EP1222062A1

EP1222062A1 - Moulding machine

Info

Publication number: EP1222062A1
Application number: EP00963789A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Graham Phillip Hawes; Andrew James Jamieson
Original assignee: Global Technologies (Australia) Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Global Technologies (Australia) Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1999-09-16
Filing date: 2000-09-14
Publication date: 2002-07-17
Also published as: KR20020033795A; WO2001019585A1; CN1374901A; TW472002B; EP1222062A4; CA2383062A1; JP2003509235A

Abstract

There is provided a mould device comprising: (a) a frame; (b) a pair of first mould parts located on the frame at spaced first and second moulding stations; (c) a pair of mould part carriers located on the frame and moveable relative to each other and the first and second moulding stations; (d) a pair of second mould parts each mounted on one of the mould part carriers; and (e) an actuator located between the mould carriers to move the second mould parts into and out of registry with the first mould parts.

Description

Moulding Machine

Field of the invention

The present invention is directed to improvements in or relating to machines for moulding articles. The invention is more particularly directed to a moulding machine which is adapted to high speed production of moulded articles.

Background of the invention

Whilst the following discussion is primarily directed to moulding machines which are used to mould plastic articles, it is to be understood that the same principles apply to moulding of other flowable materials such as rubber, aluminium, alloys, ceramics and food materials.

Traditionally, the moulding of plastic material, whether it be injection moulding, blow moulding or by other moulding means, relies upon the use of a mould in which the article is produced. The moulds may be made up of a number of parts depending upon the complexity of the article to be moulded.

Further, conventional moulding machines rely upon two parts of the mould coming together to form the desired mould cavity. These are usually supported in a single machine.

Consequently, there is an inherent limitation upon the rate of production of the articles which is dependent upon the number of individual machines which are in operation.

It is also known from a number of publications that attempts have been made to form mould cavities with moulds mounted on a continuous belt in an effort to increase the rate of production of plastic articles. However, these are complex and limited in their application to a wide range of flowable materials.

Summary of the invention

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a mould device comprising:

(a) a frame;

(b) a pair of first mould parts located on the frame at spaced first and second moulding stations; (c) a pair of mould part carriers located on the frame and moveable relative to each other and the first and second moulding stations;

(d) a pair of second mould parts each mounted on one of the mould part carriers; and (e) an actuator located between the mould carriers to move the second mould parts into and out of registry with the first mould parts.

When a first mould part registers with a corresponding second mould part, either all or part of a mould is formed. This mould has at least one mould cavity to receive moulding material for forming an article. However, it will be understood that the mould may be comprised of more than two parts. Likewise, a mould may comprise a plurality of mould cavities for forming plural articles.

In one embodiment, the mould device may further comprise at least one further mould part which registers with respective first and second mould parts to form at least one moulding cavity in which articles can be formed.

It will be understood that the pair of first mould parts and/or second mould parts need not be identical and that the mould device could therefore be producing different articles from each mould. It will further be understood that one of the mould carriers may carry a blank as one of the second mould parts and that therefore the mould device could be used to produce articles from just one mould.

The mould device may comprise one, two, three, four or any number of pairs of moulds comprised of first and second mould parts as desired. Therefore, the mould device may comprise further pairs of mould parts and mould carriers. Preferably, the mould device will comprise one or two pairs of moulds, that is, the mould device will comprise two or four moulds.

In another embodiment, the mould device further comprises

(f) a pair of further first mould parts located on the frame at spaced third and fourth moulding stations;

(g) a pair of further mould part carriers located on the frame and moveable relative to each other and the third and fourth moulding stations; (h) a pair of further second mould parts each mounted on one of the mould part carriers; and

(i) a further actuator located between the mould carriers to move the second mould parts into and out of registry with the first mould parts. The frame of the mould device is typically rectangular, although other frame shapes are envisaged within the scope of the present invention. For example, where there are two pairs of moulds, or four moulds, the frame may be in the shape of a cross.

Preferably, the first mould parts are fixed relative to the frame of the mould device, and the second mould parts are movable toward and away from the first mould parts.

