Method and heating device for temperature conditioning of preforms and blow molding machine comprising such a device

1. A method for temperature conditioning of preforms made of a thermoplastic material to a temperature and temperature distribution suitable for blow forming in a heating apparatus with a plurality of heating devices, wherein:

the heating apparatus has a plurality of transport and handling means for transporting and handling the preforms through the heating apparatus along a transport path;

the transport and handling means are connected in chained fashion and guided along a circulating chain path;

along a heating section, which is a part of the transport path, the plurality of heating devices are arranged in a stationary, one behind another in a transport direction;

on at least one side lying opposite the heating devices, counter-reflectors are provided, which, in an area of the heating devices, and together with the heating devices, form a tunnel-like heating area, through which the preforms are transported for purposes of heating;

at least in an area of the heating section, a concurrently moving counter-reflector is assigned to each preform or to each transport and handling means, which is moved concurrently with the preform through the heating section; and

the counter-reflectors are guided on a circulating reflector path separated from the circulating chain path, which in the area of the heating section runs parallel to and at a first distance spaced apart from the circulating chain path and which, in at least one area outside the heating section takes a route deviating farther from the circulating chain path, such that the deviating route runs at a second distance that is greater than the first distance from the circulating chain path.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein for common passage of the heating section the counter-reflector and the preform are detachably motion-coupled, wherein the motion coupling is discontinued at in an area outside the heating section, so that at least on part of a route outside the heating section, the preform and the counter-reflector are guided in a motion-uncoupled fashion.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the coupling occurs on the transport and handling means that carry the preform.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reflector path is shorter than the circulating chain path, and an amount of circulating counter-reflectors is smaller than an amount of circulating transport and handling means.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein counter-reflectors situated adjacent to one another are not coupled to each other, and wherein the counter-reflectors are arranged and guided in such a close arrangement on the reflector path that counter-reflectors border on each other with little space there between.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reflector path, is configured as a guide rail, onto which the counter-reflectors are suspended and removed.

7. A heating apparatus comprising a plurality of heating devices for temperature conditioning of preforms made of a thermoplastic material to a temperature and temperature distribution suitable for blow molding, wherein:

the heating apparatus has a plurality of transport and handling means for transporting and handling the preforms through the heating apparatus along a transport path;

the transport and handling means are connected in a chained fashion and guided on a circulating chain path;

along a heating section, which is part of the transport path, the plurality of heating devices are arranged in a stationary manner, one lying behind another in a transport direction;

on at least one side opposite the heating devices, counter-reflectors are provided, which form together with the heating devices a tunnel-like heating area in an area of the heating devices, through which the preforms are transported for purposes of heating;

at least in an area of the heating section a concurrently-running counter-reflector is assigned to each preform or each transport and handling means, which is configured to run concurrently with the preform through the heating section;

the counter-reflectors are guided on a circulating reflector path that is separate from the circulating chain path;

in the area of the heating section the reflector path runs parallel and at a first distance spaced apart from the circulating chain path;

in at least one area outside the heating section, the reflector path takes a route that deviates from the circulating chain path; and

in this area with a deviating route, the reflector path runs at a second distance away from the circulating chain path that is greater than the first distance.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the counter-reflectors have coupling elements which are engageable into, and disengageable from, corresponding coupling elements of the transport and handling means, so that the counter-reflector and the preform are detachably motion-coupled for common passage of the heating section, and wherein the coupling is discontinued in an area outside the heating section, so that the preform and counter-reflector are guided in motion-uncoupled fashion at least on part of a route outside the heating section.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the reflector path is configured as a running rail and the counter-reflectors with rollers are guided on the running rail.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the reflector path has a shorter length than the circulating chain path and runs inside the circulating chain path.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the counter-reflectors have interior contours shape-adapted to the preforms.

12. A blow shaping machine comprising blowing stations for blow forming of preforms into containers, and a heating apparatus of claim 7 .

13. The method of claim 6 , wherein the counter-reflectors have rollers for rolling on the guide rails.

14. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the counter-reflector and the preform are detachably motion-coupled by the coupling onto the transport and handling means carrying the preform.