Norwalt Design, Inc.

Other

Graham Packaging Company, L.p.

Norbert F Seitel

Walter Dea McDonald

Brian A Lynch

Keith J Barker

Michael Seitel

John E Ayres

Richard A Burger

An unjamming system is used in connection with mass-produced parts fed through a process by a rotating bowl feeder. The bowl feeder has a bowl with an axis of rotation and an outer wall. The parts are disposed against the outer wall by centrifugal force. The unjamming system includes a jamming region adjacent the bowl, wherein unjamming is carried out. A sensor adjacent the jamming region detects a jam. A pneumatic cylinder actuator and an air blow jet adjacent the jamming region removes the parts from the jam. The parts are returned to the bowl by the air blow jet.

Unjamming system for product feeders

A fixture for holding a pivotally closable cap with a base connected to a cover by a foldable hinge during a closure operation. The fixture includes a U-shaped slide member having a back wall and a pair of side walls extending therefrom for accommodating the cap with the base and cover in an open condition. The side walls have distal extents, which extend beyond a transverse mid-line of the cover and prevent angular movement of the cover within the slide member.

System and fixture for closing a foldable cap

Apparatus and method for making a molded plastic article having a stretched and crystallized neck finish. In one embodiment, a series of platforms are carried by a conveying apparatus for transporting a series of molded plastic articles along a predetermined path of travel through one or more treatment stations. At a finish widening station, the molded article, having a relatively wide and thin-walled blow-molded body portion, and a relatively narrow and thick-walled unexpanded neck finish portion, is positioned to enable insertion of a mandrel into an open top aperture of the finish portion to widen the finish.

Method and apparatus for stretching and crystallizing the neck finish of a molded plastic article

The present improvement is useful for orienting and feeding blow molded preforms. Cylindrical preforms have larger threaded necks with larger encircling discs below the necks. A pair of belts is provided for conveying objects downstream. The gap between these belts is less than the disc diameter of the preforms. An output means is provided for receiving the oriented objects and directing them downstream. A means is provided at the output of the belts for deflecting any improperly oriented preforms back for recirculation. An increase in the feed rate of the preforms is achieved by an agitation means such as a blower positioned to disperse the interlocked assemblages and help move the preforms down into the belts.

Orienting and feeding apparatus for manufacturing line

Apparatus and method for making a molded plastic article having a stretched and crystallized neck finish. In one embodiment, a series of platforms are carried by a conveying apparatus for transporting a series of molded plastic articles along a predetermined path of travel through one or more treatment stations. At a finish widening station, the molded article, having a relatively wide and thin-walled blow-molded body portion, and a relatively narrow and thick-walled unexpanded neck finish portion, is positioned to enable insertion of a mandrel into an open top aperture of the finish portion to widen the finish. The mandrel may include a lower heated tapered portion for expanding the finish, and an upper cooled body portion on which the expanded finish may be cooled. The article may then be sent to a finish crystallizing station having a heating device that heats the widened finish portion for a time and temperature selected to crystallize at least a portion of the widened finish. A sizing mechanism positionable in the widened finish supports the finish during crystallization.

Apparatus for stretching and crystallizing the neck finish of a molded plastic article

Apparatus for orienting and feeding blow molded preforms which are elongated generally cylindrical plastic objects, one end of which is a threaded neck portion for the ultimate blow molded container, and the other end of which extends from the opposed end of the cylindrical object as a narrower and heavier tubular portion which during the blow molding operation will be softened and enlarged into the ultimate container, the preform further including an encircling handling disc between the said threaded neck portion and tubular portion which has a larger diameter than the remaining portions of the preform, the disc serving to facilitate handling of the preforms. First and second conveying belts are provided having input and output ends for cooperatively conveying such objects toward a downstream processing line. The belts are mounted so that their respective conveying surfaces are movable in a common parallel direction. The facing edges of the conveying surfaces of these belts are spaced from one another to define a uniform gap between them of a dimension less than that of the disc. The conveying surfaces are upwardly sloped away from the gap, to define a zone converging downwardly in the direction of the gap. Object input means deposit the initially unoriented preforms at the input ends of the conveying belts. The belts are moved in a common direction, but at different speeds. The preforms are rotated by contact with the differentially speeding belts as they descend into the converging zone and become supported at the gap and conveyed by riding on the edges of the moving belts which border the gap. Object output means at the ends of the belts receive the oriented objects and direct them toward the downstream processing line. Means at the output ends of the belts deflect any preforms which are not properly oriented and seated in the gap; and preform output means at the output end of the belts receive the oriented preforms and direct them toward the processing line. In order to preclude or minimize the preforms resisting deflection due to frictional lock between the disc portion of the preform and an adjacent lateral edge of an opposed belt, one or both of the lateral edges of the belts abounding the gap are formed to diverge upwardly away from the belt gap.

Apparatus is provided for accepting a population of articles of the type having one axis generally longer than the other and one end different from the other with random orientation of the ends and providing a high-speed output stream of articles with all the ends thereof commonly oriented. The apparatus comprise a rotatable wheel adapted to accept the articles with randomly oriented ends in the periphery thereof and advance said articles to an output station having means for constraining the articles during advance thereof in the wheel and means for biasing said articles to turn end for end within the wheel only as the result of an article being in an undesired endwise orientation.

