Sack Emptying Machine with Sinusoidal Cutter and Beater
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated sack-emptying systems are complex, costly, and often fail to completely empty sacks due to straight cuts, especially with tightly packed materials like fine powders, leading to residual material being left behind.
Innovation Solution
A machine that picks up one layer of stacked sacks at a time, using a picker and handling unit with prongs to pierce and a cutter unit with angled circular blades to slice the sacks, followed by a beater unit to ensure complete emptying, all while being compact and lightweight, reducing actuator power requirements and production costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional straight-cut cutting systems are used, then the structure is simple, but complete emptying of tightly packed powder materials is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs circular blades arranged in a radial pattern around a central axis, rotating to create curved cutting paths through the sack material. This circular motion pattern allows the blades to effectively cut through tightly packed powder materials from multiple angles, ensuring complete emptying while maintaining a relatively simple rotating mechanism.
2Extent of automation
If multiple hooks and complex mechanical systems are used to handle sacks, then automated handling is achieved, but the system becomes bulky and costly to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of sack handling by using a simplified gripping mechanism with fingers that clamp onto the sack opening, rather than employing complex multi-hook systems. This extracted essential function maintains automated handling capability while dramatically reducing system complexity and maintenance requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The gripping mechanism with clamping fingers serves multiple functions: it secures the sack opening, positions it for cutting, and controls the emptying process. This multi-functional design replaces what would otherwise require separate specialized components for each function, reducing overall system complexity.
3Productivity
If individual sacks are processed one at a time, then handling precision is maintained, but throughput capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the sack handling process into distinct phases: gripping the opening, positioning, cutting with rotating blades, and emptying. This segmentation allows the system to efficiently process one sack at a time with high precision while optimizing each phase for speed, thereby maintaining throughput capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The circular blades rotate continuously during the cutting process, maintaining constant contact with the sack material throughout the cutting arc. This continuous action eliminates idle periods between cutting strokes, maximizing throughput while ensuring complete cutting through the sack walls.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The machine achieves quick and complete emptying of powder or granular materials with enhanced reliability and reduced residue, improving throughput and lowering costs compared to previous solutions.
Implementation Method 1
a picker and handling unit (10), able to take at least one sack (S) from a feed station (2) of full sacks (S)
Implementation Method 2
a cutter unit (30), operating in a sack-emptying station (3) situated downstream of the feed station (2), for slitting the sack (S) carried by the picker and handling unit (10)
Implementation Method 3
a beater unit (36), situated in the sack-emptying station (3), downstream of the cutter unit (30)
Implementation Method 4
that receive the powder or granular material falling by gravity from the previously-cut sack (S)
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~7
Figure 8~11
AI summary
The machine for emptying sacks (1) comprises, by known means: one picker and handling unit (10), able to take at least one sack (S) from a feed station (2); one cutter unit (30), operating in a sack-emptying station (3) situated downstream of the feed station (2), for slitting the sack (S) in transit; means for collecting the product (31), situated in the sack-emptying station (3), that receive the powder or granular material coming out of the cut sack (S); means (40) for receiving and removing the empty sacks (S), situated in a sack-ejection station (4). According to the invention, the picker and handling unit (10) comprises: one carriage (11), moving horizontally forward (F) and backward (R) between the stations (4, 3, 2); prongs (16), mounted on the carriage (11), able to pierce at least one full sack (S) present in the sack-feed station (2) during the forward travel (F) of the carriage (11), so that the sack is attached to and carried along with the carriage on its return travel (R) toward the sack-emptying station (3). The cutter unit (30) comprises circular blades (34), set at an angle relative to the rotation axis, which slice the sack forming a cut of sinusoidal shape. Downstream of the blades (34) are ring-shaped beaters (39), likewise angled relative to the rotation axis, that strike the sack along a sinusoidal pattern. This ensures that the sack (S) is fully emptied.