Blow molding equipment

Abstract

A blow molding apparatus includes a support platform, a blow molding device, a conveying and carrying device, and a cooling device. The support platform has an upper support surface and a lateral support surface. The upper support surface is used to mount the blow molding device, which has a mold inlet facing outwards. The conveying and carrying device is disposed on the lateral support surface and includes a conveyor seat, which can optionally be located in a working position corresponding to the mold inlet or a storage position. The conveyor seat is used to support the temporary placement of the mold or, during the blow molding process, to support the cooling device and direct the cooling device towards the blow-molded product, thereby enriching the process parameters.

Description

Blow molding equipment Technical Field

[0001] This work relates to a blow molding equipment, or more precisely, to a blow molding equipment that can be equipped with a cooling device to allow for a wider range of process parameters. Prior Technology

[0002] The production of plastic bottles involves placing a preform inside a mold and introducing high-pressure gas to cause it to expand and solidify. The mold can then be opened to remove the finished bottle. Therefore, blow molding molds, in addition to having cavities corresponding to the product itself, also have positioning and locking structures for the opening and closing mechanisms of the blow molding machine, making the molds quite bulky.

[0003] A crane is used to suspend the mold above the blow molding machine, positioning it on the machine. The machine has a corresponding mold inlet above it for the mold to enter. This method reduces the need for ground-based mold transport equipment, but the risk of injury to workers from molds suspended at a height is high.

[0004] Another approach is to install a transport device at the same height as the mold on the side of the blow molding machine. The mold is then moved laterally along the outside of the blow molding machine to the transport device, and a trolley is used to transport the mold away. New molds are installed in the reverse manner. This method can reduce the risk of molds injuring workers, but in order to install the mold transport device, the original equipment on the side of the blow molding machine must be removed, which is very inconvenient and time-consuming. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this invention provides a blow molding equipment, comprising a support platform, a blow molding device, a conveying and carrying device, and a cooling device.

[0006] The support platform has an upper support surface and a side support surface. The upper support surface is used to mount the blow molding device, which has a mold inlet facing outward.

[0007] The conveying and bearing device is disposed on the lateral support surface. The conveying and bearing device includes an upper slide rail, a lower slide rail, a conveying support, and a support rod.

[0008] The upper and lower slide rails are mounted on the lateral support surface of the support base at different heights, defining a translational direction so that the conveyor support faces a working position or a storage position, the working position corresponding to the mold inlet. One end of the conveyor support is pivotally connected to a slider of the upper slide rail. The conveyor support is used to mount a plurality of bearing shafts, the side-by-side direction of which defines a conveying direction, so that the bearing shafts form a conveying plane. The conveyor support also has a plurality of guide grooves at different vertical heights to position the plurality of bearing shafts so that the conveying plane is at different heights, wherein the conveying direction is perpendicular to the translational direction. One end of the support rod is mounted on a slider of the lower slide rail, and the other end is detachably engaged with the end of the conveyor bearing away from the blow molding device. When the other end of the support rod is positioned on the conveyor bearing, the conveying direction, the translation direction, and a plumb line are perpendicular to each other. When the other end of the support rod is detached from the conveyor bearing, the conveyor bearing can pivot downwards to be stored.

[0009] The cooling device has a base and a plurality of blowpipes. The base is selectively mounted on the conveying plane, so that the plurality of blowpipes are arranged in pairs along the conveying direction. The pairs of blowpipes are spaced apart by a distance, and the nozzle end of the pairs of blowpipes is located on the two sides away from a blow-molded finished product transfer channel. The bottom end of the plurality of blowpipes is fluidly connected to a cooling source through the base.

[0010] Preferably, a stop is provided at the end of the conveyor bearing away from the mold inlet, and a portion of the stop is selectively located directly above the conveyor bearing.

[0011] Preferably, the conveyor support is provided with an end stop and is located below the guide grooves furthest from the mold inlet. One end of the support rod is pivotally connected to the slider of the lower slide rail, and the other end of the support rod is used to support a crossbar and is detachably fixed to a lower recess of the end stop.

[0012] Preferably, the paired blowpipes are curved blowpipes, with the middle portion of the blowpipes curved outwards away from the transfer channel of the blow-molded product. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a blow molding equipment in one of its working states.

[0014] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the blow molding equipment in another working state.

[0015] Figure 3 is a top view of the blow molding equipment in the working state shown in Figure 2.

[0016] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the external appearance of the conveying and bearing device.

[0017] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the unfolding and erection of the conveying and supporting device.

