Shrink Pack Inspection for Alignment and Wrinkle Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production of shrink packs often results in irregularly assembled container combinations, leading to difficulties during transport and stacking, and can cause issues like wrinkles, irregular film edges, and open packages due to offsetting and incorrect shrink tunnel settings.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a packaging unit, a shrinking unit, a transport unit, and an inspection unit that ensures containers are properly aligned and wrapped with a film-like packaging material, which is then shrunk and inspected for quality, allowing for automatic detection of deviations and ejection of defective packs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If containers are assembled manually or with simple automation, then production speed is maintained, but alignment precision deteriorates leading to irregular container combinations and offsetting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by equipping the transport device with inspection means that detect alignment and positioning of containers before the wrapping operation. This allows the system to identify misaligned containers in advance, enabling corrective measures to be taken before they affect the final product quality, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining production speed and improving alignment precision.
2Reliability
If film wrapping is performed without real-time inspection, then production efficiency is maintained, but quality control deteriorates leading to wrinkles, irregular film edges, and open packages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by integrating inspection means into the transport device that continuously monitors the wrapping process. The inspection means detect defects such as wrinkles, irregular film edges, and open packages in real-time, providing feedback that allows for immediate corrective action. This feedback mechanism improves quality control while keeping the system complexity manageable through integrated rather than separate inspection systems.
3Manufacturing precision
If shrink tunnel parameters are not optimized, then energy consumption is reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates causing batch-related changes in film properties and incorrect shrinking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by using inspection means to monitor the shrinking process and detect variations in film behavior. Based on this monitoring, the system can adjust shrink tunnel parameters such as temperature and timing to maintain consistent shrinking results. This approach ensures manufacturing precision while optimizing energy consumption by making adjustments only when necessary rather than maintaining constant high-energy operation.
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
This solution ensures smoother production of shrink packs by maintaining alignment and quality, reducing defects such as wrinkles and open packages, and enabling continuous quality control and automatic ejection of defective items.
Implementation Method 1
The shrinking device preferably has a heating device for heating the packaging means.
Implementation Method 2
the heating of the film causing it to shrink onto the container assembly
Data Source
Figure 1~3b
Figure 4
Figure 5~6c
AI summary
A device (1) for producing container assemblies (10), wherein the device comprises a packaging device (2) which at least partially encloses several containers (20) with a film-like packaging material (12) and thus forms a container assembly (10), a shrinking device (4) which shrinks the packaging material (12) which at least partially encloses the containers (20), a transport device (6) which transports the containers (20) enclosed by the packaging material (12) in a predetermined transport direction, and an inspection device (8) which inspects the containers (20) at least partially enclosed by the packaging material (12) after the shrinking process.