Flexible Bag Filling with Auto-Release Fasteners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible bags often experience incomplete filling due to friction between bag surfaces and supporting containers, leading to interference that prevents full expansion and complete filling.
Innovation Solution
A flexible bag design featuring fastening means that automatically release as the bag fills, allowing the bottom parts to be filled first, preventing interference from upper parts and ensuring complete filling without manual interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the flexible bag is filled without fastening means, then the filling process is simple, but the upper parts of the bag interfere with the bottom parts preventing complete filling
Solution Approach 1:
The bag is divided into upper and lower parts that are temporarily separated during filling. The fastening means are positioned to hold only the upper parts together, allowing the lower parts to expand freely during filling without interference from the upper parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastening means are pre-positioned on the bag surface to automatically engage and hold the upper parts together during the filling process. This preliminary arrangement ensures that as fluid enters the bag, the upper parts remain constrained while the lower parts expand to receive the fluid first.
2Manufacturing precision
If manual interaction is used to open the bag during filling, then complete filling can be achieved, but the operation becomes complex and requires human intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening means are designed to automatically release when the bag reaches a certain fill level. The weight or pressure of the filled lower parts causes the fastening means to disengage, allowing the upper parts to expand automatically without requiring manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastening means transition from a static closed state to a dynamic open state as the filling progresses. The system automatically adapts its configuration based on the fill level, moving from constraining the upper parts to allowing full expansion when the lower parts are filled.
3Shape
If the bag structure is rigid to maintain shape, then the bag can hold its form, but friction with the supporting container prevents full expansion
Solution Approach 1:
The bag is constructed from flexible materials that can conform to the supporting container while still expanding fully. The flexibility of the bag walls reduces frictional resistance during expansion, allowing the bag to completely fill the available space without maintaining a rigid structure.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 1E~1F
AI summary
A flexible bag and a method for filling a flexible bag which is collapsed when empty, wherein at least one fastening means (41a, 41b, 42a, 42b; 43) is provided on a surface of the flexible bag such that at least two upper parts (53a, 53b) of the flexible bag can be held together by this at least one fastening means during a first part of filling of the flexible bag, whereby the fastening means is designed to release when the bag is filled to a certain amount such that the two upper parts being held together by the fastening means will lose contact.