Abstract: There is disclosed herein apparatus which views a glass container from above while the container is rotated about its vertical axis. A source of light, preferably a laser, has its beam swept diametrically back and forth across the bottom of the container to be examined. The inclusion of a piece of stuck or fused glass in the container will create a light output in the form of a pair of concentric halos of light above the container finish. The halos are sensed by two concentric arrays of solar cells positioned above the container. The output of the solar cells is fed to logic and reject electronics for selected rejection from a line of ware moving along a conveyor, depending upon whether or not the container has a piece of stuck glass therein.

Abstract: Apparatus for taking newly formed glass containers from a blow mold and transferring the containers to a dead plate wherein the take-out tongs for engaging the containers are mounted on a pair of holders that are pivoted like scissors relative to each other. A piston motor is pneumatically driven in one direction to cause the tongs and holders to close, and a spring, urging the piston in the opposite direction effects the opening of the tongs. When the tongs are open, the connection between the piston rod and the holders is a toggle linkage when the links are in a straight line preventing "winking" movement of the tongs toward closing by the fact of the toggle arrangement. Thus machine air closes the tongs and a fairly light spring force opens them.

Abstract: Apparatus for inspecting glass containers in which an indexing starwheel moves a plurality of containers in series through a plurality of positions or stations where the containers are physically and optically examined.One station, or position, is described in detail as the position where a glass container that is in a vertical position is rotated about its vertical axis by engagement of the finish thereof with a driven wheel. The container, as it is rotated, is viewed by a camera whose lens focuses the sidewall image of the bottle onto a vertical, linear array of light sensitive pick-ups in the camera. The camera is supported relative to the bottle handling system for adjustment up and down, back and forth and sideways so as to have the flexibility of viewing different size bottles. At the station where the sidewall of the bottles is to be inspected, a light source in the form of a tall housing is positioned in a vertical, annular recess of the starwheel.

Abstract: The apparatus disclosed for severing gobs issuing its stream from a glass feeder. The shearing mechanism takes the form of two sets, or pairs, of shear blades mounted from diametrically opposed positions relative to the bowl of the feeder. A single cam drives through multiple linkage mechanisms to operate the two pairs of shear mechanisms and synchronisms so that the gobs will be all sheared at the same instant. The links in the linkage mechanism all are provided with the usual adjustments, as to lengths, in order to provide that adjustment after setup which is normally necessary to assure the proper operation of the shears.

Abstract: The disclosure provides an improved construction for a ten-section IS glass forming machine which incorporates on and in the machine frame, all of the control valving and piping necessary to operate all of the sections of the machine according to any selected one of a plurality of different types of processes, resulting in a significant decrease in the proliferation of pipes and valves that were previously required to be added to, and then removed from, the machine as the machine operation was changed from one type of forming process to another. The apparatus of this invention further applies individual controls for effecting the cooling of each parison mold cavity and each blow mold cavity of each multi-cavity section of the machine.

Abstract: This invention relates to method and apparatus for producing a composite container having a body label or tubular sleeve mounted temporarily thereon adapted to be shrunken into final surface covering position. The tubular sleeve is preformed of thin flexible plastic material and flat-folded until ready for use when it is fully opened and arcuately conveyed in axial registry with a container therebeneath. The sleeve preform of heat-shrinkable plastic material is telescopically assembled onto the container while the latter is conveyed through a coincidental arcuate path. The container preferably consists of a one or two-component lightweight hollow plastic container with the tubular preform made slightly larger in diameter to surround a body portion of the container.

Abstract: There is disclosed a brush assembly that is shaped to an elongated longitudinal contour corresponding with the path for articles carried by a conveyor between an assembly station, whereat sleeves of heat shrinkable thermoplastic are telescopically placed thereon, and a tunnel-like oven. The sleeves are positioned in the assembly station in a position for subsequent heat shrinkage. The sleeves are each engaged by flexible bristle or like projections of the brush assembly during movement between assembly and the oven which hold the sleeve in place on the article. The disclosed brush assembly is an improvement when added to the machine of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,271, and in one preferred form of the invention the brush assembly is used in conjunction with the water-cooled support bar of that disclosure. An adjustable support means is also disclosed for locating the brush assembly in relation to an elevation of the article and toward or away from said article.

