Apparatus for transferring glass articles from an is to a high speed transfer conveyor

A pusher mechanism of an IS transfers a plurality of glass bottles onto a conveyor belt by rotating the bottles through an arc to align the bottles with the conveyor belt while simultaneously linearly moving the bottles at a converging acute angle toward the conveyor belt. The combined rotational and linear movements effectively lengthen the radius of curvature of the path of the bottles and increases the speed of the bottles onto the conveyor belt. The centrifugal force applied to the bottles is limited or reduced to allow the bottles to be more quickly moved onto the conveyor belt without introducing instabilities in the bottles. Other horizontal and vertical movements may be applied. A nozzle may be positioned to deliver a flow of air against the bottles to counteract instabilities. A take-out mechanism used with the pusher mechanism rotates the bottles at an acute angle to the conveyor belt. This initial acute angle reduces the amount of rotation which the pusher mechanism must impart when placing the bottles on the conveyor, thus reducing the possibility of introducing instabilities.

This invention relates to the manufacture and production of glass articles, 
such as bottles, jars and the like (hereinafter referred to as "bottles"), 
and more particularly to a new and improved technique for more rapidly and 
effectively transferring the glass articles from individual sections of a 
glassware forming machine onto a rapidly moving transfer conveyor. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Glass articles, such as bottles and jars but herein exemplified by bottles, 
are typically mass produced in a glassware forming machine. A glassware 
forming machine is formed by combining or integrating a plurality of 
individual sections. Each individual section (IS or Section) is capable of 
producing one to four bottles simultaneously from a similar number of gobs 
of molten glass. By combining a relatively large number of Sections in a 
single glassware forming machine, a relatively high capacity for bottle 
production capacity is achieved. Furthermore, the operation of each 
Section is coordinated with all of the Sections so that the glassware 
forming machine achieves an unrestricted production output equal to the 
cumulative total of the individual capacities of all of the Sections. 
One approach to increasing efficiency and profitability in the glass 
forming industry is to increase bottle production rates. Increasing the 
manufacturing capacity may be achieved by increasing the number of 
Sections of a single glassware forming machine. However, substantially 
increasing the number of Sections may result in a practical problem of 
difficulty in removing or transporting the bottles away from the glassware 
forming machine at the same high rate that all of the Sections are capable 
of producing bottles. If the bottles cannot be removed as fast as the 
Sections make them, the overall capacity of the glassware forming machine 
will be diminished and the desired increase in production from combining a 
larger number of Sections will be lost. 
In a conventional IS, a take-out mechanism removes the bottles from a blow 
mold after they have been formed into the final desired shape and deposits 
the bottles on a dead plate. A pusher mechanism then moves the bottles 
from the dead plate onto an adjacent, fast-moving transfer conveyor which 
removes the still-hot, but fully-formed, bottles to an annealing Lehr, for 
further treatment to complete the bottle-making procedure. The transfer 
conveyor typically removes the bottles from the glassware forming machine 
in a single line in single file so that a transfer wheel can align the 
bottles and the bottles can be pushed in single bottle rows into the 
annealing furnace. 
The transfer conveyor moves at essentially a right angle to the direction 
in which the take-out mechanism removes the bottles from the blow molds. 
The pusher mechanism must therefore alter the orientation of the aligned 
bottles by ninety degrees while transferring the bottles to empty spaces 
or "windows" unoccupied by other bottles on the transfer conveyor. The 
pusher mechanism should also accelerate the bottles to approximately the 
linear speed of the transfer conveyor so the bottles will remain upright 
on the conveyor without tipping when they are deposited on the transfer 
conveyor. 
A conventional pusher mechanism typically accomplishes these functions with 
a rotary motion. The bottles are moved along an arcuate path to change 
their orientation by the ninety degrees and align their orientation 
parallel to the transfer conveyor while simultaneously accelerating the 
bottles along the arcuate path so they achieve a linear speed 
approximately equal to the speed of the conveyor at the end of the arcuate 
movement. With this acceleration, the linear velocity of the bottles in 
the direction of the conveyor approximately matches the speed of the 
conveyor. By matching the linear velocity of the transferred bottles to 
the speed of the conveyor, there is little or no relative motion between 
the bottles and the conveyor when they are delivered to the conveyor. 
Consequently no significant instabilities are introduced. Instabilities 
could cause tipping and subsequent destruction of the bottles or 
misalignment of bottles on the conveyor, or could cause the bottles to 
contact one another (which would likely create defects within the bottles 
due to their high temperature). 
Although prior art rotary pusher mechanisms are adequate for use with many 
conventional glassware forming machines, they have proved problematic in 
glassware forming machines having a relatively large number of Sections 
operating at full capacity. The problems arise because a higher speed 
transfer conveyor is needed to remove the increased number of bottles 
formed by the higher capacity glassware forming machine. The greater speed 
of the conveyor requires the pusher mechanism to rotate with a greater 
angular velocity to accelerate the bottles to a speed which will match the 
speed of the conveyor at the end of the arcuate movement. At the higher 
angular velocity, the centrifugal force acting on the bottles, which 
increases by the square of the increase in angular velocity, creates 
unacceptable instabilities which tend to throw the bottles out of contact 
with the pusher mechanism, throw the bottles off of the conveyor, tip the 
bottles, position the bottles out of alignment on the conveyor, or the 
like. Reducing the angular velocity of the prior art rotary pusher to 
limit the amount of centrifugal force causes an unacceptable mismatch in 
the linear speed the bottles and the speed of the conveyor, and this 
mismatch in speed could be sufficiently destabilizing to cause the bottles 
to tip, to contact other bottles to be out of alignment on the conveyor, 
or the like. Of course, reducing the angular velocity of the prior art 
rotary pusher mechanism may also have the undesirable effect of slowing 
the operating speed of the IS, thus reducing the output capacity of the 
glassware forming machine. 
