EP3230525A1

EP3230525A1 - An apparatus for forming moulded fibre urinal bottles

Info

Publication number: EP3230525A1
Application number: EP15816831.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jalaluddin KHAN
Original assignee: Khan, Jalaluddin
Current assignee: PULP TECH CO., LIMITED
Priority date: 2014-12-08
Filing date: 2015-12-08
Publication date: 2017-10-18
Also published as: GB2540090A; CA3007766C; GB201618211D0; GB2540090B; GB201421798D0; WO2016092296A1; CN107548422B; AU2015359137A1; CA3007766A1; CN107548422A; AU2015359137B2

Abstract

A pulp moulding apparatus comprises first and second mould tools (28, 30). The mould tools are movable between a closed configuration in which the first and second mould cavities combine to form a moulded pulp item and a release configuration in which the first and second mould tools are separated to enable release of the moulded pulp item. A vacuum source is connected to the first mould tool. The first and second mould tools (18, 30) include a fluid connection arrangement (54, 60) that fluidly connects the first and second mould tools when they are in the closed configuration such that the vacuum applied to the first mould tool is simultaneously applied to the second mould tool.

Description

AN APPARATUS FOR FORMING MOULDED FIBRE URINAL BOTTLES

The present invention relates to an apparatus for forming moulded fibre urinal bottles, and to urinal bottles formed using said apparatus.

Single use urinal bottles formed from moulded paper pulp are a standard means for assisting incontinent and bed ridden patients with their urination needs in the UK. The pulp urinal bottles are administered to patients for use while in bed. Following use the pulp material allows the urinal bottles to be disposed of in a macerator. Single use urinal bottles are known to reduce the incidence of healthcare associated infections (HCAI).

Figure 1 shows a typical pulp urinal bottle of the prior art. The urinal bottle 1 includes a hollow body 2 having a neck 4 extending to a circular opening 6. The bottle 1 includes a flat base 8 which supports the urinal bottle 1 when placed on a surface. The neck 4 is angled upwardly away from the base 8 to orient the opening 6 at a suitable location for use in bed while the base is supported on the surface of the bed. To ensure the urinal bottle 1 is water tight it is moulded as single piece item.

Large volumes of single use urinal bottle used in the UK each year which necessitates a high volume method of manufacture that is able to rapidly produce large numbers of bottles. The requirement for a low unit price also means that the production costs for urinal bottles must be minimised. Moulding single piece hollow containers such as a urinal bottle from paper pulp presents significant problems to a manufacturer. The mould tools must be formed in a manner that allows the bottle to be removed from the mould once formed. The mould tools must also be capable of removing a significant portion of the liquid from the wet pulp. A standard pulp bottle mould comprises a split mould including a pair of independent mould tools, and liquid extraction and forming of the pulp is achieved by independently supplying a vacuum to both mould tools. However, independently supplying a vacuum to two mould tools that are relatively movable adds an undesirable level of complexity to a moulding machine. The need to properly drain the mould tools adds further undesirable complexity and cost. In addition, the extraction means must be capable for removing the bottle safely from the mould and depositing it on a drying conveyor without damage, in a process efficient manner.

It is therefore desirable to provide an improved pulp moulding apparatus for moulding urinal bottles and the like which addresses the above described problems and/or which offers improvements generally.

According to the present invention there is provided a pulp moulding apparatus as described in the accompanying claims.

In an embodiment of the invention there is provided a pulp moulding apparatus comprising first and second mould tools. The mould tools are movable between a closed configuration in which the first and second mould cavities combine to form a moulded pulp item and a release configuration in which the first and second mould tools are separated to enable release of the moulded pulp item. A vacuum source is connected to the first mould tool. The first and second mould tools include a fluid connection arrangement that fluidly connects the first and second mould tools when they are in the closed configuration such that the vacuum applied to the first mould tool is

simultaneously applied to the second mould tool. In the arrangements of the prior art separate vacuum sources are connected to both mould tools. By providing a fluid connection between the mould tools only a single vacuum source is required with the single vacuum source being used to supply a vacuum directly to the first mould tool and to the second mould tool via the fluid connection which is made when the mould tools are closed.

The first mould tool preferably includes a mould surface having a porous first mould cavity formed therein for moulding a first portion of a moulded pulp item and the second mould tool includes a mould surface having a porous second mould cavity formed therein for moulding a second portion of the moulded pulp item. Each of the mould cavities includes an inner mould surface to which the pulp is formed and an opposing rear surface. The vacuum source is connected to the first mould tool such that it applies a vacuum to the rear surface of the first mould cavity, and the fluid connector arrangement is configured to fluidly connect the first and second mould tools such that the vacuum applied to the rear surface of the first mould tool is simultaneously applied to the rear surface of the second mould cavity via the fluid connector. The term 'vacuum chamber' refers to any void, space or channel located behind the mould surface via which a vacuum may be applied to the rear surface of the mould cavity. The vacuum chamber is also a drainage chamber as liquid drawn from the mould surface by the vacuum is drawn into the vacuum chamber. The vacuum chamber may be a single continuous volume or a plurality of separate channels or voids.

The first and second mould tools preferably each include a vacuum cavity located on the rear side of the mould surface, and the fluid connection arrangement fluidly connects the vacuum chambers. The first and second mould tools may each include a mould tool body, and the fluid connection arrangement includes first and second channels formed in the mould tool bodies of the first and second mould tools respectively, and a connector arranged to connect the first and second channels in a sealed manner when the mould tools are closed.

