Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US20090214690A1/en
Timestamp: 2018-10-18 06:34:33
Document Index: 79894492

Matched Legal Cases: ['§371', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1']

US20090214690A1 - Method and installation for the production of containers - Google Patents
US20090214690A1
US20090214690A1 US12432824 US43282409A US2009214690A1 US 20090214690 A1 US20090214690 A1 US 20090214690A1 US 12432824 US12432824 US 12432824 US 43282409 A US43282409 A US 43282409A US 2009214690 A1 US2009214690 A1 US 2009214690A1
US12432824
US8303290B2 (en )
A method of producing a container from a thermoplastic blank, including a step in which the blank is heated using at least one beam of coherent electromagnetic radiation, and a step in which the container is formed from the blank thus heated. The invention also relates to an installation which is used to produce containers and which includes a unit for heating the blanks in order to form containers from the blanks thus heated. The inventive installation defines a path along which the blanks travel inside the heating unit. In addition, the heating unit includes at least one coherent electromagnetic radiation source which is directed toward a zone that is located on the aforementioned path.
This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 11/667,958 filed Jul. 16, 2007, which is a National Stage Application filed under §371 of PCT Application No. PCT/FR2005/002826 filed Nov. 15, 2005. The entire disclosure of the prior application, application Ser. No. 11/667,958 is hereby incorporated by reference.
The description which follows first of all sets out the choice of the source 24 of electromagnetic radiation for heating the preforms (§ 1), and then, describes the heating unit 16 and the corresponding heating method, in three exemplary embodiments (§ 2).
Furthermore, the internal faces 38, 39 of the walls 34, 35 are reflective which means that the beam 22 undergoes several successive reflections and therefore crosses the preform 2 several times before it loses its energy. This results in an improvement in the energy efficiency and in a reduction in the time taken to heat the preforms 2.
To produce the matrix 43 of diodes, it is possible to use several superposed arrays 28 of 40 W diodes of the type explained hereinabove (cf. § 1) and illustrated in FIG. 3.
Furthermore, it is possible to regulate the power of the diodes 26 in such a way as to obtain the desired temperature profile which is non-uniform over the length of the preform 2, for example, with a view ultimately to obtaining a container of curved shape. In such an example, the middle arrays 28 will be set to a lower power than the lower and upper arrays 28 so as to keep the central part of the body 4 at a temperature that is lower (for example at around 115° C.) than the temperature of its end parts (which will be raised to around 130° C).
The heating unit 16 comprises several superposed laser sources 24 positioned at a downstream end of the path 23, along the axis thereof. The sources 24 here consist of collimating lenses 54 each connected by an optical fiber 55 to a diode laser generator 56 and together form a vertical block 57 of a height substantially equal to the bodies 4 of the preforms 2.
However, in order to avoid excessively rapid dissipation of the energy of the laser beams, it is preferable to use laser diodes of a higher power. Thus, the laser adopted here is a diode laser of the type set out hereinabove (cf. § 1), with an individual power of 500 W.
According to the second embodiment, the installation 1 comprises two heating units 16, similar to the heating unit 16 described hereinabove in the first embodiment and positioned in succession in the path of the preforms 2, namely a first heating unit 16 a designed to raise the preforms 2 to an intermediate temperature (that is to say to a temperature between ambient temperature, which corresponds to the initial temperature of the preforms, around 20° C., and the final temperature, prior to forming, of around 120° C.), and a second heating unit 16 b designed to raise the preforms 2 to their final temperature (of around 120° C.).
The path 23 c followed by the preforms 2 within the second heating unit 16 b is, also, locally rectilinear and longitudinal, between the intermediate transfer region 62 and a downstream transfer region 52 where the hot preforms 2 are taken up transversely by a downstream transfer wheel 53. Each heating unit 16 a, 16 b comprises a block 27 of superposed laser diodes of a height substantially equal to that of the bodies 4 of the preforms 2 and arranged at a downstream end of the corresponding path 23 a, 23 c along the axis thereof.
The blocks 27 of diodes are, for example, of the kind set out hereinabove (cf. § 1) and illustrated in FIG. 2.
1. An installation for producing containers from thermoplastic parisons, which comprises a heating unit for heating the parisons with a view to forming the containers from the parisons thus heated, the installation defining a path but the parisons are intended to follow within the heating unit, characterized in that the heating unit comprises at least one source of coherent electromagnetic radiation directed toward a region situated on the path of the parisons.
2. The installation as claimed in claim 1, in which, with the path of the parisons being substantially linear, said plurality of sources of radiation is directed transversely with respect to said path.
3. The installation as claimed in claim 2, in which the heating unit comprises a row of adjacent radiation sources arranged parallel to the path.
4. The installation as claimed in claim 3, in which the heating unit comprises several superposed rows of radiation sources arranged parallel to the path.
