HK1082224A - Blow-forming machine - Google Patents

Description

Blow molding apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a blow molding apparatus for producing a plastic container such as a plastic bottle by heating and blow molding a preform as a primary molded article. More specifically, the present invention relates to a transfer mechanism for changing the preform feed pitch in such a blow molding apparatus, an inverting transfer mechanism for inverting the preform or the blow molded article, and an opening/closing mechanism for opening and closing the blow molding die in the right and left directions.

Background

As is well known, there are many types of biaxial stretch blow molding apparatuses for producing blow molded articles such as plastic bottles, and basically, these apparatuses each have a preform supply table, a heating table for heating preforms, a blow table having a blow molding die for biaxially stretch blow molding the heated preforms, and a recovery table for recovering the blow molded articles from the blow molding die. The biaxial stretch blow molding apparatus having such a configuration is proposed, for example, by the applicant in the following reference 1. As the blow molding table, a rotary type is known in which a plurality of blow molding dies are mounted on a turntable at a predetermined angular interval.

In the blow molding apparatus having this configuration, by conveying preforms at a narrow feed pitch on the heating table, a plurality of preforms are efficiently heated, and the apparatus is downsized. When the heated preform is transferred from the heating stage to the blow stage, the feed pitch needs to be increased in order to match the feed pitch of the blow molding die. As a mechanism for increasing the feed pitch to transfer the preform, there is known a mechanism configured to grip the preform transferred along another circular transfer line at a small feed pitch by a gripper device transferred along another circular transfer line at a large feed pitch, as disclosed in the following reference 2. Each of the grippers is held by a swing mechanism for swinging the gripper to the left and right and a linear mechanism for linearly moving the gripper forward and backward, and receives the preforms while conveying the grippers so that the preforms can have the same feed pitch as that of the preforms conveyed at a narrow feed pitch.

The preform is transported through the heating stage and the blow stage in a state of being supported by the carriage in an inverted posture. In general, the preform in the upright posture supplied from the preform supply table is turned upside down, and the mandrel is inserted into the mouth portion from the lower side, and then the preform is transported in this state. After blow molding is performed by a blow mold to form a blow molded article, the mandrel is pulled out downward from the mouth of the blow molded article, and the blow molded article is recovered by a recovery stand for reversing the blow molded article. The mechanism for turning the preform over and holding the pallet is also disclosed in the following reference 2.

On the other hand, as a blow molding die, there is known a structure in which a pair of left and right molding die members are opened and closed in the left-right direction, and opened and closed. The mold opening/closing mechanism of the blow molding mold having this structure is of a type using a connecting mechanism, and is disclosed in the following references 3 and 4.

Reference 1: JP-A2000-117821 (Japanese patent application laid-open)

Reference 2: JP-A11-115039A

Reference 3: JP-A6-15724A

Reference 4: JP-A6-39909A

The above-described transfer mechanism for changing the feed pitch positions the clamp device by a combined motion of the swing mechanism and the linear motion of the linear motion mechanism. However, in order to position the clamp device at the preform receiving position or the delivery position by such a combined movement, it is necessary to manufacture the component parts of each mechanism with high accuracy, and it is also necessary to assemble the mechanism with high accuracy. Therefore, the production is difficult and the production cost is high.

In addition, when transferring the preform and the blow-molded article between the annular conveying lines, it is desirable to face the clamp devices from both sides in the radial direction of the conveying lines. However, in the conventional mechanism, the clamp device is directed in the radial direction only at the moment of transferring the preform or the like. Therefore, the transfer of the preform or the like may not be performed accurately.

Next, the conventional blow molding apparatus generally requires a turret for performing an operation of inverting the preform, a turret for performing an operation of inverting the blow molded article, a turret for performing an operation of inserting the mandrel into the preform, and a turret for performing an operation of extracting the mandrel from the blow molded article. As described above, although there has been proposed a mechanism for inverting the preform while changing the preform feed pitch, since four tables are basically indispensable, there is a problem that the apparatus size increases and the manufacturing cost increases.

On the other hand, in the conventional blow molding apparatus, the mold opening/closing mechanism of the blow molding mold that can be opened and closed in the left and right direction extends in the planar direction from the back surface of each blow molding mold toward the center of the turntable that rotates each blow molding mold. A plurality of blow molds having a constant weight are mounted on a turntable, and the conveyance of each of the blow molds needs to be performed with good precision. Therefore, the bearing member for supporting the turntable in a freely rotatable state is desirably disposed as close as possible to the bottom surface of the weight, that is, the bottom surface of the turntable blow mold. However, since the conventional mold opening and closing mechanism is long in the planar direction from each blow molding mold toward the rotation center of the turntable, it is necessary to provide the mold opening and closing mechanism at a position near the rotation center of the turntable in order to prevent the bearing member from interfering with the mold opening and closing mechanism.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a transfer mechanism of a blow molding device capable of changing a feed pitch of preforms or the like conveyed along an annular conveying line by a simple mechanism and accurately transferring the preforms or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inverting and transferring mechanism of a blow molding apparatus, in which a mechanism for inverting a preform and a blow molded container, a mechanism for inserting a mandrel of a tray into the preform, and a mechanism for extracting the mandrel of the tray from the blow molded container are configured on a single turntable.

Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a mold opening/closing mechanism of a blow molding apparatus, which can dispose a bearing for supporting a turntable mounted on a blow molding mold at a position in the vicinity of a position directly below the blow molding mold.

Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a blow molding apparatus which can be configured to be compact and small and which can efficiently and accurately convey preforms and blow molded articles.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that a transfer mechanism of a blow molding apparatus for receiving a preform, a blow molded article, or a mandrel transferred at a 1 st feed pitch along a 1 st circular ring transfer line, transferring the preform, the blow molded article, or the mandrel along a 2 nd circular ring transfer line, and transferring the preform, the blow molded article, or the mandrel to a 3 rd circular ring transfer line by changing a feed pitch from the 1 st feed pitch to the 2 nd feed pitch,

the rotating platform is provided with a rotating disk,

in order to fix the circular guide rail on the surface of the turntable with the rotation center of the turntable as the center,

a plurality of sliders slidable along the annular guide rail,

a holding portion formed on each slide for holding the preform and the blow-molded article or the mandrel,

rocking poles arranged at a position inside the arc-shaped guide rail on the turntable in a freely rotatable state at a predetermined angular interval on a concentric circle around a rotation center of the turntable,

a plurality of swing arms swinging along the surface of the turntable around the swing poles as a center in accordance with the rotation of the turntable,

and a sliding type connecting part which connects the swinging end of each swinging arm relative to each slide block in a slidable state in the axial direction of the swinging arm.

Here, the swing cam mechanism for swinging each swing arm in accordance with the rotation of the turntable may be configured to include an arm extending in a vertical direction from each swing fulcrum bar, a cam follower attached to a tip of the arm, and a fixed disk in which a cam groove in which the cam follower slides is formed.