The fluid connector may comprise a female connector element provided on one of the first and second mould tools and a male connector element provided on the other of the first and second mould tools, configured to be receive in the female connector element in a sealed manner to connect the first and second fluid channels.

The mould surfaces of the first and second mould tools preferably face each other in the closed position and the female connector element extends into the mould surface of one of the first and second mould tools and the male connector element projects from the mould surface of the other of the first and second mould tools, the connector elements being arranged such that the male connector element is received in the female connector element when the mould tools are closed. The mould tools are preferably arranged such that in use the first mould tool is the lower mould tool and the second mould tool is the upper mould. The first and second mould tools preferably include one or more drainage channels formed therein which align when the mould tools are closed to allow liquid to drain from the upper vacuum chamber to the lower vacuum chamber.

The rear side of the upper mould surface preferably includes raised regions arranged to channel liquid towards the fluid connector. The raised regions may located at the rear end of the mould surface. Alternatively or in addition the raised regions may be provided on the opposing sides of the mould cavities to the fluid connector.

The raised regions are configured such that substantially all of the rear side of the mould surface is angled downwardly to the fluid connector.

One or more drainage channels are preferably formed through the upper and lower mould tools to channel liquid from the upper vacuum chamber into the lower vacuum chamber.

Preferably the mould, comprising the upper and lower mould tools, is angles to the horizontal at an angle of between 15 and 35 degrees to the horizontal. The angle of the drainage channels is such that they are oriented substantially vertically when the mould tools are mounted at the selected angle. The moulding apparatus preferably includes upper and lower mould platens including cavities arranged to receive the upper and lower mould tools respectively. The cavities of the mould platens are configured to support the mould tools at the selected forward angle. Specifically the mould platens include angled support surfaces configured to receive and support the base plates of the mould tools, the support surfaces being angled at the selected angle. Alternatively, the pulp moulding apparatus may comprises a rotational actuator arranged to rotate the mould tools when in the closed position to the selected angle. The mould tools are preferably configured to form a urinal bottle having a body and a neck extending from the body to an opening. The location of the bottle opening defines the front of the mould, and the fluid connector is located at the front end of the mould tools.

In another aspect of the invention a pulp moulding apparatus for moulding a urinal bottle has a main body and a neck extending from a front end of the main body to an opening. The apparatus comprises upper and lower mould tools movable between a closed configuration in which the first and second mould cavities combine to form a moulded pulp item and a release configuration in which the first and second mould tools are separated to enable release of the moulded pulp item. The lower mould tool includes a base plate and a mould cavity including a base section configured to form the base of the bottle and a rear wall section configured to form a rear wall portion of the bottle. The rear wall section is angled upwardly from the base section in a rearward direction at an angle of less than 90 degrees from the horizontal as defined by the plane of the base plate. Preferably the rear wall is angled upwardly from the base at an angle of 26 degrees. The angle of the rear wall section of the lower mould tool relative to the vertical as defined relative to the horizontal plane of the base plate is greater than the selected angle. The rear wall section of the lower mould tool is configured such that it is angled at 26 degrees to the base plate of the mould tool.

The rear wall section of the lower mould tool is preferably configured such that it is angled rearwardly at 3 degrees to the vertical when the mould tool is supported in the mould platen at the 23 degrees forward angle, with the 3 degrees rearward angle forming a 3 degree positive draft allowing vertical removal of the bottle from the tool.

The selected angle is preferably between 18 and 25 degrees. This is the angle at which the toolset sits on the base plate in degrees from horizontal. More preferably, the selected angle is 23 degrees. The selected forward angle allows excess pulp slurry to drain gravitationally from the bottle without overloading the vacuum system and the de- watering cycle of the formation of the pulp bottle. The range of angle effects the efficiency of the system. If the selected angle is too steep then the bottle may form too thinly or require a longer time in the pulp slurry to form completely as the flows out of the bottle under the action of gravity. Conversely if the angle is too shallow then the bottle may retain excess pulp slurry, which may cause softening of the lower neck of the bottle. Furthermore the bottom neck may deform when it is deposited on dryer conveyor.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a pulp moulding apparatus for moulding a urinal bottle having a main body and a neck extending from a front end of the main body to an opening, the apparatus comprising upper and lower mould tools movable between a closed configuration in which the first and second mould cavities combine to form a moulded pulp item and a release configuration in which the first and second mould tools are separated to enable release of the moulded pulp item. An elongate lifting element is arranged to be inserted into the neck of the bottle, wherein the lifting element has an upper surface shaped to conform to the shape of the inner surface of the upper part of the bottle.

The neck is preferably angled upwardly away from the upper edge of the main body of the bottle, and the lifting element includes a proximal body section having an upper edge shaped to support the upper inner surface of the neck, and a distal tip section that is angled upwardly away from the main body section at the same angle at which the neck of the bottle extends from the main body, such that the tip engages and supports a portion of the roof of the main body of the bottle while the main body section of the lifting element engages and supports the roof of the neck.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a moulded pulp bottle having a main body and a neck extending from the main body to an opening, the method comprising:

submerging a two-part mould tool in a volume of pulp slurry; applying a vacuum to the mould tool while submerged in the slurry to draw pulp material against the mould surface;

removing the mould tool from the slurry;

applying a vacuum to the mould tool to remove water from the pulp material during a dewatering stage;

wherein the opening of the bottle defines the forward end of the mould tool and the mould tool is arranged such that the forward end is downwardly angled. The mould includes upper and lower mould tools, each having base plates that are arranged parallel to each other. The moulding apparatus preferably includes upper and lower mould platens including cavities arranged to receive the upper and lower mould tools respectively. The cavities of the mould platens are angled to support the base plates of the mould tools at the selected forward angle.

