KR101413042B1 - Injection Mold Heating Apparatus Using Steam Generated by way of High Frequency Induction Heating - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mold heating apparatus for heating a mold using steam generated by a high-frequency induction heating system. The mold heating apparatus includes: a steam generation container which has an upper part connected to a steam discharge pipe to be opened and closed and a lower part connected to a steam generator; and a mold heating unit which receives, through the steam discharge pipe, steam generated in the steam generation container to increase the temperature of a mold. The steam generation container consists of a steam storage area for storing steam generated by the steam generator and a steam generation area for generating steam by the steam generator. The steam generator includes: an induction coil which is arranged to cover the steam generation area of the steam generation container; and a high-frequency power supply unit which supplies high-frequency power to the induction coil to rapidly heat water which is present in the steam generation area.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mold heating apparatus using steam generated by a high frequency induction heating system,

The present invention relates to a mold heating apparatus for injection molding, and more particularly to a mold heating apparatus for heating a mold using steam generated by a high frequency induction heating system.

In plastic injection molding, it is important to eliminate the weld line and realize high gloss. Conventionally, a surface coating method has been used to realize this, but it has not been used any longer because of problems of air pollution and water pollution and expensive coating equipment. As an alternative, rapid heating of the mold and rapid cooling have been developed. A variety of techniques have been proposed for rapid heating of the mold to a target high temperature in a short time, but the most efficient method was to use steam as a heat medium. By using environmentally harmless steam, high pressure is applied, and the production process time of the product can be drastically shortened.

A conventional apparatus for heating a mold using steam, a device for supplying steam produced through a steam boiler in combination with a steam boiler through a dedicated pipe and injecting the steam into a mold, and a large-capacity electric heater, And a device for producing steam and injecting it into a mold.

In the former case, the structure is simple because it is not provided with a steam generator, and it is possible to adjust the timing of injecting, cooling and discharging the steam through communication with the injection molding apparatus. However, the steam boiler must be separately installed and operated Lt; / RTI > In the latter case, there is an advantage that steam can be produced by itself without steam boiler and injected into a mold. However, a direct method of producing steam by directly heating water by installing a plurality of electric heaters in the steam generating container The structure is complicated, and in order to increase the temperature of the injection molding apparatus having a relatively short processing time in a short time, there is a problem that a very high-capacity electric heater must be used.

In this case, the required electric heater capacity often occupies a large part of the total electric power consumption of the injection molding apparatus, resulting in a problem that the electric power consumption due to the operation of the apparatus is too large. In addition, when an electric heater is installed inside the steam generating container for steam production, the scale is accumulated on the outer surface of the electric heater due to direct contact with the water, so that the maintenance cost for periodical replacement or scaling is generated There was a problem.

In addition, although a high frequency induction plastic mold heating apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 10-0734948 and Japanese Patent No. 10-0950030, it is possible to directly guide the molten resin injected into the mold by winding an induction coil around the cavity of the mold. There is a problem that the structure is complicated and can not be applied to a mold heating apparatus using conventional steam.

Registration No. 10-0869660 (published on Nov. 21, 2008) Registration No. 10-0734948 (2007. 07. 03 Announcement) Registration No. 10-0950030 (issued on Mar. 29, 2010)

An object of the present invention is to provide a high-frequency power supply apparatus and a method of manufacturing the same, which can supply high-frequency electric power to an induction coil installed to surround a steam generating region of a steam generating vessel, The present invention relates to a mold heating apparatus using steam generated by a high frequency induction heating system that rapidly increases the temperature of a mold heating unit by supplying a mold.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mold heating apparatus including a steam generating device capable of increasing the amount of steam generated per unit time by increasing the inner surface area by forming a plurality of projections on the inner surface of the steam generating area of the steam generating container .

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a mold heating apparatus having a heat exchanging unit for recovering residual heat supplied to a mold heating unit to increase the temperature of water supplied to the steam generating container.

