WO2008029832A1

WO2008029832A1 - Apparatus for manufacturing thin resin-made beverage bottle

Info

Publication number: WO2008029832A1
Application number: PCT/JP2007/067273
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tomoichi Onishi; Kikyo Niitake; Masahiko Yamashita; Keiji Nitta
Original assignee: Taihei Corporation
Priority date: 2006-09-06
Filing date: 2007-09-05
Publication date: 2008-03-13
Also published as: JP2008062955A

Abstract

An apparatus capable of manufacturing a resin-made beverage bottle which is thin and lightweight to such an extent that the self support and shape maintenance are difficult according to hot parison process. The apparatus for manufacturing a thin resin-made beverage bottle is one characterized by including injection draw blow molding means (10) for thin resin-made bottle (2); bottle takeout means (20) for taking out the molded bottle (2); and bottle delivery means (30) equipped with bottle hanging conveyor (31) for delivering bottles (2) taken out while hanging them with a given spacing therebetween, the bottle takeout means (20) adapted to, while hanging a line of multiple bottles (2) with a given spacing therebetween, simultaneously carry out transfer onto the bottle hanging conveyor (31).

Description

Specification

Thin resin beverage bottle manufacturing equipment

Technical field

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for integrally manufacturing a beverage bottle made of resin such as PET, PE, PP, etc. until beverage filling, sealing, and label printing, and more specifically, by a hot parison method. The present invention relates to the above-mentioned production apparatus suitable for producing a plastic bottle that is manufactured and thinned so that it is difficult to stand and maintain its shape.

Background art

[0002] The world's crude oil reserves are finite, and its dryness is always a concern. In addition, rising prices of crude oil and petroleum products due to various factors are burdening oil-consuming countries, especially developing countries. Under such circumstances, measures to effectively use petroleum resources include recycling of petroleum products such as PET resin bottles.

[0003] Recycling of petroleum products such as PET resin bottles will not work unless the recovery rate of used products is high. In addition, the cost of establishing and operating a recycling facility is high, especially for developing countries.

[0004] As another method for effectively using petroleum resources, it is conceivable to reduce the amount of resin used in resin products as much as possible. For example, if an extremely thin and lightweight PET resin bottle can be manufactured at low cost, it will be a resource-saving measure because it requires only a fraction of the conventional petroleum resources. Discharging only a fraction of the amount of plastic containers compared to conventional products will also help prevent CO emissions and prevent environmental pollution.

[0005] By the way, in the hot parison type manufacturing in which the process from raw resin preform to blow drawing is performed with one apparatus, batch production of a plurality of bottles (for example, 5 to 20 bottles) at the same time is performed. Generally, tact operation is used.

[0006] When a beverage filling mechanism and a cap sealing mechanism are provided downstream of a hot parison type bottle manufacturing apparatus and a resin bottle containing a beverage is integratedly produced, the beverage filling mechanism and the sealing mechanism are usually tactile. It is operated continuously without driving. The printing apparatus provided after the sealing mechanism is tact-operated again. [0007] In order to smoothly link the tact operation and the continuous operation, a mechanism for adjusting the supply amount of the bottle is required among the bottle manufacturing process, the beverage filling and sealing mechanism, and the printing mechanism. Become.

[0008] Since conventional beverage bottles are thick and strong in structure, an endless chain conveyor is provided as an additional mechanism between the bottle forming mechanism and a subsequent filling mechanism, and the bottle is placed on the chain competitor. It was easy to adjust the bottle supply by creating a buffer part consisting of a queue.

[0009] However, when trying to make a thin resin bottle with a conventional manufacturing apparatus, the bottle dents just by contacting the bottles on the conveyor, and the commercial value is lost. In addition, since the tact position in the next process becomes inaccurate, automatic driving tends to be difficult. In addition, the above-described noffer portion of the conventional device is likely to be a redundant mechanism, which causes the device to become enlarged and increase the cost.

[0010] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11 011589 (Patent Document 1) describes a method of filling a beverage without deforming a plastic thin-walled container while using a conventional manufacturing apparatus. As shown in Fig. 5, the plastic thin-walled container 70 is inserted into a vertically-divided holder 71 and only the periphery of the mouth of the thin-walled container is exposed from the holder, and most of the other parts are attached to the holder. It is intended to be stored. In this way, the holder covers the necessary strength and prevents the thin-walled containers from being deformed or distorted during beverage filling and sealing.

