Claims
- 1. An apparatus for forming an article, the apparatus comprising:a female die having an opening intersecting one end thereof; a male die shaped such that at least a portion of the male die is receivable in the opening of the female die; a first cutting member; a second cutting member; means for passing a portion of a first web of sheet material a predetermined distance beyond the first cutting member to provide a first sheet of material with a predetermined length upon the first web of material being cut by the first cutting member; means for passing a portion of a second web of sheet material a predetermined distance beyond the second cutting member to provide a second sheet of material with a predetermined length upon the second web of material being cut by the second cutting member; and a conveyor for passing the first sheet of material and the second sheet of material between the male die and the female die with the male and female dies in an article discharge position wherein the male die is removed from the opening of the female die, wherein the first sheet of material has an outer peripheral edge and the second sheet of material has an outer peripheral edge, and wherein the outer peripheral edge of the first sheet of material extends outwardly from the outer peripheral edge of the second sheet of material when the first sheet of material is positioned on the second sheet of material, wherein the male die is movable between the discharge position and a forming position where at least a portion of the male die is disposed in the opening of the female die so as to form an article from the first and second sheets of material.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for passing first web of material and the means for passing the second web of material cooperate to position the first sheet of material concentrically on the second sheet of material.
- 3. A method for forming an article, the method comprising the steps of:(a) providing a first web of sheet material and a second web of sheet material; (b) passing the first web of sheet material a predetermined distance beyond a first cutting assembly; (c) passing the second web of sheet material a predetermined distance beyond a second cutting assembly; (d) cutting the first web of sheet material with the first cutting assembly to provide a first sheet of material having a predetermined length; (e) cutting the second web of sheet material with the second cutting assembly to provide a second sheet of material having a predetermined length; (f) positioning the first sheet of material on the second sheet of material; (g) passing the first sheet of material and the second sheet of material between a female die and a male die, the female die having an opening intersecting one end thereof, the male die shaped such that at least a portion of the male die is receivable in the opening of the female die; and (h) positioning the male die and the female die in a forming position wherein at least a portion of the male die is inserted into the opening of the female die so as to form the article from the first and second sheets of material, wherein the first sheet of material has an outer peripheral edge and the second sheet of material has an outer peripheral edge, wherein the area encompassed by the outer peripheral edge of the first sheet of material is greater than the area encompassed by the outer peripheral edge of the second sheet of material, and wherein the first sheet of material is concentrically positioned on the second sheet of material such that the first sheet of material extends outwardly from the outer peripheral edge of the second sheet of material.
- 4. An apparatus for forming an article, the apparatus comprising:a female die having an opening intersecting one end thereof; a male die shaped such that at least a portion of the male die is receivable in the opening of the female die; a first cutting member; a second cutting member; means for passing a portion of a first web of sheet material a predetermined distance beyond the first cutting member to provide a first sheet of material with a predetermined length upon the first web of material being cut by the first cutting member; means for passing a portion of a second web of sheet material a predetermined distance beyond the second cutting member to provide a second sheet of material with a predetermined length upon the second web of material being cut by the second cutting member; and a conveyor for passing the first sheet of material and the second sheet of material between the male die and the female die with the male and female dies in an article discharge position wherein the male die is removed from the opening of the female die, wherein the conveyor comprises: a first conveyor assembly having a sheet receiving portion positioned downstream the first and second cutting members and a sheet discharge portion positioned adjacent the female die; and a second conveyor assembly having a sheet receiving portion positioned proximate the first and second cutting members and a sheet discharge portion positioned adjacent the female die, the second conveyor assembly being positionable relative to the first conveyor assembly such that the first and second conveyor assemblies cooperatively grip at least a portion of the first and second sheets of material to transport the first and second sheets of material between the male die and the female die, the sheet discharge portion of the second conveyor assembly being movable between a sheet engaging position wherein the sheet discharge portion of the second conveyor assembly is in a sheet gripping relationship with the sheet discharge portion of the first conveyor assembly while the sheet receiving portion of the first conveyor assembly is in a sheet gripping relationship with the sheet receiving portion of the second conveyor assembly, and a sheet release position wherein at least a portion of the sheet discharge portion of the second conveyor assembly is moved away from the sheet discharge portion of the first conveyor assembly into a nongripping relationship with the sheet discharge portion of the first conveyor assembly while the sheet receiving portion of the first conveyor assembly and the sheet receiving portion of the second conveyor assembly remain in the sheet gripping relation, wherein the male die is movable between the discharge position and a forming position where at least a portion of the male die is disposed in the opening of the female die so as to form an article from the first and second sheets of material.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising:means for holding the formed article against the male die as the male die is moved from the forming position to the discharge position; and stacking means for removing the formed article from the male die when the male die is in the discharge position and for forming a stack of formed articles.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the stacking means comprises:a transfer cup having an article receiving space sized and shaped to receive at least a portion of the male die with the formed article disposed thereon, the transfer cup movable between an article receiving position wherein the transfer cup is disposed over the male die such that the formed article is positioned in the article receiving space and an article stacking position; means for holding the formed article in the article receiving space of the transfer cup as the transfer cup is moved from the article receiving position to the article stacking position; a stacking shell sized and shaped to support the formed article from the transfer cup when the transfer cup is in the stacking position; and means for releasing the formed article from the transfer cup when the transfer cup is in the stacking position so as to transfer the formed article from the transfer cup to the stacking shell.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the stacking means further comprises:means for moving the stacking shell from an article receiving position wherein the stacking shell is oriented to receive the formed article from the transfer cup when the transfer cup is in the stacking position and a dumping position wherein the stacking shell is tilted so as to unload the stack of formed articles from the stacking shell after a predetermined number of formed articles have been placed on the stacking shell.
