METHOD AND INSTALLATION FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CONTAINERS

• US 20100072673A1
• Filed: 09/16/2009
• Published: 03/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sidel Participations (Tetra Laval Holdings BV)
• Original Assignee: Sidel Participations (Tetra Laval Holdings BV)
• Inventors: Desoutter, Luc, Feuilloley, Guy
• Granted Patent: US 8,354,051 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 264/454
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 13/024 Hollow bodies, e.g. tubes or profiles
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2035/0822 using IR radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2035/0838 using laser
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0715 the preform having one end closed
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 35/0805 using electromagnetic radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/06 Injection blow-moulding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/645 by cooling the neck
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/68 Ovens specially adapted for heating preforms or parisons
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/6835 using reflectors

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of producing a container from a thermoplastic blank (2), comprising: a step in which the blank (2) is heated using at least one beam (22) of coherent electromagnetic radiation, and a step in which the container is formed from the blank (2) thus heated. The invention also relates to an installation (1) which is used to produce containers (2) and which comprises a unit (16) for heating the blanks (2) in order to form containers from the blanks (2) thus heated. The inventive installation (1) defines a path (23) along which the blanks (2) travel inside the heating unit (16). In addition, the heating unit (16) comprises at least one coherent electromagnetic radiation source (26) which is directed towards a zone (25) that is located on the aforementioned path (23).

Claims

1-34. -34. (canceled)

35. An installation for producing containers from parisons, comprising:

a heating unit for heating the parisons; and

a feed unit that supplies the parisons to the heating unit into which the parisons are transported for heating, wherein each of the parisons has a neck and the heating unit is configured to heat the parisons while the parisons are oriented neck up in the heating unit;

the heating unit comprising one or more sources of coherent electromagnetic radiation directed toward a target region situated on a path of the parisons through the heating unit;

wherein each of the sources is operative to emit the radiation in a wavelength band between 700 nm and 1600 nm.

36. The installation as claimed in claim 35, configured to rotate the parisons as they are transported through the heating unit.

37. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is an infrared-emitting device.

38. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is an infrared-emitting laser.

39. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is a near infrared-emitting device.

40. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is a near infrared-emitting laser.

41. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is an infrared-emitting laser diode.

42. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is a near infrared-emitting laser diode.

43. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises a plurality of juxtaposed or superposed near infrared-emitting laser diode beams.

44. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises a plurality of juxtaposed or superposed near infrared-emitting laser diode beams.

45. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises a plurality of arrays of juxtaposed or superposed near infrared-emitting laser diode beams.

46. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises a plurality of independently regulated near infrared-emitting laser diode arrays positioned to provide juxtaposed or superposed laser diode beams.

47. The installation as claimed in claim 46, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises at least two arrays of juxtaposed or superposed near infrared-emitting laser diode beams.

48. The installation as claimed in claim 46, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises at least three arrays of juxtaposed or superposed near infrared-emitting laser diode beams.

49. The installation as claimed in claim 46, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises at least three arrays of juxtaposed or superposed near infrared-emitting laser diode beams.

50. The installation as claimed in claim 46, wherein one or more of said near infrared-emitting laser diode arrays is a stacked array.

51. The installation as claimed in claim 46, wherein the stacked array produces a plurality of planar beams of radiation which are juxtaposed to form a planar radiation beam.

52. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises a plurality of juxtaposed or superposed laser diode beams.

53. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the heating unit comprises a matrix of laser diodes formed by a plurality of superposed arrays of laser diodes that runs substantially facing the entire height of the parisons.

54. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the array of diode devices comprises at least one block or one array of juxtaposed laser diodes.

55. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the array of diode devices comprises a block of stacked diodes.

56. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the array of diode devices comprises a vertical block of stacked diodes.

57. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the heating unit comprises several superposed arrays of diodes.

58. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the coherent electromagnetic radiation has a plurality of wavelengths.

59. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the source of coherent electromagnetic radiation emits a planar beam.

60. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the heating unit comprises two parallel walls between which the parisons pass, one of the walls having openings through which the radiation is emitted.

61. The installation as claimed in claim 60, wherein the openings are horizontally oriented slits.

62. The installation as claimed in claim 60, wherein the openings are sized and shaped so as to diffuse the radiation causing the radiation to diverge from a horizontal plane.

63. The installation as claimed in claim 60, wherein an internal surface of at least one of the two parallel walls is reflective so that radiation impinging the reflective surface reflects back towards the parisons.

64. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the power of at least one source of radiation is separately controllable from the power of another source of radiation so as to selectively heat portions of the parisons.

65. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein each source of radiation comprises a collimating lens connected by an optical fiber to a diode laser.

66. The installation as claimed in claim 65, wherein the collimating lenses are stacked forming a vertical block having a height substantially equal to the height of the parisons.

67. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein each source of radiation is a laser diode having a power of 500 W.

68. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the heating unit comprises a first heating chamber comprising one or more sources of coherent electromagnetic radiation and a second heating chamber comprising one or more sources of coherent electromagnetic radiation, the first heating chamber and the second heating chamber positioned in succession in a path of transport of the parisons.

