Patent ID: 6926132

Claim:
In a tubular container transport apparatus for use during the production of filled tube products, wherein said transport apparatus includes spaced apart upper and lower platforms moveably mounted relative to one another, a plurality of tube holders supported by said upper platform, a drive motor for moving the upper and lower platforms relative to one another into indexed positions, and an unload station disposed on said base platform, wherein said unload station includes a mounting plate and an associated ejector rod that is operative, when a tube holder carrying a filled tube product is indexed into an unload position above said base platform, to travel upwardly through a bottom of said tube holder to eject the filled tube product out of said tube holder for collection, the improvement comprising: a hold down assembly disposed proximately to said ejector rod and adapted to be magnetically interfaced between said base platform and said tube holder as said tube holder is indexed into the unload position, said hold down assembly comprising a lower piece seated on said mounting plate and an upper piece movably mounted to said lower piece and adapted to magnetically interact with a bottom of said tube holder, thereby to retain said tube holder in registered alignment relative to said ejector rod during ejection of the filled tube product.