Patent ID: 6976836

Claim:
A biaxial stretch blow molding apparatus for wide-mouthed containers which molds wide-mouthed containers using a biaxial stretch blow molding method for a wide-mouthed container that molds the wide-mouthed container, which has a shape including an opening flange that extends outwards at an opening part of a cylindrical container main body having a bottom, using biaxial stretch blow molding, comprising steps of: providing a preform including a stretch molding part that is made into the container main body by biaxial stretch blow molding and an opening flange that is formed along an opening part of the stretch molding part, is not stretch molded, and remains as the opening flange of the wide-mouthed container; heating the preform to a temperature suited to stretch molding while the preform is conveyed in an inverted state; inserting the heated preform in the inverted state into a stretch blow molding mold and performing biaxial stretch blow molding; and taking out a wide-mouthed container out of the stretch blow molding mold after molding and collecting the wide-mouthed container; wherein the preform is conveyed along a conveying path on a single plane, the biaxial stretch blow molding apparatus comprising: a preform supplying station for supplying preforms; a plurality of preform carriers for sending the preforms that have been supplied from the preform supplying station around a loop-shaped carrier circuit that is positioned on a single plane; a heating station, which is arranged at a position along the carrier circuit, for heating the preforms that are conveyed by the preform carriers to a temperature suited to biaxial stretch blow molding; a blow molding station for receiving the heated preforms from the perform carriers and performing biaxial stretch blow molding; a collection station for collecting molded wide-mouthed containers from the blow molding station, wherein the preforms are conveyed in an inverted state on a single plane by the preform carriers and are transferred to the blow molding station in the inverted state and on the same plane, wherein each preform carrier includes a frame-like bearing surface on which an opening flange or an opening end surface of a preform in the inverted state rests, wherein each preform carrier includes heating prevention means for preventing the opening flange or screw part and opening flange of the preform that rests on the frame-like bearing surface from being heated and shrinking and deforming, wherein each heating prevention means includes: a cover plate, which is lowered from above the preform on the frame-like bearing surface and is capable of covering at least a part of the opening flange; and a raising/lowering mechanism for raising and lowering the cover plate.