Patent Document

FIELD 
       [0001]    The present disclosure generally relates to a vacuum forming device, and more particularly to a vacuum container and a vacuum forming device using the same. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    In order to form a workpiece, a vacuum container may be employed to maintain a vacuum environment to prevent the workpiece from being oxidized. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0003]    The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
           [0004]      FIG. 1  shows a first embodiment of a vacuum forming device in a first state. 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  is similar to  FIG. 1 , but shows the vacuum forming device in a second state. 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  is similar to  FIG. 1 , but shows the vacuum forming device in a third state. 
           [0007]      FIG. 4  shows a second embodiment of a vacuum forming device. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0008]    It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts have been exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the present disclosure. 
         [0009]    Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented. 
         [0010]    The term “coupled” is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The connection can be such that the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected. The term “substantially” is defined to be essentially conforming to the particular dimension, shape, or other feature that is modified, such that the feature of the component need not be exact. For example, substantially cylindrical means that the object resembles a cylinder, but can have one or more deviations from a true cylinder. The term “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the so-described combination, group, series and the like. 
         [0011]      FIGS. 1-3  illustrate a first embodiment of a vacuum forming device  100  for casting a workpiece. In the embodiment, the vacuum forming device  100  can be a casting device for casting an amorphous alloy. The vacuum forming device  100  can also be any other machining device equipped with a vacuum container, such as a chemical heat treatment vacuum device. The vacuum forming device  100  can include a vacuum forming chamber  10 , a first vacuum pump  20 , a mould  30 , a vacuum container  50 , a second vacuum pump  60 , and a discharging assembly  70 . The first vacuum pump  20  can be coupled to the vacuum forming chamber  10  for exhausting air from the vacuum forming chamber  10 . The mould  30  can be located within the vacuum forming chamber  10  for casting a workpiece. The vacuum container  50  can be assembled to a side of the vacuum forming chamber  10 . The second vacuum pump  60  can be coupled to the vacuum container  50  for exhausting air from the vacuum container  50 . The discharging assembly  70  can be movably received in the vacuum container  50  for retrievinga workpiece from the vacuum forming chamber  10 . The vacuum forming device  100  also can include other structures known in the art, such as an ejection mechanism and a casting mechanism, that are not described herein. In the embodiment, the vacuum forming device  100  can be operated in three different states. 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates a first state of the vacuum forming device  100 . In the first state, the vacuum forming chamber  10  fluidly communicates with the vacuum container  50  to enable an air pressure of the vacuum container  50  to be equal to an air pressure of the vacuum forming chamber  10 . Thus, the workpiece can be easily moved from the vacuum forming chamber  10  to the vacuum container  50 . The vacuum container  50  can include a housing  51 , a sealing cover  53 , a sealing member  55 , and a first driving member  57 . The housing  51  can define a connecting chamber  512 , a discharging chamber  515 , and a valve chamber  513 . The vacuum forming chamber  10  can define an assembly hole  11  fluidly communicating with the connecting chamber  512 . The valve chamber  513  can fluidly communicate between the connecting chamber  512  and the discharging chamber  515 . The connecting chamber  512  can fluidly communicate with the vacuum forming chamber  10  via the assembly hole  11 . The housing  51  can further form a connecting surface  5121 , a bottom surface  5123 , and a sealing surface  5125 . The connecting surface  5121  can be a top surface of the connecting chamber  512  and be formed between the vacuum forming chamber  10  and the valve chamber  513 . The bottom surface  5123  can be a bottom surface of the connecting chamber  512 . The sealing surface  5125  can be coupled to the bottom surface  5123  and slant away from the vacuum forming chamber  10  to couple to the discharging chamber  515 . 
         [0013]      FIG. 2  illustrates a second state of the vacuum forming device  100 . In the second state, the vacuum container  50  is hermetically isolated from the vacuum forming chamber  10  and receives the workpiece. The valve chamber  513  can be substantially cube-shaped. The valve chamber  513  can include a top wall  5131 , a first guiding wall  5133 , a second guiding wall  5135 , and a supporting wall  5137 . The top wall  5131  can define an inserting hole  5132 . The first guiding wall  5133  can extend substantially perpendicularly from an edge of the top wall  5131  and be coupled to the connecting surface  5121 . An angle defined by the first guiding wall  5133  and the connecting surface  5121  of the connecting chamber  512  can be greater than 90 degrees. The second guiding wall  5135  can extend substantially perpendicularly from an edge of the top wall  5131  opposite to the first guiding wall  5133  and enter into the discharging chamber  515 . The second guiding wall  5135  can be substantially parallel to the first guiding wall  5133  and substantially coplanar with the sealing surface  5125 . In the embodiment, a highest portion of the second guiding wall  5135  can be lower than a highest portion of the first guiding wall  5133 . The supporting wall  5137  can be coupled between the first guiding wall  5133  and the second guiding wall  5137 . The supporting wall  5137  can be substantially parallel to the top wall  5131 . The discharging chamber  515  can be substantially rectangular and define a discharging passage  511  therein. 
         [0014]    In the embodiment, the first guiding wall  5133  and the supporting wall  5137  can be spaced from the bottom surface  5123 , and the second guiding wall  5135  can be spaced from the sealing surface  5125 . A through passage  517  can be defined between the second guiding wall  5135  and the sealing surface  5125 . The through passage  517  can interconnect the discharging passage  511  and the assembly hole  11  of the vacuum forming chamber  10 . The discharging chamber  515  can include a mounting wall  5151 , a side wall  5153 , and an outlet wall  5155 . The mounting wall  5151  is coupled to a joint portion of the top wall  5131  and the second guiding wall  5135 . The mounting wall  5151  and the top wall  5131  can define an angle greater than 90 degrees. The side wall  5153  can extend substantially perpendicularly from an edge of the mounting wall  5151  away from the valve chamber  513 . The outlet wall  5155  can be coupled to the sealing surface  5125  and can be substantially parallel to the mounting wall  5151  and the bottom surface  5123 . 
