Automatic transfer of solid form adhesive from bulk container

Abstract

A solid form adhesive transfer system includes a bulk container, a mechanical displacement device configured to move the pieces of the solid form adhesive to a delivery tube arrangement, and a cooling device configured to cool a forced fluid, such as air, before the forced fluid is provided to the delivery tube arrangement for transporting the solid form adhesive pieces to one or more adhesive melt dispensers. The delivery tube arrangement includes at least two inputs, one input for receiving the solid form adhesive pieces and another input for receiving the forced fluid, such as forced air.

Description

AUTOMATIC TRANSFER OF SOLID FORM ADHESIVE FROM BULK CONTAINERTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to transfer of solid form adhesive and, more particularly, to the automatic transfer of solid form adhesive pieces from a bulk container.BACKGROUND

[0002] Adhesives are often used in various manufacturing environments and other applications. It is often desired to have automatic processes in place for repetitive actions. For transfer of adhesive, automatic processes typically involve transporting liquid form adhesive because of the ability to pump the liquid adhesive to the desired location(s) for dispensing.SUMMARY

[0003] The present disclosure advantageously provides systems and methods for transfer of solid form adhesive pieces.

[0004] An exemplary solid form adhesive transfer system of the present disclosure includes a bulk container configured to contain a plurality of pieces of solid form adhesive, a mechanical displacement device configured to receive the pieces of solid form adhesive at an input of the mechanical displacement device from the bulk container and move the pieces to an output of the mechanical displacement device. The system further includes a delivery tube arrangement configured to receive the pieces of solid form adhesive at a first input from the output of the mechanical displacement device. The delivery tube arrangement includes a second input configured to receive a forced fluid for transferring the pieces of adhesive received in the delivery tube arrangement from the first input.

[0005] An exemplary method of transferring solid form adhesive of the present disclosure includes providing a plurality of pieces of solid form adhesive in a bulk container, receiving one or more pieces of the plurality of pieces of solid form adhesive at an input of a mechanical displacement device, mechanically moving the one or more pieces to an output of the mechanical displacement device, receiving the one or more pieces at a first input of a delivery tubearrangement from the output of the mechanical displacement device, and providing a forced fluid at a second input of the delivery tube arrangement, thereby causing the one or more pieces to move through the delivery tube arrangement to a desired location.

[0006] These and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent in light of the detailed description of embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a diagram layout of a solid form adhesive transfer system in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0008] FIG. 2 is a partial view of the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0009] FIG. 3 A is a front, top and right-side perspective view of a mechanical displacement device of the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0010] FIG. 3B is the view of FIG. 3 A with some elements shown as partially transparently in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0011] FIG. 4A is a top view of the mechanical displacement device of the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0012] FIG. 4B is a front view of the mechanical displacement device of the system of FIG. 1 in operation in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0013] FIG. 4C is a partial, left side view of the mechanical displacement device of FIG. 1 in operation in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0014] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cooling device in accordance with the present disclosure; and

[0015] FIG. 6 is a partial, front view of the system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, a layout of an exemplary solid form adhesive transfer system 100 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure. The system 100 includes a bulk container 102, a mechanical displacement device 104, a blower 106, a cooling device 108, a delivery tube arrangement 110 and a plurality of adhesive melt dispensers 112.

[0017] Referring to FIG. 2, a partial view of the system 100 of FIG. 1 without a portion of the delivery tube arrangement 110 and the adhesive melt dispensers 112 is shown. The bulk container 102 is arranged to hold a plurality of adhesive pieces in solid form. For example, and without limitation, the bulk container 102 could be arranged to hold solid form adhesive pieces having an aggregate weight of 500 kg. In some embodiments, the bulk container 102 can be made of hard material, e.g. metal, plastic, wood, and / or ceramic, or the like. In some embodiments, the bulk container 102 comprises a bag for holding the solid form adhesive pieces.

[0018] An output of the bulk container 102 gravity feeds into an input of the mechanical displacement device 104. The mechanical displacement device 104 is shown as a rotary displacement device having a rotatable screw element 105 arranged to receive one or more of the solid form adhesive pieces at a time received by gravity feed from the bulk container 102 and move the solid form adhesive pieces to an output of the mechanical displacement device 104. The mechanical displacement device 104 includes a window for viewing the interior volume in which the screw element 105 is arranged, which allows a user to observe and determine if any jam or malfunction is occurring. The mechanical displacement device 104 can be any device or mechanism for mechanically transporting solid form adhesive from the bulk container 102 to an output of the mechanical displacement device 104

[0019] The output of the mechanical displacement device 104 gravity feeds to a first input 110A of the delivery tube arrangement 110. A second input 110B of the delivery tube arrangement 110 is provided with forced fluid, such as blown air from the blower 106. The cooling device 108 is arranged to cool the blown air before the blown air is provided to the second input HOB of the delivery tube arrangement 110.

