Apparatus for the production of container-form products

Description

1 / 17 APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING PRODUCTS IN CONTAINER FORMAT

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for the production of container-shaped products, particularly using the molding, filling and sealing process, consisting of at least one material supply unit, such as an extruder device, which is stationary in a predefinable installation location, and at least one additional material processing unit, such as an extrusion device, which follows such a unit in the production sequence.

[0002] Patent document DE 10 2020 004 564 A1 discloses an apparatus for the production of plastic containers by means of a molding, filling and sealing method, at least, consisting of a molding device with individual molding tools, which can be repeatedly moved towards each other from an open receiving position to a closed molding position and an extrusion unit, by means of which at least one extruded plastic tube can be inserted into the open receiving position of the molding tools, wherein the extrusion unit can be moved with each extruded plastic tube in the opposite direction by means of a displacement device opposite to the molding device fixedly arranged in each position of the molding tools.With such continuous extrusion of the plastic tube by means of an extrusion unit, the molding can be carried out by means of the molding tool, in a stationary manner, in such a way that the production of container-shaped products is facilitated due to the exact alignment associated with the mold halves of the molding tool.

[0003] Document EP 2 909 000 B1 discloses an apparatus for the production of container-shaped products made of materials Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 11 / 47 2 / 17 plastics, in particular, performing a molding, filling and sealing method that features a molding device that can be fed with a formed tube of plasticized plastic material and that has movable molding surfaces that are adapted to the predefined geometry of a container, against which the formed tube can be placed for the molding, filling and sealing method, providing an orientation and retention device, which has movable orientation and retention parts, which makes it possible to control said orientation and retention device in such a way that, in at least one of the possible functional positions outside the molding area of ​​the molding device, said orientation and retention parts fit into the formed tube itself and / or the respective plastic material that surrounds at least one finished product in the form of a container and / or its contents, it being possible, at the end of the respective molding, filling and sealing method,For the container-shaped product, bring the movable guide and retaining parts into a functional position where they rest against the formed tube, on mutually opposite sides of said tube in the part adjacent to the entrance of the molding device. The support thus formed, near the upper region of the containers, ensures a particularly safe removal with uniform release of the containers from the molding surfaces that separate during the removal process.

[0004] Based on this prior art, the objective of the invention is to better adapt known solutions to changes in production specifications.

[0005] An apparatus with the characteristics of claim 1 in its entirety achieves this objective.

[0006] According to the characterizing part of claim 1, the respective material processing unit, designed as a mobile unit and as part of a quick-change system, is fixed in Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 12 / 47 3 / 17 interchangeable form to the respective stationary unit, which means that the apparatus as a whole can be retrofitted in the shortest possible time in response to changes in production specifications. Such retrofitting is necessary, for example, if the number of cavities in a molding tool changes according to product specifications, which is synonymous with a change in the distance between the cavities, which, in technical terms, is also called nest spacing. Ultimately, these modifications are used to produce containers with different geometry and / or containers with varying filling quantities. While changing the respective molding tool usually involves less effort, in practice, it is often more time-consuming to change an extrusion head together with a filling and adjustment unit than the material processing unit itself to produce the container-shaped products.Similarly, changing the plastic material for the respective product container format, for example, from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) to polypropylene (PP) and vice versa, is time-consuming. In the state of the art, at least 8 to 14 hours are normally estimated for the retrofitting operations mentioned here, as cited above, which naturally has an adverse effect on system availability and therefore on its productivity.

[0007] With the apparatus according to the present invention, which is designed in the form of a quick-change system, it is possible to perform a quick change from the material supply unit, such as a stationary extrusion device, to the material processing unit, if necessary. In this way, a quick change is easily implemented between different shapes and / or sizes of containers, particularly even with different spacing of the filling tubes (spacing between nests) and / or different numbers of filling tubes (number of cavities) and / or different plastics or Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 13 / 47 4 / 17 polymers - also referred to below as shape change - to adapt to changes in production specifications.

[0008] Not only is it advantageous to perform such a format change in situ, if necessary, during ongoing production, but it also brings benefits when using tools such as a production device for the first time, particularly in the production of machines called blow-fill-seal (BFS machines).

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, the quick-change system is provided for having a conveyor element in the respective additional material processing unit and a retaining or support element for the conveyor element in the respective material supply unit, and the two mutually assignable units are removablely connected by means of a coupling.

