FR2771730A1 - INDIVIDUAL SECTOR TRAINING MACHINE - Google Patents

Abstract

The individual section forming machine (10) has a plurality of individual sections (11), each comprising a frame section (11A) having a top wall. A pair of mold support mechanisms (16) is supported above the upper wall of the section frame (11A) for rectilinear movement and moved by a motor having a rotary outlet fixed to the upper wall, via a rotary to straight transmission (18) supported above the upper wall of the section frame (11A) horizontally adjacent to the mold support mechanisms (16).

Description

INDIVIDUAL SECTOR TRAINING MACHINE

DESCRIPTION

  The invention relates to machines for forming at I.S.

  (individual sections) which transform drops, into molten glass, into bottles in a two-step process and, more specifically, the mold opening and closing mechanisms of this machine. The first forming machine with individual sections was patented under US Nos. 1,843,159 of February 2, 1932, and 1,911,119 of February 23

  May 1933. Currently more than 4,000 I.S. machines

  manufactured by a number of companies are in use around the world producing more than a billion bottles every day of the year. An I.S. machine (individual sections) comprises a plurality of identical sections (a section frame in which and on which a certain number of section mechanisms are mounted), each of which comprises a roughing station which receives one or more drops of molten glass and the forms into parisons having a threaded opening in the lower part (the finish) and a blowing station which receives the parisons and forms into bottles which

  stand upright, the finish being at the top.

  A turning ring and neck ring support mechanism, which includes a pair of opposite arms, which can be turned around a turning axis, carries the parisons from the roughing station to the blowing station by overturning during of the process the gobs so that the finish at the bottom is facing up. A bottle formed at the blowing station is removed from the section by a

withdrawal mechanism.

  Machine productivity has been increased by increasing the speed of the I.S. (the cycle time of a section), by increasing the number of drops treated by a section from one to two, to three, and even to four, and by increasing the number of sections. These improvements were made without significantly increasing the width of a section. This was fundamental since the measure of productivity is observed as the number of bottles produced per unit of time in a given machine width, that is, the actual productivity. This means that, if an improvement has increased the width of a six-section machine to take the width of a standard 10-section machine, the speed of the machine and the capacity of the section being unchanged, the

  effective productivity will decrease by 40%.

  The preform station includes opposite pairs of preform molds and the blow station includes opposite pairs of preform molds. These molds can be moved between open (separate) and closed positions. The opposite pairs of neck ring molds, carried (supported near their upper parts) by the neck ring turning and support mechanism, define the finish of the bottle and maintain a parison having been formed when she is

  transferred from the roughing station to the blowing station.

  The preform molds and the blow molds which are described in the '159 patent are supported on inserts which are carried by opposite supports which are pivotally mounted around a common pivot at the front of the molds (the displacement of (front to back is defined by the displacement of the parison from the preform molds to the blow molds). Both the blank mold support mechanism and the blow mold support mechanism are powered by a linear motor (a fluid powered motor). The linear motor of the preform mold support mechanism is mounted in front of the pivot for the preform mold support mechanism and extends horizontally outward from the front of the section frame and a pair of connections connects the motor output located on the side of

  the blank to the blank mold support mechanism.

  The linear motor for the blow mold support mechanism is mounted vertically on the side of the pivot (these mechanisms installed on each section are generally called a mold opening and closing mechanism). This I.S. machine initial evolved to become the machine in which the motors (cylinders actuated by a fluid or else motors with rotary power) are installed below the molds and each motor is connected to the associated pair of mold supports via transmissions which extend vertically from the bottom of the section located at the front or at the rear of the pair of mold support mechanisms (see US Pat. Nos. 4,362,544 and 4,427,431). The drive links exert torsional forces in the supports and this was undesirable. In addition, the drive links must be designed for specific mold configurations and it is customary that the entire link as well as the mold support mechanism must be changed when switching from a drop-to-drop configuration. another. In these machines the deflector mechanism and the funnel mechanism must be placed on the side of the section which is close to the center, making maintenance of these mechanisms difficult and often requiring that adjacent sections be taken out of service. In these mold opening and closing mechanisms, there is nothing that locks the molds to the desired closed position of the molds when the parison is produced and, as a result, the half-molds can be moved aside, this which creates an enlarged vertical bead in the parison and, therefore, in the final bottle. To prevent this, links have been designed to prevent the opening of the molds in

  closed position (see US patent 5,019,147).

  A variant of the I.S. machine, described in

  US Patent 4,070,174, is called the A.I.S machine.

