Stamping unit for pressing foamed material onto substrate
11597194 · 2023-03-07
Inventors
Cpc classification
B32B2250/44
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B37/10
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C65/02
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B38/185
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C66/8322
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C66/83511
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B5/18
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C66/7392
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B26F1/40
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B37/06
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B38/0004
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B2266/0228
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C66/1122
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C66/4724
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B37/04
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C66/71
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C66/71
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B26D7/086
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C65/787
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B37/0046
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C65/745
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B38/10
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B3/02
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B3/30
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
B32B37/10
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B29/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B26F1/40
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B38/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B38/10
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B38/18
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B37/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B37/04
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B29C65/02
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B37/06
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B32B3/30
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
Abstract
A tool for pressing a foamed material onto a substrate, a manufacturing apparatus thereof, and a method for manufacturing a laminated structure of a heat-retaining container are disclosed. The tool comprises a body, a blade portion extending in a lengthwise direction from the body, and a press portion extending in the lengthwise direction from the body and configured for pressing the foamed material onto the substrate. The tool may be used to press a foamed material sheet onto a paper substrate and form a tear line on the foamed material sheet at the same time to simplify the manufacturing process of the laminated structure of a heat-retaining container.
Claims
1. A stamping unit for pressing a foamed material onto a substrate, comprising: a tool, including: a body, having an upper side and a lower side; a blade portion extending in a lengthwise direction from the lower side of the body; and a press portion extending in the lengthwise direction from the lower side of the body and configured for pressing the foamed material onto the substrate; wherein the blade portion and the press portion are fixedly disposed to the body, and the blade portion and the press portion are spaced apart; and a heater, disposed to the body of the tool, so as to heat the tool.
2. The stamping unit of claim 1, wherein the press portion has a width between 0.5 mm and 20 mm.
3. The stamping unit of claim 1, wherein the blade portion has a width between 0.1 mm to 2 mm.
4. The stamping unit of claim 1, wherein the blade portion and the press portion each include a distal end away from the body, with a gap formed between the two distal ends.
5. The stamping unit of claim 4, wherein the gap is between 0.5 mm to 10 mm.
6. The stamping unit of claim 4, wherein the gap is between ¼ and 2 times a thickness of the foamed material.
7. The stamping unit of claim 1, wherein the press portion includes a beveled or curved face extending from its distal end towards the body.
8. The stamping unit of claim 1, wherein the blade portion has a first ring structure, and the press portion is configured inside the first ring structure and has a second ring structure.
9. An apparatus for manufacturing a laminated structure of a heat-retaining container, comprising: a transport unit configured for supporting and transporting a paper substrate and a foamed material sheet placed on the paper substrate; and a stamping unit including: according to claim 1, wherein the tool is disposed above the transport unit; wherein the press portion and the blade portion face the foamed material sheet, the press portion being configured to contact a part of the foamed material sheet to press a foamed material laminate onto the paper substrate, and the blade portion being configured to contact a surrounding of the part of the foamed material sheet to cut the foamed material sheet by melting.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a winding unit disposed at a downstream side in a transport direction of the transport unit, and configured for removing a rest part of the foamed material sheet not pressed onto the paper substrate.
11. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a cutting unit disposed at a downstream side in a transport direction of the transport unit, and configured for cutting the paper substrate to obtain the laminated structure, with the foamed material laminate partially adhered to a central region of the laminated structure.
12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the tool further includes a second press portion.
13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the stamping unit is a plane die-cutting machine or a rotary die-cutting machine.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) The present disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
(11) The present disclosure is described by the following specific embodiments. Those with ordinary skills in the arts can readily understand other advantages and functions of the present disclosure after reading the disclosure of this specification. The present disclosure may also be practiced or applied with other different implementations. Based on different contexts and applications, the various details in this specification can be modified and changed without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.
