Abstract: A rotary blow molding machine includes a base, a turntable on the base rotatable about a vertical axis and a number of mold units spaced around the turntable. Each mold unit includes a pair of mold halves which close on and capture a growing vertical parison at an extrusion station and then fall away from the parison as the parison is severed. The captured parison is blow molded and cooled as the blow unit is rotated around the turntable. The finished article, commonly a bottle, is ejected from between the mold halves before the mold halves return to the extrusion station.

Abstract: An apparatus for transferring parisons used for blow moulding and consisting of plastic from a conveying path to a receiving wheel. For this purpose, a transfer wheel is provided which receives the parisons in compartments, turns them through 180.degree. and transfers them in modified orientation to a receiving wheel.

Abstract: A blow-molding apparatus for molding hollow articles is disclosed, which comprises a base member, and a platform mounted thereon. An extruder is provided which has a nozzle located above the platform. Bearings are attached to the upper surface of the platform, and support a shaft. A mold opening/closing device is pivotable mounted on the shaft, and comprises a main body, a pair of mold halves supported by the main body, and a mold-moving unit for moving the molds toward and away from each other. The apparatus further comprises a device for rotating the mold opening/closing device around the shaft, thereby to incline the device at an angle, within a predetermined range, to the horizontal plane. Thus, both mold halves can be inclined, thereby forming an inclined cavity when they are clamped together. A parison can be supplied smoothly from the nozzle into the inclined cavity, under its own weight.

Abstract: Apparatus and method are provided for straightening a parison tube (58b) in an apparatus of the type in which thermoplastic tubing (48) is extruded into open halves (24 and 26) of a blow mold (22) and a parison tube (58b) is severed from the thermoplastic tube (48) concurrently with the blow mold being rotated around an axis (28). The present invention orients the curvature of the parison (58b) in a predetermined plane (52) by accelerating the parison tube (58b) transversely to the axis (90) of the parison tube (58b); and then the parison tube (58b) is straightened by applying jets of air (76) against the neck and moil portion (68) of the parison tube (58b), thereby straightening the parison tube (58b), and thereby preventing the neck and moil portion (68) of the parison tube (58b) from being pinched between the mold halves (24 and 26) in the area of the neck and moil cavity (38).

Abstract: A multi-station rotary blow molding machine having a plurality of separable blow molds angularly arranged in a serial fashion in a circular array within the machine. Each mold is comprised of two mold sections mounted for simultaneous movement toward and away from one another in a direction generally parallel to the rotational axis of the machine. An air supply manifold is provided for supplying air for both blowing articles and controlling certain portions of the molding machine for predetermined portions of a revolution of the molding machine. The mold sections are cooled in groups, each of the sections having an internal fluid path with adjacent mold sections being interconnected so that cooling fluid is passed serially between adjacent mold sections of each group.

Abstract: Apparatus is provided for straightening a parison tube (58b) in an apparatus of the type in which thermoplastic tubing (48) is extruded into open halves (24 and 26) of a blow mold (22) and a parison tube (58b) is severed from the thermoplastic tube (48) concurrently with the blow mold being rotated around an axis (28). The present invention orients the curvature of the parison (58b) in a predetermined plane (52) by accelerating the parison tube (58b) transversely to the axis (90) of the parison tube (58b); and then the parison tube (58b) is straightened by applying jets of air (76) against the neck and moil portion (68) of the parison tube (58b), thereby straightening the parison tube (58b), and thereby preventing the neck and moil portion (68) of the parison tube (58b) from being pinched between the mold halves (24 and 26) in the area of the neck and moil cavity (38).

Abstract: A pallet has a plurality of reciprocable spindles mounted thereon. Each spindle can be reciprocated and has an improved bearing support and bias means urging the spindle to one end of its reciprocation path. An improved spindle nose is provided to mount on the spindle as an exchangeable chuck thereby changing the size of the workpiece that can be handled. The spindle nose features an improved means to maintain seal with the preform finish that includes a base from which protrudes a flexible skirt which is extending from the other side of said base, said skirt being sufficiently resilient to maintain sealing engagement with the inside diameter of the preform finish during blow molding; and an air passage extending completely through said locating stud, base, and skirt region.

Abstract: This relates to a blow molding machine of the type for blow molding large articles such as containers of the one gallon to five gallon size from a parison in the form of an extruded plastic material tube. The machine is of the rotary type and has a plurality of stations each carrying a mold unit of which one half is fixed and the other is mounted for radial movement between open and closed positions. The main shaft of the machine is of a large diameter and is tubular so that the necessary manifolding for gas and coolant supplies may be readily incorporated in the main shaft in an entirely different manner from that heretofore utilized. Also, among other features of the machine, is the provision of hollow spokes which serve not only to support outer mold halves for radial movement, but also serve as manifold accumulators for the necssary operating gases.

Abstract: Apparatus and method are provided for straightening a parison tube (58b) in an apparatus of the type in which thermoplastic tubing (48) is extruded into open halves (24 and 26) of a blow mold (22) and a parison tube (58b) is severed from the thermoplastic tube (48) concurrently with the blow mold being rotated around an axis (28). The present invention orients the curvature of the parison (58b) in a predetermined plane (52) by accelerating the parison tube (58b) transversely to the axis (90) of the parison tube (58b); and then the parison tube (58b) is straightened by applying jets of air (76) against the neck and moil portion (68) of the parison tube (58b), thereby straightening the parison tube (58b), and thereby preventing the neck and moil portion (68) of the parison tube (58b) from being pinched between the mold halves (24 and 26) in the area of the neck and moil cavity (38).