Consequently, the limitations of prior art rotary pusher mechanisms have 
practically limited the output capacity of glassware forming machines to 
approximately their current levels. It is with respect to the prior art 
rotary pusher mechanisms' practical restrictions on the further increase 
in capacity of glassware forming machines, as well as other considerations 
not specifically discussed in this abbreviated background, that the 
present invention has evolved. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The objectives of the present invention include increasing the speed at 
which the pusher mechanism of an IS can transfer bottles onto a moving 
transfer conveyor belt, overcoming the present limitation on the number of 
bottles which may be produced by multiple Sections of a single glassware 
forming machine without restricting the glass bottle forming capacity of 
each IS due to an inability to effectively transfer the bottles onto the 
transfer conveyor belt, and generally overcoming some of the deficiencies 
associated with previous pusher and take-out mechanisms. 
In accordance with these and other objectives, one feature of the present 
invention relates to a new and improved pusher mechanism for transferring 
a plurality of glass bottles onto a transfer conveyor belt after the 
bottles have been formed in a blow mold of an IS and deposited on a dead 
plate adjacent to the transfer conveyor. The pusher mechanism includes an 
bottle contact assembly adapted for contacting the bottles while supported 
on the dead plate and pushing the bottles from the dead plate to the 
transfer conveyor belt, a pivotable assembly connected to the bottle 
contact assembly for rotating the contacted bottles through an arc to 
align the bottles with the conveyor belt, and a carriage assembly for 
linearly moving the pivotable assembly at a converging acute angle toward 
the conveyor belt. 
The linear movement of the carriage assembly combined with the rotational 
movement of the pivotable assembly effectively lengthens the radius of 
curvature of the path of the bottles between their initial position on the 
dead plate and their aligned position on the conveyor belt, compared to 
the arc of the purely rotational movement of the pivotable assembly. The 
lengthened radius of curvature of the path of the bottles reduces the 
required angular velocity and hence the amount of centrifugal force 
applied to the bottles. As a result the bottles may be moved more quickly 
onto a faster moving conveyor belt. Also, the linear motion of the carrier 
assembly and the rotation of the pivotable assembly combine to reduce or 
limit the angular velocity of the bottles compared to prior art rotary 
pushers. Lastly, the greater rate of movement of the bottles onto the 
conveyor is achieved both the rotation of the pivotable assembly and the 
linear motion of the carrier assembly, and these combined movements 
substantially equal the rate of movement of the conveyor belt. Accordingly 
the bottles are transferred onto the moving conveyor belt at a faster rate 
while limiting the forces that would introduce sufficient instabilities to 
prevent an effective transfer of the bottles. 
Another feature of the present invention relates to employing, as part of 
the bottle contact assembly, an extension device for extending a pusher 
member along a path which is generally radially oriented with respect to 
the rotational movement of the pivotable assembly in order to contact the 
bottles. The extension movement may also be employed along with the linear 
movement of the carriage assembly and the rotational movement of the 
pivotable assembly to further control the path of the bottles. 
Another feature of the present invention relates to incorporating a lifting 
assembly operative for lifting the bottle contacting assembly in a 
vertical movement out of contact with the bottles. The vertical movement 
of the bottle contacting assembly above the bottles avoids contact with 
the other bottles on the conveyor, among other things. 
An additional feature of the present invention relates to a new and 
improved take-out mechanism which may be advantageously employed in 
combination with the pusher mechanism. The take-out mechanism includes a 
tong head assembly which has a plurality of tong heads, and each tong head 
has tongs for gripping and releasing a bottle. A translation device 
translates the tong head assembly in a linear path between the blow mold 
and the dead plate, with the tongs gripping the bottles at the molds and 
releasing the bottles on the dead plate. Prior to releasing the bottles on 
to the dead plate, the tong head assembly rotates the tong heads to 
position the bottles on the dead plate in an alignment which forms an 
acute angle with both the transfer conveyor and the alignment of the 
bottles in the blow mold. The take-out mechanism thereby contributes to 
the more effective manner by which the bottles are transferred to the 
conveyor belt by establishing the initial acute angle so the pusher 
mechanism need only rotate the bottles the remaining complementary acute 
angle during transfer to the conveyor. 
A more complete appreciation of the present invention and its scope can be 
obtained from understanding the accompanying drawings, which are briefly 
summarized below, the following detailed description of a presently 
preferred embodiment of the invention, and the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The features of the present invention are embodied in one presently 
preferred form, in four triple-gob Sections 40a, 40b, 40c and 40d of a 
glassware forming machine 40, which is partially shown in FIG. 1. Each IS 
40a, 40b, 40c and 40d is identical and all the Sections operate in 
coordination with one another under the control of conventional timing and 
synchronization devices (not shown) to bottles 42. It is intended that the 
glassware forming machine 40 offer a relatively high bottle-making 
capacity. For example, the present invention may be advantageously used in 
a glassware forming machine having sixteen triple gob Sections. However, 
the present invention may be advantageously incorporated in glassware 
forming machines having any number of Sections. 
A take-out mechanism 44 of each IS 40a, 40b, 40c and 40d removes the three 
newly formed bottles 42 from a conventional blow mold 46 upon separation 
of the halves of the mold. The take-out mechanism 44 includes a tong head 
assembly 48 from which three separate tong heads 50 extend. Tongs 52 of 
each tong head 50 grip each bottle 42 by its finish portion 54, which 
refers to the neck and mouth portion of the bottle 42. The tong head 
assembly 48 is pivotably connected to an outer end 56 of a take-out arm 
58, and the other inner end 60 of the take-out arm 58 is pivotably 
connected to a fixed vertical column 62 of the take-out mechanism 44. The 
take-out mechanism 44 rotates the take-out arm 58 about its inner end 60, 
and during rotation of the take-out arm 58, the tong head assembly 48 
maintains the bottles 42 in a consistent vertical orientation. The bottles 
are lifted out of the separated halves of the blow mold 46 and are carried 
forward by the rotation of the take-out arm 58. After the take-out arm 58 
rotates through an angle of approximately 180 degrees, the bottles 42 are 
suspended a slight distance above a dead plate 64 of each IS. Cooling air 
is blown upward from holes 66 in the dead plate 64 to cool the bottles 
which are still hot and somewhat flexible. The air cools the bottles, 
thereby making them less susceptible to deformation. The foregoing 
operation is conventional in the take-out mechanism of the IS. 
