Molding of fiber blanks into three-dimensional fiber block articles
AssigneeInter IKEA Systems B.V.
InventorAnders Bergner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fiber block molding apparatus comprising: —a mold having a lower part and an upper part forming between them a cavity for forming a fiber blank into a fiber block article upon closing the mold; —a conveyor system for receiving the fiber blank to be molded at a receiving position, transporting the fiber blank via a heater for activation of a binding agent, and delivering the heated fiber blank into the lower part of the mold at a delivery end of the conveyor system, and —a horizontal position shifting arrangement for shifting the horizontal position of the delivery end of the conveyor system relative to the lower part of the mold between a first and a second position to lay the fiber blank on the lower part of the mold.
Claims18
A three-dimensional fiber block article, the three-dimensional fiber block article being obtainable by molding a heated fiber blank, including a thermally activated binding agent, into the three-dimensional fiber block article in a fiber block molding process, the fiber block molding process comprising:
- receiving the fiber blank to be molded at a receiving position of a conveyor system;
- transporting the fiber blank by means of the conveyor system via a heater, thereby heating the fiber blank to activate the binding agent, to a mold, the mold having a lower part and an upper part, wherein the lower and the upper parts of the mold form between them a cavity for forming the fiber blank into the fiber block article upon closing the mold;
- cooling the lower part of the mold;
- delivering the heated fiber blank on the cooled lower part of the mold;
- and
- closing the mold to provide the fiber block article;
- wherein the cavity is closed on only a single heated fiber blank, such that the fiber block article is of a unitary, one-piece construction;
- wherein the fiber blank is lapped vertically, the fibers in the fiber blank being arranged perpendicularly to the longitudinal extension of the fiber blank, and/or the fibers in the fiber blank being arranged perpendicularly to the transport direction of the fiber blank on the conveyor system;
- wherein the fiber block article has an outer surface with stronger bonded fibers compared to fibers in an interior of the fiber block article;
- wherein the fiber block article is a cushion member;
- and
- wherein the fiber block article includes binder fibers and filling fibers, the binder fibers being distinct from the filling fibers, wherein the binder fibers are bi-component binder polyester fibers that include the thermally activated binding agent, wherein the filling fibers are polyester fibers.
The three-dimensional fiber block article according to 1, wherein the fiber blank is received in the form of a sheet at the receiving position;
- and
- wherein the received sheet once heated is molded into the molded fiber block article.
A three-dimensional fiber block article, the three-dimensional fiber block article being obtainable by molding a heated fiber blank, including binder fibers and filling fibers, the binder fibers being distinct from the filling fibers, the binder fibers being thermally activated bi-component binder polyester fibers, and the filling fibers being polyester fibers, into the three-dimensional fiber block article in a fiber block molding process, the fiber block molding process comprising:
- receiving the fiber blank to be molded at a receiving position of a conveyor system;
- transporting the fiber blank by means of the conveyor system via a heater, thereby heating the fiber blank to activate the binding agent, to a mold, the mold having a lower part, an upper part, and mold surfaces, wherein the lower and the upper parts of the mold form between them a cavity for forming the fiber blank into the fiber block article upon closing the mold;
- delivering the heated fiber blank on the lower part of the mold, the temperature of the mold and the mold surfaces being lower than an activation temperature of the binding agent;
- and
- closing the mold to provide the fiber block article;
- wherein the cavity is closed on only a single heated fiber blank, such that the fiber block article is of a unitary, one-piece construction;
- wherein the fiber blank is lapped vertically, the fibers in the fiber blank being arranged perpendicularly to the longitudinal extension of the fiber blank, and/or the fibers in the fiber blank being arranged perpendicularly to the transport direction of the fiber blank on the conveyor system;
- wherein the fiber block article has an outer surface with stronger bonded fibers compared to fibers in an interior of the fiber block article;
- and
- wherein the fiber block article is a cushion member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.