System To Assist Thermoforming Of Non-Woven Fabrics

Abstract

A system and method for thermoforming of non-woven fabric is presented. The system includes an air supply, a heating system in fluid communication with the air supply, a pressure and flow equalization element in fluid communication with the heating system, electrical controls in communication with the heating system and the pressure and flow equalization element, a pneumatic element in fluid communication with the pressure and flow equalization element, and a forming head for receiving a thermoformable non-woven fabric and for thermoforming said thermoformable non-woven fabric into a desired shape. The thermoforming process is a two-stage process, a first stage comprises a pre-heat stage wherein a heated flow of air is directed onto the thermoformable non-woven fabric and the second stage comprises flowing a continuous amount of air to increase an amount of heat available to the thermoformable non-woven fabric during thermoforming.

Claims

1. A system for thermoforming of non-woven fabric comprising: a forming head for receiving a thermoformable non-woven fabric and for thermoforming said thermoformable non-woven fabric into a desired shape, said forming head including a first stage and a second stage.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said first stage comprises a pre-heat stage wherein a heated flow of air is directed onto said thermoformable non-woven fabric in area of said thermoformable non-woven fabric that will be thermoformed.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said second stage comprises flowing a continuous amount of air to increase an amount of heat available to said thermoformable non-woven fabric during thermoforming.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein during said thermoforming, said thermoformable non-woven fabric is stretched to about 150 percent of an original size.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein during said thermoforming, heat applied to said thermoformable non-woven fabric is high enough to allow said thermoformable non-woven fabric to stretch and less than a melting temperature of said thermoformable non-woven fabric.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said thermoformable non-woven fabric is biocompostable.

7. A method of thermoforming a non-woven fabric comprising: receiving the thermoformable non-woven fabric at a forming station for thermoforming said thermoformable non-woven fabric into a thermoformed non-woven fabric having a desired shape.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said receiving the thermoformable non-woven fabric at a forming station for thermoforming said thermoformable non-woven fabric into a thermoformed non-woven fabric having a desired shape comprises a two-stage process.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein a first stage of said two-stage process comprises a pre-heat stage wherein a heated flow of air is directed onto said thermoformable non-woven fabric in area of said thermoformable non-woven fabric that will be thermoformed.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein a second stage comprises flowing a continuous amount of air to increase an amount of heat available to said thermoformable non-woven fabric during thermoforming.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein during said thermoforming, said thermoformable non-woven fabric is stretched to about 150 percent of an original size.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein during said thermoforming, heat applied to said thermoformable non-woven fabric is high enough to allow said thermoformable non-woven fabric to stretch and less than a melting temperature of said thermoformable non-woven fabric

13. The method of claim 7 wherein said receiving thermoformable non-woven fabric comprises receiving thermoformable non-woven fabric that is biocompostable.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

[0009] FIG. 1 comprises a block diagram of a system used to thermoform non-woven fabrics which are compostable in accordance with a particular embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a particular method for thermoforming non-woven fabrics in accordance with a particular embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing embodiments of the invention. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the invention and recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

[0012] The preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, this embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The terminology used in the detailed description of the particular embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.

[0013] Polymeric materials change properties when subjected to elevated temperatures. Existing processes rely on contact heat during the forming process to achieve the desired results. Normally a mandrel is heated to a set temperature and the cycle time of the process is limited to the ability of the mandrel to transfer heat to the fabric and stretch the material while traversing the desired distance of forming.

[0014] The presently described method and apparatus for thermoforming non-woven fabrics is designed to apply a controlled volume and temperature of heated air to the material to be formed in two stages. The first stage is pre-heat where a heated flow of air is directed on the fabric in the area that will be formed. The second stage is a continuous flow of air during forming to increase the heat available to the fabric and encourage a successfully formed result.

[0015] The beverage pod filter is compostable in household, municipal or industrial compost facilities. For an item to be marked compostable there must be scientific evidence that the materials in the item break down, or become part of, usable compost in a safe and timely manner in an appropriate composting facility or home compost pile. Compostable items must completely break down and not release any metals or toxins into the compost.

