Continuous Carousel Machine for Infusion Filter Bag Forming
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing machines for forming filter bags for infusion products have limited productivity due to stepwise operation, which restricts efficiency and flexibility, and are not optimized for reduced dimensions.
Innovation Solution
A machine with a continuously rotating carousel and movable gripping elements that can perform operations on filter material along a circular path, allowing for continuous operation and reduced machine dimensions while maintaining flexibility to produce various types of filter bags, including single-chamber and double-chamber bags with overwrap envelopes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a stepwise operating mode is used, then the machine structure is simpler, but the productivity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous operation of the carousel and gripping elements, eliminating the stepwise pause-and-operate cycle. The carousel rotates continuously, and gripping elements engage and disengage smoothly during rotation, allowing uninterrupted processing of filter bags through all stations (folding, string attachment, tag attachment, overwrap application) without stopping between operations, thereby maximizing productivity while maintaining manageable structural complexity through standardized continuous-motion components
2Productivity
If a continuously rotating carousel is used, then the productivity increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamically adjustable gripping elements that can open and close during carousel rotation to engage and release filter bags at appropriate stations. The carousel maintains continuous rotation while gripping elements dynamically adjust their state (open/closed) based on position, allowing flexible adaptation to different filter bag types and operations without disrupting the continuous motion, thus achieving high productivity with controlled complexity through dynamic rather than static mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The continuously rotating carousel is designed with universal gripping elements and stations that can handle multiple filter bag configurations (single-chamber, double-chamber, with or without overwrap). The same continuous carousel structure serves all operations (folding, string attachment, tag attachment, overwrap application) for different product types, eliminating the need for separate mechanisms for each variant and keeping the overall device complexity manageable despite continuous operation
3Adaptability or versatility
If the machine is designed for reduced dimensions, then the flexibility increases, but the operational space is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes vertical space and three-dimensional carousel rotation to accommodate multiple operations and filter bag types within a compact footprint. Instead of linear expansion, the machine employs radial and vertical arrangements of stations around the carousel, allowing gripping elements to access filter bags from multiple angles and positions without increasing the machine's horizontal footprint, thus achieving high flexibility in a reduced-dimensional package
Data Source
AI summary
A machine for forming filter bags for infusion products starting from pieces of filter material each containing a dose of infusion product and having, the pieces, a corresponding longitudinal axis of extension, including a carousel rotating about a main axis of rotation and including gripping elements movable in rotation about the main axis along a closed circular trajectory; each gripping element configured to receive and retain a piece of filter material along an operating path; an operating station configured to perform an operation on the piece of filter material retained by a corresponding gripping element; each gripping element including an articulation device configured for obtaining a further rotation about a secondary axis of rotation, transversal to the main axis of rotation, to rotate and position the corresponding piece of filter material with its longitudinal axis of extension parallel to the main axis of rotation at the operating station.