Conveyor Guide Rail Pneumatic Fixing for Sack Slipping

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing sack manufacturing plants face challenges in producing geometrically precise box sacks with high machine speed due to the tendency of stretched plastic fabric to slip and the difficulty in maintaining geometric quality, especially when using materials like polyethylene, polypropylene, or PET.

Innovation Solution

The device equips a guide bar with a compressed air duct and nozzles oriented transversely to the transport direction, generating a directed air flow that fixes the sack body sections against the transport device, preventing slipping and allowing for precise geometric folding.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the machine speed is increased to improve productivity, then the throughput of sack bodies increases, but the stretched plastic fabric tends to slip and geometric precision of the bottom deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvethroughput of sack bodiesVSAvoidgeometric precision of bottom
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs a guide bar equipped with compressed air nozzles that generate an air flow creating negative pressure to hold the sack body sections against the transport device. This pneumatic fixing system prevents the stretched plastic fabric from slipping during high-speed transport, enabling increased productivity while maintaining geometric precision of the bottom formation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #29Pneumatics and hydraulics

2Strength

If the stretched plastic fabric is used to improve flexibility and durability, then the sack strength increases, but the fabric becomes more difficult to fold and geometric precision deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesack strengthVSAvoidgeometric precision of folding
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The pneumatic fixing system using compressed air nozzles creates negative pressure that holds the sack body sections firmly against the transport device and guide bar during the folding process. This prevents the stretched plastic fabric from shifting or slipping, enabling precise geometric folding despite the material's inherent difficulty in being folded, thus maintaining both strength and manufacturing precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #29Pneumatics and hydraulics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the physical state of the fabric by controlling the air pressure and flow characteristics during the folding process. By adjusting the negative pressure parameters, the system optimizes the fabric's behavior during folding, enabling precise geometric formation while preserving the material's strength properties.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Ease of manufacture

If the bottom opening device is designed to separate tube walls effectively, then the bottom formation capability improves, but the required intermittent operation reduces productivity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebottom formation capabilityVSAvoidthroughput of sack bodies
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent enables continuous operation of the bottom opening device by using the pneumatic fixing system to hold the sack body sections in position during transport. This eliminates the need for intermittent stopping and starting, allowing the bottom formation process to continue without interruption while maintaining effective tube wall separation, thus improving both ease of manufacture and productivity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful 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

This solution ensures that the sack body sections are held in a defined position during transport, enabling the production of box sacks with geometrically correct and high-quality cross bottoms even at increased machine speeds, reducing the likelihood of warped or leaky bottoms.

Implementation Method 1

generate a directed air flow which creates a negative pressure between the sections of the bag body guided over the guide rail and the transport device or between the transport device and the sections of the bag body which presses the sections of the bag body against the transport device or against the support

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectNegative pressure: Pressure Drop

Data Source

PatentEP2711165B1Conveyor device for sack bodies
Publication Date: 2016.07.27 STARLINGER & CO GESELLSCHAFT MBH
  • EP2711165B1 patent drawingFigure 1~4
  • EP2711165B1 patent drawingFigure 5
  • EP2711165B1 patent drawingFigure 6

AI summary

A device (1) for conveying tubular bag bodies (10), which preferably have a fabric made of stretched plastic strips or a plastic film or a composite of the fabric and the film, comprises a transport device (2) on which the bag bodies (10) with adjacent tubular walls (10a, 10b) can be transported at a transport speed (V) in a transport direction (T), and at least one guide rail (30) arranged along the transport device (2) in the transport direction (T). The guide rail has a compressed air channel (31) and air nozzles (32, 37) supplied by the compressed air channel, which are oriented such that they generate an airflow (L) directed substantially transversely to the transport direction (T).