Patent Description:
Single use urinal bottles formed from moulded paper pulp are a standard means for assisting incontinent and bed ridden patients with their urination needs in the UK. The pulp urinal bottles are administered to patients for use while in bed. Following use the pulp material allows the urinal bottles to be disposed of in a macerator. Single use urinal bottles are known to reduce the incidence of healthcare associated infections (HCAI).

<FIG> shows a typical pulp urinal bottle of the prior art. The urinal bottle <NUM> includes a hollow body <NUM> having a neck <NUM> extending to a circular opening <NUM>. The bottle <NUM> includes a flat base <NUM> which supports the urinal bottle <NUM> when placed on a surface. The neck <NUM> is angled upwardly away from the base <NUM> to orient the opening <NUM> at a suitable location for use in bed while the base is supported on the surface of the bed. To ensure the urinal bottle <NUM> is water tight it is moulded as single piece item.

European patent number <CIT> describes a split mould tool with an inner surface and an outer surface. A vacuum cavity surrounds the outer surface of the mould tool. A pulp article is formed against the inner surface of the mould tool. A vacuum is applied to the vacuum cavity via an inlet at the base of the vacuum cavity and liquid from the wet pulp is drawn into the vacuum cavity via drainage channels in the mould tool.

Large volumes of single use urinal bottle used in the UK each year which necessitates a high volume method of manufacture that is able to rapidly produce large numbers of bottles. The requirement for a low unit price also means that the production costs for urinal bottles must be minimised. Moulding single piece hollow containers such as a urinal bottle from paper pulp presents significant problems to a manufacturer. The mould tools must be formed in a manner that allows the bottle to be removed from the mould once formed. The mould tools must also be capable of removing a significant portion of the liquid from the wet pulp. A standard pulp bottle mould comprises a split mould including a pair of independent mould tools, and liquid extraction and forming of the pulp is achieved by independently supplying a vacuum to both mould tools. However, independently supplying a vacuum to two mould tools that are relatively movable adds an undesirable level of complexity to a moulding machine. The need to properly drain the mould tools adds further undesirable complexity and cost. In addition, the extraction means must be capable for removing the bottle safely from the mould and depositing it on a drying conveyor without damage, in a process efficient manner.

It is therefore desirable to provide an improved pulp moulding apparatus for moulding urinal bottles and the like which addresses the above described problems and/or which offers improvements generally.

According to the present invention there is provided a pulp moulding apparatus as described in the accompanying claims.

In an embodiment of the invention there is provided a pulp moulding apparatus comprising first and second mould tools. The mould tools are movable between a closed configuration in which the first and second mould cavities combine to form a moulded pulp item and a release configuration in which the first and second mould tools are separated to enable release of the moulded pulp item. A vacuum source is connected to the first mould tool. The first and second mould tools include a fluid connection arrangement that fluidly connects the first and second mould tools when they are in the closed configuration such that the vacuum applied to the first mould tool is simultaneously applied to the second mould tool. In the arrangements of the prior art separate vacuum sources are connected to both mould tools. By providing a fluid connection between the mould tools only a single vacuum source is required with the single vacuum source being used to supply a vacuum directly to the first mould tool and to the second mould tool via the fluid connection which is made when the mould tools are closed.

The first mould tool preferably includes a mould surface having a porous first mould cavity formed therein for moulding a first portion of a moulded pulp item and the second mould tool includes a mould surface having a porous second mould cavity formed therein for moulding a second portion of the moulded pulp item. Each of the mould cavities includes an inner mould surface to which the pulp is formed and an opposing rear surface. The vacuum source is connected to the first mould tool such that it applies a vacuum to the rear surface of the first mould cavity, and the fluid connector arrangement is configured to fluidly connect the first and second mould tools such that the vacuum applied to the rear surface of the first mould tool is simultaneously applied to the rear surface of the second mould cavity via the fluid connector. The term vacuum chamber or vacuum cavity refers to any void, space or channel located behind the mould surface via which a vacuum may be applied to the rear surface of the mould cavity. The vacuum chamber is also a drainage chamber as liquid drawn from the mould surface by the vacuum is drawn into the vacuum chamber. The vacuum chamber may be a single continuous volume or a plurality of separate channels or voids.

The first and second mould tools preferably each include a vacuum cavity located on the rear side of the mould surface, and the fluid connection arrangement fluidly connects the vacuum chambers.

The first and second mould tools may each include a mould tool body, and the fluid connection arrangement includes first and second channels formed in the mould tool bodies of the first and second mould tools respectively, and a connector arranged to connect the first and second channels in a sealed manner when the mould tools are closed.

