Preform thermal conditioning unit with integrated storage

Abstract

Title: Preform Thermal Conditioning Unit with Integrated Storage The invention relates to a preform thermal conditioning unit (16) comprising: - an enclosure (23) in which the preforms (4) are thermally conditioned; - radiation sources (22) extending inside said enclosure (23); - a conveying means (26) extending inside said enclosure and comprising first gripping members (30) for moving said preforms along a conveying path (T) and at least a portion of the conveying path extending to the radiation sources, characterized in that it also comprises at least one storage unit (57) extending inside said enclosure (23), to at least a portion of said conveying path (T). Figure for the abstract: Figure 1

Description

Title of the invention: Preform thermal conditioning unit with integrated storage. Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a thermal conditioning unit of a container manufacturing machine, in particular thermoplastic bottles, by blow molding or stretch blow molding from pre-heated preforms comprising a magazine arranged inside the enclosure of the thermal conditioning unit thus allowing operations to be carried out on this thermal conditioning unit.

[0002] The present invention relates to a thermal conditioning unit for preforms, particularly those made of thermoplastic material, for the manufacture of containers comprising:

[0003] -an enclosure in which the preforms are thermally conditioned;

[0004] -radiation sources extending inside said enclosure, said radiation sources being capable of thermally conditioning the preforms;

[0005] - a conveying means extending inside the enclosure and comprising gripping devices for moving the preforms along a conveying path in a horizontal plane and at least a portion of the conveying path extending directly above the radiation sources. Technical background

[0006] The prior art of container manufacturing installations, in particular for thermoplastic bottles, comprising a thermal conditioning unit and a forming unit, in particular by injecting a fluid under pressure into the preform.

[0007] In general, the aim is to reduce the time during which the installation is stopped to allow the implementation of maintenance operations or operations to change customized components related to the format of the formed containers, such as molds, gripping components of the thermal conditioning unit, transfer clamps.

[0008] This will notably be the case when starting the manufacture of a new container. Indeed, it is then necessary to carry out various operations to change certain customized components that are associated with a given preform, itself corresponding to a container to be manufactured.

[0009] However, such a solution was not satisfactory because the total time required to carry out such operations is particularly long and therefore costly since all manufacturing generally ceases.

[0010] Furthermore, patent application WO201317411 of the applicant is also known, which discloses a container manufacturing installation comprising at least:

[0011] - a preform heat conditioning unit comprising a first vertical side face; and

[0012] - a unit for forming containers from thermally conditioned preforms mimentally, which includes a second vertical lateral face;

[0013] This installation includes at least one robot and at least one magazine which are arranged opposite the first vertical side face and the second vertical side face to intervene selectively through the first vertical side face and / or through the second vertical side face in order to be able to carry out operations on the thermal conditioning unit and / or the forming unit.

[0014] In other words, in this installation the arrangement of the robot and the store allows intervention on both units.

[0015] However, such a warehouse layout does not allow for optimized intervention times or a reduced floor space. Because the warehouse must serve both units, it is positioned at a certain distance from both the packaging and forming units. It cannot be positioned near one unit without causing inconvenience to the other, or else the number of warehouses would have to be increased.

[0016] There is therefore a significant need for the thermal conditioning unit to maintain acceptable productivity times, as well as acceptable format changeover or maintenance times, while improving the compactness of the installation. Summary of the invention

[0017] To this end, the invention proposes a thermal conditioning unit for preforms, particularly those made of thermoplastic material, for the manufacture of containers comprising:

[0018] -an enclosure in which the preforms are thermally conditioned;

[0019] -radiation sources extending inside said enclosure, said radiation sources being capable of thermally conditioning the preforms;

[0020] -a conveying means extending inside said enclosure and comprising first gripping devices for moving said preforms along a closed conveying path and at least a portion of the conveying path extending to the radiation sources,

[0021] characterized in that it also comprises at least one store extending inside said enclosure, in line with at least part of said conveying route, and capable of storing at least one gripping device.

[0022] This thermal conditioning unit makes it possible to reduce the time of operations in particular of format change due to the arrangement of the store in relation to the conveying path of the gripping devices.

[0023] This thermal conditioning unit also makes it possible to reduce the floor footprint compared to known arrangements.

