JP2012250411A - Blow molding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small and compact blow molding device that can manufacture large bottles by stretch blow molding of thick preforms at a high draw ratio and having good production efficiency.SOLUTION: The blow molding device 1 carries carriers 7 mounted with the preforms in the inverted state along a rectangular circulation path 6 comprising first to fourth linear carrying paths 11-14 disposed on the same plane. A first heating part 17 and a second heating part 18 are disposed on the first and second linear carrying paths 11, 12, to enable internal and external heating of the thick preforms 2 uniformly. Stretch blow of the heated preform 2 is performed in a first treatment part 19 on the third linear carrying path 13, to obtain an intermediate molded product 4. Stretch blow of the intermediate molded product 4 is performed in a second treatment part 20, to obtain the bottle 3 which is a final product. Since the stretch blow molding is performed at two stages, the large bottle 3 can be obtained without causing excessive tensile stress.

Description

  The present invention relates to a blow molding apparatus suitable for manufacturing a large bottle used as a tank or the like of a drinking water server by heating a preform which is an injection molded product and performing stretch blow molding.

  Bottles of various sizes obtained by biaxial stretch blow molding of a preform (parison) which is an injection molded product having a test tube shape are widely used. Patent Document 1 discloses a small size that transports preforms, carriers and pallets along a closed-shaped transport path, and sequentially performs preform supply, heating, biaxial stretch blow molding, and recovery of molded products. A compact biaxial stretch molding machine has been proposed.

  In recent years, large capacity bottles have been used as tanks for drinking water servers and the like. In order to stretch-blow mold such a large bottle, it is necessary to prepare a thick test tube-shaped resin preform and stretch the cylindrical body and bottom thereof at a large stretch ratio. When stretch-blow molding a large bottle, it is necessary to heat the inside and outside of the thick preform uniformly and stretch-blow. Patent Document 2 proposes a method for manufacturing a large container by stretching and blowing a parison twice. Here, the parison is made into a preform having a certain size by the first stretch blow, and a large container as a final product is obtained by the second stretch blow, so that each part of the parison has an appropriate thickness. Biaxial stretch blow is performed so that

WO98 / 03324 pamphlet Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-90642

  Conventionally, a blow molding apparatus having a small and compact configuration for efficiently producing a large bottle by carrying out stretch blow molding by sequentially transporting thick preforms has not been proposed. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to propose a blow molding apparatus having a small and compact configuration that can efficiently stretch-mold a large bottle from a thick preform.

In order to solve the above problems, the blow molding apparatus of the present invention is:
A carrier capable of mounting a preform, which is an injection-molded product having a cylindrical body with a bottom and a mouth, in an inverted state with the mouth down,
First to fourth straight conveyance paths forming a rectangular circulation path on the same plane in order to circulate the carrier;
A transport mechanism for transporting the carrier sequentially through the first to fourth straight transport paths;
A charging unit for mounting the preform on the carrier at a midpoint of the first straight conveyance path;
A first heating unit that heats the preform mounted on the carrier while the carrier is transported on the first linear transport path;
A second heating unit that heats the preform mounted on the carrier while the carrier is transported on the second linear transport path;
A first processing unit that performs a first process on the preform mounted on the carrier in a first opening / closing mold disposed in the middle of the third straight conveyance path;
In the second open / close mold disposed at a position downstream of the processing position by the first processing unit in the third linear transport path in the carrier transport direction, the second process is performed on the preform mounted on the carrier. A second processing unit to be applied;
A bottle which is a final product obtained by performing at least one of the first processing and the second processing on the preform at the upstream end position in the carrier transport direction in the fourth straight transport path. And a discharge part for removing from the carrier and discharging,
At least one of the first process and the second process is a blow molding process or a stretch blow molding process.

  In the blow molding apparatus of the present invention, the preform is heated sequentially through the first heating unit and the second heating unit while being intermittently fed by a carrier along a rectangular circulation path on the same plane. The preform after heating is sequentially conveyed through the first processing unit and the second processing unit, stretched and blown, and becomes a final product container. By appropriately setting the heating mode (external heating, internal heating) of the first heating unit and the second heating unit, it is possible to uniformly heat the thick preform. In addition, by appropriately setting the processing mode of the first processing unit (application of change heat, preliminary blow molding) and the processing mode of the second processing unit (final blow molding), each part of the thick preform can be It is possible to blow or stretch blow in a biaxial direction appropriately.

Next, the transport mechanism of the blow molding apparatus of the present invention is:
A first that intermittently pushes the carrier rows arranged in the carrier transport direction in contact with each other on the first straight transport path at a first feed pitch corresponding to one carrier in the carrier transport direction. A carrier extrusion part,
A second carrier push-out section that intermittently pushes the carrier rows arranged in the carrier conveyance direction in a state of being in contact with each other on the second straight conveyance path at the first feed pitch in the carrier conveyance direction;
On the third straight conveyance path, an upstream end position for receiving the carrier pushed out from the second straight conveyance path, a first processing position located in the first opening / closing mold, and a second opening / closing mold. Each carrier in the second processing position is sent out at a second feed pitch wider than the first feed pitch, and the first processing position, the second processing position, and the upstream end position of the fourth linear transport path A first carrier transfer unit that intermittently performs a transfer operation of transferring to each of
A second carrier that intermittently performs a transfer operation of transferring the carrier at the upstream end position of the fourth straight conveyance path to the upstream end position of the first straight conveyance path via the fourth straight conveyance path. And a transfer unit.

