Claims
- 1. A filling apparatus for filling foamed particles of a thermoplastic resin into a multi-cavity mold, comprising:
- a weigh hopper adapted to contain a predetermined weight of foamed particles of a thermoplastic resin, said weigh hopper equipped with a weighing means for weighing foamed particles contained within said weigh hopper;
- a foamed particle feeder, operatively connected to said weigh hopper, for feeding said predetermined weight of foamed particles of a thermoplastic resin into said weigh hopper, said foamed particle feeder adapted to control the rate at which foamed particles of the thermoplastic resin are fed to the weigh hopper according to the weight of the foamed particles contained in the weigh hopper;
- a particle feed hopper, operatively connected to said weigh hopper, for receiving and temporarily holding said predetermined weight of the foamed particles which have been weighed in the weigh hopper;
- a plurality of holding hoppers, each holding hopper corresponding to a respective cavity of said multi-cavity mold, for holding said predetermined weight of foamed particles of a thermoplastic resin, each said holding hopper further comprising a pressurizing means for applying gas pressure to particles contained therein;
- transport means, operatively connecting said particle feed hopper and said plurality of holding hoppers, for selectively transferring said predetermined weight of foamed particles of a thermoplastic resin from said particle feed hopper to one of said plurality of holding hoppers; and
- filling machine means for filling a respective cavity of said multi-cavity mold with the foamed particles from the corresponding holding hopper.
- 2. The filling apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the foamed particle feeder is a helical screw feeder.
- 3. The filling apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the weighing means comprises a plurality of load cells joined to the weigh hopper.
- 4. The filling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said transport means includes change-over valves positioned between the particle feed hopper and each said holding hopper.
- 5. The filling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said filling machine means comprises a plurality of filling machines, each filling machine corresponding to a respective cavity of said multi-cavity mold, each filling machine adapted to fill the corresponding mold cavity with the predetermined weight of foamed particles of a thermoplastic resin held in the respective holding hopper for that cavity.
Priority Claims (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2-225533 |
Aug 1990 |
JPX |
|
2-259574 |
Sep 1990 |
JPX |
|
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 07/750,636 filed Aug. 27, 1991.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
750636 |
Aug 1991 |
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