Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of pulp and paper industries. In particular, it pertains to an automatic pulp molding product forming machine to manufacture pulp molded products using a unique reverse forming technology.

BACKGROUND
[0002] Worldwide use of plastic, thermocol, and related products in packaging is decreasing day by day due to environmental reasons and associated health hazards caused by using them, correspondingly, strong demands for biodegradable packaging emerging everywhere. Taking advantage of this phenomenon and a step towards eco-friendly products, molded fibre and pulp products have attracted increasing attention. This eco-friendly biodegradable and recyclable products where plant/ sugarcane bagasse waste is used, combines the convenience of disposability and easy in use directly and their products.
[0003] Therefore, to manufacture pulp molded products, a pulp molding machine is required. Such machines are available in the market having manual, semi-automatic operation. Pulp products like tableware including plates, bowl, glass, container with lids etc., packing materials, and disposable medical utensils like urinal pot, kidney trays etc., are some of the examples manufactured by these machine. But, from the production point, they depend totally on manual labour and having correspondingly, low productivity and high power consumption. The automatic machines with robotic arm have the disadvantages of repeated calibration and malfunctions in robotic arms used with one or more assemblies of the machine.
[0004] Also in manual forming, making of all types of disposable products like cups, industrial packaging is not possible. Again, controlling of weight and quality is difficult due to higher cost of air and vacuum system involved.
[0005] There is, therefore, a need to provide a simple, automatic, and cost-effective solution which can eliminate the abovementioned problems of available pulp molding forming machines that can also give higher productivity with less power consumption.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A general object of the present disclosure is to provide a simple, automatic, and cost-effective solution which can eliminate the problems of available pulp molding forming machines.
[0007] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a high speed, higher productivity with less power consumption.
[0008] An object of the present disclosure is to provide low-grammage pulp products including tableware products, industrial packaging products, and medical disposable products.
[0009] An object of the present disclosure is to provide biodegradable products not causing any health hazards and easily disposable and eco-friendly.
[0010] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide the machine which is easy to operate and easy in maintenance.

SUMMARY
[0011] Aspect of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of pulp and paper industries. In particular, it pertains to an automatic pulp molding product forming machine to manufacture pulp molded products using a unique reverse forming technology.
[0012] In an aspect, the present disclosure is a forming assembly for making pulp product includes a rotary table rotably coupled to a pinion and rack mechanism, the rotary table includes an upper surface, a lower surface and both surfaces are configured with a plurality of forming molds, a forming tank can have pulp based slurry coupled to a first hydraulic cylinder to move vertically up and down from a first position to a second position towards the rotary table where the lower forming mold collect the pulp from the forming tank by sucking through a vacuum and turn upside down to again suck the pulp in upper surface forming molds to form products, using the pinion and a rack mechanism, and a water jet shower assembly comprising a plurality of water jets guided towards the rotary table to trim edges of the products for precise finishing, after forming.
[0013] In an aspect, the rotary table is moved horizontally from a first position to a second position through a rack coupled to the rotary table where the second position is in a hot press assembly.
[0014] In an aspect, the forming mold transfer the products to the heating down mold where the products are heated by electrical heating rods to heat press the wet products.
[0015] In an aspect, the upper heating mold and lower heating mold will heat and dry the products, wherein the transfer of the products to the down heating mold, the upper forming mold return to the first position to collect the products from the lower forming mold.
[0016] In an aspect, the upper heating mold collects the products by vacuum from the lower heating molds and takes them to a product collection assembly.
[0017] In an aspect, the product collection assembly having a conveyor movably coupled to a gear motor where the upper heat mold blow the products through a compressor towards the conveyor for onward processing.
[0018] In an aspect, the complete operation of forming products is controlled through one or a combination of artificial intelligence (AI), programmable logic controller (PLC) based, and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) based technology.
[0019] In an aspect, the forming tank is fed with the pulp based slurry from a pulping section configured remotely, wherein the speed and flow of the pulp based slurry to the forming tank is controlled through PLC.
