Sanitary Product Kit Assembly Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current manufacturing processes for sanitary napkins cannot produce a single package with a mix of differently sized and absorbent products to address varying menstrual needs, as different machines operate on separate lines, making manual assembly impractical for industrial scales.
Innovation Solution
An automated method and apparatus that uses a container system with independent slot-like housings and transfer conveyors to assemble a 'period kit' by loading and arranging sanitary napkins from different manufacturing machines into a single package, allowing for a combination of differently sized and absorbent products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual assembly is used to create period kits with differently sized sanitary napkins, then product variety and customer needs coverage are improved, but labor costs and assembly time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the assembly process into separate functional modules: a transfer conveyor receives napkins from different manufacturing machines, a container loading unit with multiple independent housings loads different types into specific slots, and a kit assembly unit combines them. This segmentation allows automated handling of variety while maintaining efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer conveyor acts as an intermediary device between multiple manufacturing machines and the container loading unit. It receives differently sized and absorbent napkins from separate production lines and delivers them to the loading unit, enabling automated integration without manual intervention.
2Reliability
If separate manufacturing lines are used for different sanitary napkin sizes and absorbencies, then production specialization and quality control are improved, but integration into single packages becomes impossible without manual assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The container loading unit is designed with multiple independent housings that can accommodate different types of sanitary napkins. Each housing can be independently loaded with different sizes and absorbencies from various manufacturing lines, making the system universal and eliminating the need for manual assembly while maintaining production specialization.
3Adaptability or versatility
If customers purchase multiple separate packages of sanitary napkins to cover different period stages, then product availability is improved, but excess purchasing and waste increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple individually packaged sanitary napkin products into a single integrated period kit. The container loading unit loads different types into a unified package, and the kit assembly unit combines them with packaging material, creating one comprehensive product that replaces multiple separate purchases and reduces waste.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and an apparatus are disclosed for assembling kits of sanitary products which involves loading of the sanitary products into containers including a plurality of independent housings for the sanitary products, each of the housings being configured to allow loading of a sanitary product therein and withdrawal of the sanitary product therefrom independently of the other housings.