Apparatus and Method for Producing Plastic Bottles

• US 20110056172A1
• Filed: 09/03/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Krones AG (Krones)
• Original Assignee: Krones AG (Krones)
• Inventors: Klenk, Christoph, Hausladen, Wolfgang
• Granted Patent: US 10,138,106 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 53/268
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0715 the preform having one end closed
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/00 Blow-moulding, i.e. blowing a preform or parison to a desired shape within a mould; Apparatus therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/06 Injection blow-moulding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/24 Lining or labelling
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/36 rotatable about one axis
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/42069 Means explicitly adapted for transporting blown article
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/42087 holding outside the neck
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/42095 Rotating wheels or stars
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/4273 Auxiliary operations after the blow-moulding operation not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/42808 Filling the article
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/64 Heating or cooling preforms, parisons or blown articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/6409 Thermal conditioning of preforms B29C49/68 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/6418 Heating of preforms
• CPC Class Codes: B65C 9/06 Devices for presenting articles in predetermined attitude or position at labelling station
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/84 Star-shaped wheels or devices having endless travelling belts or chains, the wheels or devices being equipped with article-engaging elements
• CPC Class Codes: B67C 2003/227 Additional apparatus related to blow-moulding of the containers, e.g. a complete production line forming filled containers from preforms
• CPC Class Codes: B67C 7/002 General lay-out of bottle-handling machines
• CPC Class Codes: B67C 7/004 the containers travelling along a circular path

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for producing plastic bottles, including a blow molding machine, a labeler, at least one further treatment machine, and transfer starwheels provided and arranged for the machine-to-machine transportation of the bottles in such a way that the bottles are transported without buffers between the at least three machines.

Claims

1. An apparatus for producing plastic bottles, comprising a blow molding machine, a labeler and at least one further treatment machine, such as a rinser, sterilizer, filler, or capper, and for the transportation of the bottles from machine to machine, transfer starwheels are arranged such that the bottles are transported without buffers between the at least three machines.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least two transfer starwheels are arranged between blow molding machine and labeler, at least one of said starwheels serving pitch changing purposes.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein of the transfer starwheels at least one is provided for inspection functions and/or for aligning bottles.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the machines and the transfer starwheels are arranged and configured such that a continuous, particularly constant, neck handling plane is formed also for different bottle sizes.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein for the transfer between machines and transfer starwheels, respectively, active and/or passive clamps are provided for positively gripping and transferring the bottles.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the handing over and transfer from the blow molding machine takes place while maintaining the orientation in the removal position of the bottles from the blow mold up to the labeler for position-correct labeling.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer starwheels are configured as individual modules with their own drive and standard interface.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the labeler is configured as a modular machine with change units for labeling, printing, aligning, inspection, or combinations thereof.

9. The apparatus according to characterized in that claim 1, wherein the further treatment machine is a filler/capper combination which is bloc-synchronized via at least two transfer starwheels with the labeler.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, and a controlled distribution starwheel which hands over the bottles exiting at a spacing to a multi-track packer is bloc-synchronized with the outfeed of the filler/capper combination.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a container bottom cooler is interposed between the labeler and a downstream filler.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least three machines are enclosed by interconnected housings for realizing different atmospheres and/or pressures in the area of the individual machines.

13. A method for producing plastic bottles, comprising the steps of:

blow molding preforms in a blow molding machine to form plastic bottles;

handing over the plastic bottles with the help of at least one transfer starwheel to a labeler;

labeling the bottles; and

handing over the labeled bottles with the help of at least one transfer starwheel to a downstream treatment machine, such as a rinser, sterilizer, filler, or capper, wherein the bottles are directly passed from the blow molding machine to the further treatment machine without interposition of buffers.