Packaging Machine Teeth Containment for Soft Product Size Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current packaging machines for soft products, such as rolls of tissue paper, face challenges in flexibility during size changes, leading to reduced packaging speed and quality, and require manual intervention for configuration modifications, resulting in inefficiencies and operational downtime.
Innovation Solution
The machine features a flexible architecture with independently controlled pairs of chains or belts and adjustable teeth, allowing for precise movement and containment of products of varying sizes without altering the basic structure, and includes rapid connection/detachment mechanisms for teeth to adapt to different formats, enabling efficient size changes and maintaining high packaging quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the machine uses a fixed configuration of chains and teeth for product containment, then the structural stability is maintained, but the adaptability to different product sizes is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the tooth spacing adjustable rather than fixed. The carriages can be repositioned along the chains to change the distance between teeth, allowing the machine to adapt to different product sizes. This dynamic adjustment capability resolves the contradiction between maintaining structural stability and achieving adaptability to various product dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the containment structure into independent carriages that can be individually positioned and adjusted. Each carriage with its tooth can be independently moved along the chains, allowing flexible configuration for different product formats. This segmentation enables adaptability without requiring complete redesign of the entire containment system.
2Ease of operation
If manual intervention is used to adjust tooth spacing for different product formats, then the ease of operation is reduced, but the device complexity remains manageable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service through the rapid connection/detachment mechanism that allows operators to quickly reposition carriages without complex tools or procedures. The standardized interfaces and modular design enable operators to independently adjust tooth spacing by simply connecting or detaching carriages from the chains, significantly reducing the time and effort required for format changes while maintaining ease of operation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the basic structure is altered to accommodate different product sizes, then the adaptability is improved, but the manufacturing precision and reliability are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing adjustment capabilities only where needed - at the tooth positioning points along the chains - while maintaining the overall structural integrity of the conveyor system. The basic structure remains unchanged, but local modifications through carriage repositioning enable adaptability to different product sizes without compromising the manufacturing precision and reliability of the containment function.
Data Source
AI summary
A machine for packaging soft products, including a conveyor defining a ring-shaped path having an active linear lower branch facing a feed plane and a non-active linear upper branch Each of a plurality of carriages supports a tooth, projecting towards the feed plane during the passage on the lower branch. A transfer device moves one group of products at a time, with a corresponding sheet of wrapping material folded around the group, towards the feed plane and to a receiving compartment defined by a first and a second tooth, along a second direction transversal to a first direction. Along the lower linear branch there are a number of teeth equal to the number of groups positioned or arrived on the feed plane. Each tooth is configured to define simultaneously a pushing tooth and a tooth containment when the tooth is interposed between two groups along the feed plane.