- 8. An apparatus for forming an article, the apparatus comprising:a female die having an opening intersecting one end thereof; a male die shaped such that at least a portion of the male die is receivable in the opening of the female die; a first cutting member; a second cutting member; means for passing a portion of a first web of sheet material a predetermined distance beyond the first cutting member to provide a first sheet of material with a predetermined length upon the first web of material being cut by the first cutting member; means for passing a portion of a second web of sheet material a predetermined distance beyond the second cutting member to provide a second sheet of material with a predetermined length upon the second web of material being cut by the second cutting member; and a conveyor for passing the first sheet of material and the second sheet of material between the male die and the female die with the male and female dies in an article discharge position wherein the male die is removed from the opening of the female die, wherein the conveyor comprises: a first conveyor assembly having a sheet receiving end positioned proximate the first and second cutting members and a sheet discharge end positioned adjacent one side of the female die, the first conveyor assembly adapted to grip at least a portion of the first and second sheets of material; and a second conveyor assembly positioned parallel to the first conveyor assembly a selected distance therefrom and having a sheet receiving end positioned proximate the first and second cutting members and a sheet discharge end positioned adjacent an opposing side of the female die, the second conveyor assembly adapted to grip another portion of the first and second sheets of material such that the first and second conveyor assemblies cooperate to transport first and second sheets of material between the male die and the female die, wherein the sheet discharge ends of the first and second conveyor assemblies are positionable between a sheet engaging position wherein the sheet discharge ends of the first and second conveyor assemblies are in a sheet gripping position while the sheet receiving portions of the first and second conveyor assemblies are in a sheet gripping position, and a sheet release position wherein the sheet discharge portion of the first and second conveyor assemblies is in a nongripping position while the sheet receiving portions of the first and second conveyor assemblies remain in the sheet gripping relation, wherein the male die is movable between the discharge position and a forming position where at least a portion of the male die is disposed in the opening of the female die so as to form an article from the first and second sheets of material.
- 9. An apparatus for forming an article, the apparatus comprising:a female die having an opening intersecting one end thereof; a male die shaped such that at least a portion of the male die is receivable in the opening of the female die; a first cutting member; a second cutting member; means for passing a portion of a first web of sheet material a predetermined distance beyond the first cutting member to provide a first sheet of material with a predetermined length upon the first web of material being cut by the first cutting member; means for passing a portion of a second web of sheet material a predetermined distance beyond the second cutting member to provide a second sheet of material with a predetermined length upon the second web of material being cut by the second cutting member; and a conveyor for passing the first sheet of material and the second sheet of material between the male die and the female die with the male and female dies in an article discharge position wherein the male die is removed from the opening of the female die, the male die movable between the discharge position and a forming position where at least a portion of the male die is disposed in the opening of the female die so as to form an article from the first and second sheets of material; means for holding the formed article against the male die as the male die is moved from the forming position to the discharge position; and stacking means for removing the formed article from the male die when the male die is in the discharge position and for forming a stack of formed articles, wherein the stacking means comprises: a transfer cup having an article receiving space sized and shaped to receive at least a portion of the male die with the formed article disposed thereon, the transfer cup movable between an article receiving position wherein the transfer cup is disposed over the male die such that the formed article is positioned in the article receiving space and an article stacking position; means for holding the formed article in the article receiving space of the transfer cup as the transfer cup is moved from the article receiving position to the article stacking position; a pair of stacking shells, each of the stacking shells sized and shaped to support the formed article from the transfer cup when the transfer cup is in the stacking position; means for releasing the formed article from the transfer cup when the transfer cup is in the stacking position so as to transfer the formed article from the transfer cup to one of the stacking shells positioned to receive the formed article from the transfer cup; and means for selectively positioning the other stacking shell to receive the formed article from the transfer cup after a predetermined number of formed articles have been placed on the stacking shell.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the stacking means further comprises:means for moving each of the stacking shells from an article receiving position wherein the stacking shells are oriented to receive the formed articles from the transfer cup when the transfer cup is in the stacking position and a dumping position wherein the stacking shells are tilted so as to unload the stack of formed articles from the stacking shells after a predetermined number of formed articles have been placed on the stacking shells.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/519,059, now 6,213,926 filed Mar. 3, 2000; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/293,568, filed Apr. 15, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,679; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/009,632, filed Jan. 20, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,646; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/680,348, filed Jul. 17, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,281.
US Referenced Citations (43)
Continuations (4)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/519059 |
Mar 2000 |
US |
Child |
09/815365 |
|
US |
Parent |
09/293568 |
Apr 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/519059 |
|
US |
Parent |
09/009632 |
Jan 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/293568 |
|
US |
Parent |
08/680348 |
Jul 1996 |
US |
Child |
09/009632 |
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US |