Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus – With apparatus assembly or dismantling means or with idle part – For extrusion or injection type shaping means
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-08
2003-06-03
Davis, Robert (Department: 1722)
Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus
With apparatus assembly or dismantling means or with idle part
For extrusion or injection type shaping means
C425S193000, C425S195000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06572356
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the production of custom thermoformed articles or parts, such as parts produced by blow molding, vacuum molding, rotomolding, compression molding, resin transfer molding and reaction injection molding, it is frequently necessary to change the large and heavy tools or molds within the thermoforming press in order to produce different parts. Since the molds are normally positioned on and secured to a platen of the thermoforming press with bolts and/or clamps with bolts, it is necessary to remove each of the bolts and/or clamps and then manually slide the mold onto the forks of a forklift truck for transporting the mold to a storage location or rack. Another mold for producing another part is then picked up by the forklift truck and delivered to the thermoforming press where the second mold is manually positioned or aligned on the press platen and secured to the platen by the bolts and/or clamps. Commonly, the exchange or replacement of the molds, including the removal of the bolts and/or clamps from the first mold and the precise positioning or alignment of a second mold on the platen and the securing of the second mold with the bolts and/or clamps, requires substantial time, for example, sometimes up to two hours. During this period, the press is not operating, and the operator of the press is not producing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an improved quick change tooling system which is ideally suited for use with thermoforming molds which have substantial weight and size. However, the system may also be used with other heavy and/or large tooling such as fixtures, whenever it is desirable to replace quickly one tooling with another tooling. The quick change tooling system of the invention provides for changing the tooling or molds in minutes instead of hours and thus minimizes down time of the molding press and non-productive time of the press operator. The quick change system of the invention further provides for accurately positioning the mold or other tooling on a platen and for quickly and positively locking the tooling to the platen in a predetermined position with precision alignment, thus eliminating the use of hand tools, bolts, clamps, shims and the like. In addition, the quick change tooling system of the invention is durable, accommodates thermal expansion of the tooling and provides for minimizing the inventory of parts produced on different tooling since the tooling set up time is minimized and a smaller number of parts may be produced more efficiently and more economically.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a pair of inverted channel members are secured to the bottom surface of a mold, and the channel members define open bottom cavities which receive corresponding rail members secured to the top surface of a press platen. A precision fit is provided between the rail members and the channel members to obtain precise location and alignment of the mold on the press platen, and a set of air actuated locking couplers positively secure or lock the channel members to the rail members. Preferably, each of the locking couplers includes a knob or stud projecting downwardly within the cavity of the channel member. The stud has an enlarged head portion which is received within a locking cylinder having circumferentially spaced balls for engaging the head portion of the coupler stud. A spring loaded piston surrounds the balls and normally holds the balls in a locking position, and the balls retract to a released position in response to pressurized air acting on the piston.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4911632 (1990-03-01), Mansfield
patent: 5647713 (1997-07-01), Ge et al.
patent: 5750161 (1998-05-01), Schock et al.
patent: 6499985 (2002-12-01), Sekiguchi et al.
Davis Robert
Jacox Meckstroth & Jenkins
Nguyen Thu Khanh T.
Tooling Technology LLC
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