  In this machine, which is sold today, the pairs of mold support mechanisms are mounted to effect axial displacement ("A") rather than a pivoting movement and are actuated by motors in a conventional manner. A machine which is a variant of the I.S. machine is the ITF machine, which is described in US Pat. No. 4,443,241. This machine, which has three forming stations (roughing, reheating, and blowing, that is to say triple forming ("TF")), n was not successful. In this machine the motor for the pairs of blank and blow mold supports had a vertically extending linear motor, placed immediately below the center of the molds. This machine also axially advanced the roughing half-molds and

blowing.

  Such mold opening and closing mechanisms are extremely complex, defined by a large number of parts, specially designed for a configuration of specific machines, which occupy a large part of the frame of the sections or of the casing. This makes these mechanisms too expensive and often requires actually rebuilding the machine by modifying the entire mechanism in order to modify the configuration of the machine. In addition, it makes it very difficult to complete the piping necessary for the section mechanisms. The service air must be supplied in ducts placed at the front, or at the rear, or above the section frame and this makes piping costs very expensive. In addition, an inherent problem encountered with I.S. machines is that the expansion due to the heat on the blank side occurs in the axis of the overturning mechanism and neck ring support while the expansion due to the heat that is encountered on the blowing side occurs at a distance from the axis of the neck ring turning and support mechanism. Finally, the applied force will not be transmitted directly to the inserts which support the molds since the support which supports the inserts is in the path of the forces and, as a result, the inserts may be subjected to one of the torsional forces. when

applies a pinch load.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an I.S. machine. which greatly reduces the number of parts in the mold support mechanisms at the roughing station and at the blowing station. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become evident on reading the following part of the application and with the aid of the appended drawings illustrating a currently preferred embodiment, incorporating the principles of the invention. Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a schematic drawing of an I.S. machine comprising a number of identical sections each having a roughing station and a blowing station; Figure 2 is an oblique view of one of the section stations schematically showing a mechanism for opening and closing molds; Figure 3 is an oblique view showing the interconnection of one of the mold support mechanisms shown in Figure 2 with a threaded part drive assembly; Figure 4 is a side elevational cross-sectional view of the threaded rod drive assembly shown in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a view. front of the threaded rod drive assembly shown in Figure 3; FIG. 6 is an oblique view of a design of transmission casing separated from its support; Fig. 7 is an oblique view illustrating the manner in which a blank support mechanism is supported to effect linear movement in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the clamp; FIG. 8 is an oblique view of the neck ring turning and support mechanism for routing parisons from the preform molds to the blow molds; Figure 9 is a view similar to that of Figure 7 illustrating a second way for a mold support mechanism to be supported for the purpose of effecting a linear displacement; Figure 10 is a view similar to that of Figure 6 illustrating the design of the transmission housing of the embodiment shown in Figure 9; Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of part of the mold support mechanism illustrated in Figure 9 showing how one of the round rods compensates for thermal expansion; Figure 12 is an oblique view illustrating a screen for the threaded rod and the transmission; Figure 13 is an oblique view illustrating the machine bench for supporting individual sections of the machine

I.S .;

  Figure 14 is an oblique view of part of the machine bench; FIG. 15 is a first electronic schematic diagram intended for driving a mechanism for opening and closing molds; FIG. 15A is a variant of the electronic schematic diagram intended for driving a mechanism for opening and closing molds; FIG. 16 is a first flow diagram illustrating the algorithm for controlling a mechanism for opening and closing molds; FIG. 16A is a second flowchart illustrating a variant of the algorithm for controlling a mechanism for opening and closing molds; FIG. 17 is an oblique view, observing at the end of the section roughing station, showing a deflector mechanism mounted on the upper wall of the section frame at an angle thereof; Figure 18 is a side elevational view of the drive portion of the deflector mechanism shown in Figure 17; FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional elevation view showing a deflector above a blank mold of the I.S machine; FIG. 20 is a view similar to FIG. 19 showing a deflector coming into contact with a preform mold in a first state; FIG. 21 is a view similar to FIG. 19 showing a deflector coming into contact with a preform mold in a second state; Figure 22 is an oblique view of a deflector; and FIG. 23 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the control of the

deflector mechanism.