[0020] The blower 106 is shown as being arranged for forcing ambient air into the second input HOB of the delivery tube arrangement 110, but the blower 106 (or other mechanism) cansource the fluid for providing the forced fluid from any fluid source. In the shown embodiment, the blower 106 is an electric regenerative air blower. However, any type of blower 106 or other mechanism that is configured for providing forced fluid is within the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the forced fluid (e.g. air) can be provided by a central forced air system of the facility and, thus, a dedicated blower 106 for the system 100 is not needed.

[0021] Before the air is provided to the second input HOB, the air is optionally cooled by a cooling device, e.g. the cooling device 108. The forced fluid provided at the output of the blower 106 is fluidly connected to an input 108A of the cooling device 108. The cooling device 108 may be an intercooler, other type of heat exchanger, or any other structure for removing heat from the forced fluid being provided to the second input 110B. Once cooled, the forced fluid is provided at an output 108B of the cooling device 108. The output 108B of the cooling device 108 is fluidly connected to the second input HOB of the delivery tube arrangement 110.

[0022] The cooling is optional depending on the temperature of the forced fluid before cooling and the characteristics of the solid form adhesive being transferred. For example, if the ambient air being provided as the forced fluid is cool and / or dry enough to not cause the adhesive to melt, partially melt, or be the site of condensation, then cooling is not required and the forced fluid may be provided to the second input HOB without any cooling operation performed. In such circumstances, the forced fluid can be diverted to bypass the cooling device 108 or run through the cooling device 108 with the cooling device 108 in a non-operational state or low-energy operational state (e.g. no substantive cooling being performed).

[0023] In operation, a forced fluid is provided at the second input 110B for transporting the one or more pieces of solid form adhesive received into the delivery tube arrangement 110 at the first input 110A. The forced fluid can be any fluid or combination of fluids for transferring the adhesive without causing undesirable physical or chemical changes of the adhesive. For example, and without limitation, the forced fluid may be air, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon, any combination thereof, or the like.

[0024] Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the mechanical displacement device 104 of the system 100 of FIG. 1 is shown. The mechanical displacement device 104 includes a motor 50 for driving the screw element 105 to rotate. Instead of the motor 50, the system 100 may be configured to drive the screw element 105 (or other mechanical displacing means of themechanical displacement device 104) with any known driving force. Rotation of the screw element 105 causes adhesive pieces within the radius of the screw element 105 to move toward the output of the mechanical displacement device 104.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 4A, a top view of the mechanical displacement device 104 of the system 100 shows an input of the mechanical displacement device 104. In operation, pieces of solid form adhesive are fed to this input. For example, and without limitation, solid form adhesive may be gravity fed from the bulk container 102 to this input of the mechanical displacement device 104.

[0026] Referring to FIG. 4B, in operation, the solid form adhesive pieces 200 are visible to a user through a window arranged on the front of the mechanical input device 104. Referring to FIG. 4C, as the screw element 105 rotates, the solid form adhesive pieces 200 are mechanically driven to an output of the mechanical input device 104. The solid form adhesive pieces 200 then gravity feed to the first input HOA of the delivery tube arrangement 110.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 5, another embodiment of a cooling device is shown according to the present disclosure. The cooling device is an air to air intercooler including an input 208A configured to receive forced air from the blower 106 and an output 208B fluidly connected with the second input HOB of the delivery tube arrangement 110. Three fans 213 are arranged to blow ambient air around flow passages for the forced fluid (e.g. air) moving through the cooling device from the input 208Ato the output 208B. Thus, the forced fluid entering the cooling device, denoted by arrow 209A, is cooled as it moves through the cooling device and is at a lower temperature when leaving the cooling device, denoted by the arrow 209B. The heat from the fluid entering the cooling device (denoted 209A) is transferred to the air forced around the cooling device passages by the fans 213, the heated air being denoted by arrows 211. Any number of fans 213 may be used for forcing air around the cooling device passages.