One of the improvements of the present invention, associated with the 
take-out mechanism 44, rotates the bottles suspended by the tong head 
assembly 48 through an acute angle, for example 45 degrees (FIG. 8), while 
the bottles are suspended over the dead plate 64. After the bottles 42 
have cooled sufficiently, the take-out arm 58 rotates slightly further 
about its inner end 60 to lower the bottles 42 onto the dead plate 64. The 
tong head 50 separates the tongs 52 to release the grip on the bottles as 
they are lowered onto the dead plate 64 (FIG. 9). The bottles 42 are thus 
positioned in a line on the dead plate 64 at the acute angle established 
by the position of the tong heads 50 when the bottles are released. In 
this position, the bottles 42 are adjacent to a transfer conveyor 68. The 
transfer conveyor removes the bottles from the individual sections of the 
glassware forming machine and transports the bottles on for further 
treatment, such as annealing. 
After the bottles are deposited on the dead plate, the tong heads 50 rotate 
back in alignment with the three bottles formed in the blow mold 46. The 
take-out arm 58 rotates about its inner end 60 to position the tong heads 
50 over the next three bottles in the blow molds, and the tongs 52 grip 
the finish portions 54 of those bottles to carry them forward and rotate 
them through the acute angle before depositing them on the dead plate 64. 
The take-out cycle thus continually repeats itself. 
After one group of three bottles is deposited on the dead plate, a pusher 
mechanism 70 moves the bottles onto a belt 72 of the adjacent transfer 
conveyor 68. Because the transfer conveyor 68 must remove a considerable 
number of bottles from a relatively high capacity glassware forming 
machine 40 than was previously required, the belt 72 is moving relatively 
fast. The pusher mechanism 70 operates in coordination and synchronization 
with the take-out mechanism 44 to transfer the bottles deposited from one 
take-out cycle to the conveyor 68 prior to the bottles from the next 
take-out cycle being deposited on the dead plate 64. 
The pusher mechanism 70 preferably moves the bottles linearly along a path 
parallel to the acute angle of the bottles deposited on the dead plate 
while simultaneously rotating the bottles during a push-out cycle to 
position the bottles into open spaces 74 or windows on the conveyor belt 
72. The combination of linear and rotational movement of the pusher 
mechanism 70 during a push-out cycle achieves a number of improvements. At 
the commencement of a push-out cycle, a contact plate 76 with fingers 78 
extending therefrom first moves linearly into engagement with the bottles 
42, as shown in FIG. 16. The pusher mechanism 70 commences a linear 
acceleration along a path generally parallel to the orientation of the 
bottles at the acute angle to slide the bottles 42 linearly along the dead 
plate 64 toward the conveyor belt 72. At some point in the linear motion, 
as shown in FIG. 17, the pusher mechanism 70 commences rotational motion 
to rotate the line of bottles 42 prior to inserting the bottles 42 into an 
open space 74 on the conveyor belt 72 which is unoccupied by other 
bottles. Further linear and rotational movement brings the bottles 42 
fully onto the conveyor belt 72, as shown in FIG. 18. Rotation continues 
once the bottles 42 are on the belt 72 until the bottles 42 are aligned in 
single-file order in alignment with the other bottles on the conveyor belt 
72, as shown in FIG. 19. Immediately thereafter, the contact plate 76 and 
the fingers 78 retract away from the bottles just deposited on the 
conveyor belt 72 to avoid contact with other bottles, as shown in FIG. 20. 
The pusher mechanism 70 rotates and moves linearly to return to an initial 
position for the start of the next push-out cycle, as shown in FIG. 21. 
The pusher mechanism 70 is thus in position to transfer another set of 
bottles 42, deposited by the take-out mechanism 44, to the conveyor belt 
72 in the next push-out cycle. 
The combined linear and rotational movement of the pusher mechanism 70 
quickly accelerates the bottles 42 onto the conveyor belt 72, thereby 
closely matching the linear speed of the bottles to the linear speed of 
the conveyor belt to prevent instabilities. Further, the rotational 
movement of the pusher mechanism 70, combined with the initial acute 
angular orientation of the bottles relative to the conveyor belt 72 and 
the linear movement of the pusher mechanism 70, is capable of limiting 
angular velocities and centrifugal forces on the bottles to magnitudes 
comparable to those produced by conventional rotary pushers. Thus, even 
though it is necessary to accelerate the bottles to a greater extent due 
to the higher speeds of the conveyor belt 72, the bottles are subjected to 
essentially comparable centrifugal and other forces when they are 
deposited on the faster moving conveyor belt 72. 
If desired, in order to help prevent the bottles 42 from tipping laterally 
under the influence of the centrifugal force of rotation, a blower block 
80 may direct a pulse of air at each of the bottles 42 as it rotates onto 
the conveyor (FIGS. 15 and 19). The pulse of air stabilizes the bottles by 
counteracting some of the centrifugal force to help prevent the bottles 
from tipping over or sliding off the conveyor belt 72. Although the air 
pulses stabilize the bottles 42, the added stability may not be required. 
The transfer of the bottles 42 from their blow mold 46 to the transfer 
conveyor belt 72 is enhanced by the use of the take-out mechanism 44 and 
the pusher mechanism 70 of the present invention. The rotatable tong heads 
50 pivot the bottles 42 to the acute angle prior to setting the bottles 42 
on the dead plate 64. The pusher mechanism 70 then slides the bottles 42 
toward the conveyor belt 72 while pivoting the bottles to align the 
bottles 42 with the direction of movement of the conveyor belt 72. This 
combination of linear and rotational movement reduces the angular velocity 
and centrifugal force on the bottles 42 as the bottles are propelled onto 
the conveyor belt 72. The two mechanisms 44 and 70, used together, are 
capable of transferring bottles 42 to relatively fast moving conveyor 
belts 72. 
The mechanical and operational details of the take-out mechanism 44 are 
described in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 2 to 9. The rotation 
of the take-out arm 58 is best understood by reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. 