  Figure 24 is a similar view to Figure 17 showing a funnel mechanism mounted on the section frame; FIG. 25 is an oblique view of an alternative embodiment of a necking mechanism and neck ring support intended to be used with the mold opening and closing mechanism shown in FIGS. 9 and 10; Figure 26 is a view along 26-26 of Figure 25; Figure 27 is an axial view of the junction of the worm gear housing and the motor housing; Figure 28 is a flowchart illustrating the flipping algorithm; Figure 29 is a flow chart illustrating the neck ring opening algorithm; Figure 30 is a flowchart illustrating the flipping algorithm; Figure 31 is an oblique view of a plunger mechanism for a roughing station shown partially in Figure 17; Figure 32 is an oblique view of a metal container with a single plunger; Figure 33 is an oblique view of the plunger mounting plate; Figure 34 is a separate oblique view illustrating the connection between the first four service conduits towards the bottom of a plunger distribution base; FIG. 35 is an oblique view showing the front face of a connection box; Figure 36 is an oblique view of the upper surface of the junction box; FIG. 37 is an oblique view, observing on the upper and front faces of the plunger distribution base; Figure 38 is an oblique view of the plunger transition plate; Figure 38A is a view similar to Figure 38 showing a variant of the plunger transition plate; Figure 39 is a view similar to Figure 31 showing a variant of the mounting plate; Figure 40 is an oblique view of a portion of a neck ring support having an alternative configuration; Figure 41 is a side elevational view of a first mounting assembly showing a first mold half supported by a mold support insert; FIG. 42 is a side elevation view of a second mounting assembly showing a second mold half supported by a mold support insert; Figure 43 is a side elevational view of a third mounting assembly showing a third mold half supported by a mold support insert; Fig. 44 is a schematic side elevational view showing a blank mold supported at the roughing station and a blow mold supported at the corresponding blowing station; FIG. 45 is an oblique view of a sampling mechanism produced according to the teachings of the present invention; Figure 46 is a schematic illustration of the movement of the sampling arm of the sampling mechanism shown in Figure 45; and FIG. 47 is a flowchart of the "Z" shift algorithm of the control of

withdrawal mechanism.

  An IS machine, designated by 10, comprises a plurality (usually 6, 8, 10, or 12) of sections 11. A conventional section consists of a box-like frame or a box of section 11A (Fig. 2) housing or supporting section mechanisms. Each section has a roughing station comprising a mold opening and closing mechanism 12 carrying roughing molds which receive discrete drops of molten glass and form them by making parisons and a blowing station comprising a mechanism opening and closing of mold 13 carrying blow molds receiving the parisons and transforming the parisons into bottles. One, two, three or four drafts can be processed in each section, each cycle and the machine will be called a single drop machine, double drop, triple drop (the embodiment illustrated) or quadruple drop machine, depending on the number of drops treated simultaneously in each section during a cycle. The formed bottles are removed from the blowing station by a sampling mechanism (Fig. 40) and are transferred to a dead plate 14, then transferred, by a pusher mechanism (not shown), to a conveyor 15 which takes the bottles for remove from the machine. The front of the machine (or section) is the far end of the conveyor, the rear of the machine is the end adjacent to the conveyor, and the sides of the machine or sections extend perpendicular to the conveyor. Moving from side to side is a

  movement parallel to the conveyor.

  FIG. 2 represents a part of a section 11 of a three-drop machine produced according to the teachings of the present invention, schematically showing the molding station. Section 11 includes a section frame 11A which generally takes the form of a box having an upper wall 134 with an upper surface 94 and side walls 132. Each mold opening and closing mechanism comprises an opposite pair of mold support mechanisms 16. Each mold support mechanism is connected to, drive assembly means which drive it, comprising a transmission with transformation of rotary linear movement, designated by 18, mounted in the upper part of the section frame 11A and driven by a drive system 19 having a rotary output movement for moving the associated mold support mechanism 16, linearly in the direction of the sides, between a separated retracted position and an advanced position in which the mold halves carried on an opposite pair of mold support mechanisms will necessarily come into engagement. The mold support mechanisms for the roughing station are identical and the mold support mechanisms for the blowing station are identical, but a mold support mechanism mounted at a station may be dimensionally different from a support mechanism mold mounted at the other station, following the differences encountered in the process, which

  could be well known to those skilled in the art.

  Since the machine illustrated is a triple drop machine, each mold support mechanism at the roughing station or the blowing station will support three half-molds (rough molds or

blow molds) 17.

  The interconnection of a mold support mechanism to its drive and the means for moving a mold support mechanism between advanced and retracted positions will now be described with reference to Figures 3, 4 and 5. The figures 4 and 5 represent only a mold support mechanism which supports the mechanism associated with a single section, while FIG. 6 represents a variant of the casing which will support two mold support mechanisms when two sections are adjacent and

  only one when no section is adjacent.

  The drive system 19 comprises a servomotor 66 (with a gearbox and / or a direction of travel reverser) having a rotary output in the form of a pin 67 (Fig. 4) which is connected to a threaded rod 70 (ball or Acme type, for example), having upper right and lower left threaded parts, via a coupling 68. A casing 90 supports the threaded rod 70. The threaded rod is supported at its ends in the casing 90 in vertical orientation in appropriate bearing sets 99

  single or duplex radial ball bearing type.