[0024] According to another feature of the thermal conditioning unit made according to the teachings of the invention, the closed conveying path comprising at least: a so-called outbound section, a so-called return section and two turns connecting the outbound and return sections, the radiation sources extending at the right of at least one outbound and / or return section.

[0025] According to another feature of the thermal conditioning unit made according to the teachings of the invention, the store is arranged at the right of at least one of the turns of said conveying path.

[0026] According to another feature of the thermal conditioning unit made according to the teachings of the invention, the enclosure includes at least one vertical partition adjacent to said conveying path.

[0027] According to another feature of the thermal conditioning unit made according to the teachings of the invention, the enclosure comprises a first vertical partition of longitudinal orientation adjacent to the forward section of said conveying path, extending into a second vertical partition of transverse orientation adjacent to said bend of the conveying path, extending into a third vertical partition of longitudinal orientation which is globally parallel to said first partition and adjacent to the return section of said conveying path.

[0028] According to another feature of the thermal conditioning unit made according to the teachings of the invention, the magazine is mounted movably between a so-called "active" position in which said magazine extends outside said enclosure to perform the change of said gripping members and a so-called "retracted" position in which said magazine extends inside said enclosure to perform maintenance and / or format change operations.

[0029] According to another feature of the thermal conditioning unit made according to the teachings of the invention, at least one of the enclosure partitions includes a retractable panel to allow said store to move from its active position to its retracted position and vice versa.

[0030] According to another feature of the thermal conditioning unit made according to the teachings of the invention, the thermal conditioning unit includes at least one store capable of storing second gripping organs in line with at least one robot.

[0031] According to another feature of the thermal conditioning unit made according to According to the teachings of the invention, the store comprises a vertical plate adjacent to the bend in the conveying path, and the plate comprising bores in which the gripping members are housed.

[0032] According to another feature of the thermal conditioning unit made according to the teachings of the invention, the magazine includes a barrel on the periphery of which bores are made to house the gripping members.

[0033] This thermal conditioning unit also reduces the installation and setup time at the customer's site. Indeed, this unit, which contains the storage tank, is delivered to the customer as a single unit, whereas this was not the case with the prior art arrangements described previously.

[0034] This thermal conditioning unit also reduces the required floor space because all the structural elements for carrying out the operations are located within the thermal conditioning unit itself. Brief description of the figures

[0035] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the reading of the detailed description which follows, for the understanding of which reference will be made to the attached drawings which we briefly describe below.

[0036] [Fig.l] is a schematic general view of a container production installation seen from above and more particularly of a packaging unit and a robot according to the invention;

[0037] [Fig.2] is a detail view of a preform;

[0038] [Fig.3] is a cross-sectional view of the thermal conditioning unit according to the section AA of the [Fig.l];

[0039] [Fig.4] is a perspective view representing the placement of the store in the retracted position within the enclosure of the thermal conditioning unit;

[0040] [Fig. 5] is a perspective view representing the placement of the store in its active position within the enclosure of the thermal conditioning unit. Detailed description of the invention

[0041] In the following description, elements having an identical structure or analogous functions will be designated by the same reference.

[0042] The longitudinal, vertical and transverse orientations will be adopted without limitation with reference to the trihedron (L, V, T) represented in the figures.

[0043] By convention, the longitudinal and transverse directions are fixed in relation to the molding devices so that the open or closed position occupied has no effect on said orientations.

[0044] The terms "front" and "rear" shall also be used, without limitation, in reference to to the longitudinal orientation, as well as "superior" and "inferior" with reference to the vertical orientation and finally "left" or "right" and "inside" or "outside" with reference to the transverse orientation.

[0045] A schematic representation is shown in [Fig.1], of a series production installation 1 of containers 2 made of thermoplastic material from preforms 4.

[0046] In the following description, the preforms 4 and the containers 2 move through the production installation along a production path from upstream to downstream. The preforms 4 are moved in a line along a production path by conveying means which will be detailed later.

[0047] By way of non-limitation, the containers here are bottles. The thermoplastic material is, for example, polyethylene terephthalate, hereafter referred to by its acronym "PET".