The fluid connector may comprise a female connector element provided on one of the first and second mould tools and a male connector element provided on the other of the first and second mould tools, configured to be receive in the female connector element in a sealed manner to connect the first and second fluid channels.

The mould surfaces of the first and second mould tools preferably face each other in the closed position and the female connector element extends into the mould surface of one of the first and second mould tools and the male connector element projects from the mould surface of the other of the first and second mould tools, the connector elements being arranged such that the male connector element is received in the female connector element when the mould tools are closed.

The mould tools are preferably arranged such that in use the first mould tool is the lower mould tool and the second mould tool is the upper mould.

The first and second mould tools preferably include one or more drainage channels formed therein which align when the mould tools are closed to allow liquid to drain from the upper vacuum chamber to the lower vacuum chamber.

The rear side of the upper mould surface preferably includes raised regions arranged to channel liquid towards the fluid connector. The raised regions may located at the rear end of the mould surface. Alternatively or in addition the raised regions may be provided on the opposing sides of the mould cavities to the fluid connector.

The raised regions are configured such that substantially all of the rear side of the mould surface is angled downwardly to the fluid connector.

One or more drainage channels are preferably formed through the upper and lower mould tools to channel liquid from the upper vacuum chamber into the lower vacuum chamber.

Preferably the mould, comprising the upper and lower mould tools, is angles to the horizontal at an angle of between <NUM> and <NUM> degrees to the horizontal. The angle of the drainage channels is such that they are oriented substantially vertically when the mould tools are mounted at the selected angle. The moulding apparatus preferably includes upper and lower mould platens including cavities arranged to receive the upper and lower mould tools respectively. The cavities of the mould platens are configured to support the mould tools at the selected forward angle. Specifically the mould platens include angled support surfaces configured to receive and support the base plates of the mould tools, the support surfaces being angled at the selected angle. Alternatively, the pulp moulding apparatus may comprises a rotational actuator arranged to rotate the mould tools when in the closed position to the selected angle.

The mould tools are preferably configured to form a urinal bottle having a body and a neck extending from the body to an opening. The location of the bottle opening defines the front of the mould, and the fluid connector is located at the front end of the mould tools.

In another aspect of the invention a pulp moulding apparatus for moulding a urinal bottle has a main body and a neck extending from a front end of the main body to an opening. The apparatus comprises upper and lower mould tools movable between a closed configuration in which the first and second mould cavities combine to form a moulded pulp item and a release configuration in which the first and second mould tools are separated to enable release of the moulded pulp item. The lower mould tool includes a base plate and a mould cavity including a base section configured to form the base of the bottle and a rear wall section configured to form a rear wall portion of the bottle. The rear wall section is angled upwardly from the base section in a rearward direction at an angle of less than <NUM> degrees from the horizontal as defined by the plane of the base plate. Preferably the rear wall is angled upwardly from the base at an angle of <NUM> degrees. The angle of the rear wall section of the lower mould tool relative to the vertical as defined relative to the horizontal plane of the base plate is greater than the selected angle. The rear wall section of the lower mould tool is configured such that it is angled at <NUM> degrees to the base plate of the mould tool.

The rear wall section of the lower mould tool is preferably configured such that it is angled rearwardly at <NUM> degrees to the vertical when the mould tool is supported in the mould platen at the <NUM> degrees forward angle, with the <NUM> degrees rearward angle forming a <NUM> degree positive draft allowing vertical removal of the bottle from the tool.

The selected angle is preferably between <NUM> and <NUM> degrees. This is the angle at which the toolset sits on the base plate in degrees from horizontal. More preferably, the selected angle is <NUM> degrees. The selected forward angle allows excess pulp slurry to drain gravitationally from the bottle without overloading the vacuum system and the dewatering cycle of the formation of the pulp bottle. The range of angle effects the efficiency of the system. If the selected angle is too steep then the bottle may form too thinly or require a longer time in the pulp slurry to form completely as the flows out of the bottle under the action of gravity. Conversely if the angle is too shallow then the bottle may retain excess pulp slurry, which may cause softening of the lower neck of the bottle. Furthermore the bottom neck may deform when it is deposited on dryer conveyor.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a pulp moulding apparatus for moulding a urinal bottle having a main body and a neck extending from a front end of the main body to an opening, the apparatus comprising upper and lower mould tools movable between a closed configuration in which the first and second mould cavities combine to form a moulded pulp item and a release configuration in which the first and second mould tools are separated to enable release of the moulded pulp item. An elongate lifting element is arranged to be inserted into the neck of the bottle, wherein the lifting element has an upper surface shaped to conform to the shape of the inner surface of the upper part of the bottle.

