Integrated Product Conveyor Frame for Compact Food Packaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food processing apparatuses, such as deep-drawing machines and feeders, are often bulky, heavy, and require separate constructions, which are not optimal for compactness and stability, and complicate maintenance and cleaning.
Innovation Solution
The frame of the product conveyor is mechanically integrated with the work unit, utilizing its stability and mass to support the conveyor, allowing a more compact and lighter design, and enabling a modular, integrated construction that reduces the need for separate feet and enhances accessibility for maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the product conveyor is designed as a separate stable construction, then it provides sufficient stability for product conveying, but it increases the overall weight and construction complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The frame of the product conveyor is mechanically integrated with the work unit, combining two previously separate stable constructions into one unified structure. The work unit's frame serves dual purposes: supporting the work unit itself and supporting the product conveyor frame, thereby eliminating redundant structural elements and reducing overall weight while maintaining stability.
2Ease of operation
If the product conveyor projects laterally with a large working width, then it enables proper product conveying and formatting, but it increases the overall size and reduces compactness
Solution Approach 1:
The product conveyor unit projects laterally from the work unit in a perpendicular direction, utilizing three-dimensional space efficiently. This lateral projection allows the conveyor to achieve its required working width without increasing the footprint area of the overall apparatus, thereby maintaining compactness while preserving full conveying capability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the product conveyor and work unit are designed as separate constructions, then each can be optimized independently, but it complicates maintenance and cleaning accessibility
Solution Approach 1:
The product conveyor is designed as a modular unit that can be independently removed from the work unit. This segmentation allows the conveyor to be optimized for its specific function while also enabling easy access to the work unit for maintenance and cleaning, as the conveyor can be detached without dismantling the entire apparatus.
4Stability of the object's composition
If separate feet are provided for the product conveyor, then it has independent support, but it increases the number of parts and construction complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The work unit's frame is designed to serve multiple functions: it supports the work unit itself, provides structural rigidity for the work unit's operations, and simultaneously serves as the support structure for the product conveyor. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate feet or support structures for the conveyor, reducing the total number of parts while maintaining all necessary support functions.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for processing food products. The apparatus includes a product conveyor having a frame and a conveyor unit for conveying products along a conveying direction, wherein the conveyor unit is arranged at the frame projecting laterally with respect to the conveying direction. The apparatus also includes an automatic packaging machine which is associated with the processing of the conveyed products into respective packaging units provided by the automatic packaging machine, wherein the automatic packaging machine having an automatic packaging machine frame with a plurality of support structures in direct contact with a ground or floor surface.