  In addition, the blow molding apparatus of the present invention efficiently performs the process of uniformly heating the entire preform by appropriately performing external heating and internal heating according to the shape and thickness of the preform. In addition, the first heating unit and the second heating unit are configured as follows. First, the first heating unit includes both an external heating mechanism that heats the intermittently fed carrier from the outside and an internal heating mechanism that heats the carrier from the inside, only the external heating mechanism, or only the internal heating mechanism. It has. On the other hand, when the first heating unit includes both the external heating mechanism and the internal heating mechanism, the second heating unit includes both the external heating mechanism and the internal heating mechanism or the external heating unit. When only the heating mechanism is provided, and the first heating unit is provided with only the external heating mechanism, only the external heating mechanism or both the external heating mechanism and the internal heating mechanism are provided, When the first heating unit includes only the internal heating mechanism, both the external heating mechanism and the internal heating mechanism, or only the external heating mechanism are included.

  As the internal heating mechanism, a mechanism including an internal heating member that can be inserted into the preform mounted on the carrier through the center through-hole of the carrier, and an elevating mechanism that moves the internal heating member up and down Can be used. In this case, when the intermittently fed carrier is temporarily stopped, the internal heating member is raised and the internal heating member is inserted into the preform mounted on the carrier, and the preform is inserted from the inside. Heating may be performed so that the internal heating member is lowered before the carrier is sent out.

  In this case, if a plurality of the internal heating members are arranged at the same pitch as the intermittent feed pitch of the carrier, and the internal heating members are lifted and lowered simultaneously by the lifting mechanism, the preforms that are intermittently fed are formed. On the other hand, internal heating can be intermittently repeated.

  Next, the blow molding apparatus of the present invention includes a first processing unit and a second processing unit, and the first processing unit is a heating adjustment for adjusting a heating state of the preform as the first opening / closing mold. A heating state adjustment process for adjusting the heating state of each part of the preform is performed using an opening / closing mold for the preform, and the second processing unit uses a blow molding die as the second opening / closing mold. Is blow molded or stretch blow molded to obtain the bottle.

  Instead, the first processing unit uses a first blow mold as the first opening / closing mold, and blow-molds or stretch-blow-molds the preform to produce an intermediate molded product smaller than the final bottle. Final blow molding to obtain the bottle by blow molding or stretch blow molding the intermediate molded product using a second blow molding die as the second opening / closing mold. May be performed.

  The first processing section uses a first blow mold as the first opening / closing mold, and blow-molds or stretch-blow-molds the preform to produce an intermediate molded product that is slightly larger than the final bottle. The second processing unit uses a second blow mold as the second opening / closing mold after the intermediate molded product is heat-shrinked to be slightly smaller than the bottle. The intermediate molded product may be blow-molded or stretch-blow molded to perform final blow molding to obtain the bottle.

  Furthermore, the second processing unit can insert-mold a bottle with a handle by performing blow molding or stretch blow molding with the handle inserted into the second opening / closing mold.

  Furthermore, if the bottle, which is the final product, needs to be aligned with the mouth and body around the central axis, the preform is rotated around the central axis before stretching and blown to perform the preform for the open / close mold. What is necessary is just to arrange | position the adjustment mechanism which adjusts the direction of.

It is a top view, a front view, a right side view, a left side view, and a rear view of a blow molding apparatus for a large bottle to which the present invention is applied. It is an enlarged plan view of a blow molding apparatus. It is a top view which shows the preform conveyance mechanism of a blow molding apparatus, the side view which shows a 3rd linear conveyance path, and the side view which shows a 4th linear conveyance path. It is a top view, a side view, and a sectional view showing a preform transfer mechanism attached to the fourth straight conveyance path. It is a top view which shows a preform supply part, a top view which shows a bottle discharge part, a side view, a front view of a supply part and a discharge part, and a side view of a supply part and a discharge part. It is the top view which shows a heating mechanism, a front view, and a side view. It is a top view which shows an internal heating mechanism, a front view, and a side view. It is a top view which shows an internal heating mechanism, a front view, and a side view. It is a top view, a front view, and a side view showing a mold clamping part of a stretch blow molding part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the extending | stretching part of an extending | stretching blow molding part.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a blow molding apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

(overall structure)
FIGS. 1A to 1E are a plan view, a front view, a right side view, a left side view, and a rear view showing a blow molding apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the bottle which is an intermediate molded product and a final molded product. FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the blow molding apparatus. The blow molding apparatus 1 is an apparatus for manufacturing a large bottle 3 used as a water tank or the like of a drinking water server by performing biaxial stretch blow molding on a preform 2 which is an injection molded product of resin. As will be described in detail later, the preform 2 is biaxially stretched and blown to form an intermediate molded product 4, and the intermediate molded product 4 is biaxially stretched and blown to form the final product bottle 3.

