The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 16, 2010
Filed:
Oct. 12, 2004
Randy J. Sayers, Belding, MI (US);
Pierre Tremblay, Clarksville, MI (US);
Kelly E. Washburn, Allegan, MI (US);
Kenneth A. Longstreet, Grant, MI (US);
Randy J. Sayers, Belding, MI (US);
Pierre Tremblay, Clarksville, MI (US);
Kelly E. Washburn, Allegan, MI (US);
Kenneth A. Longstreet, Grant, MI (US);
Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL (US);
Abstract
An apparatus and method for molding a component onto a stretched blank. The apparatus includes a stretching assembly mounted adjacent to a first mold part. The stretching assembly includes a plurality of clamp assemblies that grasp the peripheral edge of the blank and a plurality of slide assemblies that move the clamp assemblies away from one another to apply a stretch to the fabric. The apparatus further includes a press for closing a second mold part onto the first mold part while the fabric is held in a stretched condition by the stretching assembly. In one embodiment, the stretching assembly may include a float plate that is movable with respect to the first mold part between a stretch position and a mold position. The apparatus may include a robot with tooling for moving the fabric onto the stretching assembly. The tooling may include a plurality of shot pins that push the fabric off of the tooling onto corresponding fabric pins in the stretching machine. In one embodiment, the apparatus include a stretch measuring device adapted to measure the stretch applied to the fabric.