Conditioning station tooling
AssigneeAdler Industrial Solutions, Inc.
InventorJincheng Chen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Conditioning station tooling for adjusting a temperature of a preform. The tooling comprises a mold presenting a cavity configured to receive at least a portion of the preform. The mold is configured to receive the preform such that a gap is present between the mold and the preform. The mold includes an air inlet and an air outlet. The tooling is configured to permit air to be injected from the air inlet, through the gap between the mold and preform, and out of the air outlet. The tooling further comprises a core configured to be received within an interior of the preform and to contact an interior surface of the preform.
Claims17
Conditioning station tooling for adjusting a temperature of a preform, said tooling comprising:
- a mold presenting a cavity configured to receive at least a portion of the preform, wherein the mold is configured to receive the preform such that a gap is present between the mold and the preform, wherein the mold includes an air inlet,
- wherein said conditioning station tooling is configured to permit air to be injected from the air inlet and through the gap between the mold and the preform;
- and
- a core configured to be received within an interior of the preform and configured to contact an interior surface of the preform,
- wherein the mold is configured to cool an exterior surface of the preform, wherein the mold comprises a plurality of cooling layers each being configured to direct cooling airflow toward the preform, wherein each cooling layer is separated from an adjacent cooling layer by a baffle.
A method for manufacturing a preform, the method comprising:
- (a) transporting the preform to a conditioning station of a blow molding machine;
- and
- (b) adjusting a temperature of the preform at the conditioning station,
- wherein said temperature adjusting of step (b) includes—
- inserting a core within an interior of the preform,
- positioning the preform at least partially within a cavity of a mold, with an exterior surface of the preform not contacting the mold,
- supplying air between the mold and the preform to condition the exterior surface of the preform,
- conditioning an interior surface of the preform via contact between the preform and the core,
- wherein the mold is configured to cool an exterior surface of the preform, wherein the mold comprises a plurality of cooling layers each being configured to direct cooling airflow toward the preform, wherein each cooling layer is separated from an adjacent cooling layer by a baffle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.