(12) It should be noted that the structures, ratios, sizes shown in the drawings appended to this specification are to be construed in conjunction with the disclosure of this specification in order to facilitate understanding of those skilled in the art. They are not meant, in any ways, to limit the implementations of the present disclosure, and therefore have no substantial technical meaning. Without affecting the effects created and objectives achieved by the present disclosure, any modifications, changes or adjustments to the structures, ratio relationships or sizes, are to be construed as fall within the range covered by the technical contents disclosed herein. Meanwhile, terms, such as “up”, “down”, “bottom”, “first”, “second”, “a”, “one” and the like, are for illustrative purposes only, and are not meant to limit the range implementable by the present disclosure. Any changes or adjustments made to their relative relationships, without modifying the substantial technical contents, are also to be construed as within the range implementable by the present disclosure.
(13) Referring to
(14) In an embodiment shown in
(15) In an embodiment shown in
(16) In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, the press portion and the blade portion of the tool are formed extending in a lengthwise direction (i.e., downwards in the diagram) from the body. The press portion may include a beveled or curved face at its distal end. For example, as shown in
(17) In an embodiment, when the press face 22b is a beveled face, an angle θ included by the beveled face and the horizontal plane of the foamed material is from greater than 0° to 45°, preferably between 15° to 20°. In addition, the distal end of the blade portion 21′ and the top of the press face 22b′ have a height difference h2, which is less than the thickness of the foamed material. In an embodiment, the minimum of the height difference h2 is 80%, 70% or even 60% of the thickness of the foamed material.
(18) In another embodiment of the present disclosure as shown in
(19) Referring to
(20) In
(21) In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the width d1 of the press portion 22, 32 is between 0.5 and 20 mm, and the width d2 of the blade portion 21, 22 is between 0.1 and 2 mm, and the width d3 of the gap G between distal ends of the blade portion 22, 31 and the press portion 22 and 32, respectively, is between 0.5 and 10 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the width d1 of the press portion 22, 32 is between 2 and 2.5 mm, the width d2 of the blade portion 21, 22 is between 0.2 and 0.3 mm, the width d3 of the gap G between distal ends of the blade portion 22, 31 and the press portion 22 and 32, respectively, is between 0.5 and 1.5 mm.
(22) In an embodiment of the tool of the present disclosure, the press portion and the body are integrally formed.
(23) Furthermore, since the tool according to the present disclosure is designed for foamed materials with certain thicknesses, when a gap G exists between the press portion 22, 32 and the blade portion 21, 31, the width of the gap G is defined in terms of the thickness of the foamed sheet. In another embodiment, the gap between the blade portion 21, 31 and the press portion 22, 32, respectively, is between ¼ and 2 times the thickness of the foamed material. When no gap exists between the press portion 22′ and the blade portion 21′, a height difference exists between the press face 22b′, 22b″ of the press portion 22′ and the distal end of the blade portion 21′, and is also defined in terms of the thickness of a foamed material sheet. For example, the minimum of the height difference is 80%, 70% or even 60% of the thickness of a foamed material.
(24) In an embodiment, the tool according to the present disclosure may further include another press portion (not shown) for pressing a foamed material sheet onto a paper substrate in order to form various patterns.
(25) Referring now to
(26) In an embodiment, the transport unit 40 can be a conveyor belt or other machine that can independently or individually support and transport the paper substrate 50 and the foamed material sheet 51 placed on the paper substrate 50. In an embodiment, the winding unit 42 and the cutting unit 43 are sequentially disposed at a downstream side in a transport direction of the transport unit 40, wherein the cutting unit 43 can be integrated with the stamping unit 41. In an embodiment, in addition to the tool described above, the stamping unit 41 further includes a cutting mold (not shown) that has a third ring structure surrounding the first ring structure of the blade portion of the tool. In another embodiment, the cutting unit 43 can be separately disposed downstream to the stamping unit 41 and the winding unit 42.