[0028] Referring to FIG. 6, a partial front view of the system of FIG. 1 is shown with a flexible fabric bag 103 as being part of the bulk container 102. The bag 103 is arranged to support a large amount of adhesive, e.g. 500 kg of solid form adhesive pieces 200. The adhesive pieces 200 held in the bag 103 gravity feed into the input of the mechanical displacement device 104 as the screw element 105 rotates.

[0029] In some embodiments, the adhesive is a thermoplastic hot melt adhesive. Thermoplastic hot melt adhesives are solid at room temperature but, upon heating, melt to a liquid or fluid state. The molten adhesive is applied to a substrate and on cooling the adhesive regains its solid form to bond the substrate. The hard phase(s) formed upon cooling impart cohesion (strength, toughness, creep and heat resistance) to the final adhesive. Thermoplastic hot melt adhesives can be reheated and remelted after cooling. In one preferred embodiment the adhesive is a hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive comprising a non-sticky coating.

[0030] In some embodiments, the system 100 further includes one or more level sensors 113 (FIG. 1) for determining an adhesive transfer or flowrate of the system 100. The level sensor(s) 113 is immersed inside of the adhesive. More specifically, in a normal state the adhesive is in physical contact with the level sensor 113. When the adhesive is not in contact with the level sensor 113, the system 100 is configured to activate the transfer process (if not already active) by turning on the blower 106, turning on the displacement device 104 so that the screw element 105 rotates and any other optional mechanism (e.g. one or more agitators in the bulk container 102 for leading adhesive pieces 200 to the displacement device 104 to maintain fluidity of the adhesive pieces. The adhesive transfer rate (or flowrate) can be predictable since the displacement device 104 is a fixed geometry (the displacement volume of the screw element 105), speed of the motor of the blower 104 can be a preset constant speed, the speed of the displacement device 104 can be a constant speed that is set by the user (or increased by the user or the system 100 if level sensor 113 indicates insufficient adhesive level). The displacement device 104 may be coupled to a variable speed gear motor for increasing the speed. The timing and speed of the blower 106, displacement device 104, and other mechanisms (e.g. agitators) are programmable in the system 100 and / or may be dynamically adjusted by a user.

[0031] The adhesive pieces 200 are relatively small in size. For example, and without limitation, the adhesive pieces 200 may be small, pillows or chubs about 1mm x 0.5mm x 0.25mm in size. The inner diameter of the delivery tube arrangement 110 may be sized appropriately to convey the adhesive pieces 200. For example, and without limitation, the inner diameter of the delivery tube arrangement 110 may be 9.525mm (i.e. 3 / 8"). It is within the scope of the present disclosure for the adhesive pieces 200 and inner diameter of the delivery tube arrangement 110 to be smaller or larger than these example sizes. Thermoplastic hot meltadhesive pieces are commercially available from Henkel Corporation under the name EASYFLOW®.

[0032] It is within the scope of the present disclosure for the delivery tube arrangement 110 to comprise a single unitary piece of tubing or piping from the inputs 110A, HOB to the adhesive melt dispenser(s) 112. In some embodiments, the delivery tube arrangement 110 comprises a plurality of tubing and / or piping to constitute the delivery tube arrangement 110 from the inputs 110A, HOB to the melt dispenser(s) 112.

[0033] Advantageously, the solid form adhesive transfer systems and methods of the present disclosure include sensors and controls to start transfer, stop transfer and / or control rate of transfer of the solid form adhesive to one or more dispensers as needed. For instance, the displacement device 104 may be set to drive rotation of the screw element 105 at one or more desired speeds, which dictates the flowrate of transfer of adhesive pieces 200 from the bulk container 102. This allows for automatic transfer of solid form adhesive from a bulk container to a desired location (e.g. one or more dispensers distantly located from the bulk container) without any input required from a human (at least after the transfer process has been initiated there is no human input or manual handling required in order for the system to continue to transfer adhesive from the bulk container to the dispenser(s)). This automatic transfer process desirably keeps the human resource requirement low for this portion of the manufacturing process. While the adhesive transfer systems and methods have been shown and described as being for a “manufacturing” process, it should be understood that principles of the present disclosure are applicable to any process that utilizes the dispensing of adhesive and should be considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0034] Advantageously, the systems and methods of the present disclosure overcome difficulties in transferring solid form adhesive from a bulk container source to a dispenser with air. In particular, the use of air to convey pressure sensitive solid form adhesive has limitations in hot and / or humid ambient conditions (e.g. greater than 80 °F) the adhesive is prone to sticking and / or collecting condensation, at least partially, and causing jams in the machinery that conveys the adhesive. This would undesirably require maintenance to remove the stuck adhesive and may result in waste for the adhesive that must be discarded. Additionally, the time spent cleaning the equipment may result in down time where the customer manufacturing process ispaused, which may be costly and frustrating. The systems and methods of the present application may utilize air to transfer solid form pressure sensitive adhesive even in the presence of hot and / or humid environments.

