Abstract: An improved apparatus for the transfer of mold rings in a centrifugal casting process. One type of forming process for the funnel portions of color television picture tube envelopes utilizes a centrifugal casting process for the glass. This process requires a main mold body. An indexing mechanism moves from a station at which the mold ring is deposited on the main mold to a station where the mold ring is removed from the main mold after completion of the casting process. A movable shuttle member is connected to pivotally mounted pairs of support fingers for the mold rings through connecting rods. An external drive motor operates a single actuator at each machine cycle. This single actuator causes the entire shuttle to shift and a mold ring to be deposited at one station and a second mold ring to be simultaneously picked up at another station. Because of the mechanical linkage design, one pair of support fingers always opens while all the others close when the single actuator is operated.

Abstract: An automatically operable article transfer apparatus for successively picking up and transporting articles, such as the funnel components of cathode-ray tube assemblies, from a loading station to an article unloading station, and which during the course of transport of such articles is operable to effect a precise transpositional reorientation of each of the articles including pivoting or tilting the article, rotating the article and raising or lowering the article during such transport in such manner that all of such transpositional and reorientational movements are adjustably and cooperatively coordinateable to present the article in an adjustably preselectable and precisely predictable reoriented position at the work unloading station and which is further characterized by being designed to permit such orientational adjustability to be carried out to selectively vary the positional and orientational characteristics of the transfer apparatus at the work unloading station without disturbing the positional or

Abstract: The principles of operation of the various mechanisms are illustrated in a preferred form of an apparatus for transferring an article from an article pickup station to an article deposit station. A carrier housing is moved up and down along a vertical travel path and carries an indexing hub journally supported therein for rotation in the carrier housing. Article pickup means are provided and include one or more arms extending from the hub means and an article grasping device on each of the arms. A first one of the arms extends towards and positions the article grasping device carried thereon at a pickup station to enable article grasping when the carrier housing is at one end of the vertical travel path. In response to travel of the carrier housing in a first direction along the path the index hub is rotated to index the first arm out of the article pickup position while indexing another article grasping means on another of the plurality of arms into alignment with the pickup station.

Abstract: The principles of operation of the various mechanisms are illustrated in a preferred form of an apparatus for transferring an article from an article pickup station to an article deposit station. A carrier housing is moved up and down along a vertical travel path and carries an indexing hub journally supported therein for rotation in the carrier housing. Article pickup means are provided and include one or more arms extending from the hub means and an article grasping device on each of the arms. A first one of the arms extends towards and positions the article grasping device carried thereon at a pickup station to enable article grasping when the carrier housing is at one end of the vertical travel path. In response to travel of the carrier housing in a first direction along the path the index hub is rotated to index the first arm out of the article pickup position while indexing another article grasping means on another of the plurality of arms into alignment with the pickup station.

Abstract: An automatically operable article transfer apparatus for successively picking up and transporting articles, such as the funnel components of cathode-ray tube assemblies, from a loading station to an article unloading station, and which during the course of transport of such articles is operable to effect a precise transpositional reorientation of each of the articles including pivoting or tilting the article, rotating the article and raising or lowering the article during such transport in such manner that all of such transpositional and reorientational movements are adjustably and cooperatively coordinateable to present the article in an adjustably preselectable and precisely predictable reoriented position at the work unloading station and which is further characterized by being designed to permit such orientational adjustability to be carried out to selectively vary the positional and orientational characteristics of the transfer apparatus at the work unloading station without disturbing the positional or

Abstract: An improved glass pressing machine which captures exhausting cooling gas to reduce noise in the vicinity of the machine. A glass press for making television face plates includes a cooling station where large quantities of a gas, such as air, are blown on a newly formed article to remove residual heat. Escape of this air creates a noise problem in the area of the machine. The tube which introduces the gas is substantially enclosed by a shroud. The gas, as it completes its cooling function, is conducted from an exhaust pipe in the shroud to a vent stack which delivers the gas to a location remote from the machine. The spent cooling gas is therefore not exhausted at the machine location to create a noise problem.