The mould is inserted into and removed from the vat vertically while angled forwardly at the selected angle. The upper and lower mould tools and are separated vertically while in the forwardly angled orientation with the upper tool being lifted away from the lower tool.

The mould is preferably maintained in the forwardly angled arrangement for at least part of the dewatering stage.

The bottle preferably comprises a base defining a horizontal plane of the bottle and the longitudinal axis of the neck is angled upwardly relative to the base. The downwardly angled position at which the mould tool is mounted is selected such that in said position the longitudinal axis of the neck of the bottle is substantially horizontal.

The mould tool preferably comprises an upper mould tool and a lower mould tool and the method further comprises separating the mould tools after the dewatering phase and then vertically removing the bottle from the lower mould tool while the lower mould tool is maintained in the forwardly angled position.

An elongate lifting element or 'finger' is preferably inserted into the opening of the bottle and then moved vertically to lift the bottle out of the lower mould tool.

The lifting element is preferably inserted into the opening of the bottle before the mould tools are separated. The bottle is preferably moved to a conveyor by the lifting element, and the lifting element is rotated downwardly to cause the bottle to slide off the lifting element onto the conveyor.

To transfer the bottle to the conveyor the lifting element is rotated downwardly an angle substantially equal to the selected forward angle of the mould tool such that the base of the bottle is substantially parallel with the conveyor. In order to transfer the moulded bottle to the conveyor for drying the lifting finger or spike rotates the bottle through 23 degrees to bring the base of the bottle horizontal to the conveyor. In this position the spike can retract out of the bottle to allow the bottle then to travel on the conveyor through the dryer.

Movement of the conveyor is stopped while the bottle is deposited onto the conveyor. The bottle is placed on the conveyor facing in the forward direction, aligned with the direction of travel of the conveyor. The lifting finger is pointing in the opposing direction to the conveyor. Therefore, to allow retraction of the lifting finger the conveyor must be halted. At the point of drop off the conveyor is synchronized with the spike position to stop at the time of drop off for a variable time as determined and programmed by the system controller. The period the conveyor is stopped is controlled to allow the lifting element to be retracted before movement of the conveyor restarts. In another aspect of the invention pulp bottles are manufactured using a novel split tool arrangement, whereby two parts of the bottle, the upper half and lower half, are formed in independent moulding tools that come together into a closed position to form a bottle shape and are dipped into a pulp slurry. A vacuum is applied causing pulp fibres in the slurry to adhere to the gauze lining the moulding tools. The vacuum source is connected to the lower tool only. The upper and lower tools include vacuum chamber for applying a vacuum to the mould. The upper and lower tools include connectors arranged to fluidly connect the vacuum chamber of the upper and lower tools when the upper and lower tools are brought together such that the vacuum source connected to the lower tool applies a vacuum to the upper and lower tools simultaneously.

The present invention provides a unique orientation of the bottle during moulding within the mould tool in which the bottle neck is oriented horizontally while the main body, including the base of the bottle is angled upwardly.

The present invention further provides a bottle having a unique 'drafted tail' shape that allows it to be demoulded from the lower tool without tearing or abrading against the gauze. In another aspect of the invention the vacuum for the upper tool originates from the lower tool through a vacuum channel that connects the vacuum chamber of the lower tool to the vacuum chamber of the upper tool. As such there is no requirement for an independent vacuum to be applied to the upper tool. This is a unique forming process, which draws vacuum through One Common Orifice (OCO), and which connects the split forming moulds when closed. The OCO maximises water evacuation from the pulp slurry while forming the bottle shape.

The vacuum chamber of the upper tool is provided with a unique formation that channels water to the connecting vacuum channel by allowing it to flow over the top of the convex inner surfaces of the mould recesses. The present invention further utilises novel demoulding using fingers that are inserted horizontally, and which are contoured to the shape of the inner neck of the bottles. The fingers then lift the bottle vertically and then carry and place the bottle on a conveyor belt to be passed through a tunnel dryer. The unique profile of the fingers allows them to support the wet bottles and prevent them from tearing or buckling as they are being demoulded.

In order to transfer the moulded bottle to the conveyor for drying the spike must remove and rotate the bottle through 23 degrees to bring the base of the bottle horizontal to the conveyor. In this position the spike can retract out of the bottle to allow the bottle then to travel on the conveyor through the dryer. At the point of drop off the conveyor is synchronized with the spike position to stop at the time of drop off for a variable time as determined and programmed in the pic. The design of the back end of the bottle, which slopes at an angle of 26 degrees from vertical when the mould is horizontal, before mounting in the angled cavity of the platen, offers a 3 degrees positive draft when the moulding tool is in place on the machine sitting at 23 degrees from horizontal. In contrast, a standard urinal bottle design provides a substantially 90 degree angle between back end and floor of the bottle. This is acceptable in arrangements of the prior art where the mould is not forwardly angled. However, were the mould to be arranged in this manner the 90° angle of the back wall would present a significant negative draft when the mould is angled at 23° in use, preventing vertical removal of the bottle from the mould. The upper and lower moulding tools preferably have drainage holes which extend from the surface of the inside of the mould where the product is formed through the mould to the vacuum cavity behind the lower mould tool. These holes are drilled vertically to the table not to the mould, such that they are arranged vertically when the mould is angled at 23° to the horizontal. Arranging the draining channels at 90 degrees to the horizontal allows maximum use of gravitational drainage to assist the vacuum system. In one aspect of the invention there is provided a urinal bottle having a main body having a base and walls defining a liquid container. The bottle includes a neck extending upwardly at an angle from the main body, and has an opening to the bottle located at its distal end. The opening defines in use the front end of the bottle. The bottle is shaped such that the mouth of bottle is flared outwardly. The rear end of the bottle includes a rear wall section that extends upwardly from the base and is angled rearwardly away from base. The angle between the rear wall and the horizontal plane defined by the base is less than 90 ° and is preferably between 15 and 30 degrees and more preferably 26 degrees.

