Patent ID: 9403313
Filing Date: 2016-08-02
CPC Classification: B29B,B29C,B29K

Claim Text:
1. A forming apparatus for forming objects by forming a sheet of thermoformable material, said apparatus comprising a thermal conditioning station including a kiln for heating said material to an operating temperature and a heating station positioned downstream of said thermal conditioning station and including a heating assembly positioned in said heating station along an advancing direction of said material to heat set portions of said material to a softening temperature of said material, wherein said kiln and said heating assembly are positioned near one another in such a manner that a part of said material interposed between said thermal conditioning station and said heating station is heated by the heat generated by one of said kiln and said heating assembly, wherein said heating assembly comprises at least first, second, and third pairs of heatable plates that face one another and are positioned on opposite sides of said material, said second and third pairs of heatable plates being sequentially arranged downstream or said first pair of heatable plates, each pair of plates being movable independently of the other pairs of plates in a movement direction perpendicular to said advancing direction towards and away from each other between an operating position in which said heatable plates contact and heat said material and a non-operating position in which said heatable plates are at a given distance from said material, and further wherein the forming apparatus further comprises a control device for independently displacing said pairs of plates between said operating position and said non-operating position.