In the transfer mechanism of the blow molding apparatus according to the present invention, the holding portion is attached to the slider that slides along the annular guide rail, and the slider is swung left and right by the swing arm in accordance with the rotation of the turntable, thereby changing the feed pitch. Thus, the feed pitch can be changed with high accuracy by a simple mechanism. Further, since the holding portion for holding the preform or the like mounted on the slider is always oriented in the radial direction, it is possible to accurately perform the operation of receiving the preform or the like conveyed along the annular conveying path and the operation of transferring the preform or the like to another annular conveying path.

The present invention is also characterized in that the inversion transfer mechanism of the blow molding apparatus, which receives the preform or blow molded article in the upright or inverted posture conveyed along the 1 st annular conveyance path and transfers the preform or blow molded article to the 3 rd annular conveyance path after the preform or blow molded article is inverted in posture while conveying the preform or blow molded article along the 2 nd annular conveyance path,

the rotating platform is provided with a rotating disk,

a cylindrical member extending radially on the surface of the turntable about a rotation center of the turntable and supported by the turntable in a rotatable state,

a shaft member extending through the hollow portion of the cylindrical member and rotating integrally with the cylindrical member,

a clamp which is attached to an outer end of the shaft member, holds a mouth portion of the preform or the blow-molded article, and moves along the 2 nd circular ring-shaped transfer line when the turntable rotates,

a rotating cam mechanism for rotating the cylindrical member by 180 degrees in accordance with the rotation of the turntable.

Here, the rotation cam mechanism may have a configuration in which the 1 st and 2 nd cam followers formed on a slider that is reciprocatingly movable in the axial direction of the cylindrical member, a 1 st cam groove in which the 1 st cam follower formed spirally over an angular range of 180 degrees along the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member slides, and a 2 nd cam groove in which the 2 nd cam follower formed on the surface of the fixed disk slides, and the shape of the 2 nd cam groove is defined so that the slider is reciprocatingly movable in the radial direction in accordance with the rotation of the turntable.

In the case where the clamp has a pair of openable/closable claws, a structure having a slide cam mechanism for sliding the shaft member in the axial direction of the cylindrical member and a link mechanism for converting the sliding of the shaft member into an opening/closing operation of the openable/closable claw can be adopted as the claw opening/closing mechanism for opening/closing the openable/closable claw.

Further, as the inserting and extracting mechanism for inserting and extracting the mandrel into and from the mouth portion of the preform or blow-molded article in the inverted state, a mechanism having a mandrel support member which is vertically movable at a position directly below each of the grippers and a cam mechanism for vertically moving the mandrel support member in accordance with the rotation of the turntable may be used.

The present invention is characterized in that a mold opening/closing mechanism of a blow molding apparatus in which a plurality of blow molding molds are conveyed along an annular conveying path at a constant feed pitch and each blow molding mold is composed of a pair of mold members that can be opened and closed in the left and right direction,

a turntable on which a plurality of blow molds are mounted at a predetermined angular interval,

a lifting shaft which is lifted along with the rotation of the turntable,

a slider that slides in a direction perpendicular to an opening/closing direction of the blow molding die in accordance with the upward and downward movement of the upward and downward shaft,

a pair of operation arms for converting the sliding motion of the slider into the opening and closing motion of the blow molding die.

Here, the lifting shaft may be disposed between the slider and the pair of molding die members.

Further, the mold may have left and right mold supporting members for supporting the molding die members, respectively, and a closing mechanism for holding the mold supporting members in a closed state. In this case, the closing mechanism may be configured to include a stopper pin which is movable up and down, a pin hole formed in an opening/closing end of the die supporting member into which the stopper pin is insertable from above, and a lock mechanism for locking the stopper pin in a state in which the stopper pin is pulled out from the pin hole. Further, the lock mechanism may be configured to have a depression formed in an outer peripheral surface of the stopper pin, a ball disposed on a side of the die supporting member into which the depression is fitted, and a spring member for biasing the ball against the stopper pin.

The present invention is also characterized in that the blow molding apparatus comprises a preform supply table for supplying a preform in an upright state, a heating table for heating the preform to a temperature suitable for blow molding while transporting the preform, a blow molding table for blow molding the heated preform to form a blow molded article, and a recovery table for recovering the blow molded article,

a 1 st annular conveying line for conveying the preform supplied from the preform supply table at a 1 st feed pitch,

a 1 st transfer mechanism for receiving the preform from the 1 st annular conveying line and changing the feeding pitch to a 2 nd feeding pitch wider than the 1 st feeding pitch while conveying the preform along the 2 nd annular conveying line,

an inverting and transferring mechanism for receiving the preform transported at the 2 nd feeding pitch from the 2 nd circular transport line, inverting the preform into an inverted state while transporting the preform along the 3 rd circular transport line, and inserting the mandrel into the preform mouth in the inverted state from the lower side,

a 2 nd transfer mechanism for receiving the preform transferred with the mandrel inserted from the 3 rd circular ring transfer line and changing the feed pitch from the 2 nd feed pitch to the 1 st feed pitch while transferring the preform along the 4 th circular ring transfer line,

an arc-shaped conveying path portion formed on the heating stage and receiving preforms in a state where the mandrels are inserted from the 4 th annular conveying path,

a 3 rd transfer mechanism for receiving the heated preform from the arc-shaped conveying line portion and changing the feeding pitch from the 1 st feeding pitch to the 2 nd feeding pitch while conveying the heated preform along the 5 th circular conveying line,

in addition, the blow molding apparatus receives the preform conveyed at the 2 nd feeding pitch along the 5 th annular conveying line by the blow mold conveyed at the 6 th annular conveying line at the blow stage at the 2 nd feeding pitch,

the inverting transfer mechanism receives the blow-molded article from the blow mold, extracts the spindle inserted into the mouth of the inverted blow-molded article downward while conveying the blow-molded article along the 3 rd circular ring-shaped conveying path, inverts the inverted blow-molded article to an upright state,

the recovery table recovers the blow-molded product from the reverse transfer mechanism.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the overall configuration of a biaxial stretch blow molding apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the 1 st transfer mechanism in the biaxial stretching blow molding machine of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the 1 st transfer mechanism in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a reverse transfer mechanism in the biaxial stretching blow molding machine of fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the reverse transfer mechanism in fig. 4.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a rotary blow molding station in the biaxial stretching blow molding machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view showing a mold opening/closing mechanism of the blow molding mold shown in FIG. 6.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a mold opening/closing mechanism of the blow molding mold of fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a side view showing the side surface of the mold opening and closing mechanism of fig. 6 on the opening and closing end side.

Fig. 10 is a side view showing the side surface of the mold opening and closing mechanism of fig. 6 on the opening and closing center side.

