Horizontal Wrapping Ring Support Groove to Reduce Wear and Vibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing horizontal wrapping machines suffer from quick wear of supporting rollers due to play between lateral shoulders and the rotating ring, leading to plastic residue generation, vibrations, oscillations, and frequent maintenance needs.
Innovation Solution
The use of supporting wheels with an annular guide groove and central annular channel to support the rotating ring, combined with adjustable mounting and low-friction plastic material, ensures precise and vibration-free operation with reduced wear and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If supporting rollers with lateral shoulders are used to support the rotating ring, then the rotating ring is radially and axially constrained, but the rollers experience quick wear due to play between the shoulders and the ring, generating plastic residues and requiring frequent maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting rollers are replaced with supporting wheels featuring an annular guide groove with a curved, semi-circular cross-section. This curved geometry receives the corresponding annular portion of the rotating ring, eliminating play through precise complementary curvature matching while distributing contact stresses uniformly across the curved surface, thereby preventing wear and plastic residue generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the supporting structure by introducing an annular guide groove with specific curvature radius matching the rotating ring's annular portion. This parameter matching eliminates gaps and play, ensuring continuous contact without lateral shoulders, thereby preventing wear while maintaining radial and axial constraint.
2Reliability
If supporting rollers with lateral shoulders are used to support the rotating ring, then the rotating ring is constrained, but vibrations, oscillations and noise occur during rotation due to wear-induced play increase
Solution Approach 1:
The annular guide groove with semi-circular cross-section receives the annular portion of the rotating ring, creating a precise curved-fit connection. This curved geometry eliminates play and gaps that would cause vibrations and noise, while the continuous contact along the curved surface provides stable radial and axial constraint during rotation.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing from a flat-shouldered roller design to a curved-groove wheel design with matched curvature parameters, the invention eliminates the play that causes vibrations and oscillations. The precise geometric parameter matching ensures continuous contact without gaps, thereby preventing harmful vibrations and noise during operation.
3Reliability
If a first set of rollers and a second set of rollers are used to respectively radially and axially support the rotating ring, then the rotating ring is properly supported, but the machine structure becomes more complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting wheels with annular guide grooves perform multiple functions simultaneously: they provide radial support through the groove walls, axial support through the groove geometry, and rotational guidance. This single-component design replaces the need for separate radial and axial roller sets, simplifying the structure while maintaining precise support.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the functions of radial support rollers and axial support rollers into a single supporting wheel with an annular guide groove. The groove geometry simultaneously provides both radial and axial constraint, eliminating the need for two separate roller sets and reducing structural complexity.
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 configuration reduces wear and residue generation, minimizes vibrations, and requires infrequent maintenance, ensuring smooth and precise film wrapping operations.
Implementation Method 1
The supporting wheels 5 are made of plastic material with a low friction coefficient
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A wrapping machine (1) for wrapping a film (50) around a product (100) comprises: a supporting frame (2), a rotating ring (3) rotatably supported by the supporting frame (2), a plurality of supporting wheels (5) fixed to said supporting frame (2) to rotatably support the rotating ring (3) by engaging an external peripheral edge (10) thereof, an unwinding unit (4) fixed to the rotating ring (3), drive means (15) to rotate the rotating ring (3) and comprising a flexible element (16) wrapped around the external peripheral edge (10) of the rotating ring (3); the external peripheral edge (10) of the rotating ring (3) comprises a first annular portion (11) and an adjacent second annular portion (12); each supporting wheel (5) comprises an annular guide groove (6) having a cross section with a semi-circular shape and suitable to receive and engage the first annular portion (11) having cross section with a semi-circular shape and complementary to the cross section of the annular guide groove (6); the second annular portion (12) is provided with an annular seat (13) suitable to receive said flexible element (16) and having a second external diameter (D2) smaller than a first external diameter (D1) of the first annular portion (11).