Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US4790117?dq=U.S.+Patent+%23+5,723,324
Timestamp: 2016-02-07 17:55:27
Document Index: 112664415

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 1', 'art 5', 'art 1', 'art 5', 'arts 1', 'arts 5', 'arts 5', 'arts 1', 'arts 5', 'arts 5', 'art 1']

Patent US4790117 - Method of molding, filling and sealing a container - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsIn a process for the manufacture of a filled and closed container made of a heat-sealable plastic hose, particularly polyethylene, in one work operation, the plastic hose is expanded to become a container body, the body is filled and the upper part of the container is shaped when the container is closed....http://www.google.com/patents/US4790117?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US4790117 - Method of molding, filling and sealing a containerAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS4790117 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 06/737,476Publication dateDec 13, 1988Filing dateMay 24, 1985Priority dateSep 9, 1980Fee statusPaidAlso published asDE3033821A1, DE3033821C2, US4425090, US4757907Publication number06737476, 737476, US 4790117 A, US 4790117A, US-A-4790117, US4790117 A, US4790117AInventorsGerhard HansenOriginal AssigneeGerhard HansenExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (15), Referenced by (30), Classifications (28), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMethod of molding, filling and sealing a container
US 4790117 AAbstract
In a process for the manufacture of a filled and closed container made of a heat-sealable plastic hose, particularly polyethylene, in one work operation, the plastic hose is expanded to become a container body, the body is filled and the upper part of the container is shaped when the container is closed. So that it will be possible to manufacture filled and closed containers with rubber stoppers in one work operation, after the filling process and before the closing process, the upper or head part of the container is closed by a rubber stopper, closing off the body so that a part of the rubber stopper projects into the part of the plastic hose which is still to be shaped, which is then shaped to conform to the outer circumference of the rubber stopper and, after the shaping process, the upper part of the container is closed off outside of the rubber stopper.
1. A method of molding, top filling, and sealing a container in an apparatus to provide a sterile product within the sealed container and to mold an auxiliary component as an integral part of the top of the container, all in a continuous operation wherein the apparatus includes:(a) a split mold assembly having two coacting first or main mold halves defining a first cavity for the container body, two coacting second or upper sealing mold halves above said two first mold halves defining a second cavity communicating with said first cavity for receiving therein said auxiliary component and molding it into the top of said container, and two coacting third mold halves above said two second mold halves; (b) a pair of vacuum operable holding jaws having an inner surface for gripping a parison; and (c) a blowing and filling assembly for sealingly engaging said parison, for subsequently discharging pressurized gas into said pairson for blow molding the container, and for subsequently dispensing a product into the molded container; (A) opening said first and second mold halves; (B) extruding a parison in the form of an elongated hollow tube vertically between said first and second mold halves to extend below and above said first and second mold halves; (C) gripping with said vacuum operable jaws the upper portion of the parison by a reduced pressure effected between the outer surface of the parison and said inner surface of said jaws to maintain an opening in the upper portion of said parison above said second mold halves; (D) closing said first mold halves about said parison to confine a portion of said parison therebetween while maintaining an opening in the upper portion of said parison with said holding jaws; (E) severing said parison above said holding jaws to provide a top opening at the end of the upper portion of the severed length of parison adapted to receive in seriatim said blowing and filling assembly and said auxiliary component; (F) extending said blowing and filling assembly through said top opening at the end of the upper portion of the severed length of parison to seal said top opening with the assembly pressing the parison against the first mold halves; (G) blowing gas into said parison from said blowing and filling assembly to mold said container; (H) venting said molding container; (I) discharging a product into said molded container from said blowing and filling assembly to fill said container; (J) retracting said blowing and filling assembly from said top opening of said parison; (K) holding said auxiliary component at the bottom of a cylindrical arm and positioning said auxiliary component within said parison top opening adjacent said second mold halves; (L) closing said second mold halves about both said auxiliary component and the surrounding parison to compress the parison between the exterior surfaces of the auxiliary component and the interior surfaces of said second mold halves to hermetically seal the formed and filled container about at least a portion of the auxiliary component; (M) withdrawing said cylindrical arm and closing said third mold halves about said parison above said auxiliary component to seal said parison so as to form a sealed cavity above said auxiliary component and so as to form a tab extending above said cavity which may be grasped and to which force may be subsequently applied to break said tab providing access to said auxiliary component; (N) forming a frangible or breakable portion in said parison adjacent said auxiliary component for facilitating access to said auxiliary component upon breaking said tab; and (O) opening said mold halves to expose the formed, filled, and hermetically sealed container with the auxiliary component integrally molded therewith. Description
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 509,040 filed June 29, 1983, which is a division of application Ser. No. 289,170 filed Aug. 3, 1981 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,090.