The neck is preferably angled upwardly away from the upper edge of the main body of the bottle, and the lifting element includes a proximal body section having an upper edge shaped to support the upper inner surface of the neck, and a distal tip section that is angled upwardly away from the main body section at the same angle at which the neck of the bottle extends from the main body, such that the tip engages and supports a portion of the roof of the main body of the bottle while the main body section of the lifting element engages and supports the roof of the neck.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a moulded pulp bottle having a main body and a neck extending from the main body to an opening, the method comprising:.

The mould includes upper and lower mould tools, each having base plates that are arranged parallel to each other. The moulding apparatus preferably includes upper and lower mould platens including cavities arranged to receive the upper and lower mould tools respectively. The cavities of the mould platens are angled to support the base plates of the mould tools at the selected forward angle.

The mould is inserted into and removed from the vat vertically while angled forwardly at the selected angle. The upper and lower mould tools and are separated vertically while in the forwardly angled orientation with the upper tool being lifted away from the lower tool.

The mould is preferably maintained in the forwardly angled arrangement for at least part of the dewatering stage.

The bottle preferably comprises a base defining a horizontal plane of the bottle and the longitudinal axis of the neck is angled upwardly relative to the base. The downwardly angled position at which the mould tool is mounted is selected such that in said position the longitudinal axis of the neck of the bottle is substantially horizontal.

The mould tool preferably comprises an upper mould tool and a lower mould tool and the method further comprises separating the mould tools after the dewatering phase and then vertically removing the bottle from the lower mould tool while the lower mould tool is maintained in the forwardly angled position.

An elongate lifting element or 'finger' is preferably inserted into the opening of the bottle and then moved vertically to lift the bottle out of the lower mould tool.

The lifting element is preferably inserted into the opening of the bottle before the mould tools are separated.

The bottle is preferably moved to a conveyor by the lifting element, and the lifting element is rotated downwardly to cause the bottle to slide off the lifting element onto the conveyor.

To transfer the bottle to the conveyor the lifting element is rotated downwardly an angle substantially equal to the selected forward angle of the mould tool such that the base of the bottle is substantially parallel with the conveyor. In order to transfer the moulded bottle to the conveyor for drying the lifting finger or spike rotates the bottle through <NUM> degrees to bring the base of the bottle horizontal to the conveyor. In this position the spike can retract out of the bottle to allow the bottle then to travel on the conveyor through the dryer.

Movement of the conveyor is stopped while the bottle is deposited onto the conveyor. The bottle is placed on the conveyor facing in the forward direction, aligned with the direction of travel of the conveyor. The lifting finger is pointing in the opposing direction to the conveyor. Therefore, to allow retraction of the lifting finger the conveyor must be halted. At the point of drop off the conveyor is synchronized with the spike position to stop at the time of drop off for a variable time as determined and programmed by the system controller. The period the conveyor is stopped is controlled to allow the lifting element to be retracted before movement of the conveyor restarts.

In another aspect of the invention pulp bottles are manufactured using a novel split tool arrangement, whereby two parts of the bottle, the upper half and lower half, are formed in independent moulding tools that come together into a closed position to form a bottle shape and are dipped into a pulp slurry. A vacuum is applied causing pulp fibres in the slurry to adhere to the gauze lining the moulding tools. The vacuum source is connected to the lower tool only. The upper and lower tools include vacuum chamber for applying a vacuum to the mould. The upper and lower tools include connectors arranged to fluidly connect the vacuum chamber of the upper and lower tools when the upper and lower tools are brought together such that the vacuum source connected to the lower tool applies a vacuum to the upper and lower tools simultaneously.

The present invention provides a unique orientation of the bottle during moulding within the mould tool in which the bottle neck is oriented horizontally while the main body, including the base of the bottle is angled upwardly.

The present invention further provides a bottle having a unique 'drafted tail' shape that allows it to be demoulded from the lower tool without tearing or abrading against the gauze.

In another aspect of the invention the vacuum for the upper tool originates from the lower tool through a vacuum channel that connects the vacuum chamber of the lower tool to the vacuum chamber of the upper tool. As such there is no requirement for an independent vacuum to be applied to the upper tool. This is a unique forming process, which draws vacuum through One Common Orifice (OCO), and which connects the split forming moulds when closed. The OCO maximises water evacuation from the pulp slurry while forming the bottle shape.