The inner end 60 of the take-out arm 58 rotates about a fixed shaft 82 
which extends from a fixed vertical column 62 of the IS. An annular collar 
84 extends rearwardly from a housing 86 of the take-out arm 58 and is 
connected to a driven gear 88. The driven gear 88 is connected to the 
collar 84 so that the driven gear 88, collar 84 and housing 86 of the 
take-out arm 58 rotate together about the fixed shaft 82. The driven gear 
88 is rotated by a rack 92 located within the vertical column 62. The rack 
is retained for linear movement by conventional means (not shown) located 
in the column 62. The teeth of the rack 92 mesh with the teeth of the 
driven gear 88. The rack 92 is driven in linear movement by a pneumatic 
piston (not shown) also near the bottom of the column 62 where it attaches 
to the frame of the IS. The linear movement of the rack 92 rotates the 
driven gear 88 and the attached take-out arm 58 through an arc slightly 
greater than 180 degrees, as shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 9. By controlling the 
position of the piston and the connected rack 92, the degree of rotation 
and the rotational position of the take-out arm 58 is controlled in a 
corresponding manner. Although not shown in FIG. 2, another rack 93 (FIG. 
3) is connected to the gear 88 on the opposite side of the rack 92. This 
other rack, which is conventional, is connected to impact a shock absorber 
(not shown) to decelerate the rotational movement of the take-out arm. 
The rotation of the tong head assembly 48 about a horizontal axis to 
maintain the consistent orientation of the tong head assembly 48 and 
bottles 42 is shown in FIGS. 2 to 7. The housing 86 of the take-out arm 58 
is hollow and within it at its inner end 60, a fixed gear 96 is fixed on 
the stationary shaft 82. An intermediate gear 100 is rotatably mounted on 
a shaft 102 fixed within the housing 86. The teeth of the intermediate 
gear 100 mesh with the teeth of the fixed gear 96 so that the intermediate 
gear 100 rotates about the shaft 102 and the fixed gear 96 as the take-out 
arm rotates about its inner end 60. A tong head gear 104 is fixedly 
attached to a shaft 106 rotatably mounted within the housing 86 at the 
outer end 56 of the take-out arm 58. The tong head gear 104 also meshes 
with the intermediate gear 100 and thus rotates when the intermediate gear 
100 rotates upon rotation of the take-out arm 58 about its inner end 60. 
The shaft 106 extends to the outside of the housing 86 where it is 
connected to the tong head assembly 48. A flange 108 of the tong head 
assembly 48 is attached to the shaft 106 so that the assembly 48 rotates 
with the shaft 106. 
The fixed gear 96 and the tong head gear 104 are exactly the same size so 
that as the intermediate gear 100 is rotated by rotation of the take-out 
arm, the tong head gear 104 will rotate the same amount as the take-out 
arm 58 but in the relative opposite direction. As the take-out arm 58 
rotates about the fixed shaft 82, the shaft 106 will rotate an equal 
amount in the opposite direction relative to the rotation of the take-out 
arm 58. Therefore, the tong head assembly 48 rotates about the take-out 
arm 58 as the take-out arm 58 rotates about the fixed shaft 82. In this 
manner, the tong head assembly 48 is always in a consistent vertical 
orientation during rotation of the take-out arm 58. 
The mechanism for rotating a tong head housing 110 containing the tong 
heads 50 about a vertical axis to position the bottles 42 at the acute 
angle relative to the conveyor belt 72 is shown in FIGS. 2 to 5. The 
flange 108 connected to the shaft 106 (FIG. 3) extends from a cylinder 
housing 112 of the tong head assembly 48. The cylinder housing 112 has a 
hollow interior 114 which is defined by an upper cylinder 116 and a lower 
annular opening 118. A piston 120 is located within the cylinder 116, and 
seals 122 establish a substantially air tight seal between the piston 120 
and the cylinder 116. A cap member 124 is attached by bolts 126 to the 
upper end of the cylinder housing 112 to terminate the cylinder 116 at its 
upper end. Air delivery ports 128 and 130 are formed in the cylinder 
housing 112 and in the cap member 124, respectively, at positions below 
and above the location of the piston 120, respectively. 
The ports 128 and 130 conduct pressurized air into and out of the cylinder 
116 through tubes 132a and 134a, respectively. As is shown in FIG. 3, the 
tubes 132a and 134a connect with passages 132b and 134b, respectively, 
formed in the flange 108 of the cylinder housing 112. Passages 132c and 
134c continue through the shaft 106 and connect with tubes 132d and 134d, 
respectively, at annular grooves formed in the housing 86 of the take-out 
arm 58 surrounding the ends of the passages 132c and 134c. The tubes 132d 
and 134d extend from the outer end 56 to the inner end 60 of the take-out 
arm 58. Annular grooves are formed in the collar 84 to respectively 
connect the tubes 132d and 134d to passages 132e and 134e formed in the 
shaft 82. The passages 132e and 134e communicate through annular grooves 
in the fixed vertical column to ports 132f and 134f, respectively, where 
the pressurized air is applied and relieved. In this manner the 
pressurized air may be applied to alternately raise and lower the piston 
120 in a vertical movement in the cylinder 116, regardless of the 
rotational position of the take-out arm. 
The cap member 124 includes an annular sleeve portion 136 extending upward 
above the cylinder housing 112. A cylindrical end portion 138 of the 
piston 120 extends upward through a cylindrical opening 140 defined by the 
annular sleeve portion 136 of the cap member 124. A helical cam slot 142 
is formed through the annular sleeve portion 136. Seals 144 between the 
cap member 124 and the cylindrical end portion 138 of the piston 120 
prevent pressurized air from leaking from the cylinder 116 around the end 
portion 138 of the piston 120. A follower pin 146 is attached to the end 
portion 138 of the piston 120 and is positioned within the helical cam 
slot 142. 