Description of the reference numerals

1 biaxial stretching blow molding apparatus

2 prefabricated material

2a mouth part

2b mouth flange

3 preform supply table

4 heating table

5 Plastic bottle

6 blow molding station

7 recovery platform

9 st 1 annular conveying line

12 nd 2 nd circular ring shaped conveying line

13 st transfer mechanism

14 rd 3 annular conveying line

15 mandrel

16 overturning and transferring mechanism

17 th 4 circular ring-shaped conveying line

18 nd 2 transfer mechanism

25 conveying line section

26 th 5 circular ring-shaped conveying line

27 rd 3 transfer mechanism

28 rotating platform

28a center line of rotation

29 blow molding die

30. 31 left and right forming die member

33 mould opening and closing mechanism

34 th 6 annular conveying line

40 device stand

43 turntable

44 circular ring shaped guide rail

45 sliding block

46 holding plate

46a holding groove

47 rocking pole

49 swing arm

50 sliding joint

51 long hole

52 cam follower strut

53 cam mechanism

55 deformed heart-shaped cam groove

56 cam follower

63 rotating platform

65 cylindrical member

65a axis

66 sliding shaft

67 connecting mechanism

68 clamp

68a, 68b opening and closing claw

71 sliding block

72 st 1 cam follower

73 nd 2 cam follower

74 1 st cam groove

75 2 nd cam groove

81 cylindrical cam surface

82 roller

83 helical spring

85 mandrel holder

86 leading axle

87 lifting slide block

88 cam follower

89a cylindrical cam groove

91 thrust bearing

94. 95 mould supporting member

94a, 95a pin hole

96 vertical axis

97 mould supporting plate

98 lifting shaft

99 sliding guide rail

100 slider

101 connecting arm

102 connecting mechanism for opening and closing

103. 104 operating arm

Cam mechanism for 110 lifting

111 cam follower

113 cylindrical cam groove

114 lifting slide block

120 closing mechanism

121 stop pin

121a groove

122 locking mechanism

123 cam mechanism

124 sphere

125 spiral spring

126 cam follower

127 cam groove

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a blow molding apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

(integral constitution)

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the entire configuration of a biaxial stretch blow molding device according to the present embodiment. Referring to the figure, the biaxial stretching blow molding apparatus 1 is, for example, an apparatus for producing a plastic bottle for beverages, and includes a preform supply stage 3 for supplying a preform 2, a heating stage 4 for heating the preform 2 to a temperature suitable for blow molding while transporting the preform, a rotary blow molding stage 6 for blow molding the heated preform 2 to mold a plastic bottle 5 (blow molded article), and a recovery stage 7 for recovering the plastic bottle 5.

The preform supply table 3 has a guide rail 8 inclined downward toward the supply destination, and the flange 2b of the mouth portion 2a of the preform 2 is suspended therefrom, and the preform 2 drops along the guide rail 8 by its own weight in an upright state (for the preform 2, see, for example, fig. 3 described later).

The lower end of the guide rail 8 in the preform supply table 3 horizontally forms a 1 st circular ring-shaped conveyance route 9 that conveys the preforms 2 supplied from the preform supply table 3 at a 1 st feed pitch P1. The 1 st annular conveying line 9 includes a turn table 10 having ratchet-like feed grooves formed on an outer circumferential end surface at the same interval as the 1 st feed pitch, and an arc-like guide surface 11 facing the outer circumferential end surface 10a of the turn table 10 and formed over almost the entire 180-degree angle. The preform 2 is fed out along the 1 st circular ring-shaped conveyance route 9 at the 1 st feed pitch P1 with the mouth portion 2a thereof sandwiched therebetween.

A 1 st transfer mechanism 13 that receives the preform 2 from the 1 st annular conveyance route 9 and changes the feed pitch to a 2 nd feed pitch P2 that is wider than the 1 st feed pitch P1 while conveying the preform 2 along a 2 nd annular conveyance route 12 that is externally connected to the 1 st annular conveyance route 9 is disposed at a position adjacent to the 1 st annular conveyance route 9.

Further, an inverting and transferring mechanism 16 is provided which receives the preform 2 conveyed at the 2 nd feeding pitch P2 from the 2 nd annular conveyance line 12, inverts the preform 2 into an inverted state while conveying the preform along the 3 rd annular conveyance line 14 externally connected to the 2 nd annular conveyance line 12, and inserts the mandrel 15 (see fig. 4) into the mouth 2a of the preform 2 in the inverted state from below.

Further, a 2 nd transfer mechanism 18 is disposed which receives the preform 2 conveyed in a state where the mandrel 15 is inserted into the insertion port 2a from the 3 rd annular conveying line 14, in other words, receives the mandrel 15 conveyed in a state where the preform 2 is inserted, and changes the feed pitch from the 2 nd feed pitch P2 to the 1 st feed pitch P1 while conveying the preform along the 4 th annular conveying line 17 externally connected to the 3 rd annular conveying line 14.

Here, the heating table 4 includes a driving-side sprocket 19, a driven-side sprocket 20, a chain 21 bridged therebetween, and spindle carriers 22 attached to the chain 21 at a predetermined interval, and the spindle carriers 22 are conveyed along an oval conveying path 23. The conveyance path 23 receives the preform 2 from the 4 th annular conveyance path 17 on the 2 nd transfer mechanism 18, and includes a semicircular conveyance path portion 25 (circular arc-shaped conveyance path portion) for supporting the spindle holder 22. A plurality of heating units 24(1) to 24(5) are arranged along the transfer line 23, and the preform 2 is heated to a temperature suitable for blow molding by these heating units while each of the mandrel holders 22 having received the preform 2 from the 2 nd transfer mechanism 18 is being transferred along the transfer line 23.

At an adjacent position on the opposite side of the 2 nd transfer mechanism 18 in the semicircular conveyance path portion 25, a 3 rd transfer mechanism 27 is disposed which receives the heated preform 2 from the conveyance path portion 25 by the mandrel holder 22 and expands the feeding pitch from the 1 st feeding pitch P1 to the 2 nd feeding pitch P2 while conveying along the 5 th annular conveyance path 26.

The blow table 6 is disposed at a position adjacent to the 3 rd transfer mechanism 27. The blow table 6 mounts a turntable 28 and a plurality of blow molding dies 29 arranged concentrically on the surface at intervals corresponding to the 2 nd feeding pitch P2. The blow mold 29 is composed of a pair of mold members 30 and 31 that open and close in the left and right directions, and a mold opening and closing mechanism 33 for opening and closing the mold members 30 and 31 is disposed on the back surface side of each of the blow molds 29.

On the blow molding table 6, the blow molding die 29 is circulated at the 2 nd feeding pitch P2 along the 6 th circular ring-shaped transfer line 34 by the rotation of the turntable 28. Each blow mold 29 receives the preform 2 conveyed along the 5 th annular conveying line 26 at the 2 nd feed pitch P2 in the open state, and is brought into a clamped state while being conveyed along the 6 th annular conveying line 34, and performs biaxial stretch blow molding on the preform 2. The plastic bottle 5 thus obtained is transferred from the blow mold 29 in the open state to the star wheel 35. The star wheel 35 has arc grooves 35a formed on its outer circumferential surface at intervals corresponding to the 2 nd feeding pitch P2, and the plastic bottles 5 are fed to the inverting and transferring mechanism 16 by the arc grooves 35 a.

The inverting and transferring mechanism 16 receives the bottle 5 from the star wheel 35, extracts the mandrel 15 inserted into the mouth 2a of the inverted bottle 5 downward while carrying the bottle along the 3 rd circular ring-shaped carrying path 14, and inverts the inverted bottle 5 into an upright state. The bottles 5 are then transferred between the star wheels 36 to the recovery station 7.

