Bottleneck Sealing for Convex Confectionery Packaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing processes for wrapping confectionery products with convex shapes, such as pralines, struggle to achieve airtight sealing and uniform adhesion over irregular surfaces with small bumps and protrusions, leading to air retention within the wrapper.
Innovation Solution
A process involving two sheets of laminar material, preferably aluminum or polypropylene, where one sheet is deep-drawn into a cup shape and a bottleneck operation is performed using an iris tool to tightly adhere the sheet to the product, followed by sealing with a second sheet, ensuring comprehensive coverage and air evacuation through vacuum-assisted adhesion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional wrapping processes are used with two sheets, then the wrapper can be formed around the product, but air remains trapped within the wrapper due to poor adhesion over irregular surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The process performs a bottleneck operation on the tubular wall portion before final sealing, pre-compressing and adhering the sheet to the product surface. This preliminary adhesion action ensures that when the second sheet is added and sealed, air has already been evacuated and the wrapper is tightly bound to the product, resolving the air trapping issue while maintaining manufacturing feasibility
Solution Approach 2:
The bottleneck operation creates a sealed region that allows for vacuum evacuation of air from within the wrapper. By removing air before final sealing, the process ensures complete adhesion between the wrapper sheets and product surface, eliminating air pockets that would compromise sealing quality
2Reliability
If the wrapper sheet is tightly adhered to the product surface, then adhesion is improved, but the presence of bumps and protrusions prevents complete contact
Solution Approach 1:
The bottleneck operation is performed while the sheet is still in the tubular wall configuration, allowing the material to be compressed and conform to irregular product surfaces before final shaping. This preliminary compression ensures that bumps and protrusions are encapsulated rather than creating gaps, achieving complete surface coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The wrapper sheets are formed into a tubular wall configuration that acts as a flexible shell conforming to the product shape. This flexible intermediate structure allows the material to adapt to surface irregularities, ensuring complete contact and adhesion even over bumps and protrusions
3Ease of operation
If the tubular wall portion is left loose, then the bottleneck operation can be performed, but air remains trapped within the wrapper
Solution Approach 1:
The bottleneck operation is performed as a preliminary step before final sealing, creating initial adhesion and enabling air evacuation. By completing this operation while the structure is still accessible, the process achieves both operational feasibility and subsequent airtight sealing
Solution Approach 2:
The bottleneck operation creates a sealed configuration that enables vacuum evacuation of air from the wrapper interior. By removing air before final sealing, the process ensures complete adhesion and eliminates trapped air pockets, achieving airtight sealing
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 process achieves airtight sealing and improved adhesion over the entire surface of the product, including irregularities, effectively reducing air presence within the wrapper and ensuring a secure, sealed package.
Implementation Method 1
vacuum-assisted adhesion
Implementation Method 2
vacuum extraction system removes air from within the wrapper by creating a pressure difference
Implementation Method 3
the two sheets have been welded peripherally to give the wrapper sealing characteristics
Data Source
AI summary
Process and corresponding apparatus for wrapping a product in a wrapper of sheet material, adhering to the surface of the product, the process comprising the steps of:providing a first and a second sheet of wrapping material,shaping said first sheet according to a cup-shaped configuration comprising a bottom portion substantially complementary to a bottom portion of the surface of the product, a tubular portion which extends above the top of the product when inserted in said so-shaped sheet and defining a mouth adapted for the introduction of the product and an annular flange terminal portion surrounding said mouth,introducing the product in said first shaped sheet, andconnecting said second sheet to said annular flange so as to form a closed wrapper around said product.Following the introduction of the product and prior to connection of said second sheet with said annular flange, it includes the operation to make a bottleneck of said tubular portion of said first sheet in its region immediately above the top of the product, exerting on said annular flange a pressure suitable to bind the edges of flange or to limit its radial movement, so as to cause the adhesion of said tubular wall to a substantial portion of the top surface of the product.