Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C03—GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL
  • C03B—MANUFACTURE, SHAPING, OR SUPPLEMENTARY PROCESSES
  • C03B9/00—Blowing glass; Production of hollow glass articles
  • C03B9/30—Details of blowing glass; Use of materials for the moulds
  • C03B9/38—Means for cooling, heating, or insulating glass-blowing machines or for cooling the glass moulded by the machine
  • C03B9/3841—Details thereof relating to direct cooling, heating or insulating of the moulded glass
  • C03B9/385—Details thereof relating to direct cooling, heating or insulating of the moulded glass using a tube for cooling or heating the inside, e.g. blowheads
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C03—GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL
  • C03B—MANUFACTURE, SHAPING, OR SUPPLEMENTARY PROCESSES
  • C03B9/00—Blowing glass; Production of hollow glass articles
  • C03B9/30—Details of blowing glass; Use of materials for the moulds
  • C03B9/44—Means for discharging combined with glass-blowing machines, e.g. take-outs
  • C03B9/447—Means for the removal of glass articles from the blow-mould, e.g. take-outs

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method in the manu- facture of hollow glass objects, such as glass bottles and jars, with the aid of at least one mould arrange ⁇ ment, in which subsequent to being removed from the mould, but prior to being placed in position for trans ⁇ portation to a cooling chamber or the like, each object is cooled, both externally and internally, with the aid of a fluid coolant.
• the invention also relates to ap ⁇ paratus for use when carrying out the method.
• the manufacture of, for instance, glass bottles is typically effected in two stages, the neck of the bottle being formed in the first stage and the final bottle shape being achieved in the second stage, by blowing in a two-part mould.
• the bottle is removed from the mould with the aid of an arm-carried gripping de- vice which grips around the neck of the bottle, so that the bottle hangs vertically from said arm.
• the finished bottle is lifted from the mould and suspended for some seconds above an upwardly strea ⁇ ming air flow, so as to cool the bottle externally, and particularly so as to stablize the bottom of the bottle prior to placing the bottle onto a conveyor belt for transportation to a cooling chamber.
• the temperature of the molten glass during bottle manufacture is about 1100-1200°c , and it is necessary to cool the formed bottle to a temperature of about 600°C before it can be placed on the conveyor belt. If the bottle is not cool- ed down to this temperature, there is a risk that the bottle will be deformed, and particularly that the lower part of the bottle will become crooked or warped in relation to the remainder of the bottle.
• EP-A2-0 071 825 describes a glass bottle manufacturing machine, in which the glass bottles are cooled inter ⁇ nally to some extent with the aid of air or or some other gas.
• air is sprayed into the bottle th ⁇ rough a nozzle positioned above the mouth of the bott ⁇ le.
• This method cannot result in effective cooling of the bottle, particularly the bottom of the bottle, since the temperature of the air used is the same as ambient temperature and since the air is passed freely through the same narrow opening as that through which the return air exits.
• the pressure under which the air can be sprayed into the bottle is limited by the risk of further blowing the bottle and the risk of deforming the readily de-for- mable bottle.
• a primary object of the present invention is to provide a method by means of which the interior of a bottle and the bottom of said bottle can be cooled much more effectively than was hitherto the case, without risk of deforming the bottom of the bottle. This will enable the production rate to be increased and/or the quality of the finished product to be improved.
• Another object is to provide apparatus for use when carrying out the method.
• the primary object of the present invention is achieved by introducing a liquefied gas into the interior of the hollow glass object, where the liquefied gas vapourizes while taking-up heat from the glass.
• the gas used must be chosen so that the pressure within the bottle or object will not increase to any appreciable extent.
• the gas will preferably have a high ther ⁇ mal capacity, so that a small volume of gas will pro ⁇ vide effective cooling of the object.
• a method of the kind defined in the first paragraph of the description and which fulfills the aforesaid requirements is particu ⁇ larly characterized in that internal cooling of the hollow glass object is effected by introducing a con- densed gas, such as condensed carbon dioxide or nitro ⁇ gen, into the hollow of said object, where said con ⁇ densed gas vapourizes while cooling the glass.
• a con- densed gas such as condensed carbon dioxide or nitro ⁇ gen
• the fluid coolant used is liquid carbon dioxide, of which at least a part first converts to a solid state and then vapourizes, and that the carbon dioxide is sprayed through a probe which is configured with at least one fluid passageway and which is intro ⁇ pokerd into the hollow of the glass object to a depth such as to achieve internal cooling of the bottom part of said object.
• the carbon dioxide is sprayed in mutually different direc ⁇ tions over the bottom of the object.
• carbon dioxide is highly beneficial, since it can be introduced, for instance, at a pressure of about 15 bars, which signifies a temperature of about -40° C.
• the condensed carbon dioxide is sprayed into the bottle, in which atmospheric pressure prevails, the solid phase obtained, i.e. carbon-dioxide snow, has a lower temperature of about -76° C, which affords an effective cooling action, since the amount of energy required to vapourize the carbon-dioxide snow is very high per unit of weight.
• the probe is inserted into the cavity of said object while moving the object from the mould to a position in which external cooling of the bottom of the object takes place, therewith to increase the production rate.
• Figure 1 illustrates schematically the two first stages of a conventional bottle manufacturing process .
• Figure 2 illustrates schematically the inventive ap ⁇ paratus for cooling a bottle manufactured in accordance with Figure 1 , with the aid of a liquid carbon dioxide coolant.
• Figure 3 illustrates in larger scale a probe included in the apparatus of Figure 2.