In the biaxial stretch blow molding apparatus 1 having this configuration, the inverting transfer mechanism 16 can perform an operation of inverting the preform 2 and the blow molded plastic bottle 5, an operation of inserting the mandrel 15 into the mouth portion 2a of the preform 2, and an operation of removing the mandrel 15 from the mouth portion 2a of the plastic bottle 5. Therefore, the present apparatus can be made compact and smaller than a conventional biaxial stretch blow molding apparatus that performs these operations at other places, and the manufacturing cost can be kept low.

(transfer mechanism)

Fig. 2 and 3 are a plan view and a sectional view showing the 1 st transfer mechanism 13. Referring to these drawings, the 1 st transfer mechanism 13 receives the preform 2 conveyed along the 1 st annular conveying line 9 at the 1 st feed pitch P1, expands the feed pitch from the 1 st feed pitch P1 to the 2 nd feed pitch P2 while conveying the preform 2 along the 2 nd annular conveying line 12, and then transfers the preform to the 3 rd annular conveying line 14 of the inverting and transferring mechanism 16.

The 1 st transfer mechanism 13 includes a cylindrical holder 41 vertically fixed to the apparatus mount 40, and a rotary shaft 42 coaxially supported in a rotatable state inside the cylindrical holder 41, and the rotary shaft 42 is driven to rotate by a drive motor not shown in the drawing. A disc-shaped turntable 43 is horizontally fixed coaxially to the upper end of the rotary shaft 42. An annular guide rail 44 is fixed coaxially to the surface of the turntable 43. That is, the center of the annular rail 44 coincides with the rotation center 43a of the turntable 43.

A plurality of flat rectangular parallelepiped sliders 45 that can slide in a posture facing the radial direction are attached to the annular guide rail 44. In the illustrated example, 6 sliders 45 are mounted. At the outer end of each slide 45, a holding plate 46 having a semicircular groove 46a formed thereon, on which the mouth flange 2a of the preform 2 can be loaded, is horizontally mounted.

A plurality of rocking poles 47 are attached to the turntable 43 concentrically and rotatably at regular angular intervals to the center side of the annular guide 44. That is, each rocking arm 47 is held by a cylindrical bearing holder 48 extending through the turntable 43 in a freely rotatable state. The inner end of a swing arm 49 is fixed to the upper end of the swing lever 47 projecting upward from the upper end of the bearing holder 48. The swing arm 49 extends along the surface of the turn table 43 toward the outer circumferential side thereof, and can swing left and right along the surface of the turn table 43 centering on the swing fulcrum 47.

The tip of each swing arm 49 is connected to the inner end side of each slider 45 through a sliding connection portion 50. The slide type connecting portion 50 has a long hole 51 formed at the tip end of the swing arm 49 and long in the axial direction of the swing arm 49, and a cam follower stay 52 slidable along the long hole 51, and the cam follower stay 52 is fixed to a central inner end portion of the upper surface of the slider 45.

Here, each swing arm 49 is configured to swing left and right by the cam mechanism 53 in accordance with the rotation of the turn table 43. The cam mechanism 53 includes a fixed disk 54 horizontally fixed to the holder 41 at a position spaced apart from the reverse surface of the turn table 43 by a predetermined distance, a cam groove 55 formed in a deformed shape on the surface of the fixed disk 54, and a roller-shaped cam follower 56 sliding along the cam groove 55. The lower end of the swing fulcrum 47 protrudes downward from the reverse surface of the turn table 43, where a substantial end portion of an arm 57 extending in a direction perpendicular to the swing arm 49 is fixed, and a cam follower 56 is attached to a front end of the arm 57.

Next, the operation of the 1 st transfer mechanism 13 will be described. When the turn table 43 is turned in the direction of the arrow shown in fig. 2, the annular guide rail 44, the sliders 45, and the swing arm 49 placed thereon are also turned in the same direction. Here, the cam follower 56 of the cam mechanism 53 connected to each swing arm 49 slides along the cam groove 55 of the deformed heart shape formed in the fixed disk 54. Since the cam groove 55 describes a deformed heart-shaped trajectory, when the cam follower 56 slides along the cam groove 53, the cam follower 56 moves in the radial direction with respect to the rocker arm 47 located at the fixed position. As a result, the rocking lever 47 is passively rotated left and right, and the rocking arm 49 whose inner end is fixed to the rocking lever 47 also rocks left and right. Since the respective sliders 45 are connected to the distal ends of the swing arms 49 in a slidable manner in the axial direction thereof, when the swing arms 49 swing left and right, the sliders 45 slide left and right along the annular guide rail 44. That is, the sliders 45 rotate together with the turntable 43 in the same direction while relatively moving in the direction of approaching and separating from each other in accordance with the shape of the heart-shaped cam groove 55.

Therefore, by appropriately setting the shape of the cam groove 55 having the modified heart shape in advance, the interval between the sliders 45 can be shortened at the circumscribed positions of the 2 nd annular conveying path 12 and the 1 st annular conveying path 9 drawn at the center of the holding groove 46a of the holding plate 46 attached to the outer end of the slider 45, and these can be conveyed at the 1 st feed pitch P1. Further, at the circumscribed position of the 2 nd annular conveying line 12 and the 3 rd annular conveying line 14 at the preform delivery point, the interval of the sliders 45 can be increased and they can be conveyed at the 2 nd feed pitch P2. As a result, the preform 2 conveyed along the 1 st circular ring shaped conveyance route 9 at the 1 st feed pitch P1 can be received by the holding groove 46a of the holding plate 46 mounted on the leading end of the slider 45, and the preform 2 can be handed over to the 3 rd circular ring shaped conveyance route 14 at the 2 nd feed pitch P2.

Unlike the conventional transfer mechanism for pitch conversion, the 1 st transfer mechanism 13 configured as described above is configured to extend and contract the swing arm and perform pitch conversion, and the mechanism is simplified because the swing arm 49 is simply swung. In addition, the assembly of the components is simple, and the assembly error can be controlled. Further, since the slider 45 swung by the swing arm 49 slides along the annular rail 44, the semicircular holding groove 46a of the holding plate 46 attached to the distal end thereof always faces outward in the radial direction. Therefore, the transfer operation of the preform conveyed along the annular conveying line can be performed accurately.

The 2 nd transfer mechanism 18 and the 3 rd transfer mechanism 27 are also configured similarly to the 1 st transfer mechanism 13, and therefore, a description thereof will be omitted here.

(turnover transfer mechanism)

Fig. 4 and 5 are a sectional view and an enlarged partial sectional view showing the reversing and transferring mechanism 16. As described above, the inverting transfer mechanism 16 is configured to receive the preform 2 in the upright posture conveyed along the 2 nd annular conveyance path 12 of the 1 st transfer mechanism 13, invert the posture to the inverted posture while conveying the preform along the 3 rd annular conveyance path 14, insert the mandrel 15 into the mouth 2a thereof from below, and transfer the mandrel to the 4 th annular conveyance path 17 of the 2 nd transfer mechanism 18. Further, the bottle 5 in an inverted posture is received from each blow mold 29 on the turret 6, the mandrel is pulled out downward from the mouth 2a thereof while being conveyed along the 3 rd circular ring-shaped conveyance line 14, and thereafter, the posture is inverted to an upright state, and the bottle is transferred to the star wheel 36 on the recovery table 7.