Other objects of the present invention can be achieved by the detailed description of the present invention described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In order to accomplish the above object, a mold heating apparatus using steam generated by the high frequency induction heating method of the present invention includes a steam generating vessel connected to a steam discharge pipe and a water supply pipe at an upper portion so as to be openable and closable, And a mold heating unit for receiving the steam generated in the steam generating vessel through the steam discharge pipe to increase the temperature of the mold. The steam generating vessel is connected directly to the steam generating apparatus, And a steam storage area on the upper part of the vessel for storing steam generated in the steam generation area by the steam generator, wherein the steam generator includes an induction coil installed to surround the steam generation area, Frequency power to the steam generating region Comprises parts of the high-frequency power supply to rapidly heat water.

Here, the steam generating container may be formed in the shape of a vertically installed cylinder, and the steam generating area may be formed narrower than the steam storing area, so that the induction coil is installed on the outer circumferential surface of the steam generating area of the steam generating container. .

A plurality of protrusions may be formed inside the steam generating area of the steam generating container, and furthermore, the protrusions may be formed at regular intervals at an inner side of the steam generating area.

The apparatus may further include a heat exchange vessel connected to the water supply pipe of the increase generation vessel to circulate the residual heat of the die heating unit to the water supplied to the steam generation vessel.

Further, as a preferred embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a vapor auxiliary storage vessel arranged in parallel with the steam generating vessel for temporarily storing steam generated in the steam generating vessel through the steam discharge pipe, The steam can be configured to receive steam from the auxiliary storage vessel.

The heat transfer member may further include a cylindrical heat transfer member extending from the steam generating area of the steam generating container to the vapor storage area, and one or more through holes may be formed on the side surface of the heat transfer member.

According to the mold heating apparatus of the present invention, since the steam generating apparatus is provided by the high frequency induction heating method in contact with the outside of the steam generating container, a conventional high-capacity electric heater is installed inside the steam generating container It is possible to solve the problems caused by the power wastes generated and the scale accumulated on the outer surface of the electric heater.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mold heating apparatus using steam generated by a high frequency induction heating system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
2 is a cross-sectional view and a cut-away view of the vapor-generating region of the vapor-generating vessel of Fig. 1; And
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mold heating apparatus using steam generated by a high-frequency induction heating system having a vapor-assisted storage vessel according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. And
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mold heating apparatus using steam generated by a high frequency induction heating method, which further includes a heat transfer member according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary meanings and should be construed in accordance with the technical meanings and concepts of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mold heating apparatus using steam generated by a high-frequency induction heating method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a mold heating apparatus using steam generated by the high frequency induction heating method of the present invention basically includes a steam generating container 100 and a mold heating unit 300.

A steam discharge pipe and a water supply pipe are connected to the upper portion of the steam generating container 100 by valves 12 and 14 so that the steam generating device 200 is connected to the lower portion. Water is filled at a proper water level through a water supply pipe, all the valves (12, 14) connected to the vessel are closed, and the water in the vessel is heated by the steam generator (200) to convert into steam of high temperature and high pressure. The high-temperature and high-pressure steam is supplied to the mold heating unit 300 and used as a heat source for injection molding. Since the product produced by the mold heating apparatus by steam can ensure excellent surface quality without being subjected to the post-processing step, it can be directly applied to the appearance product, so that the production cost can be reduced. In addition, it is an environmentally friendly injection molding technique which replaces the conventional paint technology causing environmental pollution.

The mold heating unit 300 receives the steam generated in the steam generating vessel 100 through a steam discharge pipe and heats the mold to melt the resin in the mold to enable injection molding.

The steam generating container 100 includes a steam storage area 101 for storing steam generated by the steam generator 200 and a steam generating area 102 for generating steam by the steam generator 200. [ . If the interior of the vessel is heated by the steam generator 200 in a state where the steam generating vessel 100 is completely closed after filling the inner space of the steam generating vessel 100 with water in the initial stage, 102, the pressure and temperature of the steam stored in the vapor storage region 101 rapidly increase. A water level sensor (not shown) can be attached to the inside of the vessel to maintain the proper water level, which is selected to satisfy the heat resistance and pressure resistance conditions.

Also, as water continues to turn into steam, the amount of water inside the vessel decreases, and later most of the vessel is filled with steam. When the pressure and the temperature are increased to the extent necessary for heating the mold, the valve 12 connected to the upper steam discharge pipe of the steam generating vessel 100 is opened and the steam of high temperature and high pressure is sent to the mold heating unit 300 for injection molding. Therefore, it is possible to add a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor (not shown) for detecting the internal temperature and pressure state of the steam generating container 100, and also to have an externally visible display device have.

