“ A HEATING APPARATUS FOR CONTAINER FORMING MACHINES”

Abstract

ABSTRACT A heating apparatus for a container forming machine is disclosed. The heating apparatus includes an induction coil having a first set of tubes and a second set of tubes positioned below the first set of tubes. The first set of tubes and the second set of tubes is adapted to conduct electrical current to generate magnetic flux. A heating zone is defined between the first set of tubes and the second set of tubes. Further, the heating apparatus includes a plurality of shielding members adapted to be disposed on each of the first set of tubes and the second set of tubes. Each of the plurality of shielding members is adapted to restrict the magnetic flux to the heating zone. The heating zone between the first set of tubes and the second set of tubes is adapted to receive an object to be heated, the magnetic flux in the heating zone generates heat in the object. (To be published with Figure 2b).

Specification

Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure relates to container forming machines and in particular, relates to a heating apparatus for a dip mould container forming machine.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With the advancement in manufacturing technology, various techniques are employed to perform heating operations in dip mould container forming machines deployed in pharmaceuticals industries. For instance, one of the techniques includes implementation of Infrared (IR) heating principle to perform a heating operation on an object, such as a dip mould bar. Currently, various devices, such as drum-type heating device and a vertical rack-type heating device (also referred as heating elevator), are using the IR heating principle for performing the heating operation.
Firstly, the drum-type heating device includes a rotating drum carrying the object to be heated. The object can enter in the rotating drum from one side and exit from another side of the rotating drum via a guiding assembly provided on each side of the rotating drum. The rotating drum is provided with multiple IR heaters kept in a central cylindrical space. Such IR heaters are continuously operated in an ON-condition irrespective of the movement of the object in the rotating drum. Secondly, the vertical rack-type heating device includes an arrangement for holding the object, such as a dip mould bar, in each cavity of a stack which moves in an upward direction and a downward direction. Further, the vertical rack-type heating device includes an IR heating assembly coming from each side facing the heating elevator for heating the dip mould bars inside the heating elevator.
However, both the drum-type heating device and the vertical rack-type heating device are complex in design and operation due to inclusion of large number of sub-components. This further substantially increases overall cost and overall time consumption to perform the heating operation on the object using such heating
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devices. Further, both the drum-type heating device and the vertical rack-type heating device employ IR heating principle which provides non-uniform temperature/wider temperature range to heat the object which is not desirable. This results in substantial loss of temperature during the heating process which further disrupts the uniformity of heating of the object. Furthermore, both the drum-type heating device and the vertical rack-type heating device require accurate alignment of the object while moving such object in a heating region. This require separate mechanisms for guiding the object in the heating region which further increases overall sub-components of such devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a heating apparatus for a dip mould container forming machine is disclosed. The heating apparatus includes an induction coil having a first set of tubes and a second set of tubes positioned below the first set of tubes. The first set of tubes and the second set of tubes is adapted to conduct electrical current to generate magnetic flux. A heating zone is defined between the first set of tubes and the second set of tubes. Further, the heating apparatus includes a plurality of shielding members adapted to be disposed on each of the first set of tubes and the second set of tubes. Each of the plurality of shielding members is adapted to restrict the magnetic flux to the heating zone. The heating zone between the first set of tubes and the second set of tubes is adapted to receive an object to be heated, the magnetic flux in the heating zone generates heat in the object.
To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 illustrates a schematic view of a dip mould container forming machine having a heating apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2a illustrates a front schematic view of the heating apparatus of the dip mould container forming machine, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2b illustrates a sectional schematic view of the heating apparatus taken along an axis C-C' of the Figure 2a, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates another sectional view of the heating apparatus taken along an axis C-C' of the Figure 2a, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4a illustrates a schematic view of an induction coil of the heating apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4b illustrates a sectional view of the induction coil taken along an axis B-B' of the Figure 4a, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5a illustrates a schematic view of an object to be heated by the heating apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5b illustrates a sectional view of the object taken along an axis A-A' of the Figure 5a, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figures 6a and 6b illustrate schematic views of a shielding member of the heating apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 7 illustrates operation of the heating apparatus for heating the object, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
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Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.