As described with reference to fig. 1, 4, and 5, the inverting and transferring mechanism 16 includes a cylindrical holder 61 vertically fixed to the apparatus mount 40, a rotating shaft 62 coaxially and rotatably supported in the cylindrical holder 61, and a turntable 63 coaxially and horizontally fixed to an upper end portion of the rotating shaft 62. The turntable 63 is driven to rotate by a drive motor, not shown, via the rotating shaft 62.

A plurality of cylindrical members 65 are radially arranged on the surface of the turntable 63 at regular angular intervals in a horizontal state around the rotation center 63a, and each cylindrical member 65 is supported on the surface of the turntable 63 so as to be rotatable around the axis 65 a. In the illustrated example, 8 cylindrical members 65 are arranged. Each cylindrical member 65 has a slide shaft 66 coaxially disposed through the hollow portion thereof, and the slide shaft 66 is rotatable integrally with the cylindrical member 65 and slidable in the direction of the axis 65a relative to the cylindrical member 65.

Further, a gripper 68 having a pair of opening/closing claws 68a and 68b capable of gripping the preform 2 and the mouth 2a of the plastic bottle 5 from both sides is connected to the outer end of each cylindrical member 65 via a connecting mechanism 67. The preform 2 and the plastic bottle 5 held by the grippers 68 are conveyed along the 3 rd circular ring-shaped conveyance path 14 when the turntable 63 rotates.

The upper end of the vertical rotating shaft 62 is supported in a freely rotatable state by a bearing supported on a cylindrical bearing holder 69. The bearing holder 69 is fixed to the apparatus frame side through a horizontal fixing disk 70 coaxially fixed to the upper end surface thereof.

Here, there is provided an inverting cam mechanism for rotating the clamp 68 connected to the tip end of the cylindrical member 65 by 180 degrees in accordance with the rotation of the turntable 63, and inverting the preform 2 or the plastic bottle 5 held therein. The inverting cam mechanism includes, at an upper position of the cylindrical member 65, a slider 71 reciprocally movable in the direction of the axis 65a of the cylindrical member 65, a 1 st cam follower 72 attached to a lower surface of the slider 71, and a 2 nd cam follower 73 attached to an upper surface of the slider 71. Further, there is a 1 st cam groove 74 formed spirally throughout an angular range of 180 degrees along the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical member 65. Thus, the 1 st cam follower 72 can slide along the cam groove 74. Further, there is a 2 nd cam groove 75 formed on the reverse surface of the horizontal fixed disk 70 so that the 2 nd cam follower 73 can slide along the cam groove 75.

By appropriately setting the shape of the 2 nd cam groove 75 in advance, when the turntable 63 rotates, the 2 nd cam follower 73 sliding along the cam groove 75 can reciprocate in the direction of the axis 65a of the cylindrical member 65. When the 1 st cam follower 72 is attached to the slider 71 to which the 2 nd cam follower 73 is attached, and the 1 st cam follower 72 reciprocates in the direction of the axis 65a, the cylindrical member 65 supported in a freely rotatable state rotates 180 degrees, and therefore the slide shaft 66 and the connection mechanism 67 that rotate integrally with the cylindrical member 65 also rotate 180 degrees. Further, the clamp 68 connected to the front end of the cylindrical member 65 may be turned 180 degrees.

Next, an opening/closing cam mechanism that slides the slide shaft 66 in the direction of the axis 65a and opens and closes the clamp 68 will be described. The cam mechanism for opening and closing includes a cylindrical cam surface 81 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the bearing holder 69, a roller 82 attached to the inner end of the slide shaft 66, and a coil spring 83 for pressing the roller 82 against the cylindrical cam surface 81. The cam follower 82 of the slide shaft 66 moves along the cylindrical cam surface 81 with the rotation of the turntable 63. Therefore, by appropriately setting the contour shape of the cylindrical cam surface 81 in advance, the slide shaft 66 can be reciprocated along the axis 65 a. The connecting mechanism 67 connecting the distal end of the slide shaft 66 and the clamp 68, for example, performs an operation of pushing the open/close claws 68a and 68b of the clamp 68 to the left and right when the slide shaft 66 is pushed outward, and performs an operation of closing the open/close claws 68a and 68b when the slide shaft 66 is pulled inward.

Next, a mandrel holder 85 is disposed directly below each clamp 68 projecting outward from the outer circumferential end of the turntable 63 so as to insert the mandrel 15 into the mouth portion 2a of the preform 2 or the plastic bottle 5 from below and pull out the mandrel 15 downward from the mouth portion 2 a. The spindle holder 85 is attached to a lift slider 87 that moves up and down along a guide shaft 86 extending vertically downward from a position corresponding to each clamp 68 on the reverse surface of the turntable 63. The elevating slider 87 has a cam follower 88 fixed thereto, and the cam follower 88 slides along a cylindrical cam groove 89a formed on the outer circumferential surface of a cylindrical member 89 fixed to the apparatus frame 40. By setting the cylindrical cam groove 89a appropriately in advance, the spindle holder 85 can be raised and lowered in accordance with the rotation of the turn table 63, and the spindle 15 can be inserted into the mouth 2a of the preform 2 in an inverted state from below. Further, the mandrel 15 can be pulled out downward from the mouth 2a of the inverted bottle 5.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the preform 2 is inverted from the lower side in the section 14a inserted into the 3 rd annular conveyance path 14, and the mouth 2a of the preform 2 in an inverted state is divided into the first half of the next section 14 b. In the section 14c, the mandrel 15 is pulled out downward from the mouth 2a of the inverted bottle 5, and the bottle is turned upside down in the next section 14 d.

The inverting and transferring mechanism 16 configured as described above can invert the preform 2, insert the mandrel 15, pull the mandrel out of the plastic bottle 5, and invert the plastic bottle 5 with the rotation of the 1-piece turn table 63. Therefore, compared to a conventional blow molding apparatus configured by performing respective operations on the turn tables arranged at 4 positions, the conveyance path can be configured compactly, and therefore, the apparatus size can be reduced accordingly, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

(mold opening/closing mechanism)

Next, fig. 6 is a partial sectional view showing the rotary blow molding table 6; FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view showing the mold opening/closing mechanism 33 of the blow mold 29; fig. 8 is a plan configuration view of the die opening and closing mechanism 33; fig. 9 is a side view showing the side surface of the mold opening/closing mechanism 33 on the opening/closing end side; fig. 10 is a side view showing the side surface of the mold opening and closing mechanism 33 on the opening and closing center side. The overall structure of the blow stage 6 and the mold opening/closing mechanism 33 of the blow mold 29 will be described with reference to these drawings.