[0011] However, the above method is expensive because a holder is prepared for each bottle, and it is very complicated to put the bottle in and out of the holder. The thin plastic container to be stored must have a thickness of 50 to 100 microns, and it is thinner than that, so it cannot be self-supporting in the holder, and it can be deformed by a slight impact. Is impossible to deal with. Patent Document 1: JP-A-11-011589

Disclosure of the invention

[0012] Therefore, an object of the present invention is an integrated manufacturing system capable of handling thin and light resin beverage bottles that are difficult to maintain independently and maintain their shape in an integrated manufacturing system for beverage bottles that employs the hot parison method. To provide a system.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a buffer part in the conversion part from batch production to continuous production. In order to provide an integrated manufacturing system that can ensure maximum production efficiency,

[0014] Still another object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive integrated manufacturing system that can continuously produce thin resin bottles without human intervention.

[0015] As a result of intensive studies on the above problems, the present inventor has found that the above problems can be solved by improving the removal and conveyance of the bottles produced by the blow stretch molding mechanism using the hot parison method. That is, the present invention includes an injection stretch blow molding mechanism 10 for a thin-walled resin bottle, a bottle ejection mechanism 20 for taking out the molded bottle 2, and the taken-out bottle 2 suspended at a certain interval. A bottle conveying mechanism 30 having a bottle hanging conveyor 31 for conveying the bottle while the bottle removing mechanism 30 suspends the row of a plurality of bottles 2 spaced apart from each other at the same time. Provided is a thin-walled resin beverage bottle manufacturing apparatus characterized by being transferred to a lower conveyor (31).

[0016] It is preferable that the bottle suspension conveyor 31 is tact-conveyed at the same pitch as the pitch of the plurality of bottles 2 taken out simultaneously from the bottle take-out mechanism 20.

[0017] The bottle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention further includes a beverage filling mechanism 40 having a star wheel 41 that continuously rotates while mooring the bottle 2 downstream of the bottle transport mechanism 30, and a cap on the bottle 2 filled with beverage. And a bottle sealing mechanism 50 for attaching the bottle 2 to the star wheel 41 from the bottle suspension conveyor 31 through the air conveyor 35.

The manufacturing apparatus of the present invention preferably includes a tact conveyor 62 and a printing mechanism 60 downstream of the bottle sealing mechanism 50.

The manufacturing apparatus of the present invention transports the thin resin bottle 2 molded by the blow injection molding mechanism 10 to the beverage filling mechanism, the sealing mechanism, and the label printing mechanism while maintaining the shape and quality. That is, it is possible to handle bottles that are so thin that it is impossible to maintain the shape during bottle molding, beverage filling, sealing, and printing with the conventional apparatus while maintaining the shape and quality. Moreover, since the beverage bottles are continuously produced without stagnation, the equipment can be downsized and the production speed can be maximized.

[0020] The manufacturing apparatus of the present invention also reduces the opportunity for human intervention through continuous production and reduces the necessary amount. Easy maintenance of minute sterility. In particular, the process from injection molding of the resin raw material by the hot parison method to filling and sealing of the beverage can be maintained consistently in a sterile state. By always ensuring the sanitary condition of beverage bottles during the manufacturing process, additional equipment such as washing equipment and wastewater treatment equipment is no longer required, and equipment manufacturing costs and running costs can be reduced. Manufacture and maintenance efforts are also significantly reduced.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of a thin resin beverage bottle manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

2 is an enlarged plan view of a part of an injection molding mechanism, a bottle take-out mechanism, a bottle transport mechanism, and a beverage filling mechanism of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the bottle take-out mechanism of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an operation of transferring a bottle to a bottle transport mechanism by the bottle take-out mechanism of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a plastic thin wall bottle loaded with a holder according to the prior art. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a production apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a beverage bottle manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The production apparatus 1 of the present invention mainly comprises an injection stretch blow molding mechanism 10, a bottle take-out mechanism 20, a bottle transport mechanism 30, a beverage filling mechanism 40, a bottle sealing mechanism 50, and a printing mechanism 60. Each mechanism from the injection drawing process 10 to the bottle sealing mechanism 50 is usually installed in a clean room and operated in a sterile environment. Below, the main mechanism of the manufacturing apparatus of this invention is demonstrated in order from the upstream of a manufacturing process.