The term "some" as used herein is defined as "none, or one, or more than one, or all." Accordingly, the terms "none," "one," "more than one," "more than one, but not all" or "all" would all fall under the definition of "some." The term "some embodiments" may refer to no embodiments or to one embodiment or to several embodiments or to all embodiments. Accordingly, the term "some embodiments" is defined as meaning "no embodiment, or one embodiment, or more than one embodiment, or all embodiments."
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The terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and does not limit, restrict or reduce the spirit and scope of the claims or their equivalents.
More specifically, any terms used herein such as but not limited to "includes," "comprises," "has," "consists," and grammatical variants thereof do NOT specify an exact limitation or restriction and certainly do NOT exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated, and furthermore must NOT be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated with the limiting language "MUST comprise" or "NEEDS TO include."
Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, either way it may still be referred to as "one or more features" or "one or more elements" or "at least one feature" or "at least one element." Furthermore, the use of the terms "one or more" or "at least one" feature or element do NOT preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language such as "there NEEDS to be one or more . . . " or "one or more element is REQUIRED."
Unless otherwise defined, all terms, and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having an ordinary skill in the art.
Reference is made herein to some "embodiments." It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements presented in the attached claims. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of illuminating one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the attached claims fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility and non-obviousness.
Use of the phrases and/or terms such as but not limited to "a first embodiment," "a further embodiment," "an alternate embodiment," "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "multiple embodiments," "some embodiments," "other embodiments," "further embodiment", "furthermore embodiment", "additional embodiment" or variants thereof do NOT necessarily refer to the same
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embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or alternatively in the context of more than one embodiment, or further alternatively in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.
Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should NOT be necessarily taken as limiting factors to the attached claims. The attached claims and their legal equivalents can be realized in the context of embodiments other than the ones used as illustrative examples in the description below.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 illustrates a schematic view of a dip mould container forming machine 100 having a heating apparatus 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the dip mould container forming machine 100 may be employed in pharmaceutical industries for forming soluble containers. The dip mould container forming machine 100 may include, but is not limited to, a plurality of stations 104 for performing different manufacturing steps on an object 202 (shown in Figure 3) for preparing soluble containers. The object 202 may be intermittently moved along a path 106 through each of the plurality of stations 104. The object 202 may be moved from a first station 104-1 to a second station 104-2 upon completion of a manufacturing step at the first station 104-1. Similarly, the object 202 may be moved from the second station 104-2 to a third station 104-3 upon completion of a manufacturing step at the second station 104-2.
In the illustrated embodiment, the object 202 may be embodied as a dip mould bar and heated at a pre-defined temperature in a heating station, such as the second
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station 104-2, of the dip mould container forming machine 100. Subsequently, the object 202 may be moved to a subsequently station, such as the third station 104-3, for coating a polymer on the object 202 to form a soluble container. In an embodiment, the polymer may be embodied as one of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC), Entiric, and Gelatin, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the heating station may be provided the heating apparatus 102 adapted to heat the object 202 at the predefined temperature for forming soluble containers. In an embodiment, the heating apparatus 102 is explained with respect to implementation in the dip mould container forming machine 100. However, it should not be construed as limiting, and the heating apparatus 102 can be implemented in different machines or applications for heating different objects/components, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Constructional and operational details of the heating apparatus 102 are explained in detail in the subsequent sections of the present disclosure.
Figure 2a illustrates a front schematic view of the heating apparatus 102 of the dip mould container forming machine 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2b illustrates a sectional schematic view of the heating apparatus 102 taken along an axis C-C' of the Figure 2a, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 2a and Figure 2b, the heating apparatus 102 may include a housing member 203 adapted to accommodate various sub-components of the heating apparatus 102. In an embodiment, the housing member 203 may be formed of an electrically non-conductive material, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Further, the heating apparatus 102 may include, but is not limited to, an induction coil 204 and a plurality of shielding members 206.