As the piston 120 is raised and lowered by the application of pressurized 
air through the ports 128 and 130, the follower pin 146 moves within the 
helical cam slot 142 and causes the piston 120 to rotate within the 
cylinder 116. The dimensions of the helical cam slot 142 cause the piston 
120 to rotate, for example approximately 45 degrees, as the follower pin 
146 moves between the vertical limits of the helical cam slot 142. The 
location of the helical slot 142 and the follower pin 146 position the 
three tong heads 50 of the tong head assembly 48 in parallel alignment 
with the position of the three bottles 42 in the blow mold 46 (FIG. 1) 
when the piston 120 is in its lowermost position. The amount of rotation 
of the follower pin 146 within the helical cam slot 142 determines the 
desired degree of rotation of the tong heads 50. The tong heads 50 rotate 
to position the bottles at the acute angle relative to the conveyor 68 
when the piston 120 is in its uppermost position. 
A hollow interior 148 of the piston 120 is splined to a correspondingly 
shaped end 150 of a tong head shaft 152 which extends downward through the 
lower annular opening 118. The splined connection of the piston 120 and 
the shaft 152 allows the piston 120 to move vertically relative to the 
shaft 152, but the splined connection causes the shaft 152 to rotate in 
unison with the piston 120 as the piston moves vertically within the 
cylinder 116. An annular flange 154 supports the shaft 152 on a thrust 
bearing 156 which is supported by a bearing mount 158 fixed to the bottom 
of the cylinder housing 112. The bearing 156 allows the shaft 152 to 
rotate within the cylinder housing 112. 
The tong head shaft 152 extends below the cylinder housing 112 and 
terminates in a square flange 160. A top plate 162 of the tong head 
housing 110 of the tong head assembly 48 is attached by bolts 166 to two 
half plates 168. The square flange 160 is sandwiched between the top plate 
162 and the half plates 168 so that vertical movement of the piston 120 
causes the follower pin 146 to move within the helical slot 142 and rotate 
the piston 120, the shaft 152 and the attached tong head housing 110. 
The manner by which the tongs 52 of the tong heads 50 of the tong head 
housing 110 grip the finish portion 54 of the bottles is understood from 
FIGS. 3 to 5. Each tong head 50 includes a piston 170 which is located 
within a cylinder 172 formed in the housing 110 for the tong heads 50. The 
piston 170 provides the force for manipulating the bottle-gripping tongs 
52 into and out of contact with the finish portion 54 (FIG. 4) of each 
bottle. The piston 170 includes a lower projection 174 and a pin 176 
pivotably attaches the upper ends of two links 178 to the projection 174. 
Two tong arms 180 are pivotably attached to the lower ends of the links 
178 by pins 182. The tong arms 180 are pivotably mounted on a shaft 184 
which is fixed to the bottom of the tong head 50. The tongs 52 are bolted 
to the free ends of the tong arms 180 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As the 
piston 170 is lowered, the pin 176 moves toward the fixed shaft 184, the 
distance between the pins 182 increases, and the tong arms 180 pivot about 
the fixed shaft 184 in a scissors-like fashion to increase the distance 
between the tongs 52. This type of movement will result in the tongs 52 
releasing the bottles 42. Upward movement of the piston 170 causes the 
opposite or reverse type of movement to close the tongs 52. This type of 
movement will result in the tongs gripping the bottles 42 about the finish 
portion 54. Thus, the tongs 52 open and close due to a scissor action of 
the tong arms 180 created by vertical movement of the piston 170. 
A spring 186 maintains the piston 170 an up position and biases the tongs 
52 to the closed gripping position. To open the tongs 52, pressurized air 
is applied to the top of the piston 170 to compress the spring 186. 
Pressurized air for moving the piston 170 is fed into the cylinder housing 
112 via a passageway 188 through the shaft 106. As is shown in FIG. 3, the 
passageway 188 is connected through an annular groove in the shaft 106 to 
a passage 188a formed in the take-out arm housing 86, through another 
annular groove in the shaft 82, through a passageway 188b formed in the 
shaft 82, to a port 188c in the column 62. Pressurized air is applied and 
relieved through the port 188c. 
Air from the passageway 188 fills the annular opening 118 around the tong 
head shaft 152. The opening 118 is bounded by seals 190 to confine the air 
to the opening 118 during rotation of the shaft 152. A hole 192 is formed 
radially into the shaft 152 and directs the air within the opening 118 
into an axial passageway 194 formed in the shaft 152. The passageway 194 
extends through the shaft 152 and the flange 160. 
An opening 196 is formed through the top plate 162 of the tong head housing 
110 in alignment with the passageway 194 in the shaft 152. The opening 196 
opens into a hollow neck 198 of the tong head housing 110. The air then 
moves from the neck 198 to a manifold 200 which runs the horizontal length 
of the housing 110 to provide communication with the piston cylinders 172 
of each tong head 50 within the housing 110. Seals 202 prevent substantial 
air leakage around the piston 170 when the piston moves within the 
cylinder 172. When pressurized air is supplied through the passageway 188, 
the hole 192, the passageway 194, the opening 196 and the hollow neck 198 
to the manifold 200, the piston 170 of each tong head 50 is forced 
downward. The tongs 52 are moved apart by the downward movement of the 
piston 170. Conversely, the tongs 52 are closed when the pressurized air 
to the piston 170 of each tong head 50 is vented or released and the 
compressed spring 186 is allowed to expand and raise each piston 170. 