The actuator may be any suitable mechanical and/or hydraulic means to facilitate movement of the mould carriers relative to one another. For example, movement may be effected by hydraulic and/or mechanical means. Other means by which the mould parts are moved relative to one another are envisaged within the scope of the present invention. For example, the second mould parts may be mechanically coupled to an intermediate cam mechanism, whereby on actuation of the cam mechanism, such as by rotation, the second mould parts are movable toward or away from their respective first mould parts as the case may be. Alternatively, a set of toggles may join the second set of mould parts so that the action of a hydraulic device will cause the toggles to move the second mould parts away from each other and into registry with the first mould parts. The toggles would then lock the mould parts into the registered position while the articles were being formed.

A mould device according to the invention will typically comprise at least one inlet port for introduction of moulding material or other substrate for forming an article. There may be one inlet port for all the moulds in the mould device where only one moulding substrate will be used or there may be more than one inlet port to allow for the use of different moulding materials within the single mould device. Preferably, the mould device is provided with a separate inlet port for each mould so that different moulding material/substrate may be used in each mould.

It will be understood by persons skilled in the art that the mould device can be used in any orientation - for example upright, upside down, on its side or on its end. For example, a mould device may be placed on its end so that a robotic arm will have access to place an object into the mould about which the article is formed. It is important that during the moulding process an effective seal is formed between respective moulds which are brought into registry in the case of a mould comprising first and second mould parts. This sealing can be achieved by any method known to those skilled in the art. Preferably, the sealing is achieved by comprising pressure means to apply pressure to the first mould part and/or the second mould part to maintain the mould parts together. Preferably, the sealing means is a hydraulic bladder or ram or mechanical means.

Following injection or the addition of a substrate for moulding into a mould such as a gas in the case of a blow moulding operation, the articles may be subjected to a period of in- mould cooling prior to being delivered from the mould cavities.

Preferably, the second mould parts are adapted to retain the moulded articles following separation of the second mould part from the first mould part.

The articles may be removed from the moulds from a cooling station within the boundaries of the frame or at a cooling station remote from the frame. The articles may be removed from the mould by any suitable means. For example, manually, by a robotic arm, vacuum or blown off with a stream of air.

One of the mould parts is arranged to also be movable to a station at which the articles are removed from the mould part is spaced from the frame. Typically, when there are two moulds each having opposed pairs of mould parts, one part of each mould is fixed relative to the frame of the mould device, and the other part of each mould is movable away from the first mentioned mould parts; and then to the station spaced from the fixed mould. Following such an operation the mould parts are brought back into registry for a new moulding cycle.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the second mould part is moveable to a cooling station remote from the first mould parts. Typically the mould device could be fitted with a lifting device capable of extension and retraction to facilitate movement of the second mould parts to the station remote from the frame.

Once the mould part reaches the station, the articles could complete their cooling whilst still attached to the mould part or the articles could be delivered to a cooling device located at the cooling stations to receive the formed articles. Depending on the articles being formed, the station may further comprise a cooling device located at the cooling stations to receive the formed articles. In this embodiment, the mould part bearing the formed articles moves to the station and the articles are delivered to the cooling means. The cooling device may be connected to the frame. The cooling device may be removable from the frame. In this arrangement, at least one set of articles can be formed by the moulds whilst at least one other set of articles can be concurrently cooled on the cooling device during a machine cycle.

The cooling device may be in any suitable form. For example, the cooling device could be in the form of a tower with one face or the cooling device could be in the form of a rotatable triangular prism with three faces or a barrel. By using a rotatable multi-faced cooling device the rate of production can be increased where the cooling time is longer than the moulding time. Preferably, the cooling device is adapted to receive more than one batch from the mould.

A significant advantage of this preferred aspect of the invention is that plural sets of articles can be concurrently formed by the moulds and cooled by the cooling means, significantly increasing the output capacity of the machine during a single cycle.

The cooling devices will typically have a number of cavities corresponding to the number of cavities of the mould so as to receive a number of articles equal to the number formed in the mould cavities. The cooling device may comprise a vacuum source to facilitate transfer of articles from the mould to the cooling device cavities. The vacuum source may also facilitate the holding of the articles in the cooling device cavities during cooling.

