US 9,005,509 B2Granted

Injection molding flow control apparatus and method

AssigneeSynventive Molding Solutions, Inc.

InventorsVito Galati, Sergio de Oliveira Antunes, J. Andres Lopez

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Abstract

An apparatus for controlling the rate of flow of mold material to a mold cavity, including a valve system in fluid communication with an actuator to drive the actuator at one or more rates of travel, the valve system having a start position, one or more intermediate drive rate positions and a high drive rate position, the start position holding the valve pin in a gate closed position; a controller that instructs the valve system to move from the start position to the one or more intermediate drive rate positions and to remain in the one or more intermediate drive rate positions for one or more corresponding predetermined amounts of time and further drives the valve system to move from the one or more intermediate drive rate positions to the high drive rate position on expiration of the one or more predetermined amounts of time.

Claims26

Dependent claims

An apparatus for controlling the rate of flow of mold material to a mold cavity, the apparatus comprising:

an injection molding machine and a manifold that receives the injected mold material from the machine, the manifold having a delivery channel that delivers the mold material at one or more flow rates through a gate to the mold cavity,
an actuator interconnected to a valve pin having a tip end, the actuator being drivable to move the valve pin along a path of travel starting from a downstream gate closed position continuously upstream to and through a series of successively upstream intermediate upstream gate open positions and further continuously upstream to a high upstream gate open position,
a valve system in fluid communication with the actuator to drive the actuator with drive fluid at one or more rates of travel, the valve system having a start position, one or more intermediate drive rate positions and a high drive rate position, the start position holding the valve pin in the gate closed position, the high drive rate position driving the actuator upstream at a maximum velocity under which the valve system is capable of driving the actuator, the one or more intermediate drive rate positions driving the actuator upstream at one or more corresponding velocities that are less than the maximum velocity,
a controller interconnected to the valve system, the controller being adapted to control movement of the valve system between the start position, the one or more intermediate drive rate positions and the high drive rate position,
the controller including an electrical signal generator that drives the valve system to move from the start position to the one or more intermediate drive rate positions and to remain in the one or more intermediate drive rate positions for one or more corresponding predetermined amounts of time and further drives the valve system to move from the one or more intermediate drive rate positions to the high drive rate position on expiration of the one or more predetermined amounts of time.

2 more elements

An apparatus for controlling the rate of flow of mold material to a mold cavity, the apparatus comprising:

an injection molding machine and a manifold that receives the injected mold material from the machine, the manifold having a delivery channel that delivers the mold material at one or more flow rates through a gate to the mold cavity,
an actuator interconnected to a valve pin having a tip end, the actuator being drivable to move the valve pin along a path of travel starting from a downstream gate closed position continuously upstream to and through a series of successively upstream intermediate upstream gate open positions and further continuously upstream to a high upstream gate open position,
a drive system connected to the actuator, the drive system being adapted to drive the actuator continuously upstream beginning from the gate closed position at one or more preselected intermediate velocities for one or more corresponding selected lengths of time and further subsequently driving the actuator continuously upstream at one or more high velocities that are higher than the intermediate velocities.

A sequentially gated molding system comprising a mold having first and second gates leading to a common cavity and a manifold having first and second fluid flow channels respectively delivering a fluid mold material through the first and second gates into the cavity, the system comprising:

a first valve controlling delivery of the fluid material through the first gate into the cavity beginning at a first time;
a second valve controlling delivery of the fluid material through the second gate beginning at a second time subsequent to the first time such that the fluid material has entered the cavity through the first gate and approached the second gate prior to the second time;
the second valve comprising an actuator interconnected to a valve pin having a tip end, the actuator moving the valve pin continuously upstream along a path of travel between a downstream gate closed position and an intermediate upstream gate open position, the downstream gate closed position being a position wherein the tip end of the valve pin obstructs the second gate to prevent fluid material from flowing into the mold cavity, the intermediate upstream gate open position being a predetermined position between the downstream gate closed position and a fully open, end of stroke position upstream of the intermediate upstream gate open position;
a controller interconnected to the actuator that controls movement of the actuator at least in part according to instructions that instruct the actuator to move the valve pin continuously upstream at one or more selected increasing velocities over the course of travel of the valve pin from the downstream gate closed position to the intermediate upstream gate open position.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/484,408Filed 31 May 2012 · continuation
Priority: 23 Nov 2010
Published: US 2012/0248652 A14 Oct 2012
Granted: 14 Apr 2015
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification37 codes

B29C 45/77
Measuring, controlling or regulating: of velocity or pressure of moulding material
B29C 45/03
Injection moulding, i.e. forcing the required volume of moulding material through a nozzle into a closed mould; Apparatus therefor: injection…
B29C 45/2703
Details not specific to hot or cold runner channels: means for controlling the runner flow, e.g. runner switches, adjustable runners or gates
B29C 45/2708
Details not specific to hot or cold runner channels: gates

Family

Application61/416,583Us provisional application · filed 23 Nov 2010
Application61/475,340Us provisional application · filed 11 Apr 2011
PCT/US2011/062096Parent of this continuation · filed 23 Nov 2011
US 2012/0248652 A1Pre-grant publication · published 4 Oct 2012
US 9,005,509 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.