[0018] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the disassembly stage of the conveyor bearing device.

[0019] Figure 7 is a top view of the blow molding equipment in the working state shown in Figure 1.

[0020] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing the location of the cooling device in the blow molding equipment compared to Figure 7.

[0021] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another location of the cooling device in a blow molding equipment. Implementation

[0022] The directional descriptions in the following description are defined to facilitate the description of the correspondence between various working states when operating the blow molding equipment of this invention, and are not used to limit the actual direction.

[0023] Please refer to Figures 1 and 2, which illustrate a blow molding equipment, including a support base 10, a blow molding device 13, a conveying and carrying device 20, a cooling device 40, a mold transfer device 50, and a finished product conveying device 60.

[0024] The support platform 10 has an upper support surface 10A and a side support surface 10B. The upper support surface 10A is used to mount the blow molding device 13, and the side support surface 10B is used to mount the conveying and carrying device 20. The blow molding device 13 has a top plate 13A, a mold inlet 131, and movable mold bases 132A and 132B. The mold inlet 131 faces outward. The blow molding device 13 is configured to mount the mold 15, so that the mold 15 receives the preform and introduces high-pressure gas into the preform to expand and form it. The mold 15 is pushed in from the mold inlet 131 of the blow molding device 13, so that the movable mold bases 132A and 132B of the blow molding device 13 are located on both sides of the mold 15. The movable mold bases 132A and 132B are used to fix the two components of the mold 15 and to control the mold 15 to be in an open or closed state. After the preform expands and forms, the movable mold bases 132A and 132B move to both sides, causing the mold 15 to open, and the blow-molded products 18A and 18B that have already formed inside can be taken out from the mold 15. When the mold 15 is to be fed into the mold inlet 131, the mold 15 can be temporarily placed on the conveying support device 20.

[0025] Please refer to Figures 4 to 6, which separately illustrate the structure of the conveying support device 20, including the slide rail assembly 21, the conveying support fixing assembly 22, the support rod fixing assembly 23, the support rod assembly 25, and the conveying support 27.

[0026] The slide rail assembly 21 includes slide rail seats 211 and 212, which are mounted on the lateral support surface 10B of the support base 10, with the slide rail seats 211 and 212 positioned above and below, respectively. The upper slide rail seat 211 has an upper slide rail 213 and an upper slider 213A corresponding to the upper slide rail 213. The lower slide rail seat 212 has a lower slide rail 214 and a lower slider 214A corresponding to the lower slide rail 214. The slide rail assembly 21 defines the reciprocating movement of the conveyor bearing 27 along the translational direction X, moving the conveyor bearing 27 to either a working position X1 or a storage position X2. The working position X1 corresponds to the mold inlet 131 of the blow molding apparatus 13, and the storage position X2 is located at the other end of the slide rail assembly 21 away from the mold inlet 131.

[0027] The conveyor bearing fixing assembly 22 includes an upper support 222, a bearing support 223, and a rotating shaft 224. The upper support 222 is assembled to the upper slider 213A of the upper slide rail 213. The bearing support 223 is installed on the upper support 222. The rotating shaft 224 is located at one end between the bearing support 223 and the upper support 222. The conveyor bearing 27 is positioned on the bearing support 223, so that the conveyor bearing 27 can pivot relative to the upper support 222 with the rotating shaft 224 as the axis.

[0028] The support rod fixing assembly 23 includes a lower support base 232 and a crossbar 233. The lower support base 232 is disposed on the lower slider 214A of the lower slide rail 214, and the middle part of the crossbar 233 passes through the lower support base 232.

[0029] The support rod assembly 25 includes two support rods 251 and a crossbar 252. One end of each support rod 251 passes through the two ends of the crossbar 233 away from the center, and the other end of each support rod 251 is provided with the crossbar 252. Accordingly, while maintaining the inclination, the support rods 251 can be tilted so that the crossbar 252 abuts against the end of the conveyor bearing 27 away from the support platform 10 from below, forming the state shown in Figure 5.

[0030] The conveyor bearing 27 has two parallel bearing side plates 271A and 271B, which are mounted on the bearing support 223. A plurality of bearing shafts 274 are provided between the bearing side plates 271A and 271B. Bearing shafts 274B are mounted on the bearing shafts 274, and the rotation direction of the bearing shafts 274B defines the conveying direction Y, which is perpendicular to the translational direction X. During blow molding, the conveyor bearing 27 can be used to support specific components or modules, positioning them at a certain position in the translational direction X. The bearing shafts 274 facilitate the displacement of these components or modules towards the first conveying direction Y1 or the second conveying direction Y2.