  The housing has a lower part 93 which is fixed to the upper surface 94A, 94B (FIG. 6) of two adjacent section frames (the upper wall of the section will be extended outwards in order to support the housing when there is no no adjacent section) by suitable screws 95, opposite side walls 96 which include reinforcing ribs 97 and removable upper parts 98. The threaded rod is connected to a rotary movement change transmission in a linear movement which comprises nut means comprising a lower left nut 72 and an upper right nut 74 received by the threaded rod. The transmission for transforming the rotary movement into a linear movement further comprises means intended to interconnect the nuts 72, 74 with a mold support mechanism, comprising a first pair of jack links 76 connected at one end to the upper nut 74, a second pair of actuator links 78 connected at one end to the lower nut 72, and a cylinder head 82 having a horizontal bore 91 supporting a horizontal, transverse pivot shaft, designated by 80, at which the other ends of the actuator connections 76 , 78 are pivotally connected (sleeve or flange bearings are used to increase the service life of the link). The cylinder head 82 also includes a vertical bore 92 which pivotally receives a vertical pivot shaft 27 belonging to the mold support mechanism. Rotation of the threaded rod 70 in one direction will correspondingly cause the mold support mechanism to advance to the opposite mold support mechanism and vice versa. It can be seen that the cylinder connections 76, 78 create a movable toggle link between a stretched state and a retracted state and acting horizontally between the casing 90 and the

mold support mechanism.

  Each mold support mechanism comprises a support 30 for the upper and lower inserts 24 which support the half-molds which are supported on the support 30 by means of the shaft 27 which passes through vertical holes made in the support 30 , the inserts 24, and the cylinder head 82. The cylinder head 82 is housed in a pocket 101 formed in the support 30. As can be seen from the drawings, the threaded rod is vertical and adjacent to the mold support mechanism and the rotary linear motion conversion transmission, which interconnects the rotary output power of the servomotor (the threaded rod) and the mold support mechanism, is compactly positioned between the threaded rod and the mold support in the upper part of the upper wall 134 of the section. The linear to rotary motion conversion transmission is placed completely above the upper part of the section frame and applies a load to the mold support mechanism via the cylinder head approximately in the center (vertically and horizontally) of the mold support mechanism (vertically, the axis of the horizontal shaft 80 is located midway between the upper insert 24 and the lower insert 24 and horizontally, the axis of the vertical shaft 27 is placed at the center of gravity of the support 30 and the inserts 24). The load which is transferred directly from the vertical shaft 27 to the upper and lower inserts 24 is located in a plane which normally extends relative to the plane of engagement of the molds and which cuts the center of the molds (the center of the mold central or when there is a number of

  even molds, midway between the central molds).

  The direction of this load is perpendicular to the plane of engagement between the opposite half-molds (the pinch or clamping plane) and, since the vertical pivot shaft 27 rotatably receives the two elements that are the inserts 24 and the cylinder head 82 and that the cylinder head in addition rotatably supports the horizontal pivot shaft 80 which is connected to the toggle links, the inserts 24 are not subjected to any torsional forces when a force is applied. pinching or tightening. The force applied by the conversion conversion from rotary to linear motion will correspondingly be transmitted directly to the inserts 24 - the support 30 is not located in the

  path of the gripping or clamping force.

  Each nut 72, 74 comprises a flat rear support surface 84 associated with a flat surface 86 of elongated support machined vertically defined on a

  rear wall 88 of the transmission casing (cast) 90.

  When the mold support mechanism is retracted, a selected spacing (clearance) separates the rear bearing surface of the nuts 72, 74 from the vertical bearing surface 86 defined on the rear wall. The threaded rod is selected to have a rigidity so that, when the mold support mechanisms are advanced to place the half-molds

  supported in clamping engagement with the half

  opposite molds and that a desired load is applied between them, the threaded rod 70 flexes enough to place the bearing surfaces of nuts 84 in contact with the wall bearing surface 86. The threaded rod housing 90 has sufficient rigidity to ensure that this load can be applied and that the removable upper part 98 can be adjusted before fixing it in place, to establish the desired clearance between the bearing surface of the

  nuts and the bearing surface of the walls. The half

  molds, the mold support mechanisms, the opposite transmissions and the casing 90 will, correspondingly, define a trellis (made up of triangular structures) supported above the upper surface of the section frame to inhibit both displacement vertical (the trellis will, in a corresponding way, isolate the support shafts from a load exerted downwards), or else make a lateral (horizontal) separation of the half-molds from the vertical loads applied during the process forming. To provide lubrication to the bearing surfaces 84, 86, an oil groove 100 may be defined in the rear wall surface 86, and oil may be supplied to this groove through suitable passages extending through the threaded rod housing 90. To minimize the phenomenon of necking or static friction, the machined surface can be impregnated with a solid lubricant. To offer greater resistance, the threaded rod housing 90 (FIG. 6) can be doubled, so that it can support threaded rods coming from adjacent sections which will be connected to rotate the transmissions.

  linear, from these adjacent sections.