In an embodiment, the induction coil 204 may include a first set of tubes 204-1 and a second set of tubes 204-2 positioned below the first set of tubes 204-1. Each of the first set of tubes 204-1 and the second set of tubes 204-2 may be adapted to conduct electrical current to generate magnetic flux. In an embodiment, each of the first set of tubes 204-1 and the second set of tubes 204-2 may be formed of Copper, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that it should not be construed as limiting, and each of the first set of tubes 204-1 and each of the second set of
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tubes 204-2 may be formed of any other electrically conductive material, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
The heating apparatus 102 may include, but is not limited to, a power source 205, a chiller unit 207, and a controlling unit 208. The power source 205 may be adapted to supply electrical current to each of the first set of tubes 204-1 and the second set of tubes 204-2 to generate magnetic flux. The chiller unit 207 may be coupled to the induction coil 204 and adapted to supply a flow of coolant within the induction coil 204 for maintaining a temperature of the induction coil 204 during a heating operation. Further, the controlling unit 208 may be configured to be in communication with the power source 205 and the chiller unit 207. The controlling unit 208 may be configured to control an amount of electrical current supplied from the power source 205 to each of the first set of tubes 204-1 and the second set of tubes 204-2. Further, the controlling unit 208 may be configured to control an amount of coolant supplied from the chiller unit 207 to each of the first set of tubes 204-1 and the second set of tubes 204-2.
Figure 3 illustrates another sectional view of the heating apparatus 102 taken along an axis C-C' of the Figure 2a, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 3, in an embodiment, the first set of tubes 204-1 may include at least a first pair of tubes 210 parallel to each other. The first pair of tubes 210 may individually be referred to as a first top tube 210-1 and a second top tube 210-2, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The first top tube 210-1 and the second top tube 210-2 may be positioned in a manner that a horizontal gap G1 may be defined between each of the first pair of tubes 210.
In an embodiment, an insulating material may be positioned in the horizontal gap G1 as a spacer to maintain the horizontal gap G1 between each of the first pair of tubes 210. In an embodiment, the horizontal gap G1 may be provided to avoid contact between the first top tube 210-1 and the second top tube 210-2 and thereby, avoiding short-circuit of current flowing through each of the first pair of tubes 210. The purpose of these coils is to avoid short-circuit of current flowing through each coil & also to add a supporting member to strengthen & avoid cantilever effect due to ferrite plates load in the center of the total length of coil. In the illustrated embodiment, referring to Figure 3, a pair of supporting bars 302 may
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be provided to support the first pair of tubes 210 of the induction coil 204. In particular, the pair of supporting bars 302 may include a first supporting bar 302-1 positioned in the horizontal gap G1 and a second supporting bar 302-2 positioned adjacent the second top tube 210-2. The pair of supporting bars 302 may be formed of a non-metallic material, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
Further, in an embodiment, the second set of tubes 204-2 may include at least a second pair of tubes 212 parallel to each other. The second pair of tubes 212 may individually be referred to as a first bottom tube 212-1 and a second bottom tube 212-2, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The first bottom tube 212-1 and the second bottom tube 212-2 may be positioned in a manner that the horizontal gap G1 may be defined between each of the second pair of tubes 212. In an embodiment, an insulating material may be positioned in the horizontal gap G1 as a spacer to maintain the horizontal gap G1 between each of the second pair of tubes 212.
