Patent ID: 7833006
Filing Date: 2010-11-16
Classification: B29C

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for blow molding a container from a thermoplastic material, comprising: an extruder adapted to continuously extrude a tube of the thermoplastic material downwardly along a vertical axis; a mold having a set of mold parts adapted to open and close relative to each other to define, when closed, a mold cavity; a shuttle having the mold mounted thereon and being arranged to move along a closed path from a first position wherein the mold engages, when open, a finite length of the thermoplastic tube, to a second position away from the first position; and a blow head adapted to blow the finite length of the thermoplastic tube to form the container as the mold moves from the first position to the second position of the closed path, wherein the closed path includes a first portion extending outwardly and downwardly from the first position and a second portion extending substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis extending between the first position and the second position.