The vacuum chamber of the upper tool is provided with a unique formation that channels water to the connecting vacuum channel by allowing it to flow over the top of the convex inner surfaces of the mould recesses.

The present invention further utilises novel demoulding using fingers that are inserted horizontally, and which are contoured to the shape of the inner neck of the bottles. The fingers then lift the bottle vertically and then carry and place the bottle on a conveyor belt to be passed through a tunnel dryer. The unique profile of the fingers allows them to support the wet bottles and prevent them from tearing or buckling as they are being demoulded.

In order to transfer the moulded bottle to the conveyor for drying the spike must remove and rotate the bottle through <NUM> degrees to bring the base of the bottle horizontal to the conveyor. In this position the spike can retract out of the bottle to allow the bottle then to travel on the conveyor through the dryer. At the point of drop off the conveyor is synchronized with the spike position to stop at the time of drop off for a variable time as determined and programmed in the plc.

The design of the back end of the bottle, which slopes at an angle of <NUM> degrees from vertical when the mould is horizontal, before mounting in the angled cavity of the platen, offers a <NUM> degrees positive draft when the moulding tool is in place on the machine sitting at <NUM> degrees from horizontal. In contrast, a standard urinal bottle design provides a substantially <NUM> degree angle between back end and floor of the bottle. This is acceptable in arrangements of the prior art where the mould is not forwardly angled. However, were the mould to be arranged in this manner the <NUM>° angle of the back wall would present a significant negative draft when the mould is angled at <NUM>° in use, preventing vertical removal of the bottle from the mould.

The upper and lower moulding tools preferably have drainage holes which extend from the surface of the inside of the mould where the product is formed through the mould to the vacuum cavity behind the lower mould tool. These holes are drilled vertically to the table not to the mould, such that they are arranged vertically when the mould is angled at <NUM>° to the horizontal. Arranging the draining channels at <NUM> degrees to the horizontal allows maximum use of gravitational drainage to assist the vacuum system.

In one aspect of the invention there is provided a urinal bottle having a main body having a base and walls defining a liquid container. The bottle includes a neck extending upwardly at an angle from the main body, and has an opening to the bottle located at its distal end. The opening defines in use the front end of the bottle. The bottle is shaped such that the mouth of bottle is flared outwardly. The rear end of the bottle includes a rear wall section that extends upwardly from the base and is angled rearwardly away from base. The angle between the rear wall and the horizontal plane defined by the base is less than <NUM>° and is preferably between <NUM> and <NUM> degrees and more preferably <NUM> degrees.

In use the mould tool is angled forwardly to assist drainage during the moulding and liquid extraction phase. The rear wall of the lower mould tool that forms the rear wall section is angled to the horizontal plane defined by the base at a rearward angle that is greater than the drainage angle of the mould tool such that the rear wall section remains rearwardly angled when the mould tool is mounted at the forward angle to provide a positive draft enabling vertical removal of the bottle from the mould tool.

Forward angling of the mould tool is referred to with reference to the angle to the base plates, or mounting plates of the mould tools relative to the horizontal.

In another aspect the mould tools are multi cavity mould tools, meaning that each mould tool includes multiple mould cavities for forming multiple bottles. Preferably the bottle forming machine includes upper and lower machine platens configured to receive a plurality of multi cavity mould tools at the selected angle. In one embodiment the machine platens include chambers for receiving five multi cavity moulds, each multi cavity mould having three mould cavities, such that the machine is able to simultaneously mould fifteen bottles per cycle. In this configuration the lower platen would have five lower vacuum chambers each one being connected by flexible vacuum pipes sealed at the connection point to the main vacuum supply. Each of the lower vacuum chambers is then open to the upper vacuum chamber of corresponding upper multi cavity mould.

Preferably vacuum seals are provided which seal between corresponding cavities on the upper and lower mould tools to vacuum seal the mould cavities.

Vacuum tight ferrules are preferably provided between the mould cavities maximising available space between cavities. The ferrules preferably have a tapered shape expanding towards the front of the mould tools to maximise the size of the ferrules. It has been found that an optimal number of moulds is five, each having three cavities producing fifteen bottles per cycle. Each mould is designed to maximise the gap between each cavity allowing the ferrules which pass vacuum from upper to lower cavity to be as large as possible. The cycle time is thus kept to a minimum as any impediment to the flow of vacuum is minimised.