In use the mould tool is angled forwardly to assist drainage during the moulding and liquid extraction phase. The rear wall of the lower mould tool that forms the rear wall section is angled to the horizontal plane defined by the base at a rearward angle that is greater than the drainage angle of the mould tool such that the rear wall section remains rearwardly angled when the mould tool is mounted at the forward angle to provide a positive draft enabling vertical removal of the bottle from the mould tool.

Forward angling of the mould tool is referred to with reference to the angle to the base plates, or mounting plates of the mould tools relative to the horizontal.

In another aspect the mould tools are multi cavity mould tools, meaning that each mould tool includes multiple mould cavities for forming multiple bottles. Preferably the bottle forming machine includes upper and lower machine platens configured to receive a plurality of multi cavity mould tools at the selected angle. In one embodiment the machine platens include chambers for receiving five multi cavity moulds, each multi cavity mould having three mould cavities, such that the machine is able to simultaneously mould fifteen bottles per cycle. In this configuration the lower platen would have five lower vacuum chambers each one being connected by flexible vacuum pipes sealed at the connection point to the main vacuum supply. Each of the lower vacuum chambers is then open to the upper vacuum chamber of corresponding upper multi cavity mould. Preferably vacuum seals are provided which seal between corresponding cavities on the upper and lower mould tools to vacuum seal the mould cavities.

Vacuum tight ferrules are preferably provided between the mould cavities maximising available space between cavities. The ferrules preferably have a tapered shape expanding towards the front of the mould tools to maximise the size of the ferrules. It has been found that an optimal number of moulds is five, each having three cavities producing fifteen bottles per cycle. Each mould is designed to maximise the gap between each cavity allowing the ferrules which pass vacuum from upper to lower cavity to be as large as possible. The cycle time is thus kept to a minimum as any impediment to the flow of vacuum is minimised.

The programmed closure of the upper and lower mould tools while dipping into pulp slurry is controlled by the system controller. The cycle time is reduced by controlling the upper and lower mould tools to close and meet whilst they are dipped into the pulp slurry, rather than first closing the tools and then dipping them and commencing the vacuum application. This also assists in allows the earlier flow of pulp slurry onto the mould surfaces. The upper mounting platen of the mould may be a machined, flat structure which is used to secure the upper part of each mould. In the optimum machine size five upper moulds, each having three bottle cavities, are secured by air tight seal and fixing bolts to the upper mounting platen. The upper platen thereby conforms to the lower platen. The platens are arranged to be actuated vertically to actuate the mould tools.

The movable upper weighted platen may be arranged to ride on four slide rods fitted with brass sleeves in the platen. In order to achieve uninterrupted cycles the upper platen must ideally be able to move freely by control of an upper closing cylinder and is therefore arranged to slide on four rods in the upwards opening motion and downwards closing motion. The upper platen is provided with a chain and sprocket synchronized reciprocating motion to enable it to move parallel to the lower platen and allow flexibility in the speed at which it moves relative the speed of movement of the lower platen. Each mould tool preferably comprises a large vacuum chamber substantially

corresponding to the tool footprint, the "footprint" of each tool being the total footprint size of the mould as fixed to the platen.

Each lower mould tool is preferably connected to by multiple vacuum pipes for rapid evacuation of upper and lower tools when closed.

The bottle moulding machine preferably includes a tool wash programmable feature in which a wash bar is provided that is fed with variable high pressure water. The wash bar moves in between the upper and lower moulds when in the open position, after the bottles have been removed. This feature allows variability in the frequency with which the bar would move relative to the number of machine cycles being run. For example the wash tool could be controlled to operate every cycle or after "n" cycles where n is the variable. The bar is fitted with spray jets or nozzles which are pointed at each of the upper and lower cavities of the moulds so as to offer a wide fan jet of clean water to wash debris from the open discharged mould.

Preferably the wash bar comprises multiple jets facing both upwardly and downwardly. The wash bar is mounted on single axis pneumatic piston driven ram which moves the bar in between the open moulds. The wash bar may also be rotated to redirect the jets to other areas of the mould tools.

The lifting fingers are provide with a unique shape arranged to follow the contour of the inner upper side of bottle. A plurality of fingers are mounted on a single piston pneumatic lifting arm. All the spikes or "fingers" are fitted to a single horizontal bar which is operated by a pneumatic cylinder programmed to move both horizontally forward and backward and to rotate to tip off horizontal to 23 degrees to be parallel with the neck of the bottle and back again to horizontal.