[0010] In this case, the coupling, as part of the quick-change system, preferably has at least one centering device acting between the conveying element and the retaining or supporting element (referred to below as the supporting element) and / or at least one coupling connecting the extruder device to the extrusion device to transport the material, such as a coupling clamp. This means that, to perform the aforementioned shape change, only one corresponding shape module, in this case in the form of a mobile extrusion device, needs to be replaced using said coupling. After reconnecting the individual power and compressed air supply lines, as well as the product lines, often using conventional quick-release couplings, the production of container-shaped products can be restarted, and such a shape change can be implemented in less than two hours.

[0011] The replaced extrusion device or simply remo Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 14 / 47 5 / 17 The device's lifespan, in this respect, then becomes available for cleaning and / or maintenance purposes, if necessary, preferably without significantly interrupting the use of the production equipment, allowing production to continue, with the replacement of the extrusion device. In this case, the aforementioned mobile extrusion device can be replaced by the same device or even, in the case of a format change, with a modified extrusion device.

[0012] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, it is provided that the respective mobile unit can be precisely fixed, by means of a centering device, to the assignable stationary unit, in the predefined installation position. By means of the centering device, the respective mobile unit is positioned on the assignable stationary unit, substantially or completely due to gravity, in such a way that no further alignment processes are necessary during re-equipment, which often requires the use of complex measuring technology. Once the extrusion device has been fixed in its functional position by means of the centering device, the production process can be resumed immediately.For safety purposes, and depending on local safety regulations, it may also be provided that the mobile extrusion device be attached to the stationary extruder device with additional safety means, for example, by using an auxiliary screw connection.

[0013] The two units to be coupled together are preferably divided as follows:

[0014] The respective stationary unit consists of at least one extruder, a machine frame, and a molding device.

[0015] In turn, the mobile unit consists of at least Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 15 / 47 6 / 17 an extrusion head, the conveyor element with the centering device and / or a receptacle for a centering device arranged in the machine structure, a filling device, and a moving device.

[0016] In this way, the stationary extruder device is combined with a connectable mobile extrusion device as a complete production apparatus in the form of a modular system.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus, according to the invention, the machine structure is provided to have, as a support element, at least two longitudinal beams, which project spatially beyond the extruder device and define a receiving space between them, which receives the extrusion head of the moving unit in such a way that the latter is freely accessible by an end face of the machine structure.

[0018] Preferably, the conveying element also has a support plate, on the upper side of which at least parts of the filling device and the moving device are placed, and on the lower side of which the extrusion head is arranged, which can be fed with a filling medium by the filling device through a cutout in the support plate.

[0019] It is more preferably provided that the support plate has a protrusion on the edge, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the two mutually adjacent longitudinal beams, by means of which the support plate can be placed on the longitudinal beams along a horizontal positioning plane. In this way, it is possible to replace the mobile unit of the end face of the apparatus, which is kept virtually free of third-party components, with all the main components of the mobile unit being mounted on a support plate. Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, p. 16 / 47 7 / 17 easily interchangeable.

[0020] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, the support plate is provided to have additional openings near the cutout to allow a gaseous fluid, preferably air with low germ and particle content, to flow in. The additional air allows selective control of temperature and humidity and, if necessary, a cleanroom climate can be maintained or created in the molding and filling area.

[0021] Furthermore, it is also an object of the invention to provide a method for carrying out a quick changeover operation, particularly with the use of an apparatus as specified above, and to enable the removal of the mobile material processing unit from a stationary material supply unit by means of a handling system, such as a manual forklift, for a changeover operation, it being possible to make a connection between said two units with positional accuracy by means of a centering device and a plastic processing production position to obtain container-shaped products, assuming, substantially or completely due to gravity, that the molten plastic is supplied by the stationary material supply unit.The handling system, particularly in the form of a manual forklift, can be adapted in a particularly simple way to the desired modular exchange or format change, so that a changeover process is facilitated with little effort.

[0022] The solution, according to the invention, is explained in more detail below, with respect to one embodiment, according to the drawings. The drawings show a sketch and are not to scale.

