Cigarette Packaging Stiffening Element Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional methods for packaging cigarettes in impermeable materials face challenges in heat sealing due to mechanical and thermal stresses, leading to productivity issues and degradation of organoleptic qualities, as they require complex modifications to accommodate stiffening elements like cardboard collars.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for manufacturing a sealed wrapping of cigarettes using a U-shaped stiffening element made of cardboard, integrated within a rigid pocket, which allows for easier folding and heat sealing of a heat-sealable plastic sheet around the cigarettes, maintaining the organoleptic qualities and improving packaging efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If heat sealing is performed on impermeable material wrapping, then the organoleptic qualities are preserved, but mechanical and thermal stresses cause local deformation and spoil the tobacco
Solution Approach 1:
A collar made of flexible material is introduced as an intermediary element between the impermeable wrapping material and the cigarette bundle. This collar absorbs and distributes the mechanical and thermal stresses during heat sealing, preventing direct transmission of harmful forces to the tobacco while maintaining the sealing function and preserving organoleptic qualities.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible collar is positioned around the cigarette bundle before the impermeable wrapping material is applied and sealed. This pre-positioning creates a protective cushion that anticipates and mitigates the harmful stresses that will occur during the heat sealing process, preventing local deformation and tobacco spoilage before they can occur.
2Reliability
If a rigid collar is used to maintain configuration during heat sealing, then the cigarettes are protected, but placing and folding the collar becomes very complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The collar material properties are changed from rigid to flexible, allowing it to be easily placed and folded around the cigarette bundle while maintaining its protective function. The flexible material can conform to the bundle shape during positioning and then provides sufficient structural support during the heat sealing process, simplifying the overall operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar is designed with flexible material that allows dynamic adjustment during the packaging process. It can be easily deformed during placement and folding operations, then maintains its protective configuration during heat sealing, adapting to the different stages of the packaging process without requiring complex positioning mechanisms.
3Reliability
If modifications are made to packaging machine to accommodate stiffening element, then the internal wrapping can be sealed, but the whole productivity is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible collar serves as a mediator that enables sealing capability without requiring complex machine modifications. By positioning the collar around the bundle before wrapping, it provides the necessary structural support for heat sealing to occur effectively, while its flexibility allows it to be integrated into existing packaging machine operations without degrading productivity.
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 solution enables efficient and stable sealing of cigarettes, preserving their aromatic qualities and simplifying the packaging process by reducing mechanical and thermal stresses, thus enhancing productivity and maintaining the cigarettes' quality over time.
Implementation Method 1
heat sealing of a heat-sealable plastic sheet around the cigarettes
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A method for manufacturing a sealed wrapping (1) of a bundle of cigarettes (10), including the steps of: providing a pocket (20) being shaped to receive a bundle of cigarettes (10); inserting a stiffening element (30) inside the pocket (20); inserting a bundle of cigarettes inside the pocket (20) in order to be surrounded by the stiffening element (30); providing a wrapping sheet (11) having a weakening line (2) suitable to obtain an access window for the bundle of cigarettes (10); folding in a U shape the wrapping sheet (11) on the pocket (20) in order to have two parallel flaps on the pocket (20); extracting the bundle of cigarettes (10) together with the stiffening element (3) from the pocket (20) in order to drag the wrapping sheet (11) until it contacts the bundle of cigarettes (10) and the stiffening element (3) without the interposition of the pocket (20) anymore; performing a first sealing by creating a transversal fin (9) forming joining two flaps of the wrapping sheet along one transversal edge (14) of the bundle of cigarettes (10), said transversal fin (9) being soldered while it is arranged along the edge perpendicularly to the bottom wall of the bundle of cigarettes (10); performing a final sealing of the open sides of the wrapping sheet (11) in order to form the sealed wrapping (1).