Abstract: An air-conveying apparatus for moving articles along a path of travel at varying speeds comprises in combination a pneumatic conveyor for supporting the articles, a fan operatively coupled to the conveyor to provide air under pressure to the pneumatic conveyor to convey the articles there along, a damper to restrict the flow of air through the fan, and a controller responsive to a signal to vary the positioning of the damper and thereby vary the flow of air through the fan and consequently vary the speed of the articles being conveyed.

Abstract: A new and improved conveying system for lifting and orienting caps comprising a conveyor belt which is formed of articulated sections and with guide rollers to support the belt with an upper lifting section having an essentially vertical path of travel and a lower loading section with an angled path of travel. Also included are sprockets on the guide rollers to effect movement of the belt in an upward path of travel through the lower section and then the upper section. Further included is a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of the conveyor belts. The cleats have supporting surfaces which extend at right angles from the exterior surface of the conveyor belt for retaining bottle caps thereon in a proper orientation when the upper surface of the cap is in contact with the conveyor belt and the lower edge thereof supported on the supporting surfaces of the cleats but to effect the dropping thereof when the caps are not in the proper orientation.

Abstract: An air handling system comprising a track having a lower extent for supporting an object to be conveyed by the flow of pressurized air and an upper extent having a plenum chamber for receiving pressurized air and for directing it in contact with the object to be conveyed for effecting movement of the object. The track also has air-directing louvers between the upper and lower extents and an aperture in the upper extent. An impeller is mounted adjacent to the aperture of the upper extent of the track. A tapering input duct with an inlet end and a circular outlet end are mounted adjacent to the impeller with a circular screen in the outlet of the duct adjacent to the impeller. The screen has a centrally disposed hole. A baffle is mounted adjacent to the screen. The baffle includes a plurality of pie-shaped segments each with an arcuate outer edge overlying the periphery of the screen and with V-shaped interior edges with a hole. The segments are similarly configured.

Abstract: A new and improved multi position bottle guide assembly for bottles suspended by a neck ring and conveyed by pneumatic power. The bottle guide assembly includes a pair of elongated guide rails positioned along the path of travel of a bottle which is pneumatically conveyed while supported by a neck ring. The rails are adapted to be in proximity to the sides of the bottle on opposite sides of its path of travel to preclude lateral movement. Further included are support mechanisms for the rails located at the ends of the rails. Also included are a plurality of rods for supporting the rails. Each rod has coupling mechanisms for the support mechanism at a first end and a piston at the second end. A block for each rod has a bore of a diameter essentially that of the diameter of its piston and extends through the block with its axis in alignment with the axis of the rod.

Abstract: Apparatus for conveying articles along a path of travel, the articles being of the type having an upper portion for being supported by the apparatus, a lower portion for being suspended from the apparatus and a low-angle transition portion therebetween, the apparatus comprising in combination a conveyor defining a path of travel along its length with neck rails for receiving the upper portions of the article to be conveyed, a pressure source operatively coupled to the conveyor to move the received articles to be conveyed, and control brushes coupled with respect to the conveyor along at least a portion of the path of travel to contact the lower portions of the bottles while being moved for providing a rearwardly directed angle to the articles to thereby abate the forward and rearward swinging of the articles.

