EMBOSSING PLATES AND MOUNTING SYSTEMS FOR MULTI-OPENING PRESSES
The present disclosure describes methods, systems, and apparatuses for adapting a multi-opening press to produce embossed engineered wood products. An embossing plate is configured to be mounted to the bottom face of a movable plate with fasteners along the longitudinal sides or the bottom face of the movable plate. The movable plate has recesses between the top face and both longitudinal sides. When the press is closed, the fasteners attached to one movable plate are accommodated in the recesses of the next movable plate below. The collective width of the embossing plate and the respective fasteners is less than the distance between the rotational lug paths of conveyors mounted to the longitudinal sides of the movable plate, allowing the conveyors to be driven in a single direction to use the lugs in an alternating manner to move successive caul screens into the press opening.
1 . A movable plate for a multi-opening press, the movable plate comprising:
a top face and an opposite bottom face;
a first end and an opposite second end that are transverse to said faces;
a first longitudinal side and an opposite second longitudinal side that are transverse to said faces and said ends;
a fluid passage disposed through at least one of the longitudinal sides; and
a first recess that extends from the top face to the first longitudinal side, and a second recess that extends from the top face to the second longitudinal side, such that a width of the top face between the recesses is less than a width of the bottom face between the longitudinal sides.
2 . The movable plate of claim 1 , wherein the first recess has a first surface that intersects the top face and extends transverse thereto, and a second surface that is transverse to the first surface and the first longitudinal side.
3 . The movable plate of claim 1 , wherein the first recess is a flat or curved surface that joins, and is transverse to, the top face and the first longitudinal side.
4 . The movable plate of claim 1 , further including a plurality of openings that extend through the bottom face of the movable plate, wherein the openings are located proximal to respective longitudinal edges of the bottom face and/or in vertical alignment with the recesses.
5 . The movable plate of claim 1 , further including a plurality of openings in the longitudinal sides of the movable plate, wherein the openings are spaced apart along the longitudinal sides.
6 . The movable plate of claim 1 , further including a first plurality of openings that extend through the bottom face of the movable plate, proximal to the longitudinal sides and/or in vertical alignment with the recesses, and a second plurality of openings in the longitudinal sides of the movable plate.
7 . A movable plate assembly comprising:
a movable plate as recited in claim 1 ;
a first conveyor mounted to the first longitudinal side of the movable plate; and
a second conveyor mounted to the second longitudinal side of the movable plate,
wherein each of the conveyors includes a chain guide mounted to a respective one of the longitudinal sides, an endless chain rotatably mounted to the chain guide, and a first lug and a second lug mounted to the endless chain at equal distances along the endless chain, and each of the endless chains is rotatable to thereby move the respective ones of the lugs along a corresponding rotational lug path.
8 . The movable plate assembly of claim 7 , further including:
an embossing plate assembly mounted to the movable plate, wherein the embossing plate assembly includes
an embossing plate disposed along the bottom face of the movable plate, wherein the embossing plate has opposite faces joined by opposite longitudinal edges, and a plurality of through-holes arranged in vertical alignment with the recesses of the movable plate, and
a plurality of first fasteners connecting the embossing plate to the movable plate,
wherein the embossing plate and the first fasteners are between the rotational lug paths.
9 . The movable plate assembly of claim 8 , wherein the embossing plate has a width that is equal to, or less than, a width of the bottom face of the movable plate.
10 . The movable plate assembly of claim 8 , wherein the first fasteners have a first end and a second end, each of the first ends is disposed between the movable plate and a respective one of the conveyors, and each of the second ends is received within a respective one of the through-holes.
11 . The movable plate assembly of claim 8 , wherein the first fasteners are disposed through respective ones of the through-holes and the bottom face of the movable plate.
12 . An embossing plate assembly for use with a movable plate assembly of a multi-opening press, wherein the movable plate assembly includes a movable plate and a pair of conveyors mounted to respective longitudinal sides of the movable plate, and each of the conveyors defines a corresponding rotational lug path, the embossing plate assembly comprising:
an embossing plate having a back side and an opposite front side, a pair of longitudinal edges, and a plurality of through-holes that extend through the sides and are located proximal to the longitudinal edges; and
a plurality of first fasteners configured to mount the embossing plate to a bottom face of the movable plate, such that a collective width of the embossing plate and the first fasteners is less than a distance between the rotational lug paths of the conveyors.
13 . The embossing plate assembly of claim 12 , wherein the first fasteners are J-shaped in profile.
14 . The embossing plate assembly of claim 12 , wherein the first fasteners are bolts or screws.
15 . A multi-opening press comprising a movable plate as recited in claim 1 .
16 . A multi-opening press comprising an embossing plate assembly as recited in claim 12 .
17 . A method of modifying a movable plate for a multi-opening press, wherein the movable plate has a top face and an opposite bottom face, a first end and an opposite second end that are transverse to said faces, a first longitudinal side and an opposite second longitudinal side that are transverse to said faces and said ends, and a fluid passage disposed through at least one of the longitudinal sides, the method comprising:
forming a first recess that extends from the top face to the first longitudinal side, and a second recess that extends from the top face to the second longitudinal side, such that a width of the top face between the recesses is less than a width of the bottom face between the longitudinal sides.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the first recess extends from the first end to the second end.
19 . A multi-opening press system for producing embossed wood composite panels, the multi-opening press system comprising:
a first movable plate assembly having a first movable plate and a first pair of conveyors;
a second movable plate assembly having a second movable plate and a second pair of conveyors, wherein each of said movable plates has a top face and an opposite bottom face, a first and an opposite second longitudinal side, and a first and a second recess that extend from the first and second longitudinal sides, respectively, to the top face, such that a width of the top face between the recesses is less than a width of the bottom face between the longitudinal sides; and
an embossing plate mounted to the first movable plate by a plurality of fasteners, such that the embossing plate is between the bottom face of the first movable plate and the top face of the second movable plate,
wherein the conveyors are mounted to the longitudinal sides of the movable plates, each of the conveyors includes an endless chain and a first lug connected to the endless chain, and the endless chains of each of the pairs of conveyors are rotatable in a first direction to move the respective first lugs along corresponding rotational lug paths, and
wherein the embossing plate and the first fasteners are between, and do not extend into, the rotational lug paths.
20 . The multi-opening press system of claim 19 , wherein one or more of the conveyors further includes a second lug connected to the endless chain thereof and spaced apart from the respective first lug along the rotational lug path, such that as the first lug is moved along an upper portion of the rotational lug path toward a downstream end of the conveyor, the second lug is moved along a lower portion of the rotational lug path toward an upstream end of the conveyor.