The take-out cycle begins with air pressure applied to the piston 170 to 
force it downward against the force of the spring 186 in the tong head 
cylinder 172. The tong arms 180 scissor to separate the tongs 52. The 
separated condition of the tongs 52 is the condition occurring after the 
bottles 42 from the previous take-out cycle have been released. The tongs 
52 are maintained separated while the rack 92 is moved longitudinally to 
rotate the gear 88 and thereby pivot the take-out arm 58 at its inner end 
60 until the tong head assembly 48 is located over the newly formed 
bottles in the blow mold 46. Since the tongs 52 are separated, the tongs 
52 fit adjacent to the finish portion 54 on the newly formed bottles 42 in 
the blow mold 46. At this time the air pressure to the piston 170 is 
relieved and the spring 186 moves the piston upward. The tong arms 180 
scissor in the other direction and the tongs 52 grip the finish portion 
54. The blow mold 46 separates and the rack 92 is moved in the other 
longitudinal direction to pivot the take-out arm 58 and move the bottles 
forward from the blow mold 46 to a position over the dead plate 64. The 
housing 110 tong heads 50 rotates about the take-out arm 58 in a direction 
opposite to the rotation of the take-out arm 58 to maintain the vertical 
orientation of the bottles 42 during transfer from the blow mold 46 to the 
dead plate 64 (see FIGS. 1, 6 and 7). After suspending the glass bottles 
42 over the dead plate 64 (FIG. 7) for the cooling period, or while the 
bottles are suspended over the dead plate 64 during the cooling period, 
the piston 120 is driven upward in the cylinder housing 112 to cause the 
follower pin 146 to follow the helical cam slot 142 and thereby rotate the 
tong head housing 110 and the gripped bottles 42 through the acute angle. 
Thereafter the take-out arm 58 is rotated slightly further by movement of 
the rack 92 to deposit the bottles 42 on the dead plate 64. Air pressure 
is applied to the piston 170 to cause the tongs 52 to open and release the 
bottles 42 onto the dead plate 64 (FIG. 9). The take-out arm 58 begins 
rotating in the opposite direction to allow the tongs 52 to clear the 
bottles 432, and the piston 120 is then moved back to the lower position 
to return the tong head housing 110 to its position in alignment with the 
next set of bottles formed in the blow mold 46. This take-out cycle is 
thereafter repeated on a continuous basis. 
The pusher mechanism 70 commences operation at the end of the take-out 
cycle. The pusher mechanism 70 operates in a push-out cycle to transfer 
the bottles 42 from the acute angular position in which they are deposited 
on the dead plate 64 to the transfer conveyor 68. The push-out cycle 
incorporates both linear and rotational movement, and the movement and 
functionality of the pusher mechanism 70 is achieved by elements shown 
generally in FIG. 10. In general, the pusher mechanism 70 includes a 
linear carrier 204 which moves linearly along guide rails 206 and 208, a 
pedestal assembly 210 which is pivotably connected to the carrier 204, a 
pusher cylinder assembly 212 connected to the pedestal assembly 210 and a 
pusher plate 214. The pusher plate 214 is attached to the contact plate 76 
and fingers 78. The pusher cylinder assembly 212 extends the contact plate 
76 and fingers 78 into contact with the bottles on the dead plate 64. The 
linear carrier 204 imparts the linear movement to the bottles 42, and the 
pivoting pedestal assembly 210 imparts the rotary movement to the bottles 
as they are transferred to the conveyor 68. The pusher mechanism 70 is 
described in greater detail in association with FIGS. 10-22. 
As is shown best in FIGS. 10-14, the dead plate 64 is mounted on a conveyor 
beam 216 which forms part of the support structure for the conveyor 68. 
The conveyor beam 216 is supported in the conventional manner by legs (not 
shown), and the legs attach to the frame of the IS with which the pusher 
mechanism 70 is associated. The upper surface of the dead plate 64 is 
essentially flush with the conveyor belt 72. An edge 218 of the dead plate 
64 extends to the conveyor belt 72 at preferably the acute angle at which 
the take-out mechanism 44 aligns the bottles 42 on the dead plate 64. 
Thus, the edge 218 and the initial alignment of the bottles 42 on the dead 
plate 64 are preferably parallel. Of course, after the push-out cycle 
commences the parallel alignment is not maintained as the bottles 42 are 
rotated onto the conveyor belt 72. 
The pair of horizontal linear guide rails 206 and 208 for the carrier 204 
are rigidly mounted on a vertical wall member 220 of a wind box below the 
dead plate 64, as is shown in FIGS. 10 to 14. The wind box supplies the 
air which is delivered through the holes 66 in the dead plate. The carrier 
204 includes channels 222 and 224 which slidably engage and are retained 
to the guide rails 206 and 208, respectively. Roller ball bearings 226 
(FIG. 14) within the channels 222 and 224 allow the channels 222 and 224 
to easily move along the guide rails 206 and 208, thereby also allowing 
the carrier 204 to slide easily along the length of the guide rails 206 
and 208. 
Between the two guide rails 206 and 208, a toothed belt 228 is supported 
between two sprockets 230 and 232. The sprockets 230 and 232 are rigidly 
connected to shafts 234 and 236, respectively, which are rotatably 
attached to extend outward from the vertical wall 220 by conventional 
bearing and mounting arrangements (not shown). A drive motor 238 (FIGS. 
10, 12 and 13) turns a sprocket 240. The sprocket 240 is connected to a 
sprocket 242 by a toothed belt 244. The sprocket 242 is also rigidly 
attached to the shaft 236 so the sprockets 232 and 242 rotate in unison 
with each other. Upon the drive motor 238 rotating the sprocket 240, the 
belt 244 rotates the sprockets 242 and 232, and the belt 228 is also 
rotated. 
The upper span of the belt 228 between the sprockets 230 and 232 is located 
closely adjacent to the upper channel 222 of the carrier 204. The belt 228 
is fastened to the upper channel 222 by bolts 246 and a small attachment 
plate 248 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 14. Tightening the bolts 246 squeezes 
the belt 228 between the channel 222 and the plate 248 to attach the belt 
228 to the carrier 204. As a consequence of this connection, the carrier 
204 is moved along the guide rails 206 and 208 as the belt 228 is moved. 
The amount of rotation of the drive motor 238 can thereby precisely 
control the position, rate and direction of movement of the linear carrier 
204 along the edge 218 of the dead plate 64. Preferably the drive motor 
238 is an electrical servo motor which is capable of very precise 
rotational control to achieve the desired degree of control over the 
position and movement of the carrier 204. 
