A PARISON TRANSFERRING MECHANISM FOR A GLASSWARE CONTAINER MANUFACTURING MACHINE

Abstract: The parison transferring mechanism comprises parison gripping and releasing means, and driving means operable to swing the gripping and releasing means back and forth about a horizontal axis between a gripping and a releasing position. The driving means comprises a gear (12) on which the grip­ ping and releasing means is mounted and a rack (16) meshed with the gear and movable to turn the gear. The mechanism also comprises adjusting means, to adjust the backlash bet­ ween the gear and the rack, comprising a guide member (30) for the rack (16) which is restrained against movement trans­ versely of the rack but is movable by setting means (50, 56) towards or away from the gear (12). The setting means acts between the guide member (30) and a fixed frame (10) and locking means (70) locks the guide member in its adjusted position.

Description: A parison transferring mechanism for a glassware container manufacturing machine This invention is concerned with a parison transferring mechanism for a glassware container manufacturing machine. In a glassware container manufacturing machine of the so-called individual section type, parisons are manufactured in a blank or parison mould and are transferred to final or blow moulds in which the parison is formed into the required container. The parisons are transferred by a parison transferring mechanism which is also known as an invert mechanism since the parsons are inverted in the course of transfer. The parison transferring mechanism of such a machine comprises parison gripping and releasing means provided by split rings the halves of which are movable towards or away from one another to grip or release a parison, and driving means operable to move the gripping and releasing means between a gripping position thereof in which the means can grip a newly-moulded parison and a releasing position thereof in which the means can release the parison into a mould in which the parison is formed into a container. Conventionally, the driving means operates to swing the gripping and releasing means back and forth about a horizontal axis through an arc of approximately 1800 The gripping and releasing means carries a parison as it is swung in one direction along its arc, releases the parison, and is then swung back to collect a further parison. The driving means comprises a gear on which the gripping and releasing means is mounted, the gear having a cylindrical toothed surface and being mounted for turning movement about the horizontal axis about which the gripping and releasing means is swung. The driving means also comprises a rack having a linear toothed surface having teeth which are meshed with the teeth of said gear. The driving means also comprises moving means operable to move the rack linearly past the gear so as to cause the gear to turn about said horizontal axis, the moving means conventionally being a pneumatic piston and cylinder assembly having a piston rod to which the rack is attached. On conventional machines of the individual section type, the adjustment of the backlash between the gear and the rack of the parison transferring mechanism is carried out by the application of sledge hammer and/or crow bar to the rack so as to move it towards or away from the gear. It is, thus, cormnon that the backlash is incorrect resulting either in the rack and the gear jamming together so as to cause excessive tooth loading with probable damage to the machine, or, if the backlash is too great, parisons transferred by the transferring mechanism are subject to damage due to excessive vibration of the transferring mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide a parison transferring mechanism for a glassware container manufacturing machine in which the aforesaid backlash can be adjusted as desired. The invention provides a parison transferring mechanism for a glassware container manufacturing machine, the mechanism comprising parison gripping and releasing means, and driving means operable to move the gripping and releasing means between a gripping position thereof in which the means can grip a newly-moulded parison and a releasing position thereof in which the means can release the parison into a mould in which the parison is formed into a container, the driving means operating to swing the gripping and releasing means back and forth about a horizontal axis, the driving means comprising gear on which the gripping and releasing means is mounted, the gear having a cylindrical toothed surface and being mounted for turning movement about said horizontal axis, a rack having a linear toothed surface having teeth which are meshed with the teeth of said gear, and moving means operable to move the rack linearly past the gear so as to cause the gear to turn about said horizontal axis, characterised in that the mechanism also comprises adjusting means operable to adjust the backlash between the teeth of the gear and the teeth of the rack, the adjusting means comprising a guide member defining a guide along which the rack is movable and in which the rack is held against movement relative to the guide member transversely of or away from the gear, the guide member being restrained against movement transversely of the rack in a direction parallel to said horizontal axis by engagement between opposite