[0035] Additionally, while the principles of the present disclosure have been described herein, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure in addition to the exemplary embodiments shown and described herein. Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A solid form adhesive transfer system comprising: a bulk container configured to contain a plurality of pieces of solid form adhesive; a mechanical displacement device configured to receive one or more pieces of the plurality of pieces of solid form adhesive at an input of the mechanical displacement device from the bulk container and move the one or more pieces to an output of the mechanical displacement device; and a delivery tube arrangement configured to receive the one or more pieces of solid form adhesive at a first input of the delivery tube arrangement from the output of the mechanical displacement device and a delivery tube output to transfer the one or more pieces of solid adhesive to a desired location; wherein the delivery tube arrangement includes a second input configured to receive a forced fluid for transferring the one or more pieces received in the delivery tube arrangement from the first input.

2. The solid form adhesive transfer system according to claim 1, further comprising a cooling device configured to cool the forced fluid prior to the forced fluid being received at the second input of the delivery tube arrangement.

3. The solid form adhesive transfer system according to claim 2, wherein the cooling device is an air to air intercooler.

4. The solid form adhesive transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the bulk container is a fabric bag.

5. The solid form adhesive transfer system according to claim 1, further comprising the plurality of pieces of solid form adhesive disposed in a fabric bag.

6. The solid form adhesive transfer system according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of pieces of solid form adhesive are a hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive.

7. The solid form adhesive transfer system according to claim 1, further comprising a heatable melt tank connected to the delivery tube output to receive the one or more pieces of solid form adhesive from the delivery tube output and melt the one or more pieces of solid form adhesive for dispensing onto a substrate by a hot melt adhesive dispenser.

8. The solid form adhesive transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the mechanical displacement device is a rotary displacement device having a rotatable screw element.

9. The solid form adhesive transfer system according to claim 1, further comprising a blower configured to cause the forced fluid to be delivered to the second input of the delivery tube arrangement.

10. The solid form adhesive transfer system according to claim 9, wherein the blower is an electric regenerative blower.

11. The solid form adhesive transfer system according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor for measuring pieces of solid form adhesive transferred to the desired location and a controller operatively connected to the sensor to start transfer, stop transfer and / or control the rate of transfer of the solid form adhesive from the delivery tube output.

12. A method of transferring solid form adhesive comprising: providing a plurality of pieces of solid form adhesive in a bulk container; receiving one or more pieces of the plurality of pieces of solid form adhesive at an input of a mechanical displacement device; mechanically moving the one or more pieces to an output of the mechanical displacement device; receiving the one or more pieces at a first input of a delivery tube arrangement from the output of the mechanical displacement device; andproviding a forced fluid at a second input of the delivery tube arrangement, thereby causing the one or more pieces to move through the delivery tube arrangement to a desired location.

13. The method of transferring solid form adhesive according to claim 12, further comprising cooling the forced fluid before providing the forced fluid at the second input of the delivery tube arrangement.

14. The method of transferring solid form adhesive according to claim 12, wherein the cooling comprises cooling the forced fluid with an intercooler that transfers heat from the forced fluid to ambient air.

15. The method of transferring solid form adhesive according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of pieces of solid form adhesive are a hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive.

16. The method of transferring solid form adhesive according to claim 12, wherein the forced fluid is air.

17. The method of transferring solid form adhesive according to claim 12, wherein the mechanical displacement device is a rotary displacement device with a rotatable screw element.

18. The method of transferring solid form adhesive according to claim 12, wherein the one or more pieces are received at the input of the mechanical displacement device by gravity feed from the bulk container.

19. The method of transferring solid form adhesive according to claim 12, wherein the one or more pieces are received at the first input of the delivery tube arrangement by gravity feed from the output of the mechanical displacement device.

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