Hopper Posture Adjusting Unit for Paper Jam Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hoppers used in paper recycling systems often experience paper jams due to the shape of falling paper scraps, which can lead to clogging at the discharge port, reducing efficiency and throughput.
Innovation Solution
A hopper design featuring a guide surface and a posture adjusting unit that guides non-flat strip-shaped sheets, ensuring proper alignment and posture adjustment of falling sheets to match the longitudinal direction with the discharge port, preventing clogging and enhancing smooth discharge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a conventional hopper with a simple receiving portion is used, then the structure is simple, but paper scraps may remain at the entrance of the discharge port causing paper jams
Solution Approach 1:
The hopper is divided into multiple functional zones: a receiving portion for collecting paper scraps, a guide portion with guide surfaces to direct paper flow, and a discharge portion with inclined surfaces to facilitate smooth discharge. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function effectively, preventing clogging while maintaining structural efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide portion acts as an intermediary between the receiving portion and the discharge portion. It includes guide surfaces that direct paper scraps and inclined surfaces that adjust paper posture, serving as a transition zone that prevents paper from remaining at the discharge port entrance and causing jams.
2Productivity
If paper scraps fall freely into the hopper, then the process is simple, but the shape of paper scraps causes them to remain at the discharge port entrance
Solution Approach 1:
The guide surfaces and inclined surfaces perform preliminary actions on the paper scraps before they reach the discharge port. The guide surfaces direct the paper flow, and the inclined surfaces adjust the paper posture in advance, ensuring that paper scraps are properly oriented and positioned before discharge, preventing them from remaining at the discharge port entrance.
Solution Approach 2:
The inclined surfaces change the physical parameters of the paper scraps by adjusting their orientation and position. The inclination angle of the surfaces is specifically designed to modify the paper's falling trajectory and final posture, ensuring optimal alignment for discharge and preventing clogging.
3Ease of operation
If no guide structure is provided, then the hopper is simpler, but non-flat strip-shaped sheets cannot be properly aligned
Solution Approach 1:
The guide surfaces and inclined surfaces utilize curved and angled geometries to naturally guide and align the non-flat strip-shaped sheets. The curved guide surfaces accommodate the irregular shape of the paper scraps, while the inclined surfaces provide the necessary adjustment in paper posture without requiring complex mechanical alignment devices.
Data Source
AI summary
A hopper includes a receiving member having a guide surface that guides a non-flat strip-shaped sheet and a posture adjusting unit that adjusts a posture of the falling sheet and sends it to the guide surface, and a discharge unit that discharges the sheet. The posture adjusting unit may have a posture adjusting surface continuous with the guide surface and bent from the guide surface so as to form a ridge line at a boundary portion with the guide surface.