The programmed closure of the upper and lower mould tools while dipping into pulp slurry is controlled by the system controller. The cycle time is reduced by controlling the upper and lower mould tools to close and meet whilst they are dipped into the pulp slurry, rather than first closing the tools and then dipping them and commencing the vacuum application. This also assists in allows the earlier flow of pulp slurry onto the mould surfaces.

The upper mounting platen of the mould may be a machined, flat structure which is used to secure the upper part of each mould. In the optimum machine size five upper moulds, each having three bottle cavities, are secured by air tight seal and fixing bolts to the upper mounting platen. The upper platen thereby conforms to the lower platen. The platens are arranged to be actuated vertically to actuate the mould tools.

The movable upper weighted platen may be arranged to ride on four slide rods fitted with brass sleeves in the platen. In order to achieve uninterrupted cycles the upper platen must ideally be able to move freely by control of an upper closing cylinder and is therefore arranged to slide on four rods in the upwards opening motion and downwards closing motion.

The upper platen is provided with a chain and sprocket synchronized reciprocating motion to enable it to move parallel to the lower platen and allow flexibility in the speed at which it moves relative the speed of movement of the lower platen.

Each mould tool preferably comprises a large vacuum chamber substantially corresponding to the tool footprint, the "footprint" of each tool being the total footprint size of the mould as fixed to the platen.

Each lower mould tool is preferably connected to by multiple vacuum pipes for rapid evacuation of upper and lower tools when closed.

The bottle moulding machine preferably includes a tool wash programmable feature in which a wash bar is provided that is fed with variable high pressure water. The wash bar moves in between the upper and lower moulds when in the open position, after the bottles have been removed. This feature allows variability in the frequency with which the bar would move relative to the number of machine cycles being run. For example the wash tool could be controlled to operate every cycle or after "n" cycles where n is the variable. The bar is fitted with spray jets or nozzles which are pointed at each of the upper and lower cavities of the moulds so as to offer a wide fan jet of clean water to wash debris from the open discharged mould.

Preferably the wash bar comprises multiple jets facing both upwardly and downwardly. The wash bar is mounted on single axis pneumatic piston driven ram which moves the bar in between the open moulds. The wash bar may also be rotated to redirect the jets to other areas of the mould tools.

The lifting fingers are provide with a unique shape arranged to follow the contour of the inner upper side of bottle. A plurality of fingers are mounted on a single piston pneumatic lifting arm. All the spikes or "fingers" are fitted to a single horizontal bar which is operated by a pneumatic cylinder programmed to move both horizontally forward and backward and to rotate to tip off horizontal to <NUM> degrees to be parallel with the neck of the bottle and back again to horizontal.

The pulp slurry vat is preferably provided with constant head-in-vat control. An additional tank is maintained at a predetermined level allowing the pressure of the supply of pulp to the machine to be maintained as constant.

An overflow feedback function may be provided that causes excess pulp slurry to be captured when the moulds dip in to the slurry and returned to the pulp storage tank.

A vertical vacuum water separation system may be provided in which a vacuum is applied to remove water which is then returned to the tank where the vacuum was held. On reaching the tank the water falls to the bottom of the tank and stored vacuum remains above the water.

The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following illustrative figures in which:.

Referring to <FIG>, a urinal bottle <NUM> includes a hollow body <NUM> having a neck <NUM> extending to a circular opening <NUM>. The bottle <NUM> includes a flat base <NUM> which supports the urinal bottle <NUM> when placed on a surface. The neck <NUM> is angled upwardly away from the base <NUM>. The opening <NUM> of the neck <NUM> defines the front end of the urinal bottle <NUM> in use. The neck <NUM> flares outwardly to the mouth opening <NUM>. A split line A-A is defined along the length of the bottle <NUM>. The split line A-A corresponds to the boundary between the upper and lower moulds tools when the bottle <NUM> is held within the mould. A lower rear wall section <NUM> is angled in a rearward direction away from the base <NUM> towards the split line A-A. Above the split line A-A the upper rear wall section <NUM> is angled forwardly to the upper surface <NUM> of the bottle <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, a two part split mould <NUM> is used to mould the bottle <NUM>. The mould <NUM> includes an upper mould tool <NUM> and a lower mould tool <NUM>. The upper mould tool <NUM> includes an upper mounting plate <NUM> and the lower tool <NUM> includes a lower mounting plate <NUM>, the mounting plates being used to mount and support the mould tools within the moulding machine. The upper <NUM> and lower <NUM> mould tools are independently moveable. The upper <NUM> and lower <NUM> mould tools are shown in <FIG> in the closed position with the two parts being held together in abutment. The interface <NUM> between the upper <NUM> and lower <NUM> mould tools corresponds to the split line A-A of the bottle <NUM>.

