Moulding apparatus
AssigneeDunlop Limited
InventorsAnthony Gerald Goodfellow, Maurice Rand
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A moulding apparatus including a pair of mould cavities with locking spue grooves, means to form moulded rubber article parts in the cavities, means to prework the rubber without substantial curing before it is formed, means to pressurize the mould with gas and means to bring the mould cavities together to join the article parts. The arrangement for pressurizing the mould includes a retractable casing which is movable between a position in which the mould cavities are enclosed to permit their pressurization and a position in which the cavities are accessible outside the casing.
Claims13
A moulding apparatus for moulding a hollow rubber article which is first formed in two or more separate parts, the apparatus comprising:
- a. means to pre-work unvulcanized rubber without any substantial curing, prior to the rubber being formed into the parts;
- b. two mould halves arranged for relative movement towards and away from each other, and each having a mould cavity for a respective one of said article parts, and a locking spue groove adjacent said mould cavity to prevent accidental displacement of a moulded article part from its respective mould cavity;
- c. two sleeves respectively surrounding and carried by said two mould halves and having similar radial cross-section;
- d. male formers to co-operate respectively with the mould cavities to provide mould chambers into which molten rubber can be fed to provide said article parts;
- e. means to feed the pre-worked rubber to said mould chambers;
- and
- f. means to provide super-atmospheric gaseous pressure in the space between the mould halves when separated apart, said last recited means including a retractable casing which is movable between an operative position in which the mould halves are enclosed in a gas-tight volume by the casing, and a retracted position in which the mould halves are not enclosed in a gas-tight volume, said casing having in two opposed walls thereof corresponding apertures which can engage in a gas-tight fit the two respective sleeves carried by the two mould halves.
A moulding apparatus for moulding a hollow rubber article which is first formed in two separate parts, the apparatus comprising:
- upper and lower mould halves arranged in vertical alignment for relative movement towards and away from each other, each mould half having a mould cavity and a locking spue groove to prevent accidental displacement of a rubber part when moulded in that mould cavity;
- two sleeves each surrounding and carried by a respective mould half;
- a heat sink arranged in side-by-side relation with said upper and lower mould halves and comprising upper and lower heat sink members each having one or more cavities arranged in vertical alignment, said heat sink members being arranged for relative movement towards and away from each other;
- two sleeves each surrounding and carried by a respective heat sink member;
- a mould center section having two sets of male formers, one set corresponding to the cavities in both the upper mould half and to the cavities in the upper heat sink members, and the other set corresponding to the cavities in both the lower mould half and to the cavities in the lower heat sink members;
- and
- means to carry the center section from a first position in which the first and second sets of male formers are in alignment respectively with the cavities in the upper and lower mould halves, and a second position in which the male formers are in alignment respectively with the cavities in the upper and lower heat sink members, said center section having a chamber to receive molten uncured rubber, and conduits by which the rubber can be fed under pressure to said mould cavities, and a retractable casing mounted for movement between an operative position in which it encompasses the mould and an inoperative position in which the interior of the mould is accessible to the operator of the mould, said casing having in its upper and lower walls thereof apertures each provided with a seal which engages with a respective one of said sleeves carried by the mould halves and the heat sink members at least when the casing is in its operative position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.