Methods and systems for producing pressware
AssigneeBrown LLC
InventorsVictor L. Chun, Steffen Brown, Philip Eichbauer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system for forming a pressware product from a web of a roll of material includes a positive mold, a negative mold, a heating element, an actuator, a force sensor, and a control system. The positive mold forms a top surface of the pressware product. The negative mold forms a bottom surface of the pressware product. The heating element is coupled to the positive mold or the negative mold. The actuator shifts the positive mold or the negative mold to cut and form the pressware product in a single stroke. The force sensor detects the forming force applied by the actuator, and the control system directs the actuator to adjust the forming force.
Claims14
A method of forming a pressware product from a web from a roll of material, the method comprising:
- pressing, via one or more forming station actuator, the web between a positive mold of the positive mold assembly and a negative mold of the negative mold assembly to form the pressware product, the positive mold assembly including a including the positive mold with a bottom surface for forming a top surface of the pressware product and a positive punch shiftable relative to the positive mold with an edge configured to cut the web to separate the pressware product from the web, and the negative mold assembly including a negative mold with a top surface for forming a bottom surface of the pressware product and a trim die plate with an edge configured to cut the web in cooperation with the edge of the positive punch, the positive mold assembly and the negative mold assembly being shiftable relative to one another, wherein the one or more forming station actuator is configured to shift the positive mold assembly relative to the negative mold assembly;
- heating, via a heating element coupled to at least one of the positive mold or the negative mold, the pressware product;
- generating, via a force sensor, sensor data representative of a forming force applied by the forming station actuator;
- shifting, via the one or more forming station actuator, the positive punch relative to the positive mold to cut the pressware product from the web;
- receiving, via a control system in communication with the force sensor and the forming station actuator, a signal representative of the sensor data;
- and
- directing, via the control system, the forming station actuator to adjust the forming force based at least in part on the sensor data.
A method of forming a pressware product from a web from a roll of material, the method comprising:
- pressing, via one or more forming station actuator, the web between a positive mold of a positive mold assembly and a negative mold of a negative mold assembly to form the pressware product, the positive mold assembly including a positive mold with a bottom surface for forming a top surface of the pressware product and a positive punch shiftable relative to the positive mold with an edge configured to cut the web to separate the pressware product from the web, and the negative mold assembly including a negative mold with a top surface for forming a bottom surface of the pressware product and a trim die plate with an edge configured to cut the web in cooperation with the edge of the positive punch, the positive mold assembly and the negative mold assembly being shiftable relative to one another, wherein the one or more forming station actuator is configured to shift at least one of the positive mold assembly relative to the negative mold assembly;
- shifting, via the one or more forming station actuator, the positive punch relative to the positive mold to cut the pressware product from the web;
- holding, via the one or more forming station actuator, the positive mold and the negative mold pressed against the pressware product so that the pressware product is heated via a heating element coupled to at least one of the positive mold or the negative mold;
- generating, via a force sensor, sensor data representative of a forming force applied by the one or more forming station actuator;
- receiving, via a control system in communication with the force sensor and the forming station actuator, a signal representative of the sensor data;
- adjusting, via the control system, the forming force applied by the one or more forming station actuator based at least in part on the sensor data;
- and
- shifting, via a height adjust assembly, the positive mold assembly relative to the negative mold assembly to adjust a forming depth of the positive mold within the negative mold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.