In an embodiment, the horizontal gap G1 may be provided to avoid short-circuit of current flowing through each of the second pair of tubes 212. The purpose of these coils is to avoid short-circuit of current flowing through each coil & also to add a supporting member to strengthen & avoid cantilever effect due to coils / ferrite plates load in the center of the total length. In the illustrated embodiment, referring to Figure 3, a pair of supporting bars 304 may be provided to support the second pair of tubes 212 of the induction coil 204. In particular, the pair of supporting bars 304 may include a first supporting bar 304-1 positioned in the horizontal gap G1 between the second pair of tubes 212 and a second supporting bar 304-2 positioned adjacent the second bottom tube 212-2. The pair of supporting bars 304 may be formed of a non-metallic material, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
In an embodiment, referring to Figures 2b and 3, the second pair of tubes 212 may be positioned with respect to the first pair of tubes 210 in a manner that a vertical gap G2 is defined between the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212. In particular, the vertical gap G2 may be defined between the first top tube 210-1 of the first pair of tubes 210 and the first bottom tube 212-1 of the second
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pair of tubes 212. Similarly, the vertical gap G2 may be defined between the second top tube 210-2 of the first pair of tubes 210 and the second bottom tube 212-2 of the second pair of tubes 212. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212 may be interconnected to each other through a plurality of U-bent coils 306. The plurality of bent coils 306 may be adapted to fluidly connect the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212 at both ends of said tubes. The flow of coolant may be circulated between the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212 through the plurality of U-bent coils 306.
Further, a heating zone 216 may be defined between the first set of tubes 204-1 and the second set of tubes 204-2. In an embodiment, the heating zone 216 may be defined between the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212. The heating zone 216 may extend along a length L of each of the first pair of tubes 210 and each of the second pair of tubes 212. In an embodiment, the length L may be in a range of 0.2 m to 1 m, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The heating zone 216 may be defined in the vertical gap G2 having a range of 5 mm to 25 mm. The heating zone 216 between the first set of tubes 204-1 and the second set of tubes 204-2 may be adapted to receive the object 202 to be heated. The heating zone 216 may be adapted to allow movement of the object 202 between the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212. The magnetic flux in the heating zone 216 may generate heat in the object 202.
Figure 4a illustrates a schematic view of the induction coil 204 of the heating apparatus 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4b illustrates a sectional view of the induction coil 204 taken along an axis B-B' of the Figure 4a, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 4a and 4b, the induction coil 204 may have a U-shaped geometry in which the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212 may be arranged parallel to each other in a manner that a first opening 402 and a second opening 404 is defined to allow a movement of the object 202 within the heating zone 216. For instance, the object 202 may move from the first station to the second station, i.e., the heating station, and subsequently enters in the heating zone 216 through the first opening 402. Further, upon completion of a heating process, the object 202 may exit from the heating zone 216 through the second opening 404 and
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subsequently, move to the third station of the dip mould container forming machine 100.
Referring to Figures 2b, 3, 4a, and 4b, each of the first pair of tubes 210 and each of the second pair of tubes 212 may include a body 406 defining a channel 408 adapted to receive the flow of coolant. In an embodiment, the channel 408 may be adapted to receive the flow of coolant from the chiller unit 207 of the heating apparatus 102. The flow of coolant may be circulated within the channel 408 to maintain a predefined temperature of corresponding tube. Each of the first pair of tubes 210 and each of the second pair of tubes 212 may be in fluid communication with each other to circulate the flow of coolant within the channel 408. Further, the body 406 may include a top surface 406-1, a bottom surface 406-2 distal to the top surface 406-1, and a pair of side surfaces 406-3.