[0048] Such a preform 4, with reference to [Fig. 2], has a principal axis "X" shown vertically in the figure. It has a cylindrical body 6 with a tubular wall 7 closed at one of its axial ends by a bottom 8, and which is open at its other end by a neck 10, also tubular. The neck 10 is delimited downwards by a collar 12 and upwards by an upper end edge called the drinking rim 14.

[0049] The neck 10 generally presents its final shape while the body 6 of the preform is intended to undergo a relatively large deformation to form the final container 2 during a forming step.

[0050] As shown in [Fig.1], the container manufacturing installation 1 comprises at least one heat conditioning unit 16, one forming unit 18.

[0051] The heat conditioning unit 16, also called an oven, heats a series of preforms to a reference temperature. The reference temperature is chosen so that the body of each preform exiting the heat conditioning unit 16 is in a malleable state, allowing the heated preform body 6 to be deformed in order to form the container 2 in the forming unit. The reference temperature is between the glass transition temperature and the crystallization temperature of the plastic material of the preform. In the case of PET, the reference temperature is, for example, close to 110°C. The value of the reference temperature may vary depending on the product with which the container will be filled or the container filling technique. Thus, the reference temperature is different for hot filling or for a carbonated product, for example.

[0052] According to the embodiment shown in [Fig.1], the heat conditioning unit 16 is a scroll oven, in which the preforms 4 are transported to be exposed to a plurality of radiant heating sources 22.

[0053] To this end, the thermal conditioning unit 16 includes a means of conveying of preforms circulating along a conveying path T in an enclosure 23 between an inlet 25 and an outlet 27 and inscribed in a horizontal plane B.

[0054] As shown in [Fig.1], the conveying means comprises a succession of gripping organs 30 mounted on a transport chain 28, capable of grasping a preform in particular by fitting its neck.

[0055] The conveying means further comprises a first guide wheel 36 for the transport chain 28 and a second guide wheel 38 for the transport chain 28, each rotatably mounted on a frame (not shown) of the heat conditioning unit around a respective vertical axis "Z2, Z3". The transport chain 28 is meshed around the two guide wheels 36, 38, thus forming a closed loop. At least one of the two guide wheels, referred to as the driving wheel, is driven in rotation by a motor to set the transport chain 28 in motion in order to move the gripping members along the conveying path. The guide wheels 36, 38 rotate here in a counterclockwise direction, as indicated by an arrow in [Fig. 1].

[0056] In another embodiment not shown, the conveying means comprises, for example, a series of gripping members, each capable of supporting a preform, mounted on a linear motor-type shuttle circulating on a closed magnetic loop along the conveying path. The movement of each of these shuttles is controlled independently of each other by a control unit (not shown).

[0057] At least part of the grasping organ 30 is complementary to the preforms 4 and in particular to the geometric characteristics of the neck in particular for grasping them by fitting.

[0058] The preforms circulate along the conveyor path T forming a closed circuit.

[0059] As shown in [Fig.1], the conveying route T includes at least one section called the outbound 39, a section called the return 41 and two turns 43, 45 connecting the outbound and return sections.

[0060] Thus, the path T for conveying the preforms has the shape of a "U".

[0061] The enclosure 23 includes at least one vertical partition adjacent to the conveying path T.

[0062] Here, the enclosure 23 comprises a first vertical partition 47 of longitudinal orientation adjacent to the forward section 39 of said conveying path T, extending into a second vertical partition 49 of transverse orientation adjacent to said bend 43 of the conveying path, extending into a third vertical partition 51 of longitudinal orientation which is globally parallel to said first partition 47 and adjacent to the return section 41 of said conveying path T.

[0063] These partitions are fixed to a frame which will be described later.

[0064] The enclosure includes the radiation sources 22 which are suitable for thermally conditioning the preforms 4.

[0065] The radiation sources 22 form a heating cavity which includes two lateral walls 53 facing each other and at least one of these walls being the one which supports several radiation sources 22, arranged one above the other and one next to the other facing the preforms.

[0066] In other words, the heat conditioning unit 16 comprises a plurality of radiation sources 22 distributed throughout along the conveyor path T and at a height corresponding substantially to the height of the preforms, so that the entire height of the body of each preform is exposed to the radiation emitted by the radiation sources 22 on the path T of the preform in the heat conditioning unit 16. By rotating the preforms 4 around their main axis X, the conveyor means 26 makes it possible to uniformly expose the entire body 6 of the preforms to the radiation sources 22. In this particular embodiment, the radiation sources 22 are distributed on only one side of this path, and a reflective wall 55 is arranged on the other side of the heating path to reflect the heat back towards the preforms.