The pulp slurry vat is preferably provided with constant head-in-vat control. An additional tank is maintained at a predetermined level allowing the pressure of the supply of pulp to the machine to be maintained as constant.

An overflow feedback function may be provided that causes excess pulp slurry to be captured when the moulds dip in to the slurry and returned to the pulp storage tank.

A vertical vacuum water separation system may be provided in which a vacuum is applied to remove water which is then returned to the tank where the vacuum was held. On reaching the tank the water falls to the bottom of the tank and stored vacuum remains above the water.

The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following illustrative figures in which:

Figure 1 shows a urinal bottle according to the prior art;

Figure 2 shows a urinal bottle according to the present invention;

Figure 3 shows a bottle moulding tool according to the present

invention in the closed position;

Figure 4 shows a bottle moulding tool according to the present

invention in the open position;

Figure 5 is a view from below of a bottle moulding tool according to the present invention in the open position; Figure 6 shows a bottle moulding tool according to the present invention in the open position;

Figure 7 shows a bottle moulding tool according to the present

invention in the angled, mounted position, as received in a mould platen;

Figure 8 is a view from above of an upper mould tool according to the present invention;

Figures 9a-9c show the removal sequence of a bottle according to the present invention;

Figure 10 shows bottle removal finger according to the present

invention; and

Figure 10 shows bottle removal finger according to the present

invention inserted inside a bottle.

Referring to Figure 2, a urinal bottle 10 includes a hollow body 12 having a neck 14 extending to a circular opening 16. The bottle 10 includes a flat base 18 which supports the urinal bottle 10 when placed on a surface. The neck 14 is angled upwardly away from the base 8. The opening 16 of the neck 14 defines the front end of the urinal bottle 1 in use. The neck 14 flares outwardly to the mouth opening 16. A split line A-A is defined along the length of the bottle 10. The split line A-A corresponds to the boundary between the upper and lower moulds tools when the bottle 10 is held within the mould. A lower rear wall section 20 is angled in a rearward direction away from the base 18 towards the split line A-A. Above the split line A-A the upper rear wall section 22 is angled forward ly to the upper surface 24 of the bottle 10. As shown in Figure 3, a two part split mould 26 is used to mould the bottle 10. The mould 26 includes an upper mould tool 28 and a lower mould tool 30. The upper mould tool 28 includes an upper mounting plate 32 and the lower tool 30 includes a lower mounting plate 34, the mounting plates being used to mount and support the mould tools within the moulding machine. The upper 28 and lower 30 mould tools are independently moveable. The upper 28 and lower 30 mould tools are shown in Figure 3 in the closed position with the two parts being held together in abutment. The interface 36 between the upper 28 and lower 30 mould tools corresponds to the split line A-A of the bottle 10. In Figure 4 the upper 28 and lower 30 mould tools are shown in the open configuration. The upper 28 and lower 30 mould tools vertically separate relative to each other which may be by the upper tool 28 lifting vertically away from the lower tool 30. During separation the upper and lower mounting plates 32,34 remain parallel to each other. The upper mould tool 28 has a mould surface 38 including two mould recesses 40 configured to form the upper halves of two bottles, and the lower mould tool 30 has a mould surface 42 with a pair of mould recesses 44 corresponding to the mould recesses 38 of the upper tool 28 and configured to form the lower halves of two bottles, such that upper and lower mould recesses combine to form the entire bottle 10. Each mould surface 38, 42 comprises a stainless steel mesh gauze, as commonly used in pulp moulding tools, configured to allow the passage of water while retaining pulp material on its surface. A sealing rim 46 extends around the outer edge of each mould cavity or recess, the sealing ridges 46 of the upper 28 and lower 30 mould tools combining to form a seal with the mould tool 26 around each bottle 10 when the mould tool 26 is closed. To form the bottle a vacuum must be applied to the mould surfaces 38,42 to draw water from the pulp slurry and pull the pulp material against the gauze of the mould surfaces 38,42. As shown in Figure 5, a vacuum chamber 48 is defined beneath the mould surface 42 within the lower mould tool 30. The vacuum chamber 48 is sealed at the base by the lower mounting plate 34. A vacuum source (not shown) is connected to the vacuum chamber by a port located towards the front edge 50 of the lower mould tool 30 with one or more flexible hoses. Air is drawn through the port to create a vacuum within the vacuum chamber 48. The port also acts as a drainage port to remove liquid from within the vacuum chamber 48. As the vacuum chamber 48 is beneath the mould surface 42 the flow of liquid through the gauze and to the outlet port is gravity assisted. This is further improved by tilting the mould 26 forward ly during liquid extraction, as discussed further below.

The upper mould tool 28 also includes a vacuum chamber 52, as shown in Figure 6. The vacuum chamber 52 is located above the inner surface of the mould surface 38. To form the upper part of the bottle 10 liquid must be drawn upwardly through the gauze of the mould surface 38 under the action of a vacuum applied to the vacuum chamber 52. The liquid must then be drawn from the vacuum chamber 52 and drained. In arrangements of the prior art a vacuum source is applied to the upper mould tool independently of the lower mould tool. This adds additional complexity to the mould assembly, and requires additional space for the requisite pipe work and associated fittings. In addition, that fact that the mould tools must be movable relative to each other adds additional

complications in terms of accommodating the movement and ensuring the associated pipework does not interfere with this movement.

