Facility for producing latex objects such as pillows

Details Facility for producing latex objects such as pillows Facility for producing latex objects such as pillows

2000-07-24

2003-12-02

Silbaugh, Jan H. (Department: 1722)

Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus

With mechanical means forming or expanding pores

C425S81700C, C425S384000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06655939

ABSTRACT:

RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS
Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Not applicable.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention presented here has the object of a system for manufacturing articles made of latex having a constant or variable thickness, such as pillows, bolsters, cushions, mattresses, etc.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A system is already known for manufacturing articles of latex foam rubber that make up a deformable wall, constructed in a closed loop that forms the molding area on the upper side, which is first dragged over itself through a latex foam rubber fitting station, then through a tunnel vulcanizer and finally, through a station for collecting the vulcanized product. Afterwards, the foam rubber band is cut into separate articles and these articles are subjected to washing and drying operations before they are packaged to be marketed.
One of the disadvantages of this system is that it does not make it possible to obtain finished articles at the output of the vulcanization tunnel. In addition, it is mainly designed for the manufacturing of objects having a constant thickness and can not be used for the manufacturing of pillows and mattresses having shapes designed to fit anatomical contours. Another disadvantage of this type of system is due to the principle of continuous manufacturing. In effect, this mode of manufacturing requires the use of an oven that is open on both ends in which it is difficult to vulcanize the products under high pressure and, for this reason, the time that the foam rubber stays in the oven is relatively long.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention presented here has the goal of solving the known problems mentioned by implementing a system for manufacturing articles made of latex which allows a substantial reduction of the time the articles stay in the oven, which greatly increases the manufacturing rates.
Another goal of the present invention is to implement a system that can be used in order to manufacture articles having different shapes and sizes, of a variable or constant thickness.
For this purpose, the system according to the invention, for the manufacturing of molded articles made of latex having a constant or variable thickness, consists of molds in each of which a latex foam rubber is intended to be introduced an oven of the autoclave type, in the vulcanization chamber of which, the molds are intended to be introduced for the vulcanization of the latex foam rubber that they contain and for the formation of the articles. This system consisting moreover of a station for filling the molds with foam rubber, a station for extracting the articles from their molds, and a unit for washing and a unit for drying articles that have been removed from the mold.
The vulcanization chamber of the oven is defined by a casing that is kept at a distance from the lateral and upper walls of the oven, and installed on the lower wall of the oven. This envelope defined by the lateral and upper walls is an enclosure in communication with the vulcanization chamber by passages arranged in the lower part of the enclosure.
The enclosure is stopped off at the end.
The oven has in its upper part at least one opening for introducing water vapor under pressure and at a high temperatures and in its lower part, at least one opening for extraction of the vapor and the evacuation of condensed water. This introduction opening is in communication with the enclosure formed around the vulcanization chamber.
The vulcanization chamber consists of an opening for loading and an opening for unloading, opposing each other, each closing by a door occurs by controlled opening and closing movements.
The enclosure arranged around the vulcanization chamber allows an introduction of the vapor at high speeds into the oven for a rapid filling. This eliminates the risk that the vapor flow at the outlet of the introduction opening comes to directly hit the molds present in the chamber and arranged over its trajectory, which guarantees a uniform vulcanization.
The casing that defines the vulcanization chamber comprises a mechanism for the deflection of the flow of the vapor.
The system according to the invention is characterized in addition by the following points.
The molds are prearranged side by side by being affixed on at least one horizontal support.
The vulcanization chamber of the oven is in the form of a rectilinear tunnel.
The filling station and the station for removing the product from the mold are arranged in a manner so that one adjoins the other, they are in alignment with each other, and they are to the side of the oven.
Along the oven, opposite the unloading opening, a zone for cooling of the molds is planned.
Between the filling station and the oven, a first transfer device is planned which is designed to receive from the filling station, the assembly of the horizontal support and molds and to introduce this assembly into the vulcanization chamber of the oven by passing it through the loading opening.
The oven is equipped in the vulcanization chamber with a mechanism for positioning the assembly of the horizontal support and the molds which ensures the support of the assembly at a distance from the longitudinal, vertical, and horizontal walls of the chamber, in a manner such that the vapor during the vulcanization which occurs after closing the doors, can be divided uniformly in the chamber of the oven around the assembly of the support frame and molds.
The doors are provided with mechanisms for longitudinal centering of the assembly of the horizontal support and molds, in the vulcanization chamber of the oven before closing the doors.
Between the cooling zone and the station for removing the product from the mold, a second transfer device is planned, which is designed to receive the assembly of the horizontal support and the molds from the cooling zone and to transfer it towards the station for removing the product from the mold.
The two transfer devices and the cooling zone are each made up of a three dimensional structure provided with at least one path for guide and support, that is horizontal, rectilinear, and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vulcanization chamber of the oven, designed to receive the assembly of the horizontal support and molds, the cooling zone being fixed and the two transfer devices being displaceable in translation on the guide rails by the motor mechanisms, between a position aligned with the filling station and a position aligned with the vulcanization chamber of the oven for the first transfer device and between a position aligned with the cooling zone and a position aligned with the station for removing the product from the mold for the second transfer device.
The transfer mechanisms and the cooling zone are equipped with mechanisms for propulsion of the assembly of the horizontal frame and the mold on their respective paths as much in the direction of the introduction of this assembly on their path as in the direction of their removal.
Thus it is possible to manufacture the articles made of latex in a quasi-continuous manner and to use an oven in which a sizeable pressure of the vapor at a high temperature can be maintained which greatly reduces the vulcanization time and increases the rates of manufacturing.
According to another characteristic of the invention, each door for blocking the vulcanization chamber of the oven is vertically mobile in slides affixed to the oven, between a low opening position of the vulcanization chamber of the oven, and a high closing position of the vulcanization chamber of the oven. It is mobilized between these two positions by at least one motor element on the control circuit of which a safety element is located which when activated, orders the activation of the motor element in the opening direction of the door. This safety element is connected to a safety plate that is unified with the door and mounted in a manner so that it is mobile in vertical translation above the upper edge of the door in a manner s

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