  Each insert 24 (FIG. 7) comprises a first part 26 which is pivotally mounted around the vertical pivot shaft 27 and which carries one of the half-molds, and a second part 28 which carries the other of the two half-molds. molds and is connected, via a pivot rod 29, to the first part 26 at a location which ensures that the forces will be applied also to each mold. The pivot rod 27 slides slidingly downward through the first insert part 26 of the upper insert 24, through an upper wall 30A of a support 30, through the transmission yoke 82, through a lower wall 30B of the support 30 and, finally, through the first part 26 of the lower insert 24. A pair of rods 31 which extends downwards through the upper insert 24, passes through the support 30 and through the lower insert 24, has a selected clearance with respect to the insert parts, in order to limit the desired displacement of the first and second parts

insert 26, 28.

  The mold support mechanisms are, as will be described, slidably mounted for displacement on two parallel rods 40, 50. The support 30, which extends in a direction parallel to the clamping plane has an external mounting flange 32 (distant from the neck ring turning and support mechanism - Figure 8), at one end. The mounting flange is fixed, by suitable fastening elements 34, on a block 35 which has a suitable cutout 38 intended to receive the flange and has a flat horizontal bearing surface 36, intended for movement on a flat horizontal bearing surface (path 41), defined on the rod 40 which is square and which is part of a console 42 which is fixed to the section frame at a point close to one end (the console 42 could optimally be formed as part any other mechanism housing). Brushes (not shown) will keep the path surface clean and lubricant can be supplied to the block so that the bearing surfaces can be lubricated. The inner end (close to the mechanism for turning and holding the neck ring) of the support 30 is fixed by suitable fixing members 34, on a block 46 in the shape of an "L", which is made of a single piece with bearing block 48 and has a cylindrical bearing surface sliding on the bearing surface

cylindrical of the shaft 50.

  A neck ring turning and support mechanism 110 (Figure 8) is mounted on the upper surface of a section box, between the roughing station and the blowing station. This mechanism includes a pair of opposing neck ring supports 112, which can be moved from a separate position to the closed position shown, using suitable pneumatic cylinders 114 oriented horizontally. These neck ring supports support opposite pairs of neck half-rings 115 which close the bottom of the blank molds when the half-molds are closed and which, when the neck rings are closed, define the finish.

  (net) 116 of the parison and, finally, the bottle.

  When the finish has been formed, the neck ring supports 112 will be rotated 180 degrees by the neck ring turning and support mechanism, by actuating a servomotor 108 to rotate a drive shaft exhibiting in the form of a screw (not shown) supported by a screw housing 118, rotating a supported worm inside a suitable worm housing. The cylinders 114 of the neck ring turning and supporting mechanism are suitably supported between spaced, opposite vertical supports or brackets 122 and the worm housing. The vertical screw housing 118 and the turning brackets 122 are fixed to the surface

upper section frame.

  As can be seen in FIG. 8, the round rod 50 intended for the mold opening and closing mechanism located on the blank side is placed near the neck ring turning and support mechanism, while being supported at each end by the opposite turning brackets 122. The round rod intended for the mold opening and closing mechanism, on the blowing side, is a round shaft 50A, 50B produced in two parts. These shafts are mounted coaxially and each is supported at one end by a turning console 122 and, at the other end, by a vertical screw housing 118. The square shafts 40 allow the support, whether it be the station or the blowing station, to expand when the temperature increases, in a uniform direction away from the axis of

  flipping (the center of the section).

  As a variant, as shown in FIGS. 9-11, two round shafts 50c can be mounted directly on the support 30. The free end of these shafts is slidably housed by appropriate bearings 170 (FIG. 10) placed at the interior of suitable holes 171 formed in a pair of mounting blocks 172 designed to be made in one piece with the threaded rod housing 90. Each mounting block has a pair of bearings 170 spaced apart vertically, intended to receive a round shaft 50C from the support mechanisms of the adjacent sections. The round shafts of each pair associated with a particular section (an upper section and a lower section) are placed vertically equidistant above and below the axis of the horizontal cylinder head pivot shaft 80. Being since the thermal expansion of the drive housing is not going to be as strong as the thermal expansion of the support 30, a compensation mechanism is integrated in the support, so that the support, whether it is the blowing station or the roughing station can expand when the temperature increases, in a uniform direction, away from the center (the turning axis) of the section. As shown in FIG. 11, a screw 174 connects a key 176 mounted on one side of the support 30, capable of sliding horizontally in an elongated horizontal keyway 177, with

  the outer round shaft 50C on the other side of the support.