Removal of the liquid from an upper mould tool is also problematic. As the liquid is being drawn upwardly through the gauzed upper mould surface 38 the vacuum must work against gravity to draw the liquid through, and to then drain the liquid from the upper vacuum chamber, which requires a costly, high powered pumping arranged. Even with such equipment pooling within the upper vacuum chamber may still occur. Referring again to Figure 5, a lower vacuum port 54 is provided that extends through the mould surface 42 of the lower mould tool 30. The vacuum port 54 comprises an aperture 56 formed in the mould surface 38 between the mould recesses 46. A wall 58 is arranged around the periphery of the aperture 56 and extends downwardly into the vacuum chamber 48. The lower vacuum port 54 has substantially elongate tear drop shape tapering in the rearward direction to conform to the narrowing space between the two mould recesses 46. The wall 58 is open at both its upper and lower end, with the wall 58 forming a sock for receiving a corresponding upper vacuum connector element 60 of the upper mould tool 28. The upper vacuum connector 60 comprises a wall 62 extending downwardly from the mould surface 38 of the upper mould tool 28. The wall 62 extends around an aperture 64 extending through the mould surface 38. The wall 62 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the wall 58 of the lower vacuum connector 54, and sized to fit within the lower wall 58 in a closely toleranced, sealed manner. The lower vacuum connector 54 and the upper vacuum connector 60 thereby cooperate in a plug and socket arrangement, with the plug arrangement defined by the upper vacuum connector 60 fitting and sealing within the socket arrangement of the lower vacuum connector 54.

The vacuum connectors 54,58 are arranged to align and connect when the upper and lower mould tools 28,30 close. When connected, with the mould tools 28,30 closed, the vacuum connectors 54,60 form a sealed air conduit between the lower vacuum chamber 48 and the upper vacuum chamber 52. As such, when the mould tools 28,30 are closed and a vacuum is applied to the lower vacuum chamber 48, this same vacuum extends through the conduit airflow channel formed by the vacuum connectors 58,60 into the upper vacuum chamber 52. The vacuum is applied simultaneously to the upper mould surface 38 and the lower mould surface 42 by the single vacuum source connected to the lower mould tool 30.

Liquid drawn through the gauze of the upper mould surface 38 is able to travel to the drain in the lower mould tool 30 through the vacuum channel 54. The liquid flows downwards under the action of gravity, thereby minimising the required vacuum. As shown in Figure 7, to assist drainage, the mould tool 10 is angled forwardly at an angle of 23° defined as the angle between the base mounting plate and the horizontal. The angle further assists removal of the bottle 10 as discussed further below.

To further improve drainage a series of drainage channels, indicated by dashed lines 62 in Figure 7, are formed through the upper and lower mould tools 28,30. The drainage channels 62 are formed through the mould surfaces 38,42 in the regions surrounding the mould recesses 40,44. The drainage channels 62 align to define fluid pathways from the upper vacuum chamber 52 to the lower vacuum chamber 48. The channels 62 are angled such that when the mould tool 10 is angled forwardly at 23° the drainage channels extend vertically downwards. The mould 26 is retained at the 23° angle for both the moulding and extraction stages. As described in further detail below, in the extraction stage the upper and lower mould tools 28, 30 are separated and, with the lower mould tool at an angle of 23° to the horizontal the bottle 10 is removed vertically from the lower mould tool 30. With a standard bottle design this vertical extraction with the mould tool angled forwardly would not be possible as the rear lower corner of the bottle would represent a negative draft in this orientation, preventing vertical extraction. This negative draft portion is indicated by eth hatched portion of Figure 1. Therefore, with reference again to Figure 7, the rear end surface 27 of the lower mould recess 44 is angled rearward such that it is at 26° to the vertical when the base 34 of the lower mould tool 30 is horizontal. As such, when the base 34 is angled upwardly at an angle of 23°, the rear end surface 27 remains rearwardly inclined by an angle of 3°, thereby avoiding a negative draft and permitting vertical removal of the bottle 10.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 8, the inner side of the upper mould surface 38, being the side within the vacuum chamber 52, is raised to avoid troughs and traps where evacuated water may resist the vacuum suction applied to the upper vacuum chamber 52 through the vacuum channel 54. The vacuum channel 54 is located between the mould recesses 40 towards the front edge 50 of the upper mould tool 28. On the inner side of the mould surface 38 the recesses 38 are raised, convex elements. The regions of the mould surface 38 on the opposing sides of the recesses 40 are raised. The raised region 66 raises the inner surface to the upper edges of the recesses 40 to allow liquid to flow directly over the recesses 40 to the vacuum channel 54, rather than having to flow up and around the walls of the mould recesses 40. By providing a more direct flow path or reduced resistance, any pooling or trapping of the liquid is significantly reduced or avoided entirely. The raised region 66 may be formed during machining of the mould tool, or may be achieved by an insert provided into the mould tool after forming. The moulding machine includes a series of bottle removal spikes 68 for removing the formed bottles 10 from the moulds 26. As shown in Figure 9a, the spike 68 is aligned with the opening 16 of the bottle 10. The spike 68 is elongate in form and its length is aligned with the length of the bottle 10. The spike 68 is then inserted into the neck 14 of the bottle 10 through the opening 16, as shown in Figure 9b. When the mould 26 is angled forwardly at an angle of 23° the neck of the bottle 10 is oriented substantially

horizontally, allowing the spike 68 to be inserted into the bottle 10 without interference. The spike 68 is inserted horizontally to the full insertion position of Figure 9b. The spike 68 is then lifted vertically, at which point the upper surface of the spike 68 engages the inner surface of the roof 12 of the bottle 10 and begins to lift the bottle 10 out of the mould 26. The bottle 10 may then be transported by moving the spike 68 to the desired location. As the bottle 10 is being lifted it is still in a wet condition and pliable, and as such prone to damage when being transported.

