Device for producing plastic containers according to forming, filling and sealing method

Abstract

The utility model relates to equipment for manufacturing a plastic container according to a forming, filling and sealing method, which at least comprises a forming device (12), an extrusion device (16) and a production device (26), the production device forms the plasticized plastic from the extrusion device (16) into a hose in a production position and then feeds the hose to the forming device (16) for forming a container, and the container is filled with a predeterminable fluid before the container is sealed. By means of a transport device (32), at least the production device (26) can be placed in at least two different positions from one another, one of the positions corresponding to the production position and at least one other position for undertaking a relatively different task therefrom.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to a device for manufacturing plastic containers according to a forming, filling and sealing method, the device at least comprising a forming device, an extrusion device and a production device, the production device forming the plasticized plastic from the extrusion device into a hose in a manufacturing position and then conveying it to the forming device for forming the container, and filling the container with a predetermined fluid before the forming device is sealed. Background Art

[0002] DE102008028754A1 discloses a device for manufacturing and filling containers, in which at least one hose of plasticized plastic material can be extruded into an open mold, and by means of a filling device having a plurality of functional channels separated from each other, at least the filler can be introduced into the corresponding container by means of a filling plunger assigned to the relevant mold, and a plunger shield is provided, which has at least one functional chamber and in its functional position, the plunger shield establishes a medium-conducting connection between its corresponding functional chamber and the correspondingly assignable functional channel of the filling device. This opens up the possibility of guiding the medium intended for cleaning, sterilization, cooling / drying, etc. into the functional chamber or into the functional chamber within the shield via the corresponding functional channel of the filling device. Accordingly, the shield is a component of a cleaning, sterilization and / or drying device, which can be carried out via the corresponding medium delivery from the filling device, so as to place the device in a sterile state for starting the manufacturing sequence. Utility Model Content

[0003] Starting from this prior art, the object of the present invention is to further improve the known solutions while retaining their advantages.

[0004] Therefore, the utility model provides an apparatus for manufacturing plastic containers according to a forming, filling and sealing method, the apparatus at least comprising: a forming device, an extrusion device and a production device, the production device forming the plasticized plastic from the extrusion device into a hose in a manufacturing position and then conveying it to the forming device for forming the container, and filling the container with a predefined fluid before the container is sealed, the production device being able to be placed in at least two positions different from each other by means of a transport device, one of the positions being a manufacturing position and at least one other position being used to undertake tasks relatively different therefrom, the other position being able to be used as a maintenance position, in which the production device can be approached as freely as possible by being moved out of the manufacturing or production position for cleaning, inspection and / or other maintenance operations.

[0005] In practice, it has been proven that for production devices, in particular, including a hose head and a filling and metering unit arranged thereon and a plunger tube, intensive cleaning is sometimes required, which intensive cleaning includes, for example, removing plastic adhering to the filling plunger of the filling unit and / or the lower side of the nozzle gap of the hose (extrusion) head. This is especially done when there is residual plastic, usually without the use of liquid or gaseous cleaning agents or heating; more precisely, mechanical auxiliary devices such as scrapers, brushes, etc. are required here, which can quickly achieve manual cleaning. For this purpose, in addition to or as an alternative to the intensive cleaning mentioned, the production device can be checked for possible wear or failure. In addition, damaged parts can be repaired or replaced with new parts within the scope of maintenance. In addition, other positions in the form of installation places outside the manufacturing position can be used to replace new production devices when necessary.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is provided that the transport device has a guide device, by means of which the extrusion device can be moved together with the production device into various positions and can be fixed in a defined manner. As a guide device, a slide guide device can preferably be used here, which enables a horizontal movement of the extrusion and production devices. In this way, the two positions "production position" and "maintenance position" can be quickly occupied, so that when maintenance is required, the actual production process is not unreasonably hindered or delayed.

[0007] In another particularly preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is provided that in the manufacturing position, the production device is located in a manufacturing room designed as a clean room. It is also preferably provided that in the respective other position, the production device is located in a receiving room adjacent to the manufacturing room and also designed as a clean room. It is therefore preferably provided that during the transport or movement of the production device from the manufacturing position to the respective other position and back, the production device always remains in a clean room environment.

