Owens-brockway Glass Container Inc.

James Scott Barnes

Gregory A Ritz

Noel D Wendt

William R Martin

George A Nickey

Stephen M Gerber

Ronald E Gast

Apparatus for indexing glassware through a series of angularly spaced stations includes first and second arrays of glassware gripping fingers mounted on associated carriers that are rotatable about a common axis, both conjointly and with respect to each other. Each carrier is connected to as associated servo motor, which in turn are connected to a controller for rotating the carriers with respect to each other to grip and release glassware between the fingers, and to rotate the carriers conjointly to index the glassware between apparatus stations. One array of glassware gripping fingers includes coil springs for biasing the fingers toward the fingers of the opposing array for accommodating tolerance variations in the glassware. Drive rollers are located at at least some of the stations, and are pivotal into and out of positions for rotating the containers about their axes for inspection or other purposes.

Method and apparatus for inspecting articles of glassware

A plug gauge for testing the mouth of a container includes a spring carried by a support, a rod having one end coupled to the spring, and a gauge plug coupled to the other end of the rod. A control mechanism supports the rod and is coupled to an electric motor. Motion of the control mechanism by the motor lowers the rod and plug into the container mouth under force of the spring, and thereafter lifts the rod and plug out of the container mouth. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the spring takes the form of an air spring. A stripper is operatively coupled to the control mechanism in the preferred embodiment of the invention for lowering against the container mouth, as the rod and plug are lowered by the spring and the motor, for holding the container mouth as the rod and plug are lifted from the container mouth. At least one sensor is coupled to the spring in the preferred embodiment of the invention, and is responsive to position of the end of the rod for determining penetration of the plug into the container mouth.

Container plug gauge and method of use

Growing community of inventors

Maumee, OH, United States of America

James Scott Barnes