Inductive Sealing Film Coating for Glass Vessel Mouth
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing sealing systems for glass jars face challenges in ensuring a secure and reliable connection between the sealing film and the mouth of the jar, particularly when using non-contact indirect heating methods, where the energy input is poorly controlled, leading to inconsistent sealing and potential burning or failure of the sealing film.
Innovation Solution
A sealing system is developed with a mouth coating and a multi-layer sealing film, where the coating agent contains a disperse substance with a macrocyclic compound to match the disperse fraction of the sealing film's surface energy, allowing for optimal dispersion forces, reducing the required sealing force and energy, and using a precisely defined inductive heating method with assigned inductors for each glass vessel to ensure a secure connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If non-contact indirect heating method is used for sealing, then the sealing process can be automated and productivity increased, but the energy input becomes poorly controlled leading to inconsistent sealing quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the physical-chemical parameters of the coating material by incorporating specific additives (wax, oil, plasticizer) that change the melting point and viscosity characteristics. This allows the coating to remain stable during automated high-speed induction heating while ensuring consistent sealing quality through controlled material response to thermal energy input.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediate coating layer between the glass mouth and sealing foil that acts as a thermal mediator. This coating layer absorbs and distributes the induction heating energy uniformly, preventing localized overheating while maintaining consistent sealing across different production speeds. The coating serves as a buffer that decouples the heating process from direct foil-glass contact.
2Reliability
If induction heating energy is increased to ensure sealing, then sealing reliability improves, but the sealing foil may burn or be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the thermal parameters of the coating material by selecting components with specific melting points and heat capacities. The coating melts at a controlled temperature range below the foil burning point, creating a protective liquid phase that prevents direct thermal damage to the foil while ensuring adequate sealing bond strength through controlled adhesion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies a protective coating layer beforehand that acts as a thermal cushion during the sealing process. This pre-applied coating absorbs excess thermal energy and prevents it from reaching the sealing foil, thereby protecting the foil from burning while still allowing sufficient heat transfer to create a reliable seal at the glass-coating interface.
3Reliability
If sealing force is increased to improve seal quality, then sealing reliability improves, but additional compressive force mechanisms are required increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical compressive force system with a thermal-field-based sealing mechanism. Instead of relying on mechanical pressure to create the seal, the induction heating system activates the coating material's thermal properties to create adhesion bonds. This substitution eliminates the need for complex compressive force application mechanisms while maintaining reliable seal tightness through controlled thermal bonding.
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
This solution achieves a reliable and secure sealing with reduced energy consumption and no need for additional compressive forces, allowing for easy detachment of the sealing film while ensuring a tight seal, and enables non-destructive verification of the seal's integrity.
Implementation Method 1
A first inductor (9) is assigned to a defined number of glass vessels (1) for contactless, indirect heating of a sealing film (6)
Implementation Method 2
this connection is based on capillary adhesion, with heating of the connection layer leading to a softening of this layer, which ensures particularly reliable penetration of parts of the connection layer into the capillary openings formed by a rough surface of the finish coating
Implementation Method 3
The connection between the bottom layer of the sealing foil and the finish coating is often made on the basis of chemical adhesion
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
Sealing system comprises: a coating to form an adhesive layer for a sealing film on a surface of a mouth of a glass vessel, preferably opal glass vessel; and a multi-layer sealing film (6) having a bottom layer projecting in the sealed state in direct contact with the mouth coating. A dispersed fraction of a surface energy on a coating agent corresponds to the dispersed fraction of the surface energy on a lower layer of the sealing film. An independent claim is included for the coating agent comprising at least one dispersed substance, which increases the dispersed fraction of the surface energy of the coating agent.