  The blow molding device 1 includes a device housing 5 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, a lower half portion of the device housing 5 is a machine chamber 5a, and an upper half portion is formed by subjecting the preform 2 to stretch blow molding. A processing chamber 5b for obtaining the bottle 3 is provided. In the processing chamber 5b, a circulation path 6 for transporting the preform 2 along a transport path passing through each processing section is arranged on the same plane, and the carrier 7 circulating in the circulation path 6 is used. The preform 2 is conveyed.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (f), the carrier 7 has a rectangular contour carrier main body 7a, a cylindrical portion 7b that is rotatably held by the carrier main body 7a, and an upper end portion of the cylindrical portion 7b. A cylindrical preform insertion portion 7c attached coaxially and a sprocket 7d attached coaxially to the lower end portion of the cylindrical portion 7b are provided. A central through hole 7 e is formed at the center of the carrier 7.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (f), the preform 2 is an injection-molded resin product having a test tube shape, and includes a circular mouth 2a, a cylindrical body 2b, and a hemispherical bottom 2c. The portion from the body 2b to the bottom 2c is thick. A bottle 3 obtained by biaxially stretching and blowing the preform 2 has a mouth portion 3a in which the mouth portion 2a of the preform 2 is left without being stretched, and a body portion 2b and a bottom portion 2c of the preform 2. Is provided with a cylindrical body portion 3b and a bottom portion 3c obtained by biaxial stretch blow molding. In this example, the body 2b and the bottom 2c of the preform 2 are biaxially stretched and blown to produce an intermediate molded product 4 having a slightly larger cylindrical body 4b and the bottom 4c. 4 is biaxially stretched and blown to produce the final product bottle 3.

  Next, as can be seen from FIG. 1A and FIG. 2, the circulation path 6 of the blow molding apparatus 1 is a rectangular closed circulation path located on the same plane, and the first to fourth linear conveyance paths 11 to 14. It is composed of The carrier 7 is conveyed through the circulation path 6 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. In the middle of the first straight conveyance path 11, a preform charging unit 16 for mounting the preform 2 on the carrier 7 in an inverted state is disposed. A portion of the first straight conveyance path 11 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the preform charging unit 16 is a conveyance path portion that passes through the first heating unit 17, and the carrier 7 is conveyed through the conveyance path portion. The preform 2 mounted on the carrier 7 is heated (primary heating). The downstream end of the first straight conveyance path 11 is connected to the upstream end of the second straight conveyance path 12. The second straight conveyance path 12 is a conveyance path that passes through the second heating unit 18, and the preform 2 mounted on the carrier 7 is heated while the carrier 7 is conveyed through the conveyance path. (Secondary heating).

  The upstream end of the third straight conveyance path 13 is connected to the downstream end of the second straight conveyance path 12. A first processing unit 19 and a second processing unit 20 are arranged in the third straight conveyance path 13 from the upstream side to the downstream side. The first processing unit 19 of the present example includes a first opening / closing mold (not shown) that is a stretch blow molding mold, and the first opening / closing mold sandwiches the third straight conveyance path 13 and extends in a direction perpendicular thereto. Open and close. The first process is performed on the preform 2 mounted on the carrier 7 located at the first processing position 22 which is the center of the first opening / closing type. The first process of this example is a process for obtaining the intermediate molded product 4 by biaxially stretching and blowing the preform 2.

  The second processing unit 20 also includes a second opening / closing mold 23 (see FIG. 9) that is a stretch blow molding mold, and the second opening / closing mold 23 also opens and closes in a direction perpendicular to the third straight conveyance path 13. . The second process is performed on the intermediate molded product 4 mounted on the carrier 7 located at the second processing position 24 which is the center of the second opening / closing mold 23. The second process of this example is a process for obtaining the final product bottle 3 by biaxially stretching and blowing the intermediate molded product 4.

  In the vicinity of the upstream end position 14a of the fourth linear conveyance path 14 connected to the downstream end of the third linear conveyance path 13, the bottle 3 mounted on the carrier 7 at the position is removed from the carrier 7 and the bottle is discharged. A bottle discharge portion 26 for discharging on the side of the table 25 is arranged. The carrier 7 emptied by removing the bottle 3 in the bottle discharge unit 26 returns to the upstream end position 11 a of the first straight conveyance path 11 via the fourth straight conveyance path 14.

(Carrier transport mechanism)
With reference mainly to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the carrier conveyance mechanism which conveys the carrier 7 along the rectangular circulation path 6 which consists of the 1st-4th linear conveyance paths 11-14 is demonstrated. 3A is a plan view showing the circulation path 6, FIG. 3B is a side view showing the third straight conveyance path 13, and FIG. 3C is a cross-section showing the fourth straight conveyance path 14. FIG. 4A, 4B, and 4C are a plan view, a side view, and a cross-sectional view showing the first carrier transfer unit attached to the third linear conveyance path 13, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the arm part of a 1st carrier transfer part.