[0023] Figure 1 an oblique perspective view of the front of the device as a whole;

[0024] Figure 2 a diagram corresponding to Figure 1 of a Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 17 / 47 8 / 17 material production unit in the form of an extruder device;

[0025] Figure 3 a diagram which corresponds to Figure 1, but shown as an exploded view, of a material processing device in the form of an extrusion device;

[0026] Figure 4 a modified support element compared to the carrier element according to Figure 3;

[0027] Figure 5 a detail of a connection solution between the extruder device and the extrusion device by means of a centering device, shown partially in sections; and

[0028] Figure 6 a diagram corresponding to Figure 1 with a handling device for the material processing device in the form of a manual forklift.

[0029] Figure 1 shows the main components of an apparatus for the production of container-shaped products, particularly those using a blow-fill-seal (BFS) method. The apparatus has a material supply unit 10, such as an extruder device 12, as the main structural component, which is often arranged in a stationary manner at a pre-defined installation location 14 corresponding to the production site. The additional material processing unit 16, which follows this unit 10 in the production sequence, often in the form of an extrusion device 18, is present as an additional main component.The apparatus shown in Figure 1 is characterized, according to the invention, in such a way that the respective material processing unit 16, designed as a mobile unit 20 and as part of a quick-change system designated, as a whole, by the number 22, can be or is interchangeably attached to the respective stationary unit 10, which is explained in more detail below.

[0030] For this purpose, the quick-change system 22, according to the diagram in Figure 3, has a conveyor element 24 in a Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 18 / 47 9 / 17 respective additional material processing unit 16 and, according to the diagram in Figure 2, has a support element 26 for the conveyor element 24 in a respective material supply unit 10. Furthermore, the two mutually assignable units 10, 16 are removablely connected by means of a coupling designated, as a whole, by the number 28, which is shown, in particular, in the diagram according to Figure 3.

[0031] The coupling 28 of the quick-change system 22 has a centering device 30 that acts between the conveying element 24 and the support element 26, as well as a coupling that connects the extruder device 12 to the extrusion device 18 to transport plastic material, in the form of a coupling clamp 32, shown in Figure 3. For this purpose, both the extruder device 12 and the extrusion device 18 have a coupling flange 34 which is shown only for the extrusion device 18, in Figure 3. The coupling flanges 34 mentioned above correspond to each other and are held together by the coupling clamp 32, such that plasticized plastic material supplied by the extrusion device 18 as a material supply unit 10 is passed to the material processing unit 16, in the form of the extrusion device 18, for the production of containers.In this sense, the coupling clamp 32 adequately seals the material connection point between devices 10, 16. The centering device designated as a whole with the number 30 is described in more detail below, particularly with regard to Figure 5.

[0032] The production apparatus shown in Figure 1 has a machine structure 36 in the usual manner, consisting of longitudinal and transverse beams 38 and 40 respectively, which are supported by transverse bars 42. The apparatus, as a whole, can be configured at the installation or production site 14, frequently in the form Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 19 / 47 10 / 17 of a factory floor, through the structure of the machine 36 mentioned above. Furthermore, the structure of the machine 36 has parts of the wall 44 of a machine housing 46 in a so-called C-structure design. In this case, the lower wall portion 44, seen in Figure 1, forms a base portion of the machine housing 46, and the upper wall portion 44, extending parallel to it, becomes the upper portion of the machine housing 46. A substantially vertical section of the housing with the associated central wall portion 44 extends between said base and upper portion. The machine model shown in Figure 1 shows the construction in a very simplified manner only, and only to the extent that this is necessary to understand the invention.As can also be seen from Figure 1, the machine structure 36 has, as a support element 26, two longitudinal beams 48 arranged at the top that receive the main parts / pieces of the extruder device 12 between them and, when fitted together by means of the central wall portion 44 and emerging from the front of the machine housing 46, form the support element 26 as a whole, as the respective support point.

[0033] As can also be seen from Figure 1, a molding device 50 with its housing 52 is shown, only partially, below the extrusion device 18. Such a molding device 50, for example, may have individual molding parts extending along a production line that can be moved towards and away from each other in pairs in order to close or open a production mold for the production of container-shaped products. Such a molding device is disclosed, for example, in document DE 10 2008 006 073 A1.