[0067] In another embodiment not shown, the radiation sources 22 can be distributed on either side of the heating path without going out of the scope of the invention.

[0068] It should also be noted that the radiation sources 22 are arranged, where appropriate, so as not to subject the neck 10 to the heating radiation emitted by the radiation sources. Indeed, as previously stated, only the body 6 of the preform 4 is heated to produce the container. Consequently, the neck 10 must not be deformed during forming and must not be heated. To prevent heating of the neck 10, the furnace may include a ventilation device, not shown in the figures, positioned at the necks 10 to remove the heat that may be absorbed by said necks 10.

[0069] Each radiation source 22 is formed by an incandescent lamp emitting infrared radiation.

[0070] In another embodiment, each radiation source 22 is at least one laser diode emitting infrared radiation suitable for thermally conditioning the preforms.

[0071] In other words, each radiation source 22 is at least one laser source (for example, laser diodes) emitting in the infrared and arranged by juxtaposition and / or superposition of several sources to form one or more matrices as described in the applicant's European patent EP1824659.

[0072] In another embodiment, each radiation source 22 is a microwave generator.

[0073] It is quite obvious that the radiation sources 22 may consist of any radiation source well known to the Man skilled in the art, or a combination of these radiation sources without going out of the scope of the invention.

[0074] The enclosure 23 of the thermal conditioning unit also includes at least one robot 19 extending inside the enclosure 23, in line with at least part of said conveying path T, and capable of performing operations on the conveying means and / or on the radiation sources.

[0075] The robot 19 comprises a base 20 and a robotic arm 21, equipped at one of its ends with a gripping tool capable of grasping and moving at least one gripping member 30 from the conveying means to a store.

[0076] The robot 19 includes an articulated arm 21 which is mobile in the enclosure 23 along a trihedron (X, Y, Z).

[0077] The arm 21 comprising at least three axes of articulation along the trihedron (X, Y, Z).

[0078] As shown in [Fig. 1], all or part of robot 19 extends inside the Convoy route T.

[0079] In other words, all or part of the robot 19 extends between the so-called going section 39, the so-called returning section 41 and the turn 43 connecting the two sections.

[0080] More specifically, the base 20 of the robot extends inside the conveyor path T.

[0081] All or part of the articulated arm 21 extends inside the conveying path T.

[0082] The thermal conditioning unit 16 also includes at least one storage means 57 of the store type suitable for storing the gripping members 30 and / or second gripping members 59.

[0083] Here, the thermal conditioning unit 16 includes a storage means 57 of store type suitable for storing the second gripping organs 59.

[0084] The storage means 57 extends inside the enclosure 23 of the thermal conditioning unit at the level of the robot 19.

[0085] The location of this robot in relation to the store makes it possible to limit the stroke of the articulated arm 21 and thus reduce the time to perform a format change.

[0086] Then, once the preform 4 has been heat-conditioned in the heat conditioning unit 16, it is transferred to the forming unit 18 to be formed there.

[0087] The container forming unit 18 from preforms 4 consists of a forming wheel 42 rotating a plurality of blowing stations 44 from an inlet to an outlet, at which a succession of containers are formed from the preforms and then extracted, as shown in [Fig. 1]. The axis of rotation of the forming wheel is, for example, substantially parallel to the main X axis of the preforms when they are transported by the forming wheel.

[0088] Each blowing station 44 includes a mold 46 having walls forming a molding cavity having the shape of the container to be formed and arranged to receive a preform so that the body of the preform extends into the molding cavity.

[0089] Fig. 3 represents a cross-sectional view of Fig. 1 along section AA, in which the thermal conditioning unit 16 consists of the enclosure 23, which includes inside the radiation sources 22, the conveying means 26, the robot 19, and the magazine 57. In other words, this enclosure 23 surrounds the radiation sources 22, the conveying means 26, the robot 19, and the magazine 57 to protect them, isolate them from the external environment, and conversely, protect the external environment from elements that may come from inside the enclosure, such as radiation from the radiation source.