High speed article orienting and feeding apparatus

Apparatus is disclosed for accepting an initially presented population of randomly oriented elongated slender articles which terminate in an enlarged head portion, and providing a high-speed output stream, wherein all said articles are commonly oriented for further mechanical manipulation. The apparatus comprises an input bowl for accepting the articles, which bowl includes a rotatable central disk for feeding objects incident thereupon to the periphery of the disk. A continuous wall member extends upwardly from the disk periphery about a major arced zone, the bottom of the wall member being spaced from the disk to define a gap through which the elongated portion of the articles may protrude while the heads of same continue to ride upon the disk periphery in sliding contact with the side wall. An output section defined adjacent the periphery of the disk at the portion opposed to the arced zone receives and delivers the articles from the disk. A continuous conveying band extends about the periphery of the disk and moves with the articles in the direction of disk rotation at the arced zone. The band separates from the disk peripheral edge beyond the arced zone and extends into the output section. Means cooperate with the band at the output section to constrain the articles between the band and constraining means, whereby the articles are conveyed into the output section. The band diverges from the cooperating means at the end of the output section to release the constrained articles for further mechanical manipulation.

Parts feeding bowl with orienting means

The apparatus disclosed is used to orient container caps with their open ends facing up from a randomly oriented vertical orientation by guide channel means having a base and including an input end for receiving the caps at the vertical orientation, an output end whereat the caps are reoriented along their diameters with the said open ends facing upwardly, and a transition zone between input and output ends, whereat the caps gravitationally tip and fall to their surfaces which include their diameters; a narrow support member extending longitudinally and centrally along the base of the transition zone for underlying and supporting the caps thereat; and a pair of members extending laterally along the sides of the transition zone, the spacing between the lateral members being such at the upstream end of the zone as to sandwich the caps and constrain same against tipping, and said members diverging toward the downstream end of said zone to remove the constraints and permit gravitational tipping from the narrow support member. According to the improvement, which enables higher speed feed of the caps through the apparatus and increased dependability of tipping in the desired direction, the narrow support member and the lateral members comprise bands which are continually moveable at common speed through the transition zone. The members thereby grasp the caps at the upstream end of the transition zone and convey the caps through the zone, while permitting the caps to gravitationally fall as the lateral bands diverge.

High speed cap orienting and feeding apparatus

Apparatus for accepting an initially presented population of randomly oriented container caps and providing an output in-line stream of said caps wherein the open ends of the caps face in an upward direction to facilitate further processing of the caps. The apparatus comprises a feeder bowl for accepting the randomly oriented caps, and feeding from an output port thereof, an in-line stream of caps oriented in a substantially horizontal plane. An inclined twisting chute extends from the output of the feeder bowl. This chute receives the in-line stream of caps and twists the plane of advance of same through 90.degree., whereby the caps are reoriented to a stream wherein their diameters are substantially in a vertical plane. A guide chute extends at an incline from the output of the twisting chute, and include an input section for receiving the caps at their vertical orientation, an output section whereat the caps are oriented with their diameters parallel to the support surface, and a transition zone between the input and output sections whereat the caps may gravitationally tip and fall from the vertical plane to the reoriented, more nearly horizontal positions. A biasing device is provided for biasing the tipping of the caps, so that they fall with the open ends thereof facing in an upward direction.

Cap orienting and feeding apparatus

Apparatus is disclosed for lining container closures with seals, and for testing the closures. The apparatus includes means for forming an infeed stream of closures and means interacting with the stream for forming closure groups. Conveyor means accept the groups and convey same to the various stations. At an initial station the shell integrity of the closures is tested; and closures are rejected at a following station if found to be the product of short molding shots or so forth. Thereafter, an adhesive is dispensed to the closure interior, and at a successive station seals are punched from a web and emplaced in the closure. A loose liner detector and removal station detects and removes loose liners from the closures. The sealing characteristics of the closures are then tested at a further station, and closures found to be imperfect are rejected; after which the closures which successfully pass through the several stations are discharged from the apparatus. Depending upon the desired application of the apparatus, certain of the foregoing stations can be omitted; or additional testing stations can be added. The apparatus is also adapted for embodiments wherein testing functions alone are performed, e. g. where so-called linerless caps are to be processed.

Apparatus for lining and testing container closures

An elevatable operator-actuated lifting device, including a lower support frame and a platform section telescopically interfitted with the support frame as to be elevatable with respect thereto. Hydraulically actuated piston and cylinder means are provided for telescoping and de-telescoping the platform section with respect to the support frame, to enable elevation and lowering of the platform section. Means moveable with the platform section, including a manually actuated hydraulic pump, enable pressurization and de-pressurization of the piston and cylinder means, to thereby enable raising and lowering of the platform section by an operator standing thereupon.

Growing community of inventors

Gillette, NJ, United States of America

Norbert F Seitel