Crimping Unit With Adjustable Rollers For Tobacco Web Compaction

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing crimping systems for tobacco industry products result in non-uniformly compacted articles that tend to loosen during subsequent processes, leading to poor quality end products.

Innovation Solution

A crimping unit with a feed station equipped with dancer rollers for tensioning and a crimping station featuring adjustable crimping rollers and a supporting element that can modify the web's path, ensuring optimal compaction and uniformity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If conventional crimping systems are used to create corrugations on the web, then the web can be compacted into a longitudinal stream, but the articles become non-uniformly compacted and tend to loosen

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuniformity of compactionVSAvoidstability of compacted web
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The crimping rollers are made adjustable in position and orientation through a supporting element that can be modified by motor means. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the crimping parameters to be optimized for different web types, achieving uniform compaction without loosening. The path along which the web is subjected to crimping action can be easily modified to adapt to specific web features.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the parameters of the crimping process by allowing variable position and orientation of the crimping rollers. This enables optimization of the crimping action to achieve both uniform compaction and stable articles that do not loosen during subsequent processes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Manufacturing precision

If the crimping rollers are made adjustable to adapt to different web types, then the quality of end product is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality of end productVSAvoidcomplexity of crimping unit
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The supporting element with motor means provides multi-functionality by enabling both position and orientation adjustment of the crimping rollers. This single mechanism serves multiple purposes: adapting to different web types, optimizing crimping parameters, and ensuring high-quality end products, thereby managing complexity through universal design.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Manufacturing precision

If the path of the web through the crimping rollers is modified to optimize compaction, then the web can be optimally compacted, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality of compactionVSAvoidcomplexity of path adjustment mechanism
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The path of the web through the crimping rollers is made dynamic and adjustable through the supporting element mechanism. This allows optimization of the compaction quality for different web types without requiring multiple fixed installations, managing complexity through a single adjustable system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

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 crimping unit achieves high-quality, continuous, and compacted web streams, enhancing the strength and uniformity of tobacco industry products.

Implementation Method 1

The feed means are equipped with tensioning devices for tensioning the web, said tensioning devices comprising dancer rollers

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectTension: Tension

Implementation Method 2

a first crimping roller and a second crimping roller operatively coupled to make a plurality of longitudinal easy folding lines on the web in transit between the two crimping rollers

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCompression: Compression

Implementation Method 3

motor means acting on the supporting element to implement the variation of the position and/or orientation of the supporting element

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectMechanical Force: Mechanical Force

Data Source

PatentEP3473113B1Crimping unit
Publication Date: 2021.03.17 GD SPA
  • EP3473113B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3473113B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3473113B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

This invention relates to a crimping unit for crimping a web (100) of material used to make tobacco industry products, comprising: - a feed station (10) provided with feed means (11) for feeding a web of material (100) used to make tobacco industry products; - a crimping station (20) which comprises a first crimping roller (21) and a second crimping roller (22) operatively coupled to make a plurality of longitudinal easy folding lines on the web (100) in transit between the two crimping rollers (21, 22). The crimping station (20) also comprises a supporting element (23) for supporting the crimping rollers (21, 22) and configured to adopt variable position and/or orientation in such a way as to vary the orientation of the web (100) being fed to the crimping rollers (21, 22).