Multi-compartment Feed Unit for Mixed Smoking Article Packaging

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing machinery for packaging smoking articles is inefficient in handling multiple types of smoking articles within a single packet, leading to slow production, complexity, and difficulty in management and maintenance, while also failing to meet the growing market demand for customizable tobacco quantities.

Innovation Solution

An apparatus with a feed unit comprising multiple sectors and compartments that can receive and organize different types of smoking articles, allowing for the formation of mixed groups within a single drawer, utilizing gravity-fed compartments and adjustable conveying chambers to ensure precise quantity control and separation, enabling the simultaneous packaging of multiple types of smoking articles.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If traditional machines are modified to produce packets with two types of smoking articles, then the ability to package different types of smoking articles is improved, but the machine becomes complicated, slow, and difficult to manage and maintain

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to package different types of smoking articlesVSAvoidmachine complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The feed hopper is divided into multiple compartments (first compartment, intermediate compartment, second compartment) that can be independently configured. Each compartment can handle different types of smoking articles separately, allowing the system to package multiple types without requiring complex modifications to the entire machine structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The apparatus is designed with a universal feed hopper structure that can accommodate different types of smoking articles through its multiple compartments. The same basic machine structure can handle various configurations of smoking article types by simply adjusting which compartments are active and how they are configured, rather than requiring different machine modifications for different product types.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Adaptability or versatility

If traditional machines are modified to produce packets with two types of smoking articles, then the ability to package different types of smoking articles is improved, but the production speed becomes slow

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to package different types of smoking articlesVSAvoidproduction speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The smoking articles are pre-organized into different types within separate compartments of the feed hopper before the packaging process begins. This preliminary organization allows the packaging machine to simply transfer articles from predetermined locations without requiring complex real-time sorting operations, thereby maintaining high production speed while handling multiple article types.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The intermediate compartment acts as a mediator between the first and second compartments, facilitating the efficient transfer and organization of different types of smoking articles. This intermediary structure enables smooth flow of articles from different sources into the packaging mechanism without creating bottlenecks that would reduce production speed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If traditional machines are modified to produce packets with two types of smoking articles, then the ability to package different types of smoking articles is improved, but the machine becomes difficult to manage and maintain

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to package different types of smoking articlesVSAvoidease of management

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The feed hopper is divided into multiple compartments (first compartment, intermediate compartment, second compartment) that can be independently configured. Each compartment can handle different types of smoking articles separately, allowing the system to package multiple types without requiring complex modifications to the entire machine structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The apparatus is designed with a universal feed hopper structure that can accommodate different types of smoking articles through its multiple compartments. The same basic machine structure can handle various configurations of smoking article types by simply adjusting which compartments are active and how they are configured, rather than requiring different machine modifications for different product types.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

4Adaptability or versatility

If traditional machines are modified to produce packets with two types of smoking articles, then the ability to package different types of smoking articles is improved, but the machine becomes difficult to maintain

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to package different types of smoking articlesVSAvoidease of maintenance

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of repair

Solution Approach 1:

The feed hopper is divided into multiple compartments (first compartment, intermediate compartment, second compartment) that can be independently configured. Each compartment can handle different types of smoking articles separately, allowing the system to package multiple types without requiring complex modifications to the entire machine structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The feed hopper with its multiple compartments can be extracted and configured as a separate, self-contained unit. This modular approach allows the complex multi-type handling functionality to be isolated from the rest of the packaging machine, making maintenance and repairs simpler by allowing the feed hopper to be serviced independently without disassembling the entire machine.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

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 apparatus allows for high productivity in forming organized groups of different smoking articles within a single packet, simplifying management and maintenance, and enabling quick adaptation to new machines or conversion of existing ones without productivity loss.

Implementation Method 1

a feed unit configured to receive at least two streams of smoking articles of at least a first type and a second type different from each other and suitable to feed the smoking articles toward an introduction unit

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectGravity: Gravitation

Data Source

PatentEP3353065B1Apparatus and method for feeding and forming different organized groups of smoking articles

Publication Date: 2020.05.06 IMA IND MASCH AUTOMATICHE SPA

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AI summary

Apparatus to feed and form two different organized groups of smoking articles (12a, 12b), comprising a feed unit (14) configured to receive respective smoking articles (12a, 12b) and to feed organized groups of smoking articles (12a, 12b) separately toward an introduction unit (18) configured to introduce the organized groups of smoking articles (12a, 12b) into drawers (50), suitable to contain an overall quantity N of smoking articles (12a, 12b), of a transfer mean (16).