Patent Description:
At present, a plastic bottle with a handle on the market is mainly divided into two types. One type is an HDPE bottle with a built-in handle, and the other type is a PET bottle with a finished handle. An HDPE bottle with a built-in handle has defects such as incomplete sealing, easy damage of the bottle body, and uncontrollable bottle capacity. Compared with an HDPE bottle, a PET bottle has advantages such as good sealing, strong bottle body, high oxygen resistance, and transparent and easy to observe. However, at present, a PET bottle requires a finished handle manufactured and mounted using a particular device. The handle mounted on a PET bottle is easy to fall off. These reasons have prompted relevant enterprises in the industry to hope to replace an existing plastic bottle with a built-in handle on the market with a PET bottle with a handle.

To produce a PET bottle with a built-in handle, it is required to injection mold, heat, and blow a PET bottle preform with a built-in handle. However, an existing bottle preform heating apparatus heats the bottle preform as a whole. As a result, the handle is deformed, and the bottle preform cannot be put into a bottle blowing mold smoothly.

Further relevant technologies are also known from <CIT>, which relates to a heating device for a plastic bottle with a handle, <CIT>, which relates to a method and apparatus for heating of preforms and <CIT>, which relates to a method and an apparatus for molding a synthetic resin container with a handle.

The present application provides a bottle preform heating apparatus, solving the problem of easy deformation of a handle to enable a bottle preform to be placed into a bottle blowing mold smoothly before blowing.

In the present application, unless expressly specified or limited otherwise, a first feature being "on" or "under" a second feature may include the first feature and the second feature being in direct contact, or may include the first feature and the second feature not being in direct contact but being in contact with each other through additional features therebetween. Moreover, the first feature being "on" the second feature includes the first feature being directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. The first feature being "under" the second feature includes the first feature being directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply represents that the first feature is at a lower level than the second feature.

In addition, terms "first", "second" are used only for the purpose of description and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating a number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly includes one or more of the features.

The bottle preform <NUM> shown in <FIG> includes a preform tube <NUM>, a handle <NUM> and a bottle opening <NUM>. An end of the handle <NUM> is integrally connected to the preform tube <NUM>. Another end of the handle <NUM> is not connected to the preform tube <NUM> and is in a suspended state. A bottle blown from the preform <NUM> is shown in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the preform tube <NUM> is blown up to form a bottle body <NUM>, while the state of the handle <NUM> and the state of the bottle opening <NUM> remain substantially unchanged.

An existing bottle preform heating apparatus heats the preform tube <NUM> and the handle <NUM> together. Since the handle <NUM> is heated, and an end of the handle <NUM> is in a suspended state, the handle <NUM> may deform. As a result, the handle <NUM> cannot fit into a corresponding groove of a bottle blowing mold, and the bottle blowing mold cannot be closed for bottle blowing.

To prevent the handle <NUM> from being deformed by heat, as shown in <FIG>, a bottle preform heating apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application includes a cavity <NUM>, a top cover <NUM> and multiple heating lamps <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, a first receiving cavity <NUM> and a second receiving cavity <NUM> are formed in the cavity <NUM>, the first receiving cavity <NUM> is cylindrical, and the second receiving cavity <NUM> is connected to a side surface of the first receiving cavity <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the heating lamp <NUM> includes a lamp tube <NUM> and a lamp base <NUM>, the lamp tube <NUM> includes an arc portion <NUM> and two connection portions <NUM>, an end of each connection portion of the two connection portions <NUM> is connected to the lamp base <NUM>, another end of the each connection portion of the two connection portions <NUM> is connected to an end of the arc portion <NUM>, the arc portion <NUM> is disposed in the first receiving cavity <NUM>, the two connection portions <NUM> and the lamp base <NUM> are disposed in the second receiving cavity <NUM>, the top cover <NUM> is disposed on top of the cavity <NUM>, the top cover <NUM> is provided with a first through hole <NUM>, the preform tube <NUM> of the bottle preform <NUM> may be inserted into the first receiving cavity <NUM> through the first through hole <NUM> and be surrounded by the arc portion <NUM>, the radius of the first receiving cavity <NUM> is less than the distance between an end of a handle <NUM> of the bottle preform <NUM> facing away from the preform tube <NUM> and the central axis of the preform tube <NUM> so that the handle <NUM> cannot be placed into the first receiving cavity <NUM>.