surfaces of the guide member and restraining means fixed to a frame of the glassware container manufacturing machine, but being movable transversely of the rack to adjust said backlash by setting means acting between said guide member and said frame, the mechanism also comprising locking means operable to lock the guide member to said frame when the guide member is in its adjusted position. In a parison transferring mechanism in accordance with the last preceding paragraph, the backlash between the gear and the rack can be adjusted to a limit set by the setting means so that either excessive or too little backlash can be avoided. Conveniently, the setting means comprises a pin having a first cylindrical portion which passes through a tightly-fitting passage in the guide member and a second cylindrical portion arranged eccentrically of the first cylindrical portion, the second cylindrical portion extending into an oval recess in said frame, the pin also comprising means whereby the pin can be turned to cause force between the second cylindrical portion and the frame to move the first cylindrical portion and hence the guide member relative to the frame. In order to enable the backlash to be adjusted to a predetermined setting, a scale may be marked on a portion of said pin or on the guide member adjacent said pin, said scale indicating the amount of said backlash. There now follows a detailed description, to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, of adjusting means of a parison transferring mechanism which is illustrative of the invention. It is to be understood that the illustrative adjusting means has been selected for description by way of example and not of limitation of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is plan view of the illustrative adjusting means showing some parts in section; and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line Il-Il in Figure 1. The illustrative adjusting means forms part of a parison transferring mechanism for a glassware container manufacturing machine of the individual section type. This machine has a frame 10 on which the parison transferring mechanism is mounted, the portion of the frame 10 on which the mechanism is mounted being in the form of a horizontal table. The mechanism comprises parison gripping and releasing means (not shown), and driving means operable to move said gripping and releasing means between a gripping position thereof in which the means can grip a newly-moulded parison and a releasing position thereof in which the means can release the parison into a mould of the machine (not shown) in which the parison is formed into a container. The driving means operates to swing the gripping and releasing means back and forth about a horizontal axis,the driving means comprising a gear 12 a portion of which is indicated in Figure 1. The gripping and releasing means of the machine is mounted on the gear 12 in a conventional manner (not shown) and the gear has a cylindrical toothed surface 14 and is mounted for turning movement about said horizontal axis. The driving means also comprises a rack 16 having a linear toothed surface 18 having teeth which are meshed with the teeth of said gear 12. The driving means also comprises moving means provided by a piston and cylinder assembly 20 which is operable to move the rack 16 linearly past the gear 12 so as to cause the gear 12 to turn about said horizontal axis. The piston and cylinder assembly 20 is mounted beneath the frame 10 with an upper end portion 22 of the cylinder of the assembly 20 projecting upwardly through a hole 24 in the frame 10 and an upper flange portion 26 of the cylinder resting on the frame 10 around the hole 24 so as to support the cylinder. The illustrative adjusting means is operable to adjust the backlash between the teeth of the gear 12 and the teeth of the rack 16. The illustrative adjusting means comprises a guide m3i r 30 defining a guide 28 along which the rack 16 is movable and in which the rack is held against movement relative to the guide member transversely of or away from the gear 12. The guide member 30 is fixed to the flange 26 of the aforementioned cylinder by four bolts 32 which pass through a flange portion of the guide member 30 and are received in threaded holes in the flange 26. The guide 28 is formed in a cylindrical hole passing upwardly through the flange 26 and the member 30 in which a bearing member 34 is mounted. The bearing member 34 has a flange portion 36 which is mounted in a recess 38 in the flange 26 and is retained therein by the member 30. The bearing member 34 provides a surface against which the rack 16 slides, the rack 16 being of generally semi-circular cross section (see Figure 1) and having an arcuate surface 40 which slides along an arcuate surface 42 of the bearing member 34. The bearing member 34 and the guide ttnber 30 have aligned slots therein (not down) WiJh allow acess for the geer 12 to the rack 16. It will be apparent that engagement between the surfaces 40 and 42 prevents the rack 16 from moving away from the gear 12 or transversely of the gear 12 in a direction parallel to said horizontal axis. The guide member 30 is restrained against movement transversely of the rack 16 in a direction parallel to said horizontal axis by engagement between opposite surfaces 44 thereof which are machined flat and restrainers 