[0034] In a different type of molding device 50, according to the teachings of document DE 10 2020 004 564 A1, at least one plastic tube (not shown) oriented vertically Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 20 / 47 11 / 17 is continuously extruded relative to the stationary molding device 50 by means of an extrusion device 18, such that the feeding of the respective plastic tube from the extrusion device 18 remains substantially uninterrupted throughout the production process. In this case, at the beginning of a process cycle, the extrusion device 18 is moved along with each extruded tube continuously, starting from an upper end position towards the open molding tools of the molding device 50, over a distance corresponding to the total height of a finished plastic container minus the length of the extruded tube during this displacement movement. Unlike what is shown in the figures, the arrangement mentioned above requires an extrusion device 18 that can be moved up and down vertically, however, the quick-change system 22 mentioned here can be used in the same way.Other molding devices emerge as examples from document EP 2 909 000 B1 and the post-published document DE 10 2023 001 313.7, which, moreover, discloses a longitudinally movable extrusion device, whose molding devices assume a plurality of positions on the BFS machine and can also be configured to be interchangeable by means of a quick-change system 22. The above observations prove that units 10, 16, which are removablely connected to each other via a coupling 28, can be used for almost all BFS machine models.

[0035] The respective stationary unit 10 consists substantially of an extruder 54 of the extruder device 12, as well as a machine frame 36 and a suitable molding device 50, as described above. In contrast, the mobile unit 16 consists substantially of at least one extrusion head 56 of the extrusion device 18, the conveyor element 24 with the device Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 21 / 47 12 / 17 centralization 30, a conventional filling device 58 and a mobile device 60, which are also state-of-the-art for such extrusion devices 18.

[0036] As can also be seen in Figure 2, the two upper longitudinal beams 48, after fitting through the central wall portion 44, project forward into a space with the same length as the beam and, on their upper side, have, as part of the centering device 30, a circular recess 62 with at least one inclined surface that is at least partially configured to function as a coupling surface 64, which can be seen in more detail in the sectional view in Figure 5.As an additional component of the centering device 30, a fitting piece 66 fits into the corresponding recess 62, which is held the same from above, wherein such fitting piece has at least one corresponding contact surface 68 on the edge, wherein the contact surface contacts the coupling surface 64 of the respective recess 62 without a gap, such that, viewed in the axial direction of use, the fitting piece 66 opens with an axial gap 70 above the recess 62 in the associated longitudinal beam 48. In this way, the fitting piece 66 fits into the assigned recess 62 in a self-centering manner. Instead of circular pairs of surfaces 64, 68, other surface fittings between the coupling surface and the contact surface 64, 68, which are self-centering, may also be selected, for example, in polygonal form.

[0037] The respective circular fitting piece 66 is accommodated in an associated recess 72 on the lower side of the conveyor element 24, which, in the present case, consists substantially of a flat support plate 74. As can also be seen from Figure 5, the respective fitting piece 66 projects beyond the lower side of the support plate 74 with the pre-defined axial protrusion, such that the Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, p. 22 / 47 13 / 17 transport element 24 or support plate 74 is precisely centered on the upper side of the horizontally extending longitudinal beams 48, which, in this sense, are flat, through the formation of the contact surface pair 68 with the coupling surface 64. Two pairs of fastening elements 76 are screwed to fix the fitting piece 66 to the support plate 74, said fastening elements being covered by a plug-shaped cover element 78 which, with its upper side, ends flush with the upper side of the support plate 74. Other fastening options are also conceivable here. In particular, the fitting piece 66 can also be fixed to the longitudinal crossbar 48 and the associated recess 62 then to the support plate 74. Due to self-centering by means of the centering device 30, the moving unit 20 remains, in any case, on the upper side of the support element 26 of its own accord due to gravity.

[0038] As can be seen, particularly in Figure 2, the central wall portion 44 is provided with the passage opening 80 between the two upper longitudinal beams 48, which is used to allow the coupling flange 34 of the extrusion head 56, as part of the extrusion device 18, to pass through, such that the coupling 28 to the extruder 54 occurs by means of the coupling clamp 32 in the rear area of ​​the central wall portion 44 of the machine housing 46, as seen in the direction of Figure 2. The two uppermost longitudinal beams 48 of the machine structure 36 define a receiving space 82 between them, which receives the extrusion head 56 of a mobile unit 20, such that they are freely accessible by the front end face 84 of the machine structure 36 in the coupled state.In this sense, the receiving space 82 and also the free front end face 84 of the machine structure 36 is delimited at the base and upper end by the portions of the wall that extend further. Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, p. 23 / 47 14 / 17 more horizontally 44 of the machine housing 46.

