Packaging Machine Teeth with Rapid Detachment for 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, especially for smaller formats, and require manual intervention for configuration modifications, resulting in inefficiencies and operational downtime.
Innovation Solution
The machine features a ring-shaped path with independently controlled pairs of chains or belts and adjustable teeth that can function as both pushing and containing mechanisms, allowing for flexible spacing adjustments without altering the basic structure, and includes rapid connection/detachment means for teeth to adapt to varying product sizes, enabling efficient handling of diverse formats.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the machine uses fixed spacing carriages on chains or belts, then the basic structure remains simple, but the machine cannot adapt to varying product sizes without manual intervention and structural modification
Solution Approach 1:
The carriage spacing is made dynamically adjustable through independent motor control of each carriage. Each carriage can be positioned at variable intervals along the chains or belts, allowing the machine to adapt to different product sizes without manual structural modification. The control unit enables real-time adjustment of carriage positions based on the dimensions of the products being packaged.
Solution Approach 2:
The same chain-belt structure serves multiple functions: it transports products, contains them during packaging, and allows variable spacing configurations. The dual-chain system with independently controllable carriages provides universal applicability across different product formats while maintaining a relatively simple mechanical foundation.
2Productivity
If manual intervention is used to modify carriage spacing, then device complexity remains low, but productivity decreases due to operational downtime
Solution Approach 1:
Manual mechanical adjustment of carriage spacing is replaced with an automated control system. The control unit receives input about product dimensions and automatically positions the carriages on the chains or belts, eliminating the need for manual intervention and preventing operational downtime. This substitution of manual mechanics with automated control maintains simplicity while dramatically improving productivity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the machine structure is modified to accommodate size changes, then adaptability improves, but the basic structure becomes complex and requires disassembly
Solution Approach 1:
The machine structure is segmented into independent modular components: multiple carriages that can be individually positioned, dual independent chains or belts, and a control unit that manages each segment separately. This segmentation allows flexibility in spacing adjustment without requiring modification or disassembly of the basic machine structure. Each carriage operates independently on its own chain or belt, enabling easy reconfiguration.
4Manufacturing precision
If fixed-format carriages are used, then device complexity is low, but manufacturing precision decreases for varying product formats
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit incorporates feedback mechanisms to precisely position each carriage based on the actual dimensions of the products being packaged. The system receives information about product size and automatically adjusts carriage spacing to achieve optimal positioning and containment. This feedback-controlled approach ensures high manufacturing precision for varying formats while managing control system complexity through automated decision-making algorithms.
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, and configured for retaining and feeding along the feed plane the groups of products. A transfer device moves one group of products at a time, with a corresponding sheet of wrapping material folded into a “U” shape 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. Each tooth includes a head permanently connected to the carriage and an operating portion in contact with the groups which can be separated from and reconnected to the head.