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US 11,166,488 B2Granted
Method and apparatus for shaping substantially flat continuous material
AssigneePhilip Morris Products S.A.
InventorsStefano Zappoli, Gianni Caprini, Michele Pagnoni
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The apparatus for shaping substantially flat continuous material comprises a shaping device for gathering substantially flat continuous material transverse to a longitudinal direction of the continuous material to form a gathered continuous material. The apparatus further comprises a cooling device for cooling the gathered continuous material. The shaping device and the cooling device are combined such as to immediately cool the gathered continuous material.
Claims16
Method for shaping a substantially flat continuous material, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a substantially flat continuous material of polylactic acid having a glass transition temperature of below 150 degree Celsius;
- gathering the substantially flat continuous material by means of a static shaping element in a lateral direction to form a gathered continuous material;
- cooling the substantially flat continuous material immediately after gathering the substantially flat continuous material, thereby cooling the gathered continuous material by a cool contact surface in contact with the gathered continuous material arranged next to an outlet of the static shaping element;
- wherein the steps of gathering and cooling the substantially flat continuous material comprise shaping a rod-shaped continuous material and cooling the rod-shaped continuous material by a cool contact surface in contact with the rod-shaped continuous material, wherein the shape of the cool contact surface varies along its length in transport direction of the continuous material.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.