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US 9,145,322 B2Granted
Bi-axial cooling system and method
AssigneeEmhart Glass S.A.
InventorsPedro Pontes, Stefano Vecchi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved system and method is disclosed for providing cooling air to mating mold halves during the entire cycle and an additional degree of cooling during the portion of the cycle when hot glass material is enclosed within mating mold halves. Countercurrent cooling air flows are established in separate arrays of cooling passages located in each mold half, with one of the cooling air flows being capable of actively cooling the mold halves over the full cycle rather than only when the mold halves are in their closed position. The cooling air flowing in the separate arrays of cooling passages allows separate timing and control of the cooling air flows supplied to the arrays of cooling passages in the molds.
Claims20
An improved system for providing cooling air to molds for molding hot glass material into glass containers, comprising:
- a first manifold configured to connect to a first source of cooling air, a first plurality of apertures located in a distributor plate on a top side of the first manifold and extending between the first manifold and a top side of the distributor plate;
- a bottom plate assembly;
- a pair of mold halves moveable between an open position in which the mold halves are spaced away from each other and a closed position in which the mold halves engage a portion of the bottom plate assembly and each other to form a mold;
- a pair of mold half support assemblies for respectively supporting the pair of mold halves and for selectively moving the mold halves between their open and closed positions;
- a first plurality of vertical cooling passages located in the pair of mold halves, the first plurality of vertical cooling passages in the pair of mold halves being in fluid communication at bottom ends thereof with the plurality of apertures located in the distributor plate to be able to receive cooling air from the first manifold when the mold halves are in their closed position;
- a second plurality of vertical cooling passages located in the pair of mold halves separate from the first plurality of vertical cooling passages located in the pair of mold halves, each of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages having an inlet and a single outlet, the outlet of each of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages being closer to the bottom ends of the first plurality of vertical cooling passages than the inlet of each of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages;
- and
- an additional manifold associated with each of the pair of mold half support assemblies, the additional manifolds being configured to connect to a second source of cooling air, the second plurality of vertical cooling passages in the pair of mold halves being in fluid communication at their respective inlets with at least one opening located in each of the additional manifolds to be able to continuously receive cooling air therefrom irrespective of the position of the mold halves.
5 more elements
An improved system for providing cooling air to molds for molding hot glass material into glass containers, comprising:
- a first manifold located in configured to connect to a first source of cooling air, a first plurality of apertures located in a distributor plate on the top side of the first manifold and extending between the first manifold and a top side of the distributor plate;
- a bottom plate assembly having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough;
- a pair of mold halves moveable between an open position in which the mold halves are spaced away from each other and a closed position in which the mold halves engage a portion of the bottom plate assembly and each other to form a mold;
- a pair of mold half support assemblies for respectively supporting the pair of mold halves and for selectively moving the mold halves between their open and closed positions;
- a first plurality of vertical cooling passages located in and extending through the pair of mold halves which form an annular array characterized by a first diameter when the mold halves are in their closed position, the first plurality of vertical cooling passages in the pair of mold halves being in fluid communication at bottom ends thereof with the plurality of apertures in the bottom plate assembly and the plurality of apertures located in the distributor plate to receive cooling air from the first manifold when the mold halves are in their closed position, the cooling air flowing in a first direction in the first plurality of vertical cooling passages;
- a second plurality of vertical cooling passages located in the pair of mold halves which form an annular array characterized by a second diameter larger than the first diameter when the mold halves are in their closed position, the second plurality of vertical cooling passages in the pair of mold halves being separate from the first plurality of vertical cooling passages located in the pair of mold halves, each of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages having an inlet and a single outlet, the outlet of each of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages being closer to the bottom ends of the first plurality of vertical cooling passages than the inlet of each of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages;
- and
- an additional manifold associated with each of the pair of mold half support assemblies, the additional manifolds being configured to connect to a second source of cooling air, the second plurality of vertical cooling passages in the pair of mold halves being in fluid communication at their respective inlets with at least one opening located in each of the additional manifolds to continuously receive cooling air therefrom irrespective of the position of the mold halves, all of the cooling air flowing in a second direction opposite to the first direction in the second plurality of vertical cooling passages.
5 more elements
An improved system for providing cooling air to molds for molding hot glass material into glass containers, comprising:
- a first manifold having a distributor plate on a top side thereof in the bottom plate assembly for supplying cooling air from a first plurality of apertures extending between the first manifold and a top side of a distributor plate located on the top side of the first manifold;
- a bottom plate assembly;
- a pair of mold halves moveable between a spaced-apart open position and a closed position in which the mold halves and the bottom plate assembly form a mold;
- a pair of mold half support assemblies for respectively supporting the pair of mold halves and selectively moving the mold halves between their open and closed positions;
- a first plurality of vertical cooling passages located in the pair of mold halves that are in fluid communication at bottom ends thereof with the plurality of apertures in the bottom plate assembly to be able to receive cooling air from the first manifold when the mold halves are in their closed position;
- a second plurality of vertical cooling passages located in the pair of mold halves each having an inlet and a single outlet the outlet of each of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages being closer to the bottom ends of the first plurality of vertical cooling passages than the inlet of each of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages;
- and
- an additional manifold associated with each of the pair of mold half support assemblies for allowing cooling air to be continuously supplied from at least one opening in each of the additional manifolds to the inlet of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages in the pair of mold halves irrespective of the position of the mold halves.
5 more elements
A method for providing cooling air to mating mold halves for molding hot glass material into glass containers, comprising:
- respectively supporting a pair of mold halves with a pair of mold half support assemblies which selectively move the mold halves between an open position in which the mold halves are spaced away from each other and a closed position in which the mold halves engage a portion of a bottom plate assembly and each other to form a mold;
- providing a first plurality of vertical cooling passages in each of the mold halves;
- providing a second plurality of vertical cooling passages in each of the mold halves separate from the first plurality of vertical cooling passages located in the pair of mold halves;
- supplying cooling air from a first manifold having a distributor plate on a top side thereof through a first plurality of apertures located in the distributor plate to the first plurality of vertical cooling passages in the pair of mold halves at bottom ends thereof when the mold halves are in their closed position;
- and
- continuously supplying cooling air from an additional manifold associated with each of the pair of mold half support assemblies through at least one opening located in each of the additional manifolds to the second plurality of vertical cooling passages in the pair of mold halves at their respective inlets irrespective of the position of the mold halves, the cooling air exiting each of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages through a single outlet thereof, the outlet of each of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages being closer to the bottom ends of the first plurality of vertical cooling passages than the inlet of each of the second plurality of vertical cooling passages.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.