In <FIG> the upper <NUM> and lower <NUM> mould tools are shown in the open configuration. The upper <NUM> and lower <NUM> mould tools vertically separate relative to each other which may be by the upper tool <NUM> lifting vertically away from the lower tool <NUM>. During separation the upper and lower mounting plates <NUM>,<NUM> remain parallel to each other. The upper mould tool <NUM> has a mould surface <NUM> including two mould recesses <NUM> configured to form the upper halves of two bottles, and the lower mould tool <NUM> has a mould surface <NUM> with a pair of mould recesses <NUM> corresponding to the mould recesses <NUM> of the upper tool <NUM> and configured to form the lower halves of two bottles, such that upper and lower mould recesses combine to form the entire bottle <NUM>. Each mould surface <NUM>, <NUM> comprises a stainless steel mesh gauze, as commonly used in pulp moulding tools, configured to allow the passage of water while retaining pulp material on its surface. A sealing rim <NUM> extends around the outer edge of each mould cavity or recess, the sealing ridges <NUM> of the upper <NUM> and lower <NUM> mould tools combining to form a seal with the mould tool <NUM> around each bottle <NUM> when the mould tool <NUM> is closed.

To form the bottle a vacuum must be applied to the mould surfaces <NUM>,<NUM> to draw water from the pulp slurry and pull the pulp material against the gauze of the mould surfaces <NUM>,<NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, a vacuum chamber <NUM> is defined beneath the mould surface <NUM> within the lower mould tool <NUM>. The vacuum chamber <NUM> is sealed at the base by the lower mounting plate <NUM>. A vacuum source (not shown) is connected to the vacuum chamber by a port located towards the front edge <NUM> of the lower mould tool <NUM> with one or more flexible hoses. Air is drawn through the port to create a vacuum within the vacuum chamber <NUM>. The port also acts as a drainage port to remove liquid from within the vacuum chamber <NUM>. As the vacuum chamber <NUM> is beneath the mould surface <NUM> the flow of liquid through the gauze and to the outlet port is gravity assisted. This is further improved by tilting the mould <NUM> forwardly during liquid extraction, as discussed further below.

The upper mould tool <NUM> also includes a vacuum chamber <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. The vacuum chamber <NUM> is located above the inner surface of the mould surface <NUM>. To form the upper part of the bottle <NUM> liquid must be drawn upwardly through the gauze of the mould surface <NUM> under the action of a vacuum applied to the vacuum chamber <NUM>. The liquid must then be drawn from the vacuum chamber <NUM> and drained. In arrangements of the prior art a vacuum source is applied to the upper mould tool independently of the lower mould tool. This adds additional complexity to the mould assembly, and requires additional space for the requisite pipe work and associated fittings. In addition, that fact that the mould tools must be movable relative to each other adds additional complications in terms of accommodating the movement and ensuring the associated pipework does not interfere with this movement.

Removal of the liquid from an upper mould tool is also problematic. As the liquid is being drawn upwardly through the gauzed upper mould surface <NUM> the vacuum must work against gravity to draw the liquid through, and to then drain the liquid from the upper vacuum chamber, which requires a costly, high powered pumping arranged. Even with such equipment pooling within the upper vacuum chamber may still occur.

Referring again to <FIG>, a lower vacuum port <NUM> is provided that extends through the mould surface <NUM> of the lower mould tool <NUM>. The vacuum port <NUM> comprises an aperture <NUM> formed in the mould surface <NUM> between the mould recesses <NUM>. A wall <NUM> is arranged around the periphery of the aperture <NUM> and extends downwardly into the vacuum chamber <NUM>. The lower vacuum port <NUM> has substantially elongate tear drop shape tapering in the rearward direction to conform to the narrowing space between the two mould recesses <NUM>. The wall <NUM> is open at both its upper and lower end, with the wall <NUM> forming a socket for receiving a corresponding upper vacuum connector element <NUM> of the upper mould tool <NUM>. The upper vacuum connector <NUM> comprises a wall <NUM> extending downwardly from the mould surface <NUM> of the upper mould tool <NUM>. The wall <NUM> extends around an aperture <NUM> extending through the mould surface <NUM>. The wall <NUM> has a shape corresponding to the shape of the wall <NUM> of the lower vacuum connector <NUM>, and sized to fit within the lower wall <NUM> in a closely toleranced, sealed manner. The lower vacuum connector <NUM> and the upper vacuum connector <NUM> thereby cooperate in a plug and socket arrangement, with the plug arrangement defined by the upper vacuum connector <NUM> fitting and sealing within the socket arrangement of the lower vacuum connector <NUM>.

