Abstract: A gob distributor for distributing gobs of molten glass from an orifice of a glass melter feeder bowl to a plurality of delivery chutes, each of which leads to a section of a glass forming machine of the individual section type, said gob distributor including an a.c. servo motor with a vertical output shaft, a gob scoop having an inlet end positioned beneath the orifice and an outlet end positioned in alignment with one or the other of the delivery chutes, and a driven member to which the gob scoop is attached for oscillating movement of the gob scoop in an indexing manner. The driven member includes a shaft that is parallel to and spaced from the output shaft, and an endless positive drive, in the form of an endless cogged timing belt or a pair of double-ended metal chain sections joined end-to-end by adjustable length connectors, is provided to transmit torque from the output shaft of the motor and the shaft of the driven member.

Abstract: A lehr loader (20) for transferring a line of freshly formed glass containers (C) on a cross-conveyor (XC) transversely of the cross-conveyor into an annealing lehr (L). The lehr loader has a superimposed stack of three carriages (48, 76, 94), an enclosed linear actuator (50) in the form of an enclosed ball screw mechanism with a housing (56) is attached to the frame, and a reversible, co-axial a.c. servo motor (52) is provided to cause reciprocation of the lowermost carriage. An enclosed linear actuator (78) in the form of an enclosed ball screw mechanism with a housing (82) attached to the lowermost carriage (76) and a co-axial reversible, a.c. servo motor (80) is provided to cause reciprocation of the intermediate carriage. An enclosed linear actuator (96) in the form of an enclosed ball screw mechanism with a housing (102) attached to the intermediate carriage (76) and a reversible, a.c. servo motor (98) is provided to cause reciprocation of the uppermost carriage (94).

Abstract: A multiple orifice glass feed system for use with a glass forehearth including a plurality of closely spaced plungers, each of which is individually supported independently of the other. Each plunger includes a servo controlled linear actuator and an arm extending between each plunger and its respective servo-motor. Each servo-motor has an axis parallel to the axis of the plungers. An air spring is associated with each plunger for balancing the weight of each plunger and its respective arm. The center lines of the plungers lie generally in a plane. The arms have the major portions thereof generally parallel and closely spaced. A feedback system is provided to monitor the position of each individual needle independently of the other at all times and make corrections to the actual position of the needle if desired.

Abstract: A parallel shear apparatus for sequentially shearing each of a plurality of streams of molten glass from a glass feeder into gobs for processing into glass containers by a glass forming machine. The apparatus has first and second opposed carriages which are reciprocable along parallel slides toward and away from one another, each of the carriages carrying one or more opposed knife elements, corresponding to the number of streams of molten glass, and the opposed knife elements overlap at the innermost limits of their travel to perform the shearing action. Motion of the carriages is actuated by a unidirectionally acting servo motor, which imparts oscillating motion to a bell crank through a connecting rod. The oscillating motion of the bell crank imparts simultaneous, opposed, rectilinear motion to the carriages through connecting rods, which are pivotally attached to the servo motor at diametrically spaced apart locations.

Abstract: A glass delivery system including a first forehearth having an orifice, a second forehearth having an orifice, a bottom pan assembly adapted to be positioned underneath the orifice of the first forehearth, and a glass delivery tube having an upper end adapted to be positioned underneath the orifice of the second forehearth and a lower end adapted to deliver glass to the bottom pan assembly. The orifice is adapted to combine the glass from the two forehearths and, deliver cased glass to provide an interior glass from said first forehearth and an external layer of glass from said second forehearth. Provision is made for moving the glass delivery tube horizontally, vertically and in azimuth relative to the second forehearth and for moving the bottom assembly relative to the first forehearth.

Abstract: A gob distributor for distributing gobs of molten glass from an orifice of a glass melter feeder bowl to a plurality of delivery chutes, each of which leads to a section of a glass forming machine of the individual section type, said gob distributor including an a.c. servo motor with a vertical output shaft, a gob scoop having an inlet end positioned beneath the orifice and an outlet end positioned in alignment with one or the other of the delivery chutes, and a driven member to which the gob scoop is attached for oscillating movement of the gob scoop in an indexing manner. The driven member includes a shaft that is parallel to and spaced from the output shaft, and an endless positive drive, in the form of an endless cogged timing belt or a pair of double-ended metal chain sections joined end-to-end by adjustable length connectors, is provided to transmit torque from the output shaft of the motor and the shaft of the driven member.