[0090] In the context of the production of containers holding sensitive products (milk, orange juice, etc.), enclosure 23 defines a more or less airtight volume. This volume can be equipped with a means of supplying filtered air, allowing for the creation of positive pressure within this volume and the control of air quality in order to prevent any contamination of the enclosure.

[0091] The enclosure 23 of the thermal conditioning unit 18 consists of a frame 60 capable of receiving at least one vertical partition and possibly at least one horizontal partition for the floor and / or ceiling.

[0092] This frame consists of metal beams forming a load-bearing structure or framework on which are fixed the vertical partitions 47, 49, 51 and / or a horizontal partition 62 of the ceiling and / or a horizontal partition 64 of the floor.

[0093] The partitions are removably fixed to the frame by means of fixing such as screws or they are permanently fixed by means of fixing such as welding or by any other means of fixing known to the person skilled in the art.

[0094] As shown in [Fig. 1], the enclosure comprises the first vertical partition 47, longitudinally oriented, adjacent to the forward section 39 of the conveyor path T, extending into the second vertical partition 49, transversely oriented, adjacent to the bend 43 of the conveyor path T, extending into the third vertical partition 51, longitudinally oriented, which is generally parallel to the first partition 47 and adjacent to the return section 41 of the conveyor path T, and a fourth vertical partition, which may be the partition of the forming unit (not shown), transversely oriented, adjacent to the bend of the conveyor path common to the forming unit, in which at least one opening is made to transfer the hot preforms to the forming unit. These first, second, third, and fourth partitions are fixed to the beams of the frame 60 by all known means of fixing.

[0095] This enclosure 23 defines a volume having the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.

[0096] Alternatively, the enclosure can define a volume having the shape of a cylinder.

[0097] The enclosure 23 also includes the radiation sources 22 as mentioned previously in the description and represented in dotted line on [Fig.3].

[0098] As illustrated in [Fig.3], the enclosure 23 also includes the conveying means 26 extending along the conveying path T, in a horizontal plane B, which is substantially parallel to the horizontal partition 62 of the ceiling and / or the horizontal partition 64 of the floor and / or a horizontal plane defined by the floor on which the thermal conditioning unit 16 rests.

[0099] The conveying means 26 comprises a succession of gripping members 30 transporting the preforms 4 to be heated necks at the top of the inlet to the outlet of the thermal conditioning unit 16.

[0100] By way of non-limiting example, reference will be made to the applicant's French patent, publication number WO2007025909, which describes a grasping organ 30 of the aforementioned preforms.

[0101] Alternatively, the preforms are heated neck down, then turned neck up at the inlet and outlet of the heat conditioning unit to carry out the preform transfers.

[0102] By way of non-limiting example, reference will be made to the applicant's French patent, publication number EP2626177B1, which describes a preform gripping device equipped with a quick disassembly device.

[0103] The enclosure 23 also includes the robot 19 consisting of the base 20 and the articulated arm 21 which is equipped at its free end with a gripping tool capable of grasping the gripping organs 30 or the radiation sources 22.

[0104] In this embodiment, the base 20 can be fixed or movable. When the base is movable in rotation, it is movable with respect to an axis V. Here, the axis V and the axis Z3 of the second wheel 38 coincide.

[0105] As shown in [Fig.4], a lower part 72 of the base 20 is attached to the enclosure 23.

[0106] The lower part 72 of the base 20 of the robot 19 is fixed on the horizontal partition 64 of the floor or a horizontal part of the frame 60 of the thermal conditioning unit.

[0107] In an alternative not shown, the robot can be fixed directly to the floor on which the thermal conditioning unit rests. In other words, the robot is arranged in the enclosure 23, below the horizontal plane B defined by the conveyor path T. Thus, the articulated arm 21 moves in a so-called "underside" zone 23A of the enclosure 23.

[0108] In an alternative not shown, the robot's base is fixed to the horizontal partition 62 and / or a portion of the frame 60 forming the ceiling of the thermal conditioning unit. In other words, the robot can be positioned in the enclosure designated "above" the horizontal plane B defined by the conveyor path. Thus, the articulated arm moves within a zone designated "above" 23B of the enclosure 23.

[0109] In another variant, the base 20 can be fixed on the horizontal plane B and extending inside the conveying path forming a loop and the articulated arm 21 can move in the area below 23A and / or in the area above 23B of the enclosure.