This invention relates to a process and apparatus for producing a container from a hose or tube of heatsealable synthetic polymeric material such as polyethylene, the container being filled, provided with a stopper and heat-sealed closed in one work operation, and to a container made by the process and apparatus.
A container having a predetermined, lasting shape can be produced using a known process and known apparatus as described in German AS No. 2,255,869 and employing a calibration pin in the area of the head of the container.
An object of the invention is to provide a method of forming a filled and closed container having a rubber stopper wherein the container is formed and closed in one work operation, and is of seamless construction
In another aspect the invention comprises an improved apparatus for forming, filling and closing a container by expanding and shaping a heat-sealable polymeric hose, the apparatus being of the type having a container-forming mold with split upper and lower parts, and a mold-holding fixture for each of the upper mold parts movable in opposite directions, the improvement comprising means movable at least vertically to within the hose for releaseably holding a rubber stopper; a cross slide for supporting said means for holding said stopper for horizontal movement relative to said mold, whereby said means for holding can be moved to a receiving position for engaging a stopper and to a position in said hose for placing the stopper therein.
In order that the manner in which the foregoing and other objects are attained in accordance with the invention can be understood in detail particularly advantageous embodiments thereof will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification and wherein:
As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, a portion of the apparatus employed in accordance with the present invention is known from, for example, the previously mentioned German AS No. 2,255,869, and includes two lower mold parts 1 and 1a which are horizontally movable and which can be opened and closed, the mold halves 1, 1a being supported respectively on plate-like supporting pieces 2 and 2a which can be moved toward and away from each other by arrangements such as piston and cylinder assemblies, not shown. A vacuum holding fixture having portions 3, 3a is fastened to the upper ends of both of the connecting pieces 2, 2a. Vacuum holding fixtures 3, 3a describe a circle and extend up to each other. Between lower mold part and vacuum holding mixture 3, is positioned a top mold part 5 which is attached to a piston rod 4 passing through connecting piece 2 and being connected to a piston and cylinder arrangement, not shown, which is positioned in such a way that mold portion 5 can be moved horizontally. Similarly, between lower mold part 1a and vacuum holding fixture 3a, there is a top mold part 5a which is also fastened to a piston rod 4a of a piston and cylinder assembly, not shown.
A blowing and filling mandrel 6 which can be raised and lowered is provided above the production mold and it can be located on a special support (not shown) or on a permanent bridge 7, in the form of a frame, to which an extruder (not shown) is also fastened.
Bridge 7 supports a piston and cylinder assembly 9 having a vertical working axis which is supported on a transverse strut 8 with the piston rod of the piston and cylinder assembly being attached to a vertically slideable carriage 10. Guide bars 11 which are attached to opposite sides of strut 8, serve as guides for the movement of carriage 10.
Delivery slide 19 can be displaced horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of horizontally slideable carriage 14 by means of a horizontally disposed piston and cylinder assembly 22 (FIG. 2) and, as shown in FIG. 1 for stopper 18, it has a recess for each of the two rubber stoppers which it receives The two recesses can be delivered one after the other under conveyor strip 23 which is supported, or forms part of, a vibration conveyor, not shown, from which two rubber stoppers 18 are delivered to delivery slide 19 with each work operation. The top of conveyor strip 23 is covered.
The filled and closed container 251 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the top part of the container having a breakable closing device 261 and a rubber stopper 18 which is inserted in the top part, or head, of the container entirely enclosed by material of the container 251. The top part of the container fits against the outside of the rubber stopper up to a middle portion which is accessible after the breakable closing device 261 has been broken off, so that rubber stopper 18 can be pierced directly by an injection needle or the like.