[0008] Thus, in the production or manufacturing position, the production device with the hose head and the filling device and the mold of the forming device are surrounded by a housing, on which a fan with an air filter device (particularly in the form of a dust filter) is mounted, which has a high separation effect. As a result, an increased air pressure relative to the surrounding environment can be set in the manufacturing room. As a result, in the operation of the device, filtered air is transported from top to bottom, preferably in the form of a laminar air flow, which flows around the mold of the production unit and the forming unit and only flows out to the surrounding environment below the mold of the forming device. In this way, a manufacturing environment with a low particle content that is particularly meaningful for medical purposes is achieved for the production unit and at least the mold of the forming device, so that a clean room environment is achieved in this regard, which can be maintained even when the production device is located in a receiving room adjacent to the manufacturing room (in which maintenance is performed). It is preferably provided here that the receiving room is also equipped with its own air filter device, which generates an air flow similar to that in the production room and uses a dust filter here, depending on the desired clean room class according to EN 1822-1:2009, for example, using filters professionally known as HEPA filters, where HEPA stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air / Arrestance.

[0009] In another particularly preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is provided that the receiving chamber can be separated from the production chamber by means of a partition in the production position, and that the partition separates the receiving chamber from the surroundings in the other position. It is preferably also provided that the partition is formed by a movable partition wall, which, together with the production device and the extrusion device, at least partially penetrates the receiving chamber in order to occupy the respective position. As a result, the desired clean room environment can also be optimally maintained during the transport of the production device between different positions.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is provided that the receiving chamber is formed by a square housing, which is formed by separate side walls and a bottom wall and a top wall, and which is closed or open at its mutually opposite free end sides depending on the displacement position of the partition wall. The square housing forms a body delimited by six rectangles and having free end walls, which can be manufactured in a particularly cost-effective manner and is sufficiently sealed from the inside and from the surrounding environment with respect to the other components of the device, so that in this respect the desired clean room conditions can also be maintained.

[0011] For process-reliable transport operation, taking into account the transfer of the individual devices between the positions, it is preferably provided that the partition wall is arranged between the production device and the extrusion device, the partition wall passes through the receiving chamber linearly from the other position from the front position to the rear position by means of the guide device, in which the receiving chamber is closed relative to the surrounding environment, and in the rear position, the partition wall directly separates the receiving chamber from the manufacturing room.

[0012] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is also provided that separate maintenance, inspection and / or cleaning operations can be carried out at another location of the production device via a closable inspection opening in the bottom of the receiving chamber, in particular at a corresponding outlet opening of the hose head of the production device, so that a connection to the surroundings is established within the scope of the operation when the inspection opening is open. In this case, filtered air flows out through this inspection opening into the surroundings and thus prevents the entry of potential contaminants by the counterflow principle.

[0013] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention, it is also provided that: the guiding device is composed of at least one longitudinal guide part, along which the extrusion device and the production device together with the partition can be guided back and forth in a movable manner, while the manufacturing chamber with the forming device and the receiving chamber are fixedly arranged on the frame.

[0014] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is further provided that, in order to establish clean room conditions in the production room, an air flow from an air filter device is passed through.

[0015] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is further provided that, in order to establish clean room conditions in the production room, an air flow from an air filter device is conducted vertically from top to bottom and after passing through a filter.

[0016] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is further provided that the filter is in the form of a particle filter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The device according to the present invention is explained in detail below with the aid of the embodiments according to the drawings. In this case, in the schematic and not to scale illustration:

[0018] Figure 1 a perspective front view showing the main components of the device;

[0019] Figure 2 Show Figure 1 A partial view of a production device and an extrusion device;

[0020] Figure 3 Enlarged view showing Figure 2 A partial image of the circled diagram;

[0021] Figure 4 and Figure 5 Shown for use in accordance with Figure 1 Two different embodiments of a holding chamber used in a device;

[0022] Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 Show according to Figure 1 1 and is shown in the sequence of a manufacturing position, a transition position and a maintenance position for a production device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Figure 1 The invention is shown for forming, filling and sealing the packaging by means of a forming, filling and sealing method (also known as bottelpack in the technical terminology) ® The invention relates to a perspective view of an apparatus for manufacturing plastic containers (method). The apparatus has a frame 10 which can be erected on a workshop floor or the like, and is usually constructed from individual profiles or frame parts, which are connected to each other in a transverse and longitudinal arrangement to form the frame 10 as a whole. A forming device is accommodated within the frame 10, which has individual molds 14 that can be moved relative to each other between an open receiving position and a closed position for forming individual container products.