The bottle preform heating apparatus in this embodiment has a cavity <NUM> of a particular size such that the preform tube <NUM> of the bottle preform <NUM> can pass through the first through hole <NUM> on the top cover <NUM> so as to be inserted into the first receiving cavity <NUM> and surrounded by each heating lamp <NUM>, while the handle <NUM> of the bottle preform <NUM> cannot be placed inside the cavity <NUM>, and the heating lamps <NUM> heat only the preform tube <NUM>, thereby preventing the handle <NUM> from being deformed by heat and thus creating conditions for subsequent smooth blowing of the bottle preform <NUM>. Moreover, the shape of the cavity <NUM> matches the shape of the heating lamps <NUM> such that the arc portion <NUM> included in each heating lamp <NUM> and responsible for heating the preform tube <NUM> is disposed in the first receiving cavity <NUM>, and the connection portions <NUM> and the lamp base <NUM> of each heating lamp <NUM> are disposed in the second receiving cavity <NUM>, making the space in the cavity <NUM> fully utilized, thereby making the cavity <NUM> have a compact volume and occupy a small space and thus facilitating mounting.

As shown in <FIG>, the bottle preform heating apparatus also includes a mounting base <NUM>, the mounting base <NUM> is detachably connected to the cavity <NUM>, the mounting base <NUM> is disposed in the second receiving cavity <NUM>, the mounting base <NUM> is provided with multiple fixing holes <NUM> disposed at intervals. As shown in <FIG>, the lamp base <NUM> includes a lamp base body <NUM> and a fixing sheet <NUM>, the fixing sheet <NUM> is provided with a U-shaped notch, and each heating lamp <NUM> is fixed to the mounting base <NUM> by a first screw <NUM> passing through the U-shaped notch and screwed in a corresponding fixing hole <NUM>. The mounting base <NUM> is disposed so that all heating lamps <NUM> can be fixed to the mounting base <NUM>, and then the mounting base <NUM> and the all heating lamps <NUM> can be placed into the cavity <NUM>. In this manner, the heating lamps <NUM> are prevented from being mounted into the narrow space of the cavity <NUM> one by one. Thus, the assembly efficiency of the bottle preform heating apparatus is improved, and the assembly difficulty is reduced.

As shown in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, the bottle preform heating apparatus also includes multiple heat insulation rings <NUM>. A heat insulation ring <NUM> may be placed between two adjacent lamp tubes <NUM> so that the heat insulation ring surrounds the periphery of the arc portion <NUM>. The heat insulation ring <NUM> can block light emitted by the corresponding lamp tube <NUM> from striking the inner wall of the cavity <NUM> and reflect the light back into a heating region of the first receiving cavity <NUM> to improve the heating efficiency of the preform tube <NUM>.

Two heat insulation rings <NUM> may be placed between two adjacent lamp tubes <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the heat insulation ring <NUM> is provided with an indentation <NUM>, and the two heat insulation rings <NUM> are stacked so that the two indentations <NUM> form an aperture for the lamp tube <NUM> to pass through. A spacing between two adjacent lamp tubes <NUM> is controlled so that the two heat insulation rings <NUM> stacked together can be right clamped between the two lamp tubes <NUM>, and the heat insulation rings <NUM> can be prevented from easily falling out from between the lamp tubes <NUM>.

The heat insulation rings <NUM> are spaced apart from the inner wall of the cavity <NUM> so that a heat insulation cavity <NUM> is formed between the heat insulation rings <NUM> and the cavity <NUM>. The heat insulation cavity <NUM> is part of the first receiving cavity <NUM> and is located at the edge of the first receiving cavity <NUM>. The heat insulation cavity <NUM> prevents the heat of the heat insulation rings <NUM> from being transmitted to the cavity <NUM> through the direct heat conduction so that the temperature of the cavity <NUM> is not too high, and the handle <NUM> located outside the cavity <NUM> can be protected from being deformed due to the high temperature.