The vacuum connectors <NUM>,<NUM> are arranged to align and connect when the upper and lower mould tools <NUM>,<NUM> close. When connected, with the mould tools <NUM>,<NUM> closed, the vacuum connectors <NUM>,<NUM> form a sealed air conduit between the lower vacuum chamber <NUM> and the upper vacuum chamber <NUM>. As such, when the mould tools <NUM>,<NUM> are closed and a vacuum is applied to the lower vacuum chamber <NUM>, this same vacuum extends through the conduit airflow channel formed by the vacuum connectors <NUM>,<NUM> into the upper vacuum chamber <NUM>. The vacuum is applied simultaneously to the upper mould surface <NUM> and the lower mould surface <NUM> by the single vacuum source connected to the lower mould tool <NUM>.

Liquid drawn through the gauze of the upper mould surface <NUM> is able to travel to the drain in the lower mould tool <NUM> through the vacuum channel <NUM>. The liquid flows downwards under the action of gravity, thereby minimising the required vacuum. As shown in <FIG>, to assist drainage, the mould tool <NUM> is angled forwardly at an angle of <NUM>° defined as the angle between the base mounting plate and the horizontal. The angle further assists removal of the bottle <NUM> as discussed further below.

To further improve drainage a series of drainage channels, indicated by dashed lines <NUM> in <FIG>, are formed through the upper and lower mould tools <NUM>,<NUM>. The drainage channels <NUM> are formed through the mould surfaces <NUM>,<NUM> in the regions surrounding the mould recesses <NUM>,<NUM>. The drainage channels <NUM> align to define fluid pathways from the upper vacuum chamber <NUM> to the lower vacuum chamber <NUM>. The channels <NUM> are angled such that when the mould tool <NUM> is angled forwardly at <NUM>° the drainage channels extend vertically downwards.

The mould <NUM> is retained at the <NUM>° angle for both the moulding and extraction stages. As described in further detail below, in the extraction stage the upper and lower mould tools <NUM>, <NUM> are separated and, with the lower mould tool at an angle of <NUM>° to the horizontal the bottle <NUM> is removed vertically from the lower mould tool <NUM>. With a standard bottle design this vertical extraction with the mould tool angled forwardly would not be possible as the rear lower corner of the bottle would represent a negative draft in this orientation, preventing vertical extraction. This negative draft portion is indicated by eth hatched portion of <FIG>. Therefore, with reference again to <FIG>, the rear end surface <NUM> of the lower mould recess <NUM> is angled rearward such that it is at <NUM>° to the vertical when the base <NUM> of the lower mould tool <NUM> is horizontal. As such, when the base <NUM> is angled upwardly at an angle of <NUM>°, the rear end surface <NUM> remains rearwardly inclined by an angle of <NUM>°, thereby avoiding a negative draft and permitting vertical removal of the bottle <NUM>.

In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the inner side of the upper mould surface <NUM>, being the side within the vacuum chamber <NUM>, is raised to avoid troughs and traps where evacuated water may resist the vacuum suction applied to the upper vacuum chamber <NUM> through the vacuum channel <NUM>. The vacuum channel <NUM> is located between the mould recesses <NUM> towards the front edge <NUM> of the upper mould tool <NUM>. On the inner side of the mould surface <NUM> the recesses <NUM> are raised, convex elements. The regions of the mould surface <NUM> on the opposing sides of the recesses <NUM> are raised. The raised region <NUM> raises the inner surface to the upper edges of the recesses <NUM> to allow liquid to flow directly over the recesses <NUM> to the vacuum channel <NUM>, rather than having to flow up and around the walls of the mould recesses <NUM>. By providing a more direct flow path or reduced resistance, any pooling or trapping of the liquid is significantly reduced or avoided entirely. The raised region <NUM> may be formed during machining of the mould tool, or may be achieved by an insert provided into the mould tool after forming.