Abstract: A needle assembly (30) for controlling the flow of molten glass from a feeder bowl (76) through one or more orifices (84) in an orifice plate (86) beneath the feeder bowl. The needle assembly includes a vertical needle (32) for each orifice and each needle is precisely adjustable along its vertical axis by a stepper motor (34). The stepper motor for each needle is positioned remotely from the needle and drives the needle through a potentiometer (72) and a linkage mechanism (36). Each linkage mechanism includes a generally horizontally extending member (38), a vertically extending member (40), and a bevel gear drive (88) to permit the generally horizontally extending ember to drive the vertically extending member.

Abstract: Apparatus for applying wrap-around labels to containers, such as bottles, where the label is wrapped around the container and a vertical heat seal seam is formed as the containers are moved in a linear path on a conveyor. The containers are held in engagement with the conveyor surface with one side of the containers being beyond the edge of the conveyor on the side where heat seal bars are brought into contact with the overlap to form a heat sealed seam. The containers are also held down against the conveyor during the period of movement of the containers to the exit end of the conveyor.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of applying carriers to arrays of containers, in particular cans, comprising providing a web of interconnected plastic carriers, each carrier having an array of openings for receiving the upper ends of the containers, the configuration of the openings being slightly less than the cross section of the upper ends of the containers, providing a plurality of containers, each container having a bead, a neck and a body portion, moving the cans in a predetermined path, moving the web in a downward converging path with respect to the direction of movement of the containers, engaging the trailing edges of the beads of each transverse row of containers with the trailing edges of a corresponding row of openings in the carrier.

Abstract: Apparatus and method of applying wrap-around labels to bottles or containers where the label is formed into a complete sleeve with a heat-sealed seam on the container as the containers are moved in a linear path on a conveyor. The bottles and conveyor pass between a continuously moving set of rectractable, electrical heat-seal bars and vacuum label handling heads. The vacuum heads receive individual labels which carry the labels into position opposite a bottle on the conveyor. Vacuum fingers that grip the ends of the label are moved outward on arcuate arms that are pivoted to the head to move the labels about the containers in overlapping relationship. The opposed heat-seal bar is advanced into contact with the overlapped edges of the label and held there for a time sufficient to complete the full height heat seal of the label. The heat bar is contoured to the same shape as the external profile of the container over the label height.

Abstract: An orifice ring insert formed of a heat resistant metal such as 50-50 nickel-chrome alloy is dropped into position within the orifice opening in the ceramic orifice ring. The ring is counterbored to receive the flange of the ring with sufficient clearance to permit expansion. A lock nut is threaded to the lower end of the insert. The lock nut has a slope to its upper surface that contacts the bottom of the ceramic orifice ring. This slope takes into consideration the relative thermal expansion rates of the metal insert and ceramic orifice member. The nut stays tight during operation but does not crack the ceramic.

Abstract: Apparatus in the form of a vacuum bar for picking up a full row of newly formed glass containers from a moving conveyor on which the containers are sitting and transferring the containers onto a moving lehr mat. The container engaging system is formed of a pair of heat resistant, air impervious curtains that are supported in opposing relationship and are mounted to be movable toward and away from each other by the introduction of a vacuum to the area therebetween, from above, while they are positioned on each side of the row of containers, to cause the curtains to engage and grip the entire row of containers. The bar is moved with the containers to a position above the lehr mat and released thereto when the vacuum is interrupted, the bar elevated to clear the curtains from the containers, retracted into position above the cross conveyor and next full row of containers forming thereon preparatory to being picked by the vacuum actuated bar and curtains.

