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Publication Number
US-11345626-B1
Publication Date
2022-05-31
Expiration Date
Abstract
An apparatus and method for manufacturing glass containers handles the containers individually after a hot forming process and annealing to prevent glass-to-glass contact. By handling the containers individually and preventing glass-to-glass contact damage to the containers in the form of checks and scratches is avoided. To prevent contact of the containers and damage arising from the contact, the equipment including conveyors, pushers, starwheels, shuttles, and transfer heads that move the glass containers through the apparatus maintains the glass containers in uniform spaced relationship at each stage of container processing until the containers are packaged.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing glass containers that addresses glass containers carried in multiple rows that are not in uniform spaced relationship. In such processing, glass containers are transferred from a first conveyor where spacing is not uniform to a deadplate, and then are conveyed onward in a uniform spaced relationship for subsequent processing. The arrangement is designed to prevent glass-to-glass contact after annealing by maintaining a uniform spaced, non-contacting relationship through handling and transfer.
A transfer head is mounted above the deadplate and the first conveyor and is movable between the dead plate and the first conveyor for transferring glass containers from the first conveyor to the deadplate. The transfer head has uniformly spaced pockets for receiving a row of glass containers on the first conveyor and positioning the containers on the deadplate in uniform spaced relationship, with the pockets being generally V-shaped pockets. This provides a controlled repositioning from a non-uniform spaced relationship to a uniform spaced relationship.
To move the containers from the deadplate to downstream processing while preserving spacing, a pusher bar movably mounted over the deadplate pushes the glass containers deposited on the deadplate by the transfer head onto a second conveyor in uniform spaced relationship. The pusher bar has generally V-shaped pockets that are uniformly spaced to correspond to the pockets of the transfer head for receiving the glass containers and maintaining the uniform spaced relationship when pushed onto the second conveyor. In dependent refinements, the second conveyor can be a vacuum belt conveyor and the transfer head pockets can include vacuum ports to hold containers in the uniformly spaced pockets.
Claims Coverage
The partial content supports one independent claim. Its main inventive features are directed to an apparatus architecture that preserves a uniform spaced relationship by transferring glass containers from a non-uniform first conveyor to a deadplate using a transfer head with uniformly spaced V-shaped pockets, followed by pushing onto a second conveyor using a pusher bar with corresponding uniformly spaced pockets.
Deadplate interposed between non-uniform and uniform spacing conveyors
A first conveyor carries multiple rows of glass containers that are not in uniform spaced relationship; a second conveyor carries a sequence of glass containers in uniform spaced relationship for subsequent processing; and a deadplate is interposed between the first conveyor and the second conveyor.
Movable transfer head with uniformly spaced V-shaped pockets over deadplate
A transfer head mounted above the dead plate and the first conveyor is movable between the dead plate and the first conveyor for transferring glass containers from the first conveyor to the deadplate; the transfer head has uniformly spaced pockets for receiving a row on the first conveyor and positioning the containers on the deadplate in uniform spaced relationship, the uniformly spaced pockets being generally V-shaped pockets.
Pusher bar with uniformly spaced pockets corresponding to transfer head pockets
A pusher bar movably mounted over the deadplate pushes the glass containers deposited on the deadplate by the transfer head onto the second conveyor in uniform spaced relationship; the pusher bar has generally V-shaped pockets that are uniformly spaced to correspond to the pockets of the transfer head for receiving the glass containers and maintaining the uniform spaced relationship when pushed onto the second conveyor.
Vacuum-port holding in transfer-head pockets to maintain uniform spacing
Each uniformly spaced pocket of the transfer head includes a vacuum port that draws a glass container into the pocket to hold it in uniform spacing.
Second conveyor as vacuum belt conveyor
The second conveyor is a vacuum belt conveyor configured to hold the containers on the second conveyor in uniform spaced relationship when pushed onto it.
Programmable logic controller halting second conveyor during pushing
The programmable logic controller halts movement of the second conveyor during pushing of the glass containers onto the second conveyor.
Across the supported claim set, the core coverage is a deadplate-based transfer and pushing apparatus that uses uniformly spaced pockets on both a movable transfer head and a pusher bar to preserve a uniform spaced relationship from a non-uniformly spaced first conveyor to a second conveyor, with dependent features adding vacuum-port holding, a vacuum belt conveyor, and PLC-based halting of the second conveyor during pushing.
Stated Advantages
Prevents glass-to-glass contact after annealing by maintaining containers in a uniform spaced, non-contacting relationship during handling and transfer.
Documented Applications
Manufacturing glass containers through processing involving annealing lehr and subsequent inspection and packaging while avoiding container contact and damage.
Inspection of containers after annealing using an inspection station with a starwheel and rejection chute to address checks and scratches.
Packaging using cell packs and alternating shuttles with a vacuum transfer head with cups matched to pocket/cell spacing to load cell packs while avoiding container contact and damage.
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