Abstract: The take-out mechanism on a glass container forming machine is operated by the vertical reciprocation of a fluid motor. The movement of the tongs into position to grasp a new container is controlled so that the tong arm which is swinging through an arc of 180.degree. degrees, is cushioned in its final movement so as to avoid excessive vibration of the mechanism.The pressure introduced into the motor for moving the tong arm into position over the dead plate is also connected to a second piston which is spring-biased in relation to the piston rod of the motor. When the tong arm has completed its movement and released the container at the dead plate, the pressure is discontinued at both the motor and the second piston which results in the rod of the second piston actuating the motor rod to cause the tongs to be lifted a predetermined amount.

Abstract: Apparatus for modifying a drive system for a lehr loader in which a rotating cam functions to raise and lower a pusher bar for moving ware from a cross-conveyor onto a lehr belt, with a crank arm being connected to the rotating cam and the pusher bar to effect forward and reverse movement of the loader bar. In this arrangement, the effective length of the crank arm which is moving the loader bar forward and backward in response to rotation of the rotating cam, is changed by having its connection to the rotating cam shiftable in response to the rotational position of the rotating cam. This changing position is accomplished by having the crank connected to the rotating cam through a radially extending slot, with the position of the crank connection in the slot being regulated by a stationary box cam that circumscribes the path of rotation of the rotating cam.

Abstract: There is described a plug and air warp gauge which takes the form of an elongated vertically, reciprocated gauging head that is mechanically driven under the influence of a rotating cam. Coaxially within an annular head is positioned a plug which has a diameter such that it will pass through an unchoked neck of a bottle. The plug is attached to the lower end of a tube which is coaxially positioned within a larger tube. The larger tube is raised and lowered mechanically and when in its uppermost position, will support the plug-carrying tube. When the larger tube is lowered, the plug tube also is lowered. The lower end of the larger tube is in the form of an annular piston which will move downward within a cylinder that seats on the bottle finish. As the annular piston moves down, it will pressurize the inside of the bottle and the cylinder if the seal with the finish of the bottle is good.

Abstract: In the operation of a pressing plunger for forming a parison from a gob of molten glass, it is important that the plunger be moved into the gob which is retained in the parison mold, with a fairly rapid motion and also be capable of being withdrawn from the formed parison as rapidly as possible. One other consideration is that it not be pressing the glass at the final portion of its travel at a very high force. By providing a large piston for moving the plunger into and out of pressing position, it is possible to move the plunger at a relatively high velocity with high operating pressure. A small piston is provided within the larger piston and by reason of having a substantially smaller surface area, with the smaller piston being connected to the plunger, a lower force is applied to the plunger. The plunger with its piston is moved by the larger piston to the fullest extent of the large piston's travel, and the smaller piston to which the plunger is attached is free to move relative to the large piston.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a machine for making a plastic covering on a rigid base article which in the illustrated form comprises a glass bottle and a conforming shrunken plastic covering thereon. The plastic is fed in oriented sheet form to the turret apparatus, cut into lengths and wrapped and seamed on successive mandrels as sleeves. Bottles are simultaneously processed to preheat condition and indexed over the sleeves, the latter telescopically assembled on the rigid base article, i.e., the bottle, and the combination carried to a heat tunnel. The plastic sleeve shrinks into snug surface fit on the adjacent surface portion of the rigid base article.The bottle is preheated in one of two embodiments by: (1) a preheat tunnel on the machine which raises the bottles from room temperature to about 220.degree. F., or (2) the preheat is carried over as latent heat in the glass bottle from the annealing lehr, a part of the bottle manufacturing process.