Abstract:
A blank carrying/filling apparatus including: a bed member having a body section, at least one tunnel with a predetermined diameter extending through the body section from a back face to a front face thereof; at least one blank carrying section for carrying a blank; a thrust body having at least one thrust member slidable disposed in the tunnel and movable between a blank carrying position and a blank releasing position, whereby when the thrust member is positioned in the blank releasing position, the thrust member via physical action force disconnects the blank carrying section and the blank carried by the blank carrying section and releases the blank; and a driving member for forcing the thrust member to move between the blank carrying position and the blank releasing position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention is related to a polymer molding machine, and more particularly to a blank carrying/filling apparatus.  
         [0002]     In conventional molding technique, a pre-made blank is first placed in a mold and then molded. This can shorten the molding time. In general, when the blank is placed into the mold, the mold has been heated to a certain temperature. Therefore, the time for filling the blank into the mold is quite limited. That is, an operator must respectively fill many blanks into the mold cavity in short time. This is inconvenient. In order to prolong the time for filling the blanks into the mold, the mold must be at the normal temperature or only slightly heated. However, this will delay the manufacturing procedure and reduce manufacturing efficiency.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a blank carrying/filling apparatus by which the contact time between the blanks and the mold in an open state can be shortened.  
         [0004]     It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above blank carrying/filling apparatus by which multiple blanks can be synchronously respectively filled into the mold cavity in short time.  
         [0005]     According to the above objects, the blank carrying/filling apparatus of the present invention includes: a bed member having a body section, at least one tunnel with a predetermined diameter extending through the body section from a back face to a front face thereof; at least one blank carrying section for carrying a blank; a thrust body having at least one thrust member slidable disposed in the tunnel and movable between a blank carrying position and a blank releasing position, whereby when the thrust member is positioned in the blank releasing position, the thrust member via physical action force disconnects the blank carrying section and the blank carried by the blank carrying section and releases the blank; and a driving member for forcing the thrust member to move between the blank carrying position and the blank releasing position.  
         [0006]     The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein: 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective exploded view of a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is a perspective assembled view of the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing that the thrust members are positioned in the blank carrying position;  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing that the thrust members are released;  
         [0012]      FIG. 6  is a top view of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing that the thrust members are positioned in the blank releasing position;  
         [0013]      FIG. 7  is a perspective assembled view of a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 8  is a perspective exploded view of the second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 9  is a side view of the second embodiment of the present invention, showing that the thrust members are positioned in the blank carrying position;  
         [0016]      FIG. 10  is a top view according to  FIG. 9 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 11  is a side view of the second embodiment of the present invention, showing that the thrust members are positioned in the blank releasing position;  
         [0018]      FIG. 12  is a top view according to  FIG. 11 ;  
         [0019]      FIG. 13  is a perspective assembled view of a third embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 14  is a perspective exploded view of the third embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 15  is a side view of the third embodiment of the present invention, showing that the thrust members are positioned in the blank carrying position;  
         [0022]      FIG. 16  is a side view of the third embodiment of the present invention, showing that the thrust members are positioned in the blank releasing position;  
         [0023]      FIG. 17  is a sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention, showing that the thrust members are positioned in the blank carrying position;  
         [0024]      FIG. 18  is a side view of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, showing that the thrust members are positioned in the blank releasing position;  
         [0025]      FIG. 19  is a side view of the fourth embodiment of the present invention and a cooperative opening/closing drive unit, in which the blank carrying/filling apparatus is positioned in an upper position for placing the blanks onto the blank carrying/filling apparatus; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 20  is a side view of the fourth embodiment of the present invention and the cooperative opening/closing drive unit, in which the blank carrying/filling apparatus is positioned in a lower position for filling the blanks into the mold cavity. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]     Please refer to FIGS.  1  to  6 . According to a first embodiment, the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10  of the present invention includes a bed member  20 , a thrust body  30 , multiple blank carrying sections  40  and a driving member  50 .  
         [0028]     The bed member  20  has a substantially rectangular board-like body section  21  with a certain thickness. Several straight tunnels  22  extend through the body section  21  from a back face to a front face thereof. Each tunnel  22  has a certain diameter.  
         [0029]     The thrust body  30  has board-like thrust section  31  with a shape similar to that of the body section  21 . The thrust section  31  has a front face  311  facing the body section  21  and a back face  312  distal from the body section  21 . The front face  311  of the thrust section  31  parallelly correspondingly attaches to the back face of the body section  21 . The thrust section  31  has several pin-like thrust members  32 . First ends of the thrust members  32  are fixedly connected with the front face  311  of the thrust section  31  and coaxially fitted through the corresponding tunnels  22 . The thrust members  32  are reciprocally axially movable between a blank carrying position and a blank releasing position. The thrust member  32  has a length larger than the thickness of the body section  21 .  
         [0030]     The blank carrying sections  40  are recesses with different shapes and depths. The recesses  40  are formed on the front face of the body section  21  respectively corresponding to the tunnels  22 . In other words, the open ends of the tunnels  22  formed on the front face of the body section  21  are respectively positioned on the bottom walls of the blank carrying sections  40 .  