Preferably, the cooled articles are discharged from the cooling device by vacuum, a mechanical device or by gravity. In one presently preferred embodiment, a cooling device is movable relative to the frame of the mould device between a first position in which the articles are received by the cooling device and a second position where the articles are discharged from the cooling device. The cooling device may be pivotable relative to the frame of the mould device so that the cooling device pivots outwardly relative to the mould device for discharge of the cooled articles.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a continuous moulding machine comprising:

(a) a continuous moulding pathway; and (b) a plurality of mould devices mounted on the moulding pathway, at least one of the mould devices being as described herein.

A continuous moulding machine according to the invention may be an injection moulding machine, a blow moulding machine, or other suitable moulding type.

In another preferred form of the invention, the continuous moulding machine further comprises:

(d) cooling devices for receiving an article from the mould for cooling.

In this arrangement the moulds and the cooling devices are separate so that at least one set of articles can be formed by the moulds whilst at least one other set of articles can be concurrently cooled by the cooling devices during a machine cycle.

The continuous moulding pathway may be manifested in any suitable form. However, particularly preferred forms of this pathway are generally circular or partly circular. The continuous moulding pathway may be a static platform or a movable platform. The static platform may be circular, linear, s-shaped or other format. The moving platform may be a moving circular platform or an elongated pathway formed by a conveyor encircling two or more spaced wheels and forming a generally elliptical pathway.

A conveyor according to the invention is typically an endless conveyor, although it will be appreciated that other conveyor configurations can be utilized in the practice of the present invention.

Where the moulding pathway is provided by a moving platform, the moulding material may be provided at an injection station which the mould devices pass on the moulding pathway.

Where the moulding pathway is a static platform, a single ring main supply or a multiple ring main supply may be used to supply the moulding material. If the mould devices have more than one inlet port, a different supply ring can service each inlet port so that the one mould device can produce different articles.

The present invention provides in another separate embodiment a continuous moulding machine comprising:

(a) a continuous moulding pathway; (b) a plurality of mould devices mounted on the moulding pathway, at least one of the mould devices as described herein;

(c) each mould device having cooling devices associated therewith for cooling an article formed in the mould; and

(d) transfer means for transferring an article from the station to the cooling devices.

The present invention provides in a separate embodiment a continuous injection moulding machine comprising:

(a) a continuous moulding pathway;

(b) a plurality of mould devices mounted on the moulding pathway, at least one of the mould devices as described herein;

(c) an injection station located along the moulding pathway having at least one injection nozzle for injecting a predetermined quantity of moulding material into each mould as the moulds pass the injection station during a moulding cycle, the injection nozzle being releasably engagable with one of the moulds and stationary in the moulding pathway direction relative to that mould when engaging, disengaging and when engaged in that mould; and

(d) a controller for drawing the predetermined quantity of moulding material from a bulk supply of moulding material and supplying that quantity to the nozzle.

The controller will typically comprise a computer and associated sensing and/or monitoring equipment.

A continuous injection moulding machine according to this embodiment will typically comprise a cooling device at a cooling station as described herein associated with each mould device.

One significant advantage of the injection station is the lack of relative movement of the nozzle with the mould when engaging, disengaging and whilst engaged which means that alignment is achieved in a linear direction. Typically, this may be achieved by having a number of injection stations disposed about the periphery of a rotary device (eg a wheel). Alternatively, whilst the nozzles may be arranged about the periphery of the radial device, each nozzle is connected to a radial arm which also connects to a hub device. That hub device is in turn connected to a pressure feed system such as a single injection cylinder. In this arrangement each nozzle has a valve, the opening and closing of which is controlled by the controller. Consequently, in this arrangement individual injection cylinders associated with each of the nozzles is avoided and a relatively simple array of valves can be used to deliver moulding material to the moulds.

Preferably, a moulding machine according to the present invention further comprises a detector to detect failure of clearing of the moulded article from the mould so that corrective action may be taken to maintain the efficiency of operation of the machine.

With this arrangement, it is possible to overcome the traditional difficulty of registry of portions of the mould when mould portions are mounted on contra rotating conveyors. By locating the mould in the device, which is in turn mounted on the moulding pathway, the registry and conveying function associated with moulds which have multi parts is separated.

An added benefit of the invention is its potential to be designed so as to have a relatively compact size. For example, such machine may take up only marginally more factory space than a conventional moulding machine but deliver significant production improvements.