[0024] Furthermore, an extrusion device 16 is accommodated on the frame 10 on its upper side. As an essential component, the extrusion device 16 has an upwardly protruding collecting hopper 18 for accommodating plastic granules, which can be fed to a plasticizing unit 20, which has an extrusion screw unit 22 for melting the plastic granules into plasticized plastic, which is pressed at the free end of the extrusion device 16 via a correspondingly constructed connecting device 24 into a production device 26, which in particular has a hose head 28 and a plunger tube (not shown in further detail) with a filling and dosing unit 30 arranged thereon. In this respect, the extrusion device 16 is then only an extruder flange-connected to the hose head 28 of the production device 26 together with its essential components. The relevant construction for such a production device is conventional and is shown by way of example in DE 10 20 20 00 4 564 A1 of the patent owner, so that it will not be explained in detail here. However, in each case, the plasticized plastic from the extrusion device 16 is formed into a tube in the production position and then conveyed to the forming device 12 for forming containers, which are filled with a predeterminable fluid, for example in the form of the drug to be filled, before they are closed, which fluid comes from the filling and dosing unit 30 of the production device 26.

[0025] As according to Figures 6 to 8 As shown in the sequence of the preceding and following, the production device 26 can be placed in at least two different positions by means of the transport device 32, one of the positions being based on Figure 6 manufacturing location and at least one other location according to Figure 8 The diagram is used for a relatively different task, in Figure 7 According to Figure 6 Manufacturing location and basis Figure 8 possible intermediate positions between the other positions. Figure 7 In the diagram of FIG. 2 , the production device 26 is located in a transfer position. Figure 8 Move back to the other position according to Figure 6 When the transfer position is in the manufacturing position, the transfer position is also occupied in the opposite direction.

[0026] In particular, according to Figure 2 As can be seen from the partial view of FIG. 1 , the extrusion device 16 is housed in the machine frame 10 in a substantially horizontal orientation, while the production device 26 occupies a substantially vertical operating position. Figure 2 As can be seen, the transport device 32 has a guide device 34, in particular in the form of a slide guide device, by means of which the extrusion device 16 can be moved back and forth together with the production device 26 according to Figures 6 to 8In various positions and can be fixed in a final position at least in a defined manner. Figure 6 During the forming of the plasticized plastic hose from the production device 26 into a container product including an ampoule and the subsequent filling and sealing thereof in the production or manufacturing position of Figure 8 Another position is the maintenance position, in which various maintenance operations can be performed on the production device 26, for example in the form of cleaning and inspection of the device 26. In the context of maintenance, there is also the possibility of repairing or replacing possibly damaged parts with new ones, and in another maintenance position outside the production position, it is also possible to completely replace a new production device 26 with the production plant if necessary. Figure 2 and Figure 3 As can be seen, the extrusion device 16 and the production device 26 are guided together as a whole in a horizontally movable manner along the parts of the machine frame 10 by means of a transport device 32, and a partition 36 in the form of a partition wall 38 is accommodated between the two devices 16 and 26, which is designed to be sealed in a sealed manner up to the sealed penetration point with the connecting device 24, which serves as a transition between the extrusion device 16 and the hose head 28. The other components of the extrusion device 16 are provided with the reference numeral 22.

[0027] from Figure 3 In particular, a guide device 34 is provided which is designed as a slide guide and has two longitudinal guides 40 spaced apart from one another, along which a slide 42 of the extrusion device 16 can be moved in the longitudinal direction and which can be slid, for example manually, into a front position corresponding to the position according to Figure 6 or the slide can be placed in a rear position in which the production device 26 occupies a position according to Figure 8 The guide device 34 also includes a gear drive 44 and a rod-shaped clamping device 46, by means of which the devices 16, 26 and 36 can be fixed in a defined manner at a given position. The guide device 34 designed in this way is stable, functionally reliable and can be implemented in a particularly cost-effective manner.

[0028] According to Figure 6 , when the production device 26 is located above the forming device 12 in the working or production position, the production device is accommodated in a production room 48 within the frame 10, which is designed as a clean room. The production room 48 is laterally surrounded by an environmental shield 50 comprising a plurality of wall parts, and the free end side 52 of the production room 48 is closed by a partition 36 in the form of a matching partition wall 38, which has already separated the production device 26 in the occupied position according to Figure 7 In the case of the middle position of the diagram, the partition wall is separated from the partition wall according to Figure 8 The maintenance position is moved to the Figure 6 Here, the extrusion device 16 also moves together with the forming device 12 arranged in the frame 10 when stationary. In addition, the production chamber 48 moves along the Figure 6 The viewing direction is closed upward by an air filter device 54 with a fan (not shown) and a dust or HEPA filter 56, which creates an overpressure relative to the surroundings. Starting from the air filter device 54, a preferably laminar air flow flows out in the vertical direction from top to bottom and flows into the surroundings after flowing through the production room 48 with the production device 26 and after passing the forming device 12.

