Patent ID: 7357631

Claim:
Apparatus for placing mold charges into a mold of a compression molding machine, which includes: at least one mold charge pick-up cup for receiving a severed charge of molten plastic, a carrier for moving said cup from a source of severed charges of molten plastic to a mold cavity of a compression molding machine, a vacuum source for applying vacuum to said pick-up cup to retain a mold charge in said cup, and a source of gas under pressure including a valve for periodically applying gas under pressure to said cup to release a mold charge from said cup, said vacuum source including a vacuum generator and a vacuum limiter coupled to said source of gas under pressure for generating a continuous vacuum, said cup, said vacuum generator, said vacuum limiter and said valve being mounted on said carrier, said carrier including a plate for rotation around a first axis, a placement arm mounted on said plate for rotation around a second axis perpendicular to said first axis, said mold charge pick-up cup being mounted on an end of said placement arm for placing mold charges into molds adjacent to a periphery of said plate.