Ice Bagging Machine With In-Line Filling Weight Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice dispensing machines face issues with inconsistent ice bag weights, frequent magazine changes, and potential ice melting during distribution, as they rely on pre-made bags and lack precise control over ice quantity in each bag.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes an ice supply station, an ice collector, a bag making station, and sensors to measure and control the ice quantity in each bag, using a film supply to form bags and transport ice into them, ensuring consistent weights and minimizing melting by suspending bags in a freezer compartment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If pre-made bags are used in a magazine for ice distribution, then the bagging process is simplified, but frequent magazine changes are required and ice quantity variation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically forms bags from film material and fills them with ice using a transport screw, eliminating the need for pre-made bags and manual magazine changes. The apparatus serves itself by continuously producing and filling bags without human intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The film material is fed through a forming station that creates bag structures before ice filling occurs. This preliminary bag formation ensures consistent bag geometry and eliminates the need to store pre-made bags in magazines.
2Productivity
If ice is dispensed into pre-made bags from a magazine, then bagging is faster, but ice quantity control and weight consistency are poor
Solution Approach 1:
A sensor detects the presence and quantity of ice in each bag during the filling process. This feedback signal controls the operation of the transport screw, allowing precise adjustment of ice quantity to achieve consistent weights while maintaining high filling speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual or gravity-based ice dispensing into pre-made bags is replaced by a controlled mechanical transport system using a rotating screw that precisely delivers ice to each formed bag, enabling both speed and precision.
3Loss of substance
If ice is distributed into bags during the bagging process, then pre-made bag storage is eliminated, but ice melting may occur during distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The ice making, bag forming, and ice filling operations occur in continuous sequence without interruption. Ice is made and immediately transferred to bags that are being formed concurrently, eliminating storage delays and reducing melting risk through uninterrupted processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The bag forming and ice filling operations are nested within the same operational cycle. The film forming station creates bags that are immediately filled by the ice transport mechanism, with both processes synchronized to minimize ice exposure time.
4Productivity
If ice is made and immediately bagged in a continuous process, then productivity increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ice making unit, film feeding mechanism, bag forming station, and ice transport system are merged into a single integrated apparatus. This combination enables continuous operation where ice production and bagging occur simultaneously in one coordinated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The apparatus performs multiple functions within a single device: ice making, film processing, bag forming, ice transport, and bag sealing. This multi-functionality achieves high productivity without requiring separate machines for each operation.
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 system provides consistent ice bag weights, reduces waste by controlling ice quantity, and minimizes melting by suspending bags in a freezer compartment, improving efficiency and customer convenience.
Implementation Method 1
a bag forming station (25) below which the lower end of the bag extends into the storage and freezer compartment (15)
Implementation Method 2
an ice transport device (26) which transports ice from the ice collecting station (22) into a partially formed bag (44)
Implementation Method 3
a bag sealing and separating device (65) which seals a bag containing ice and separates the bag from the remainder of the film supplied to the bag sealing station
Implementation Method 4
The bag is suspended into a storage area of a storage compartment (15) in the freezer
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for producing, bagging and dispensing ice has an ice supply station, an ice collection station, a film supply, a bag forming station, and an ice transport device to transport ice from the collection station to the bag forming station. A controller controls supply of two superimposed film layers to the bag forming station, bag forming, and ice supply to the bags. A bag is partially formed from the superimposed film layers by a sealing device at the bag forming station, and ice is transported from the ice collector into the partially formed bag. The remaining open portions of the bag are sealed when sufficient ice has been supplied to the bag, which is then separated from the film supply for discharge into a storage and freezer compartment. The preceding steps are repeated until the storage and freezer compartment is filled to a predetermined level with bags of ice.