The present invention provides in a separate embodiment a method for producing moulded articles in a production cycle having a continuous moulding pathway, a plurality of mould devices mounted on the pathway, at least one of the mould devices as described herein, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) forming the mould;

(b) introducing moulding material into a mould for forming an article;

(c) forming the article in the mould in a moulding position; and

(d) separating the mould and recovering the article.

This method of the invention, in a preferred form, comprises the additional step of:

(e) delivering the article formed by the mould from the moulding position to a cooling position for cooling the article; the arrangement being such that moulding and cooling of separate articles can occur concurrently during a production cycle.

The method may further comprise a control step to control a parameter of the production cycle. A parameter of the production cycle may comprise control over the metering of moulding material to the mould, the rate of cooling of articles in the cooling position, and the speed and/or timing of a production cycle and of the steps in the cycle.

Brief description of preferred embodiment

The invention will now be further explained and illustrated by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mould device according to one embodiment of the invention with the mould parts registering in the moulding position;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the mould device of Figure 1 with the mould parts disengaged;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the mould device of Figure 1 with the second mould parts at a cooling station remote from the first mould parts;

Figure 4 is a perspective of the mould device of Figure 1 showing the articles being transferred from the second mould parts to a cooling device;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the mould device of Figure 1 showing the cooling device in the article discharge position;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of part of a mould device according to a second embodiment;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the mould device of Figure 6 showing the mould parts registering together

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the mould device of Figure 6 showing the cooling devices;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a mould device according to a third embodiment of the invention; Figure 10 is a perspective view of a mould device according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

Figure 11 is a perspective view of a continuous moulding machine according to one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a continuous moulding machine according to a second embodiment of the invention;

Figure 13 is a schematic of a typical machine cycle according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 14 is a side view of an alternative radial injection device; and

Figure 15 is an end view of the radial injection device of Figure 14.

Figure 1 shows a mould device (20) comprising a frame (21) which is rectangular, a pair of first mould parts (22, 23) at first and second moulding stations (24, 25), a pair of mould part carriers (26, 27), a pair of second mould parts (28, 29) mounted on the mould part carriers (26, 27) and an actuator (30). Mould device (20) also has a pair of cooling devices (31, 32).

Mould part carriers (26, 27) move relative to each other and the first and second moulding stations (24, 25) to bring second mould parts (28, 29) into and out of registry with first mould parts (21, 22). The actuator (30) is located between the mould part carriers (26, 27) and is connected to the second mould parts (28, 29) to move the second mould parts (28, 29) into and out of registry with the first mould parts (21 , 22).

When the first mould parts (21, 22) and second mould parts (28, 29) are in registry they form a plurality of mould cavities to facilitate formation of a corresponding plurality of articles following receipt of moulding material through the injection ports (33, 34).

As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the second mould parts (28, 29) are movable relative to one another between a moulding position shown in Figure 1 and a disengaged position shown in Figure 2 where the mould parts are out of registry by retraction of second mould parts (28, 29). Second mould parts (28, 29) are adapted to retain the moulded articles following separation of the second mould parts (28, 29) from the first mould parts (21, 22). The actuator (30) is in the form of a cam mechanism mechanically coupled to the mould parts (28, 29) to move the second mould parts (28, 29) into registry with the first mould parts (21, 22) and holds them there during formation of the articles as shown in Figure 1.

Cooling devices (31, 32) are located at a cooling station remote from first mould parts (21, 22) and have a plurality of cavities to receive the formed articles as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. Second mould parts (28, 29) are moved to the cooling station remote from the first mould parts (21, 22) by transfer means (not shown). The transfer means comprises a pair of hydraulically activated axially movable pistons connected to the base of second mould parts (28, 29).

Once the second mould parts (28, 29) have reached the cooling stations remote from first mould parts (21, 22), the actuator (30) moves the second mould parts (28, 29) into registry with cooling devices (31, 32) so that the formed articles are received into the cavities of the cooling devices (31, 32) as shown in Figure 5. A vacuum source (not shown) is connected to cooling devices (31, 32)) to assist in withdrawing the formed articles from the second mould parts (28, 29) and to hold the formed articles in corresponding cavities of the cooling devices (31, 32) so that a moulding cycle can be repeated by withdrawing second mould parts (28, 29) from their respective cooling stations and returning them to the moulding position shown in Figure 1 to receive fresh moulding material for forming another batch of articles while cooling of other articles is taking place in cooling stations (31, 32).

