Drying Filled Plastic Containers to Prevent Labeling Condensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for labeling plastic containers, especially thin-walled ones, face difficulties due to pressure issues and condensation problems when labeling filled containers at low temperatures with high humidity, leading to poor labeling outcomes.
Innovation Solution
A device that includes a filling device, a labeling device, and a drying device arranged along the transport path between the filling and labeling devices, using a gaseous medium to dry the outer walls of containers before labeling, and utilizing hot air from a forming device to prevent condensation and ensure effective drying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If containers are filled at low temperature with high humidity, then filling efficiency is maintained, but condensation occurs on the bottle wall affecting labeling quality
Solution Approach 1:
The drying device is activated before the labeling process to remove condensation from the container outer surface. This preliminary drying action ensures that when labeling occurs, the surface is dry and suitable for label application, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining filling efficiency and ensuring labeling quality.
Solution Approach 2:
A drying device is introduced as an intermediary component between the filling device and the labeling device. This mediator removes the harmful condensation effect from the container surface, allowing both efficient filling and high-quality labeling to occur without direct interference between the two processes.
2Manufacturing precision
If containers are dried individually, then drying effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drying device uses a jet of gas (pneumatic method) to dry the container outer surface. This approach achieves effective individual drying without requiring complex mechanical contact with the container, thus maintaining drying effectiveness while minimizing device complexity.
3Loss of time
If containers are labeled immediately after filling, then production time is reduced, but labeling difficulty increases due to condensation
Solution Approach 1:
The drying device performs preliminary drying of the container surface immediately after filling but before labeling. This allows the labeling process to proceed without delay while ensuring the surface is dry and suitable for labeling, thus reducing production time while eliminating labeling difficulty.
Solution Approach 2:
The drying device serves as an intermediary step between filling and labeling, quickly removing condensation to enable immediate labeling without the difficulties associated with wet surfaces, thus maintaining short production cycles while improving labeling ease.
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 prevents condensation and ensures successful labeling by drying the containers individually and efficiently, using hot air from the forming process for energy savings and improved labeling quality.
Implementation Method 1
a drying device which dries the containers and in particular an outer wall of the containers and in particular applies a gaseous medium
Implementation Method 2
condensation can occur on the bottle wall before labeling
Implementation Method 3
utilizing hot air from a forming device to prevent condensation and ensure effective drying
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The device (1) has a filling device (4) for filling a plastic container (10) with free-flowing medium, and a labeling device (6) arranged in a transport direction of the container. A transport device (26) i.e. screw conveyor, is arranged between the filling and labeling devices for transporting the container from the filling device to the labeling device. A drying device (8) is arranged along a transport path of the container between the filling and labeling devices, where the drying device dries the container and loads the container with gaseous medium. An independent claim is also included for a method for treating a container.