  First, the first to fourth straight conveyance paths 11 to 14 are defined by first to fourth straight guide rails 31 to 34 that are horizontally supported by the apparatus frame 30. The first to fourth linear guide rails 31 to 34 are guide rails having a groove-shaped cross section that opens upward, and both side edges of the carrier main body portion 7 a having a rectangular outline of the carrier 7 slide along the guide rail.

  The carriers 7 are arranged along the first straight guide rails 31 in the first straight conveyance path 11 in a state of being in contact with each other. That is, the front and rear end surfaces of the carrier main body portions 7a of the adjacent carriers 7 are arranged in contact with each other. In the vicinity of the upstream end position 11a in the first straight conveyance path 11, a carrier push-out cylinder 35 (first carrier push-out portion) is disposed. The pushing rod 35a of the carrier pushing cylinder 35 can push the carrier 7 along the first linear guide rail 31 at a first feed pitch p1 corresponding to one carrier. Therefore, the carriers 7 arranged in the first straight conveyance path 11 are intermittently conveyed toward the downstream side at the first feed pitch p <b> 1, and the carriers 7 located at the downstream end position 11 b of the first straight conveyance path 11. Is fed to the upstream end position 12a of the second straight conveyance path 12 when it is fed by one pitch.

  The carriers 7 are also arranged along the second straight guide rail 32 in a state where they are in contact with each other on the second straight conveyance path 12. Also near the upstream end position 12a of the second straight conveyance path 12, a carrier push-out cylinder 36 (second carrier push-out section) that pushes each carrier 7 along the second straight conveyance path 12 at a feed pitch of one carrier. Is arranged. When the carrier 7 at the downstream end position 12 b of the second straight conveyance path 12 is sent out by one pitch, it is sent to the upstream end position 13 a of the third straight conveyance path 13.

  A pair of sprockets 102a and 102b disposed between the pair of sprockets 101a and 101b arranged on the side of the preform feeding portion 16 of the first straight conveyance path 11 and a side of the second straight conveyance path 12 and Between them, chains 103a and 103b are bridged, respectively. The chains 103a and 103b are arranged so as to mesh with the sprockets 7d of the carriers 7 transported along these transport path portions. Therefore, by rotating one of the sprockets by a rotational drive source (not shown), the preform 2 conveyed through the first heating unit 17 and the second heating unit 18 rotates around its central axis while being rotated on the outer peripheral side. Is heated uniformly.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the third carrier 7 is moved along the third straight guide rail 33 to the third straight transport path 13 at a feed pitch p2 wider than the feed pitch p1 of one carrier. A first carrier transfer unit 37 for conveying is disposed. The first carrier transfer unit 37 includes three telescopic arm portions 38, 39, 40, a transfer plate 41 to which these arm portions 38 to 40 are attached, and the transfer plate 41 to the third linear guide rail 33. And a drive mechanism 42 that reciprocates in the transport direction.

  The extendable arm portions 38 to 40 are attached to the transfer plate 41 at intervals of the feed pitch p <b> 2, and each arm portion 38 to 40 can extend and contract in a direction orthogonal to the third linear guide rail 33. 38a-40a and drive cylinders 38b-40b for extending and contracting the arms 38a-40a are provided. Semi-circular grooves 38c to 40c that can abut from the side to the lower portion of the carrier insertion portion 7c in the cylindrical portion 7b of the carrier 7 are formed at the tips of the arms 38a to 40a. The transfer plate 41 reciprocates in the transport direction by the feed pitch p2. Therefore, when the transfer plate 41 is in the retracted position 41A where the most upstream arm portion 38 is located at the upstream end position 13a of the third linear conveyance path 13, the downstream arm portion 39 is the first arm portion 39. Located at the processing position 22, the most downstream arm 40 is positioned at the second processing position 24. When the transfer plate 41 moves to the forward movement position 41B slid downstream by the feed pitch p2, the arm portions 38 to 40 move to the first processing position 22, the second processing position 24, and the upstream end position 14a of the fourth linear transport path 14, respectively. Is positioned.

  In a state where the transfer plate 41 is in the retracted position 41A, the arms 38a to 40a are extended and engaged with the carriers 7, and then the transfer plate 41 is moved to the advanced position 41B to move the arms 38a to 38a. By pulling 40a away from each carrier 7, the transfer plate 41 is returned from the forward position 41B to the backward position 41A. A series of these operations is performed for each intermittent feed operation of the carrier 7.

  Next, the carrier 7 sent to the upstream end position 14 a of the fourth linear transport path 14 is returned to the upstream end position 11 a of the first linear transport path 11 by a second carrier transfer unit (not shown). The operation of returning the carrier 7 to the first straight conveyance path 11 is also performed for each intermittent feeding operation of the carrier 7. Although the illustration of the specific configuration of the second carrier transfer unit 43 is omitted, a commercially available linear motion mechanism, for example, a linear motion unit with a built-in electric cylinder can be used. Such a linear motion mechanism follows a drive motor and an endless track that passes between the upstream end position 14a of the fourth linear transport path 14 and the upstream end position 11a of the first linear transport path 11 by the drive motor. And a chain conveyor that circulates.