  The support holes 178 and 179 which receive the round shaft and the screw have sufficient play to allow the key to slide horizontally in its keyway (relatively), in order to allow this round shaft to maintain its parallelism with the other round tree on a beach of

ambient temperatures.

  In both the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 and the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, each support is supported on a round shaft placed between the turning axis and the center of the opening mechanism and mold closure, while supported, on the other side of the center of the mold opening and closing mechanism, on a shaft which can withstand expansion due to temperature, away from the axis of the neck ring turning and support mechanism. This means that the thermal expansion that we undergo at both the blowing station and the roughing station will occur in the same direction (with a spacing of the axis of the turning mechanism and neck ring support. ). This was never

  previously reached. In all I.S. machines

  The expansion on the blank side occurs towards the neck ring turning and support mechanism, while the expansion on the blowing side occurs with a separation of the turning ring and ring support bottleneck. In this regard, expansion at the roughing and blowing stations is always produced in the same direction as that of the neck ring support, this

  which improves machine alignment.

  Figure 12 illustrates a screen structure for one of the threaded rod housings. As shown, the support is fully retracted. The screen has an inclined front wall 52 which is coextensive with the upper part of the support 30 and which is connected to the rear upper edge of the support by a hinge 53. The screen also has sides 54 which are made in one piece with the upper part inclined on each edge 56 of the upper part. Each side has a vertical part 57 which covers the end of the support in its retracted position. A screen control, in the form of a flap 58, connected to the front edge of the upper part 98, on a hinge 60, is housed in consoles 61 protruding internally and placed in opposition, consoles fixed on the inclined front wall 52 of the screen. When in the retracted position, the upper edge of the screen is close to the hinge 60. When the support is advanced, the upper part of the screen (and the flap) will become less inclined and the flap and the upper part will move relatively for

bear the displacement.

  With the transmissions of the mold opening and closing mechanisms placed above the upper wall of the section frame and with the transmissions powered by electronic motors which are mounted as shown to extend downwards from the upper wall of the section frame, the floor part of the section frame which conventionally is filled with these engines (air cylinders) and transmissions (connections) becomes open. The section frames 11A of the machine (there may be six, eight, ten, etc.) are mounted on the base of the machine which is defined by a number of two-section benches 130 (Figure 13), which are connected together. Each bench has side walls 132 and upper 134. The two-section bench has passage means which extend from one side to the other side of the bench being continuous with rectangular openings 136 formed in the sides of benches 132 , separated by a side wall rib 137 for slidingly accommodating a plurality (eight in the preferred embodiment) of fluid conduits 138 of square section and made without welding, conduits extending over the entire width of the machine. The conduits are supplied with pneumatic fluid, cooling air, process air, lubricants, and process vacuum, etc. as required. The top wall 134 has roughing station openings 140 and blowing station openings 142 which expose these fluid conduits 138 within the section boxes. Section cables and cabling extend below the fluid conduits in suitable conduits and pass through the space existing between the groups of conduits and through wiring orifices 145 defined in the upper wall 134 of the bench, in order to to establish

  a connection to individual mechanisms.

  The conduits 138, which pass from one end of the machine to the other and which are connected to suitable sources, are tightened in a manner which can be detached from each bench with two sections by a clamping structure (FIG. 14) which comprises a beam in "I" 147 placed in the underlying position with respect to all the pipes and a toggle joint device 148 placed at the front and at the rear of the bench and connected between the "I" beam and the upper wall of the bench. Each toggle joint device has a toggle actuation screw 149 which has a head 151 which can be engaged and access the conduits 138 through appropriate bench openings 153. The rotation of the actuating screw in one direction will have the effect of pushing the conduits against the side wall ribs 137 and raising them upwards to pass into forced contact with a rib 143 which projects downwards from the wall upper 134 of the base with two sections. If it were necessary to remove one of these conduits and replace it with two conduits, for example, the conduit clamping mechanism can be disengaged by a rotation of the head capable of being engaged and belonging to the toggle mechanisms, rotation in the opposite direction, so that the conduit can be removed by sliding and replaced by multiple conduits placed side by side (conduits can be added or removed to define the number of

conduits desired).