As shown in Figure 10, the spike 68 is provided with a profile designed to conform to the shape of the bottle 10, to enable the spike 68 to cradle the bottle 10 during lifting with constant contact that prevents damage to the bottle 10. The spike 68 includes an elongate main body section 70. A proximal base 72 is located at one end of the body section 70 which secures to an actuator arm of the moulding machine. A tip 74 is formed at the opposing distal end. The tip 74 is angled upwardly away from the main body section 70 long the upper surface 76 of the spike 68. The change in angle between the upper surface of the main body section 70 and the tip 74 corresponds to the change in angle between the roof 12 of the bottle and the upper surface 15 of the neck 14. As such, the upper surface 76 of the spike 68 confirms to the inner profile of the bottle 10 enabling it to function as a support finger supporting the bottle 10 along the entire length of contact with the bottle 10, as shown in Figure 11.

In the moulding process, the upper and lower mould tools 28,30 are closed, with the sealing rim sealing the mould recesses within the mould 26. The mould 26 is then inserted into a vat of pulp slurry with pulp flowing into the mould recesses through the opening representing the opening of the bottle 10. The mould 26 is inserted into the pulp slurry vat while the mould tools 28,30 are closing. A vacuum is applied the mould tools 28,30 when they are closed and fully submerged in the pulp slurry. The vacuum is applied via the lower mould tool 30.

The upper and lower mould tools 28,30 are mounted in upper and lower mould platens in such a manner that the mould tools 28,30 are angled forwardly at 23 degrees to the horizontal. The mould 26 is submerged vertically into the vat with the mould tools 28,30 oriented in this forwardly angled arrangement. A selected period is allowed for the pulp fibres to form against the mould 26. The mould 26 is then removed vertically from the slurry. A vacuum is applied to the vacuum chamber 48 of the lower mould tool 30, which may be a continuation of the forming vacuum applied while the mould 26 was submerged. The dewatering vacuum is simultaneously applied to the upper vacuum chamber through the vacuum connection channel 54. The vacuum draws water through the gauze surfaces of the mould tools 28,30 to dewater the pulp resting against the gauze. Once the dewatering is completed, the bottle removal fingers 68 are inserted into the bottles 10. Here it is noted that while the embodiments described above as shown in the Figures include only two mould recesses for forming two bottles, this is for illustrative simplicity. In practice the mould tools may be formed to include mould recesses for forming multiple bottles and more than two.

The fingers, once fully inserted, may be lifted vertically a small distance to bring them into positive engagement with the roof of the bottles 10. This is done while the mould tools 28,30 remain closed. This supports the bottle 10 from above during initial engagement by the fingers 68. The mould tools 28,30 are then vertically separated revealing the fully formed bottles 10 held on the fingers 68. At this stage the bottles 10 are still very wet, and will typically comprise approximately 25% solids and 75% water. The fingers 68 are lifted vertically by the actuating arms to which they are connected to remove them from the lower tool 30 upon which they are resting. The arms are then retracted horizontally or otherwise moved to position them over a conveyor. The arms are then lowered towards the conveyor and then titled forwardly until the upper surface of the tips 74 of the finger 68 are sloped downwardly, which enables the bottles 10 to slide off the fingers 68 and onto the conveyor. Preferably the fingers are rotated through 23° to orientate the base surface 18 horizontally. The bottles 10 sit upon the conveyor on the flat base surface 18. The conveyor then transports the bottles 10 to the drying stage.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. A pulp moulding apparatus comprising:

first and second mould tools movable between a closed configuration in which the first and second mould cavities combine to form a moulded pulp item and a release configuration in which the first and second mould tools are separated to enable release of the moulded pulp item; and

a vacuum source connected to the first mould tool;

wherein the first and second mould tools include a fluid connection arrangement that fluidly connects the first and second mould tools when they are in the closed configuration such that the vacuum applied to the first mould tool is simultaneously applied to the second mould tool.

2. A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the first mould tool includes a mould surface having a porous first mould cavity formed therein for moulding a first portion of a moulded pulp item and the second mould tool includes a mould surface having a porous second mould cavity formed therein for moulding a second portion of the moulded pulp item, wherein each of the mould cavities includes an inner mould surface to which the pulp is formed and an opposing rear surface, the vacuum source being connected to the first mould tool such that it applies a vacuum to the rear surface of the mould cavity, and the fluid connector arrangement being configured to fluidly connect the first and second mould tools such that the vacuum applied to the rear surface of the first mould tool is simultaneously applied to the rear surface of the second mould cavity via the fluid connector.

3. A pulp moulding apparatus according to claims 1 or 2 wherein the first and

second mould tools each include a vacuum cavity located on the rear side of the mould surface, and the fluid connection arrangement fluidly connects the vacuum chambers.

A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the first and second mould tools each include a mould tool body and the fluid connection

arrangement includes first and second channels formed in the mould tool bodies of the first and second mould tools respectively, and a connector arranged to connect the first and second channels in a sealed manner when the mould tools are closed.

