CA2074651A1 - Vacuum press - Google Patents

Vacuum press

Info

Publication number
CA2074651A1
CA2074651A1 CA002074651A CA2074651A CA2074651A1 CA 2074651 A1 CA2074651 A1 CA 2074651A1 CA 002074651 A CA002074651 A CA 002074651A CA 2074651 A CA2074651 A CA 2074651A CA 2074651 A1 CA2074651 A1 CA 2074651A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
board
plates
vacuum
plate
whilst
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA002074651A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Edward H. Lim
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
EMERGENT DESIGNS Pty Ltd
Original Assignee
EMERGENT DESIGNS Pty Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority to AU69943/91A priority Critical patent/AU629727B2/en
Application filed by EMERGENT DESIGNS Pty Ltd filed Critical EMERGENT DESIGNS Pty Ltd
Priority to CA002074651A priority patent/CA2074651A1/en
Publication of CA2074651A1 publication Critical patent/CA2074651A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32BLAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B37/00Methods or apparatus for laminating, e.g. by curing or by ultrasonic bonding
    • B32B37/10Methods or apparatus for laminating, e.g. by curing or by ultrasonic bonding characterised by the pressing technique, e.g. using action of vacuum or fluid pressure
    • B32B37/1018Methods or apparatus for laminating, e.g. by curing or by ultrasonic bonding characterised by the pressing technique, e.g. using action of vacuum or fluid pressure using only vacuum
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29CSHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C43/00Compression moulding, i.e. applying external pressure to flow the moulding material; Apparatus therefor
    • B29C43/32Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B30PRESSES
    • B30BPRESSES IN GENERAL
    • B30B5/00Presses characterised by the use of pressing means other than those mentioned in the preceding groups
    • B30B5/02Presses characterised by the use of pressing means other than those mentioned in the preceding groups wherein the pressing means is in the form of a flexible element, e.g. diaphragm, urged by fluid pressure

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Press Drives And Press Lines (AREA)

Abstract

VACUUM PRESS

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A vacuum press for use in gluing posters, photographs and like materials to flat boards, is disclosed. The vacuum press comprises a flat top plate and a flat bottom plate held in spaced apart relationship by a compressible seal. The compressible seal is dimensioned so as to provide a chamber within the plates.
This chamber is adapted to hold a board, which has at least one flat surface, and an outlet for the chamber is adapted for connection to a means for drawing a vacuum in the chamber. The plates are drawn together in a manner such that one of the plates exerts a pressing action on the at least one flat surface of the board whilst the seal is compressed.

b:HSS/6121-667/abstract/July 21.92/sm W:132

Description

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FIELD OF ~E INVENTION:
The present invention relates to vacuum presses, in particular to new design vacuum presses for use in gluing posters, photographs and like materials to Hat boards.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
Figure la and Figure lb show prior art vacuum presses; Figure la is a conventional bag type press, and Figure lb is a conventional frame type press;
Figure 2 is a sectional view of a vacuum press in keeping with the present invention;
Figure 3 is a plan view o~ a vacuum press of the present invention;
Figures 4a and ~b are progressive sectional views of a vacuum press of the present invention; and Figure 5 is a sectional view of an alternative vacuum press of the present invention.

BACKGROUWD OF THE TNVENTION:
Present designs for vacuum presses are either of the bag type or the frame t~pe. For better understanding, these designs will now be described with reference to Fig. la, which LS a cross-sectional view of the bag type press; and Fig. lb, which is a cross-sectional view of the frame type press.
As shown in Fi~. la, the bag type vacuum press 10 comprises a flexible bag 11, a ribbed mat 14 on a support 13 and a vacuum outlet 15.

Flex~ble bag 11 is sealable to support 13.

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In use, a board 12 to be pressed is placed on mat 14 and bag 11 sealed to support 13. As air is drawn out of the bag through the operation of a pump connected to vacuum outlet 15, the bag is drawn around and presses onto board 12. The forces acting on the board are arrowed.
As is shown in Figure lb, the frame type vacuum press 20 compr~ses a rigid top plate 21 and a flexible bottom 23 overlayed by a ribbed mat 24.
The flexible bottom 23 is sealable to top plate 21 whilst a vacuum outlet 25 is provided in the flexible bottom 23 to facilitate the removal of air held in the spaca between plate 21 and bottom 23.
In use, the board 22 to be pressed is placed between plate 21 and bottom 23. As air is drawn out of the space between plate 21 and bottom ~3 through the operation of a pump connected to outlet 25, the bottom 23 is drawn towards plate 21 thereby pressing the board thereto. The forces acting on the boar~ are arrowed.
Using both press types, a poster, photograph or other laminar material may be readily adhered to the surface of a board by virtue of the even application of pressure either by contact with the bag of the bag type or the rigid plate in the frame type.
Both the bag and frame type vacuum presses are not, however, useful in conjunction with thick boards, as the flexible portions thereof hav0 to wrap around the corners of the board. With thick boards, this involves substantial stretching of the sides. In addition, neither the bag nor the frame type of vacuum press is satisfactory for use with boards that are relatively sof~, such as foamboards. In this case when the flexible portion wraps around the corners of the board, the corners are damaged.