(Preform input part, bottle discharge part)
FIGS. 5A to 5C are a plan view, a front view, and a side view showing the bottle discharge unit 26. The bottle discharge unit 26 includes a pair of open / close gripping claws 51a and 51b for gripping the mouth 3a of the bottle 3 from both sides, an opening / closing cylinder 52 for opening and closing the gripping claws 51a and 51b, and an opening / closing cylinder. The revolving arm 53 that supports the revolving arm 53 and the revolving cylinder 54 for revolving the revolving arm 53 are provided.

  The swivel arm 53 can swivel 180 degrees from the extraction side position 53A that has fallen horizontally to the upstream end position 14a side of the fourth straight conveyance path 14 and to the discharge side position 53B that has fallen horizontally to the opposite side. It is. A pair of open / close gripping claws 51a and 51b attached to the open / close cylinder 52 of the swivel arm 53 are located on both sides of the mouth 3a of the bottle 3 inserted into the carrier 7 at the pull-out side position 53A. When these gripping claws 51a and 51b are closed, the bottle 3 can be gripped. When the swivel arm 53 is swung toward the discharge side position 53 </ b> B in this state, the bottle 3 is pulled out from the carrier 7. When the turning arm 53 turns to the discharge side position 53B, the gripped bottle 3 is placed on the bottle discharge table 25. In this state, the gripping claws 51a and 51b are opened and the bottle 3 is opened. The bottle 3 discharged to the bottle discharge table 25 is collected by an operator or a transport mechanism.

  In addition, since the preform input unit 16 has basically the same structure as the bottle discharge unit 26, the description thereof is omitted. In the preform charging unit 16, the discharge side position 53 </ b> B of the swivel arm 53 is a preform supply side position, and the pull-out side position 53 </ b> A of the swivel arm 53 is a plug-in position where the preform 2 is inserted into the carrier 7.

(First and second heating parts)
FIGS. 6A to 6C are a plan view, a front view, and a side view showing an external heating mechanism of the first heating unit 17, and FIGS. 7A to 7C are internal heatings of the first heating unit 17. It is the top view which shows a mechanism, a front view, and a side view. Since the structure of the 2nd heating part 18 is fundamentally the same as the 1st heating part 17, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the external heating mechanism 61 of the 1st heating part 17 heats the preform 2 mounted in the carrier 7 conveyed intermittently on the 1st linear conveyance path 11 from the outside. . In the external heating mechanism 61, an infrared heater 64 is horizontally supported in the transport direction at the tips of a plurality of horizontal support arms 63 arranged vertically at regular intervals by a mechanism frame 62 on one side of the first straight transport path 11. ing. The mechanism frame 65 arranged on the opposite side of the first straight conveyance path 11 is formed with a slit-like vent 66 extending vertically at a certain interval in the conveyance direction. Cooling air is blown from the air supply source (not shown) to the preform 2 conveyed through the first heating unit 17 through the air duct 67 and the vent 66 attached to the outside of the mechanism frame 65. Thereby, it can prevent that the outer peripheral surface of the preform 2 falls into an overheating state by the external heating mechanism 61.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the internal heating mechanism 70 of the first heating unit 17 includes a pair of elongated heater rods 71 and 72 for internal heating, a support arm 73 that supports them vertically, and a support arm 73. An elevating cylinder 74 for elevating in the vertical direction is provided, and the elevating cylinder 74 is attached to the apparatus frame 30. The pair of heater rods 71 and 72 are arranged at an interval of the feed pitch p1 of the carrier 7, and in the portion of the first linear conveyance path 11 passing through the first heating unit 17, two adjacent two at the temporary stop position. The carrier 7 can be inserted into the preform 2 from below through the center through hole 7e.

  By the lifting cylinder 74, the pair of heater rods 71, 72 are lifted from a lowered position 71A, 72A located on the lower side of the carrier 7 to a raised position 71B where their tips are raised to the vicinity of the bottom 2c in the preform 2. It can move up and down up to 72B. By inserting the heater rods 71 and 72 in a heated state into the preform 2, the preform 2 can be heated from the inside. That is, when the intermittently fed carrier 7 is temporarily stopped, the heater rods 71 and 72 are raised and inserted into the preform 2 mounted on the carrier 7 to heat the preform 2 from the inside. The heater bars 71 and 72 are pulled out from the preform 2 and the carrier 7 before the carrier 7 is sent out. Thus, in the first and second heating units 17 and 18, the thick preform 2 can be heated uniformly without temperature unevenness by heating from the outside and also from the inside.

  In this example, two heater rods 71 and 72 are used to perform internal heating at two adjacent locations in the first heating unit 17, but internal heating is performed only at one location using a single heater rod. It can also be done. In addition, the preform 2 can be internally heated at three or more positions in the first heating unit 17. Below, the structural example of an internal heating mechanism in the case of performing internal heating in six continuous places is demonstrated.

  8A to 8C are a plan view, a front view, and a side view showing an example of an internal heating mechanism used when internal heating is performed at six consecutive locations. In the illustrated internal heating mechanism 75, six heater rods 76 are arranged at a feed pitch p 1, and a support arm 77 that supports them is attached to a lifting rod 78 a of a lifting cylinder 78. In this case, one preform 2 is heated from the inside by each heater rod 76 in a pause state during six intermittent feed operations. For example, if the heating temperature of each heater rod 76 is set to increase stepwise from the upstream side toward the downstream side, the preform 2 is heated to gradually increase in temperature. In the example of FIG. 8, an external heating mechanism having a configuration in which infrared heaters 64 are disposed on both sides of the conveyance path is used.