In the illustrated embodiment, the pair of side surfaces 406-3 may individually be referred to as the side surface 406-3a and the side surface 406-3b. In the illustrated embodiment, referring to Figure 4a and 4b, each of the first pair of tubes 210 and each of the second pair of tubes 212 may have a rectangular cross-sectional shape, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that it should not be construed as limiting, and each of the first pair of tubes 210 and each of the second pair of tubes 212 may have different cross-sectional shape, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
Figure 5a illustrates a schematic view of the object 202 to be heated by the heating apparatus 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5b illustrates a sectional view of the object 202 taken along an axis A-A' of the Figure 5a, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The object 202 may be formed of an electrically conductive material, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As mentioned earlier, the object 202 may be embodied as the dip mould bar adapted to be coated with the polymer for forming the soluble containers. However, it should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that it should not be construed as limiting, and the object 202 may be embodied as any component which is to be heated at the pre-defined temperature, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
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In the illustrated embodiment, the object 202 may be embodied as a component having a T-shaped cross-section, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The object 202 may be adapted to be horizontally guided in the heating zone 216 along the length L of each of the first pair of tubes 210 and each of the second pair of tubes 212. The object 202 may be guided in the heating zone 216 in a manner that the object 202 is equidistant from of the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212 of the induction coil 204. For instance, the object 202 may be guided in the heating zone 216 in a manner that the object 202 is at a distance D1 from the first pair of tubes 210 and at a distance D2 from the second pair of tubes 212. The distance D1 and the distance D2 may be defined by an equation (1) as mentioned below:
D1 = D2 = (G2/2) (1)
As explained earlier, each of the first pair of tubes 210 and each of the second pair of tubes 212 may be connected to the power source 205 and adapted to receive electrical current from the power source 205. Based on the electrical current, each of the first pair of tubes 210 and each of the second pair of tubes 212 may generate magnetic flux around the induction coil 204. In order to restrict effect of magnetic flux to the heating zone 216, the plurality of shielding members 206 may be provided on the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212. Constructional and operational details of the plurality of shielding members 206 are explained in details in the subsequent sections of the present disclosure.
Figures 6a and 6b illustrate schematic views of a shielding member 206 of the heating apparatus 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the plurality of shielding members 206 may interchangeably be referred to as the shielding members 206, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Further, the shielding members 206 may individually be referred to as the shielding member 206. Referring to Figure 6a and 6b, in an embodiment, the shielding member 206 may have a C-shaped cross-section. However, it should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that it should not be construed as limiting, and the shielding member 206 may have any other cross-sectional shape, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
In an embodiment, the shielding member 206 may be embodied as a Ferrite core to provide shielding effect to the magnetic flux generated by the induction coil
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204. Each of the shielding members 206 may be adapted to restrict the magnetic flux to the heating zone 216. In particular, the shielding members 206 may be adapted to lower the effect of the magnetic flux in regions other than the heating zone 216 around the induction coil 204 and thereby, restricting effect of the magnetic flux to the heating zone 216 for heating the object 202. The shielding members 206 may be adapted to be disposed on each of the first set of tubes 204-1 and the second set of tubes 204-2. The shielding members 206 may be distributed along the length L of each of the first pair of tubes 210 and each of the second pair of tubes 212.
Referring to Figure 3 and 4b, the shielding member 206 may be adapted to abut the top surface 406-1 and one of the pair of side surfaces 406-3 of each of the first pair of tubes 210. For instance, the shielding member 206 may abut the top surface 406-1 and the side surfaces 406-3a of each of the first pair of tubes 210. Further, the shielding members 206 may be adapted to abut the bottom surface 406-2 and one of the pair of side surfaces 406-3 of each of the second pair of tubes 212. For instance, the shielding member 206 may abut the bottom surface 406-2 and the side surfaces 406-3a of each of the second pair of tubes 212.
Figure 7 illustrates operation of the heating apparatus 102 for heating the object 202, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 7, the object 202 may be guided from a preceding station to the heating station of the dip mould container forming machine 100. In particular, the object 202 may be guided in the heating zone 216 defined between the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212 through the first opening 402. Upon receiving the object 202 in the heating zone 216, the controlling unit 208 may operate the power source 205 to supply the electrical current to the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212. Subsequently, the controlling unit 208 may operate the chiller unit 207 to supply the flow of coolant in the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212.