[0110] As shown in [Fig.3], the arm 21 is coupled at one of its ends to the base 20 and at the other free end to a gripping tool to carry out the operations of changing the gripping organs 30 or the radiation sources 22.

[0111] The articulated arm 21 consists of several sections 66. These sections 66 are articulated with respect to each other by articulation axes 68 to move in the lower zone 23A or in the upper zone 23B depending on the position of the base 20.

[0112] The gripping tool is capable of detaching and grasping a first gripping member 30 that was attached to the conveyor 26. Then, the articulated arm 21 moves the first gripping member 30 to place it in the magazine. Next, the gripping tool is capable of detaching and grasping a second gripping member 59 that was attached to the magazine before being moved and fixed onto the conveyor 26.

[0113] There are two types of operations performed on the grasping organ 30:

[0114] Maintenance operations consisting of changing at least one component of gripping 30, that is to say to replace the gripping element with another gripping element having the same technical characteristics (dimension, stiffness of the joints for holding the preform).

[0115] The format change operations consisting of changing all the first gripping members 30 attached to the conveying means 26 by the second gripping members 59 stored in the magazine 57.

[0116] As shown in [Fig.3], the enclosure 23 also includes the magazine 57 suitable for storing the gripping devices 30 for carrying out maintenance operations or suitable for storing the second gripping devices 59 for carrying out product container format change operations.

[0117] Fig. 4 represents a partial perspective view of the thermal conditioning unit showing several positions of the articulated arm in the area below 23A of the enclosure 23, as well as the magazine in a retracted position, i.e. in a position where the magazine is inside the enclosure 23.

[0118] This figure shows the thermal conditioning unit comprising the conveying means 26, the frame 60, the enclosure 23, the robot 19 and the magazine 57.

[0119] To simplify this figure, the succession of gripping organs and an upper part of the frame 60 have not been shown.

[0120] The conveying means 26 was described previously in the description of [Fig.1].

[0121] In this figure, the conveying means 26 is schematically represented and is intended to show its size and positioning in the thermal conditioning unit in particular in relation to the robot 19 and the store 57.

[0122] The conveying means 26 forms a closed loop.

[0123] The lower part of the closed loop of the conveying means defines the horizontal plane B.

[0124] The frame visible in this figure includes beams 70, forming part of the floor, on which will rest the structural elements of the thermal conditioning unit, including the robot, the store and part of the partitions not shown.

[0125] The enclosure 23 and especially the area below 23A is defined by a volume located between the horizontal plane B and the beams forming the floor.

[0126] For this embodiment, this volume of the area below 23A constitutes the volume in which the robot will be positioned to perform the different operations.

[0127] The same reasoning can be applied to define the volume of the area above 23B, that is, between the horizontal plane B and the beams forming the ceiling (not shown in this figure).

[0128] In this figure, the robot is arranged in the area below 23A.

[0129] The robot 19 consists of the support 20 and the robotic arm 21.

[0130] The support 20 also consists of two parts, a lower part 72 and an upper part 74.

[0131] The lower part 72 of the support is secured to the frame 60 by all means of fastening well known to the person skilled in the art.

[0132] The support 20 is arranged in the area below 23A and more particularly, under one of the two bends 43, 45 of the transport path T, under the axle of the wheel of the conveying means.

[0133] The support 20 extends inside the conveyor path T.

[0134] The upper part 74 of the support is attached to the robotic arm 21.

[0135] The articulated arm 21 comprises several sections 66 connected to each other by axes 68 of rotations.

[0136] Fig. 4 shows the arm 21 articulated in several positions, including a position for depositing the gripping member 30 in the magazine 57 or for grasping the gripping member in the magazine 57.

[0137] As shown in [Fig. 3], 4, and 5, the magazine 57 consists of a plate 76 vertical adjacent to turn 43 of the conveyor route T.

[0138] Plate 76 consists of a multitude of smaller plates.

[0139] The vertical plate 76 includes locations 78 in which the gripping members 30 are housed. Here, the locations 78 take the form of bores.

[0140] Here, the gripping organs are held in these different bores by means of retaining such as magnets or by any other means of retaining known to the Man skilled in the art, clamps, o-ring for example.