Abstract: A new and improved conveying system for lifting and orienting bottle caps comprising a conveyer belt which is formed of articulated sections and with guide rollers to support the belt with an upper lifting section having an essentially vertical path of travel and a lower loading section with an angled path of travel. Also included are sprockets on the guide rollers to effect movement of the belt in an upward path of travel through the lower section and then the upper section. Further included is a plurality of cleats secured to the exterior surface of the conveyer belts. The cleats have supporting surfaces which extend at right angles from the exterior surface of the conveyer belt for retaining bottle caps thereon in a proper orientation when the upper surface of the bottle cap is in contact with the conveyer belt and the lower edge thereof supported on the supporting surfaces of the cleats but to effect the dropping thereof when the bottle caps are not in the proper orientation.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for receiving a plurality of component parts of a hypodermic syringe, at least some of which are elongated with one enlarged end, from a plurality of molding machines and for conveying such parts in a programmed manner to a plurality of assembly machines including a plurality of coneyors each having a primary conveyor paths for feeding parts from a molding machine and a plurality of secondary conveyor paths for feeding parts from a primary conveyor path to the assembly machines; diverter means between the primary conveyor path and secondary conveyor path for directing parts to a preselected one of the secondary conveyors and to a preselected assembly machine; isolator means on a primary conveyor path to separate a predetermined number of parts from all other parts and to allow such separated parts to be fed as a group to the diverter means; and orienting means associated with at least some of the primary conveyor path to move elongated parts in a hopper to a position at the input end of

Abstract: An improved system for directing a flow of container bodies to a plurality of base cupping machines from a plurality of blow molding machines comprising: (1) a plurality of primary conveyors, each primary conveyor adapted to feed container bodies from a blow molding machine toward a base cupping machine; (2) a plurality of cross-over conveyors for feeding container bodies from one of the primary conveyors to another of the primary conveyor; (3) diverter blades and converger blades positioned at the junction of primary and cross-over conveyors to direct container bodies between various primary conveyors; (4) a sensor upstream and two sensors downstream of each diverter blade and a sensor downstream and two sensors upstream of each converger blade to detect the flow of container bodies therepast; and (5) programmable control means responsive to the sensors to switch the blades as required for proper feeding of container bodies.

Abstract: Plastic composite bottles fabricated of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The bottles comprise a container portion and a base portion. The base portion is formed with an upwardly extending annular saddle to contact and support the spherical lower end of the container portion. The two portions are welded together at the saddle. This invention also relates to the method of, and apparatus for, welding together such portions.

Abstract: An improved parallel gap welder comprising spaced parallel electrodes, a handle to move the electrodes into contact with a workpiece and electrically energize the electrodes, and control means to independently very the pressure of each electrode on the workpiece.

Abstract: A machine for manufacturing bottles including pneumatic conveying apparatus for container bodies and pneumatic conveying apparatus for base cups and a base cupping assembly and for joining the conveyed container bodies and base cups to form bottles. The conveying apparatus for the container bodies has an interior channel member with louvers in the top and side walls and an exterior channel member thereover to form a plenum chamber therebetween for functioning with the interior channel member and its louvers in effecting the conveying of container bodies.

Abstract: A machine for threadably engaging a supply of screw caps onto the threaded neck of a supply of containers, comprising in combination: said intermediate turret plate including at least one pocket for receiving the container; means for sequentially infeeding the containers into said container pocket of said intermediate turret plate; at least one chuck spindle mounted relative to said upper turret plate in concentric alignment with said container pocket of said intermediate turret plate, said chuck spindle including a rotatable, non-reciprocable shaft journaled relative to said bracket and a cap chuck rigidly secured to a lower end of said shaft in concentric alignment with said container pocket and said chuck spindle; means for rotating said shaft of said chuck spindle; means for sequentially infeeding the screw caps into said chuck; at least one container platform positioned concentrically below said container pocket of said intermediate turret plate to provide seating for said container; means for vertically

Abstract: A device for feeding hot articles and a method of feeding the same include transporting hot articles by a transporting element one after the other, and positively directing cooling air supplied by a blower toward the hot articles during their transportation so that the cooling air flows around the articles to cool and to prevent mutual adherence of the hot articles to one another.