An injection stretch blow molding mechanism 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is an apparatus for molding a bottle 2 made of plastic (for example, PET resin) and extremely thin (for example, thickness 0 · 01-0. 1 mm). This mechanism can be the same as a conventional hot parison manufacturing apparatus. Specifically, the injection molding part that simultaneously molds multiple Norison 3 (Fig. 2) by injection molding of the raw material resin, and after mounting the Norison on the mold, the pressurized gas is blown and stretched blown. It consists of a blow-molded part that creates the shape of Bot-Nore 2. [0024] The manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present invention delivers the Norison 3 produced in the injection molding section to the blow molding section without leaving it for a long time. Therefore, there is no need for cleaning / drying means before the blow molding part, which was essential in the cold parison method.

[0025] The bottle take-out mechanism 20 takes out the bottles IJ (six in FIG. 2) of the plurality of bottles 2 formed by the injection stretch blow molding mechanism 10 at the same time while suspending them, and transfers them to the bottle transport mechanism 30. It has a function to do. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 2, the bottle take-out mechanism 20 has a neck guide 21 having a structure in which the neck (neck) of the bottle 2 in an upright state with the opening portion facing upward is supported by a concave bracket 21. However, a plurality of them are attached in parallel. The neck guide 21 is fixed to the arm 22 and can slide with the arm 22 in the vertical and longitudinal directions with respect to the column 23. The bottle 2 supported by the neck guide 21 is guided to the bottle transport mechanism 30 (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3).

[0026] The bottle 2 taken out by the bottle take-out mechanism 20 is transferred to a bottle suspension conveyor 31 composed of an endless chain conveyor. For transfer, on the bottle suspension conveyor 31, a neck guide 32 structured to support the neck of the bottle 2 with a concave bracket so that adjacent bottles 2 are kept at a certain distance and do not contact each other. The bottle 2 is transferred from the concave neck guide 21 of the bottle take-out mechanism 20 to the concave neck guide 3 2 on the bottle suspension conveyor 31 so as to be bridged.

[0027] The resin beverage bottle 2 handled by the present manufacturing apparatus 1 is extremely thin and cannot stand on its own and deforms even when it is in contact with each other. However, the bottle transport mechanism 30 holds the bottles at a predetermined interval. However, the bottle 2 is prevented from being deformed by being transported in a suspended state (Fig. 3).

[0028] The bottle suspending conveyor 31 composed of an endless chain conveyor receives a plurality of bottles 2 at the same time upstream, and then receives one bottle 2 up to the introduction part of the beverage filling mechanism 40 located downstream. Carry them while hanging one by one (Figs. 2 and 3). The bottle suspending conveyor 31 is transported at the same pitch as the pitch of the plurality of bottles 2 taken out simultaneously from the bottle removing mechanism 20. That is, the bottle suspension conveyor 31 is tact-controlled so as to stop and restart in conjunction with the operation of the bottle removing mechanism 20. At the timing when the bottle take-out mechanism 20 takes out a plurality of bottles 2, the bottle suspension conveyor 31 stops, and a plurality of bottles 2 are transferred from the bottle take-out mechanism 20 to the bottle suspension conveyor 31 at once. Bottle 2 At the timing when the transfer is completed, the bottle suspension conveyor 31 is restarted, and a plurality of suspended bottles 2 are conveyed.

[0029] The speed of the bottle suspension conveyor 31 is an appropriately adjusted force S, (number of stages of the injection stretch blow molding machine structure (4 in the figure) X number of bottle moldings per stage) / 1 cycle required time Synchronize with the bottle suspension conveyor 31.

[0030] A series of tact operations of the bottle take-out mechanism 20 and the bottle transport mechanism 30 are combined with a turn conveyor 34 and a star wheel 41, which will be described later, to continuously supply the bottle 2 to the beverage filling mechanism 40. Convenient.

[0031] The bottle 2 transported by the bottle suspension conveyor 31 is delivered to the stationary wheel 41 of the beverage filling mechanism 40 at the end thereof (Fig. 2). The bottle 2 is first pushed out by the first actuator 33 in the direction perpendicular to the conveyor conveying direction and transferred to the neck guide 38 of the turn conveyor 34. The shape of the neck guide 38 is the same as that of the neck guide 32.

[0032] Next, when the turn conveyor 34 rotates 90 ° in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2, the second actuator 36 and the bottle No. 2 are pushed out to the air conveyor 35 and the bottle No. 2 is transferred to the air compressor 35. (Figure 2).

[0033] The air conveyor 35 is provided with a neck guide 39 having a structure in which the neck of the bottle 2 is slidably engaged and guided from both sides thereof. A duct is provided at the opposite edge of the neck guide 39, and a number of slits are formed on the opposite side walls of the duct. By supplying air from the blower to the slit, the bottle 2 on the conveyor 35 moves forward.