As described above, the blow molding station 6 is a rotary blow molding station in which a plurality of blow molding dies 29 are circulated on the turntable 28 at the 2 nd feeding pitch P2 along the 6 th circular ring-shaped transfer line 34. The turntable 28 is supported horizontally in a freely rotatable state about the rotation center line 28a by a thrust bearing 91 supported by the apparatus mount 40. That is, the turntable 28 is fixed to an inner ring 91a of the thrust bearing 91, and inner teeth 91b are formed on the inner circumferential surface of the inner ring 91 a. The internal teeth 91b are engaged with a drive-side external gear 93 coaxially fixed to an upper end of a vertical rotary shaft 92 driven and rotated by a drive motor not shown. The turntable 28 is rotated about its rotation center line 28a by a drive motor.

Each blow mold 29 has left and right openable/closable mold members 30 and 31, and each mold member 30 and 31 is supported by left and right mold supporting members 94 and 95 fixed to the outer side surfaces thereof, respectively. These mold supporting members 94 and 95 can be opened and closed right and left about a vertical axis 96, and the vertical axis 96 is supported by a mold supporting plate 97 fixed to the upper surface of the turntable 28.

The mold supporting members 94 and 95 supporting the left and right molding die members 30 and 31 are opened and closed left and right by a die opening and closing mechanism 33 composed of a connecting mechanism. The mold opening/closing mechanism 33 includes a lifting shaft 98 disposed on the rear side of the vertical shaft 96 (the center side of the turntable 28), and the lifting shaft 98 extends through the mold support plate 97 and the turntable 28. A slide rail 99 attached to a mold support plate 97 is disposed on the rear surface side (the center side of the turntable 28) of the elevating shaft 98. The slide rail 99 extends from the blow mold 29 toward the rotation center line 28a of the turntable 28, and is slidable along the slide rail 99 by a slider 100. The slider 100 is connected to a portion protruding above the mold support plate 97 of the elevating shaft 98 by a connecting arm 101 to which a pin is connected.

The slider 100 and the left and right mold supporting members 94 and 95 are connected by an opening/closing link mechanism 102 for converting the sliding motion of the slider 100 into the opening/closing motion of the mold supporting members 94 and 95. The opening/closing link mechanism 102 has a pair of right and left operation arms 103 and 104, as clearly shown in fig. 8. These operation arms 103 and 104 are formed in a left-right symmetrical shape, one end of which is connected to the slider 100 in a left-right rotatable state about connection pins 105a and 105b, and have curved cantilever portions 103b and 104b extending in the left-right spreading direction from the end thereof and parallel cantilever portions 103b and 104b extending in parallel with each other from the front ends thereof. The front ends of the parallel cantilever portions 103b and 104b are connected to both ends of the back surface side of the die supporting members 94 and 95 by connecting pins 106a and 106b in a state of being rotatable left and right.

The mold opening/closing mechanism 33 is in a state shown by solid lines in fig. 6 and 8 in the mold clamping state. When the elevating shaft 98 is lowered from this state, the slider 100 slides horizontally toward the center of the turntable 28 and reaches a position 100A indicated by a broken line. When the slider 100 slides, the left and right operation arms 103 and 104 connected thereto are also moved to the center side of the turntable 28 as a whole. As a result, the left and right mold supporting members 94 and 95 connected to the ends of the operating arms 103 and 104 are opened left and right about the vertical axis 96 to positions shown by broken lines in FIG. 8, and the left and right molding die members 30 and 31 supported by these members are opened. Thus, the mold clamping state is formed. In this state, when the lifting shaft 98 is raised and returned to the position shown by the solid line in fig. 6, the slider 100 slides in a direction approaching the blow molding die 29, so that the left and right die supporting members 94 and 95 connected to the ends of the operating arms 103 and 104 are closed with respect to the vertical axis 96, and a clamped state is established.

Here, the elevation shaft 98 is elevated by the elevation cam mechanism 110. The cam mechanism 110 for elevation has a cam follower 111 attached to the lower end portion of the elevation shaft 98 and a cylindrical cam groove 113 formed on the outer circumferential surface of a cylindrical member 112 supported on the apparatus mount 40. When the turntable 28 rotates, the cam follower 111 slides along the cam groove 113. If the cam groove 113 is moved up and down in advance in accordance with the rotational position of the turn table 28, the raising and lowering shaft 98 can be raised and lowered in accordance with the rotation of the turn table 28. That is, the blow mold 29 can be opened and closed according to the rotational angular position of the turntable 28.

Further, an elevating slider 114 is fixed to a lower end portion of the elevating shaft 98, and the slider 114 is elevated along a vertical slide rail 115 attached to a vertical plate portion extending vertically below the mold support plate 97.

Next, the open/close ends of the left and right mold supporting members 94 and 95 are provided with a closing mechanism 120 for holding the mold supporting members in a closed state. The closing mechanism 120 includes a stopper pin 121 which is movable up and down, pin holes 94a and 95a formed in the opening and closing ends of the die supporting members 94 and 95 into which the stopper pin 121 is inserted from below, and a lock mechanism 122 for locking the stopper pin 121 in a state inserted into the pin holes 94a and 95 a. Further, a cam mechanism 123 for raising and lowering the stopper pin 121 is provided.

The lock mechanism 122 is constituted by a spool having a groove 121a formed in the outer circumferential surface of the stopper pin 121, a ball 124 disposed on the side of the die supporting member which can be fitted into the groove 121a, and a coil spring 125 for biasing the ball 124 toward the outer circumferential surface of the stopper pin 121. The cam mechanism 123 has a cam follower 126 attached to the lower end of the stopper pin 121 and a cam groove 127 in which the cam follower 126 slides. The cam groove 127 is a cam groove formed on the circular inner circumferential surface of the member supported on the apparatus mount 40.

Depending on the rotational position of the turntable 28, the stopper pin 121 descends to the lock position shown in fig. 6, 7, and 9 and ascends to a position separated from the pin holes 94a and 95 a. The stopper pin 121 is lifted and lowered in conjunction with the opening and closing of the mold opening and closing mechanism 33, and is held in a closed state by the stopper pin 121 in a mold clamping state. Further, in the open state, the stopper pin 121 can be prevented from falling from the pin holes 94a, 95a by a lock mechanism composed of a spool valve.

The mold opening/closing mechanism 33 of the blow mold 29 thus constructed can convert the vertical movement of the vertical movement shaft 98 into the sliding movement of the slider 100, and convert the sliding movement of the slider 100 into the opening/closing movement of the mold supporting members 94 and 95 supporting the left and right mold members 30 and 31 via the pair of operating arms 103 and 104. Therefore, the mold opening and closing mechanism can be configured to be compact and compact as compared with a conventional mold opening and closing mechanism that opens and closes a mold by using a link mechanism including 3 or more arms. In particular, the length from the back surface of the blow mold 29 to the center of the turntable can be reduced. As a result, the thrust bearing 91 that rotatably supports the turntable 28 can be provided at a position in the vicinity of the right lower surface of the blow molding die 29. Therefore, the turntable 28 on which the blow mold having a certain weight is mounted can be smoothly rotated.

Further, since the locking mechanism 122 for locking the left and right mold supporting members 94 and 95 in the closed state is configured by fitting the ball 124 into the groove 121a formed on the outer circumferential surface of the stopper pin 121, the stopper pin 121 can be reliably fixed.