Owing to the electrical current, the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212 may generate magnetic flux around the induction coil 204. The magnetic flux is denoted as 'F' in the Figure 7. The shielding members 206 disposed on the first pair of tubes 210 may be adapted to redirect the effect of the magnetic flux from the top surface 406-1 and the side surface 406-3a of each of
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the first pair of tubes 210. Similarly, the shielding members 206 disposed on the second pair of tubes 212 may be adapted to redirect the effect of the magnetic flux from the bottom surface 406-2 and the side surface 406-3a of each of the second pair of tubes 212. Therefore, the shielding members 206 may restrict the effect of the magnetic flux to the heating zone 216 between the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212.
The magnetic flux in the heating zone 216 may be interfered by the object 202 and thereby, eddy current is generated within the object 202 to increase an overall temperature of such object. Upon completion of the heating operation, the controlling unit 208 may control the power supply 205 and the chiller unit 207 of the heating apparatus 102 to vary the electrical current and the flow of coolant, respectively, supplied to the induction coil 204. Subsequently, the object 202 may be guided to a subsequent station for further manufacturing steps from the heating zone 216 through the second opening 404. In an embodiment, the controlling unit 208 may be synchronized with the movement of the object 202 in the dip mould container forming machine 100.
As would be gathered, the present disclosure offers the heating apparatus 102 for the dip mould container forming machine 100 to manufacture the soluble containers. Although, as mentioned earlier, the heating apparatus 102 can be employed in different machines in various industries for heating different objects/components. Therefore, the heating apparatus 102 has a wide range of application.
Furthermore, as explained earlier, the heating apparatus 102 may include the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212 adapted to generate the magnetic flux. The heating zone 216 may be defined between the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212. The object 202 may be guided in the heating zone 216 along the length of each of the first pair of tubes 210 and each of the second pair of tubes 212. The object 202 may be kept at equidistant from the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212 in the heating zone 216. Such movement of the object 202 in the heating zone 216 results in substantially uniform heating of the object 202 and also results in minimal heat loss from the heating apparatus 102. This further leads to substantial increase in overall productivity and efficiency of the dip mould container forming machine 100.
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Further, the shielding members 206 may be disposed on each of the first pair of tubes 210 and the second pair of tubes 212. As explained earlier, the shielding members 206 may restrict the effect of the magnetic flux to the heating zone 216 and lower the effect of the magnetic flux in regions other than the heating zone 216 around the induction coil 204. Therefore, the magnetic flux may not interfere with other sub-components of the heating apparatus 102 and the dip mould container forming machine 100. This results in effective heating of the object 202 in the heating zone 216. Further, this substantially increases overall service life of the heating apparatus 102 and the dip mould container forming machine 100.
Furthermore, the heating apparatus 102 includes the controlling unit 208 configured to control the power source 205 and the chiller unit 207 of the heating apparatus 102. The controlling unit 208 may be synchronized with the movement of the object 202 in the dip mould container forming machine 100 from one station to another for performing different manufacturing steps. For instance, the controlling unit 208 may control each of the power source 205 and the chiller unit 207 to supply optimal electrical current and the flow of coolant to the induction coil 204, when the object 202 enters in the heating zone 216 of the heating apparatus 102. Upon completion of the heating operation, the object 202 may be moved from the heating apparatus 102 to the succeeding station of the dip mould container forming machine 100.
Subsequently, the controlling unit 208 may control each of the power source 205 and the chiller unit 207 to reduce the electrical current and the flow of coolant supplied to the induction coil 204. This substantially increase overall efficiency of the heating apparatus 102 and the dip mould container forming machine 100. Further, this substantially reduce electrical current consumption compared to the existing heating devices, such as Infrared (IR) devices or other induction heating devices. Owing to the implementation of the shielding members 206, the object 206 may be heated at a higher temperature with negligible flux loss. Additionally, the flux uniformity may be maintained throughout the heating zone 216 of the induction coil 204. This results in a narrow temperature band which is crucial for uniform heating of the object 202 and for manufacturing a final product, such as a soluble container. Furthermore, the heating apparatus 102 include a smaller number of components, such as the induction coil 204 and the shielding members 206, compared to the existing heating devices with higher complexity due to
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inclusion of large number of components. Therefore, the heating apparatus 102 for dip mould container forming machine 100 of the present disclosure is efficient, risk-free, flexible in implementation, cost-effective, convenient, and has a wide range of applications.
