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US 4,380,484 AGranted
Inductively heated tooling and method for working plastic members
AssigneeWilliam C. Heller, Jr.
InventorsClyde P. Repik, Alfred F. Leatherman
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AssigneeWilliam C. Heller, Jr.
InventorsClyde P. Repik, Alfred F. Leatherman
Estimating the term…
A plastic heating tool unit is provided for cutting, sealing and like working of a relatively thin or film-like plastic element. The tool unit may function to sever a plastic element from a web and create firm thermal attachment thereof to another member. The tool unit includes an appropriately shaped annular or circular tool element formed of appropriate material which is responsive to an inductive field for self-generation of heat within the material. An annular radio frequency induction coil unit is coupled to the tool element. A heat transfer member is secured to the tool element and to a forced cooled heat sink which cools the transfer member and thereby the tool element. The transfer member creates a selected retarded cooling rate of the tool element to provide an improved interaction of the tool member and the plastic element and for more effective heating and cooling thereof. The tool element is forced into operative engagement with the plastic element and by appropriate shaping of the tool element may force a plastic web toward a support and thermally sever the aligned annular portion from the web. The tool unit may be constructed to stretch a film-like plastic web, a foamed plastic web or the like during the thermal cutting thereof, and heat seal the severed plastic element to another member. The tool unit may also seal a preformed cover element to a container assembly in an automated assembly line apparatus having a separate sealing station with a fixed induction coil and a pressure clamp unit moving with the container assembly.
An inductively heated apparatus for working plastic material, comprising
An inductively heated work apparatus for working a plastic member comprising,
An inductively heated apparatus for sealing a thin liner having a thermally activated sealing surface to the flange of a container, comprising
An inductively heated plastic cutting and sealing apparatus for securing a foamed plastic cover to a second member, comprising means to support a web of the foamed plastic defining a web portion from which a plastic cover is to be formed,
An inductively heated plastic working apparatus for applying a film element to a base member,
A method of forming and sealing a plastic element to a second element, comprising supporting a web of plastic material from which said plastic element is to e formed in tension and in spaced relation to said second element, moving a tubular cutting tool means having a cutting edge member into engagement with said web with a perpendicular component of motion to stretch the plastic web and force the engaged portion of the web from the plane of said web and through said spaced relation and into sealing engagement position with said second element, said plastic material being sufficiently elastic to permit said stretching during the movement into said sealing engagement, and heating said cutting edge member to thermally sever the stretched plastic element from the web and to heat seal the plastic element to the second element, said elasticity of said elastic material returning the web to the original plane after said severing of the plastic element therefrom, said cutting edge member holding the plastic element in engagement with said second element, and further including the step of forced cooling of said cutting edge with said cutting edge holding the plastic element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.