Electricity: conductors and insulators – Conduits – cables or conductors – Extensible
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-28
2001-06-26
Reichard, Dean A. (Department: 2831)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Conduits, cables or conductors
Extensible
C174S07000A, C174S07000A, C174S09900B, C254S403000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06252168
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a modular cable guide system for use in an injection moulding apparatus.
In injection moulding apparatus, the molten thermoplastic material is supplied to a moulding cavity via a system of conduits. These conduits are built into a mould which is maintained at a relatively low temperature to allow the molten thermoplastic material to cool and solidify. Systems wherein the conduits are heated, so-called “hot runner systems” are extensively used. The hot runner system comprises a central injection opening for injecting the plastic material into a manifold. A number of nozzles is connected to the manifold for injecting the molten thermoplastic material into the mould cavity. For maintaining the hot runner system at a high temperature (such as for instance 250° C.), electrical heating elements and thermocouples for measuring the temperature are distributed along the manifold. These heating elements and thermocouples comprise a large number of connecting wires which leave the manifold and which have to be guided to connector boxes outside the manifold area.
In general the central injection area, the manifolds and each nozzle comprises one or more heating elements and thermocouples. It is presently known to guide the connecting wires of all these elements via a single central channel to a connector- and/or control box. Manifold systems comprising four nozzles can comprise twelve controlled heating zones which include per zone a ground wire, two supply wires and two thermocouple wires, which amounts to a number of 60 connecting wires in total. Larger systems however are also common.
In order to avoid an irregular pattern of wires on the manifold system, to protect the connecting wires from mechanical damage and to isolate the wires from heat, use is made of cable guides. These cable guides are tubes through which the connecting wires are guided to the connector box outside of the manifold system. These cable guides have to be taylor made for each system and are each time designed according to specific demands as hot runner systems are client specific. The cable guides are separately drawn and constructed. This is a complex process which is relatively time-consuming and which has to be carried out each time in detail when designing a different injection moulding apparatus.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cable guide system which can be easily applied to different injection moulding configurations with a minimum of predesign, which is reliable, which is simple and which can be easily installed.
Thereto the cable guide system according to the present invention is characterised in that it comprises
at least one first cable guide conduit,
at least one connector having a sleeve for fitting around a first end of the guide conduit, clamping means for tightening the sleeve around the first conduit for forming a clamping connection with the conduit and a coupling member for connecting the connector to a machine part or to another cable guide conduit, and
a second cable guide conduit having a number of regularly spaced connecting holes for receiving coupling elements for connecting the second guide conduit to the machine part.
The first cable guide conduit can bridge the space between the manifold and the connector box. As the ends of the first cable guide conduit fit into the sleeve of the connector, no separate connecting elements are present on the cable guide conduit itself so that it can be made to the right size by simply cutting off a part of the guide conduit from for instance a continuous stock of cable guide conduit. After having been cut or sawn to the right size, both ends of the cable guide conduit are clamped into a respective connector sleeve, one of which may be connected to for instance the connector- or control box, the other being connected to a machine part such as a manifold. From the first cable guide conduit, the wires are fed into the second guide conduit which is attached onto the machine part and which may bridge the space from the edge of manifold to the injection nozzles. As the second guide conduit comprises regularly spaced connecting holes, it can again be made to the right size by cutting off a part, for instance from a stock guide conduit of longer length. The pattern of holes corresponds with the pattern of threaded connecting bores on the machine part, such that any cut-off length of second cable conduit can be attached to the machine parts in a position corresponding with the pattern of holes thereon.
The modular cable guide system according to the present invention can be very easily installed because the cable guide conduits can be cut to the right size on site during installation. As no coupling elements are comprised on the first cable guide conduit, it can be cut at any place along its length and be clampingly engaged with the connectors. The same freedom in length dimensions is obtained for the second guide conduit by the regularly spaced connecting holes therein. Both cable guide conduits may comprise a tubular shape, or can comprise a separate lid which may be clipped on each cable guide conduit. The connectors may comprise coupling members located on a face parallel to the cable guide conduits for attaching to a side surface of the machine part or may comprise coupling members on a surface transverse to the first cable guide conduit for connecting to an end face of the machine part or manifold.
In a preferred embodiment, the connector comprises a first segment comprising the sleeve, a plate extending from the sleeve and comprising one of either two pins or two slots located on a circular track and a second segment comprising a plate extending parallel to the plate of the first segment and comprising the other of the two pins or the two slots and a coupling member or a sleeve for connecting the second segment to a machine part or to further guide conduit, the pins projecting through the slots such that the segments can be displaced with respect to one another, the pins further comprising locking means for fixing the relative positions of the segments. By the above construction, the two connector segments can rotate with respect to one another wherein the pins are guided along the circular slots. When in the right angular position, the locking means, which may comprise nuts around the threaded ends of the pins, may be tightened for fixing the connector segments relative to one another in this way the cable guide conduits may be interconnected at a large number of angular positions.
Each connector sleeve may comprise two upstanding oppositely located walls and a clamping plate bridging these walls. The clamping plate is connected to the walls by means of bolts. In this way a very secure connection to the end of each cable guide conduit is obtained,
The second cable guide conduit may be connected to the machine part by coupling members comprising a first part having a screw thread and a gripping head for being threaded into the machine part and comprising in the gripping head an internal screw thread for receiving a second coupling element part having an external screw thread and a clamping head. Firstly the first parts are put into place in threaded bores on the machine part in a pattern corresponding to the holes on the second guide conduit. Thereafter the second guide conduit is placed onto the first members and is fixed thereafter by inserting the second coupling member parts into the first parts.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4866215 (1989-09-01), Muller et al.
patent: 5401905 (1995-03-01), Lesser et al.
patent: 5792993 (1998-08-01), Rinderer
patent: 0 468 485 (1992-01-01), None
patent: 2 250 564 (1992-06-01), None
Dynisco HotRunners B.V.
Reichard Dean A.
Walkenhorst W. David
Young & Thompson
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