Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G17/00—Conveyors having an endless traction element, e.g. a chain, transmitting movement to a continuous or substantially-continuous load-carrying surface or to a series of individual load-carriers; Endless-chain conveyors in which the chains form the load-carrying surface
  • B65G17/30—Details; Auxiliary devices
  • B65G17/32—Individual load-carriers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
  • B29C49/00—Blow-moulding, i.e. blowing a preform or parison to a desired shape within a mould; Apparatus therefor
  • B29C49/42—Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations
  • B29C49/4205—Handling means, e.g. transfer, loading or discharging means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
  • B29C2949/00—Indexing scheme relating to blow-moulding
  • B29C2949/07—Preforms or parisons characterised by their configuration
  • B29C2949/0715—Preforms or parisons characterised by their configuration the preform having one end closed
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
  • B29C49/00—Blow-moulding, i.e. blowing a preform or parison to a desired shape within a mould; Apparatus therefor
  • B29C49/02—Combined blow-moulding and manufacture of the preform or the parison
  • B29C49/06—Injection blow-moulding
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
  • B29C49/00—Blow-moulding, i.e. blowing a preform or parison to a desired shape within a mould; Apparatus therefor
  • B29C49/42—Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations
  • B29C49/4205—Handling means, e.g. transfer, loading or discharging means
  • B29C49/42073—Grippers
  • B29C49/42085—Grippers holding inside the neck
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
  • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
  • B29C49/00—Blow-moulding, i.e. blowing a preform or parison to a desired shape within a mould; Apparatus therefor
  • B29C49/42—Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations
  • B29C49/4205—Handling means, e.g. transfer, loading or discharging means
  • B29C49/42113—Means for manipulating the objects' position or orientation
  • B29C49/42119—Rotation, e.g. rotating a predetermined angle for asymmetric preform or with asymmetric heat profile
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G2201/00—Indexing codes relating to handling devices, e.g. conveyors, characterised by the type of product or load being conveyed or handled
  • B65G2201/02—Articles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G2201/00—Indexing codes relating to handling devices, e.g. conveyors, characterised by the type of product or load being conveyed or handled
  • B65G2201/02—Articles
  • B65G2201/0235—Containers
  • B65G2201/0261—Puck as article support