By virtue of, amongst other things, pivot connections (36, 37), the cooling devices (31, 32) are movable outwardly relative to the frame (21) to enable discharge of the cooled articles from the cooling stations (31, 32). The cooled articles may be discharged to a receiving station such as a hopper (not shown).

In Figure 6, mould device (40) comprises opposed moulds consisting of first mould parts (41, 42) and second mould parts (43, 44). First mould parts (41, 42) typically have 52 mould cavities to form 52 articles. Second mould parts (43, 44) are mounted on mould part carriers (45, 46) and are movable relative to one another via toggles (47), hydraulic ram (48) and locking toggle (49). Hydraulic bladder (50) provides pressure to seal the first mould parts (41, 42) and second mould parts (43, 44) together when registering together as a mould to form articles. Figure 7 shows the first mould parts (41, 42) registering with the second mould parts (43, 44) due to the action of toggles (47) and locking toggle (49) in its locking position. Figure 8 shows the locking toggle (49) starting to unlock so that second mould parts (43, 44) can move towards each other to disengage from first mould parts (41, 42), in preparation to move the formed articles to the cooling stations to deliver them to the cooling devices (51 , 52). Second mould parts (43, 44) are raised to the third position, that is, the level of the cooling devices (51 , 52) via a hydraulic press (not shown).

Figure 9 shows a mould device (100) comprising one pair of first mould parts (101, 102) and a further pair of first mould parts (103, 104), one pair of second mould parts (105, 106) and a further pair of second mould parts (107, 108) and actuator (109). Mould device (100) further comprises cooling devices (110, 111, 112, 113). Frame (114) holds the mould parts in a cross-shaped configuration so that there are two pairs of opposed moulds, that is, four moulds. Actuator (109) is suitable hydraulic or mechanical means, for example there may be a cam in the center which operates the toggles. Figure 10 shows a mould device (150) comprising a frame (151), first mould parts (152, 153), second mould parts (154, 155) and actuator (156). Mould device (150) further comprises cooling devices (157, 158). Cooling devices (157, 158) are triangular prisms with three faces available to receive formed articles from second mould parts (154, 155).

Figure 11 shows a continuous moulding machine (200) comprising mould devices (201) on wheel structure (202) which is a static platform. The mould devices (201) have two inlet ports (203, 204). Inner inlet ports (203) can be connected to the same single ring main supply (not shown) as outer inlet ports (204) or inner inlet ports (203) can have a separate single ring main supply (not shown). Each single ring main supply is connected to a hopper (not shown) containing the moulding material (not shown). Figure 12 shows a continuous moulding machine (220) comprising continuous moulding pathway in the form of an endless conveyor (221), and a plurality of mould devices (222) mounted on the conveyor (221). Endless conveyor (221) is driven by drive means (223) in the form of a drive wheel. Other conveyor drive means are envisaged within the scope of the present invention. A pair of rotary injection stations (224, 225) are disposed on either side of the moulding pathway (221) to provide a source of moulding material to the moulds of mould devices (222).

The rotary injection stations (224, 225) comprise a wheel having a plurality of circumferentially-disposed injectors (226) providing moulding material from a bulk feed supply (not shown) to the injectors (226) for supply of moulding material through inlet ports (227) of mould devices (222) as they pass the injection stations (224, 225).

Machine (220) may be supported in any suitable manner such as via support (228). Similarly rotor injection stations (224, 225) may be supported by a support (229) arranged to facilitate mounting of the injection stations (224, 225) for rotation. Other support arrangements are envisaged within the scope of the present invention.

As the formed articles are cooled, mould devices (222) gradually become inverted as they travel along moulding pathway (221). By virtue of amongst other things the pivot connections (230) of cooling devices (231), the cooling devices (231) are movable outwardly relative to the moulding pathway (221) to enable discharge of the cooled articles. The cooled articles may be discharged to a receiving station such as a hopper (not shown).