A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the connector comprises a female connector element provided on one the of the first and second mould tools and a male connector element provided on the other of the first and second mould tools configured to be receive in the female connector element in a sealed manner to connect the first and second fluid channels.

A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the mould surfaces of the first and second mould tools face each other in the closed position and the female connector element extends into the mould surface of one the of the first and second mould tools and the male connector element projects from the mould surface of the other of the first and second mould tools, the connector elements being arranged such that the male connector element is received in thi female connector element when the mould tools are closed.

A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the mould tools are arranged such that in use the first mould tool is the lower mould tool and the second mould tool is the upper mould.

A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the first and second mould tools include one or more drainage channels formed therein which align when the mould tools are closed to allow liquid to drain from the upper vacuum chamber to the lower vacuum chamber.

A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 7 or 8 wherein the rear side of the upper mould surface includes raised regions arranged to channel liquid towards the fluid connector.

A pulp moulding apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein one or more drainage channels are formed through the upper and lower mould tools to channel liquid from the upper vacuum chamber into the lower vacuum cavity.

A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the mould tools are forwardly angled in use between 15 and 35 degrees to the horizontal, and wherein the angle of the drainage channels is selected such that they are oriented substantially vertically when the mould tools are forwardly angled.

A pulp moulding apparatus according to any proceeding claim wherein the mould tools are configured to form a urinal bottle having a body and a neck extending from the body to an opening, wherein the location of the bottle opening defines the front of the mould, and the fluid connector is located at the front end of the mould tools.

A pulp moulding apparatus for moulding a urinal bottle having a main body and a neck extending from a front end of the main body to an opening, the apparatus comprising:

upper and lower mould tools movable between a closed configuration in which the first and second mould cavities combine to form a moulded pulp item and a release configuration in which the first and second mould tools are separated to enable release of the moulded pulp item; and

wherein the lower mould tool includes a base plate and a mould cavity including a base section configured to form the base of the bottle and a rear wall section configured to form a rear wall portion of the bottle, wherein the rear wall section is angled upwardly from the base section in a rearward direction at an angle of less than 90 degrees from the horizontal as defined by the plane of the base plate.

14. A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 12 wherein the mould tools are forwardly angled in use between 15 and 35 degrees to the horizontal and wherein the angle of the rear wall section relative to the vertical as defined relative to the horizontal plane of the base plate is greater than the forward angle of the mould.

15. A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 14 wherein the forward angle at which the mould is mounted in use is between 18 and 25 degrees.

16. A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 14 wherein the forward angle is 23 degrees.

17. A pulp moulding apparatus for moulding a urinal bottle having a main body and a neck extending from a front end of the main body to an opening, the apparatus comprising:

an elongate lifting element arranged to be inserted into the neck of the bottle, wherein the lifting element has an upper surface shaped to conform to the shape of the inner surface of the upper part of the bottle.

18. A pulp moulding apparatus according to claim 17 wherein the neck is angled upwardly away from the upper edge of the main body of the bottle, and the lifting element includes a proximal body section having an upper edge shaped to support the upper inner surface of the neck, and a distal tip section that is angled upwardly away from the main body section at the same angle at which the neck extends from the main body such that the tip engages and supports a portion of the roof of the main body of the bottle while the main body section of the lifting element engages and supports the roof of the neck.

A method of forming a moulded pulp bottle having a main body and a neck extending from the main body to an opening, the method comprising:

submerging a two-part mould tool in a volume of pulp slurry; removing the mould tool from the slurry;

applying a vacuum to the mould tool to draw the pulp material against the mould surface and to remove water from the pulp material during a dewatering stage;

wherein the opening of the bottle defines the forward end of the mould tool and the two-part mould tool is mounted in use such that the forward end is downwardly angled.

A method according to claim 19 wherein the bottle comprises a base defining a horizontal plane of the bottle and the longitudinal axis of the neck is angled upwardly relative to the base, and wherein the downwardly angle of the mould tool is selected such that in said forwardly and downwardly angled position the longitudinal axis of the neck of the bottle is substantially horizontal.

21. A method according to claim 19 or 20 wherein the two-part mould tool is

submerged and removed from the vat vertically while held at the forward and downward angle.

22. A method according to any one of claims 19 to 21 further comprising upper and lower vertically actuated mould platens configured to receive the upper and lower mould tools respectively, the upper and lower platens configured to support the mould tools at the forward and downward angle.

23. A method according to claim 22 wherein the method further comprises separating the mould tools after the dewatering phase and then vertically removing the bottle from the lower mould tool while the mould tools are maintained in the forwardly angled position.

24. A method according to claim 23 wherein an elongate lifting element is inserted into the opening of the bottle and then moved vertically to lift the bottle out of the lower mould tool.

25. A method according to claim 24 wherein the lifting element is inserted into the opening of the bottle before the mould tools are separated.

26. A method according to claim 25 wherein the bottle is moved to a conveyor by the lifting element, and the lifting element is rotated downwardly to cause the bottle to slide off the lifting element onto the conveyor.

27. A method according to claim 26 wherein the lifting element is rotated

downwardly an angle substantially equal to the forward downward angle of the mould tool such that the base of the bottle is substantially parallel with the conveyor.

28. A method according to claim 26 or 27 wherein movement of the conveyor is stopped while the bottle is deposited onto the conveyor.

29. A method according to claim 28 wherein the period the conveyor is stopped is controlled to allow the lifting element to be retracted before movement of the conveyor restarts.