Apparatus and method for heated pulp press with integral elements for improved efficiencies
AssigneeMotus Co., Ltd.
InventorsRobert Beesley, Jason Bedenbaugh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pulp molding machine and split heater plate assembly are contemplated for the manufacture of molded pulp products. The heater plate assembly is split into upper and lower planar members, with grooves formed at the interfacing area of these members and individual cartridge heaters disposed in these grooves. Use of this split heater plate reduces the difference in set temperature of the heater and the observed surface temperature of tooling affixed to the top of the split heater plate, while also delivering up to 15% improvements in the speed of the manufacturing operations relying on that split heater plate.
Claims13
A split heater plate assembly configured to operate in conjunction with a pulp molding machine, the split heater plate assembly comprising:
- a flat planar base member, the flat planar base member having a plurality of grooves disposed in a top facing of the flat planar base member;
- at least one elongated, cylindrical cartridge heating element seated in at least one of the grooves in the plurality of grooves;
- and
- a flat planar top member, the flat planar top member having a bottom facing adapted to interface with the top facing of the flat planar base member and the at least one elongated, cylindrical cartridge heating element, a top side opposite the bottom facing, and a peripheral shape complimentary to the base member, wherein:
- the flat planar top member includes a plurality of tooling receptacles integrally disposed on the top side, wherein each of the tooling receptacles in the plurality of tooling receptacles is aligned so as to be positioned directly opposite at least one of the at least one elongated, cylindrical cartridge heating element, and
- interchangeable tooling is detachably fixed to at least one tooling receptacle in the plurality of tooling receptacles;
- wherein:
- the at least one elongated, cylindrical cartridge heating element is electrically heated;
- the at least one elongated, cylindrical cartridge heating element is in direct thermal communication with the interchangeable tooling via conductive heat transfer from the at least one elongated, cylindrical cartridge heating element through the flat planar top member to the interchangeable tooling;
- and
- the interchangeable tooling is free of any heating element disposed therein.
A pulp molding machine for manufacturing molded pulp products comprising:
- a split heater plate assembly having:
- i) a lower plate member with a series of spaced apart channels each running transversely across a top facing of the lower plate member, and ii) an upper plate member configured to couple to the top facing of the lower plate member so as to cover and enclose the spaced apart channels, wherein interchangeable tooling is detachably fixed to a top side of the upper plate member directly opposite each one of the spaced apart channels;
- a plurality of elongated, cylindrical cartridge heating elements with an individual elongated, cylindrical cartridge heating element seated in each of the spaced apart channels;
- a tooling press assembly having complimentary interchangeable tooling detachably fixed to a lower facing;
- wherein the split heater plate assembly and the tooling press assembly are configured to move into close proximity during a molding operation;
- wherein the interchangeable tooling is free of any heating element disposed therein;
- and
- wherein the plurality of elongated, cylindrical cartridge heating elements are configured to be in thermal communication with the interchangeable tooling through the upper plate member so that, after attaining steady state operation, an observed temperature on an outermost surface of the interchangeable tooling of the split heater plate assembly is at least 78% or greater than a set temperature of the plurality of elongated, cylindrical cartridge heating elements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.