The injectors (226) have nozzles which are releasably engagable with moulds (21,22) and are stationary in the moulding pathway direction relative to that mould when engaging, disengaging and when engaged in that mould. As indicated earlier, one significant advantage of the injection station is the lack of relative movement of the nozzle with the mould when engaging, disengaging and whilst engaged which means that alignment is achieved in a linear direction.

Following injection and a short period of in-mould cooling as the mould devices (222) move along moulding pathway (221), the actuators (not shown) are actuated to open the moulds. Once the moulds are open they are lifted by transfer means (not shown) to transfer the formed articles to the cooling devices (231) and are aligned with the cavities of the cooling devices (231) mounted above the moulding position.

The actuators engage the second mould parts with the cooling devices (231) to effect transfer of the formed articles to the cooling devices (231). A vacuum is applied to the cooling devices (231) to transfer and support the formed articles which are still relatively soft. The formed articles continue along the moulding pathway (221) held in the cooling devices (231) before discharge from the mould device (222) by inversion. Whilst this is occurring, the second mould parts have returned to the moulding position ready for the next moulding cycle.

The cooling stations (231) rotate or tilt outwardly and are eventually inverted to eject the finished articles to a receiving station such as a hopper or packing system (not shown). During this phase of the cycle, the vacuum holding the cooled articles is progressively turned off and a positive ejector is applied to release the articles from the cooling devices (231). The cooling devices are tilted out to direct the cooled articles down before ejection into the packing delivery system.

Figure 13 illustrates a typical machine cycle in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. It will be seen from Figure 13 that the cycle involves injection of moulding material into moulds for forming at least one set of articles in the injection zone and the concurrent cooling of at least one separate set of formed articles during the cycle. Hence in one cycle, moulding material is injected into plural closed moulds as the moulds pass the injection zone 240.

As the moulds pass along the moulding pathway (241) they experience a period of in- mould cooling in zone 242, following which the mould parts are disengaged at zone 243 and the second mould parts (also referred to in Figure 13 as a core block) are raised to deliver formed articles to a cooling station at zone 244. A vacuum is applied to the second mould parts and articles are transferred to the cooling devices in zone 245.

The now empty second mould parts disengage from the cooling devices in zone 246 and are lowered back to the moulding position in zone 247. The moulds are closed in zone 248 and are now ready for injection of further moulding material. Concurrently, the articles cooling in the cooling devices in zone 249 pass along moulding pathway 241 and are gradually ejected from the cooling devices in ejection zone 250. Further moulding material is injected into the moulds in injection zone 240 and the cycle is repeated.

In Figures 14 and 15, an alternative injection station is schematically shown, which comprises a wheel (270) having a central injector cylinder (271) providing moulding material from a bulk feed supply (272) to the nozzles (273) for supply of moulding material through the inlet ports of mould devices passing the injection station.

The nozzles (273) are arranged about the periphery of the radial device, each nozzle is connected to a radial arm (274) which is also connected at its other end to a hub device (275. That hub device (275) is in turn connected to the central injector cylinder (271).

In this arrangement each nozzle (273) has a valve, the opening and closing of which is controlled by the controller (not shown). Consequently, in this arrangement individual injection cylinders associated with each nozzle is avoided and a relatively simple array of valves can be used to deliver moulding material to the moulds from central injector cylinder (271) via hub device (275), arms (274) and nozzles (273). However the advantage of the lack of relative movement between the nozzle and the mould is still achieved.

The word 'comprising' and forms of the word 'comprising' as used in this description and in the claims does not limit the invention claimed to exclude any variants or additions.

Modifications and improvements to the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such modifications and improvements are intended to be within the scope of this invention.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A mould device comprising:

(a) a frame;

(b) a pair of first mould parts located on the frame at spaced first and second moulding stations;

(c) a pair of mould part carriers located on the frame and moveable relative to each other and the first and second moulding stations;

2. A mould device according to claim 1 wherein each of the respective first and second mould parts when registered together define at least one moulding cavity in which articles can be formed.

3. A mould device according to claim 1 further comprising at least one further mould part which registers with respective first and second mould parts to form at least one moulding cavity in which articles can be formed.

