Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes – Direct application of fluid pressure differential to... – Including application of internal fluid pressure to hollow...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-12
2001-04-10
Vargot, Mathieu D. (Department: 1732)
Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes
Direct application of fluid pressure differential to...
Including application of internal fluid pressure to hollow...
C264S525000, C264S163000, C425S210000, C425S073000, C425S532000, C425S541000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06214282
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a simultaneous filling blow molding method and apparatus, and more particularly to a simultaneous filling blow molding method and apparatus which prevents pollution to a molded article arising from invasion of foreign substances and eliminates germs from the molded article.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a medicine or food is filled into a hollow article molded by a blow molding apparatus, prevention of pollution to and elimination of germs from the inside of the hollow article must be achieved. One of conventionally known blow molding methods and apparatus of the type mentioned is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication Application No. Heisei 7-35089 and is described below with reference to
FIGS. 1
to
4
.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, a parison molding nozzle
71
which opens downwardly is provided on a cross head
70
attached to an end portion of an extruder (not shown). A metallic mold
74
held on a movable frame
72
by means of a holding plate
73
is opened and closed by a driving cylinder (not shown) incorporated in the movable frame
72
. The movable frame
72
is supported on a frame
76
by means of a pair of link arms
75
. A connection block
77
is provided projectingly on the rear face of the movable frame
72
, and a driving cylinder
78
is disposed between the connection block
77
and the frame
76
. As the driving cylinder
78
is expanded and contracted, the movable frame
72
can be moved back and forth between a parison receiving position (solid line in
FIG. 1
) in which the metallic mold
74
is positioned just below the cross head
70
and a blow position (imaginary line in
FIG. 1
) in which the metal mold
74
is positioned just below blow cylinders
79
which will be hereinafter described.
As seen from
FIG. 2
, each of the blow cylinders
79
is formed from a fixed casing
80
and a movable rod
81
, and an air mandrel
82
is connected to an end of the rod
81
. The blow cylinder
79
can drive the rod
81
and the air mandrel
82
upwardly and downwardly by an air pressure or a hydraulic pressure, and the air mandrel
82
can jet clean air from an end thereof when an air source is connected to the air mandrel
82
. An accommodating case
84
is mounted on the lower face of a horizontal base
83
to which the blow cylinders
79
are attached. The accommodating case
84
has a fully enclosed structure except that it has, in a bottom wall thereof, round holes
84
a
for passing the rods
81
and the air mandrels
82
therethrough. Air pipes
87
for supplying clean air are accommodated in the accommodating case
84
, and the accommodating case
84
is normally filled with clean air. It is to be noted that the accommodating case
84
can accommodate the entire of the air mandrels
82
when the air mandrels
82
is moved upwardly.
As shown in
FIG. 3
, seal dies
85
are provided between the lower face of the accommodating case
84
and the upper face of the metallic mold
74
and are opened or closed by a cylinder not shown to seal an upper end portion of a parison.
Operation of the blow molding apparatus is described below.
When parisons
86
are extruded to a fixed length from the parison molding nozzles
71
, the metallic mold
74
is closed, and the parisons
86
is cut by cutter apparatus not shown provided on the cross head
70
. Then, the movable frame
72
is moved to the blow position. Then, if the blow cylinders
79
are expanded there, then the ends of the blow cylinders
79
are inserted into the parisons
86
in the metallic mold
74
(imaginary line in FIG.
2
), and therefore, the parisons
86
can be blow molded by blowing clean air into the parisons
86
. It is to be noted that, as seen in
FIG. 3
, before the air mandrel
82
is moved upwardly, the seal dies
85
stand by at a position a little above the level of the upper face of the metallic mold
74
at which they hold the air mandrels
82
therebetween, and if the air mandrels
82
are moved upwardly, then the seal dies
85
are closed to mold and seal upper end portions of the parisons
86
. Thereafter, if the metallic mold
74
is opened and the seal dies
85
are opened, then such hollow articles each having such a cap element as shown in
FIG. 4
are discharged downwardly. By thereafter repeating similar operations, hollow articles can be produced successively. In the operations described above, the air mandrels
82
are cleaned by clean air supplied from the air pipes
87
while they remain accommodated in the accommodating case
84
.
Since the blow molding method and apparatus described in the prior art is constructed in such a manner as described above, it has the following subjects.
(a) After a hollow article wherein an opening of a vessel body is temporarily closed up with a cap element is molded, it is transported to a filling apparatus provided separately. Then, by the filling apparatus, only the outside of the hollow article is sterilized and the upper end is unsealed, and then filling and sealing are performed. Where the blow molding apparatus and the filling apparatus are formed separately from each other in this manner, temporary sealing, unsealing, filling and capping steps are required to produce a filled up hollow article. Consequently, the process is complicated, and a sterilizing operation must be performed in each of the steps.
(b) In a process wherein the metallic mold is moved back and forth in an inclined direction between the parison receiving position just below the cross head and the blow position in which the metallic mold is positioned just below the blow cylinder, there is the possibility that some foreign substances may be admitted into the inside of the parison.
(c) Since the ends of the air mandrels are inserted into parisons in the metallic mold and air from the air source is blown into the parisons to blow mold the parisons, there is the possibility that some foreign substances may be admitted into the insides of the parisons from the air source or a pipe system.
(d) The risk that, if hydraulic operating fluid leaks from the driving cylinders, hydraulic units or the pipe system used for the movement of the metallic mold, for the opening and closing of the metallic mold or for the upward and downward movement of the air mandrels, then hollow articles may be polluted or mist of the hydraulic operating fluid may enter the insides of the parisons or otherwise the inner faces of the hollow articles may be polluted is always present. Particularly, if hydraulic operating fluid leaks from the driving cylinders for the air mandrels, then since hollow articles are present below the driving cylinders, there is the possibility that the hydraulic operating fluid may enter the hollow articles via the air mandrels.
(e) Where the cutter of each of the cutter apparatus for cutting a parison is an electrothermal hot cutter, there is the possibility that the parison (plastic) may be molted by the heated cutter until volatile gas or fine carbonized particles of the plastic are scattered into the air and the inside of the parison is polluted with them.
(f) Since a filling cylinder which sucks and discharges a fixed amount of liquid is usually used for filling of liquid by a filling apparatus, the liquid is likely to stay in the inside of the filling cylinder and so forth and cleaning or sterilization of it cannot be performed readily.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simultaneous filling blow molding method and apparatus which can prevent invasion of germs or foreign substances into the inside of a hollow article molded by the blow molding apparatus when a medicine or food is filled into the vessel.
In order to attain the object described above, in a simultaneous filling blow molding method and apparatus according to the present invention, a cross head mounted at an end portion of an extruder for extruding a parison between a pair of elements of a metallic mold and a filling nozzle lifting apparatus having a filling nozz
Katou Takaaki
Kishi Masayuki
McDowell Suzanne E.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
The Japan Steel Works Ltd.
Vargot Mathieu D.
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