Patents Represented by Attorney Spencer T. Smith
  • Patent number: 7347067
    Abstract: A mold is disclosed which has a vertical front face having a glass object surface defined therein and a stepped vertical rear surface. The upper portion of the rear surface projects outwardly from the lower portion of the rear surface. The lower rear surface includes the top surface of two vertically spaced pairs of “T”s.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Emhart Glass SA
    Inventor: F. Alan Fenton
  • Patent number: 7342376
    Abstract: A machine for operating on a glass bottle. A carriage is displaceable by a servo motor having three lead lines. The rotation of the servo motor is stopped when power has been removed by shorting regenerative resistors to the three motor leads. The stopped servo motor is held at its stopped position by connecting a direct current power supply to two of the three servo motors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2008
    Assignee: Emhart Glass SA
    Inventor: Henry F. Raupp
  • Patent number: 7321679
    Abstract: A glass container inspection machine is disclosed for inspecting glass stippled bottles for defects. Stippled bottles are supported at an inspection station and are illuminated with a light source. The stippled bottle is imaged a pixel matrix with the pixels of the image varying in intensity from bright to gray at the points of stippling. A computer evaluates the pixels of the image including a look up table for values to be assigned to specific light intensities from light to black, the plot of the look up table having a high gain portion from black to gray and a continuous low gain portion from gray to white.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2008
    Assignee: Emhart Glass SA
    Inventors: Joe J. Dordoni, Sarath G. Tennakoon, Michael M. Rentschler, Richard D. Diehr, Kee Sin Loo
  • Patent number: 7320230
    Abstract: A pushout mechanism includes a pusher finger assembly which utilizes air jets to facilitate the location of bottles with the pockets defined by the fingers. The air jets are defined by in a projecting post in an orifice member which can be quickly released from the arm of the finger. The location of the air jet can, accordingly, be quickly adjusted by substituting an orifice member having a shorter or longer post.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2008
    Assignee: Emhart Glass SA
    Inventor: Robert J. Lockhart
  • Patent number: 7290406
    Abstract: An I.S. Machine is disclosed which includes a structure displaceable from a start location to an end location and a motor for displacing that structure. A control controls the operation of the motor to displace the structure and the speed of displacement can be varied by changing inputs to the control. A fixed period of time from a datum to the ideal time when the structure will be displaced to its end location is set and compared with an actual period and a selected input to the control is provided for changing the speed of the structure to reduce the difference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: Emhart Glass SA
    Inventor: Wolfgang Anheyer
  • Patent number: 7256389
    Abstract: A camera based inspection system for inspecting glass bottles made in a glass-forming machine. A single picture shows the heat distribution of an inspected portion of the bottle over a period of time whereby the operator will see a loss of stability in the glass process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2007
    Assignee: Emhart Glass SA
    Inventor: Mukesh Prasad
  • Patent number: 7204363
    Abstract: A machine for inspecting bottles which has a conveyor for conveying bottles at a first velocity. A bottle spacing mechanism receives bottles conveyed by the conveyor at a first location and releases bottles on the conveyor at a second downstream location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: Stephen M. Giometti
  • Patent number: 7162026
    Abstract: The invention generally relates to a method for muting an alerting portable device such as a ringing cell phone or alarming PDA. Specifically where muting is activated in a means not requiring direct contact with the keys of the device. The indirect contact such as a hand pat or smack is detected within the device by a sensor such as a microphone or accelerometer. Control circuitry detects active indirect contact and then mutes the alert, and or does some other programmable operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2007
    Inventor: William J Furnas
  • Patent number: 7134301
    Abstract: A mold cooling system is disclosed for the blank mold halves of an I.S. machine. The mold halves are supported at their bottom by a lower hanger assembly which includes a discrete plenum for each of the mold halves. Each plenum is isolated and has its own air supply which includes an adjustable flow control. This provides complete control of the mold cooling process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2006
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventors: Willi Meyer, Thomas Mueller
  • Patent number: 7120284
    Abstract: An L.E.D. matrix light source illuminates a bottle at an inspection machine. A vertically periodic intensity pattern is defined to facilitate the identification of defects. The L.E.D. that locates the top of the bottle is identified and a peak of the pattern is located at that L.E.D.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2006
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: William J. Furnas
  • Patent number: 7073877
