Sterile blow molding. A blow molding machine with a sterile chamber could be an alternative to blow molding machines that require a large clean room encompassing an entire manufacturing cell, according to a patent issued to Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany.
The equipment described in the patent encompasses multiple blowing stations for blowing preforms into bottles; the stations are on a conveying device that rotates about an axis. The blowing stations are enclosed within the sterile chamber, which is pressurized using a sterile gas. In one embodiment of the invention, the apparatus also has a device within the chamber for removing the finished bottles.
The compact chamber is simpler to operate than a large clean room and requires less sterile air and smaller air-filtering plants.
Patent 10,486,357; issued Nov. 26