  Here, in this example, both the first heating unit 17 and the second heating unit 18 are provided with an internal heating mechanism. As shown in FIG. 7, the first heating unit 17 performs internal heating of the preform 2 at a few locations, and the second heating unit 18 performs internal heating of the preform 2 at more locations as shown in FIG. May be. Conversely, the preform 2 can be internally heated at a number of locations in the first heating unit 17, and the preform 2 can be internally heated at fewer locations in the second heating unit 18.

  The first heating unit 17 can be an external heating mechanism only, and the second heating unit 18 can be an external heating mechanism only. When only the internal heating mechanism is disposed in the first heating unit 17, only the external heating mechanism may be disposed in the second heating unit 18, or both the internal heating mechanism and the external heating mechanism may be disposed. it can. As described above, various preform heating is performed depending on the combination of the plurality of heating units (in this example, the two heating units of the first heating unit 17 and the second heating unit 18), the internal heating mechanism, and the external heating mechanism. Form can be realized. Therefore, the optimum heating mode should be adopted according to the shape, size, wall thickness, etc. of the preform 2 and the shape, size, wall thickness, draw ratio of each part, etc. finally obtained. Can do.

(First and second processing units)
FIGS. 9A to 9C are a plan view, a cross-sectional view, and a side view showing the clamping part of the second opening / closing mold 23 of the second processing unit 20. FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view when the extending portion of the second open / close mold 23 of the second processing unit 20 is cut along a plane orthogonal to the third straight conveyance path 13, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane parallel to the third straight conveyance path 13.

  As described above, the second processing unit 20 performs the second processing for forming the bottle 3 as the final product by biaxially stretching and blowing the intermediate molded product 4. The split molds 23a and 23b and the bottom mold 23c are provided. The mold clamping portion 80 of the second opening / closing mold 23 includes left and right sliding mold support members 81 and 82 that support the left and right divided molds 23a and 23b. The slide type support members 81 and 82 are slidably mounted on the left and right support blocks 83 and 84 attached to the apparatus frame. The left and right slide mold support members 81 and 82 are slid in the opening and closing direction by a slide mechanism (not shown), and mold clamping and mold opening operations of the left and right split molds 23a and 23b are performed. The bottom mold 23c is attached to a telescopic rod 86a of an elevating cylinder 86 mounted in a downward state on a gate-type support frame 85 attached to the apparatus frame, and is synchronized with an opening / closing operation on the left and right split molds 23a and 23b. It is designed to move up and down.

  As shown in FIG. 10, an extending portion 90 for extending the intermediate molded product 4 upward is disposed immediately below the second processing position 24 located at the center of the second opening / closing mold 23 of the second processing portion 20. ing. The extending portion 90 includes an elongated extending rod 91, a support member 92 that supports the extending rod 91 in a vertical posture, and an elevating cylinder 93 that raises and lowers the support member 92 in the vertical direction. The stretching rod 91 is inserted into the intermediate molded product 4 through the center through hole 7e of the carrier 7 located at the second processing position 24, and pushes up the bottom 4c of the intermediate molded product 4 upward. Thereby, the intermediate molded product 4 extends upward. Further, the extending portion 90 is provided with an air blow mechanism (not shown) for supplying blow air into the intermediate molded product 4 through the center through hole 7 e of the carrier 7. By performing the operation of blowing the blowing air to the intermediate molded product 4 and the stretching operation by the stretching rod 91 at an appropriate timing, the intermediate molded product 4 is biaxially stretched and blown, and is defined by the second opening / closing mold 23. The bottle 3 in which the shape of the inner circumferential surface of the cavity is accurately transferred is obtained.

  The other first processing unit 19 has the same configuration as the second processing unit 20. The difference is that the first opening / closing mold 21 used is for stretch blow molding the intermediate molded product 4.

Here, the 1st process part 19 and the 2nd process part 20 can be made into the thing of various processing forms as follows. First, the first processing of the first processing unit 19 can be any one of the following processing forms (a1) to (a5).
(A1) A heating state adjustment process for adjusting the heating state of each part of the preform 2 by using a heating adjustment opening / closing die for adjusting the heating state of the preform 2 as the first opening / closing die 21 (a2) Preliminary blow processing (a3) as the first opening / closing mold 21 using a blow molding die as the first opening / closing mold 21 to obtain an intermediate molded product 4 smaller than the final product bottle by blow molding or stretch blow molding the preform 2 Pre-blow treatment using a blow mold to obtain an intermediate molded product 4 that is slightly larger than the final product bottle by blow molding or stretch blow molding the preform 2 (a4) Blow mold as the first opening / closing mold 21 The blow process (a5) in which the preform 2 is blow-molded or stretch-blow-molded to obtain the final product bottle 3 (a5) The first open / close mold 21 is opened. The process of kept

