Rotating Jaw Bag Folding Assembly for Consistent Paper Bag Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automated techniques for closing paper bags are inefficient, labor-intensive, and result in inconsistent or inadequate sealing, exposing food items to air, while manual closure is time-consuming and variable.
Innovation Solution
A bag folding assembly with jaw assemblies that transition between open and closed configurations to grasp and rotate the paper bag, maintaining a consistent separation from the longitudinal axis during rotation, ensuring secure and efficient folding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If conventional automated crimping or twisting techniques are used to close paper bags, then the closing process can be automated, but the closure is inadequate with gaps exposing food to air
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the operational parameters from simple crimping/twisting to a multi-stage process involving grasping, rotating, and folding the bag mouth through 180-360 degrees. This parameter change transforms the closure mechanism to achieve complete sealing without gaps, resolving the contradiction between automation and sealing quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces dynamic movement through rotation of the bag mouth by jaw assemblies that rotate the bag through 180-360 degrees. This dynamic approach replaces static crimping with rotational folding, ensuring the bag mouth is completely closed and sealed, thus improving reliability while maintaining automation.
2Manufacturing precision
If manual folding techniques are used to close paper bags, then the closure quality is improved with neat folds, but the process becomes labor intensive and time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The invention enables automated self-folding of the bag mouth through rotating jaw assemblies that automatically perform the folding action without human intervention. The system grasps, rotates, and folds the bag mouth through 180-360 degrees automatically, achieving both high closure quality and productivity by eliminating manual labor while maintaining precise folding.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces manual mechanical folding with an automated mechanical system consisting of rotating jaw assemblies. These jaws rotate the bag mouth through controlled angles (180-360 degrees) to create neat folds automatically, substituting human hands with a automated mechanical system that maintains precision while increasing speed and consistency.
3Shape
If hand closing is used to create neat folds, then the tidiness of closure is improved, but variability in quality increases due to human factors
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses asymmetric jaw designs where the jaws have different geometries optimized for specific functions: some jaws are designed for grasping while others are designed for folding. This asymmetric design ensures consistent fold neatness and quality across all operations, eliminating the variability introduced by human factors while maintaining high standards of closure tidiness.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor and control the folding process, ensuring each bag mouth is folded to the same precise specifications. The system can detect and adjust for variations in real-time, guaranteeing consistent fold neatness and quality across all closures, thereby improving reliability while maintaining high aesthetic standards.
Data Source
AI summary
There is disclosed a bag folding assembly for a packaging apparatus for preparing a paper bag to be closed, the bag folding assembly comprising: a first jaw assembly and a second jaw assembly centred on a common operational axis, wherein: each jaw assembly is configured to transition between an open configuration and a closed configuration; the first jaw assembly and second jaw assembly are arranged with the jaws facing one another such that they are operable to grasp the region of the paper bag towards opposite edges of the region of the paper bag; the first jaw assembly and second jaw assembly are configured to simultaneously rotate about the operational axis to fold the paper bag by turning the region of the paper bag with respect to the operational axis. There is also disclosed a method for closing a paper bag, and a packaging apparatus.