Possibility of industrial application

As described above, the transfer mechanism of the blow molding apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that the sliders having the holding portions for holding preforms and the like are slidably disposed along the annular rail, and the feed pitch of the preforms and the like held by the holding portions can be changed by sliding each slider left and right according to the rotation of the turntable.

Therefore, compared with a conventional mechanism for changing the feed pitch of preforms or the like held by the holding portion by a combined motion of a rocking motion and a telescopic motion, the configuration can be simplified, and therefore the feed pitch can be changed with high accuracy. Further, since the holding portion attached to the slider that slides along the annular guide rail is held in a posture always directed in the radial direction of the turntable, it is possible to accurately perform an operation of receiving the preform or the like conveyed along the annular conveying path and an operation of joining the preform or the like to the annular conveying path.

Next, the inverting and transferring mechanism of the blow molding apparatus according to the present invention performs an operation of receiving and inverting the preform, an operation of inserting the mandrel into the inverted preform opening portion, an operation of receiving and extracting the blow molded article from the opening portion, and an operation of inverting the blow molded article from which the mandrel has been extracted, in accordance with the rotation of the turntable. Therefore, the transfer mechanism for preforms and blow molded articles can be configured to be compact and compact as compared with a conventional blow molding apparatus that performs these various operations using another turntable. In addition, since the transport path can be shortened, the production efficiency can be improved.

The mold opening and closing mechanism of the blow molding apparatus of the present invention is capable of converting the lifting motion of the lifting shaft into the sliding motion of the slider and converting the sliding motion into the opening and closing motion of opening and closing the mold supporting member left and right by the pair of operation arms. Therefore, the mold opening and closing mechanism can be made compact as compared with a conventional mold opening and closing mechanism including a connecting mechanism using 3 or more operation arms.

In particular, when the rotary blow molding table in which the blow molding die is mounted on the turntable is used, the bearing member of the turntable can be disposed in the vicinity of the position immediately below the blow molding die without interfering with the die opening/closing mechanism provided in the rear surface side portion of the blow molding die. As a result, the turntable on which the blow mold having a constant weight is mounted can be smoothly rotated.

On the other hand, the blow molding apparatus of the present invention has the above-described transfer mechanism, the reverse transfer mechanism, and the mold opening/closing mechanism, and therefore, can be configured to be compact in size as a whole. Further, the preform and the blow-molded article can be accurately and efficiently transported.

Claims (19)

1. A transfer mechanism of a blow molding apparatus, which receives a preform, a blow molded article, or a mandrel transferred at a 1 st feed pitch along a 1 st circular ring-shaped transfer line, transfers the preform, the blow molded article, or the mandrel along a 2 nd circular ring-shaped transfer line, and transfers the transfer mechanism to a 3 rd circular ring-shaped transfer line by changing a feed pitch from the 1 st feed pitch to a 2 nd feed pitch, comprising:

the rotating platform is provided with a rotating disk,

in order to fix the circular guide rail on the surface of the turntable with the rotation center of the turntable as the center,

a plurality of sliders slidable along the annular guide rail,

a holding portion formed on each slide for holding the preform and the blow-molded article or the mandrel,

rocking poles arranged at a position inside the arc-shaped guide rail on the turntable in a freely rotatable state at a predetermined angular interval on a concentric circle around a rotation center of the turntable,

a plurality of swing arms swinging along the surface of the turntable around the swing poles as a center in accordance with the rotation of the turntable,

and a sliding type connecting part which connects the swinging end of each swinging arm relative to each slide block in a slidable state in the axial direction of the swinging arm.

2. The transfer mechanism of a blow molding apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

a swing cam mechanism for swinging each swing arm in accordance with the rotation of the turntable,

the cam mechanism is provided with a cam mechanism,

an arm extending in a vertical direction from each rocking strut,

a cam follower mounted on the front end of the arm,

a fixed disk forming the cam groove for the cam follower to slide.

3. An inverting transfer mechanism of a blow molding apparatus, which receives a preform or a blow molded article in an upright or inverted posture conveyed along a 1 st annular conveyance path and transfers the preform or the blow molded article to a 3 rd annular conveyance path after inverting the posture while conveying the preform or the blow molded article along a 2 nd annular conveyance path, comprises:

the rotating platform is provided with a rotating disk,

a cylindrical member extending radially on the surface of the turntable about a rotation center of the turntable and supported by the turntable in a rotatable state,

a shaft member extending through the hollow portion of the cylindrical member and rotating integrally with the cylindrical member,

a clamp which is attached to an outer end of the shaft member, holds a mouth portion of the preform or the blow-molded article, and moves along the 2 nd circular ring-shaped transfer line when the turntable rotates,

a rotating cam mechanism for rotating the cylindrical member by 180 degrees in accordance with the rotation of the turntable.

4. The inverted transfer mechanism of a blow molding apparatus according to claim 3,

the above-mentioned cam mechanism for rotation is provided with,

1 st and 2 nd cam followers formed on a slider which is reciprocatingly movable in the axial direction of the cylindrical member,

a 1 st cam groove formed in a spiral shape along the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member over an angular range of 180 degrees and sliding on the 1 st cam follower,

a 2 nd cam groove formed on the surface of the fixed disk and sliding by the 2 nd cam follower,

the shape of the 2 nd cam groove is defined so that the slider is reciprocated in the radial direction in accordance with the rotation of the turntable.

5. The inverted transfer mechanism of a blow molding apparatus according to claim 4,

the clamp has a pair of openable/closable claws,

further, the device is provided with a claw opening/closing mechanism for opening/closing the opening/closing claw,

the claw opening and closing mechanism is provided with a claw,

a sliding cam mechanism for sliding the shaft member in an axial direction of the cylindrical member,

and a connecting mechanism for converting the sliding of the shaft member into the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing pawl.

6. The inverted transfer mechanism of blow molding apparatus according to claim 3, 4 and 5, having

A plug-in mechanism for plugging in and out the mandrel with respect to the mouth of the preform or blow-molded article in an inverted state,

the plugging mechanism is provided with a plug-pull mechanism,

a mandrel support member which can be lifted and lowered at a position right under each clamp,

and a cam mechanism for lifting and lowering the spindle support member according to the rotation of the turntable.

7. A mold opening/closing mechanism of a blow molding apparatus in which a plurality of blow molding molds are conveyed along an annular conveying line at a constant feed pitch, and each blow molding mold is constituted by a pair of mold members that can be opened and closed in the left and right direction, comprising:

a turntable on which a plurality of blow molds are mounted at a predetermined angular interval,

a lifting shaft which is lifted along with the rotation of the turntable,

a slider that slides in a direction perpendicular to an opening/closing direction of the blow molding die in accordance with the upward and downward movement of the upward and downward shaft,

a pair of operation arms for converting the sliding motion of the slider into the opening and closing motion of the blow molding die.

8. The mold opening and closing mechanism of a blow molding device according to claim 7,

the lifting shaft is disposed between the slider and the pair of molding die members.