46 which are mounted on the frame 10 by means of screws 48. Thus, restraining means provided by the restrainers 46 fixed to the frame 10 of the glassware container manufacturing machine prevents the aforesaid movement. The guide member 30, however, is movable transversely of the rack 16 to adjust the backlash of the rack 16 and the gear 12. This movement is brought about by setting means acting between the guide member 30 and said frame 10. The setting means comprises a pin 50 having a first cylindrical portion 52 which passes through a tightly-fitting passage 54 in the guide member 30 (formed in the flange portion 26) and a second cylindrical portion 55 arranged eccentrically of the first cylindrical portion 52. The second cylindrical portion 55 of the pin 50 extends into an oval recess 56 in the frame 10. The pin 50 also comprises an hexagonal portion 58 which is clear of the guide member 30 which provides means whereby the pin 50 can be turned to cause force between the second cylindrical portion 54 and the frame 10 within the recess56 to move the first cylindrical portion 52 and hence the guide member 30 relative to the frame 10. A scale 60 is marked on a flange portion 62 of the pin 50 to indicate the amount of the backlash by reference to a mark 64 on the frame 10. In an alternative construction, the scale could be marked on the frame 10 and the mark 64 on the flange 62. An annular groove 66 is formed in the cylindrical portion 52 of the pin 50 and is entered by a retaining screw 68 which serves to prevent the pin 50 from moving vertically relative to the guide member 10. The illustrative parison transferring mechanism also comprises locking means operable to lock the guide member 30 to the frame 10 when the guide member 30 is in its adjusted position. The locking means comprises four locking bolts 70 (see Figure 1) each of which passes through a clearance hole in the guide member 30 and enters a threaded hole in the frame 10. In order to adjust the backlash between the gear 12 and the rack 16, the bolts 70 are loosened, the pin 50 is turned by applying a spanner to the hexagonal portion 58 thereof until the required amount of backlash is achieved as indicated by the scale 60, and then the bolts 70 are tightened again to prevent the guide member 30 from moving out of its adjusted position.

Claims: Claims: 1. A parison transferring mechanism for a glassware container manufacturing machine, the mechanism comprising parison gripping and releasing means, and driving means operable to move the gripping and releasing means between a gripping position thereof in which the means can grip a newly-moulded parison and a releasing position thereof in which the means can release the parison into a mould in which the parison is formed into a container, the driving means operating to swing the gripping and releasing means back and forth about a horizontal axis, the driving means comprising a gear (12) on which the gripping and releasing means is mounted, the gear having a cylindrical toothed surface (14) and being mounted for turning movement about said horizontal axis, a rack (16) having a linear toothed surface (18) having teeth which are meshed with the teeth of said gear, and moving means (20) operable to move the rack (16) linearly past the gear (12) so as to cause the gear to turn about said horizontal axis, characterised in that the mechanism also comprises adjusting means operable to adjust the backlash between the teeth of the gear (12) and the teeth of the rack (16), the adjusting means comprising a guide member (30) defining a guide (28) along which the rack (16) is movable and in which the rack is held against movement relative to the guide member transversely of or away from the gear, the guide member (30) being restrained against movement transversely of the rack in a direction parallel to said horizontal axis by engagement between opposite surfaces (44) of the guide member and restraining means (46) fixed to a frame (10) of the glassware container manufacturing machine, but being movable transversely of-the rack to adjust said backlash by setting means (50, 56) acting between said guide member (30) and said frame (10), the mechanism also comprising locking means (70) operable to lock the guide member (30) to said frame (10) when the guide member is in its adjusted position. 2. A parison transferring mechanism according to claim 1, characterised in that the setting means comprises a pin (50) having a first cylindrical portion (52) which passes through a tightly-fitting passage (54) in the guide member (30) and a second cylindrical portion (55) arranged eccentrically of the first cylindrical portion, the second cylindrical portion (55) extending into an oval recess (56) in said frame (10), the pin (50) also comprising means (58) whereby the pin (50) can be turned to cause force between the second cylindrical portion (55) and the frame (10) to move the first cylindrical portion (52) and hence the guide member relative to the frame. 3. A parison transferring mechanism according to claim 2, characterised in that a scale (60) is marked on a portion of said pin (50) or on the guide member (30) adjacent said pin, said scale (60) indicating the amount of said backlash.

Inventors: NEBELUNG, HERMANN HEINRICH
Applicants: EMHART INDUSTRIES, INC.
Application year: 1984
Main classification: C03B9
IPC codes: C03B9