Exemplarily, the bottle preform heating apparatus also includes a bottom plate <NUM> and an exhaust pipe <NUM>. The bottom of the cavity <NUM> is disposed on the bottom plate <NUM>. The exhaust pipe <NUM> is detachably connected to the bottom plate <NUM> through a second screw <NUM>. The bottom plate <NUM> is provided with a second through hole (not shown). The exhaust pipe <NUM> passes through the second through hole and is inserted in the first receiving cavity <NUM>. When the preform tube <NUM> is heated by the heating lamps <NUM>, it is necessary to introduce external air to cool the preform tube <NUM> to prevent the preform tube <NUM> from having a too high temperature. The exhaust pipe <NUM> is used for connecting a fan so that a negative pressure can be formed inside the first receiving cavity <NUM>, and the external air continuously can flow into the first receiving cavity <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, a gap <NUM> exists between the bottom of the top cover <NUM> and the top of the cavity <NUM>, the gap <NUM> communicates with the heat insulation cavity <NUM>, and the heat insulation cavity <NUM> communicates with the exhaust pipe <NUM>. Exemplarily, the exhaust pipe <NUM> is provided with multiple third through holes <NUM>, the multiple third through holes <NUM> communicate the exhaust pipe <NUM> with the heat insulation cavity <NUM>, and the external air enters the heat insulation cavity <NUM> through the gap <NUM> and then enters the inside of the exhaust pipe <NUM> through the third through holes <NUM>. Therefore, an air curtain surrounding the heat insulation rings <NUM> is formed in the heat insulation cavity <NUM>, which may take away a large amount of heat on surfaces of the heat insulation rings <NUM>, and prevent a temperature of the inner wall of the cavity <NUM> from being too high to affect the handle <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, a side surface of the cavity <NUM> is provided with an air inlet hole <NUM>, and the air inlet hole <NUM> communicates with the second receiving cavity <NUM>. Apart from the entry of the external air into the cavity <NUM> from the gap <NUM>, the external air may also enter into the cavity <NUM> from the air inlet hole <NUM> to cool the connection portions <NUM> of the lamp tube <NUM> and the lamp base <NUM>, so as to prevent the lamp base <NUM> from being damaged by being overheated, and the hot air in the cavity <NUM> may only be discharged from the exhaust pipe <NUM>, and will not be leaked from other places to affect the handle <NUM> of another bottle preform <NUM> on an adjacent bottle preform heating apparatus.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, a first cooling cavity <NUM> is disposed within the cavity <NUM>, a first water inlet <NUM> and a first water outlet <NUM> are disposed on the surface of the cavity <NUM>, and both the first water inlet <NUM> and the first water outlet <NUM> communicates with the first cooling cavity <NUM>. The cavity <NUM> has a double-layered structure, and cooling water passes from the first water inlet <NUM> into the first cooling cavity <NUM> and flows out of the first water outlet <NUM>. The first water inlet <NUM> is disposed at a lower portion of a side surface of the cavity <NUM>, and the first water outlet <NUM> is disposed at an upper portion of the side surface of the cavity <NUM>, the cooling water can make lower the temperature of the cavity <NUM> so that the handle <NUM> outside the cavity <NUM> is not deformed due to the high temperature.

As shown in <FIG>, a second cooling cavity (not shown) is disposed within the top cover <NUM>, and a second water inlet <NUM> and a second water outlet <NUM> are disposed on the surface of the top cover <NUM>, and the second water inlet <NUM> and the second water outlet <NUM> communicate with the second cooling cavity. A part of the handle <NUM> is located directly above the top cover <NUM>, and the bottle opening <NUM> is also located directly above the top cover <NUM>. If the temperature of the top cover <NUM> is too high, then the handle <NUM> and the bottle opening <NUM> will be affected. Therefore, it is necessary to cool the top cover <NUM> so that the temperature of the top cover <NUM> is not too high.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the central axis of the preform tube <NUM> inserted in the first receiving cavity <NUM> coincides with the central axis of the first receiving cavity <NUM> so that the preform tube <NUM> is in the middle of the first receiving cavity <NUM>, and all parts of the surface of the preform tube <NUM> are identically distant from the respective arc portions <NUM> so that the preform tube <NUM> can be heated uniformly. When the preform tube <NUM> is being heated, the preform tube <NUM> may also be rotated in the first receiving cavity <NUM> by rotating the bottle opening <NUM> to heat the preform tube <NUM> uniformly.

Claim 1:
A bottle preform heating apparatus, comprising a cavity (<NUM>), a top cover (<NUM>) and a plurality of heating lamps (<NUM>), wherein a first receiving cavity (<NUM>) and a second receiving cavity (<NUM>) are formed in the cavity (<NUM>), the first receiving cavity (<NUM>) is cylindrical, the second receiving cavity (<NUM>) is connected to a side surface of the first receiving cavity (<NUM>), each of the plurality of heating lamps (<NUM>) comprises a lamp tube (<NUM>) and a lamp base (<NUM>), the lamp tube (<NUM>) comprises an arc portion (<NUM>) and two connection portions (<NUM>), an end of each connection portion (<NUM>) of the two connection portions (<NUM>) is connected to the lamp base (<NUM>), another end of the each connection portion (<NUM>) is connected to an end of the arc portion (<NUM>), the arc portion (<NUM>) is disposed in the first receiving cavity (<NUM>), the two connection portions (<NUM>) and the lamp base (<NUM>) are disposed in the second receiving cavity (<NUM>), the top cover (<NUM>) is disposed on top of the cavity (<NUM>), the top cover (<NUM>) is provided with a first through hole (<NUM>), a preform tube (<NUM>) of a bottle preform (<NUM>) is configured to pass through the first through hole (<NUM>) so as to be inserted into the first receiving cavity (<NUM>) and surrounded by the arc portion (<NUM>), and a radius of the first receiving cavity (<NUM>) is less than a distance between an end of a handle (<NUM>) of the bottle preform (<NUM>) facing away from the preform tube (<NUM>) and a central axis of the preform tube (<NUM>).