Distributor device for a filling shoe for compression moulding

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11529680-B2
Application number	US-201716464161-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 21, 2017
Priority date	Nov 25, 2016
Publication date	Dec 20, 2022
Grant date	Dec 20, 2022

Abstract

A distributor device for use in a filling shoe for filling a mould cavity of a powder compression die, the distributor device having an inlet portion connectable to a powder supply; an outlet portion with an outlet opening; and a distributor portion arranged between the inlet portion and the outlet portion. The distributor portion includes one or more guide elements arranged to divide the distributor portion into a plurality of distributor channels. The distributor channels have an input with an input cross-sectional area at an upstream end of the distributor channel and an output with an output cross-sectional area at a downstream end of the distributor channel, wherein the input cross-sectional area differs from the output cross-sectional area for at least one of the distributor channels.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A distributor device for use in a filling shoe for filling a mould cavity of a powder compression die, the distributor device comprising a housing adapted to direct a powder flow from a powder supply to an outlet of the filling shoe for discharge into the mould cavity, the housing comprising:
an inlet portion connectable to the powder supply;
an outlet portion with an outlet opening arranged at the outlet of the filling shoe; and
a distributor portion arranged between the inlet portion and the outlet portion, wherein the distributor portion comprises two or more guide elements arranged to divide the distributor portion into a plurality of distributor channels including at least three side-by-side distributor channels, each distributor channel having an input with an input cross-sectional area at an upstream end of the distributor channel and an output with an output cross-sectional area at a downstream end of the distributor channel, wherein the input cross-sectional area is larger than the output cross-sectional area for at least one of the distributor channels so as to expand a transverse extension of a sub-flow along the direction of powder flow so as to reduce a mass flux of the sub-flow at the outlet portion with respect to a mass flux of said at least one sub-flow at the inlet portion,
wherein the distributor channels are disposed in a cascaded arrangement of consecutive stages, and
wherein the outlet portion comprises separation walls dividing the outlet opening into outlet channels.

2. Distributor device according to claim 1 , wherein the guide elements are arranged to define a first stage with a first number of N distributor channels and a consecutive second stage with a second number of M distributor channels arranged downstream of the first stage,
wherein a first channel of the first number of N distributor channels is defined by at least one first wall surface, a second channel of the first number of N distributor channels is defined by at least one second wall surface, and the first and second wall surfaces are parallel to one another,
wherein a third channel of the second number of M distributor channels is defined by at least one third wall surface, a fourth channel of the second number of M distributor channels is defined by at least one fourth wall surface, and the third and fourth wall surfaces are parallel to one another, and
wherein the first number is different from the second number.

3. Distributor device according to claim 1 , wherein each distributor channel has an input/output ratio defined as the input cross-sectional area divided by the output cross-sectional area, wherein the input/output ratio for at least one of the distributor channels differs from the input/output ratio of one or more of the remaining distributor channels.

4. Distributor device according to claim 1 , further comprising one or more distribution ducts, each distribution duct being adapted to receive powder from a plurality of distributor channels upstream thereof and to distribute the collected powder to a plurality of channels downstream thereof.

5. Distributor device according to claim 4 , wherein at least one distribution duct is arranged between a first stage of the distributor portion and a second stage of the distributor portion.

6. Distributor device according to claim 4 , wherein the distributor channels of the second stage have equal length and/or equal input/output ratio.

7. Distributor device according to claim 4 , wherein at least one distribution duct is arranged between the distributor portion and the outlet portion.

8. Distributor device according to claim 1 , wherein the outlet opening has a width that is equal or larger than the mould cavity to be filled.

9. Distributor device according to claim 1 , wherein a cross-sectional area defined by an outermost periphery of the outlet opening is larger than a cross-sectional area defined by an outermost periphery of the inlet.

Assignees

• Hoeganaes Ab Publ

Inventors

• Imamovic Ermin
• Johansson Björn

Classifications

• B29C2043/5875

  the material feed to the moulds or mould parts, e.g. controlling feed flow, velocity, weight, doses · CPC title

• B22F3/03

  Press-moulding apparatus therefor · CPC title

• B28B13/022

  Feeding several successive layers, optionally of different materials · CPC title

• B30B15/304

  by using feed frames or shoes with relative movement with regard to the mould or moulds · CPC title

• C22C2202/02

  Magnetic · CPC title