Abstract: A process and apparatus for the blow molding of oriented, hollow containers from tubular parisons in which a tubing of plastic material at a suitable orientation temperature for the material is passed by a puller assembly to a cutter assembly. The free end of the tubing is grasped by a parison transfer assembly, after which parisons are cut from the tubing by the cutter assembly and positioned by the transfer assembly for placement within blow molders. The first of two blow molders moves toward the tubing centerline from a molding position to receive a parison. The parison transfer assembly is extended vertically to place the parison within the molding cavity of the open blow molder. The upper end of the parison is grasped by a tube clamp, and as the parison transfer assembly retracts, the parison is stretched prior to molder closure. The closed blow molder returns to its molding position to complete the blow molding of a finished, oriented container.

Abstract: At a blow-molding machine for fabricating hollow blow-molded articles from a thermoplastic material a hollow blow mold is moved back and forth with a swinging or pendulum movement upon a transport device containing a mold-supporting platform between a receiving station for the hose-like thermoplastic material to be blow molded and a blow molding station. The platform carries article receiving and transfer means which move in unison therewith and serve to receive the hollow blow-molded bodies or articles formed at the blow-molding station and for delivering the same to an article outfeed or delivery station.

Abstract: A machine for the blow molding of synthetic resin hollow workpieces with a unit for shutting parted blow molds and with a turntable moved in steps, with a number of rests evenly spaced round the axis of the turntable for blown hollow workpieces. The rests may be moved into a handing over position in the parting plane (E) of the blow mold shutting unit and into at least one after-processing station. There is a blow stick which is supported by a blow stick carriage moved horizontally in this parting plane between the blow position at the blow mold shutting unit and this handing over position. The blow stick carriage is indexed in the blow position in a machine bed. The blow mold shutting unit has horizontal guides for the blow mold supports only at the side furthest from the blow stick carriage.

Abstract: A method of molding hollow bodies by continuously downwardly extruding a melt of synthetic resin from a die to form a tubular parison, closing and sealing the free end of the parison, holding the parison, cutting the parison thereby forming a cut-off tube with a closed sealed end and blowing a fluid into the cut-off tube retained in the mold thereby forming a hollow body. Certain apparatus modifications are disclosed such that the step of closing and sealing comprises moving sealing members from outside the parison towards its center, bringing the sealing members into contact with each other while filling the resin of the free end into a space provided between the end of a mandrel extension and the sealing members. The holding step consists of holding a portion of the moving parison which becomes the cut-off tube by its outside surface.

Abstract: A lower mold half is horizontally placed. The top surface of the lower mold half is provided with a first groove of any desired shape, one end of which is closed with the other end having a notch for allowing air to be blown in. An upper mold half has a bottom surface which matches with the top surface of the lower mold half and which is provided with a second groove corresponding to said first groove. Thus, when the upper and lower mold halves are in contact, there is formed a mold cavity defined by the first and second grooves. A nozzle for discharging a parison is disposed above the lower mold half. The relative positional relation between the nozzle and the lower mold half is changed in such a manner that the nozzle follows the first groove without changing the distance therefrom so that a parison can be properly placed in the first groove. If at least two lower mold halves are provided, it is possible to carry out molding operation continuously.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for simultaneously cutting and supporting an extruded parison by an upper and lower pair of chucks, and for stretching by a preselected amount the cut parison supported between the upper and lower pair of chucks as the cut parison is delivered to a mold, whereby the cut parison is of a preselected length and outer diameter when it is delivered to the mold.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for modifying polyethylene terephthalate so that the polyethylene terephthalate may be processed into plastic containers using conventional extrusion blow molding equipment. The polyethylene terephthalate is modified by the incorporation into a polyethylene terephthalate prepolymer of a chain branching agent and a chain terminating agent. The prepolymer is subsequently solid-state polymerized to form a polyethylene terephthalate polymer having high zero shear rate melt viscosity and shear sensitivity. This modified polyethylene terephthalate polymer may be extrusion blow molded in intermittent and continuous processes.

Abstract: A rotary blow molding machine includes a rotor mounted on a horizontal driving shaft, a recovery hopper, an ejector mechanism, and mold stations mounted on the outer periphery of the rotor, which mold stations are radially disposed and circumferentially equally spaced, the mold stations each carrying thereon a split mold unit capable of opening and closing in the direction of the width of the outer peripheral surface of the rotor by a mold opening/closing mechanism, a mold clamping mechanism and a flash blow-pipe, the said split mold unit having a mold-release mechanism. It is so constructed as to produce blow moldings successively continuously at high speed and completely automatically during a single rotation of the mold stations on and along the same circular rotation track.

Abstract: In the production of hollow bodies from a thermoplastic material, in which preforms are produced from thermoplastic material by molding, each resulting preform is transferred to a final blow-mold, and each preform is molded in a blow-mold to produce a desired final body, the production of each preform is carried out to provide the preform with a false neck having at least one positioning lug, and transfer of each preform to the blow-mold is carried out in such a manner as to cause the preform to have a predetermined angular position relative to the blow-mold by the action of its associated positioning lug.

Abstract: As described herein, there is provided safety apparatus for continuous rotary blow molding machines of the type wherein the extruder operates independently of the machine to continuously extrude plastic tube through its die head during the interruption of operation by the blow molding machine. The safety apparatus includes a blow tube mounted on the extruder for directing air under pressure against the plastic tube to deflect the tube away from the molds of the molding machine upon interruption of the operation of the blow molding machine. A conveyor, operative at the same time as the blow tube and extending in a direction coincident with the direction of pressurized air, receives the diverted plastic tube and carries the plastic tube to a receptacle. The blow tube and conveyor remain operative at least until the machine is restarted.