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US 2017/0021539 A1Published application
Reusable cartridge for injection molding
AssigneeRadius Engineering, Inc.
InventorsMatt Howe, Dimitrije Milovich
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Reusable cartridges allow the time consuming resin preparation and processing steps to occur offline and not affect the cycling time of the injector. Cartridges also greatly simplify the operation of RTM injectors as preparation simply consists of loading a warmed ready-to-use resin cartridge and performing the injection.
Claims20
An injection cartridge apparatus comprising:
- reversably sealable barrel configured to withstand high pressure and/or high vacuum at elevated temperatures, the barrel having a cylindrical internal circumferential surface enclosing a hollow interior with a proximal end and an open distal end,
- the proximal end having structure with a reversibly sealable outlet to selectively seal or provide access to the hollow interior of the barrel;
- piston within the barrel that sealingly engages the distal end of the barrel, the piston configured to be longitudinally moved along a portion of the cylindrical internal circumferential surface
- such that a portion of the hollow interior between the proximal end and the piston changes volume by movement of the piston,
- the piston and the barrel having locking structure with a locked position and an open position, where the locked position prevents movement of the piston in barrel, and the open position allows movement of the piston in the barrel
2 more elements
An injection cartridge apparatus comprising:
- a barrel configured to withstand high pressure and/or high vacuum at elevated temperatures, the barrel having a cylindrical internal circumferential surface enclosing a hollow interior with a proximal end and an open distal end, and one or more stop tab structures near the distal end that extend from the internal circumference surface of the barrel into the hollow interior;
- the proximal end having structure with a reversibly sealable outlet to selectively seal or provide access to the hollow interior of the barrel;
- a piston removably inserted within the barrel
- that can be longitudinally moved along a portion of the cylindrical internal circumferential surface
- such that a portion of the hollow interior between the proximal end and the piston changes volume by movement of the piston,
- the piston having locking structure such that when the piston is axially rotated, the locking structure can be moved relative to the stop tab structures between a locked position and an open position,
- the locked position where the tab structures and locking structure are aligned to prevent movement of the piston,
- the open position where the tab structure and locking structures are not aligned to allow movement of the piston.
5 more elements
An injection cartridge apparatus comprising:
- re-sealable barrel configured to withstand high pressure and high vacuum at elevated temperatures, the barrel having a cylindrical internal circumferential surface enclosing a hollow interior with an open proximal end and an open distal end,
- the proximal end having structure with a reversibly sealable outlet to selectively seal or provide access to the hollow interior of the barrel;
- removable piston within the barrel, the removable piston reversibly sealing the hollow interior of the barrel at or near the distal end, the piston longitudinally moved along a portion of the cylindrical internal circumferential surface such that a remaining portion of the hollow interior between the proximal end and the piston changes volume by movement of the piston, the piston and the barrel having locking structure with a locked position and an open position, where the locked position prevents movement of the piston in barrel, and the open position allows movement of the piston in the barrel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.