Abstract: A device for hooking, picking up and unloading flexible printed circuits to be introduced into a kiln, comprising one or more jaws to grip the circuit and to rotate freely around a horizontal axis—to supports which slide along vertical guides; handling systems adapted to move the supports along the vertical guides so as to move the jaws from the circuit feed position to the position in which the circuits are inserted into the kiln; systems designed to impose a slight rotation on the supports in at least one direction around the horizontal axis; and systems designed to activate the rotating pistons only at the circuit unloading stage after the treatment cycle in the kiln, so as to place the circuits in a slightly tilted position.

Abstract: An overhead conveyor is operated at a slower speed within the treatment area or buffer than the speed of a conveyor delivering products to the treatment area or buffer and the speed of a conveyor removing products from the treatment area or buffer. Elongated products are delivered to the treatment area or buffer so that the direction of product elongation corresponds with the conveying direction and are removed from the treatment area or buffer so that the direction of product elongation corresponds with the conveying direction, particularly by being suspended from two carriages of an overhead conveyor system. Within the treatment area or buffer, the two carriages that are serially located or in tandem while traveling on the delivery conveyor and the exit conveyor, are placed on separate parallel conveyors so that the orientation of the elongation direction of the products is perpendicular to the conveying direction within the treatment area or buffer.

Abstract: A storage rack is loaded and unloaded from the top with pallets carrying articles to be stored in and retrieved from the rack. The rack consists of a series of spaced columns arranged in parallel rows defining wells accessible from the top; the columns have vertically spaced, upwardly facing sets of steps protruding to an equal extent towards the centre of the wells. A crane is horizontally movable over the rack and stoppable above a selected well; it has a hoisting block which can be lowered between and guided by the columns of the selected well; a pair of hooks are pivoted to the hoisting block for movement towards and away from each other between opened and closed position; a pair of Z-shaped pallet holding beams adapted to carry a series of pallets aligned in end to end relation are suspended from the hooks and clear the steps when in closed position.

Abstract: The invention relates to an intermediate storage system mounted adjacent to a bending furnace in a windshield production line, said system comprising a first intermediate storage (1) for pairs of flat glass sheets and a second intermediate storage (2) for pairs of bent glass sheets. Each intermediate storage includes a number of separate storage racks (3) for pairs of glass sheets and a carrier trolley (5, 9) for pairs of glass sheets. A carrier trolley (5) in first storage (1) is controlled for carrying pairs of glass sheets one at a time from storage racks (3) to the proximity of the loading end of a bending furnace (11) and carrier trolley (9) in second storage (2) is controlled for carrying pairs of bent glass sheets from the proximity of the end of bending furnace (11) onto the storage racks (3) of second storage (2).

Abstract: A high volume workpiece treating system includes horizontally arranged treating staions, including vertically arranged treating stations. A conveyor system moves workpieces sequentially and cyclically through the vertically arranged treating stations so that, while one treating station is loaded with workpieces and carrying out a treating procedure, the next station in the vertical group is being loaded with the next batch of workpieces. A single conveyor is arranged to supply a group of vertical treating stations with workpieces and to remove the workpieces from each station at the completion of the treating process. The conveyor and treating stations are arranged to handle sequential batches of workpieces with a minimum of idle time to achieve maximum efficiency. Each group of vertical treating stations is associated with a single piece of auxiliary equipment that controls the flow of treating solution through each of the treating cells of the group.

Abstract: The circuit board plasma etching apparatus includes a preheating chamber, a plasma reaction chamber and a cooling chamber for etching circuit boards with plasma in a quasi continuous operation. The plasma reaction chamber is sealed by a gas-tight preheating sealing slide adjacent the preheating chamber and by a gas-tight cooling sealing slide adjacent the cooling chamber. A preheating door selectively closes the preheating entry end and a cooling door selectively closes the cooling chamber exit end. Boards to be etched are placed in printed circuit board cages supported by a guide rail within the chambers. The guide rail is separable into a preheating segment, a reaction chamber segment and a cooling segment contained within the respective chambers. A preheating chamber bellows allows axial movement of the preheating door, as does a cooling chamber bellows for the cooling chamber door. Axial displacement of the doors allows selective segmentation of the guide rail.

Abstract: Washed articles of clothing 10 on hangers 27 are conveyed into a tunnel 11 having a hot air supply 20 followed by a steaming zone 12 followed by a drying and smoothing zone 13 through a narrow entrance opening 16 of a non-treating chamber 14 in an attitude parallel to their direction of conveyance (arrow 24). They are thereafter transferred to a conveyor 22 and proceed through the tunnel in an attitude transverse to their direction of conveyance (arrow 25), and finally exit through a narrow opening 19 in a parallel attitude. The narrow entrance and exit openings contain the steam, hot air and noise within the tunnel and conserve energy.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing a continuous strip of foamed ceramic or glass comprises a tubular furnace traversed by a plurality of molds suspended from respective trolleys or carriages and disposed in end-to-end relationship within the furnace. The molds are swung open after cooling and separated from one another as they leave the strip by being elevated at a downstream portion of the mold path.