Straw Corrugation Unit With Rotating Needle for Uniform Ring Depth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing straw corrugation units produce irregularly shaped intermediate corrugated portions with varying depths and frequent lesions, leading to unwanted elliptical cross-sections and potential damage to the straws.
Innovation Solution
A corrugation unit with a conveyor system and blades that maintain a fixed orientation, combined with axially movable and pivotable support needles, ensures uniform corrugation by rotating straws 360 degrees and using indented blades to prevent sliding, ensuring all corrugation rings have the same depth and minimizing lesions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional corrugation blades are used with support needles, then the corrugation process can be performed, but the intermediate corrugated portion has irregular shape with varying depths
Solution Approach 1:
The support needle is made pivotable around a central symmetry axis, allowing it to rotate dynamically during the corrugation process. This dynamic rotation ensures that the straw is evenly positioned against the corrugation blade, enabling uniform corrugation depth around the entire circumference of the straw, thus resolving the irregular shape problem
Solution Approach 2:
The corrugation blade is designed with a specific geometric profile that combines a working face and a relief face. This composite blade design allows for controlled material deformation and compression, ensuring uniform compression force distribution around the straw circumference, which produces consistent corrugation ring depths
2Productivity
If conventional corrugation blades are used, then corrugation can be performed, but lesions and holes frequently occur in the straw
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable support needle rotates during corrugation to distribute the deformation force evenly around the straw circumference. This prevents localized excessive stress that would cause lesions or holes, while maintaining continuous corrugation processing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The corrugation blade geometry is specifically designed with optimized curvature and angle parameters. The working face and relief face configuration controls the deformation parameters, distributing stress uniformly and preventing localized failure that would create lesions while maintaining productivity
3Strength
If the straw is bent at the intermediate corrugated portion, then the straw can be compressed, but the circular cross-section is lost and becomes elliptical
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating support needle ensures that corrugation is applied uniformly in all directions around the straw circumference. This creates a balanced corrugated structure that maintains circular cross-section geometry even when bent, as the uniform ring structures distribute bending stresses evenly without causing elliptical deformation
4Manufacturing precision
If support needles are made pivotable and blades are optimized, then uniform corrugation is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pivotable support needle mechanism adds only a single rotation degree of freedom to an existing component. This simple dynamic modification, rather than a completely complex new mechanism, achieves uniform corrugation while minimizing the increase in device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The corrugation blade geometry optimization involves adjusting existing dimensional parameters and profiles rather than introducing new complex components. The specific blade shape parameters are tuned to achieve uniform corrugation with minimal structural modifications to the overall device
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 solution achieves uniform corrugation with consistent ring depths and reduces lesions, maintaining the straw's circular cross-section and preventing damage during bending or compression.
Implementation Method 1
comes into contact with the corrugation blades which, by cooperating on the side opposite the straw with the intermediate corrugated portion of the needle, permanently deform the straw to form the desired intermediate corrugated portion
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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Figure 4
AI summary
A corrugating unit (6) and method for a straw (1). The following are provided: at least one seat (9) suitable for housing the straw (1); a conveyor (8) configured to advance the seat (9) carrying the straw (1) along a processing path (P); and a corrugation station (S3) that is arranged along the processing path (P) and comprises a plurality of blades (12) which are all arranged parallel to the processing path (P) and each has an operating wall (18) that is not smooth and in use comes into contact with the straw (1).