Capsule Transfer Drum With Rotating Units
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing machines for producing single-use capsules are inefficient due to rigid designs that restrict the angular movement of capsules, leading to waste and incomplete filling during the powder product transfer process, limiting the effective use of processing stations and machine compactness.
Innovation Solution
A machine with a transfer drum and rotating units that can autonomously orient relative to the drum's lateral surface, allowing optimal alignment with processing stations, and a method that involves selectively rotating units to ensure correct positioning and orientation during the capsule production process, enabling efficient movement and filling of capsules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the capsules are conveyed by a transfer drum along a circular trajectory, then the machine achieves compactness and continuous movement, but the capsules must maintain fixed orientation which causes powder to fall outside during filling
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule carrier is designed to rotate dynamically about its own axis while being conveyed by the transfer drum, allowing the capsule orientation to change from horizontal during conveyance to vertical during filling operations, thus achieving both compact continuous movement and precise filling accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system separates the conveyance function (performed by the transfer drum) from the orientation control function (performed by the individual capsule carrier rotation), allowing each function to be optimized independently - the drum provides compact circular conveyance while the carrier provides precise orientation control for filling
2Manufacturing precision
If the capsules are kept in fixed position during conveying, then the processing stations can be precisely aligned, but only a limited angular portion of the path can be used for production steps
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule carrier can rotate dynamically to different angular positions, allowing multiple processing stations to be positioned at different angles around the transfer drum, thus increasing the effective use of the processing path while maintaining precise alignment at each station
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds the rotational degree of freedom for the capsule carrier, transforming the problem from a one-dimensional fixed-position conveyance to a two-dimensional system where both the transfer drum rotation and carrier rotation can be independently controlled to optimize station utilization
3Device complexity
If the machine uses a rigid design for capsule conveyance, then the structure is simple, but the capsule orientation cannot be optimized for different processing steps
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule carrier is designed with a simple rotational mechanism that provides dynamic orientation control, allowing the same basic structure to serve multiple processing functions by simply changing the angular position, thus achieving versatility without significant complexity increase
Data Source
AI summary
A machine for making capsules containing powder product including a plurality of processing stations configured for performing respective processes for making capsules and movement means configured for conveying said capsules along a processing path extending through the plurality of processing stations. The movement means include a transfer drum and a plurality of units each designed to receive at least one capsule body. Moreover, each unit is coupled to a lateral surface of the transfer drum and is configured to rotate relative to the lateral surface about a respective orientation axis parallel to an axis of rotation of the transfer drum.