DEVICE AND CORRESPONDING METHOD FOR PRODUCING HONEYCOMBS FOR APICULTURE

• US 20180116181A1
• Filed: 02/29/2016
• Published: 05/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Breat SL
• Original Assignee: Breat SL
• Inventors: FERRER VIDAL, CARLOS
• Granted Patent: US 10,638,728 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 47/04 Artificial honeycombs
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 41/28 by depositing flowable material on an endless belt
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 41/44 Articles of indefinite length
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 43/48 Endless belts
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/11 comprising two or more partially or fully enclosed cavities, e.g. honeycomb-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/7254 honeycomb structures
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 24/005 the structure having joined ribs, e.g. honeycomb
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 99/0089 Producing honeycomb structures consisting of porous ceramic ware C04B38/0006
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2091/00 Use of waxes as moulding material

Abstract

A device to form a honeycomb has an upper continuous belt and a lower continuous belt disposed in parallel and carrying opposing cores. The belts act on liquid wax which is injected into an inlet of the device, with both belts moving in opposition. The inlet has in succession: a scraping zone disposed straight with respect to the upper belt; a zone for opening the cores, which has a certain curvature designed to receive a first injection of wax; and a third straight zone for sealing and expelling any excess wax. At an exit of the device, the longest length of the upper belt has multiple groups of magnetic and non-magnetic rollers for a local curving of the belt to progressively release the honeycomb.

Claims

1. A device for producing honeycombs for apiculture, the device comprising two parallel continuous strips carrying moulding cores and opposite each other, the moulding cores configured to mould liquid wax which is introduced into an inlet of the device with both strips configured to be moveable in opposition, the moulding cores of the parallel strips being configured for moulding the liquid wax into cells of a continuous honeycomb element and cooling the liquid wax, and an outlet, wherein an upper strip of the two strips is longer than a lower strip of the two strips resulting in an end zone for releasing the continuous honeycomb element from said upper strip, wherein at the inlet the upper strip comprises in succession a scraping zone arranged straight relative to the upper strip, a core opening zone with some curvature for receiving the first injection of wax and a third straight zone for closure and ejection of the excess wax and cooling to a paste-like consistency, all of this taking place before the zone in which both strips are arranged in opposition for moulding the honeycomb.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein at the inlet zone of the device the lower strip has successively a first straight zone provided with a scraper, a curved zone for opening the cores for the first injection of wax, a straight zone for closure and ejection of the excess wax injected and cooling to a paste-like consistency and a thermal blanket zone before the zone where the strips are arranged in opposition for moulding the honeycomb.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement of independent means for injecting liquid wax both in the core opening zones of both the upper and lower strips, as well as in the zone where both strips meet for positioning in opposition for moulding the honeycomb element.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein the thermal blanket zone of the lower strip comprises means for semi-enveloping the strip in order to regulate the cooling thereof.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the thermal blanket zone adopts a curvature between the preceding straight zone for closure and ejection of the excess wax and the start of the zone where both strips are in opposition for moulding the honeycomb.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement of magnetic rollers to support the upper and lower strips in the straight zones thereof.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the outlet portion the upper strip is longer, with multiple groups of magnetic and non-magnetic rollers for the local bending of the strip in order to gradually release the honeycomb element.

8. A method of producing honeycombs for apiculture, the method comprising providing a device according to claim 1, wherein the continuous honeycomb is moulded by the two continuous parallel strips comprising moulding cores opposite each other from the liquid wax which is introduced at the inlet of the device moulding the cells of the continuous honeycomb element, wherein both continuous strips are subjected to a first surface scraping step before the next step of an initial injection of liquid wax at high speed in an upward direction, the cores being in an open position owing to the curvature of both strips, said strips next being subjected to corresponding closure steps for ejecting the excess wax and cooling the wax to a paste-like consistency, prior to the final injection of the wax where both strips are arranged opposite each other, wherein the lower strip is subjected after the ejection step of the excess liquid wax to a thermal blanket zone wherein the wax changes to a paste-like consistency takes place;

the continuous honeycomb element being subsequently shaped between both strips until reaching the outlet where the controlled release of the continuous honeycomb element takes place.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the continuous honeycomb element is subjected in the outlet zone where the honeycomb element is released to multiple successive partial separations and to effect this the upper moulding strip forms various successive zones of curvature of variable length and radius, in order to gently and gradually separate the moulded honeycomb element from the upper moulding strip.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein at each curved zone, the continuous moulded honeycomb element is subjected firstly to a step of partial extraction of the honeycomb element with respect to the moulding strip, and subsequently in the same zone of curvature it is subjected to an ejection action, producing the partial separation of the walls of the cells of the honeycomb from the cores of the upper moulding strip.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the different successive zones of curvature are determined by a succession of guide rollers of the upper moulding strip, situated at the same height and with different separations from each other, depending on the length of each curved zone, being combined with the arrangement of permanently magnetised rollers arranged between the guide rollers, and at a higher level than that of the adjacent guide rollers, to raise the upper moulding strip by magnetic attraction of the rear metal sheet thereof, determining the curvature of each of the curved zones.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the height of the permanently magnetised rollers of each zone of curvature is variable depending on the radius of curvature required to be reached in the corresponding zone in combination with the separation of the adjacent guide rollers.