         [0031]     The driving member  50  has four shaft rods  51  respectively passing through four corners of the thrust section  31 . First ends  511  of the shaft rods  51  are tapered and fixedly connected with four corners of the body section  21 . The first ends  511  protrude from the front face of the body section  21  by a certain length. A second end of each shaft rod  51  is formed with an annular shoulder section  512 . Four springs  52  are respectively fitted on the shaft rods  51 . Two ends of the spring  52  respectively abut against the back face  312  of the thrust section  31  and the shoulder section  512  of the shaft rod  51 . The springs  52  serve to resiliently force the thrust section  31  to axially move toward and attach to the body section  21 . One end of a driving threaded rod  53  is rotatably connected with the body section  21 . A middle section of the threaded rod  53  axially movably extends through the thrust section  31 . A threaded collar  54  is screwed on the threaded rod  53 . One end of the threaded collar  54  abuts against the back face  312  of the thrust section  31 . Two lateral stopper bodies  55  are fixedly disposed on the back face  312  of the thrust section  31  on two sides of the threaded rod  53 . The stopper bodies  55  respectively abut against two sides of the threaded collar  54  so as to restrict the threaded collar  54  from rotating along with the threaded rod  53 . However, the stopper bodies  55  permit the threaded collar  54  to move along the axis of the threaded rod  53 . One end of a rod-like movable linking member  56  is pivotally connected one of the stopper bodies  55 . The linking member  56  is pivotally rotatable between an engaged position and a disengaged position. When in the engaged position, the linking member  56  is engaged in engaging grooves  551 ,  541  respectively formed on the stopper bodies and the threaded collar. Under such circumstance, the threaded collar  54  is fixed with the linking member  56  and the stopper bodies  55  and thus fixed with the thrust section  31 .  
         [0032]     According to the above arrangement, in blank carrying and filling operation of the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 , the linking member  56  is first positioned in the engaged position, whereby the threaded collar  54  is fixedly with the stopper bodies  55  and the thrust section  31 . Then the threaded rod  53  is pivoted to enlarge the distance between the thrust section  31  and the body section  21 , whereby second ends of the thrust members  32  are sunk into the tunnels  22  of the body section  21  and positioned in the blank carrying position as shown in  FIG. 4 . At this time, the external blanks  60  can be placed into the corresponding blank carrying sections  40 .  
         [0033]     Thereafter, the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10  is moved to upper side of the mold cavity of the mold. The tapered ends  511  of the shaft rods  51  are coaxially inserted into the insertion holes formed on the mold so as to locate the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10  above the mold cavity. In other words, at this time, the blanks carried by the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10  are respectively positioned above the corresponding positions of the mold cavity. Then, the linking member  56  is rotated to the disengaged position as shown in  FIG. 5 . At this time, the springs  52  resiliently push the thrust section  31  to move along the axis of the shaft rods  51  until the front face  511  abuts against the body section  21 . The thrust members  52  synchronously axially move within the tunnels  22  and the second ends of the thrust members  52  extend through the tunnels  22  and protrude from the blank carrying sections  40  out of the body section  21 . At this time, the thrust members  52  are positioned in the blank releasing position as shown in  FIG. 6 . At the same time, the second ends of the thrust members  52  push out the blanks  60  inlaid in the corresponding blank carrying sections  40 . The blanks  60  drop down into the corresponding positions of the mold cavity. Accordingly, in one single mold filling procedure, multiple different blanks can be simultaneously filled into the mold. Therefore, the time for filling the mold is greatly shortened and the manufacturing efficiency is enhanced.  
         [0034]     FIGS.  7  to  12  show a second embodiment of the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ′ of the present invention. The blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ′ includes a bed member  20 ′, a thrust body  30 ′, multiple blank carrying sections  40 ′ and a driving member  50 ′.  
         [0035]     The bed member  20 ′ has a board-like body section  21 ′ with a certain thickness. Several tunnels  22 ′ extend through the body section  21 ′ from a back face to a front face thereof.  
         [0036]     The thrust body  30 ′ has board-like thrust section  31 ′. The thrust section  31  has a front face facing the body section  21 ′ and a back face distal from the body section  21 ′. The thrust section  31 ′ is positioned in parallel to the body section  21 ′. The thrust section  31 ′ has several pin-like thrust members  32 ′. First ends of the thrust members  32 ′ are fixedly connected with the front face of the thrust section  31 ′ and coaxially fitted through the corresponding tunnels  22 ′. The thrust members  32 ′ are axially movable within the tunnels  22 ′ between a blank carrying position and a blank releasing position. The thrust member  32 ′ has a length larger than the thickness of the body section  21 ′.  
         [0037]     The blank carrying sections  40 ′ are respectively formed at the second ends of the thrust members  32 ′. Substantially, the second ends of the thrust members  32 ′ are sharpened to serve as the blank carrying sections  40 ′.  
