Label Printer Air Distributor Core Groove Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing labelers for fruit and vegetables experience a decrease in negative pressure during the rotation from label takeover to label application, leading to inconsistent label holding and application.
Innovation Solution
A labeler with a continuous groove on the outer surface of the air distributor core, connecting all label receivers to the suction air connection, ensuring consistent suction air supply and stabilizing pressure conditions, along with a rotary head and radially protruding bellows that retract under suction and extend under compressed air for secure label holding and application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the label pick-up units are supplied with suction air during rotation from label take-up position to label application position, then the labels can be held on the label pick-up units, but the negative pressure decreases briefly time and time again during rotation
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous groove is pre-formed on the air distributor core to establish a permanent suction air pathway. This preliminary structural arrangement ensures that suction air can be continuously supplied to all label pick-up units during rotation, preventing the periodic pressure drops that occur in conventional systems without such a groove.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous groove acts as an intermediary element between the suction air source and the label pick-up units. It mediates the air flow distribution, ensuring stable negative pressure is maintained across all pick-up units throughout the rotation cycle, thereby stabilizing the label holding process.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a continuous groove is added to the air distributor core to maintain stable suction air supply, then pressure stability improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous groove is integrated directly into the air distributor core structure, creating a localized air distribution pathway. This local modification provides the necessary suction air stability without requiring a complete redesign of the entire air distribution system, thereby minimizing the increase in overall device complexity.
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 solution ensures labels are held securely between the label takeover and application positions, maintaining consistent pressure and improving the reliability of label application on rotating fruit or vegetables.
Implementation Method 1
the negative pressure created by the suction air is not constantly available to the label pick-up during the rotation from the label take-up position to the label application position
Implementation Method 2
In a label application position, where they typically point downwards, they use compressed air to release the label onto the passing fruit
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 2c~3a
AI summary
The invention relates to a labeler for applying labels to fruit or vegetables, comprising a label applicator that includes a stationary cylindrical air distributor core with a suction air connection and a compressed air connection, and a rotatable rotary head mounted on the air distributor core with several receiving sections arranged uniformly in the circumferential direction, each receiving section being provided with a radially projecting bellows, wherein the respective receiving section and the respective bellows form a respective label receiver, wherein in operation the label receivers continuously pass through a label receiving rotary position, in which they receive a respective label from a label dispensing device, and a label application rotary position, in which they apply the respective label to the fruit or vegetable.In the label pickup rotary position, the label pick-ups are supplied with suction air and the respective bellows are retracted, while in the label application rotary position, the label pick-ups are supplied with compressed air and the respective bellows are extended. The air distribution core has a continuous groove on its outer surface connected to the suction air connection, which extends circumferentially around the air distribution core such that, in a rotary position of the rotating head where a label pick-up is in the label application rotary position, all other label pick-ups are connected to the groove.