While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. , Claims:1. A heating apparatus (102) for a dip mould container forming machine (100), the heating apparatus (102) comprising:
a. an induction coil (204) having a first set of tubes (204-1) and a second set of tubes (204-2) positioned below the first set of tubes (204-1), the first set of tubes (204-1) and the second set of tubes (204-2) adapted to conduct electrical current to generate magnetic flux, wherein a heating zone (216) is defined between the first set of tubes (204-1) and the second set of tubes (204-2); and
b. a plurality of shielding members (206) adapted to be disposed on each of the first set of tubes (204-1) and the second set of tubes (204-2), wherein each of the plurality of shielding members (206) adapted to restrict the magnetic flux to the heating zone (216),
c. wherein the heating zone (216) between the first set of tubes (204-1) and the second set of tubes (204-2) is adapted to receive an object (202) to be heated, the magnetic flux in the heating zone generates heat in the object (202).
2. The heating apparatus (102) as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
a. the first set of tubes (204-1) includes at least a first pair of tubes (210) parallel to each other and defining a horizontal gap (G1) between each of the first pair of tubes (204-1); and
b. the second set of tubes (204-2) includes at least a second pair of tubes (212) parallel to each other and defining the horizontal gap (G2) between each of the second pair of tubes (212).
3. The heating apparatus (102) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the heating zone (216) is defined between the first pair of tubes (210) and the second pair of tubes (212), and extends along a length of each of the first pair of tubes (210) and each of the second pair of tubes (212).
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4. The heating apparatus (102) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second pair of tubes (212) is positioned with respect to the first pair of tubes (210) in a manner that a vertical gap (G1) is defined between the first pair of tubes (210) and the second pair of tubes (212), wherein the heating zone (216) is defined in the vertical gap (G1) having a range of 5 mm to 25 mm.
5. The heating apparatus (102) as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the first pair of tubes (210) and each of the second pair of tubes (210) includes a body (406) defining a channel (408) adapted to receive a flow of coolant, wherein the flow of coolant is circulated within the channel (408) to maintain a predefined temperature of corresponding tube.
6. The heating apparatus (102) as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of the first pair of tubes (210) and each of the second pair of tubes (212) are in fluid communication with each other to circulate the flow of coolant within the channel (408).
7. The heating apparatus (102) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the body (406) includes a top surface (406-1), a bottom surface (406-2) distal to the top surface (406-1), and a pair of side surfaces (406-3).
8. The heating apparatus (102) as claimed in claims 3 and 7, wherein:
a. at least one of the plurality of shielding members (206) is adapted to abut the top surface (406-1) and one of the pair of side surfaces (406-3) of each of the first pair of tubes (210); and
b. at least one of the plurality of shielding members (206) is adapted to abut the bottom surface (406-2) and one of the pair of side surfaces (406-3) of each of the second pair of tubes (212),
c. wherein the plurality of shielding members (206) is distributed along the length of each of the first pair of tubes (210) and each of the second pair of tubes (212).
Page 20 of 27
9. The heating apparatus (102) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the object (202) is a dip mould bar adapted to be heated in the heating zone and subsequently coated with a polymer to form a soluble container.
10. The heating apparatus (102) as claimed in any of claims 3 and 9, wherein the object (202) is adapted to be horizontally guided in the heating zone (216) along the length of each of the first pair of tubes (210) and each of the second pair of tubes (212).
11. The heating apparatus (102) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the object (202) is guided in the heating zone (216) in a manner that the object (202) is equidistant from of the first set of tubes (210) and the second set of tubes (212) of the induction coil (204)

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