Corresponding to these first processes (a1) to (a5), the second process of the second processing unit 20 can have the following process contents.
(B1) When the first treatment (a1) is adopted, a blow molding die is used as the second opening / closing mold 23, and a blow treatment for obtaining the bottle 3 by blow molding or stretch blow molding of the preform 2 is adopted. be able to. In the first treatment, the heating state of each part of the preform 2 can be changed. For example, the heating temperature of each part of the preform 2 can be changed in correspondence with a part to be thickened, a part to be thinned, a part with a high stretch ratio, a part with a low draw ratio, etc. In the case of forming a bottle having a flat cross-sectional shape or the like, it is suitable for adjusting a portion having a low draw ratio to a temperature lower than that of a portion having a high draw ratio. Moreover, when insert-molding a handle, it is also suitable for adjusting the temperature of the part to a lower temperature than other parts in order to lower the draw ratio of the insert part of the handle.

(B2) When adopting the first treatment (a2), a blow molding die is used as the second opening / closing mold 23, and the intermediate molded product 4 having a shape smaller than the bottle as the final molded product is blow molded or stretch blown. The final blow process which shape | molds and obtains the bottle 3 is employable. This is a process in the case of the blow molding apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. When the draw ratio is high, it is suitable for forming a large container from a thick preform.

(B3) When the first treatment (a3) is adopted, an intermediate molded product molded into a shape larger than the final molded product bottle by using a blow mold as the second opening / closing mold 23 is thermally contracted. Then, after the shape becomes slightly smaller than the bottle, a final blow process for obtaining the bottle 3 by blow molding or stretch blow molding the intermediate molded product can be employed. It is suitable for the case of obtaining a large container having high heat resistance by stretching a thick preform at a high draw ratio.

(B4) When the first process (a4) is employed, the second open / close mold 23 may be held in the mold open state. For example, when a beverage bottle or the like having a general size is molded, there is a case where only one blow molding or stretch blow molding is required without repeating blow molding or stretch blow molding. In such a case, only one processing unit may be used.

(B5) Conversely, when the first process (a5) is employed, that is, when the first processing unit is not used, the second process (b1) may be employed. In this case as well, when molding a general-sized beverage bottle or the like, there is a case where only one blow molding or stretch blow molding is required without repeating blow molding or stretch blow molding. Suitable for

  In addition to these, a handle such as a large bottle may be attached by insert molding so that it can be easily carried. For example, the container with a handle can be insert-molded by performing blow molding or stretch blow molding with the handle inserted into the second opening / closing mold 23 in the second processing unit 20.

(Mouth position adjustment)
In the case of a container such as a bottle, when it is necessary to align the mouth portion and the body portion around the center axis, the preform 2 is rotated around the center axis before stretching and blow molding is performed. An adjustment mechanism for adjusting the orientation of the preform 2 relative to the open / close molds 21 and 23 may be disposed. In the case of the blow molding apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the preform 2 mounted on the carrier 7 fed from the second straight conveyance path 12 to the upstream end position 13a of the third straight conveyance path 13 is the central axis thereof. An adjustment mechanism that rotates around and adjusts the orientation of the preform 2 conveyed through the third straight conveyance path 13 is disposed.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the adjustment mechanism 110 includes a sprocket 111 that can mesh with the sprocket 7d of the carrier 7 fed to the upstream end position 13a of the third linear conveyance path 13, and the sprocket 111 on the carrier side. And a moving mechanism 112 that moves to a position for meshing with the sprocket 7d and a position for releasing meshing. The moving mechanism 112 can be composed of a swing arm 113 having a sprocket 111 attached to the tip and an electric cylinder 114 for swinging the swing arm 113.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Blow molding apparatus 2 Preform 3 Bottle 4 Intermediate molded product 5 Apparatus housing 5a Machine room 5b Processing chamber 6 Circulation path 7 Carrier 11 1st linear conveyance path 12 2nd linear conveyance path 13 3rd linear conveyance path 14 4th linear conveyance Path 16 Preform charging unit 17 First heating unit 18 Second heating unit 19 First processing unit 20 Second processing unit 21 First opening / closing mold 22 First processing position 23 Second opening / closing mold 24 Second processing position 25 Bottle discharge table 26 Bottle discharge unit 30 Device frame 31 First straight guide rail 32 Second straight guide rail 33 Third straight guide rail 34 Fourth straight guide rail 35 First carrier push cylinder 36 Second carrier push cylinder 37 First carrier transfer portion 38 , 39, 40 Arm 41 Transfer plate 42 Drive mechanism 51a, 51b Holding claw 52 Opening / closing cylinder 53 Turning arm 54 Turning Use cylinder 61 external heating mechanism 62 mechanism frame 70 inside the heating mechanism 71,72,76 heater bar 73 supporting arm 74 lifting cylinders 75 inside the heating mechanism 76 heater bar 77 supporting arm 78 lifting cylinders 80 Clamping portion 90 extending portion

Claims (10)

