverage bottles, at high speeds, while also allowing for quick reloading of new webs to minimize downtime.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method featuring a dual-reel infeed system, a conveyor assembly, and a placing assembly with rotating jaw assemblies and a vacuum wheel to detach and place tags onto bottles, utilizing elastic anchor bands to secure the tags, and a cam system to stretch and snap the bands onto the bottles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single-web infeed system is used, then the device structure is simple, but the web must be stopped and re-threaded when exhausted, causing downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two separate web infeed systems into a single apparatus, where each reel can independently feed a web to the placing assembly. This merging allows continuous operation because when one web is exhausted, the second web can immediately take over without stopping the machine, thus resolving the contradiction between continuous productivity and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameter from single-web to dual-web configuration, allowing the system to switch between webs. This parameter change enables continuous operation by having a standby web ready to replace the exhausted one, resolving the contradiction between maintaining productivity and managing web exhaustion downtime.
2Productivity
If high speed placement is implemented, then productivity increases, but the reliability of tag placement may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic jaw assemblies that can open and close rapidly to capture and release tags at high speeds. The jaws are positioned to precisely engage the elastic bands, and the dynamic motion ensures reliable capture even at high placement rates, thus resolving the contradiction between speed and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces slow manual or mechanical tag attachment methods with a rapidly actuating jaw system that uses controlled mechanical motion to capture and place tags. This substitution enables high-speed operation while maintaining reliability through precise mechanical control of the jaw opening and closing actions.
3Reliability
If elastic anchor bands are used to secure tags, then tag attachment is reliable, but the bands must be stretched which requires additional force and time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic jaw motion where the jaws rapidly open to allow band stretching, then quickly close to secure the tag. This periodic action sequence (open-stretch-close-secure) minimizes the time the bands are in the stretching phase while ensuring reliable attachment when closed, resolving the contradiction between attachment reliability and time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamic jaw assemblies that can rapidly transition between open and closed positions. The quick opening allows the elastic bands to stretch naturally without resistance, and the rapid closing secures the tag immediately. This dynamic motion reduces the total time required for the stretching and securing process while maintaining reliable attachment.
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
Enables rapid, reliable placement of tags onto bottles at high speeds and allows for seamless web changes, reducing downtime by enabling quick re-threading of new webs, thus maintaining continuous operation.
Implementation Method 1
The wheel is substantially aligned above the placing assembly and rotates above the moving web. As the wheel rotates, its vacuum cups engage and push down on the tags of the web
Implementation Method 2
Each tag includes an elastic anchor band at one end... the pins are retracted by another cam and cam follower arrangement. This releases the elastic anchor band, which then snaps elastically onto the top of its bottle
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus is disclosed for applying tags with attached elastic anchor bands onto the tops of objects such as bottles in a high speed packaging application. The apparatus includes an infeed assembly for feeding a web, a conveyor assembly that receives a web and conveys it along a path in an upstream direction, a rotating selector wheel, a placement assembly, a pair of rotating jaw assembles, a vacuum cup of the selector wheel, and stretched elastic bands over the tops of respective bottles being conveyed along a path below the placing assembly. The elastic bands then snap onto the tops of their respective bottles to secure the tags to the bottles.