    Abstract: A machine for inspecting a container which is being conveyed along a linear path. The machine has cabinets situated in front of the conveyor path at either side of a central open area in front of the conveyor path which is to be used by an operator for servicing the conveyor. The interior sides of these cabinets are open for access to electronics and the central opening is closed by a pair of doors which are releasably attached to the sides of the cabinets and can be push in to provide access to the central area and can be pulled from the cabinets to provide access to electronics through the open sides of the cabinets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: Henry F. Raupp
  • Patent number: 6989857
    Abstract: An inspection system completes two inspections with a single camera. In one inspection polarized light illuminates the side wall of a bottle, passes through a pair of electrode surfaces on either side of a ferroelectric crystal which do not change the polarity and passes through a polarizer to image on the camera. In a second inspection the polarized light is rotated 90° by the same structure so that only light rotated as a result of stress in the bottle passes through the polarizer and images on the camera as a defect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2006
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: William J. Furnas
  • Patent number: 6945662
    Abstract: The man-machine screen interface can be switched to one of a plurality of back lights so that an operator can define any one of these back lights on the man-machine screen interface as a desired back light for inspecting a transparent container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2005
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: Richard D. Diehr
  • Patent number: 6943877
    Abstract: A machine for inspecting a container which is being conveyed along a linear path. The machine has spaced left hand and right hand cabinets in front of the linear path with the space therebetween being space in which an operator can stand to be proximate to the linear path. The machine has left hand and right hand inspection stations which include a left-hand assembly located in front of the linear path and a right hand assembly located in front of the linear path. These assemblies are pivotally mounted about vertical axes so that they can be pivoted from a closed position proximate the liner path to a retracted position away from the linear path. At the retracted position an operator can enter the machine and service the inspection stations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventors: Richard D. Diehr, Henry F. Raupp
  • Patent number: 6930463
    Abstract: A motor controller system for operating a plurality of step motors. The step motors are arranged in a number of motor groups each having no more than “N” step motors. A group multiplexer will deliver feed signals to the correct numbered motor of a motor group. There is a single 1 axis motor control and an output drive for each motor number of a group. The 1 axis motor control supplies the group multiplexer with motor group data so that the group multiplexer will supply the correct motor group and the 1 axis motor control also individually enables the motors of that group which are to be operated and conjointly supplies all the output drives with a desired feed signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2005
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: Henry F. Raupp
  • Patent number: 6915894
    Abstract: A machine for inspecting bottles. The machine has a belt conveyor with upper and lower opposed pairs of belt drives. Each belt drive includes a casing which supports opposed drive and idler pulleys which support a belt for displacement. A motor drive, mounted on the casing, drives the drive pulley.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2005
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: Henry F. Raupp
  • Patent number: 6865910
    Abstract: A deadplate assembly for an I.S. machine which is moveable from a remote location to a first location and then to a final location. The motion path is linear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2005
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: F. Alan Fenton
  • Patent number: 6857292
    Abstract: A takeout grips a formed bottle at a blow station of an I.S. machine and releases the bottle onto a conveyor and returns to grip the second bottle formed in the blow station following the bottle removed by the takeout.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2005
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: F. Alan Fenton
  • Patent number: 6857291
    Abstract: A blow mold assembly for an I.S. machine for blowing a parison of glass and cooling the blown parison into a formed bottle which can be removed from the blow mold. A blow head is lowered onto a blow mold and final air is applied. A predetermined time after the blow head engages the top surface of the blow mold the blow head is lifted a selected vertical distance above the top surface of the blow mold to an exhaust position allowing cooling air to escape from the blow mold. The selected vertical distance is selected so that at least a minimum pressure will continue within the formed bottle. The blow head is maintain at the exhaust position for a predetermined time and then retracted. The selected vertical distance and the predetermined time can be set as desired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2005
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventors: Leo Diehm, F. Alan Fenton, Wolfgang Anheyer, Steven J. Pinkerton, John P. Mungovan
  • Patent number: 6854292
    Abstract: A takeout mechanism for an I.S. machine grips a formed bottle at the blow station and carries the bottle to a first position spaced above a deadplate. The bottle is held at this position for a period of time and then is lowered to a position proximate the deadplate whereupon it is released.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: Steven J. Pinkerton