The pedestal assembly 210 includes a main vertical shaft 250 which is 
rotationally attached by bearings 252 and 254 to mounting flanges 256 and 
258 which extend from the linear carrier 204, as is shown in FIGS. 10, 12 
and 13. A pivot motor 260 is suspended from a connection plate 262 which 
is also attached to the upper mounting flange 258. The pivot motor 260 
turns a drive shaft 264 which passes through the plate 262 and rotates a 
sprocket 266 attached to the end of the drive shaft 264. The sprocket 266 
drives a toothed belt 268 which in turn rotates a sprocket 270 which is 
rigidly attached to the vertical shaft 250. Thus, operation of the pivot 
motor 260 rotates the vertical shaft 250 in an amount, rate and direction 
controlled by the motor 260. Although not specifically shown the motor 260 
is connected to a planetary gearbox to obtain additional torque. The pivot 
motor 260 is also preferably a servo motor. 
The vertical shaft 250 is fixed to the underside of a pedestal 272 which in 
turn supports the pusher cylinder assembly 212, as is shown in FIGS. 12 
and 13. Thus, the pusher cylinder assembly 212 rotates in unison with the 
pedestal 272 and the vertical shaft 250 when the pivot motor 260 operates. 
Of course, the pusher cylinder assembly 212 is also carried with the 
carrier 204 as it moves linearly along the guide rails 206 and 208. The 
linear movement of the carrier 204 and the independent pivotable movement 
of the pusher cylinder assembly 212 create the linear and rotational 
components of movement of the pusher mechanism 70. 
The pusher cylinder assembly 212 includes a housing 274 and a pusher 
cylinder 276 shown by dashed lines in FIGS. 12 and 13. The pusher cylinder 
276 is preferably a conventional piston and cylinder assembly which 
includes an internal piston (not shown) that is moved linearly under the 
influence of air pressure supplied to the cylinder 276 by air hoses 278 
attached to the cylinder housing 274 as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. The 
piston within the cylinder 276 is connected to a piston rod 280 which 
extends out of the cylinder housing 274. The pusher plate 214 is attached 
to the end of the rod 280 opposite the end which is attached to the piston 
within the cylinder 276. A support rod 282 is attached to a flange 284 
atop the pusher plate 214 and passes through annular support bearings 286 
formed within flanges 288 atop the pusher cylinder housing 274. The 
support rod 282 maintains the pusher plate 214 in alignment with the 
piston rod 280 during extension and retraction of the piston rod, thereby 
obtaining improved operation of the pusher cylinder assembly 212. The 
support rod 282 also supports a portion of the weight of the pusher plate 
214, rather than requiring the piston rod 280 to fully support the weight 
of the pusher plate. As an alternative to the piston and cylinder assembly 
212, an electric servo motor driving a ball screw arrangement could be 
employed. Such an arrangement provides excellent control of the movement 
of the pusher plate along its movement path, allowing a wide variety of 
motion profiles to be created. 
The contact plate 76 is attached to the pusher plate 214, and the equally 
spaced fingers 78 are attached to the contact plate 76 as shown in FIGS. 
10-13. The fingers 78 project outward from the contact plate 76 at the 
same intervals as the bottles 42 are spaced when they are released by the 
take-out mechanism 44. Accordingly, when the pusher cylinder 276 extends 
the pusher plate 214, the contact plate 76 and the fingers 78 are in the 
appropriate position to contact the bottles 42 from the side and from 
behind to move them onto the transfer conveyor belt 72, as shown in FIG. 
15. 
The attachment of the pusher cylinder assembly 212 atop the pivotable 
pedestal assembly 210, the attachment of the pedestal assembly 210 to the 
linear carrier 204, and the linear movement of the carrier 204 allows the 
pusher plate 214 to be extended, retracted, linearly translated, and 
rotated in movements which are all independent of each other. These ranges 
and types of motion are all utilized in the push-out cycle accomplished by 
the pusher mechanism 70. 
The push-out cycle is illustrated in FIGS. 15 to 22. The push-out cycle 
sequence of operation begins with the bottles 42 aligned on the dead plate 
64 parallel to the edge 218 at the acute angle to the conveyor belt 72 
(FIG. 10). The piston rod 280 extends the pusher plate 214 toward the 
bottles 42 to engage the contact plate 76 and fingers 78 with the bottles 
42 (FIGS. 13, 14 and 16). The drive motor 238 propels the linear carrier 
204 along the guide rails 206 and 208, accelerating the bottles 42 toward 
the conveyor belt 72. Simultaneously, the pivot motor 260 starts pivoting 
the pusher cylinder assembly 212 and the attached contact plate 76, 
fingers 78 and bottles 42 (FIGS. 15, 17 and 18). The linear and rotational 
movement of the bottles 42 continues until the bottles are inserted into 
an open space 74 on the conveyor belt 72 (FIGS. 15 and 19). This movement 
imparts the bottles with a velocity in the direction of the belt 72 which 
approximates that of the belt itself. Of course the linear movement of the 
carrier 204 and the pivoting movement of the pusher assembly and the 
extension of the pusher plate are all coordinated from a timing standpoint 
to insert the bottles in open spaces on the transfer conveyor. 
Following transfer of the bottles 42 to the transfer conveyor belt 72, the 
piston rod 280 is quickly retracted to prevent the fingers 78 from 
contacting the bottles 42 following the fingers 78 (FIG. 20). Once the 
contact plate 76 and fingers 78 clear the bottles on the conveyor belt 72, 
the drive motor 238 returns the linear carrier 204 along the guide rails 
206 and 208 while the pivot motor 260 returns the pusher cylinder 276 to 
its initial orientation perpendicular to the edge 218 of the dead plate 64 
and to the next group of bottles 42 on the dead plate. This push-out cycle 
then repeats each time the take-out mechanism 44 delivers a new group of 
bottles 42 to the dead plate 64. 
The combination of rotational and translational movement, as opposed to 
purely rotational movement achieved by the prior art rotary pushers, 
effectively reduces centrifugal forces upon the bottles 42. The initial 
orientation of the bottles on the dead plate 64 is in an alignment which 
makes an acute angle to the conveyor. This initial orientation of the 
bottles accounts for a portion of the rotation which must be imparted to 
the bottles, thereby reducing the amount of rotational movement that the 
pusher mechanism 70 must impart to the bottles. The linear movement of the 
pusher mechanism 70 provides an opportunity to accelerate the bottles with 
a component of movement parallel to the transfer conveyor 68 without 
having to rely on rotation alone to achieve the final desired linear 
velocity of the bottles as they are transferred to the conveyor belt 72. 