[0039] As can be seen, in particular, from the diagrams according to Figures 1 and 3, at least parts of the mobile device 60 and the filling device 58 are placed on the upper side of the support plate 74 as part of the conveyor element 24, and the extrusion head 56 is disposed on the lower side of said support plate, wherein the extrusion head can be fed with a filling medium by the filling device 58 through a rectangular cutout 86 in the support plate 74, through which the filling device 58 partially passes. For the feeding with the filling medium mentioned above, the filling device 58 passes through the cutout 86 at its lower and free end and is connected to the extrusion head 56 and to the blowing and / or filling mandrels (not shown for clarity), which extend partially into it, so as to supply the material.The arrangement mentioned above is common in molding, filling, and sealing machines, and will therefore not be discussed in further detail at this point.

[0040] As can be seen from the diagram according to Figure 1, the support plate 74 has a protrusion on its edge, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the two uppermost mutually adjacent longitudinal beams 48, by means of which the support plate 74 can be placed on the longitudinal beams 48 along a horizontal positioning plane. In this way, all the components of the centering device 30 that can be assigned to the support plate 74 are arranged along the respective protrusion of said support plate 74. As shown particularly in the diagram according to Figure 4, which refers to the modified embodiment of the support plate 74, it may have one or more elongated grooves 88 which, preferably, extend along both sides of the support plate 74, arranged in rows, one behind the other, with the longitudinal direction Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, p. 24 / 47 15 / 17 of the respective groove opens from an elongated groove 88, being parallel to the respective longitudinal side of the support plate 74 and at right angles to the two transverse sides of the support plate 74, as well as at right angles to the rectangular cutout 86 in the support plate 74.

[0041] In particular, the elongated grooves 88 are arranged between the protrusion of the support plate 74 on the associated longitudinal crossbar 48 and the cutout 86 in the support plate 74. For good flow of a gaseous fluid, such as nitrogen or air, especially air with low particle and germ content, the elongated grooves 88 are configured as passage openings in the support plate 74 and open on the underside of the support plate 74 into an intermediate space formed by the adjacent longitudinal crossbar 48 and one side of the adjacent wall of the extrusion head 56. Apart from the configuration with the elongated grooves 88, the embodiment shown in Figure 4 does not differ from that shown in Figures 1 to 3 and 5 and 6.

[0042] As shown, particularly in Figure 5, a quick coupling system based on plug 90 is provided for lines, such as electrical cables, compressed air lines, etc., that lead, in particular, to the extrusion head 56 in order to connect it to a central feed point (not shown), which allows the extrusion head 56 to be quickly disconnected and reconnected to the central feed point, the position connected via the coupling system 90 being shown in the Figures.

[0043] Figure 6 now shows a possible exchange process of the mobile material processing unit 20 using a handling system, here represented in the form of a manual forklift 92. The manual forklift 92 has a chassis 94 with wheels, by means of which the manual forklift 92 can be moved as a whole. In addition, the manual forklift 92 has a fork of Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 25 / 47 16 / 17 lifting 96 which is guided movably up and down between adjacent side frame pieces 100 of the manual forklift 92 by means of a lifting actuator 98. The lifting fork 96 has two fork blades 102 configured identically on its free end face, which together define an open space 104 in which the extrusion head 56 can be received for a transport operation.

[0044] After opening the coupling clamp 32 and when the quick coupling system 90 is released, the lifting fork 96 with its two fork blades 102 can be moved towards the extrusion head 56, as shown in the diagram according to Figure 6, wherein, for this purpose, an upper displacement plate 106 can be moved back and forth relative to a base table 108 by means of actuators which are not shown in greater detail, i.e. transverse to the up and down movement of the base table 108 in conjunction with the displacement plate 106 by means of lifting actuator 98. However, instead of using actuators, it is also possible to provide manual displacement of the displacement plate 106 relative to the base table 108 between adjacent frame-shaped side pieces 100.In any case, the two blades of the fork 102 fit into the assignable gaps between the upper longitudinal beams 48 and the respective longitudinal outer side of the extrusion head 56. Subsequently, by activating the lifting actuator 98, the base table 108 can be raised with the displacement plate 106, such that the support plate 74 raises the two adjacent longitudinal beams 48 while, at the same time, disengaging the centering device 30. The displacement plate 106 with the mobile unit 20 is then moved back to its initial position, shown in Figure 6, and the mobile unit 10 can be moved to a maintenance or replacement location (not shown) by means of a manual forklift 92. A. Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 26 / 47 17 / 17 mobile unit 20 that has been cleaned and / or serviced can then be returned to its place of use, as shown in the diagram according to Figure 1, or the manual forklift 92 can be exchanged for a different type of mobile unit 20 in order to carry out the format changes mentioned in a BFS machine. If a mobile unit 20 is replaced immediately, production can continue with the BFS machine shown without any significant downtime in production. Therefore, this has no equivalent in the state of the art. It is understood that, instead of a manual forklift 92, a different handling system can also be used, for example, in the form of a handling robot, forklift or similar (not shown). Petition 870250083606, dated 09 / 17 / 2025, page 27 / 47