[0020] Another aspect of the disclosure is a machine for pulp products forming including a forming assembly to form a pulp product, a hot-press assembly to collect wet products formed by the forming assembly to heat-press the products, a product collection assembly to collect finished products on a conveyor, released by the hot-press assembly, and a movement assembly configured at the top surface of the machine to move one or more items for a vertical movement and a horizontal movement, comprising a plurality of blocks, a pair of rail, a pair of pneumatic cylinders, and a stopper, wherein the vertical movement to a top heating water cooling insulation plate is given by a second hydraulic cylinders to move vertically from a first position to a second position, and horizontal movement to the rotary table from a first position to a second position.
[0021] In an aspect, the flow of the vacuum and air is controlled by angle seat valves.
[0022] Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.
[0024] FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of a pulp molding forming machine depicting front view, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0025] FIG. 1B illustrates an schematic diagram of a pinion and rack mechanism employed for rotation of the rotary table in the pulp molding forming machine, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of the pulp molding forming machine depicting back side view including a conveyor and gear motor, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0027] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of a pulp molding forming machine depicting right hand side view, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0028] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a pulp molding product production premises, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such detail as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
[0030] Embodiments explained herein relate generally to the field of pulp and paper industries. In particular, it pertains to an automatic pulp molding product forming machine to manufacture pulp molded products using a unique reverse forming technology
[0031] In an embodiment, the disclosure is an automatic pulp products forming machine with a reverse forming technology includes a forming assembly, a hot-press assembly, a product collection assembly, and a movement assembly. The forming assembly includes a rotary table rotably coupled to a pinion and rack mechanism, a forming tank filled with pulp based slurry moving vertically towards the rotary table where a plurality of forming mold configured on a upper surface and a lower surface of the rotary table collect the pulp from the forming tank by sucking through a vacuum, and trimming of edges of the products a water jet shower assembly transfer to the hot press assembly and then finished products to product collection assembly.
[0032] Referring to FIG. 1A, where schematic diagram of an automatic pulp molding forming machine 100 (referred as forming machine 100, hereinafter) depicting front view. The forming machine 100 is high speed fully automatic machine with a unique embodiment of reverse forming rotary based pulp molding technology. Because of the reverse forming, almost every kind of pulp molded products with different angle projection can be formed. The operation is fully automatic employing PLC-based technology with auto-piloting software. The operator can control the operation of the forming machine 100 by giving command from PLC to run the forming machine automatically after stable production.
[0033] In an embodiment, the forming machine 100 includes a forming assembly 110 to form a pulp product, a hot-press assembly 130, a product collection assembly 150 to collect finished products on a conveyor released by the hot-press assembly 130, and a movement assembly 180 configured at the top surface of the forming machine 100.
[0034] In an embodiment, the forming assembly 110 for making pulp product includes a rotary table 120 rotably coupled to a pinion and rack mechanism 112. The rotary table 120 includes an upper surface, a lower surface and both surfaces are configured with a plurality of forming molds, and a forming tank 114 comprising pulp based slurry coupled to a first hydraulic cylinder to move vertically up and down from a first position to a second position towards the rotation table 120. The lower forming mold collect the pulp from the forming tank 114 by sucking through a vacuum and turn upside down using the pinion and a rack mechanism 112 to again suck the pulp by the upper surface forming molds to form products, and a water jet shower assembly 116 that includes a plurality of water jets guided towards the rotary table 120 to trim edges of the products for precise finishing, after forming.
[0035] In an embodiment, the rotary table 120 is moved horizontally from a first position to a second position through a rack coupled to the rotary table 120 where the second position is in a hot press assembly 110. When the forming mold transfer the products to the heating down mold, the products are heated by a plurality of electrical heating rods to heat press the wet products. The heating rods are pencil in shape distributed in the upper heating mold and lower heating mold and both consuming approximately 35 kilowatts of electrical power when used in full capacity.
[0036] In an embodiment, the upper heating mold and lower heating mold will heat and dry the products, thereafter transfer of the products to the down heating mold, the upper forming mold return to the first position to collect the products from the lower forming mold. The top water cooling insulation plate 132 and the bottom water cooling insulation plate 134 are special cooling plate placed below the mold and isolation plate (not shown), in this cooling water supplied from the cooling tank configured with the production premise, circulate all the time providing advantage for machine body and enhance the life of the machine.
[0037] In an embodiment, the upper heating mold collects the products by vacuum from the lower heating molds and takes them to a product collection assembly 150. For vacuum operation, a vacuum pump is configured remotely within the production premises and connected to the forming machine 100.