The initial placement of the bottles at the acute angle reduces the 
angular velocity required to transfer the bottles to the conveyor belt 72 
which reduces the possibility of instability due to centrifugal force. 
Furthermore, the effect of the simultaneous linear movement and rotational 
movement has the effect of moving the bottles through an arc, shown in 
FIG. 15, which has a greater radius than the radius between the vertical 
shaft 250 and the pusher plate 214. By increasing the radius of the arc of 
rotation of the bottles, the centrifugal force on the bottles is reduced. 
However, to optionally provide additional protection against inadvertent 
instabilities of the bottles 42 when they are transferred to the conveyor 
belt 72 at the greater belt velocities, each IS may utilize a blower block 
80 to direct a pulse of air from a nozzle 290 at each bottle as it is 
rotated onto the conveyor belt 72. Three separate nozzles 290 are used on 
each block 80, one for each of the bottles. The nozzles 290 are connected 
to a source of compressed air by an air hose 292, and a valve (not shown) 
in each air hose 292 controls the delivery of the pulse of air. Each 
nozzle 290 targets an individual bottle 42 with the air pulse, and the air 
pulse counteracts the centrifugal force on each of its target bottles as 
the bottles move onto the conveyor belt 72. The air pulses delivered by 
the nozzles 290 may even help maintain the bottles 42 in contact with the 
contact plate 76 and fingers 78 during transfer to the conveyor belt 72, 
depending on the length and duration of the pulses. The duration of the 
air pulse is very short to prevent disturbing bottles which precede or 
follow the target bottles. The opening and closing of the valves which 
deliver the air pulses is timed to occur in synchronization with the 
positioning of the bottles by the pusher mechanism 70. 
Another optional feature of the present invention is an alternative 
embodiment 300 of the pusher mechanism (FIGS. 23 to 26). The pusher 
mechanism 300 may be useful in reducing the possibility of the fingers 78 
inadvertently contacting the bottles on the conveyor belt 72 before the 
pusher plate 214 can be withdrawn (consider FIG. 20). The pusher mechanism 
300 may also be useful in decreasing the rate at which the pusher cylinder 
assembly 212 needs to be rotated back to its initial position during 
movement of the pusher mechanism back to its initial position (consider 
FIG. 21). At a minimum, the pusher mechanism 300 imparts an additional 
realm of movement to the push-out cycle. The pusher mechanism 300 is 
similar to the previously described embodiment of the pusher mechanism 70, 
but additionally employs a pneumatic pop-up cylinder 302 to vertically 
lift the pusher cylinder assembly 212 and the attached pusher plate 214 
above the bottles. The pusher mechanism 300 has generally the same 
elements as those previously described in conjunction with the pusher 
mechanism 70, and the same reference numerals will be used to describe 
elements which were not altered between the first and alternative 
embodiments. 
In the preferred embodiment of the pusher mechanism 300, the pivot motor 
260 and the vertical shaft 250 of the pedestal assembly 210 are mounted on 
a second vertical carrier 304. Vertical guide rods 306 are attached 
between mounting flanges 308 and 310 on the lower and upper ends of the 
carrier 204, respectively. The vertical carrier 304 is slidably attached 
to the guide rods 306 by annular guide bearings 312 which are positioned 
within flanges 314 attached to the vertical carrier 304. Of course, the 
carrier 204 moves horizontally along the guide rails 206 and 208. The 
pneumatic cylinder 302 is attached to and extends below the lower 
horizontal flange 308 on the horizontal carrier 204. A piston (not shown) 
within the pop-up cylinder 302 is moved along the length of the cylinder 
302 by pressurized air supplied by hoses 316 and 318. The piston within 
the cylinder 302 is connected to a piston rod 320 which extends through 
the lower flange 308 of the horizontal carrier 204 and is attached to a 
bottom plate 322 of the vertical carrier 304. Movement of the piston in 
the cylinder 302 thus raises or lowers the vertical carrier 304 
independent of the position of the horizontal carrier 204. As an 
alternative to the pneumatic pop-up cylinder 302, a servo motor controlled 
ball screw arrangement may be employed. 
The pivot motor 260 is suspended from a top plate 324 of the vertical 
carrier 304. The vertical shaft 250 is rotatably attached to the vertical 
carrier 304 by bearings (not shown) in the bottom plate 322 and in the top 
plate 324. The pivot motor 260 rotates the vertical shaft 250 which in 
turn rotates the pedestal 272 and the attached pusher cylinder assembly 
212. The operation of the pedestal assembly 210 and the pusher cylinder 
assembly 212 is similar to that described above with respect to the pusher 
mechanism 70. 
The push-out cycle of the pusher mechanism 300 is similar to that shown in 
FIGS. 15 to 22, except for the vertical movement of the pedestal and 
pusher cylinder assemblies 210 and 212 which may occur at any time during 
the push-out cycle, but preferably occurs following transfer of the 
bottles 42 to the conveyor belt 72. The pusher mechanism 300 simply adds 
the potential for advantageous vertical movement to the linear and rotary 
movements achieved by the pusher mechanism 70. 
Both embodiments 70 and 300 of the pusher mechanism of the present 
invention represent an improvement over prior art rotary pushers due to 
the effectiveness of the mechanisms 70 and 300 in reliably transferring 
bottles 42 to a faster transfer conveyor belt 72. The combined linear and 
rotary motion of the contact plate 76 and fingers 78 reduce the forces 
imparted on the bottles 42 during transfer to a higher speed conveyor belt 
72. 
A presently preferred embodiment of the present invention and many of its 
improvements have been described with a degree of particularity. This 
description has been made by way of preferred example and is based on a 
present understanding of knowledge available regarding the invention. It 
should be understood, however, that the scope of the present invention is 
defined by following claims, and not necessarily by the detailed 
description of the preferred embodiment.