Claims

1 / 4 CLAIMS 1. Apparatus for the production of container-shaped products, particularly using a molding, filling and sealing method, consisting of at least - at least one material supply unit (10), such as an extruder device (12), which is stationary at a pre-definable installation location (14), and - at least one additional material processing unit (16), such as an extrusion device (18), which follows this unit (10) in the production sequence, characterized in that the respective material processing unit (16) is designed as a mobile unit (20) and as part of a quick-change system (22), being interchangeably fixed to the respective stationary unit (10).

2. Apparatus, according to claim 1, characterized in that the quick-change system (22) - has a conveyor element (24) in the respective additional material processing unit (16) and - has a support element (26) for the conveyor element (24) in the respective material supply unit (16), and - wherein two mutually assignable units (10, 16) are removablely connected by means of a coupling (28).

3. Apparatus, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the coupling (28) of the quick-change system (22) has at least one centering device (30) that acts between the conveying element (24) and the support element (26) and / or at least one coupling that connects the extruder device (12) to the extrusion device (18) for material transport, such as a coupling clamp (32).

4. Apparatus, according to any of the claims Petition 870250083606, of 09 / 17 / 2025, page 28 / 47 2 / 4 above, characterized in that the respective mobile unit (20) can be precisely fixed to an assignable stationary unit (10) in the predefined installation position by means of a centering device (30).

5. Apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the respective mobile unit (20) is positioned on an assignable stationary unit (10), substantially or completely due to gravity, by means of the centering device (30).

6. Apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the respective stationary unit (10) consists of at least - an extruder (54), - a machine frame (36), and - a molding device (50).

7. Apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mobile unit (16) consists of at least - an extrusion head (56), - the conveyor element (24) with the centering device (30) and / or - a receptacle for a centering device (30) disposed in a machine structure (36), - a filling device (58), and - a mobile device (60).

8. Apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the machine structure (36) has, as a support element (26), at least two longitudinal beams (48), which project spatially beyond the extruder device (12) and define a receiving space (82) between them, which receives Petition 870250083606, dated 17 / 09 / 2025, p. 29 / 47 3 / 4 the extrusion head (56) of the mobile unit (20) in such a way that the latter is freely accessible by an end face (84) of the machine structure (36).

9. Apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the conveying element (24) has a support plate (74), on the upper side of which are placed at least parts of the moving device (60) and the filling device (58) and, on the lower side of which is disposed the extrusion head (56), which can be fed with a filling medium by the filling device (58) through a cutout (86) in the support plate (74).

10. Apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support plate (74) has a protrusion on the edge, seen in the longitudinal direction of the two longitudinal beams (48), by means of which the support plate (74) can be placed on the longitudinal beams (48) along a horizontal positioning plane.

11. Apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support plate (74) has additional openings (88) near the cutout (86) to allow the passage of a gaseous fluid, such as nitrogen or air, preferably air with a low particle content and / or low germ content.

12. Method for performing the quick changeover operation, particularly with the use of an apparatus, as defined in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mobile material processing unit (20) can be removed from a stationary material supply unit (10) by means of a handling system, such as a manual forklift (92), for changeover operation and, wherein, a connection can be made between the two units (10, 20) with positional accuracy by means of a centering device (30) and a plastic processing production position to obtain container-shaped products, assuming, substantially or completely, due to gravity, that it is supplied by the stationary material supply unit (10). 31 / 47

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