Hermetically Sealed Scale Platform for Hygienic Weighing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing scales in hygienic industries, such as food and pharmaceuticals, face challenges with construction, maintenance, and ease of cleaning, as well as high costs, due to their non-hygienic design and construction.
Innovation Solution
A hermetically sealed scale platform with a sandwich structure, featuring a supporting rib structure and perimeter members that form sealed sides, a load receiving plate attached in a sealed manner, and a bottom plate, creating a smooth transition to minimize contamination and facilitate cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a hermetically sealed sandwich structure is used, then sanitation and contamination prevention are improved, but construction complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The scale platform employs a hermetically sealed sandwich structure comprising a load receiving plate, a supporting rib structure, and a bottom plate that cooperate to form sealed compartments. This composite construction integrates multiple functional layers (load-bearing ribs, sealed perimeter members, smooth surfaces) into a unified platform that simultaneously achieves hygienic requirements and structural integrity, resolving the contradiction between contamination prevention and construction complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform is divided into distinct functional segments: perimeter members forming sealed sides, interior ribs providing structural support, a load receiving plate for weighing, and a bottom plate completing the hermetic seal. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while collectively achieving the hermetic seal, simplifying both manufacturing and cleaning processes.
2Ease of operation
If perimeter members with bends and rounded edges are used, then ease of cleaning is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The perimeter members incorporate bends with rounded exposed perimeter edges instead of sharp corners or flat transitions. This curvature design eliminates crevices where contamination could accumulate, making the platform easier to clean and sanitize. The rounded geometry also facilitates smooth welding transitions between the load receiving plate and perimeter members, balancing manufacturing precision requirements with cleaning ease.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a hermetically sealed structure is implemented, then hygienic requirements are met, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions into the hermetically sealed sandwich structure: the perimeter members simultaneously provide structural support, create the hermetic seal, and form the cleanedable exterior surface. The interior ribs serve both structural and sealing functions. This consolidation reduces the number of separate components needed, simplifying assembly and reducing overall manufacturing cost while maintaining hygienic requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A hermetically sealed scale for use in a weighing scale. A scale of the present invention may include a load receiving plate and a bottom plate, between which is sandwiched a supporting rib structure that preferably includes a plurality of perimeter members that form sealed upright sides of the scale. The supporting rib structure, load receiving plate and bottom plate cooperate to form a substantially rigid and hermetically sealed sandwich structure. The load receiving plate may be joined to the supporting rib structure by perimeter welding or another bonding technique that permits the joining material to be subsequently shaped to form a smooth transition between the load receiving plate and the perimeter members of the scale.