[0031] When the conveyor support 27 is not in use, the crossbar 252 can be removed from below the conveyor support 27. At this time, the conveyor support 27 will be pivoted downwards and placed vertically on the lateral support surface 10B, as shown in Figure 6, and stored. When needed, the crossbar 252 is moved back below the conveyor support 27 to form a conveying plane.

[0032] In this embodiment, an end stop 273 is provided below the conveyor support 27, and a lower recess 273A is provided below the end stop 273. The lower recess 273A is used to position the crossbar 252 between the two support rods 251. The width between the two support rods 251 is greater than the width between the side plates 271A and 271B of the support. When the conveyor support 27 needs to be supported, the operator can move the crossbar 252 into the lower recess 273A. When the conveyor support 27 needs to be stored, the operator can remove the crossbar 252 from the lower recess 273A, allowing the conveyor support 27 to pivot downwards. Then, the two support rods 251 can pivot upwards relative to the lower support 232, so that the conveyor bearing device 20 fits entirely against the lateral support surface 10B, completing the storage.

[0033] In this embodiment, the conveyor support 27 has three height positioning tracks 272. Taking the end of the conveyor support 27 closest to the mold inlet 131 as a reference, along the conveying direction Y, the three height positioning tracks 272 are located at approximately 15%, 50%, and 80% of the length of the conveyor support 27, respectively. The end stops 273 of the conveyor support 27 are located below the guide grooves 272A, 272B, and 272C of the height positioning tracks 272 furthest from the mold inlet 131. This allows the crossbar 252 of the support rod assembly 25 to be supported at the end furthest from the support platform 10, forming a stable support.

[0034] Furthermore, with the end stop 273 in this position, the length of the support rod 251 will be greater than the length of the conveyor seat 27. Therefore, when the crossbar 252 is removed from the lower recess 273A, the conveyor seat 27 can pass behind the crossbar 252 of the support rod assembly 25, allowing the conveyor seat 27 to pass between the two support rods 251 and continue to pivot downwards, reducing the intersection of the movement paths of each component during the storage process.

[0035] The side plates 271A and 271B of the bearing seat have a plurality of height positioning rails 272, which are used to position the two ends of the rotating shaft 274A of the bearing shaft 274. When the conveying bearing device 20 is installed and the conveying plane of the conveying bearing seat 27 is perpendicular to a plumb line (the height direction Z in Figure 1), each height positioning rail 272 has a plurality of guide grooves 272A, 272B, and 272C located at different vertical heights, so that the rotating shaft 274A can move in the height positioning rail 272 and be positioned in one of the guide grooves to determine the height of the conveying plane formed by the bearing shaft 274, so that the conveying plane can be adjusted according to the bearing requirements.

[0036] In this embodiment, the bearing side plates 271A and 271B are respectively provided with a stop 275 at the end away from the support platform 10. The stop 275 includes a stop arm 275A and a protrusion 275B. One end of the stop arm 275A is pivotally mounted on the bearing side plates 271A and 271B, or the other end of the stop arm 275A may also be pivotally mounted on the bearing shaft 274B of one of the bearing shafts 274. The other end of the stop arm 275A is provided with a protrusion 275B, which is located inside the two bearing side plates 271A and 271B. The stop 275 can pivot relative to the bearing side plates 271A and 271B, so that the protrusion 275B is located above the bearing side plates 271A and 271B, and the distance between the protrusion 275B and the support platform 10 is less than the distance between the outermost part of the bearing side plates 271A and 271B and the support platform 10. The stop arm 275A selectively positions a portion of the stop 275 directly above the conveyor bearing 27. When the mold 15 moves along the bearing shaft 274 toward the second conveying direction Y2, the protrusion 275B is positioned in front of the mold 15, preventing the mold 15 from protruding to the outside of the conveyor bearing 27 and protecting the operator from being struck by the mold 15. The stop arm 275A can also pivot downward relative to the bearing side plates 271A and 271B and be stored inside the bearing side plates 271A and 271B.

[0037] The displacement of each component of the conveyor bearing device 20 can be automatically controlled by actuators. For example, the bearing shaft 274, the upper slider 213A or the lower slider 214A can be controlled by actuators. Alternatively, at least one of the conveyor bearing 27 or the support rod 251 can be controlled by actuators to automate the movement and storage of the conveyor bearing 27.