9. The mold opening and closing mechanism of a blow molding apparatus according to claim 8, comprising:

left and right mold supporting members for supporting the molding die members,

a closing mechanism for keeping the mold supporting member in a closed state,

the closing mechanism comprises a stopper pin which can be lifted, a pin hole formed in the opening/closing end of the die supporting member into which the stopper pin can be inserted from above, and a locking mechanism for locking the stopper pin in a state in which the stopper pin is inserted into or removed from the pin hole,

the lock mechanism includes a depression formed in an outer peripheral surface of the stopper pin, a ball disposed on the die support member side to be fitted into the depression, and a spring member for biasing the ball against the stopper pin.

10. A blow molding apparatus having a preform supply table for supplying a preform in an upright state, a heating table for heating the preform to a temperature suitable for blow molding while conveying the preform, a blow molding table for blow molding the heated preform to form a blow molded article, and a recovery table for recovering the blow molded article, characterized by comprising:

a 1 st annular conveying line for conveying the preform supplied from the preform supply table at a 1 st feed pitch,

a 1 st transfer mechanism for receiving the preform from the 1 st annular conveying line and changing the feeding pitch to a 2 nd feeding pitch wider than the 1 st feeding pitch while conveying the preform along the 2 nd annular conveying line,

an inverting and transferring mechanism for receiving the preform transported at the 2 nd feeding pitch from the 2 nd circular ring transport line, inverting the preform into an inverted state while transporting the preform along the 3 rd circular ring transport line, and inserting the mandrel into the preform mouth in the inverted state from the lower side,

a 2 nd transfer mechanism for receiving the preform transferred with the mandrel inserted from the 3 rd circular ring transfer line and changing the feeding pitch from the 2 nd feeding pitch to the 1 st feeding pitch while transferring the preform along the 4 th circular ring transfer line,

an arc-shaped conveying path portion formed on the heating stage and receiving preforms in a state where the mandrels are inserted from the 4 th annular conveying path,

a 3 rd transfer mechanism for receiving the heated preform from the arc-shaped conveying line portion and changing the feeding pitch from the 1 st feeding pitch to the 2 nd feeding pitch while conveying the heated preform along the 5 th circular conveying line,

further, the preform carried along the 5 th annular transfer line at the 2 nd feeding pitch is received by the blow mold carried on the blow table along the 6 th annular transfer line at the 2 nd feeding pitch,

the inverting transfer mechanism receives the blow-molded article from the blow mold, extracts the spindle inserted into the mouth of the inverted blow-molded article downward while conveying the blow-molded article along the 3 rd circular ring-shaped conveying line, inverts the inverted blow-molded article to an upright state,

the recovery table recovers the blow-molded product from the reverse transfer mechanism.

11. The blow molding apparatus according to claim 10,

the 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd transfer mechanisms each have,

the rotating platform is provided with a rotating disk,

in order to fix the circular guide rail on the surface of the turntable with the rotation center of the turntable as the center,

a plurality of sliders slidable along the annular guide rail,

a holding part formed on each slider for holding the preform or the blow-molded article,

rocking poles arranged at a position inside the arc-shaped guide rail on the turntable in a freely rotatable state at a predetermined angular interval on a concentric circle around a rotation center of the turntable,

a plurality of swing arms swinging along the surface of the turntable around the swing poles as a center in accordance with the rotation of the turntable,

and a sliding type connecting part which connects the swinging end of each swinging arm relative to each slide block in a slidable state in the axial direction of the swinging arm.

12. The blow molding apparatus of claim 11, having,

a swing cam mechanism for swinging each swing arm in accordance with the rotation of the turntable,

the cam mechanism is provided with a cam mechanism,

an arm extending in a vertical direction from each rocking strut,

a cam follower mounted on the front end of the arm,

a fixed disk forming the cam groove for the cam follower to slide.

13. The blow molding apparatus according to claim 10,

the turning and transferring mechanism is provided with a turning and transferring mechanism,

the rotating platform is provided with a rotating disk,

a cylindrical member extending radially on the surface of the turntable about a rotation center of the turntable and supported by the turntable in a rotatable state,

a shaft member extending through the hollow portion of the cylindrical member and rotating integrally with the cylindrical member,

a clamp which is attached to an outer end of the shaft member, holds a mouth portion of the preform and the blow-molded article, and moves along the 2 nd circular transfer line when the turntable rotates,

a rotating cam mechanism for rotating the cylindrical member by 180 degrees in accordance with the rotation of the turntable.

A plug-in mechanism for inserting and extracting the mandrel into and from the mouth of the preform or blow-molded article in an inverted state.

14. The blow molding apparatus according to claim 13,

the above-mentioned cam mechanism for rotation is provided with,

1 st and 2 nd cam followers formed on a slider which is reciprocatingly movable in the axial direction of the cylindrical member,

a 1 st cam groove formed in a spiral shape along the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member over an angular range of 180 degrees and sliding on the 1 st cam follower,

a 2 nd cam groove formed on the surface of the fixed disk and sliding by the 2 nd cam follower,

the shape of the 2 nd cam groove is defined so that the slider is reciprocated in the radial direction in accordance with the rotation of the turntable.

15. The blow molding apparatus according to claim 14,

the clamp has a pair of openable/closable claws,

further, the device is provided with a claw opening/closing mechanism for opening/closing the opening/closing claw,

the pawl opening/closing mechanism includes a sliding cam mechanism that slides the shaft member in the axial direction of the cylindrical member, and a connection mechanism that converts the sliding of the shaft member into an opening/closing operation of the opening/closing pawl.

16. The blow molding apparatus according to claims 13, 14 and 15,

the inserting and pulling mechanism comprises a mandrel supporting member capable of lifting at the position right below each clamp and a cam mechanism for lifting and lowering the mandrel supporting member according to the rotation of the rotary table.

17. The blow molding apparatus according to claim 10,

the blow mold is composed of a pair of mold members that can be opened and closed in the left and right direction,

further, a mold opening/closing mechanism for opening/closing the blow molding mold in the left and right direction,

the mold opening and closing mechanism is provided with,

a turntable on which a plurality of blow molds are mounted at a predetermined angular interval,

a lifting shaft which is lifted along with the rotation of the turntable,

a slider that slides in a direction perpendicular to an opening/closing direction of the blow molding die in accordance with the upward and downward movement of the upward and downward shaft,

a pair of operation arms for converting the sliding motion of the slider into the opening and closing motion of the blow molding die.

18. The blow molding die of claim 17,

the lifting shaft is disposed between the slider and the pair of molding die members.

19. The blow molding apparatus of claim 18, having,

left and right mold supporting members for supporting the molding die members,

a closing mechanism for keeping the mold supporting member in a closed state,

the closing mechanism comprises a stopper pin which can be lifted, a pin hole formed in an opening/closing end of the die supporting member into which the stopper pin can be inserted from above, and a locking mechanism for locking the stopper pin in a state where the stopper pin is pulled out from the pin hole,

the lock mechanism includes a depression formed on an outer peripheral surface of the stopper pin, a ball disposed on a side of the die support member into which the depression is fitted, and a spring member for biasing the ball against the stopper pin.