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Finally, the bag type and the frame type of vacuum presses cannot be used to simultaneously adhere laminar materials to both the upper and lower surfaces of a board.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
The present inventor has recognized these deficiencies in the prior art vacuum presses and with the present invention seeks to prov~de a vacuum press in which:
- both sides of the board can be pressed at the same time;
- very thick boards can be accommodated; and - soft boards can be pressed with high pressure without damage thereto.
Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention consists in a vacuum press comprising a flat top plate and a flat bottom plate held in spaced apart relationship by a compressible seal which is dirnensioned so as to provide within said plates a chamber adapted to hold a board having at least one flat surface, and an outlet for said chamber adapted for connection to a means for drawing a vacuum in said chamber whereby said plates are drawn together in a manner such that one of sa~d plates exerts a pressing action on the at least one flat surface of the board whilst said seal is compressed.
In a second aspect, the present invention further consists in a method for adhering a laminar material to a board using the vacuum press of this invention.

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DE S CR I PT I ON OF _THE I NV ENT I ON
In order to better understand the nature of the invention, an embodiment of the invention and its operation will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:
Fig. 2, 4a, 4b and 5 are sectional views; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of a vacuum press (top plate removed) of the invention.
The vacuum press 30 comprises a flat top plate 31, a flat bottom plate 33 and a compressible seal 32 that serves to maintain the plates in spaced apart relationship. Each of the plates 31, 33 are rectangular in shape with the compressible seal 32 being disposed around the periphery of bottom plate 33. The seal may be formed, for example, from rubber.
In proximity to the seal 32 and formed in bottom plate 33 is a nozzle 36 for connection to a vacuum pump. This nozzle provides an outlet to the chamber 37 formed by the plates 31, 33 and seal 32. Whilst one of the plates 31, 33 must be rigid under vacuum, preferably the other plate is able to bow under vacuum. This enables the press to withstand very high vacuums without the necessity of having to construct plates to withstand the forces involved. In this case, flatness of the press will be maintained by the integrity of the stronger plate.
Desirably the bottom plate 33 is formed from steel or other suitable material so as to be as rigid as possible. The top plate 31 rnay then be formed from aluminum or synthetic plastics material so as to permit bowing thereof when under high vacuum. Although not shown in the drawings, the plates 31, 33 are hingedly connected and are provided with a set of gas springs to assist in lifting the top plate 3]. in operation.

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As is shown in Fi~s. 4a and ~b, during operation a board 34 is placed in chamber 37. The board will bear a laminar material and adhesive for fixing the material thereto. In Fig. 4a, the press is shown before vacuum is applied and it w;ll be seen that top plate 31 is spaced apart from board 34.
In Fig. 4b, the press is shown with vacuum drawn through nozzle 36.
The board 34 is held compressed between plates 31 and 33 whilst seal 32 is compressed to the same thickness as the board.
It will be evident that the maximum thickness of board that may be accommodated by the press will be governed by the thickness of seal 32. If it is desired to utilize a board of greater thickness, a spacer disposed around the seal may be used.
In Fig. 5, an embodiment is shown in which a spacer 35 is used to accommodate a board 34 of greater thickness than seal 32. The operation of the press will be the same as previously described.
Whilst in the drawings the board 34 is shown as occupying substantially all of the area of the chamber 37 available, boards having smaller areas may be accommodated. In these circumstances, it may be necessary to position off-cuts oE board in the void area of the chamber around the board to be pressed to minimize bowing of the less rigid plate over the void area.
Whilst this invention has been described with reference to certain and preferred embodiments, the person skilled in this art will read;l y appreciate that numerous variations and modifications may be made to this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

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Claims (14)