[0029] Located according to Figure 6 A substantially square receiving chamber 58 is connected in front of the manufacturing position of the manufacturing chamber 48. Figure 4 The design scheme is shown in Figure 4 The receiving chamber 58 shown in FIG. 1 includes two separate side walls 60, one of which is disposed along a line toward the Figure 4 The front side wall 60 viewed from the viewing direction has a partially glazed entrance door 62. The receiving chamber 58 is also provided with a bottom wall 64 and a top wall 66, the bottom wall 64 transitioning into the corresponding adjacently arranged side wall 60 via an angled profile 68. In other respects, the box-shaped receiving chamber 58 is arranged along the direction Figure 4 The front and rear sides 70 and 72 are open at the two opposite end sides 70 and 72, and the free end sides 70 and 72 have a cross section or form a through-space 74 in the interior of the receiving chamber 58, so that Figure 2 The partition wall 36 shown in the form of a partition wall 38 can pass through the receiving chamber 58 from the front side 70 to the rear side 72 and vice versa, and a sufficiently tight seal is desired between the peripheral edge 76 of the partition wall 38 forming the partition wall 36 and the inner circumference of the receiving chamber 58, including the penetration space 74, in this respect, so as not to seriously impair the clean room conditions, especially in the production room 48. In order to fully seal the clean room in this way, although a gas-tight (i.e. airtight) seal is preferred, it is not necessarily required. Rather, for maintaining the clean room grade, it is sufficient to keep the gap surface or opening surface small to the extent that the air flowing out of the clean room through this gap surface or opening surface prevents contaminants from entering the clean room by the counterflow principle. Therefore, it has been found that a gap width of 1 mm to 5 mm between the peripheral edge 76 of the partition wall 38 forming the partition wall 36 and the inner circumference of the corresponding edge side of the receiving chamber 58 in this respect is not disadvantageous. This enables a simple and frictionless sliding of the production unit and makes complex active seals largely superfluous. As a result, friction and the particle generation associated therewith are reliably minimized.

[0030] If the production device 26 is in its Figure 6In the rear production position of the partition 36 or the partition 38, the free end side 52 of the environmental shield 50 facing the extruder 16 is closed at the front. In the relevant production position, the front end side of the receiving chamber 58 together with the through-space 74 remains open and the rear end side 72 is preferably closed gas-tightly by the partition 38 of the partition 36. If the production device 26 is now moved from its Figure 6 The manufacturing position is out and is occupying the transfer position (one of the positions is Figure 7 shown) moves forward to the Figure 8 In the maintenance position, the partition wall 38 then passes through the receiving chamber 58 from its rear end side 72 and assumes a front position in which the end side 70 of the receiving chamber 58 is now closed. The receiving chamber 58 is thus closed to the outside and the clean room conditions existing in the production chamber 48 extend to the receiving chamber 58 due to the displacement of the partition wall 36. As long as the partition wall 36 or the partition wall 38 is passed through the connection device 24 between the extrusion device 16 and the production device 26, the closure of the relevant edge side is also sealed gas-tight, so that undesired particle contamination cannot enter the clean room, but this is also avoided by the overpressure existing in the room relative to the surrounding environment.

[0031] Especially from Figure 1 As can be seen, a partially encircling operating channel 78 can be provided within the scope of the construction in the frame 10, which is accessible via stairs 80 on the free end side of the device. Figure 1 and Figure 8 In the maintenance position of the receiving chamber 58, the production device can be manually cleaned from below via a freely accessible inspection chamber 82 via corresponding stairs 80 and the operating channel 78. If no maintenance or other cleaning work is to be carried out, the inspection chamber is closed by a cover 83. For maintenance, a rectangular inspection opening 86 is released by means of a pivotable bottom cover 84 in the bottom wall 64 of the receiving chamber 58, through which the filling plunger of the filling and dosing unit 30 can also be cleaned by means of mechanical auxiliary means (not shown in detail), such as a scraper, a brush, etc., as can the nozzle gap on the underside of the hose (extrusion) head 28. It is also provided that during operation, when the inspection opening 86 is open, filtered clean room air can flow out to the surrounding environment through the pivoted back bottom cover 84.

[0032] After the receiving chamber 58 has been released via the access door 62, maintenance work can also be carried out on the production device 26, such as replacing damaged parts on the relevant device. In addition to replacement, repairs to the relevant components are of course also conceivable.