To manufacture container 251, a parison is formed, the parison being a length of hose of polymeric material, such as polyethylene, which is extruded by an extruder, not shown, and grasped at its upper end by vacuum holding fixtures 3, 3a and lower mold parts 1, 1a, and the portion of the plastic hose located in and between the lower mold halves 1, 1a is inflated until it constitutes the bulging portion, or body, of a container. The body of the container is then filled with a filling material, the blowing and filling being accomplished through mandrel 6. After the body of the container is filled, rubber stopper 18 which is held by holding device 17 is inserted in the upper part of the body of the container. This is accomplished by the holding devices 17 each receiving a rubber stopper from delivery slide 19 by lowering carriage 10 until carriage 14 strikes the limiting element 15, whereupon holding devices 17 are again raised. The holding devices 17 are then moved horizontally into a coaxial position with the body of the container and with the remaining, unshaped, plastic hose which extends upwardly from the formed body, by displacing the horizontally slideable carriage 14. The holding devices are then lowered until the rubber stoppers carried thereby assume the position shown in FIG. 1 in which each stopper is in the upper part of the completed container body. The top mold parts 5, 5a are separated to their open positions as shown in FIG. 1 during this portion of the operation.
After the rubber stopper 18 has been inserted in the previously formed body portion of the container and in the as yet unshaped portion of the plastic hose, the lop mold parts 5, 5a are moved toward each other until they engage the limiting element 20 which is located, as previously described, between the two holding devices 17 which remain, at this stage, in the unformed portion of the hose. Element 20 simultaneously catches in recesses 21, 21a of lower mold parts 1, 1a. As a result, the running together of mold parts 5, 5a is limited. Mold holding fixtures 25, 25a however, can come sufficiently close to each other, that under the action of springs 26, 26a they engage the outer circumference of the heat-sealable plastic hose and a part of the top of the rubber stopper which has a projection in the middle of its upper face which remains free.
After the piston and cylinder assembly associated with rods 4, 4a have been relieved of their load, limiting element 20 can be removed from its position between upper mold parts 5, 5a by raising the holding devices 17. The upper mold parts then close, and the part of the head of container 251 having the breakable closing device is produced by application of an external vacuum. The containers manufacture in the two mold working cavities are ejected by opening the upper and lower mold part 1, 1a and 5,5a and also the vacuum holding fixtures 3, 3a, allowing the formed, filled and sealed containers to drop out.
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Scherer Technologies, LlcAutomated sterilization process integrated with a blow fill seal machineUS9102097Feb 14, 2012Aug 11, 2015Medinstill Development LlcResealable member and method of resealing sameUS20040187444 *Dec 29, 2003Sep 30, 2004Hutchinson Gerald A.Process for the manufacture and filling of flexible pouchesUS20070006553 *Oct 9, 2004Jan 11, 2007Bernd HansenMethod and device for the production of filled and sealed containersUS20070163213 *Jan 18, 2007Jul 19, 2007Volker TillBeverage bottling plant for filling beverage bottles with a liquid beverage material and a method of operation thereofUS20080233229 *Mar 22, 2007Sep 25, 2008The Procter & Gamble CompanyApparatus and method for producing containersUS20100154360 *Mar 2, 2010Jun 24, 2010Daniel PyMethod for Molding and Assembling Containers with Stoppers and Filling SameUS20100205903 *Apr 28, 2010Aug 19, 2010Daniel PyApparatus and Method for Molding and Assembling Containers with Stoppers and Filling SameUS20120186697 *Mar 13, 2012Jul 26, 2012Py Daniel CContainer Closure with Overlying Needle Penetrable and Resealable Portion and Underlying Portion Compatible with Fat Containing Liquid Product, and Related Method* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification53/410, 425/524, 264/524, 53/558, 53/412, 53/140, 53/452, 264/525, 53/420, 53/133.2International ClassificationB29C49/28, B29C49/32, B29C49/02, B29C49/42, B29L22/00, B29C65/00, B29C49/48, B29C49/20, B65D1/02, B65B3/02, B29C49/00, B65B9/24, A61J1/10Cooperative ClassificationY10S215/901, B65B3/022, B29C49/4817European ClassificationB65B3/02B, B29C49/48BLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionMay 11, 1992FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Apr 17, 1996FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8May 4, 2000FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 12RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services