Pocketed Roll for High-Speed Disposable Article Folding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional manufacturing processes for disposable absorbent articles face challenges in increasing production speed without requiring larger, more costly drive motors or altering the size of the articles, which can be impractical for certain products.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a rotatable roll featuring a surface with protrusions and pockets, combined with a peel assembly and folding assembly driven by variable speed motors, allows for efficient article transport and folding without mechanical holding means, enabling increased processing rates without changing the roll's size or speed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the roll size is increased to accommodate more articles per revolution, then the article transport capacity increases, but the motor size and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The roll surface is segmented into multiple pockets instead of a uniform two-dimensional surface. Each pocket can independently hold an article, allowing the roll to accommodate more articles per revolution without increasing the overall roll circumference. This segmentation enables higher productivity while maintaining the same motor size.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a flat two-dimensional roll surface to a three-dimensional pocketed surface. By creating pockets that extend into the roll body, the effective surface area for holding articles increases without increasing the roll's external circumference, thus accommodating more articles without requiring a larger motor.
2Productivity
If the roll rotational speed is increased to process more articles, then the manufacturing speed increases, but larger and more costly motors are required
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the roll surface into multiple pockets, the roll can hold and transport more articles simultaneously at the same rotational speed. This increases the effective manufacturing speed without requiring increased motor power, as the same motor drives a roll that processes more articles per revolution.
3Length of moving object
If the article length is increased to accommodate larger products, then the product size increases, but the number of articles per roll revolution decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By creating three-dimensional pockets in the roll surface, the invention provides additional space within each pocket to accommodate longer articles. The pockets extend into the roll body, allowing articles of greater length to be held securely without increasing the roll's external circumference, thus maintaining high productivity while accommodating larger products.
4Measurement precision
If variable speed servo motors are used to control roll speed, then speed control precision improves, but the motor inertia increases potentially offsetting speed and acceleration benefits
Solution Approach 1:
The segmented pocket design allows the roll to process more articles per revolution at lower speeds, reducing the need for high-speed operation. This decreases the requirement for high-power servo motors with high inertia, while still achieving precise speed control through the variable speed servo motor, thus balancing control precision with reduced motor mass.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for folding articles advancing in a machine direction including a rotatable roll having a roll surface, at least one protrusion that defines an outermost surface of the roll and at least one pocket that defines an innermost surface of the roll. The apparatus also includes a peel assembly and a folding assembly. The peel assembly and/or folding assembly may be configured as one or more movable heads for receiving an article or article portion from a first carrier at a first speed and transferring the article to a second carrier travelling at a second speed.