Electra Form, Inc.

Wentworth Mold, Inc., Electra Form Industries Division

Carl L Knepper

Timothy L Bright

David P Meiring

David C Oas

Jeffrey L Patrick

A release mechanism operating to release molded articles from a third mold portion includes a guide coupled to the second mold portion forming a cam track. A cam follower coupled to the surfaces of the third mold portion, which are holding the molded articles, is engaged in the cam track when the second and third mold portions are within a pre-selected distance of each other. The cam follower interacts with the cam track to cause some initial movement of the surfaces holding the molded articles to a pre-release position for the holding surfaces so that the molded articles are loosely retained by the holding surfaces. A power operator, carried by the third mold portion and coupled to the article holding surfaces, is responsive to a signal to move the article holding surfaces from the pre-release position to a full release position when a molded article receiver is suitably positioned to receive the molded articles. The molded article receiver includes receiver tubes for receiving the molded articles. The receiver tubes have an open forward end configured to receive a molded article, a closed rearward end including a surface contact element movably situated with respect to the forward end. The surface contact element is configured to conform to a portion of the surface of the molded article. A vacuum duct couples the closed rearward end to a source of vacuum for assisting in the retention of the molded articles within the receiver tubes. An air cylinder is coupled to each surface contact element, and a pressure duct couples to each air cylinder to a source of air pressure for controlling the position of the surface contact element with respect to the forward end of the receiving tube.

Robotic parison handling method and apparatus

Method and apparatus for forming stretch blow molded containers having uniform sidewall thickness from physical symmetric parisons. Parisons are heated non-uniformly by rotating at a non-uniform rate in a heating station. A sensor determines the angular orientation of the parisons emerging from the heating station. Each parison is angularly reoriented at a repositioning station prior to introduction into a stretch blow molding station having non-round interior surfaces, so that the temperature profile of each parison corresponds with differential expansion required to form the desired non-round container.

Non-Round container blow molding apparatus

In a machine for promoting spherulite crystal growth in polyester bottle preform finishes, a gear arrangement for controlling the rate of vertical motion of a quill support platform to insure simultaneous engagement of all of the preforms onto adjacent gauges sized to a standard dimension for the preform finishes, the gear arrangement including two pairs of spur pinion gears positioned on opposite sides of the machine base engaging racks fixed to quill support platform and a plurality of rods fixed to the pinion gears and arranged in a rectangular array containing miter bevel gears fixed to the ends of the plurality of rods situated at the corners of the array, the miter bevel gears being engaged together in pairs to coordinate the rotation of all the rods and the vertical movement of the quill support platform.

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Troy, OH, United States of America

Carl L Knepper