Offset Cylindrical Rollers for Compact Hopper Channel Feeding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing apparatuses for feeding cigarettes in packaging machines have bulky dimensions due to the need for large lateral size to accommodate cylindrical rollers, which increases the overall size of the packaging machine.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus features a hopper with vertically subdivided channels and laterally offset cylindrical rollers above each channel, allowing cigarettes to enter through a narrower passage by aligning the rollers in an isosceles trapezoidal arrangement, reducing the lateral size of the hopper and enabling easier cigarette entry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cylindrical rollers are positioned just above each vertical wall to shake cigarettes and facilitate entry into channels, then cigarette entry is improved, but the lateral size of each mouth and the overall dimensions of the packaging machine become bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The patent repositions the cylindrical rollers from a location just above the vertical walls to a lateral position where they engage cigarettes from the side as they enter the channels. This spatial reconfiguration allows the rollers to maintain their shaking function while reducing the lateral dimension required for the hopper, as the rollers no longer need to be positioned within the vertical plane above each wall but can operate from a compact lateral arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an asymmetric arrangement where the cylindrical rollers are positioned at different lateral locations relative to the vertical walls. Specifically, rollers are placed to engage cigarettes from the side at asymmetric positions, allowing optimized space utilization and reduced lateral footprint while maintaining effective cigarette shaking and channel entry facilitation.
2Reliability
If the distance between channels is increased to accommodate rollers, then roller function is maintained, but the transversal size of the hopper and packaging machine increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves the roller positioning from a vertical arrangement (requiring horizontal space between channels) to a lateral arrangement where rollers engage cigarettes from the side. This dimensional change allows the rollers to maintain their shaking function while operating in a compact lateral space, thereby reducing the transversal dimension of the hopper without compromising roller effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by positioning rollers at specific lateral locations where they can effectively engage cigarettes entering the channels. The rollers are placed at optimized positions that provide sufficient shaking action locally at each channel entry point, allowing reduced overall channel spacing while maintaining reliable roller function for cigarette handling.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for feeding rod-shaped articles includes a hopper having at least one mouth for dispensing the articles, subdivided by vertical walls parallel to each other forming vertical channels positioned side by side, each accommodating a stack of the articles At a position above an upper edge of each wall is positioned a cylindrical roller oscillating in both directions about its axis parallel to the axes of the articles for facilitating entry in the channels. The axis of each roller is offset laterally in a horizontal direction relative to the upper edge of the wall below and adjacent to it, and the upper edges of the walls relative to each channel are positioned at different levels such that the width of the passage defined between each pair of adjacent rollers lying above the walls of the channel is slightly greater than the diameter of the article.