         [0038]     The driving member  50 ′ has four first shaft rods  51 ′. First ends of the first shaft rods  51 ′ are fixedly connected with the thrust section  31 ′. Second ends  511 ′ of the first shaft rods  51 ′ extend over the body section  21 ′ and protrude from the front face of the body sect ion  21 ′. The second ends  511 ′ are tapered. One end of a second shaft rod  52 ′ is fixedly connected with the body section  21 ′. The other end of the second shaft rod  52 ′ extends through the thrust section  31 ′ and protrudes from the back face of the thrust section  31 ′. The axis of the second shaft rod  52 ′ is parallel to the axis of the first shaft rod  51 ′. A circular eccentric rotary member  53 ′ is eccentrically perpendicularly pivotally connected with the other end of the second shaft rod  52 ′. A spring  54 ′ is fitted on the second shaft rod  52 ′ between the body section  21 ′ and the thrust section  31 ′. The spring  54 ′ serves to resiliently forcedly keep the body section  21 ′ and the thrust section  31 ′ spaced from each other. A shift bar  55 ′ is fixedly connected with the rotary member  53 ′. An external force can be applied to the shift bar  55 ′ to rotate the rotary member  53 ′. A movable restricting member  56 ′ is pivotally connected with the thrust section  31  for restricting the shift bar  55 ′ from rotating and thus locating the rotary member  53 ′.  
         [0039]     The second embodiment of the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ′ of the present invention is mainly different from the first embodiment in that the blank releasing position and blank carrying position of the thrust members  32 ′ of the second embodiment are reverse to those of the first embodiment.  
         [0040]     To speak more specifically, the eccentric rotary member  53 ′ can be first rotated via the shift bar  55 ′. At this time, the spring  54 ′ is compressed and the distance between the thrust section  31 ′ and the body section  21 ′ is shortened. Accordingly, the second ends of the thrust members  32 ′ respectively extend through the corresponding tunnels  22 ′ and protrude from the body section  21 ′. At this time, the thrust members  32 ′ are positioned in the blank carrying position. The external blanks  60 ′ can be respectively thrust by the blank carrying sections  40 ′ and previously located in true positions as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 .  
         [0041]     Then, the restricting member  56 ′ is rotated to release the shift bar  55 ′. At this time, the spring  54 ′ resiliently pushes the thrust section  31 ′ to enlarge the distance between the thrust section  31 ′ and the body section  21 ′. Accordingly, the second ends of the thrust members  32 ′ are sunk into the corresponding tunnels  22 ′ and positioned in the blank releasing position. Under such circumstance, the blanks  60 ′ originally thrust by the blank carrying sections  40 ′ are disconnected therefrom and drop down as shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 .  
         [0042]     Therefore, the second embodiment of the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ′ of the present invention can achieve the same effect as the first embodiment.  
         [0043]     FIGS.  13  to  16  show a third embodiment of the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ″ of the present invention. The blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ″ is substantially identical to the second embodiment. There are two differences between the third and second embodiments. First, there are four springs  54 ″ in the third embodiment. The four springs  54 ″ are respectively fitted on the first shaft rods  51 ″. Second, the first shaft rods  51 ″ extend through four through holes of the body section  21 ″ to locate and space the thrust section  31 ″ from the body section  21 ″. However, the third embodiment can achieve the same effect as the second embodiment.  
         [0044]     FIGS.  17  to  20  show a fourth embodiment of the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ′″ of the present invention. The blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ′″ is substantially identical to the second embodiment. The difference between the fourth and the second embodiment is that the bed member  20 ′″ is further formed with an annular wall  23 ′″ around the body section  21 ′″ in addition to the tunnels  22 ′″.  
         [0045]     The thrust body  30 ′″ has a thrust section  31 ′″ in parallel to the body section  21 ′″. The thrust section  31 ′″ is slidably fitted in the body section  21 ′″ and enclosed by the annular wall  23 ′″.  
         [0046]     The driving member  50 ′″ is different from that of the second embodiment. The driving member  50 ′″ has a board-like seat body  51 ′″ bridged over the annular wall  23 ′″ and spaced from the body section  21 ′″. The thrust section  31 ′″ is movable between the seat body  51 ′″ and the body section  21 ′″. A hydraulic cylinder  52 ′″ is fixedly disposed on the seat body  51 ′″. An output shaft  521 ′″ of the hydraulic cylinder  52 ′″ is perpendicularly fixedly connected with the thrust section  31 ′″ for pushing the thrust section  31 ′″ to move. Accordingly, the thrust members  32 ′″ can be driven to move between the blank carrying position and blank releasing position.  
         [0047]     The fourth embodiment is applicable to automated blank carrying/filling operation. Referring to  FIGS. 19 and 20 , the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ′ cooperates with a conventional opening/closing drive unit  70 ′ in carrying/filling the blanks. When carrying the blanks  60 ′, the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ′″ is driven and laterally turned by the drive unit  70 ′″ to one side. At this time, the blanks can be humanly placed on the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ′″ as shown in  FIG. 19 . When filling the blanks into the mold, as shown in  FIG. 20 , the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ′″ is driven by the drive unit  70 ′″ to a horizontal position above the mold cavity. Accordingly, the blank carrying/filling apparatus  10 ′″ can be semi-automatically operated to speed the manufacturing procedure.  
         [0048]     The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.