         [0015]    The outlet wall  5155 , the mounting wall  5151 , and the bottom surface  5123  can be arranged substantially horizontally. The outlet wall  5155  can be disposed above the bottom surface  5123  and define an outlet  5157  adjacent to the side wall  5153 . The sealing cover  53  can be pivotably coupled to the side wall  5153  to seal the outlet  5157 . 
         [0016]      FIG. 3  illustrates a third state of the vacuum forming device  100 . In the third state, the sealing cover  53  is rotated to open the outlet  5157  to allow the workpiece to slide along the sealing cover  53  into a collection container  80  located beneath the vacuum container  50 . The sealing member  55  can be movably received in the valve chamber  513 . The sealing member  55  can slide toward the supporting wall  5137 . The sealing member  55  can include a sealing head  551  and a connecting rod  553  protruding from a side of the sealing head  551 . Opposite sides of the sealing head  551  can respectively resist the first guiding wall  5133  and the second guiding wall  5135 . An end surface of the sealing head  551  away from the connecting rod  553  can abut against the supporting wall  5137 . The connecting rod  553  can slidably insert through the inserting hole  5132  of the valve chamber  513  and partially extend out of the valve chamber  513 . The first driving member  57  can be assembled to an end of the connecting rod  553  extending out of the valve chamber  513 . The first driving member  57  can be configured for driving the sealing head  551  to slide along the first guiding wall  5133  and the second guiding wall  5135 , and further driving the sealing head  511  to resist the supporting wall  5137 , thereby isolating the connecting chamber  512  from the valve chamber  513 . 
         [0017]    The second vacuum pump  60  can be coupled to the mounting wall  5151  of the discharging chamber  515  and configured for exhausting air out of the discharging chamber  515  to create a vacuum inside the discharging chamber  515 . A vacuum degree of the discharging chamber  515  can be equal to a vacuum degree of the vacuum forming chamber  10 . 
         [0018]    The discharging assembly  70  can be partially and slidably received in the vacuum container  50 . The discharging assembly  70  can include a retrieving member  71 , and a second driving member  73  assembled to the retrieving member  71 . The second driving member  73  can be located outside of the discharging chamber  515 . The retrieving member  71  can include an extendable rod  712 , and a retrieving portion  715  assembled to an end of the extendable rod  712 . The extendable rod  712  can be coupled to the second driving member  73 , and be driven by the second driving member  73  to extend through the side wall  5153  into the discharging passage  511 . In the embodiment, the extendable rod  712  can hermetically extend through the side wall  5153  to maintain the vacuum degree of the discharging chamber  515 . The retrieving portion  715  can be a substantially rectangular basket and be received in the discharging passage  511 . 
         [0019]    In use, the sealing member  55  can hermetically isolate the vacuum forming chamber  10  from the discharging chamber  515 , and the sealing cover  53  can seal the outlet  5157 . The second vacuum pump  60  can be turned on to exhaust the discharging chamber  515  until the vacuum degree of the discharging chamber  515  is equal to that of the vacuum forming chamber  10 . The sealing member  55  can be moved toward the top wall  5131  to allow the valve chamber  513  to fluidly communicate between the connecting chamber  512  and the discharging chamber  515 . The second driving member  73  drives the retrieving portion  715  to move into the vacuum forming chamber  10  to fetch the workpiece from the mould  30 . After the retrieving portion  715  fetches the workpiece, the second driving member  73  withdraws to pull the retrieving portion  715  back into the discharging chamber  515 . The first driving member  57  drives the sealing head  551  toward the supporting wall  5137  to isolate the vacuum forming chamber  10  from the discharging chamber  515 . The sealing cover  53  is rotated to open the outlet  5157 , the second driving member  73  rotates the retrieving portion  715  to allow the workpiece to drop onto the sealing cover  53 , and the workpiece slides along the sealing cover  53  into the collection box  80 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates a second embodiment of a vacuum forming device  200 . The vacuum forming device  200  can include a vacuum forming chamber  101 , a first vacuum pump  201 , a mould  301 , a vacuum container  501 , a second vacuum pump  601 , and a discharging assembly  701 . The vacuum container  501  can include a connecting chamber  5012 , a discharging chamber  5015 , and a valve chamber  5013 . The valve chamber  5013  can interconnect the connecting chamber  5012  and the discharging chamber  5015 . The difference between the vacuum forming device  200  and the vacuum forming device  100  is that a bottom surface  5017  of the connecting chamber  5012  can be coplanar with an outlet wall  5018  of the discharging chamber  5015 . A sealing surface  5019  can extend from the bottom surface  5017  and can be inclined toward the valve chamber  5013 . The sealing surface  5019  can extend from a joint portion of the bottom surface  5017  and the outlet wall  5018 . 
         [0021]    The sealing cover  53 , the outlet  5157 , the first vacuum pump  20 , and the second vacuum pump  60  can be omitted, such that the workpiece is directly collected in the vacuum container  50 , as long as the vacuum container  50  can be disassembled from the vacuum forming chamber  10  to remove the workpiece. When the connecting rod  5132  is operated manually, the first driving member  57  can be omitted. 
         [0022]    While the present disclosure has been described with reference to particular embodiments, the description is illustrative of the disclosure and is not to be construed as limiting the disclosure. Therefore, those of ordinary skill in the art can make various modifications to the embodiments without departing from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure, as defined by the appended claims.

Technology Category: 7