Vertical Packaging Machine Pneumatic Acceleration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vertical packaging machines face challenges with vegetable products like spinach, lettuce, and parsley, which have a slow gravity-induced falling speed and a high risk of jamming due to their characteristics, especially when the passage area is reduced, leading to inefficiencies and increased film usage.
Innovation Solution
A vertical packaging machine with a hopper and vertical tube configuration that uses gaseous fluid injection through strategically placed ports to accelerate products via the Venturi effect, creating a pressure drop and airstream that prevents jamming and allows for a progressive, elongated product entry into the tube, reducing the tube diameter and film usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If vegetable products are supplied through a supply conduit using gravity alone, then the machine structure remains simple, but the product falling speed is slow and jamming risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies pneumatic principles by using a flow generator to produce a gas flow that is introduced into the supply conduit. This gas flow accelerates the vegetable products downward, increasing their falling speed without requiring complex mechanical moving parts. The pneumatic system provides a simple yet effective means to control product speed and prevent jamming.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and motion parameters of the gas flow to accelerate products. By controlling the flow rate and velocity of the gas introduced into the supply conduit, the system optimizes product falling speed. The gas flow parameters are adjusted to ensure products move quickly enough to prevent jamming while maintaining control.
2Loss of substance
If the supply conduit passage area is reduced to save film, then film consumption decreases, but the risk of product jamming increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pneumatic acceleration system allows the use of a narrower supply conduit by providing sufficient downward force to products through gas flow. This prevents jamming even in reduced passage areas, enabling film savings while maintaining reliable product flow. The gas flow compensates for the reduced physical space in the conduit.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the velocity parameter of products through pneumatic acceleration, the system enables use of a supply conduit with smaller cross-sectional area. The increased product speed compensates for the reduced passage area, preventing jamming while allowing film consumption to be reduced.
3Reliability
If a single gas injection point is used to accelerate products, then the device complexity is low, but product acceleration is insufficient and jamming cannot be prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the gas injection system into multiple separate injection points distributed along the supply conduit. This segmentation allows gas to be introduced at different locations, creating cumulative acceleration effect on products and ensuring they gain sufficient speed to prevent jamming throughout the conduit length.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the supply conduit receive gas injection at optimized locations. The injection points are strategically positioned to address local flow conditions and product distribution variations, ensuring uniform acceleration and jamming prevention throughout the entire supply conduit.
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 effectively accelerates product entry, reduces jamming risks, and decreases film consumption by ensuring products enter the tube in an elongated shape, enhancing packaging speed and productivity while minimizing film requirements.
Implementation Method 1
uses gaseous fluid injection through strategically placed ports to accelerate products via the Venturi effect, creating a pressure drop and airstream that prevents jamming
Data Source
AI summary
A vertical packaging machine that includes a hopper with a hopper inlet mouth and at least one hopper outlet mouth, a tube arranged downstream of the hopper with a tube inlet mouth and a tube outlet mouth. A supply conduit is formed by at least the hopper and the tube. Acceleration means is provided and configured for injecting a gaseous fluid into the supply conduit through two injection ports arranged in the supply conduit at different heights with respect to the tube outlet mouth and for causing, with said injection, part of the air present in said supply conduit above the corresponding injection port to follow the injected flow.