[0034] The air conveyor 35 is a force that continues to be pushed by air until the bottle 2 neck enters the indented portion of the star wheel 41. S, in the air conveyor 35 so that the bottles do not contact each other in the conveyor 35. Is controlled so that there is always only one bottle 2 in it. Thus, the bottles 2 that are continuously supplied to the air conveyor introduction part one by one are conveyed to the star wheel 41 one by one.

The bottle transport mechanism 30 and the actuators 33 and 36 interlocked with the bottle transport mechanism 30 perform a tact operation (discontinuous operation), whereas the star wheel 41 operates continuously. While the turn conveyor 34 and the air conveyor 35 are continuously rotating the star wheel 41 on the receiving side By adjusting the reception time on the star wheel 41 side, the power is adjusted.

[0036] The bottle 2 moored in the indented portion of the star wheel 41 is continuously transferred to the beverage filling mechanism 40 as the wheel rotates while being suspended. The beverage filling mechanism 40 comprises a commercially available beverage filling machine.

[0037] The bottle 2 filled with the beverage by the beverage filling mechanism 40 is transferred to the bottle sealing mechanism 50 through the star wheel 42 in a suspended state.

[0038] As the bottle sealing mechanism 50, a general-purpose one can be used. For example, the container opening is sealed with an aluminum thermal sealing machine, or the cap attached to the container opening after filling is wound with a winding machine. .

[0039] Although the bottle 2 that has been capped by the bottle sealing mechanism 50 is conveyed to the printing mechanism 60, the printing mechanism 60 preferably uses pad printing. Therefore, the bottle 2 that has been continuously conveyed from the sealing mechanism 50 needs to be converted back into a tact operation. Therefore, the bottle 2 is transferred from the bottle sealing mechanism 50 to the tact conveyor 62 by the transfer device 61 such as a star wheel. The tact conveyor 62 is composed of a general-purpose bucket conveyor or top plate conveyor. After the transfer, the position and posture of the bottle 2 are corrected as appropriate.

[0040] On the tact conveyor 62, the cup force that holds the bottle 2 with the printed part of the bottle 2 exposed so that the position does not shift or deform even when printing on a thin-walled bottle. Is provided. The bottle 2 is transported in a state of being stored in a cup.

[0041] The tact conveyor 62 is stopped only when the bottle in the cup is pad-printed by one or a plurality of pad printers, and repeats a series of operations to restart after printing. It is preferable to provide a mechanism that temporarily backs up the opposite side of the printing surface of bottle 2 during printing. The bottle 2 thus pad-printed is shipped or stored for shipment at the end of the tact conveyor 62, appropriately in a state of being accommodated in a cup.

Explanation of symbols

[0042] 1 bottle manufacturing equipment

2 Thin resin bottle

3 Norison

10 Injection stretch blow molding mechanism Bottle unloading mechanism Neck guide arm

Prop

Bottle transport mechanism Bottle suspension conveyor Neck guide 1st actuator Turn conveyor Air conveyor 2nd actuator Air nozzle Neck guide Neck guide Beverage filling mechanism

Transfer equipment

Tact conveyor Plastic thin-walled container Holder

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] Injection stretch blow molding mechanism (10) for thin resin bottle (2),

A bottle removing mechanism (20) for removing the molded bottle (2);

A bottle conveyance mechanism (30) having a bottle suspension conveyor (31) for conveying the bottles (2) taken out while being suspended at a certain interval;

The bottle take-out mechanism (20) 1S, producing a thin resin beverage bottle characterized in that a plurality of bottles spaced at regular intervals are suspended and simultaneously transferred to the bottle suspension conveyor (31) apparatus.

[2] The bottle suspension conveyor (31) is tact-conveyed at the same pitch as the pitch of the plurality of bottles (2) taken out simultaneously with the force of the bottle take-out mechanism (20). 2. The apparatus for producing a thin resin beverage bottle according to 1.

[3] A beverage filling mechanism (40) having a star hoist (41) rotating continuously while mooring the bottle (2) downstream of the bottle transport mechanism (30),

A bottle sealing mechanism (50) for attaching a cap to a beverage-filled bottle (2),

The thin-walled resin product according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bottle (2) is transferred from the bottle suspension conveyor (31) to the star wheel (41) via an air conveyor (35). Beverage bottle manufacturing equipment.

[4] The apparatus for producing a thin resin beverage bottle according to claim 3, further comprising a tact conveyor (62) and a printing mechanism (60) downstream of the bottle sealing mechanism (50).