Emhart Glass S.a.

Emhart Industries, Inc.

Emhart Glass Machinery Investments Inc.

Stephen Matthew Giometti

Timothy W Shay

Henry F Raupp

William John Furnas

Zdenko Kuz

Scott M Briggs

E Hugh Pemberton

A method and apparatus for inspection of containers including a circular star wheel conveyor having a plurality of intermediate annular inspection pockets and at least one non-inspection position. The method includes the steps of providing an outfeed stripper configured to engage a container disposed in the non-inspection position aligning the outfeed stripper inside the circumference of the star wheel conveyor and aligning the outfeed stripper with the conveyor and with the rotational path of the star wheel. Positioning an outfeed mechanism adjacent to the star wheel conveyor and operating the outfeed mechanism at a desired conveyor speed. Controlling the movement of the star wheel conveyor to align the container with the outfeed stripper and the outfeed mechanism only at the non-inspection position regardless of the number of angular inspection positions.

Star wheel conveyor outfeed mechanism and method

A bottle inspection machine is disclosed which has a starwheel feeder and an outfeed mechanism for receiving bottles from the starwheel feeder. The outfeed mechanism has an inner belt conveyor which has a pickoff wheel adjacent the starwheel feeder and a second wheel. At least one drive belt is supported by the pickoff and second wheels for defining a linear outfeed belt portion. The outfeed mechanism also has an outer serpentine belt conveyor which has an idler wheel located radially inwardly from the pick off wheel which defines an opening for receiving a bottle displaced by the starwheel feeder and a third wheel. At least one flexible serpentine belt is supported by the idler and third wheels which are located to define a location where a bottle will be discharged from the outfeed mechanism. The serpentine belt is sufficiently flexible so that a bottle displaced into the opening between the pickoff and idler wheels will be conveyed by the serpentine and inner belts with the serpentine belt changing its configuration as the bottle is conveyed to the discharge location.

Outfeed mechanism for starwheel type glass inspection machine

A machine for inspecting bottles which has a conveyor for conveying bottles at a first velocity. A bottle spacing mechanism receives bottles conveyed by the conveyor at a first location and releases bottles on the conveyor at a second downstream location. The bottle spacing mechanism includes a first belt conveyor defining one side of a conveyor path for bottles progressing from the first location to the second location, a first drive mechanism including a drive pulley for driving the first belt conveyor at the first velocity, an upstream second conveyor and a downstream third conveyor defining the other side of the conveyor path for bottles progressing from the first location to the second location, a second drive mechanism including a drive pulley for driving the second belt conveyor at a second velocity lower than the first velocity whereby a bottle conveyed between the first and second conveyors will be conveyed at a velocity lower than the first velocity, and a third drive mechanism including a drive pulley for driving the third belt conveyor at the first velocity whereby a bottle conveyed between the first and third conveyors will be conveyed at the first velocity, the second velocity resulting in bottles released onto the conveyor having a selected spacing.

Machine for inspecting bottles

A machine for inspecting a transparent container. The machine utilizes a starwheel to convey non-round bottles through a number of inspection stations before releasing the bottles to an outfeed belt conveyor. The starwheel conveyor has a plurality of pockets and as a bottle is about to be released it engages a brush guide rail for properly orienting a misoriented bottle. The brush has a front edge which is concentric to the axis of the star wheel so that it will interfere with a misoriented bottle. The brush is mounted via upper and lower plates which have a front edge radially spaced from the front edge of the brush at the location where a misoriented non-round bottle will first engage the brush. The radial spacing decreases to zero as the bottle is displaced along the brush. The front edge of the brush is located so that the bottle will have an acceptable orientation at the location where the radial spacing is zero.

Container inspection machine

A machine for inspecting glass bottles comprising an elliptical first conveyor having parallel linear front and rear portions. Bottles are displaced sequentially along the linear front portion of the elliptical first conveyor by a first cam and bottles are sequentially displaced along the linear rear portion of the elliptical first conveyor by a second cam. Inspection stations bottles are located along both the front and rear linear portions. A second conveyor delivers bottles to the elliptical conveyor proximate the start of the first cam, and a third conveyor receives bottles from the elliptical conveyor proximate the end of the second cam.

Inspection machine

A glass container inspection machine has a machine frame to which an inspection device is secured. The inspection device includes a vertical track member, a car vertically displaceable along the vertical track member, a servo operated drive pulley system secured to the vertical track member for vertically displacing the car, an inspection head interconnected with the car for linear, relative displacement and clampable at a desired position. The inspection device is mounted on the frame so that the linear displacement of the inspection head will enable the head to be adjusted to be concentric with the finish of bottles having radially different axes.

Glass container inspection machine

An infeed mechanism for a glass container inspection machine which will receive bottles on a linear conveyor and which has a support to which the infeed mechanism can be secured. The infeed mechanism has a timing cam and a frame is provided for supporting the timing cam at the bottom thereof which includes a first box like frame for rotatably supporting the timing cam at the bottom, a servo motor secured to and within the first box like frame, a vertically extending transmission supported by the first box like frame for transferring the output of the servo motor downwardly to the rotatable timing cam, a second frame, above the timing cam for supporting first frame for relative vertical displacement, and a mounting plate located vertically above the second frame for supporting the second frame for relative horizontal displacement transverse to the linear conveyor so that the infeed mechanism can be mounted by securing the mounting plate to a machine frame with the infeed mechanism above the linear conveyor.

A glass container body check detector is disclosed which comprises a conveyor for conveying glass containers in a predetermined direction to an inspection station, a rotator for rotating a glass container at the inspection station about the axis of the glass container, and an inspection assembly for detecting a check in the body of the rotating glass container. The inspection assembly includes a diffuse light source for directing diffused light at the sidewall of the rotating glass container in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction of conveyance of the glass container, a pair of angularly related directed light sources located above the rotating container for focusing light through the container into coincident vertical lines of light on the sidewall of the container, from the top of the bottle to the bottom of the container, and a linear array camera located above the rotating glass container and focused on the coincident lines of directed light.

Glass container body check detector

A machine for squeeze testing glass containers comprising a test station, including a fixed pad having a curved container engaging surface and an opposed wheel selectively spaced from the surface, rotating at a predetermined surface speed and in the direction required to roll a container delivered to the station along the curved surface until it is released therefrom. A conveyor delivers containers to the test station and carrys released containers away from the test station. A roller is rotatable about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel and defines with the wheel a path through which released containers will pass. The roller is biased forward to a selected location whereat the distance between the roller and the wheel is less than the outer diameter of a released container, and the roller is rotated at a surface speed selected to reduce the rotation of a released container, which passes between the wheel and the roller.

Machine for squeeze testing glass containers

A plug gager is provided which can be tilted relative to the opening of a bottle to be inspected so that insertion will be assured for acceptable bottles. The plug gager tube assembler is supported at one end in a ball and socket support and is supported at the other end by a pair of taper bushings to permit tilting but normally maintaining the concentricity of the assembly.

Bottle inspecting machine

A sealing surface finish leak detector comprises a test fitting, a source of pressure regulated gas, means for coupling the source of gas to an aperture in the test fitting to deliver the gas to the container at an inspection site, and means for limiting the rate of flow of the gas from the source into the container. The pressure in the container is sampled a predetermined time after the gas begins to flow into the container. The predetermined time is short enough and the rate of flow of the gas into the container low enough so that the pressure in the container at the predetermined time is well below the source pressure even if the container is properly sealed. An average size leak between the sealing surface and the test fitting results in a significantly reduced pressure or rate of pressure rise in the container at the predetermined time.

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Horseheads, NY, United States of America

Stephen Matthew Giometti