Rotating Tool Carrier for Non-Circular Paper Cup Edge Forming
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for forming the peripheral edge of cup blanks made of deformable materials, such as paper, struggle to handle non-circular shapes and require forceful adaptation to circular shapes, leading to material damage and inefficiency in mass production.
Innovation Solution
A device with a rotatable tool carrier and protrusions that follow the non-circular profile of the cup blank, allowing for gentle and precise formation of the peripheral edge, including features like curved profiles, triangular cross-sections, and rotatable rollers to accommodate various shapes and angles, ensuring reliable and efficient edge formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a groove-like die stamp is used to force the peripheral edge into a circular shape, then the cup blank can be processed quickly, but the material is damaged and non-circular shapes cannot be handled
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a rotatable tool carrier with multiple protrusions that can dynamically adjust to the cup blank's actual shape. The protrusions rotate along with the cup blank, allowing the forming tool to adapt its path to non-circular profiles while maintaining continuous contact for efficient forming, thus resolving the contradiction between processing speed and material damage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the forming tool by using protrusions with curved profiles (circular arc, parabolic, or spiral) instead of rigid circular stamps. These variable curvature profiles allow the tool to gently guide the material into the desired shape without forcing it, reducing material damage while maintaining productivity
2Device complexity
If a rigid circular stamp is used, then the device structure is simple, but it cannot process non-circular cup blanks and causes material stress
Solution Approach 1:
The tool carrier is designed to rotate about the cup blank's longitudinal center axis, transforming a static circular stamp into a dynamic system. The rotating protrusions can follow non-circular profiles of the cup blank, providing adaptability to various shapes while maintaining a relatively simple overall device structure
Solution Approach 2:
The forming tool is segmented into multiple protrusions arranged on the tool carrier, each with specific curved profiles. This segmentation allows different portions of the peripheral edge to be formed with appropriate local geometry, enabling processing of non-circular shapes without requiring a completely complex reconfigurable tool
3Productivity
If forceful circular shaping is applied to non-circular cup blanks, then production efficiency is maintained, but the peripheral edge formation is unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusions are designed with specific curved profiles (circular arc, parabolic, or spiral) that change the geometric parameters of the forming action. These curved profiles enable reliable edge formation by gradually guiding the material rather than forcing it, while the rotatable carrier maintains production efficiency through continuous motion
Data Source
AI summary
A device for forming a peripheral edge of a cup blank made of paper material, having at least one forming tool, wherein the forming tool is arranged on a tool carrier which is arranged so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis, wherein the rotation axis coincides with a longitudinal centre axis of the cup blank inserted into the device. The forming tool and the tool carrier are configured and arranged so as to travel along a profile, deviating from a circular shape, of the peripheral edge of the cup blank.