[0038] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 and Figures 7 to 8. After the blow molding device 13 completes the blow molding, the movable mold bases 132A and 132B move to both sides to open the mold 15, and then the finished product conveying stage will begin.

[0039] The finished product conveying device 60 is located adjacent to the blow molding device 13. The finished product conveying device 60 includes a finished product transfer track 61 and a finished product transfer clamp 62. The finished product transfer track 61 is installed on the top plate 13A of the blow molding device 13. The finished product transfer clamp 62 enters the blow molding device 13 along the finished product transfer track 61 and is located below the top plate 13A. It clamps the formed blow-molded product 18A (as shown in Figure 8) from the mold cavity of the mold 15 and moves it out of the blow molding device 13 along the finished product transfer track 61. In this embodiment, the path through which the finished product transfer clamp 62 holds the blow-molded product 18A for displacement is defined as the blow-molded finished product transfer channel, and the blow-molded finished product transfer channel is parallel to the conveying direction Y.

[0040] To maximize the use of the conveyor support device 20, the blow molding equipment includes a cooling device 40 to cool the blow-molded product 18A. This optimizes the product process conditions when the blow-molded product 18A is a thick-bottomed bottle, a large bottle, or similar product. Therefore, in this embodiment, to match the position of the finished product conveyor device 60, the conveyor support 27 is also moved to the working position X1, so that the cooling device 40 can be supported on the conveying plane formed by the conveyor support 27.

[0041] In this embodiment, the cooling device 40 includes a base 41 and a plurality of blowpipes 42. The base 41 is supported on the conveying plane formed by the bearing shaft 274 of the conveying bearing 27. The plurality of blowpipes 42 are fixed to the base 41 and arranged in pairs along the conveying direction Y. The pairs of blowpipes 42 are spaced apart by a distance, so that after the blow-molded product 18A is clamped out of the blow molding device 13 by the finished product transfer jig 62, it can be transferred along the finished product transfer track 61 and located between the pairs of blowpipes 42.

[0042] In this embodiment, the blowpipe 42 is a curved blowpipe, with its middle section curved outwards away from the blow-molded product 18A to maintain airflow and prevent it from hitting the product. The nozzle end 421 of the blowpipe 42 faces the bottle body of the blow-molded product 18A, and the bottom end 422 of the blowpipe 42 passes downwards into the base 41 and is fluidly connected to a cooling source (not shown) through the base 41. The cooling source provides cooling airflow that enters the blowpipe 42 through the bottom end 422 and is blown out from the nozzle end 421 towards the bottle body of the blow-molded product 18A, continuously cooling the product. After cooling is complete, the air supply device (not shown) blows air away from the mold inlet 131, blowing the blow-molded product 18A away from the conveyor support 27, allowing the product to enter the finished product collection area 63 located in front of the conveyor support 27.

[0043] Please refer to Figure 9. When the blow-molded product 18B is a long bottle shape, the rotating shaft 274A can be adjusted to the lower guide groove 272B in the height positioning track 272, so that the base 41 is lowered along the height direction Z, so as to avoid interference between the blow-molded product 18B and the base 41.

[0044] Referring again to Figures 1 and 2, the blow molding equipment includes a mold transfer device 50, which, together with the conveyor carrying device 20, is used to change the mold 15. The mold transfer device 50 includes mold transfer tracks 51A and 51B, a transverse support rod 52, and a mold clamp 53. The mold transfer tracks 51A and 51B are mounted on the top plate 13A of the blow molding device 13 and extend along the translational direction X. The projection of the mold transfer tracks 51A and 51B at the working position X1 overlaps with the slide rail assembly 21. The extension direction of the finished product transfer track 61 is perpendicular to the extension direction of the mold transfer tracks 51A and 51B, and the intersection of the finished product transfer track 61 and the mold transfer tracks 51A and 51B is located at the working position X1. The finished product transfer track 61 and transfer tracks 51A and 51B are respectively set below and above the top plate 13A of the blow molding device 13, so that the height of the finished product transfer track 61 is lower than that of the mold transfer tracks 51A and 51B. The finished product conveying device 60 and the mold transfer device 50 operate separately in different steps to avoid interference.

[0045] When mold 15 needs to be replaced, the conveyor support 27 is moved to the working position X1 and erected. The stop arm 275A pivots so that the protrusion 275B is directly above the conveyor support 27. Mold 15 is pulled out from mold inlet 131 and supported on the bearing shaft 274 of the conveyor support 27. The protrusion 275B blocks mold 15, stopping it on the conveyor support 27 without protruding to the outside of the conveyor support 27, protecting the operator from being hit by mold 15. Next, mold clamp 53 moves along the transverse support 52 to above the working position X1, lifts mold 15 and moves it away from the storage position X2, so that mold 15 can be placed on the external trolley next to the conveyor support 27 for pickup. The new mold 15 is installed back into the blow molding device 13 in the reverse order.