[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, a system 10 for thermoforming non-woven fabric is shown. System 10 is comprised of several components. These components of a system for thermoforming of non-woven fabric comprise an air supply 18, a heating system 26 in fluid communication with the air supply, and a pressure and flow equalization element 22 in fluid communication with the heating system.

[0017] The system 10 further includes electrical controls 20 in communication with the heating system and the pressure and flow equalization element, and a forming head 24 in fluid communication with the pressure and flow equalization element for receiving a thermoformable non-woven fabric and for thermoforming the thermoformable non-woven fabric into a desired shape.

[0018] The system includes a first stage for thermoforming the thermoformable non-woven fabric. The first stage comprises a pre-heat stage wherein a heated flow of air is directed onto the thermoformable non-woven fabric in area of the thermoformable non-woven fabric that will be thermoformed. The system also includes a second stage for thermoforming said thermoformable non-woven fabric resulting in a thermoformed non-woven fabric. The second stage comprises flowing a continuous amount of air to increase an amount of heat available to the thermoformable non-woven fabric during thermoforming.

[0019] The system 10 includes a lower sealing station for sealing said thermoformable non-woven fabric to a beverage pod ring prior to the thermoforming of the thermoformable non-woven fabric. The system further comprises a filling station 28 for filling the thermoformed non-woven fabric with a material. The system also comprises an upper sealing station 30 for sealing the material within the thermoformed non-woven fabric. Additionally the system includes a drum 12 for moving the thermoformable non-woven fabric from the lower sealing station to the forming head, for moving the thermoformed non-woven fabric from the forming head to the filling station and for moving the thermoformed non-woven fabric from the filling station to the upper sealing station. Further, in a particular embodiment, the thermoformable non-woven fabric is biocompostable.

[0020] A flow diagram of a particular embodiment of the presently disclosed method is depicted in FIG. 2. The rectangular elements are herein denoted “processing blocks”. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that unless otherwise indicated herein, the particular sequence of steps described is illustrative only and can be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, unless otherwise stated the steps described below are unordered meaning that, when possible, the steps can be performed in any convenient or desirable order.

[0021] Referring now to FIG. 2, a flow diagram of a particular embodiment of a method 100 for thermoforming non-woven fabrics is shown. Method 100 begins with processing block 102 which discloses receiving the thermoformable non-woven fabric at a forming station for thermoforming the thermoformable non-woven fabric into a thermoformed non-woven fabric having a desired shape. Processing block 104 recites the receiving the thermoformable non-woven fabric at a forming station for thermoforming the thermoformable non-woven fabric into a thermoformed non-woven fabric having a desired shape comprises a two-stage process. As shown in processing block 106, a first stage of the two-stage process comprises a pre-heat stage wherein a heated flow of air is directed onto the thermoformable non-woven fabric in area of the thermoformable non-woven fabric that will be thermoformed. As shown in processing block 108, a second stage comprises flowing a continuous amount of air to increase an amount of heat available to the thermoformable non-woven fabric during thermoforming. Processing block 110 discloses during the thermoforming, the thermoformable non-woven fabric is stretched to about 150 percent of an original size. Processing block 112 states during the thermoforming, heat applied to the thermoformable non-woven fabric is high enough to allow the thermoformable non-woven fabric to stretch and less than a melting temperature of the thermoformable non-woven fabric.

[0022] Unless otherwise stated, use of the word “substantially” may be construed to include a precise relationship, condition, arrangement, orientation, and/or other characteristic, and deviations thereof as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, to the extent that such deviations do not materially affect the disclosed methods and systems.

[0023] Throughout the entirety of the present disclosure, use of the articles “a” or “an” to modify a noun may be understood to be used for convenience and to include one, or more than one of the modified noun, unless otherwise specifically stated.

[0024] Although the methods and systems have been described relative to a specific embodiment thereof, they are not so limited. Obviously many modifications and variations may become apparent in light of the above teachings. Many additional changes in the details, materials, and arrangement of parts, herein described and illustrated, may be made by those skilled in the art.

[0025] Having described preferred embodiments of the invention it will now become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating these concepts may be used. Accordingly, it is submitted that that the invention should not be limited to the described embodiments but rather should be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.