Tube forming apparatus and method
AssigneePH Thermal Products Limited
InventorsDonald B. Lupton, Kenneth Lawrence
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus for forming a tube, preferably of flexible thermally insulating material, comprises a cutting head 14 with a pair of concentric cutting edge 16, 18 which cooperates with a presser head 28 to cut rings 50 of material from a sheet 48 presented to the cutting head. The rings are stacked up on a guide bar 32 and sprayed with a coating composition to consolidate them into a tube which may be collected on a take-up drum in a continuous manner.
Claims37
An apparatus which comprises a pair of concentric cutting edges mounted above and aligned with a guide bar along which a ring of material is adapted to be guided, means for pressing a sheet of material against the cutting edges to cut a ring of material and transfer said rings to said guide bar, and means for coating the cut rings of material on the guide bar.
An apparatus comprising means for cutting successive rings from sheet material, means for guiding the rings for coaxial movement along a predetermined path of travel, and means for coating at least exterior circumferential surfaces of the rings during the movement thereof along the predetermined path.
An apparatus which comprises a pair of concentric cutting edges, pressing means disposed for opposing said pair of concentric cutting edges, means for feeding a sheet of material in a first direction between said pair of concentric edges and said pressing means, means for moving at least one of said pair of concentric cutting edges and said pressing means from a first spaced position to a second relatively more adjacent position during which movement a ring of material is cut from said sheet of material, means for guiding each cut ring of material in a second direction generally normal to said first direction substantially immediately upon the ring of material being cut from the sheet of material, said guiding means being a guide bar in generally internal telescopic relationship to the cut ring and including a portion disposed in generally coaxial relationship to said concentric cutting edges, and means for coating an exterior peripheral surface of the cut ring of material while the latter is on the guide bar.
A method of making tubes which comprises feeding a sheet of material to a cutting zone, cutting rings of the material, passing the rings in face-to-face relationship along a guide bar, coating the exterior surfaces of the rings on the guide bar to form a continuous tube, and collecting the tube so-formed.
A method comprising the steps of cutting successive rings from sheet material, guiding the rings for coaxial movement along a predetermined path of travel, and coating at least exterior circumferential surfaces of the rings during the movement thereof along the predetermined path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.