Definitions

• the present invention refers to an improved apparatus for mamtajriing a prefixed orientation when conveying on a large-scale basis orderly sequences of containers made of thermoplastic material, in particular polyethylene terephtalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP), in particular appropriate semi-finished items generally known as "preforms" in the art, which are usually blow-moulded subsequently for conversion into finished containers.
• thermoplastic material in particular polyethylene terephtalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP), in particular appropriate semi-finished items generally known as "preforms" in the art, which are usually blow-moulded subsequently for conversion into finished containers.
• the present invention can be used in a most advantageous manner when the described apparatus, which in the following description will be referred to as a "pick-up plug" after the name under which it is widely known by those skilled in the art, is associated to a preform production plant that is also known in the art as a single-stage plant, but can of course be advantageously used also in connection with plants that are solely fed with previously produced preforms to only carry out the final blow-moulding phase (two-stage plants) .
• single-stage processes are so defined owing to the fact that they are capable of moulding said so-called preform or panson, transferring the same preform or panson from the injection or extrusion mould (after it has cooled down to some appropnate temperature) to a conditioning station, where said preform or panson is allowed to evenly balance down to a preferred molecular onentation temperature Said preform or panson is then transferred to a blow- moulding tool, where it is moulded into the desired shape
• the pick-up plug is constituted by a "stator”, which is appropriately coupled to the driving belt, and a rotor (or collar body), which is free to rotate about its axis and which is driven rotatably in the concLitioning station for as long a time as necessary for the hot air to be able to heat up the preform supported by it.
• the present invention may take the form of a preferred embodiment such as the one that is described in detail below by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
• FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a single-stage plant adapted to make use of the present invention
• - Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the left-hand portion of the plant illustrated in Figure 1 ;
• FIG. 3, 4 and 5 are views of three respective possible arrangements of the magnets in the rotor and the respective stator of corresponding pick-up plugs according to the present invention
• 6a and 6b are views of the vertical median section and the same section with the horizontal section planes A-A and B-B, respectively, of a pick-up plug according to the present invention
• FIG. 7 is a view of the same section shown in Figure 6, however with a preform associated to the same pick-up plug;
• FIG. 8 is a view of the same section illustrated in Figure 6, however with an asymmetrical bottle associated to the same pick-up plug;
• FIG. 9 and 10 are views of plane cross sections orthogonal to the axis of the pick-up plug appearing in Figure 6, relating to section A-A and section B-B, respectively.
• the basic peculiarity of the present invention resides in providing pick-up plugs adapted to pick-up and transport individual preforms, and the related finished containers, which comprise, in their stator, a plurality of magnetized elements that are capable of being collected into a multiplicity of distinct clusters of magnets, in which each such cluster of magnets comprises magnets provided with a same polarity, and comprise, in their rotor, a plurality of magnetized elements that are capable of being collected into a multiplicity of distinct clusters of magnets, in which each such cluster of magnets comprises magnets provided with a same polarity, said magnets of both the rotor and the stator being arranged so as to enable said rotor and said stator to dispose themselves, when at rest, into a definite number of prefixable relative positions with respect to each other.
• Figure 1 illustrates a single-stage plant comprising an extrusion unit 1 , a plurality of preform injection-moulding moulds 2, a conditioning station 3, a blow-moulding station 4 in which the finished product 15 is formed, an ejection or unloading station 5, in which the finished containers are finally separated from the respective pick-up plugs and are conveyed towards the subsequent processing stations.
• the position of the pick-up plugs is generally indicated at 6.
• magnets are subdivided into two distinct clusters, in which a first cluster comprises ten substantially identical and contiguous magnets, generally indicated at N, and a second cluster comprises ten further substantially identical and contiguous magnets having an opposite polarity and, therefore, generally indicated at S.
• a total of twenty magnets are therefore comprised in the ring-like configuration in which they are arranged.
• the cluster of magnets N occupies an arc of exactly 180°.
• both the magnets in the rotor and the magnets in the stator substantially on two respective parallel planes, in such a configuration as to enable them to form respective closed-loop rings, so as illustrated in Figures 9 and 10.
• said rings be coaxial and the common axis O thereof coincide with the common axis of the rotor and the stator.
• the pick-up plug is formed by associating the stator 10 with the respective rotor 11 upon having assembled the magnets of Figure 3 on the rotor, in the face thereof facing the stator, and upon having similarly assembled the magnets on the stator, in the face thereof facing the rotor.
• the magnets of the rotor are arranged in front of the magnets of the stator, and such a circumstance , owing to the construction of the pick-up plug, persists no matter how said rotor and said stator are rotated relative to each other, it then ensues that, if the magnets are distributed in the rotor and the stator as shown in the Figures, the rotor, when at rest, tends to dispose itself into a single definite position owing to the effect of the magnetic attraction/repulsion action of the individual magnets.
• a pick-up plug By associating such a rotor with a corresponding stator, a pick-up plug will be provided which is adapted to offer exactly four such resting or balance points, equally spaced from each other, as anyone skilled in the art is able to easily understand without any further explanation being needed to such a purpose.
• An advantageous improvement of the present invention resides in the magnets being arranged so as to prevent, or at least effectively hinder, dirt, dust or any other kind of particles, which are likely to impair the capability of the stator and the rotor to slide relative to each other, from penetrating therethrough.
• a lip 13 protruding from said stator or said rotor is provided so as to externally cover the gap 14 existing between said magnets N of the stator and said magnets S of the rotor.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Blow-Moulding Or Thermoforming Of Plastics Or The Like (AREA)
• Processing And Handling Of Plastics And Other Materials For Molding In General (AREA)
• Chain Conveyers (AREA)
• Extrusion Moulding Of Plastics Or The Like (AREA)
• Sealing Of Jars (AREA)
• Permanent Field Magnets Of Synchronous Machinery (AREA)

Priority Applications (8)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11395499

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (12)

Families Citing this family (7)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (12)

• 1999
  • 1999-03-05 IT IT1999PN000027A patent/IT1311209B1/it active
• 2000
  • 2000-02-07 US US09/914,988 patent/US6669010B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-02-07 EP EP00907507A patent/EP1159210B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-02-07 CA CA002366197A patent/CA2366197C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-02-07 DE DE60000729T patent/DE60000729T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-02-07 ES ES00907507T patent/ES2186629T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-02-07 WO PCT/EP2000/000942 patent/WO2000053516A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2000-02-07 JP JP2000603962A patent/JP4462765B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-02-07 AT AT00907507T patent/ATE227234T1/de active
  • 2000-02-07 MX MXPA01006821A patent/MXPA01006821A/es active IP Right Grant
  • 2000-02-07 BR BR0008750-5A patent/BR0008750A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2000-02-07 CN CN00802669.6A patent/CN1206144C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (4)

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