Abstract: Elongate workpieces with enlarged heads to be distributed in groups to different destinations, such as plastic parisons to be delivered to respective mold cavities of a four-cavity blow-molding unit, are fed--partly by gravity--over a pair of sloping, counterrotating spindles to a tilted turntable, the spindles being separated by a gap letting the bodies of the workpieces hang down between them. The workpieces are successively inserted into peripheral recesses of the turntable along a raised edge thereof for rotary entrainment to respective guide channels confronting its opposite, depressed peripheral edge. Four workpieces at a time are dislodged from their recesses, after retraction of a barrier, by air jets driving them into the guide channels assigned to them. Fresh workpieces are deposited upon the upstream end of the spindle track by an elevating conveyor controlled by a monitoring device such as a photosensor which stops the conveyor upon detecting a backup of workpieces along the track.

Abstract: A machine for manufacturing plastic bottles by fitting round-bottomed hollow bodies of plastic material to flat-bottomed heels or base cups of similar material comprises a turntable forming a multiplicity of peripherally equispaced seats at a lower level and a like number of outwardly open radial recesses or pockets aligned therewith at an upper level. The hollow bodies are entrained by a conveyor from a blow-molding unit, in which they are produced, on a shelf which enters the turntable generally tangentially between the two levels and continues along a fraction of its periphery to a point just beyond a feeding station at which the separately produced heels are successively deposited on seats passing below the shelf. The hollow bodies, introduced by the conveyor into respective pockets above the shelf, then descend onto the underlying heels which are coated with a bonding agent such as a plastic melt.

Abstract: A machine for manufacturing plastic bottles by fitting round-bottomed hollow bodies of plastic material to flat-bottomed heels or base cups of similar material comprises a turntable forming a multiplicity of peripherally equispaced seats at a lower level and a like number of outwardly open radial recesses or pockets aligned therewith at an upper level. The hollow bodies are entrained by a conveyor from a blow-molding unit, in which they are produced, on a shelf which enters the turntable generally tangentially between the two levels and continues along a fraction of its periphery to a point just beyond a feeding station at which the separately produced heels are successively deposited on seats passing below the shelf. The hollow bodies, introduced by the conveyor into respective pockets above the shelf, then descend onto the underlying heels which are coated with a bonding agent such as a plastic melt.

Abstract: A conveying apparatus employing a cleated endless conveyor belt to receive and convey plastic containers on to an orientation apparatus provided with like cleated endless conveyor belt, moving in synchronism with the conveying apparatus. A pair of rotatable brushes positioned along and above the conveying apparatus causes containers to individually and separately lodge within the spaces between the cleats as they advance in a forward direction along the endless conveyor belt. A cross belt disposed along the downward travel of the conveyor belt engages the containers and moves them in a lateral direction within the spaces between the cleats until container engagement with an abutment at the edge of the conveyor belt. After traveling through a prescribed course on the conveyor apparatus belt, the respective containers are individually discharged through a passage in the conveyor apparatus on to respective spaces on the advancing orientation apparatus belt cleats.

Abstract: The present invention applies pressurized air and vacuum to container interiors as they are being conveyed through the cleaning station in the course of their forward travel. Cleaning according to the invention occurs through the combined action of a plurality of air jets which dislodge any foreign matter from the container interior and a vacuum drawn through an arcuate slot evacuates and draws out the dislodged contaminents. The aforementioned operation taking place as containers continuously advance in a circular conveyor in the opening down position. After this operation, the containers are urged to assume a horizontal position and are subsequently oriented into the opening up position for travel to a new work station.

Abstract: An apparatus for directing and seating a closure having abutments disposed about its interior periphery, with a container having mating grooves for receiving such closure. The preferred embodiment employs an overhead adjustable belt for correctly positioning and guiding the closure onto a moving container by applying a continuous downward force across the top of the closure once it comes to rest upon the container. The container in turn is caused to be contacted at its periphery by a rotating belt and a back-up stationary surface. The resultant torque imparted thereto urges, the container to turn and positively engage and lock with the closure abutments.An alternate embodiment, employs a knurled roller disposed along the container-closure line of travel for initially positioning the closure on the container by engagement with the closure at its periphery. A frictional pawl further upstream, contacts the already positioned closure to cause initial locking between the closure abutments and container grooves.