(27) In an embodiment, the paper substrate is a sheet of paper with polymer layers (e.g., waterproof layers) formed on its surfaces (two surfaces) as shown by the thicker line in the diagrams.
(28) Referring to
(29) Preferably, in addition to the tool 410, the stamping unit 41 further includes a heater 411 for heating the tool, which facilitates the forming of a tear line on the foamed material sheet 51 when the foamed sheet 51 and the paper substrate 50 are thermally pressed and laminated together. In an embodiment, the heat can be directly or indirectly provided. In an embodiment, the tool is equipped at a welding terminal of an ultrasonic welding machine. In another embodiment, a blade in a high frequency cutting machine or an ultrasonic cutting machine is replaced by the tool 410 according to the present disclosure to facilitate the pressing of the foamed sheet. In an embodiment, the stamping unit 41 is a planar die-cutting machine.
(30) More specifically, the tool 2A, 2B, 2C-1, 2C-2, 3, 3′ includes the press portion 22, 22′, 32 and the blade portion 21, 21′, 21″, 31 adjacent the press portion 22, 22′, 32, wherein the press portion 22, 22′, 32 is used for pressing the foamed material laminate 511 onto the paper substrate 50, and the blade portion 21, 21′, 21″, 31 is used for contacting a surrounding 511b of the part 511a of the foamed material sheet 51 to cut the foamed material sheet 51 by melting (by melting the foamed material sheet 51 or breaking gas pockets therein), so as to form a tear line at the surrounding 511b between the foamed material laminate 511 and the rest part 510 of the foamed material sheet 51.
(31) A cross-sectional view of the winding unit 42 according to the present disclosure is shown in
(32) In an embodiment, as the stamping unit 41 of the present disclosure (referring to
(33) In another embodiment, the stamping unit is a rotary die-cutting machine. For example, the stamping unit stamps in a rolling and die-cutting manner.
(34) In an embodiment, referring to
(35) Referring to
(36) As shown in
(37) In an embodiment, the surface of the paper-based layer 60 is defined with a central region 60c and a peripheral region 60e surrounding the central region 60c; the polymer layer 600 at least formed in the central region 60c and in proximity to the peripheral region 60e (in an embodiment, the entire two surfaces of the paper-based layer 60 are covered with the polymer layer 600); and the foamed sheet 62 partially adhered to the central region 60c of the paper-based layer 60, wherein areas of the foamed sheet 62 in the central region 60c in proximity to the peripheral region 60e and the polymer layer 600 are melted together, such that the foamed sheet 62 is partially adhered to the central region 60c of the paper-based layer 60. The area of the foamed sheet 62 is approximately the same as that of the central region 60c.
(38) In an embodiment, the peripheral region 60e includes a rolling portion 601 and a bottom edge portion 603 opposite to each other and a first overlapping portion 601a and a second overlapping portion 601b opposite to each other. The first overlapping portion 601a and the second overlapping portion 601b are connected at two ends of the rolling portion 601 and the bottom edge portion 603. The rolling portion 601 will be rolled in to form the cup rim during a paper container manufacturing process. In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a gap exists in an area where the rolling portion 601 and the second overlapping portion 601b are adjacent to each other (not shown). As a result, the length of the second overlapping portion 601b is less than that of the first overlapping portion 601a. This is beneficial in that when the first overlapping portion 601a and the second overlapping portion 601b are overlapped with each other, the portion of the first overlapping portion 601a connected to the rolling portion 601 will not overlap the second overlapping portion 601b, thereby avoiding thickness difference at the overlapping area of the paper container.
(39) In an embodiment, the polymer layer 600 is formed on two opposite surfaces of the paper-based layer 60. In another embodiment, the foamed sheet is formed of a material of the polymer layer. In an embodiment, the polymer layer is made of polyethylene (PE), and the foamed sheet is a material containing PE, such as Expandable PE (EPE). In another embodiment, the polymer layer is made of poly-propylene (PP), and the foamed sheet is a material containing PP, such as Expandable PP (EPP). In an embodiment, the polymer layer is a waterproof layer, and the waterproof layer is PE.
