Patents Assigned to Emhart Glass S.A.
  • Machine for inspecting rotating glass containers with light source triggered multiple times during camera exposure time
    Patent number: 7541572
    Abstract: A machine for inspecting glass containers rotating at an inspection station. A camera images an area of interest on the glass container and continuous illumination of that area is provided by strobing a light source a number of times while the area is imaged on a camera the entire period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2009
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventors: Amir R. Novini, Richard D. Diehr, Richard A. Sones
  • Cooling tube mechanism for an I.S. machine
    Patent number: 7533542
    Abstract: A mechanism for delivering a cooling fluid to the interior of a formed bottle has an upper cooling tube assembly secured on a vertical post. The upper cooling tube assembly has a plenum chamber having a bottom wall and at least one vertical cooling tube is mounted on its bottom wall. The cooling tube is mounted on the plenum chamber with a quick release mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2009
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventors: Gary R. Voisine, F. Alan Fenton, Robert J. Lockhart
  • Outfeed mechanism for starwheel type glass inspection machine
    Patent number: 7494003
    Abstract: A bottle inspection machine is disclosed which has a starwheel feeder and an outfeed mechanism for receiving bottles from the starwheel feeder. The outfeed mechanism has an inner belt conveyor which has a pickoff wheel adjacent the starwheel feeder and a second wheel. At least one drive belt is supported by the pickoff and second wheels for defining a linear outfeed belt portion. The outfeed mechanism also has an outer serpentine belt conveyor which has an idler wheel located radially inwardly from the pick off wheel which defines an opening for receiving a bottle displaced by the starwheel feeder and a third wheel. At least one flexible serpentine belt is supported by the idler and third wheels which are located to define a location where a bottle will be discharged from the outfeed mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2009
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventors: Stephen M. Giometti, Henry F. Raupp
  • Glass container forming machine
    Patent number: 7487650
    Abstract: A parison is blown in the blow mold of an I.S. machine and as soon as the parison is blown, the blow head is raised to an exhaust location increasing the flow of cooling air to the interior of the blown parison. When the blown parison has been cooled sufficiently so that the blow mold can be opened, the formed bottle is removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2009
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventors: Matthew R. Hyre, F. Alan Fenton
  • Control for an I.S. machine
    Patent number: 7489983
    Abstract: A control for a glass forming machine is disclosed which receives as an input the event angles used to control the machines operation. These event angles, which define the time in a cycle when each event is turned on and off, are unwrapped to represent times in the glass forming process which takes more than two machine cycles to complete. A computerized model of the unwrapped cycle is defined and a control analyzes the computerized model as a constrained optimization problem to define an optimized schedule of event times and defines a plurality of intermediate event time schedules in an incremental application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2009
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: Jonathan S. Simon
  • Mold open and close mechanism for an I.S. machine
    Patent number: 7451622
    Abstract: A mold open and closed mechanism for an I.S. machine is disclosed which has a mold carrier supported for displacement between mold open and closed positions. The mold carrier has a front mold mounting face vertical and horizontal mold alignment structure and a vertical face for transmitting clamping forces to a supported mold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2008
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: F. Alan Fenton
  • Machine for inspecting glass containers
    Patent number: 7436509
    Abstract: A machine for inspecting glass bottles for wire edges. A bottom light directs light vertically upwardly to image a Camera imaging the glass bottle from above. A beam splitter redirects light from a second light source which issues horizontal light, vertically downwardly towards the sealing surface. The bottle hole appears white, the sealing surface appears gray and the annular step appears black with a wire edge on the step appearing gray.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2008
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: Richard D. Diehr
  • Pusher mechanism for I.S. machine
    Patent number: 7426990
    Abstract: A pusher mechanism for pushing bottles formed in an I.S. machine from a dead plate to a conveyor. The pusher mechanism includes a pusher finger assembly which is supported by a housing and is movable about an axis of support and about the parallel axis of rotation of the housing. The axis of the two drive gears for effecting these rotations are coaxial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2008
    Assignee: Emhart Glass S.A.
    Inventor: Jarmo Kammonen
  • Machine for inspecting glass containers
    Patent number: 7414716
    Abstract: A machine for inspecting the finish of a glass container rotating at an inspection station. A pair of light sources have horizontal light axes which are orthogonally related and intersect the container axis. The light sources illuminate the container finish. The illuminated checks are seen by a camera which has a camera axis coincident with the container axis and intersects the light axes making an angle of 45 degrees with both light axes and the horizontal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignees: Emhart Glass S.A., Applied Vision Corporation, LLC
    Inventors: Richard A. Sones, Richard D. Diehr, Amir R. Novini
  • Machine for inspecting bottles
    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
  • Mold support mechanism for an I.S. machine
    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
  • Container inspection machine
    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
  • Container inspection machine
    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
  • Container inspection machine
    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
  • Container inspection machine
    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
  • Container inspection machine
    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
  • Container inspection machine
    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
  • Container inspection machine
    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
  • Glass container forming machine
    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
  • Glass container forming machine
    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