• the reference numeral 1 identifies a bot ⁇ tle blank moulded from molten glass introduced into a first mould.
• the bottle blank 1 is formed in an upside- down position and is held firmly by its neck, even when the mould (not shown) has been removed.
• the bottle blank 1 is transferred to a separatable finishing mould 5, with the aid of an arm 4 pivotally mounted on a pivot shaft 3.
• the bottle blank is blown to its final bottle form in the finishing mould.
• the finishing mould is then opened and the bottle is gripped around its neck and transferred to a cooling chamber, where the bottle is cooled.
• apparatus for transferring the finished bot- tie from the mould 5 to the cooling chamber (not shown) .
• the illustrated apparatus comprises a box 6 which, among other things, supports gripping means 7 for coaction with a finished bottle 8.
• the box 6 also carries a probe 9 which can be inserted down into a bottle gripped by the gripping means 7.
• the probe 9 is connected to a flexible, low-temperature hose 10 so as to permit the requisite vertical movement of the probe.
• the end of the hose 10 distal from the probe 9 is con ⁇ nected to an insulated supply hose 11 which leads from a carbon-dioxide container 12 and which is also flex ⁇ ible so as to permit the box 6 to move.
• the box 6 is carried by an arm 14 which is pivotally mounted on a pivot shaft 13 and which is operative to move the box 6 between a collecting position and a cooling and laying-off position.
• the illustrated embodiment of apparatus for trans ⁇ ferring and cooling a bottle operates in the following manner.
• th box 6 is lowered towards the bottle, so that the gripping means 7 are able to grip around the neck of the bottle.
• the probe 9 is lowered comparatively deeply into the bottle 8.
• a valve (not shown) is then opened, so that liquid carbon dioxide will flow from the container 12 into the interior of the bottle, through the probe 9, at the same time as the bottle is being transferred by means of the arm 4 to the laying-off position shown in full lines in Figure 2, in which position the bottle 8 hangs above a nozzle means 15 which functions to blow cooling air onto the outer surfaces of the bottom of the bottle.
• the bottle is held in this position for some seconds, whereafter the bottle 8 is moved, e.g. with the aid of a pusher 16, to a conveyor belt 17 which transports the bottle to a cooling chamber (not shown) .
• the probe 9 of the illustrated embodiment includes four separate passageways, suitably in the form of separate pipes 18 of small dimensions in order to maintain a low outlet pressure and therewith avoid blowing the bottle to a larger sixe and deforming the bottle.
• the lower parts of the pipes 18 are bent outwards, so as to a- chieve effective spreading of the carbon dioxide over the bottom of the bottle.
• the use of carbon dioxide as a coolant is highly advantageous, since carbon dioxide can be introduced at relatively low temperatures at a manageable pressure, and also since when carbon dioxide is sprayed into the bottle in which atmospheric pressure prevails, part of the carbon dioxide will convert to carbon-dioxide snow which has a lower temperature than the carbon dioxide supplied. Consequently, there is obtained in the bottle interior a temperature which is lower than the temperature for which the conduits and components used to supply carbon dioxide to the bottle need to be adapted, this lower temperature providing more effective cooling of the bottle interior.
• liquid carbon dioxide can be supplied at a temperature of about -40°c and a pressure of 15 bars. Conversion of the liquid carbon dioxide to carbon dioxide snow, or dry ice, inside the bottle lowers the temperature to about -76°C, which results in highly effective cooling of the bottle interior.
• Carbon dioxide snow also has a very high thermal capacity and it can be mentioned by way of example that 199 kJ are consumed when fuming-off 1 kg of liquid nitrogen at atmospheric pressure, where- as 573 kJ are consumed when fuming-off 1 kg of carbon dioxide snow.
• the use of carbon dioxide also affords considerable advantages from a cost aspect.
• the carbon dioxide snow that forms within the bottle will be vapourized and depart in vapour or gas form before it reaches the bottom of the bottle.
• the increase in pressure in the bottle will be extremely moderate, will not exceed about 0.02 bar, and consequently there is no risk of the bottle being deformed.
• the invention has been described with reference to the exemplifying embodiment illus ⁇ trated in the drawing, where carbon dioxide is used as the cooling agent. Cooling can also be effected advan ⁇ tageously with other cryogen gases, such as condensed nitrogen, while obtaining several of the aforementioned advantages. Other variations and modifications can also be made within the scope of the following Claims.
• the means for gripping and moving the bottle may have a form different to that shown, as can also the means by which condensed gas is supplied to the bottle.
• the only essential criterion in this respect is that the condensed gas can be introduced into the bot ⁇ tle effectively, so as to cool the internal surfaces of the bottle and particularly the bottom part thereof immediately the bottle has been formed, although with ⁇ out extending the time in the finishing mould.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Physical Or Chemical Processes And Apparatus (AREA)
• Re-Forming, After-Treatment, Cutting And Transporting Of Glass Products (AREA)
• Filling Of Jars Or Cans And Processes For Cleaning And Sealing Jars (AREA)
• Details Of Rigid Or Semi-Rigid Containers (AREA)
• Blow-Moulding Or Thermoforming Of Plastics Or The Like (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20376785

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (6)

Citations (2)

• 1989
  • 1989-08-31 SE SE8902891A patent/SE464472B/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1990
  • 1990-08-16 CA CA 2065358 patent/CA2065358A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1990-08-16 EP EP19900913019 patent/EP0489801A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1990-08-16 BR BR909007625A patent/BR9007625A/pt unknown
  • 1990-08-16 JP JP51182690A patent/JPH04507232A/ja active Pending
  • 1990-08-16 WO PCT/SE1990/000531 patent/WO1991003430A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (2)

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