(40) In an embodiment, the paper-based layer 60 is made of paper, and the foamed sheet is made of Expandable Polystyrene (EPS), Expandable Polyethylene (EPE) or Expandable Poly-Propylene (EPP), but they are not limited as such.
(41) In an embodiment, an edge 62a of the foamed sheet 62 corresponding to the central region 60c of the paper-based layer 60 in proximity to the peripheral region 60e is formed by thermal lamination (referring to
(42) In an embodiment, the edge 62a of the foamed sheet 62 is flat, the edge 62a corresponding to the tear line (not shown) includes broken bubbles, and an open-cell foam structure is formed.
(43) Referring to
(44) Referring to
(45) In an embodiment, the depressed portions 72 can be formed in the central region 60c simultaneously or at a different time to the lamination of the foamed sheet by the stamping unit 41. When the tool further includes another press portion, the depressed portions 72 can be formed while laminating the foamed sheet. Of course, the depressed portions 72 can be separately formed.
(46) Referring to
(47) To press the foamed material laminate 511 onto the paper substrate 50, a tool of the present invention is moved downward towards the paper substrate 50, and press the contacting part 511a of the foamed material sheet 51 towards the paper substrate 50.
(48) Preferably, the tool is moved downward towards the paper substrate 50 by a distance equal to a thickness of the foamed material sheet 51 to effectively press the foamed material laminate 511 onto the paper substrate 50 as well as to cut the foamed material sheet 51 by melting, without damaging the paper substrate 50 below.
(49) A laminated structure prepared by a method of the invention comprises a paper substrate 50, and a foamed material laminate 511 partially adhered to the paper substrate 50. In particular, such laminated structure has a characteristic structure, namely, a protrusion 511c formed at a periphery of the foamed material laminate 511.
(50) It can be seen from the above embodiments that the tool according to the present disclosure includes both a blade portion and a press portion, which allows the foamed sheet to be cut while pressure and heat are applied to it, so it is partially melted with the polymer layer (e.g., a waterproof layer) on the paper, and thus adhering (laminating) the foamed sheet on the paper at the same time.
(51) Not only that, in the laminated structure for making a heat-retaining container of the present disclosure, by partially adhering the foamed sheet onto the central region of the paper-based layer, the peripheral region of the laminated structure for making a heat-retaining container only has the thickness of the paper-based layer itself or plus the thickness of the polymer layer, so it is not affected by the thickness of the foamed sheet, and the heat-retaining container can be processed by a standard paper container processing machine.
(52) Moreover, as the foamed sheet is only partially adhered onto the paper-based layer, when the container is being recycled, the foamed sheet can be easily peeled off to achieve separation of the paper-based layer and the foamed sheet, greatly enhancing the convenience of resource recycling.
(53) Furthermore, the leveling component is provided at the intersection of the rolling portion and the second overlapping portion, so when overlapping and rolling processes are subsequently carried out by the paper container processing machine, the heat of the processing will lightly melt or soften the leveling component, which overflows beyond the intersection of the rolling portion and the first and second overlapping portions, thus avoiding thickness difference of the paper container. In addition to the above structure, the present disclosure also proposes the formation of a gap at an area where the rolling portion and the second overlapping portion are adjacent to each other, thus avoiding thickness difference at the overlapping area of a conventional paper container, improving the sealing of a sealing film applied to the top opening of the container with liquid inside.
(54) Additionally, the present disclosure also improves the grip of heat-retaining container made from the laminated structure according to the present disclosure by allowing the formation of the depressed portions in geometric, arc or specific shapes on the central region.
(55) The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the principles of the present disclosure, and should not be construed as to limit the present disclosure in any way. The above embodiments can be modified by those with ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the following appended claims.