Valve gate assembly
AssigneePlastics Engineering & Technical Services, Inc.
InventorsPatrick A. Tooman, Bruce Casey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A valve gate assembly for regulating a flow of molten material into a mold. The valve gate assembly includes a movable valve that can be positioned between a fully closed position and a fully open position. The valve gate assembly further includes an actuating system operatively cooperating with the valve to move the valve and infinitely position the valve between the fully closed position and the fully open position.
Claims22
A valve gate assembly for an injection molding machine, comprising:
- a valve operably associated with a valve gate of an injection molding manifold;
- an actuator assembly operably coupled to said valve;
- and
- said actuator assembly including an outer member coupled to and concentrically aligned with an axially moveable output shaft through a transmission assembly, wherein relative rotation between said outer member and said output shaft translates through said transmission assembly to said valve for driving said valve and opening said valve gate.
A valve gate assembly in an injection molding manifold, said valve gate used for controlling delivery of molten material to a mold, comprising:
- a valve member including a pin, a portion of said pin having an actuator output shaft member;
- a flow passage in said injection molding manifold having a gate for selectively receiving said pin;
- an elongated cylinder having a threaded bore, said elongated cylinder made of magnetic material, and having at least one magnet disposed on the outer surface of said elongated cylinder;
- a housing for rotatably supporting said elongated cylinder, said housing including a stator circumscribing said elongated cylinder in proximity to said at least one magnet;
- a controller for delivering a voltage to said stator;
- a series of transmission rollers operably associated with said actuator output shaft member and said threaded bore of said elongated cylinder;
- a controller for delivering a predetermined voltage to said stator for rotating said magnets and elongated cylinder, causing said transmission rollers and said actuator output shaft member to move in said elongated cylinder for precision opening of said valve gate and delivery of material into a mold cavity.
A valve gate assembly in an injection mold manifold, said valve gate used for controlling delivery of molten material to a mold, comprising:
- an elongated cylinder rotatably disposed within a housing, said housing having a stator surrounding said elongated cylinder;
- a threaded bore extending substantially through said elongated cylinder;
- an output shaft disposed within said elongated cylinder, said output shaft having a pin extending out of said housing and into a flow passage in said injection mold manifold, said flow passage having a gate which selectively receives said pin, and a portion of said output shaft formed as a camming surface;
- at least three transmission rollers equally spaced about said camming surface of said output shaft, each of said at least three transmission rollers having a camming surface in contact with said camming surface of said output shaft and said threaded bore;
- and
- wherein when said stator causes said elongated cylinder to rotate, said threaded surface of said elongated cylinder will cause said transmission rollers to translate along the threads, thereby causing said transmission rollers and said output shaft to translate in said elongated cylinder.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.