69. The installation as claimed in claim 68, wherein the first heating chamber is configured to raise the parisons to an intermediate temperature and the second heating chamber is configured to raise the parisons to a higher temperature prior to blow molding.

70. The installation as claimed in claim 68, comprising a curved transfer region for transporting the parisons between the first heating chamber and the second heating chamber.

71. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the or more sources of coherent electromagnetic radiation emit radiation in a direction parallel to a direction of transport of the parisons in the heating unit.

72. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the or more sources of coherent electromagnetic radiation emit radiation in a direction oblique or perpendicular to a direction of transport of the parisons in the heating unit.

73. The installation as claimed in claim 35, comprising an energy sink opposite the one or more sources of coherent electromagnetic radiation that absorbs residual energy of the radiation after passing through the parisons.

74. The installation as claimed in claim 68, wherein each heating chamber comprises a plurality of walls defining a substantially cylindrical cavity.

75. The installation as claimed in claim 68, comprising additional heating chambers, each comprising one or more sources of coherent electromagnetic radiation, and wherein the heating chambers are arranged in a circular path.

76. The installation as claimed in claim 75, wherein the plurality of walls have a reflective surfaces that reflect the radiation back to the parison.

77. The installation as claimed in claim 74, wherein the substantially circular cavity comprises at least one gap for entry or exit of the parison.

78. The installation as claimed in claim 76, wherein the reflective surfaces causes the radiation to undergo several successive reflections.

79. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the thermoplastic parisons comprise polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

80. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the thermoplastic parisons comprise polyethylene naphthalate (PEN).

81. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the heating unit comprises an internal water-cooling circuit.

82. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the heating unit comprises a plurality of heating chambers arranged in succession, each heating chamber comprising one or more sources of coherent electromagnetic radiation, and the one or more sources of coherent radiation progressively increasing in power with each subsequent heating chamber along a transport path of the parisons.

83. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the heating unit comprises a ventilation system generating an air flow that circulates within the heating unit.

84. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 700 and 1600 nm.

85. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 700 and before 1000 nm.

86. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 700 and 1064 nm.

87. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 700 and 940 nm.

88. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 700 and 808 nm.

89. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 808 and 1600 nm.

90. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 808 and before 1000 nm.

91. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 808 and 1064 nm.

92. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 808 and 940 nm.

93. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 940 and 1600 nm.

94. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 940 and before 1000 nm.

95. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 940 and 1064 nm.

96. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between before 1000 and 1600 nm.

97. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between before 1000 and 1064 nm.

98. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 1064 and 1600 nm.

99. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within at least one wavelength of 808 nm, 940 nm, and 1064 nm.

100. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within at least two wavelengths of 808 nm, 940 nm, and 1064 nm.

101. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy within at least two wavelengths of 808 nm, 940 nm, and 1064 nm.

102. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy at two wavelengths of 808 nm and 940 nm.

103. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy at a wavelength of 808 nm.

104. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy at a wavelength of 940 nm.

105. The installation as claimed in claim 35, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy at a wavelength of 1064 nm.

117. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein the parisons have at least one wall section having a thickness between 1 mm and 3 mm.

118. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein the parisons have a non-uniform wall thickness, in which the weight of the thermoplastic material is distributed according to a desired temperature profile for producing a particular profile of a container to be produced from the parison.

106. A method of thermally treating thermoplastic parisons for use in blow molding operations, the method comprising the steps of:

transporting a series of parisons through a heating unit of a blow molding machine, wherein each of the parisons has a neck and the heating unit is configured to heat the parisons while the parisons are oriented neck up in the heating unit;

irradiating the parisons using one or more sources of coherent electromagnetic radiation at one or more wavelengths in a wavelength band between 700 nm and 1600 nm; and

heating the parisons to at least one desired temperature.

107. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is an infrared-emitting device.

108. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is an infrared-emitting laser.

109. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is a near infrared-emitting device.

110. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is a near infrared-emitting laser.

111. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein said source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is a near infrared-emitting laser diode.

112. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the one or more wavelengths are selected to increase the energy absorbed by the parisons.

113. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the one or more wavelengths are selected for efficiently heating the parisons.

114. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the one or more wavelengths are selected to reduce the exposure time required to heat the parisons to a desired temperature.

115. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the one or more wavelengths are selected to achieve a desired amount of energy absorbed by the parisons for a given power density.

116. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the one or more wavelengths are selected to achieve a desired heating quality of the parisons.

119. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the one or more wavelengths are selected to achieve good diffusion of the radiant energy through the at least one predetermined thickness of the parisons.

120. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the method comprises heating at least one section of the parisons to a temperature of about 80°

C.

121. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the method comprises heating at least one section of the parisons to a temperature of about 115°

C.

122. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the method comprises heating at least one section of the parisons to a temperature of about 120°

C.

123. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the method comprises heating at least one section of the parisons to a temperature of about 130°

C.

124. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the method comprises a first step of heating at least one section of the parisons to a temperature of about 80°

C. and a second step of heating at least one section of the parisons to a temperature of about 130°

C.

125. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the method comprises a first step of heating at least one section of the parisons to a temperature of about 120°

C. and a second step of heating at least one section of the parisons to a temperature of about 130°

C.

127. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the parisons have at least one wall section having a thickness between 1 mm and 3 mm.

128. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the parison has a non-uniform wall thickness, in which the weight of the thermoplastic material is distributed according to a desired temperature profile for producing a particular profile of a container to be produced from the parison.

129. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein at least two sections of the parisons are heated to different temperatures.

130. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein at least three sections of the parisons are heated to different temperatures.

131. The method as claimed in claim 129 or 130, wherein the step of heating the parisons produces a non-uniform temperature profile over the length of the parisons.

132. The method as claimed in claim 129 or 130, wherein the step of heating the parisons produces a non-uniform vertical heating profile of the parisons.

133. The method as claimed in claim 130, wherein a middle section of the parison is heated to a temperature that is lower than the temperature to which two end sections of the parison are heated.

134. The method as claimed in claim 130, wherein the middle section of the parison is heated to a temperature of about 115°

C. and the two end sections are heated to a temperature of about 130°

C.

135. The method as claimed in claim 112 or 113, wherein the energy efficiency of the method is greater than 15%.

136. The method as claimed in claim 112 or 113, wherein the energy efficiency of the method is from greater than 15% to 50%.

137. The method as claimed in claim 115, further comprising heating said parisons for less than about 6 minutes at a power density of about 25 W/mm².

138. The method as claimed in claim 115, further comprising heating said parisons for less than about 3 minutes at a power density of about 40 W/mm².

139. The method as claimed in claim 115, further comprising heating said parisons for less than about 2.5 minutes at a power density of about 50 W/mm².

140. The method as claimed in claim 115, further comprising heating said parisons for less than about 2 minutes at a power density of about 55 W/mm².

141. The method as claimed in claim 115, further comprising heating said parisons for less than about 3 minutes at a power density of about 10 W/mm².

142. The method as claimed in claim 115, further comprising heating said parisons for less than about 1.5 minutes at a power density of about 20 W/mm².

143. The method as claimed in claim 115, further comprising heating said parisons for less than about 1 minute at a power density of about 30 W/mm².

144. The method as claimed in claim 116, comprising selecting one or more of selecting beam shape, energy profile and power density to increase heating quality.

145. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the heating step is performed at a power adapted to prevent uncontrolled crystallization of the thermoplastic material.

146. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the thermoplastic parisons comprise polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

147. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the thermoplastic parisons comprise polyethylene naphthalate (PEN).

148. The method as claimed in claim 145, wherein the source of coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises at least one laser diode.

149. The method as claimed in claim 145, wherein the source of coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises at least one near infrared laser diode emitting radiation at a wavelength of 808 nm.

150. The method as claimed in claim 145, wherein the source of coherent electromagnetic radiation comprises at least two near infrared laser diodes emitting radiation at wavelengths of 808 nm and 940 nm.

151. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the heating step is conducted in the absence of broader wavelength heating radiation.

152. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the one or more wavelengths are selected to provide good diffusion through the thickness of the thermoplastic material.

153. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the one or more wavelengths are selected to provide uniform diffusion through the thickness of the thermoplastic material.

154. The method as claimed in claim 106, further comprising regulating the power of selected diodes to attain a desired temperature profile of the parisons.

155. The method as claimed in claim 106, further comprising regulating the power of at least one array of diodes to attain a desired temperature profile of the parisons.

156. The method as claimed in claim 106, further comprising regulating the power of separate arrays of diodes to attain a desired non-uniform temperature profile of the parisons.

157. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 700 and 1064 nm.

158. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 700 and 940 nm.

159. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 700 and 808 nm.

160. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 808 and 1600 nm.

161. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 808 and before 1000 nm.

162. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 808 and 1064 nm.

163. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 808 and 940 nm.

164. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 940 and 1600 nm.

165. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 940 and before 1000 nm.

166. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 940 and 1064 nm.

167. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between before 1000 and 1600 nm.

168. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between before 1000 and 1064 nm.

169. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 1064 and 1600 nm.

170. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within at least one wavelength of 808 nm, 940 nm, and 1064 nm.

171. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within at least two wavelengths of 808 nm, 940 nm, and 1064 nm.

172. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy at two wavelengths of 808 nm and 940 nm.

173. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy at a wavelength of 808 nm.

174. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy at a wavelength of 940 nm.

175. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy at a wavelength of 1064 nm.

176. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diodes are operative to emit radiant energy at a wavelength of 1064 nm.

177. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 700 and 1600 nm.

178. The method as claimed in claim 106, wherein the near infrared laser diode heating elements are operative to emit radiant energy within a wavelength range between 700 and before 1000 nm.

126. The method as claimed in claim 126, wherein the first step and the second step are performed in different heating units of the blow molding machine.