Vacuum Flap Glove Stacking for Compact Hygienic Packing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge is to efficiently stack and pack a maximum number of disposable medical gloves in a compact volume to enhance infection control and reduce storage space requirements, while minimizing the risk of contamination during the dispensing process.
Innovation Solution
A glove stacking apparatus using a permeable flap with vacuum pressure to fold and compress gloves within a recess, combined with a movable floor to maintain the stack level and a method involving a lifting surface with a vacuum lifting portion to deposit and compress gloves, ensuring efficient stacking and compact packing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If manual stacking of gloves is used, then packing density can be optimized, but the process is time-consuming and reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the glove's own material properties (elasticity and flexibility) to enable automatic folding and stacking without manual intervention. The glove cuff naturally folds over the finger portion when placed in the recess, and the permeable flap with vacuum pressure automatically secures the folded glove, creating a self-service stacking mechanism that achieves both high density and productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical stacking operations with a pneumatic system. Instead of hands manually folding and arranging gloves, a vacuum pressure system applied through the permeable flap automatically holds and secures the folded gloves in place, enabling automated high-speed stacking while maintaining optimal packing density
2Device complexity
If traditional stacking methods are used, then the process is simple, but contamination risk increases due to external parts touching contaminated areas
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the potentially contaminated external parts (glove fingers and palm) from contact with the dispensing container opening. By folding the glove cuff over the finger portion and securing it with the permeable flap, the external surfaces that would touch the container are contained within the folded structure, preventing contamination while maintaining a relatively simple stacking process
Solution Approach 2:
The folding action is performed preliminarily before the glove is dispensed. The cuff is folded over the finger portion and secured in advance, so that when the glove is later removed from the container, the external surfaces are already protected and cannot contact contaminated areas, thereby reducing contamination risk without complicating the dispensing process
3Stress or pressure
If the movable flap uses impermeable material, then vacuum pressure can be maintained, but the vacuum cannot be automatically released when the flap folds
Solution Approach 1:
The movable flap is made with a permeable surface that allows air flow through it. This porous structure enables the flap to maintain vacuum pressure when stationary (holding the folded glove) while automatically releasing the vacuum when the flap folds toward the recess, as air can pass through the permeable material. This eliminates the need for complex mechanical release mechanisms and enables automatic operation
Solution Approach 2:
The permeable flap transitions between two dynamic states: when flat, it maintains vacuum pressure to hold the glove; when folded toward the recess, air flow through the permeable material automatically releases the vacuum. This dynamic behavior based on the flap's position enables automatic operation without additional controls, resolving the contradiction between pressure maintenance and automatic release
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 allows for the efficient stacking and packing of a high number of gloves in a compact space, reducing contamination risks and optimizing storage efficiency, enabling the packing of up to 100 or 200 gloves in a standard box.
Implementation Method 1
a source of vacuum pressure and means to apply said vacuum air pressure in order to pull said overlapping portion of said glove to the flap
Implementation Method 2
the movable flap has a surface that is permeable to gaseous flow through said surface
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a glove stacking apparatus for preparing a stack of gloves prior to packing into a box, and to a method of stacking gloves, particularly ambidextrous disposable hygienic gloves, preferably with the thumbs of each glove in a desired orientation with respect to each other. A glove stacking apparatus for forming a stack of gloves comprises a packing recess for receiving said gloves to be stacked, and adjacent the recess at least one movable flap for folding towards the recess a portion of a glove overlapping said edge of the recess. The movable flap has a surface that is permeable to gaseous flow through the surface, and the glove stacking apparatus including a source of vacuum pressure and means to apply said vacuum air pressure through the permeable surface of the movable flap in order to pull the overlapping portion of said glove to the flap prior to folding of said overlapping portion. The source of vacuum pressure is separate from the flap so that as the flap folds towards the recess, the application of the vacuum air pressure through the permeable surface is automatically released.