Apparatus for the after-cooling of bases

• US 9,545,746 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2014
• Issued: 01/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Krones AG (Krones)
• Original Assignee: Krones AG (Krones)
• Inventors: Dachs, Alexander, Steiner, Andreas, Blochmann, Erik, Lappe, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Davis, Robert B
• Application Number:
  US14/472,960
• Publication Number:
  US 20150069669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2035/1616 using liquids
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2035/1658 using gas
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2035/1691 using gas-liquid mixtures
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 35/16 Cooling cooling extruded material B29C48/911; cooling preforms for blow moulding B29C49/6427; cooling blown articles B29C49/66; cooling tyres during post cure inflation B29D30/0643
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/64 Heating or cooling preforms, parisons or blown articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/712 Containers; Packaging elements or accessories, Packages closures therefor B29L2031/56; ink or toner cartridges B29L2031/7678; squeeze tubes B29L2023/20; suitcases B29L2031/7418
• 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 7/004 the containers travelling along a circular path

Abstract

A method of after-cooling of the bases of blown out containers, wherein after the transfer of the blown out containers from a blow molding machine to a run-out star wheel which directly follows the blow molding machine along a conveying direction of the containers a cooling of the bases of the containers is carried out by at least one apparatus for cooling the bases. The cooling of the bases of the containers starts immediately during a time interval of at least 0.1 seconds and at most 2 seconds after a pressure release of the containers by the blow molding machine after the blowing out.

Claims

1. A method for reducing or preventing deformation of bases of blown out containers caused by non-homogenous cooling of the bases after the blown out containers are released from a blow moulding machine and transferred from the blow moulding machine to a run-out star wheel which directly follows the blow moulding machine along a conveying direction of the containers, comprising actively cooling the bases of the containers using an apparatus for cooling, commencing the cooling while the bases are still inside the blow moulding machine immediately following a time interval of at least 0.1 seconds and at most 2 seconds after a pressure release of the containers by the blow moulding machine, so that the time interval runs even during the transfer from the blow moulding machine into the run-out star wheel.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus for cooling the bases comprises at least one external face cooler which applies a cooling medium to an external face of bases of the blown out containers.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus for cooling the bases cools the bases of the containers using water or air as the cooling medium.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the external face cooler comprises at least one atomizing spray element which sprays the cooling medium onto the external face of the bases of the blown out containers.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the external face cooler comprises at least one sprinkler element which sprinkles the cooling medium onto the external face of the bases of the blown out containers.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the external face cooler comprises at least one sponge element which is saturated at least in part with the cooling medium and the external face of which is capable of being brought into contact with the external face of the base of the blown out container.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the sponge element is designed in the form of a sponge roller.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus for cooling the bases comprises at least one fan, wherein air is conveyed to the bases of the blown out containers by the fan.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus for cooling the bases comprises at least one liquid pre-metering device which during the time interval starts to meter in at least one cooling medium into the blown out containers in a manner capable of being pre-set into an interior of the containers.

10. A blow moulding apparatus including a heating device for heating pre-forms, and a blow moulding machine for blowing out the preforms, for practicing the method of claim 1, said apparatus comprising a run-out star wheel which follows the blow moulding machine immediately along a conveying direction of the containers from the blow moulding machine, and a cooling apparatus for actively cooling the bases of the containers, wherein the cooling apparatus is arranged so that a cooling of the bases of the containers commences while the bases are still in the blow moulding machine immediately during a time interval of at least 0.1 seconds and at most 2 seconds after a pressure release of the containers by the blow moulding machine, so that the time interval runs even during the transfer from the blow moulding machine into the run-out star wheel.

11. The method according to claim 3, wherein the external face cooler comprises at least one atomizing spray element which sprays the cooling medium onto the external face of the bases of the blown out containers.

12. The method according to claim 3, wherein the external face cooler comprises at least one sprinkler element which sprinkles the cooling medium onto the external face of the bases of the blown out containers.

13. The method according to claim 3, wherein the external face cooler comprises at least one sponge element which is saturated at least in part with the cooling medium and the external face of which is capable of being brought into contact with the external face of the base of the blown out container.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the sponge element is designed in the form of a sponge roller.

15. The method according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus for cooling the bases comprises at least one fan, wherein air is conveyed to the bases of the blown out containers by the fan.

16. The method according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus for cooling the bases comprises at least one liquid pre-metering device which during the time interval starts to meter in at least one cooling medium into the blown out containers in a manner capable of being pre-set into an interior of the blown out containers.

18. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a plurality of cooling apparatus for cooling the bases or the run-out star wheel in the conveying direction of the blown out containers.

19. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the cooling apparatus for cooling the bases is located in a region of the run-out star wheel immediately upstream of the transfer to a first conveying wheel and starts to cool the blown out containers.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the cooling apparatus for cooling the bases extends to the first conveying wheel.

21. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the cooling apparatus for cooling the bases extends to a region of a second conveying wheel.

22. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cooling apparatus employs air as cooling medium for cooling the container bottoms.

23. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the cooling apparatus employs water as a cooling medium for cooling the container bottoms.

24. The apparatus according to claim 10, further including a labeling unit of the cooling apparatus arranged downstream of the cooling apparatus.

17. A method for reducing or preventing deformation of bases of blown out containers caused by non-homogenous cooling of the bases after the blown out containers are released from a blow mould of a blow-moulding machine and transferred from the blow moulding machine to a run-out star wheel which directly follows the blow moulding machine along a conveying direction of the containers, comprising actively cooling the bases of the containers using an apparatus for cooling, wherein the cooling of the bases of the containers is commenced during a time interval of at least 0.1 seconds and at most 2 seconds after a pressure release of the containers by the blow moulding machine, using at least one external face cooler which applies a cooling medium to an external face of bases of the blown out containers.