According to GlobalData’s company profile on Salzgitter, battery metal recycling was a key innovation area identified from patents. Salzgitter's grant share as of June 2023 was 1%. Grant share is based on the ratio of number of grants to total number of patents.

Inductive heating device for blow molding containers

Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Credit: Salzgitter AG

A recently granted patent (Publication Number: US11667070B2) describes a device for producing containers through blow molding. The device includes a temperature-controllable blow mold held by a mold holder, as well as an inductive heating device. The mold holder features a plurality of inductors arranged in a matrix, with two or more inductors in both the circumferential and longitudinal directions of the mold holder. The mold holder and/or the blow mold are equipped with adapters that can be directly heated by the inductors through induction. The bottom mold insert and/or the mold half inserts are indirectly heated through heat transferred from the adapters. This device is part of a blowing station in a blowing machine that is situated on a rotary driven blowing wheel.

The patent also mentions additional features and variations of the device. For example, each inductor has at least one coil with a coil axis perpendicular to the inner wall of the mold holder. The inner wall of the mold holder contains recesses to accommodate the inductors. The adapters can be made of a ferromagnetic material and can form part of the inner wall of the mold holder or the outer wall of the blow mold. The mold holder may have a heat insulating area on its inner wall, which includes an insulating layer between adjacent inductors. The mold holder and/or the blow mold can be made of a non-ferromagnetic material, such as aluminum. The inductive heating device can be used for the mold half inserts, while a coolant circuit is provided for the bottom mold insert. Individual inductors can be controlled for different heating outputs, either individually or in groups.

The patent also covers a blowing machine that incorporates multiple devices as described above. These devices can be arranged on a rotary driven blowing wheel. Additionally, a method for producing containers by blow molding is outlined, where the containers are made from preforms in a temperature-controlled blow mold. The blow mold is indirectly heated using the device described in the patent through induction.

Overall, this patent presents a device and method for producing containers through blow molding that utilizes inductive heating to control the temperature of the blow mold. The device offers various features and configurations to optimize the heating process and improve the efficiency of container production.

To know more about GlobalData’s detailed insights on Salzgitter, buy the report here.

Premium Insights

From

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Blending expert knowledge with cutting-edge technology, GlobalData’s unrivalled proprietary data will enable you to decode what’s happening in your market. You can make better informed decisions and gain a future-proof advantage over your competitors.

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData Patent Analytics tracks bibliographic data, legal events data, point in time patent ownerships, and backward and forward citations from global patenting offices. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.