  Referring to Figures 15 and 16, each motor of a mold opening and closing mechanism operates in a conventional manner, feedback signals being provided to a motion operator which controls the servo amplifiers operating the motors (servo motors). As shown, the motors are linked together by electronic transmissions. The motor / encoder assembly number 1 (the master element) designated by M1 / 154 follows the instruction signal from the motion operator 155 and the position sequencer 150. The signal from the position operator has as the effect of positioning the feedback processor 152 which receives a digital feedback signal from the encoder part of the motor / encoder number 1, is supplied to the summing circuit 156. The summing circuit sends to the instruction signal processor 158 a signal digital signal which is supplied to the amplifier 160 which operates the motor / encoder number 1. The position sequencer of movement operator instructions receives a signal from the summing circuit 156, which signal is processed to give a signal of instructions and which is sent to a second summing circuit 161 which also receives a signal from the position feedback processor 166 which receives a digital feedback signal from the motor part r / encoder number 2 (M2 / 168) and sends a digital signal. This signal is converted by the second amplifier instruction signal processor 159 which supplies the signal to the second amplifier 162 which actuates the motor / encoder

number 2 (the slave) 168.

  The separation between the half-molds, when the mold supports are fully retracted (each one is in the starting position) can be determined and, halfway between them, there is the ideal central point of movement of the mold . The initial stage of the feeding program consists, for the Instruction Position Sequencer 150, of defining a displacement profile which operates the motors (Ml, M2), which are electronically coupled together, in order to move the associated molds to these motors at this ideal central point. To verify that the displacement of the two mold supports has been completed, the speed of each motor is tested and, if the speed of one motor (MVi) and the speed of the other motor (MV2) is zero, l The next step in the feeding program will start, the Instruction Position Sequencer emitting a speed profile which gives control of the two motors at a very slow speed (Vs) (this can be any instruction which causes the operation of the engines). When the actual speed of each new motor goes to zero, a determination is made to verify that the actual end position of the advanced mold support is within an acceptable error range (+/- "X "relative to the ideal central point). The encoder that is associated with each motor provides data from which the actual end position can be determined. If the mold supports are placed in an acceptable manner, the third stage of the feeding program starts up each motor to apply a selected torque for a fixed period of time ("Tl") which can be introduced via a computer. This period of time is the duration of tightening of the half-molds against each other. When this time has elapsed, each mold support is returned to its "0" position or starting position. As shown, to return the mold support mechanisms to their starting positions, each motor is operated at a slow speed (-VS), the sign - signifying rotation in the opposite direction (which can be fixed - the arrow represents a computer input) for a limited period of time T2 (which can also be fixed - the arrow represents a computer input) to "break" the molds before the mold supports have been removed to the "zero" position, at fast speed -VR (an open profile, a constant acceleration segment followed by a constant declaration segment ending

  starting position, for example).

  A second algorithm used to control the

  two servomotors is shown in Figure 15A.

  In this embodiment, the movement operator comprises an Instruction Position Sequencer for each motor. The motors correspondingly are not linked together by an electronic transmission function. As shown in FIG. 16A, each motor is actuated simultaneously to move its associated mold support, according to a predetermined feeding profile (displacement profile / speed / acceleration) to an ideal central position (half the total distance plus one selected distance which would cause opposing mold supports to come into contact and thus shut down). The fact that both mold supports have been stopped is checked (the error signal can be monitored), and the actual position of each mold support is determined and compared to the ideal midpoint position. If the actual position of each mold holder is placed within +/- X of the ideal midpoint position, the feed is considered acceptable. If not, an error signal will be produced. The real midpoint is determined (the total distance traveled by the two mold supports, divided by two) and a new ideal midpoint is defined. If a mold support has moved further than the other (more than an acceptable difference) the command will define a scaling factor intended for the supply profile for one of the motors which will either speed up the movement, or slow down the movement, in order to reduce the difference vis-à-vis the distance traveled by the two mold supports. The command will then apply the necessary torque to the motors, and continue to follow

  the program shown in figure 16.