4. A mould device according to claim 1 further comprising further pairs of mould parts and mould carriers.

5. A mould device according to claim 1 further comprising:

(i) a further actuator located between the mould carriers to move the second mould parts into and out of registry with the first mould parts.

6. A mould device according to claim 1 wherein the actuator is mechanical and/or hydraulic.

7. A mould device according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the mould carriers additionally comprises a pressure device to apply pressure to the first and second mould parts after registration thereof.

8. A mould device according to claim 7 wherein the pressure device is a hydraulic bladder or ram or mechanical means.

9. A mould device according to claim 1 wherein the first and/or second mould parts have at least one inlet port through which moulding material passes into the at least one cavity.

10. A mould device according to claim 1 wherein the first mould parts are fixed relative to the frame.

11. A mould device according to claim 1 wherein the second mould parts are adapted to retain the moulded articles following separation of the second mould part from the first mould part.

12. A mould device according to claim 1 wherein the second mould part is moveable to a cooling station remote from the first mould parts.

13. A mould device according to claim 11 wherein a cooling device is located at the cooling stations to receive the formed articles.

14. A mould device according to claim 12 wherein the cooling device is connected to the frame.

15. A mould device according to claim 12 wherein the cooling device is removable from the frame.

16. A mould device according to claim 12 wherein the cooling device is adapted to receive more than one batch from the second mould part.

17. A mould device according to claim 12 wherein the cooling device is movable relative to the frame between a first position in which the articles are received by the cooling device and a second position where the articles are discharged from the cooling device.

18. A continuous moulding machine comprising:

(a) a continuous moulding pathway; and

(b) a plurality of mould devices mounted on the moulding pathway, at least one of the mould devices being according to claim 1.

19. A continuous moulding machine according to claim 18 further comprising:

(c) cooling device for receiving articles from each mould for cooling.

20. A continuous moulding machine according to claim 18 wherein the at least one mould device according to claim 1 is mounted in one of the following positions: upright, upside-down, on its end or on its side.

21. A continuous moulding machine comprising:

(a) a continuous moulding pathway;

(b) a plurality of mould devices mounted on the moulding pathway, at least one of the mould devices being according to claim 1;

(c) each mould device having a cooling device associated therewith for cooling an article formed in the mould device; and

(d) transfer device for transferring an article to the cooling device.

22. A continuous moulding machine according to claim 18 wherein the continuous moulding pathway is a static platform upon which a plurality of mould devices are mounted.

23. A continuous moulding machine according to claim 18 wherein the continuous moulding pathway is circular, linear, or s-shaped format.

24. A continuous moulding machine according to claim 18 wherein the continuous moulding pathway is a movable platform upon which a plurality of mould devices are mounted.

25. A continuous moulding machine according to claim 18 wherein the continuous moulding pathway is a moving circular platform or an elongated pathway formed by a conveyor encircling two or more spaced wheels and forming a generally elliptical pathway.

26. A continuous moulding machine according to either claim 18 or 22 further comprising a moulding material supply being a single ring main supply or a multiple ring main supply.

27. A continuous injection moulding machine comprising: (a) a continuous moulding pathway;

(c) an injection station located along the moulding pathway having at least one injection nozzle for injecting a predetermined quantity of moulding material through an injection port into each registered mould as the moulds pass the injection station during a moulding cycle, the injection nozzle being releasably engagable with one of the moulds and stationary in the moulding pathway direction relative to that mould when engaging, disengaging and when engaged in that mould; and

28. A continuous moulding machine according to claim 18 further comprising a detector to detect failure of clearing of the moulded article from the mould.

29. A method for producing moulded articles in a production cycle having a continuous moulding pathway, a plurality of mould devices mounted on the pathway, at least one of the mould devices according to claim 1, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) forming the mould;

(b) introducing moulding material into a mould for forming an article;

(c) forming the article in the mould in a moulding position; and

(d) separating the mould and recovering the article.

30. The method according to claim 29 comprising the additional step of:

31. The method according to either of claims 29 comprising the additional step of a control step to control a parameter of the production cycle.

32. The method according to claim 31 wherein the parameter of the production cycle is selected from the group comprising control over the metering of moulding material to the mould, the rate of cooling of articles in the cooling position, and the speed and/or timing of a production cycle and of the steps in the cycle.