Device and method for the continuous heat treatment of pharmaceutical glass containers

A method for the continuous heat treatment of pharmaceutical glass containers, comprising:

• continuously conveying glass containers from an entry region to an exit region via a conveying installation having a separating plate made from an electrically conductive material, the separating plate being positioned above and/or below the conveying installation;
• heating the glass containers to a maximum temperature in a heating zone after passing the entry region;
• cooling the glass containers in a first cooling zone after passing the heating zone and before passing the exit region at a first cooling rate, wherein the separating plate separates the glass containers from heating installations in the heating zone and/or temperature changing installations in the first cooling zone;
• and
• controlling a temperature differential so that a first temperature differential between a temperature of the first temperature adjusting installation of the first cooling zone, when viewed in a conveying direction, and a temperature of the heating installations in the heating zone is greater than a second temperature differential between the temperature of the first temperature adjusting installation, when viewed in the conveying direction, and a temperature of an immediately adjacent temperature adjusting installation.

A device for the continuous heat treatment of pharmaceutical glass products, comprising:

• a housing having a continuous conveying gap between an entry region and an exit region;
• a conveying installation configured so that the glass containers, without mutual contact, bear on an upper side of a driven conveyor and are continuously conveyed in a conveying direction conveyed from the entry region to the exit region;
• a heating zone configured so that the glass containers, when passing through the conveying gap in the heating zone, are heated to a maximum temperature by heating installations;
• a first cooling zone, when viewed in the conveying direction, directly adjoins the heating zone, the first cooling zone being configured so that the glass containers, when passing through the conveying gap in the first cooling zone, cool at a first cooling rate by temperature adjusting installations;
• and
• a separating plate positioned to separate the glass containers in the heating zone and the first cooling zone from the heating installations and/or the temperature adjusting installations, the separating plate being configured and positioned to prevent ingress of contaminations into the conveying gap, wherein the separating plate comprises an electrically conductive material, the heating installations and/or temperature adjusting installations being configured to selectively inductively heat the separating plate.