[0033] In accordance with Figure 5 In the modified embodiment of the receiving chamber, for the sake of simplicity, Figure 4 In the embodiment of the present invention, the same parts are provided with the same reference numerals, and the embodiments in this regard also apply to the embodiment according to Figure 5 which in this respect is identical to the embodiment according to Figure 4 The decisive difference of the embodiment of the invention is that a third side wall 88 of partial glass is provided in the rear wall region, which third side wall in this respect also delimits the rear end side 72 which is closed by the partition 36 or the partition plate 38. Thus, the production device 26 is located in its Figure 6 If the partition 36 is along the manufacturing position Figure 5 In the area of ​​the front end side 70 of the receiving chamber 58, a not shown closing or delimiting wall for the receiving chamber 58 is additionally required so that the partition wall 36 can move the receiving chamber 58 in the front position as described above according to Figure 4 In a further improvement, according to Figure 5 In the embodiment, in addition to the air filter device 54, a separate air filter device 90 is provided, which has an additional dust filter 92. For the sake of completeness, a multi-segment energy chain 94 is also cited, which is Figure 5 Partially shown in, and otherwise in accordance with Figure 1 as well as Figures 6 to 8 The diagram is used for a common energy supply to components of a manufacturing plant.

[0034] In summary, with the device according to the invention, which is particularly intended for use in a BFS system, only one production station is sufficient for the extrusion and filling of the tubes, and manual intensive cleaning of the production device can be achieved in a simple manner while maintaining clean room conditions, also with the use of mechanical aids, wherein in addition to the actual production station there is also a separate maintenance station with an associated maintenance room. This therefore has no corresponding solution in the prior art.

Claims

1. Apparatus for manufacturing plastic containers according to a forming, filling and sealing method, said apparatus comprising at least: - forming device (12), - an extrusion device (16), and - production equipment (26), The production device forms plasticized plastic from the extrusion device (16) into a hose in a manufacturing position and then conveys it to the forming device (12) for forming a container, and fills the container with a predeterminable fluid before the container is sealed, characterized in that the production device (26) can be placed in at least two different positions by means of a transport device (32), one of the positions corresponding to the manufacturing position and at least one other position for performing relatively different tasks.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The transport device (32) has a guide device (34), by means of which the extrusion device (16) can be moved together with the production device (26) into various positions and can be fixed in a defined manner.

3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that In the production position, the production device (26) is located in a production room (48) designed as a clean room.

4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that In the respective other position, the production device (26) is located in a receiving room (58) designed as a clean room and adjoining the production room (48).

5. The device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that During the transport of the production device (26) from the production location to the respective other location, the production device (26) remains in a clean room.

6. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that The receiving chamber (58) can be separated from the production chamber (48) in the production position by means of a partition (36), and the partition (36) separates the receiving chamber (58) from the surroundings in a respective other position.

7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that The partition (36) is formed by a movable partition wall (38) which, together with the production device (26) and the extrusion device (16), at least partially penetrates the receiving chamber (58) in order to adopt the respective position.

8. The device according to claim 7, characterized in that The receiving chamber (58) is formed by a cuboid housing, which is formed by separate side walls (60, 88) as well as a bottom wall (64) and a top wall (66), and which is closed or open at its mutually opposite free end sides (70, 72) depending on the displacement position of the partition wall.

9. The device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that The partition wall (38) is arranged between the production device (26) and the extrusion device (16), and the partition wall passes through the receiving chamber (58) linearly from the other position from the front position to the rear position by means of the guide device (34), in which the receiving chamber (58) is closed off from the surrounding environment, and in the rear position, the partition wall (38) separates the receiving chamber (58) from the production chamber (48).

10. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that In another position of the production device (26), separate maintenance, inspection and / or cleaning operations can be carried out via a closable inspection opening (86) in the bottom wall (64) of the receiving chamber (58).

11. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that In another position of the production device (26), separate maintenance, inspection and / or cleaning work can be carried out at a corresponding outlet opening of the hose head (28) of the production device (26) via a closable inspection opening (86) in the bottom wall (64) of the receiving chamber (58).

12. The device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that The guide device (34) is formed by at least one longitudinal guide (40), along which the extrusion device (16) and the production device (26) together with the partition (36) are guided to and fro so as to be movable, while the production chamber (48) with the shaping device (12) and the receiving chamber (58) are arranged fixedly on the frame (10).

13. The device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that In order to establish clean room conditions in the production room (48), an air flow from an air filter device (54) is directed through it.

14. The device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that In order to create clean room conditions in the production room (48), an air flow from an air filter device (54) is directed through the filter in a vertical flow from top to bottom and after passing through the filter.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that The filter is in the form of a particle filter.

16. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that In order to establish clean room conditions, at least one particle filter is installed on the upper side of the production chamber (48).

17. The device according to claim 16, characterized in that In order to establish clean room conditions, at least one particle filter is mounted on the upper side of the receiving chamber (58).

18. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that In order to establish clean room conditions in the receiving chamber (58), an air flow from the production chamber (48) is used during and after transporting the production device (26) from the production location to the further location.

Images