Graham Packaging Company, L.p.

Marshall M Miller

Larry M Taylor

Ammon Heininger

Nicole Korpanty

Bernie Klingenmaier

Michael Peters

Ed Taylor

A pivot casting component used in an apparatus for extrusion blow molding polyethylene teraphthalate ('PET') is disclosed. The pivot casting is designed to provide increased strength and increased reliability over prior components with the blow mold clamping linkage system. Prior art pivot elements were designed and fabricated from separate elements such that weak points, and stress concentration points were created. Such weak points resulted in the pivot element being a weak component in the blow mold clamping linkage system. The inventive pivot casting is cast as a single component from higher strength materials, with an improved geometry to increase component strength, durability and overall system reliability. In a preferred embodiment, the air side pivot casting is formed from 80-55-06 ductile iron resulting in a 40% increase in tensile strength over prior pivot components.

Air side pivot casting for mold clamping linkage system

A cam follower slide component used in an apparatus for extrusion blow molding polyethylene teraphthalate is disclosed. The cam follower slide component is designed to include disc springs positioned about a spindle that is in turn located along the slide direction of the cam follower. With the inclusion of disc springs, the cam follower slide is capable of absorbing certain excessive forces within the blow mold clamping linkage system that may develop during irregular blow mold process conditions. In a preferred embodiment, the cam follower slide component includes the ability to adjust the spring force of the disc springs to allow for a variation in allowable excess system linkage forces.

Cam follower slide for mold clamping linkage system

A bracket for linking guide rods to a wheel of a vertical blow molding machine and a system for blow molding containers and a mechanism for opening and closing a pair of mold halves linked to the wheel of the vertical blow molding machine using the bracket, comprising a first portion and a second portion made of iron, a plurality of pivot apertures, and a plurality of guide rod apertures for receiving the guide rods.

Angle link pivot bracket for wheel

Novel blow cylinders use a retract fluid at a minimum pressure, located between a piston head and a wall of a cylinder body, to prevent the piston head from violently impacting the wall when the piston head is moved so that a blow needle engages a parison. The retract fluid at a minimum pressure is also used to move the piston head so that the blow needle disengages the parison.

Blow cylinder with fluid cushion

The present invention is directed to an apparatus mounted to a mold for injecting air into a mold cavity and removing exhaust from the mold cavity. The apparatus includes a needle rotation restrictor adapted to fit into a counter bore of a blow cylinder body, where the needle rotation restrictor has a hole through which a needle can pass. The blow cylinder body is mountable to the mold and has a conduit to the mold cavity and an interface for interfacing with the mold. The interface of the blow cylinder body has a counter-bore for containing the needle rotation restrictor. The apparatus further includes a needle having a cross-sectional shape adapted to restrict rotation within the hole of the needle rotation restrictor and passing through the conduit of the blow cylinder body. The needle rotation restrictor is rotatably positioned within the counter bore prior to engagement of the blow cylinder body with the mold.

Growing community of inventors

Wrightsville, PA, United States of America

Marshall M Miller