The steam generator 200 can operate intermittently so that the steam supplied to the mold heating unit 300 can be maintained at a sufficient temperature and pressure.

As shown in the drawing, the steam generator 200 includes an induction coil 210 installed to surround the steam generating region 102 of the steam generating vessel 100, And a high frequency electric power supply unit 220 for supplying electric power to rapidly heat the water present in the steam generating region 102 of the steam generating vessel 100. The induction coil 210 is installed so as to surround the outer surface of the steam generation region 102 to rapidly heat the water in the container located inside the induction coil. Such a high-frequency induction heating method has an advantage in that the power consumption required is much lower than that of a conventional heating method using an electric heater. Further, in the mold heating apparatus using the high frequency induction heating method of the present invention, impurities contained in water supplied into the steam generating container due to long-term use of the conventional electric heater are accumulated on the surface of the electric heater, There is no problem that can be done. Since the induction coil itself can be used semi-permanently, it is installed outside the container, so that it is unnecessary to replace it and the maintenance cost can be drastically reduced.

1, a steam generating container 100 according to a mold heating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is formed in the shape of a vertically erected cylinder, and the steam generating region 102 is formed in the steam storage The induction coil 210 can be installed on the outer circumferential surface of the steam generating region 102 of the steam generating container 100. Since the steam generating region 102 connected to the steam generating apparatus 200 is preferable to generate the maximum steam in a minimum amount of time by the steam generating apparatus 200, the steam generating region 102 acts intensively on water existing in a relatively narrow space, It is necessary to rapidly generate the signal. Accordingly, the width of the lower steam generating region 102 is narrower than the width of the upper steam storage vessel 100, so that a small amount of water can be rapidly converted to steam. The space in which the water is converted to steam is filled with the water at the upper part, which is again converted into steam by the steam generator 200. Also, if the width of the steam generating region 102 is narrowed, the material cost of the induction coil 210 surrounding the steam generating region 102 can be lowered.

2 is a cross-sectional view and a cut-away view of the vapor generating region 102 of the vapor generating vessel 100. Fig. Referring to FIG. 2, the mold heating apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention may be configured to form a plurality of protrusions 104 inside the vapor generating region 102 of the vapor generating container 100. The protrusion 104 can increase the surface area of the inner wall of the steam generating area 102 and convert the water in the steam generating area 102 into steam more rapidly by the steam generating device 200. [ The projecting shape, size and arrangement of the projections 104 can be appropriately selected in consideration of the total volume of the steam generating region 102 and the steam generating efficiency. As a preferred embodiment, the projections 104 may be formed at regular intervals at the inside of the steam generating region 102, as shown in FIG. 2 (b).

1, a water supply pipe for supplying water to the steam generating container 100 is connected to the upper portion of the steam generating container 100 by a valve 14 so as to be openable and closable And the heat exchange container 400 may further include a heat exchange container 400 disposed between the water supply pipe and the mold heating unit to recover residual heat of the mold heating unit 300, To the water supplied to the water supply unit. In the absence of the heat exchange container 400, water is directly supplied to the steam generator 100 through the water supply line. In the cold winter, steam is generated in the steam generator 100 due to a low water temperature It requires more heat. Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, there is an advantage that energy can be recycled without wasting energy by using the mold heating unit 300 for injection molding and recovering the discharged steam to raise the temperature of the water.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mold heating apparatus using steam generated by a high-frequency induction heating system having a steam auxiliary storage apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a steam auxiliary storage vessel (not shown) disposed in parallel with the steam generating vessel 100 for temporarily storing steam generated in the steam generating vessel 100 through the steam discharge pipe, (120), and the mold heating unit (300) may be configured to receive the steam from the steam auxiliary storage vessel (120). The steam auxiliary storage vessel 120 for temporarily storing the steam for supplying the steam to the mold heating unit 300 in addition to the steam generating vessel 100 may be double- By installing the steam, it is possible to sufficiently remove moisture mixed in the steam, and the temperature of the steam can be maintained at a high temperature continuously. The steam generating vessel 100 and the auxiliary storage vessel 120 may take the form of a pressure-resistant tank known in the art of mechanical design to suitably cope with the high pressure therein. That is, the steam generating vessel 100 and the auxiliary storage vessel 120 may be connected by welding using a pressure piping pipe and a pressure piping pipe cap. In addition, a pressure regulating valve 16 may be provided between the steam generating vessel 100 and the auxiliary storage vessel 120 to limit the pressure of the steam discharged through the steam discharge pipe to a predetermined range.