The moulding machine includes a series of bottle removal spikes <NUM> for removing the formed bottles <NUM> from the moulds <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the spike <NUM> is aligned with the opening <NUM> of the bottle <NUM>. The spike <NUM> is elongate in form and its length is aligned with the length of the bottle <NUM>. The spike <NUM> is then inserted into the neck <NUM> of the bottle <NUM> through the opening <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. When the mould <NUM> is angled forwardly at an angle of <NUM>° the neck of the bottle <NUM> is oriented substantially horizontally, allowing the spike <NUM> to be inserted into the bottle <NUM> without interference. The spike <NUM> is inserted horizontally to the full insertion position of <FIG>. The spike <NUM> is then lifted vertically, at which point the upper surface of the spike <NUM> engages the inner surface of the roof <NUM> of the bottle <NUM> and begins to lift the bottle <NUM> out of the mould <NUM>. The bottle <NUM> may then be transported by moving the spike <NUM> to the desired location. As the bottle <NUM> is being lifted it is still in a wet condition and pliable, and as such prone to damage when being transported.

As shown in <FIG>, the spike <NUM> is provided with a profile designed to conform to the shape of the bottle <NUM>, to enable the spike <NUM> to cradle the bottle <NUM> during lifting with constant contact that prevents damage to the bottle <NUM>. The spike <NUM> includes an elongate main body section <NUM>. A proximal base <NUM> is located at one end of the body section <NUM> which secures to an actuator arm of the moulding machine. A tip <NUM> is formed at the opposing distal end. The tip <NUM> is angled upwardly away from the main body section <NUM> long the upper surface <NUM> of the spike <NUM>. The change in angle between the upper surface of the main body section <NUM> and the tip <NUM> corresponds to the change in angle between the roof <NUM> of the bottle and the upper surface <NUM> of the neck <NUM>. As such, the upper surface <NUM> of the spike <NUM> confirms to the inner profile of the bottle <NUM> enabling it to function as a support finger supporting the bottle <NUM> along the entire length of contact with the bottle <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>.

In the moulding process, the upper and lower mould tools <NUM>,<NUM> are closed, with the sealing rim sealing the mould recesses within the mould <NUM>. The mould <NUM> is then inserted into a vat of pulp slurry with pulp flowing into the mould recesses through the opening representing the opening of the bottle <NUM>. The mould <NUM> is inserted into the pulp slurry vat while the mould tools <NUM>,<NUM> are closing. A vacuum is applied the mould tools <NUM>,<NUM> when they are closed and fully submerged in the pulp slurry. The vacuum is applied via the lower mould tool <NUM>.

The upper and lower mould tools <NUM>,<NUM> are mounted in upper and lower mould platens in such a manner that the mould tools <NUM>,<NUM> are angled forwardly at <NUM> degrees to the horizontal. The mould <NUM> is submerged vertically into the vat with the mould tools <NUM>,<NUM> oriented in this forwardly angled arrangement. A selected period is allowed for the pulp fibres to form against the mould <NUM>. The mould <NUM> is then removed vertically from the slurry. A vacuum is applied to the vacuum chamber <NUM> of the lower mould tool <NUM>, which may be a continuation of the forming vacuum applied while the mould <NUM> was submerged. The dewatering vacuum is simultaneously applied to the upper vacuum chamber through the vacuum connection channel <NUM>. The vacuum draws water through the gauze surfaces of the mould tools <NUM>,<NUM> to dewater the pulp resting against the gauze. Once the dewatering is completed, the bottle removal fingers <NUM> are inserted into the bottles <NUM>. Here it is noted that while the embodiments described above as shown in the Figures include only two mould recesses for forming two bottles, this is for illustrative simplicity. In practice the mould tools may be formed to include mould recesses for forming multiple bottles and more than two.

Claim 1:
A pulp moulding apparatus comprising:
first and second mould tools (<NUM>,<NUM>) having first and second mould cavities, the mould tools being movable between a closed configuration in which the first and second mould cavities (<NUM>,<NUM>) combine to form a moulded pulp item and a release configuration in which the first and second mould tools (<NUM>,<NUM>) are separated to enable release of the moulded pulp item; and
a vacuum source connected to the first mould tool (<NUM>);
wherein the first and second mould tools (<NUM>,<NUM>) each include a mould surface (<NUM>,<NUM>), a vacuum cavity (<NUM>,<NUM>) located on the rear side of the mould surface, a fluid connection channel (<NUM>,<NUM>), and a connector (<NUM>,<NUM>), the connectors (<NUM>,<NUM>) of the first and second mould tools being arranged to fluidly connect the fluid connection channels (<NUM>,<NUM>) of the first and second mould tools (<NUM>,<NUM>) when the first and second mould tools (<NUM>,<NUM>) are in the closed configuration such that a vacuum applied to the vacuum cavity (<NUM>) of the first mould tool (<NUM>) by the vacuum source is simultaneously applied to the vacuum cavity (<NUM>) of the second mould tool (<NUM>) via the fluid connection channels (<NUM>,<NUM>).