Shared Conveyor Wrapping Stations for Liquid Product Bundles

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional packaging apparatuses for liquid containers in bundles face productivity limitations due to frequent shutdowns and interruptions, especially when a wrapping station fails, leading to reduced efficiency and increased downtime.

Innovation Solution

The apparatus features a layout with shared feeding and discharge lines that allow multiple wrapping stations to operate independently, ensuring continuous packaging even if one station shuts down, utilizing a pair of wrapping stations with mechanical arms, a reel-carrying group, and a cutting element to efficiently wrap and cut the film around the containers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Device complexity

If a single wrapping station is used to package bottles in bundles, then the apparatus structure is simplified, but productivity decreases due to frequent shutdowns when the station fails

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveapparatus structureVSAvoidpackaging output

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The wrapping apparatus is divided into multiple independent wrapping stations (first wrapping station, second wrapping station, etc.) that operate in parallel. Each station can independently package bottles without interfering with others, allowing the system to maintain high productivity even if one station experiences failures or requires maintenance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Multiple wrapping stations share common feeding and discharging lines, creating a universal system where any station can process bottles from the shared feed and deliver to the shared discharge. This multi-functional arrangement ensures continuous operation and maximizes productivity while maintaining structural efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Productivity

If multiple wrapping stations operate with independent feeding and discharging lines, then productivity increases, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepackaging outputVSAvoidapparatus structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple wrapping stations share common feeding lines and discharging lines instead of having completely independent lines for each station. This merging of transport infrastructure reduces the overall complexity of the apparatus while maintaining the productivity benefits of multiple parallel wrapping stations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Reliability

If one wrapping station shuts down for maintenance or failure, then reliability of that station is addressed, but overall productivity decreases in conventional single-station designs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestation operational stabilityVSAvoidpackaging output

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system is designed with redundant wrapping stations that can immediately take over the workload if one station shuts down for maintenance or failure. This beforehand cushioning through parallel capacity ensures that reliability maintenance activities do not result in overall productivity loss, as other stations continue operating.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

Solution Approach 2:

The shared feeding and discharging lines enable continuous operation across multiple wrapping stations. When one station shuts down, the other stations maintain continuous packaging action without interruption to the overall production flow, ensuring uninterrupted useful action in the system.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentUS9284105B2Apparatus and process for packaging containers of liquid products into bundles

Publication Date: 2016.03.15 AETNA GRP SPA

AI summary

An apparatus for packaging groups of contains of liquid products into bundles includes at least one pair of wrapping stations of groups of containers. Each station is configured to wrap an extensible film around a group of containers and to feed and discharge the groups of containers to/from the wrapping station and includes at least one feeding line of the containers and at least one discharge line of the bundles. Advantageously, the feeding and discharge lines are shared between different wrapping stations.