In addition, thermal insulation may be attached to the outer surface of the vessel to protect the operator and peripheral devices from the hot steam generating vessel 100 and / or the auxiliary storage vessel 120.

(Not shown) connected to the center of the lower surface of the other steam generating vessel 100 and / or the auxiliary storage vessel 120 to remove impurities such as sludge that are continuously accumulated on the lower floor of the vessel . The purge device may be connected to the bottom of the container via a purge valve at the outlet.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mold heating apparatus using steam generated by a high frequency induction heating method, which further includes a heat transfer member according to another embodiment of the present invention. 4, a mold heating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a cylindrical heat transfer member 150 extending from a vapor generating region 102 of a vapor generating container 100 to a vapor storing region 101, . The heat transfer member 150 is preferably made of a metal material capable of efficiently transferring heat.

When the water and the heat transfer member 150 are rapidly heated by the high frequency induction heating method in the lower steam generating region 102 of the steam generating vessel 100, heat is transferred to the upper portion by the heat transfer member 150, Even the water present in the steam generator 101 can be rapidly heated to generate steam. Further, according to this configuration, the amount of water that can be heated by the same electric power is limited, so that the heating can be performed more quickly. The rapidly heated water in the heat transfer member 150 is converted to steam and moved upward and the amount of water converted into steam can be supplemented through the through holes 152 formed in the side surface of the heat transfer member 150 . At least one of the through holes 152 may be formed for proper inflow and outflow of water. 4 (b) is a partial cutaway view showing a state where four through holes 152 are formed.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, Various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. It will not.

100: steam generating vessel 101: steam storage area
102: steam generating area 104: projection
200: steam generator 210: induction coil
220: high-frequency power supply unit 300: mold heating unit
400: heat exchange container

Claims (7)

A steam generating vessel connected to the upper portion of the steam discharge pipe and the water supply pipe so as to be openable and closable and connected to a steam generator at a lower portion thereof; And
A mold heating unit for supplying steam generated in the steam generating vessel through the steam discharge pipe to raise the temperature of the mold;
Lt; / RTI >
The steam generating container is directly connected to the steam generating device to constitute a steam generating area under the container in which the steam is generated and a steam storage area in the upper part of the container for storing the steam generated in the steam generating area by the steam generating device And,
Wherein the steam generator includes an induction coil installed to surround the steam generating region and a high frequency electric power supply unit for rapidly heating water present in the steam generating region by supplying a high frequency electric power to the induction coil A device for heating a mold using steam generated by a high frequency induction heating system.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the steam generating container is formed in the shape of a vertically erected cylinder and the steam generating area is formed narrower than the vapor storing area so that the induction coil is installed on the outer circumferential surface of the steam generating area of the steam generating container Wherein said heating means is a heating means for heating said mold.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a plurality of projections are formed inside the steam generating region of the steam generating vessel.
The method of claim 3,
Wherein the protrusions are vertically spaced apart from each other at an inner side of the steam generating region.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a heat exchange unit connected to the water supply pipe of the increase generation vessel for circulating the residual heat of the mold heating unit to the water supplied to the steam generation vessel. A mold heating apparatus using the mold.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a steam auxiliary storage vessel disposed in parallel with the steam generating vessel for temporarily storing steam generated in the steam generating vessel through the steam discharge pipe, Wherein the high-frequency induction heating method comprises:
3. The method of claim 2,
Further comprising a cylindrical heat transfer member extending from the steam generating area of the steam generating container to the vapor storage area, wherein at least one through hole for water flow is formed on the side surface of the heat transfer member. A method for heating a mold using steam generated by a method.

Images