A carrier capable of mounting a preform, which is an injection-molded product having a cylindrical body with a bottom and a mouth, in an inverted state with the mouth down,
First to fourth straight conveyance paths forming a rectangular circulation path on the same plane in order to circulate the carrier;
A transport mechanism for transporting the carrier sequentially through the first to fourth straight transport paths;
A charging unit for mounting the preform on the carrier at a midpoint of the first straight conveyance path;
A first heating unit that heats the preform mounted on the carrier while the carrier is transported on the first linear transport path;
A second heating unit that heats the preform mounted on the carrier while the carrier is transported on the second linear transport path;
A first processing unit that performs a first process on the preform mounted on the carrier in a first opening / closing mold disposed in the middle of the third straight conveyance path;
In the second open / close mold disposed at a position downstream of the processing position by the first processing unit in the third linear transport path in the carrier transport direction, the second process is performed on the preform mounted on the carrier. A second processing unit to be applied;
A bottle which is a final product obtained by performing at least one of the first processing and the second processing on the preform at the upstream end position in the carrier transport direction in the fourth straight transport path. And a discharge portion for discharging the carrier from the carrier,
At least one of the first process and the second process is a blow molding or stretch blow molding process. In claim 1,
The transport mechanism is
A first that intermittently pushes the carrier rows arranged in the carrier transport direction in contact with each other on the first straight transport path at a first feed pitch corresponding to one carrier in the carrier transport direction. A carrier extrusion part,
A second carrier push-out section that intermittently pushes the carrier rows arranged in the carrier conveyance direction in a state of being in contact with each other on the second straight conveyance path at the first feed pitch in the carrier conveyance direction;
On the third straight conveyance path, an upstream end position for receiving the carrier pushed out from the second straight conveyance path, a first processing position located in the first opening / closing mold, and a second opening / closing mold. Each carrier in the second processing position is sent out at a second feed pitch wider than the first feed pitch, and the first processing position, the second processing position, and the upstream end position of the fourth straight conveyance path A first carrier transfer unit that intermittently performs a transfer operation of transferring to each of them;
A second carrier that intermittently performs a transfer operation of transferring the carrier at the upstream end position of the fourth straight conveyance path to the upstream end position of the first straight conveyance path via the fourth straight conveyance path. A blow molding device comprising a transfer unit. In claim 1 or 2,
The first heating unit includes both an external heating mechanism that heats the intermittently fed carrier from the outside and an internal heating mechanism that heats the carrier from the inside, only the external heating mechanism, or only the internal heating mechanism. And
The second heating unit includes both the external heating mechanism and the internal heating mechanism or only the external heating mechanism when the first heating unit includes both the external heating mechanism and the internal heating mechanism. When the first heating unit includes only the external heating mechanism, the first heating unit includes only the external heating mechanism or both the external heating mechanism and the internal heating mechanism. In the case where only the internal heating mechanism is provided, the blow molding apparatus is provided with both the external heating mechanism and the internal heating mechanism or only the external heating mechanism. In claim 3,
The carrier is provided with a central through hole extending through the center in the vertical direction,
The internal heating mechanism is
An internal heating member that can be inserted into the preform mounted on the carrier through the central through hole of at least one of the carriers, and an elevating mechanism for raising and lowering the internal heating member,
When the intermittently fed carrier is temporarily stopped, the internal heating member is raised and the internal heating member is inserted into the preform mounted on the carrier to heat the preform from the inside, and the carrier The blow molding apparatus is characterized in that the internal heating member is lowered before being sent out. In claim 4,
Blow molding characterized in that a plurality of the internal heating members are arranged at the same pitch as the first feed pitch of the carrier, and these internal heating members are simultaneously lifted and lowered by the lifting mechanism. apparatus. In any one of claims 1 to 5,
The first processing unit uses a heating adjustment opening / closing mold for adjusting the heating state of the preform as the first opening / closing mold, and adjusts the heating state of each part of the preform. And
The second processing unit performs blow molding to obtain the bottle by blow molding the preform using a blow molding die as the second opening / closing mold. In any one of claims 1 to 5,
The first processing unit uses a first blow mold as the first opening / closing mold, and blows or stretch-blows the preform to obtain an intermediate molded product smaller than the final product, the bottle. Molding,
The second processing unit performs a final blow molding to obtain the bottle by blow molding or stretch blow molding the intermediate molded product using a second blow molding die as the second opening / closing mold. Molding equipment. In any one of claims 1 to 5,
The first processing unit uses a first blow mold as the first opening / closing mold, and blow-molds or stretch-blow-molds the preform to obtain an intermediate molded product that is slightly larger than the final product bottle. Blow molding,
The second processing unit blow-molds the intermediate molded product using a second blow molding die as the second opening / closing mold after the intermediate molded product is thermally contracted to be slightly smaller than the bottle. Or the blow molding apparatus characterized by performing final blow molding to obtain the bottle by stretch blow molding. In any one of claims 6 to 8,
The blow molding apparatus, wherein the second processing unit insert-molds a bottle with a handle by performing blow molding or stretch blow molding with a handle inserted into the second opening / closing mold. In any one of claims 1 to 9,
An adjustment mechanism for adjusting the orientation of the preform by rotating the preform mounted on the carrier sent to the upstream end position of the third linear conveyance path about its central axis; A blow molding apparatus characterized by that.

Images