[0038] In an embodiment, the product collection assembly 150 has a conveyor movably coupled to a gear motor where the upper heat mold blow the products towards the conveyor for onward processing. The blow is through a pneumatic operation where air is supplied from air tank 118-2. The air tank 118-2 is directly coupled to a compressor is also configured remotely within the production premises.
[0039] In an embodiment, the movement assembly 180 configured at the top surface of the forming machine 100 to move one or more items for a vertical movement and a horizontal movement includes a plurality of blocks 184, a pair of rail 186, a pair of pneumatic cylinders 188, and a stopper 190, wherein the vertical movement to a top heating water cooling insulation plate 132 is given by a second hydraulic cylinders 182 to move vertically from a first position to a second position, and horizontal movement to the rotary table 120 from a first position to a second position by a hydraulic cylinder coupled to the pinion and rack mechanism 112.
[0040] FIG. 1B illustrates a schematic diagram of a pinion and rack mechanism 112 employed for rotation of the rotary table 120 in the forming machine 100. In reverse forming technology, a platform with a upper surface and a lower surface need to be rotated sequentially that is the lower surface become upper surface and the same time upper surface become lower surface and the cycle goes on. Here in the disclosure, a rotary table 120 is performing the same action where the upper surface and the lower surface are configured with a plurality of mold and the rotary table 120 is rotated clock-wise by the pinion and rack mechanism 112.
[0041] In an embodiment, the rack 126 is cut with saw tooth gears and the outer diameter of the circular gear 124 is also having the corresponding gears. The circular gear is mounted on a rotary union 122. The rack 126 is coupled to a hydraulic cylinder mounted on the top surface of the forming machine 100 in movement assembly 180 for horizontal movement of the rack 126 from forming assembly 110 to hot press assembly 130. When it moves to left, the gear 124 will work in rotation rotary union 122 which is connected to air blow and vacuum suction.
[0042] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram 200 of the pulp molding forming machine depicting back side view including a conveyor 202 and gear motor 204. The product collection assembly 150 having a conveyor 202 movably coupled to the gear motor 204 where the upper heat mold blow the products towards the conveyor 202 for onward processing. The blow is through a pneumatic operation where air is supplied from the air tank 118-2 configured in the collection assembly 150. The compressor supplies air to air tank 118-2, configured within the production premises.
[0043] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram 300 of a pulp molding forming machine depicting right hand side view. The view shows the first hydraulic cylinder 302 supported by a plurality of supporting rods 304-1 and 304-2. The hydraulic cylinder 302 is coupled to the forming tank 114 for vertical movement. The rotation table 120, the rotary union 122 which is coupled to the air blow and vacuum suction, pinion and rack mechanism 112, and mount 308 for the pneumatic cylinder 188 is also shown in the FIG. 3. The water and jet shower 116 which are connected with movement assembly 180 and will trim the edges of the products which call water jet system for the precise finishing.
[0044] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram 400 of a pulp molding product production premises depicting different units required to fulfil the production of the pulp molding products. The operation starts with the pulping section 402 where raw solid pulp/fibre is mixed with water in a pulper 404 to form a paste which is sent to a plurality of pulp tanks 406 where a pulp concentration is determined and fed to the forming tank 114 of the forming section 110. The vacuum pump 408 supply required vacuum for the suction operation in the forming process and the compressor 410 supply air to the air tanks 118-1 and 118-2 and to the pneumatic cylinders 188 mounted on the top surface of the forming machine 100 in the movement assembly 180. The flow of vacuum and air is controlled by a plurality of angle seat valves (not shown). A water tank 412 supply the required water to the pulper 404, water jet shower 116, and to the top water cooling insulation plates 132 and bottom water cooling insulation plate 134.
[0045] In an embodiment, the forming machine 100 receives all the above inputs to form products in forming assembly 110 from where they are sent to the hot press assembly for pressing and heating to make the wet product to dry and finished product. After hot press the products are transferred to the product collection assembly 150. The movement assembly 180 will facilitates vertical and horizontal movement of the different parts configured with the forming machine 100, to complete the cycle to form pulp molded products.