[0046] In this invention, the working areas generated by the various devices of the blow molding equipment all converge at the working position X1, and the transfer elements of each device can be staggered during displacement without interfering with each other. Therefore, the conveyor support 27 located at the working position X1 can provide support in different stages of the process. For example, it can be used to support the mold 15 awaiting transfer and the base 41 of the cooling device 40, thereby enriching the process parameters.

[0047] 10:Support pedestal 10A: Upper support surface 10B: Lateral support surface 13: Blow molding equipment 13A: Top Slab 131: Mold entrance 132A, 132B: Movable module base 15: Mold 18A, 18B: Blow-molded products 20: Conveying and supporting device 21: Slide rail assembly 211, 212: Slide rail base 213: Upper slide rail 213A: Top slider 214: Lower slide rail 214A: Bottom slider 22: Conveyor bearing fixing assembly 222: Upper support seat 223: Bearing support seat 224: Shaft 23: Support rod fixing assembly 232: Lower support seat 233: Crossbar 25: Support rod assembly 251: Support rod 252: Crossbar 27: Conveyor bearing 271A, 271B: Bearing side plates 272: Height Positioning Track 272A, 272B, 272C: Guide grooves 273: End stop 273A: Lower notch 274: Bearing shaft 274A: Shaft 274B: Bearing 275: Stop piece 275A: Stop arm 275B: Bump 40: Cooling device 41: Base 42: Blowpipe 421: Pipe end 422: Bottom end of the pipe 50: Mold Transfer Device 51A, 51B: Mold transfer tracks 52: Lateral support rod 53: Mold Fixture 60: Finished product conveying device 61: Finished Product Transfer Track 62: Finished product transfer fixture 63: Finished Product Collection Area X: Translation direction X1: Work Location X2: Storage location Y: Conveying direction Y1: First conveying direction Y2: Second conveying direction Z: Height direction

Claims

1. A blow molding apparatus, comprising: a support platform having an upper support surface and a lateral support surface, the upper support surface for mounting a blow molding device having a mold inlet facing outward; a conveying support device disposed on the lateral support surface, the conveying support device including an upper slide rail, a lower slide rail, a conveying support, and a support rod, the upper slide rail and the lower slide rail being mounted on the lateral support surface of the support platform and located at different heights, defining a translational direction, such that the conveying support faces a working position or a storage position, the working position corresponding to the mold inlet; one end of the conveying support being pivotally connected to a slider of the upper slide rail, the conveying support being used to mount a plurality of bearing shafts, the parallel direction of the bearing shafts defining a conveying direction, such that the bearing shafts form a conveying plane, the conveying support also having a plurality of guide grooves located at different vertical heights for positioning the plurality of bearing shafts such that the conveying plane is located at different heights, wherein... The conveying direction is perpendicular to the translation direction; one end of the support rod is mounted on a slider of the lower slide rail, and the other end is detachably engaged with the end of the conveying support away from the blow molding device; wherein, when the other end of the support rod is positioned on the conveying support, the conveying direction, the translation direction, and a plumb line are perpendicular to each other, and when the other end of the support rod is detached from the conveying support, the conveying support can pivot downwards for storage; and a cooling device having a base and a plurality of blowpipes, the base selectively riding on the conveying plane, such that the plurality of blowpipes are arranged in pairs along the conveying direction, the pairs of blowpipes are spaced apart by a distance, such that the nozzle end of the pairs of blowpipes is located on the two sides away from a blow-molded finished product transfer channel, and the bottom end of the plurality of blowpipes is fluidly connected to a cooling source through the base.

2. The blow molding apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a stop is provided at one end of the conveyor bearing away from the mold inlet, a portion of which is selectively located directly above the conveyor bearing.

3. The blow molding equipment as described in claim 1, wherein, The conveyor support is provided with an end stop and is located below the guide grooves furthest from the mold inlet. One end of the support rod is pivotally connected to the slider of the lower slide rail, and the other end of the support rod is used to support a crossbar and is detachably fixed to a lower recess of the end stop.

4. The blow molding equipment as described in claim 1, wherein, The paired blowpipes are curved blowpipes, with the middle portion of each blowpipe curved outwards away from the transfer channel of the blow-molded product.

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