1. A vacuum press comprising a flat top plate and a flat bottom plate held in spaced apart relationship by a compressible seal which is dimensioned so as to provide within said plates a chamber adapted to hold a board having at least one flat surface, and an outlet for said chamber adapted for connection to a means for drawing a vacuum in said chamber, whereby said plates are drawn together in a manner such that one of said plates exerts a pressing action on the at least one flat surface of the board whilst said seal is compressed.
2. A vacuum press as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of said plates is rigid whilst the other plate is less rigid such that, when a high vacuum is drawn, the less rigid plate will bow whilst the other plate retains its shape.
3. A vacuum press as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plates exerts a pressing action on two opposing flat surfaces of a board.
4. A vacuum press as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the plates exerts a pressing action on two opposing flat surfaces of a board.
5. A vacuum press as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compressible seal extends around the periphery of one of the plates.
6. A vacuum press as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outlet is positioned in the bottom plate in proximity to the seal.
7. A vacuum press as claimed in claim 1, wherein the top and bottom plates are hingedly connected.
8. A vacuum press as claimed in claim 1, wherein the board is a soft board.
9. A method for adhering a laminar material to a flat surface of a board comprising providing either the laminar material or said surface with an adhesive, placing said laminar material in contact with the board and pressing the laminar material to said board; wherein said vacuum press comprises a flat top plate and a flat bottom plate held in spaced apart relationship by a compressible seal which is dimensioned so as to provide within said plates a chamber adapted to hold a board having at least one flat surface, and an outlet for said chamber adapted for connection to a means for drawing a vacuum in said chamber, whereby said plates are drawn together in a manner such that one of said plates exerts a pressing action on the at least one flat surface of the board whilst said seal is compressed.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein one of said plates is rigid whilst the other plate is less rigid so that, when a high vacuum is drawn, the less rigid plate will bow whilst the other plate retains its shape.
11. A method for adhering two sheets of laminar material respectively to two opposing flat surfaces of a board, comprising providing either the sheets of laminar material or the surfaces of the board with an adhesive, placing a sheet of the laminar material in contact with one of the surfaces of the board and pressing said sheets of laminar material to said board; wherein said vacuum press comprises a flat top plate and a flat bottom plate held in spaced apart relationship by a compressible seal which is dimensioned so as to provide within said plates a chamber adapted to hold a board having at least one flat surface, and an outlet for said chamber adapted for connection to a means for drawing a vacuum in said chamber, whereby said plates are drawn together in a manner such that one of said plates exerts a pressing action on the at least one flat surface of the board whilst said seal is compressed.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein one of said plates is rigid whilst the other plate is less rigid so that, when a high vacuum is drawn, the less rigid plate will bow whilst the other plate retains its shape.
13. The method of claim 9, wherein the board is a soft board.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the board is a soft board.
CA002074651A 1990-01-24 1992-07-24 Vacuum press Abandoned CA2074651A1 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU69943/91A AU629727B2 (en) 1990-01-24 1991-01-24 Vacuum press
CA002074651A CA2074651A1 (en) 1990-01-24 1992-07-24 Vacuum press

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AUPJ831690 1990-01-24
AU69943/91A AU629727B2 (en) 1990-01-24 1991-01-24 Vacuum press
CA002074651A CA2074651A1 (en) 1990-01-24 1992-07-24 Vacuum press

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2074651A1 true CA2074651A1 (en) 1994-01-25

Family

ID=27155825

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002074651A Abandoned CA2074651A1 (en) 1990-01-24 1992-07-24 Vacuum press

Country Status (2)

Country Link
AU (1) AU629727B2 (en)
CA (1) CA2074651A1 (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2481969A (en) * 2010-07-05 2012-01-18 Vestas Wind Sys As Sealing elements for use in fabrication of composite structures

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AU638604B2 (en) * 1990-09-17 1993-07-01 Architectural Custom Moulding Pty. Limited Cornice
US6146578A (en) * 1997-10-09 2000-11-14 Lear Corporation Method for molding headliners
WO2018178874A1 (en) * 2017-03-27 2018-10-04 Sabic Global Technologies B.V. Vacuum-assisted tools for use in pressing stacks of one or more laminae and related methods

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3950210A (en) * 1973-04-10 1976-04-13 Seal Incorporated Vacuum press

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2481969A (en) * 2010-07-05 2012-01-18 Vestas Wind Sys As Sealing elements for use in fabrication of composite structures

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU6994391A (en) 1991-07-25
AU629727B2 (en) 1992-10-08

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
FZDE Discontinued