5. The installation as claimed in claim 4, in which the heating unit comprises a chamber comprising a first wall and a second wall facing one another and substantially parallel to the path of the parisons, these walls being positioned one on each side of this path and together delimiting an internal volume, the first wall being equipped with a plurality of superposed parallel slits facing each of which there is positioned, on the opposite side to the internal volume, a row of radiation sources.
6. The installation as claimed in claim 5, in which the second wall at least, on the same side as the internal volume, has a reflective internal surface.
7. The installation as claimed in claim 5, in which the heating unit comprises a ventilation system able to generate an air flow passing through a region situated vertically in line with said chamber.
8. The installation as claimed in claim 1, in which, with the path of the parisons being substantially linear, said source of radiation is directed parallel to said path.
9. The installation as claimed in claim 7, which comprises an opaque screen positioned facing the source of radiation.
10. The installation as claimed in claim 7, which comprises at least two successive heating units.
11. The installation as claimed in claim 1, in which, with the path of the parisons being substantially circular, the heating unit comprises a plurality of successive chambers positioned along the path, each chamber having two cylindrical walls facing each other and positioned one on each side of the path and together defining an internal cavity, each wall having several adjacent reflective facets facing toward the cavity, the source of electromagnetic radiation being directed toward one of these facets and the facets are not exactly parallel with their pair but together define an angle of a few degrees.
12. The installation as claimed in claim 11, which comprises an opaque screen adjacent to one of the facets.
13. The installation as claimed in claim 1, in which, with the parisons having an axis of revolution, the heating unit comprises means for rotating the parisons about their axis.
14. The installation as claimed in claim 1, in which the source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is a laser source.
15. The installation as claimed in claim 14, in which the source of coherent electromagnetic radiation is a laser diode.
16. The installation as claimed in claim 15, in which the laser diode is designed to emit a planar laser beam.
17. The installation as claimed in claim 15, in which the heating unit comprises at least one block or one array of juxtaposed laser diodes.
US12432824 2004-11-22 2009-04-30 Method and installation for the production of containers Active US8303290B2 (en)
US11667958 US20080099961A1 (en) 2004-11-22 2005-11-15 Method and Installation for the Production of Containers
US12432824 US8303290B2 (en) 2004-11-22 2009-04-30 Method and installation for the production of containers
US11667958 Division
PCT/FR2005/002826 Division WO2006056673A1 (en) 2004-11-22 2005-11-15 Method and installation for the production of containers
US66795807 Division 2007-07-16 2007-07-16
US20090214690A1 true true US20090214690A1 (en) 2009-08-27
US8303290B2 US8303290B2 (en) 2012-11-06
US11667958 Abandoned US20080099961A1 (en) 2004-11-22 2005-11-15 Method and Installation for the Production of Containers
US12432824 Active US8303290B2 (en) 2004-11-22 2009-04-30 Method and installation for the production of containers
US12560417 Abandoned US20100007061A1 (en) 2004-11-22 2009-09-15 Method and installation for the production of containers
US12561198 Active US8354051B2 (en) 2004-11-22 2009-09-16 Method and installation for the production of containers
WO2016012705A1 (en) * 2014-07-23 2016-01-28 Sidel Participations Unit for heating hollow bodies, which comprises a low-temperature cavity
EP2640563B1 (en) * 2010-11-19 2015-08-05 Sacmi Cooperativa Meccanici Imola Societa' Cooperative Apparatus and method for heating parisons of thermoplastic material
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FR3024069A1 (en) * 2014-07-23 2016-01-29 Sidel Participations hollow body heating unit, which comprises a cavity at low temperature
CN101060970A (en) 2007-10-24 application
FR2878185A1 (en) 2006-05-26 application
JP2008520467A (en) 2008-06-19 application
US20100007061A1 (en) 2010-01-14 application
FR2878185B1 (en) 2008-11-07 grant
US20100072673A1 (en) 2010-03-25 application
CN101060970B (en) 2012-04-18 grant
US8354051B2 (en) 2013-01-15 grant
US20080099961A1 (en) 2008-05-01 application
JP4555344B2 (en) 2010-09-29 grant
EP1824659B1 (en) 2013-10-02 grant
EP1824659A1 (en) 2007-08-29 application
WO2006056673A1 (en) 2006-06-01 application
US8303290B2 (en) 2012-11-06 grant
DE19724621A1 (en) 1998-12-17 Heating thermoplastic preforms in a blow moulding machine
US20160279707A1 (en) 2016-09-29 Laser Printing System
DE102005061334A1 (en) 2007-06-28 Stretch blow molding machine for making plastic containers from preforms comprises a heating section with an array infrared-emitting light-emitting diodes
EP2402140A1 (en) 2012-01-04 Method for producing a plastic lens of a motor vehicle lighting device, plastic lens produced according to the method and tool for producing the plastic lens
FR2878185A1 (en) 2006-05-26 container manufacturing method comprising a step of heating by means of a radiation beam coherent electromagnetic