Abstract: Apparatus and method of applying wrap-around labels to bottles or containers where the label is formed into a complete sleeve with a heat-sealed seam on the container as the containers are moved in a linear path on a conveyor. The bottles and conveyor pass between a continuously moving set of retractable, electrical heat-seal bars and vacuum label handling heads. The vacuum heads receive individual labels from a strip supply of labels and carry the labels into position opposite a bottle on the conveyor. The label is folded about the bottle and the opposed heat-seal bar is advanced into contact with the overlapped edges of the label and held there for a time sufficient to complete the full height heat seal of the label. The heat bar is contoured to the same shape as the external profile of the container over the label height.

Abstract: Apparatus is described for conveying newly formed, hot bottles from the forming machine to an annealing lehr which is conventionally positioned with its lehr mat or belt running in a direction parallel to the movement of the transfer conveyor. The transfer conveyor surface is driven at a first speed as it passes in front of the multiple section glass forming machine. After passing the machine sections, the conveyor, made of a plurality of horizontal links, has the individual, successive links moved closer together to, in effect, shorten the length of the link belt conveyor. This shortening is the result of the drive for the link belt conveyor being discontinued just after the belt is engaged from beneath by a magnetic link belt chain driven at a slower speed. The chain is guided in a first straight line parallel to the machine conveyor direction and then guided through a 90.degree. arc to pass in front of the lehr so the bottles can be transferred from the conveyor surface to the lehr mat with a lehr loader.

Abstract: A glass bottle forming system is described in which a main glass melter is connected to a forehearth with a fairly conventional feeder provided at the delivery end of the forehearth. The feeder opening in the bottom of the forehearth is closed by a first orifice member through which a molten core glass will flow. Beneath the first orifice there is positioned a second orifice member that has an orifice that is slightly larger than the orifice in the first orifice member. A small melter contains a glass of essentially the same composition as that in the main melter, but with a coefficient of expansion slightly less than that of the core glass. This lower expansion glass is fed to the second orifice member so that it can flow out of the orifice with the core glass in surrounding relationship with respect thereto.

Abstract: Apparatus for applying labels to round glass containers by guiding the containers in succession to the surface of a rotating vacuum drum that supports the labels on its surface. The containers are carefully guided by a pair of vertically spaced starwheels and opposed guides with one starwheel and guide holding the body of the container while the other starwheel and guide holding the neck so that the side of the container that first engages the adhesive carrying leading edge of the label will be precisely vertical. The container and label are rolled by the drum along a primary backup pad and then engaged by a vertical, horizontally moving belt so as to roll along a secondary rollon pad. This assures a completely formed wrap-around label with an overlap seam that is consistently formed.

Abstract: In the application of a solvent to a plastic label carried on the surface of a vacuum drum, the solvent for the plastic label is transferred from a gravure roll to the label at finite areas on the label so that the label can adhere to the bottle to be labeled and to itself to form a complete sleeve label. The gravure roll is supplied from a fountain that is held against the roll under a spring force. The fountain is in the form of a plastic block which has a face that has several undercut channels in one of which the solvent is supplied and with the others acting as doctor channels to carry away any excess solvent from the roll surface.The fountain block is held by a vertical support plate that, in turn, is held to the surface of a vertical mounting plate by a quick release toggle clamp.

Abstract: In the application of a volatile solvent to a plastic, roll-on label for a bottle, a large diameter solvent applicating roll is formed with small diameter gravure rolls that extend from the surface of the solvent applicating roll. The small diameter rolls are circumferentially spaced from each other a distance that is equal to the spacing between the leading edge and trailing edge of a plastic label carried on the surface of a transfer drum. The small gravure rolls are relatively rotatable with respect to the large roll and are supplied with solvent from behind within the large roll.

Abstract: In order to apply "hot melt" adhesives to thin plastic film labels for glass containers without distorting the labels, a "hot melt" adhesive which is thixotropic is melted at 350.degree. F. and is continuously worked to maintain its viscosity at a fairly low level while being cooled to about 110.degree. F., at which time it is applied to the label. The label is applied to the glass bottle and the resultant labeled bottle will have the property of being able to withstand pasteurization temperatures, as well as refrigeration temperatures, without having the label separate from the bottle.