[0046] Thus, the present disclosure provides an improved, simple, and cost-effective solution being fully automatic. Starting from collection of the product from forming tank 114 and rotating clock wise and transfer to the upper forming mold from the down forming mold and collect the product. Further, move horizontally towards hot-press assembly 130 and transfer the products to the lower hot-press mold and upper forming mold will return to the forming assembly 110. While the upper heat-press mold positioned on the down heat-press mold and dry products by electric pencil heaters and by vacuum which is fully automatic technology.
[0047] In an embodiment, the forming machine 100 is efficient to make any kind of tableware products, industrial packaging products, and medical disposable products with lower to higher grammage by using replaceable customised molds. Material of rotation table 120 and forming part is made of high grade stainless steel grade SS-304 to give long life and high performance. The slide movement from left to right and right to left is done through pneumatic cylinders 188 which is fully automized controlled with PLC.
[0048] In an embodiment, alternatively, pre-heating of the wet products can be done in the forming assembly 110 using electric pencil heaters so the in the heat-press assembly, we get to give minimum heating. This can save the cycle time for the production and such embodiment is also covered under the disclosure.
[0049] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
[0050] The present disclosure provides a simple, automatic, and cost-effective solution which can eliminate the problems of available pulp molding forming machines.
[0051] The present disclosure provides a high speed, higher productivity with less power consumption.
[0052] The present disclosure provides a low-grammage, affordable pulp products including to a common user.
[0053] The present disclosure provides biodegradable products not causing any health hazards and easily disposable and eco-friendly.
[0054] The present disclosure provides the forming machine which is easy to operate and easy in maintenance.
, Claims:1. A forming assembly (110) for making pulp product, the forming assembly (110) comprising:
a rotary table (120) rotably coupled to a pinion and rack mechanism (112), wherein the rotary table (120) comprising an upper surface, a lower surface and both surfaces are configured with a plurality of forming molds;
a forming tank (114) comprising pulp based slurry is coupled to a first hydraulic cylinder (302) to move vertically up and down from a first position to a second position towards the rotation table, wherein the lower forming mold collect the pulp from the forming tank (114) by sucking through a vacuum and turn upside down to again suck the pulp in upper surface forming molds to form products, using the pinion and a rack mechanism (112); and
a water jet shower assembly (116) comprising a plurality of water jets guided towards the rotary table (120) to trim edges of the products for precise finishing, after forming.
2. The forming assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotary table (120) is moved horizontally from a first position to a second position with a rack (126) coupled to the rotary table (120), wherein the second position is in a hot press assembly (130).
3. The forming assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the forming mold transfer the products to the heating down mold where the products are heated by electrical heating rods to heat press the wet products.
4. The forming assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein, the upper heating mold and lower heating mold will heat and dry the products, wherein the transfer of the products to the down heating mold, the upper forming mold return to the first position to collect the products from the lower forming mold.
5. The forming assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein upper heating mold collects the products by vacuum from the lower heating molds and takes them to a product collection assembly (150).
6. The forming assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein the product collection assembly (150) comprising a conveyor (202) movably coupled to a gear motor (204) where the upper heat mold blow the products through a compressor (410) towards the conveyor (202) for onward processing.
7. The forming assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the complete operation of forming products is controlled through one or a combination of artificial intelligence (AI), programmable logic controller (PLC) based, and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) based technology.
8. The forming assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the forming tank (114) is fed with the pulp based slurry from a pulping section (402) configured remotely, wherein the speed and flow of the pulp based slurry to the forming tank (114) is controlled through PLC.
9. A machine (100) for pulp products forming, the machine (100) comprising:
a forming assembly (110) to form a pulp product;
a hot-press assembly (130) to collect wet products formed by the forming assembly (110) to heat-press the products;
a product collection assembly (150) to collect finished products on a conveyor (202), released by the hot-press assembly (130); and
a movement assembly (180) configured at the top surface of the machine (100) to move one or more items for a vertical movement and a horizontal movement, comprising a plurality of blocks (184), a pair of rail (186), a pair of pneumatic cylinders (188), and a stopper (190), wherein the vertical movement to a top heating water cooling insulation plate (132) and the bottom heating water cooling plate (134) is given by a second hydraulic cylinders (182) to move vertically from a first position to a second position, and horizontal movement to the rotary table (120) from a first position to a second position.
10. The machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein the flow of the vacuum and air is controlled by angle seat valves.