[0141] When all the second gripping members are present in the magazine, the magazine includes at least one additional free location 78. When a first gripping member 30 is removed from the conveying means 26, it is stored in the additional free location 78, and then a second gripping member 59 is taken from the magazine 57 to be mounted in place of the first gripping member that has just been removed from the conveying means 26.

[0142] The magazine 57 retracts outside the enclosure so that an operator can change the gripping devices in masked time, i.e., while the thermal conditioning unit continues to produce.

[0143] Fig. 5 shows the magazine 57 in the active position, i.e. the magazine extends outside the enclosure 23.

[0144] As illustrated in [Fig.5], the retraction of the magazine is carried out here by means of a translational movement.

[0145] In an alternative not shown, the retraction of the magazine is carried out following another movement, for example a rotational movement.

[0146] To maintain the magazine in its active position, the magazine includes a blocker 82, that is to say, an actuator such as a cylinder capable of blocking the magazine in the active position or in the retracted position.

[0147] To move from one position to another, the vertical plate constituting the store is attached at the top and bottom to slides 80 which are themselves attached to the frame 60 and / or to one of the horizontal partitions 62, 64.

[0148] In an alternative not shown, the magazine includes a cylinder on the periphery of which locations 78 are made to house the gripping devices.

[0149] These locations 78 can be bores or grooves suitable for receiving the gripping members 30.

[0150] In this embodiment, the rotation of the barrel is combined with the movement of the articulated arm to optimize the filling of the magazine without the intervention of the operator.

[0151] In the context of this invention, the magazine takes the form of a plate or a barrel; it is known to those skilled in the art of many other means for making stores.

Claims

Demands

1. Thermal conditioning unit (16) for preforms (4) in particular made of thermoplastic material for the manufacture of containers (2) comprising: -an enclosure (23) in which the preforms (4) are thermally conditioned; -radiation sources (22) extending inside said enclosure (23), said radiation sources being capable of thermally conditioning the preforms; -a conveying means (26) extending inside said enclosure and comprising first gripping members (30) for moving said preforms along a closed conveying path (T) and at least a portion of the conveying path extending in front of the radiation sources, characterized in that it also comprises at least one store (57) extending inside said enclosure (23), in front of at least a part of said conveying path (T), and capable of storing at least one gripping member (30).

2. Thermal conditioning unit (16) according to the preceding claim characterized in that said closed conveyor path (T) comprising at least: a so-called forward section (39), a so-called return section (41) and two turns (43, 45) connecting the forward section (39) and the return section (41), the radiation sources (22) extending along at least one forward and / or return section.

3. Thermal conditioning unit according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that said store (57) is arranged at the right of at least one of the bends (43, 45) of said conveying path (T).

4. Thermal conditioning unit according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that said enclosure (23) comprises at least one vertical partition adjacent to said conveying path (T).

5. A thermal conditioning unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said enclosure comprises a first vertical partition (47) with a longitudinal orientation adjacent to the forward section (39) of said conveying path (T), extending into a second vertical partition (49) with a transverse orientation adjacent to said bend (43) of the conveying path, extending by a third vertical partition (51) of longitudinal orientation which is globally parallel to said first partition (47) and adjacent to the return section (41) of said conveying path (T).

6. Thermal conditioning unit according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that said store (57) is mounted movably between a so-called "active" position in which said store extends outside said enclosure (23) to perform the change of said gripping members (30) and a so-called "retracted" position in which said store (57) extends inside said enclosure (23) to perform maintenance and / or format change operations.

7. Thermal conditioning unit according to claim 6 characterized in that at least one of the partitions (47, 49, 51) of the enclosure comprises a retractable panel to allow said store (57) to move from its active position to its retracted position and vice versa.

8. Thermal conditioning unit according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that it comprises at least one magazine (57) capable of storing second gripping organs (59) in front of at least one robot (19).

9. Thermal conditioning unit according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that said store (57) comprises a vertical plate (76) adjacent to said bend (43) of the conveying path (T), and said plate (76) comprising locations (78) in which the gripping members are housed.

10. Thermal conditioning unit according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that said store comprises a barrel on the periphery of which locations (78) are made to house the gripping members.

11. Thermal conditioning unit according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the locations (78) have the form of at least one bore and / or at least one groove.

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