  FIG. 17 represents a deflector mechanism 180 mounted on the upper wall 134 of a section frame 11A. A support arm 182, which supports three deflectors 184 (the deflector mechanism is shown schematically, since there are a wide variety of specific designs), is connected to a vertical actuating rod 186 This actuating rod will be lifted and rotated during the highest part of its elevation, so that the deflectors can be moved between a raised retracted position and an advanced, lowered position, in which the deflectors will be placed in the upper part of the molds to draft. This composite movement is carried out by a servomotor 188 (FIG. 18) which has a rotary outlet 190 connected via a coupling device 192 to a screw 194. The screw is connected by thread to a nut 196 which is free to turn at 'Inside a suitable hole 198 formed in a cam casing 199. A cam follower, in the form of a roller 202, moves in a barrel cam 204 defined in the wall 206 of the cam casing. The vertical actuating rod 186 is mounted on the upper part of the nut. As can be seen in FIG. 17, the cam casing has a base 208 which is bolted at 209 to the upper wall 134 of the section frame 11A at a front angle to the section frame defined by a side wall 132 and the front wall 135. When in the advanced position, the axes of the deflectors are coaxial with respect to the axes of the closed preform molds and in the upper part of the preform molds. When the cam is actuated, the deflectors will first partially raise by moving away from the blank molds, then while the deflectors are raised, travel the rest of the way, the deflectors will be moved away from the center of the molds during roughing, so that the neck ring turning and support mechanism can transfer the parisons that have been formed to the blow mold. The deflector mechanism can be placed in the front part of the section frame at each angle and, unlike conventional vector mechanisms, the deflector arm, fully raised and retracted, can be placed completely inside the section, as shown in the

  Figure 17, and do not cover an adjacent section.

  A deflector (Figure 19) has a body 248, which includes a cup-shaped portion 250 having an inclined annular sealing surface 252 which extends around its open bottom, for sealingly contacting a surface 254 corresponding made in the upper part of the open blank mold and close it. The body 248 also comprises a vertical tubular bushing part 256, which defines a cylindrical bearing surface 258 intended to receive, in a sliding manner, the rod 260 belonging to a piston element 262. The cylindrical head 264 of the piston element 262 has an annular sealing surface 265 which is movable with sliding inside the bore 266 of the cup-shaped part 250. A spring 268, which is placed around the vertical tubular sleeve part 256, is compressed between a collar 270 which is detachably fixed on the support arm and which is fixed to the piston rod 260 and to the upper part of the cup-shaped part 250, to keep the upper surface of the cylindrical head 264 in contact with the adjacent surface of the cup-shaped part when the deflector is separated from the

blank mold.

  When the deflector is lowered onto a preform mold as shown in Figure 20, the control (Figure 23) will move the flange 270 down, until the upper part of the flange is placed at a first distance Dl of the upper surface 272 of the preform mold, to which the cylindrical head will be lowered, relative to the cup-shaped part, to define a desired clearance "X" between the lower annular surface 274 of the cylindrical piston head and the upper surface of the preform mold (the cylindrical head has moved relative to the part in

  cup shape over a vertical distance "y").

  This applies a desired compressive force between the piston element and the preform mold, making it possible to establish the desired seal between the annular contact surfaces 252, 254 inclined. Now, plating air is introduced into the preform mold, through the central hole 276, into the piston rod, passing through a number of radially extending holes 278, formed in the cylindrical head, and by going into a corresponding number of vertical holes 280 and passing through the annular gap formed between the annular lower surface 281 of the cylindrical head and the upper surface 272 of the blow mold, in the blank mold (suitable holes 282, ensuring the connection of the interior volume of the body to the atmosphere, ensure that the cylindrical head can move slightly relative to the body). When the plating blowing is completed and the drop is to be formed into a parison, the flange is moved until the upper part of the flange is placed at a second distance D2 from the upper surface 272 of the blank mold. This causes the lower annular surface 281 of the cylindrical head to come into forced contact with the upper surface 272 of the preform mold, to close this preform mold. When the parison is formed (when it is forced to fill the volume of the internal cavity defined by the interior surface of the preform mold and the bottom surface of the cylindrical head), air can escape through a number of small notches 286 (4 in the preferred embodiment) defined in the lower annular surface 281 of the cylindrical head (Figure 22), passing through the vertical holes 280 through the holes 278, entering the bore 276 of the piston rod and exiting through exhaust holes 290 which are now exposed, and passing into the space existing between the upper part of the piston and the cup-shaped part 250, and

  leaving the exhaust openings 292.

  When a funnel mechanism 210 receives an operation request, it can be mounted on the other front angle. As can be seen in FIG. 24, the deflector and funnel mechanisms are identical, except for the direction of the barrel cam and except that a funnel support 212, supporting three funnels 214, is mounted on the other actuator rod. The funnel mechanism, like the deflector mechanism, can always be placed inside the area of its own section. Figure 25 illustrates a variant of the mechanism

  neck ring support and support 110.

  As shown, this neck ring turning and support mechanism can be used with the

  embodiment shown in Figures 8-10.

  The end of each neck ring support, placed adjacent to the screw gear housing 120, ends in a mounting console 113 provided with slots which is slidably housed by the keyed end 109 d 'A support console 117 fixed to a turning cylinder 114. The annular outer end 119 of a cylinder 114 (Figure 26) slides in a corresponding annular groove 121, formed in the upper part of the outer lateral support 122A concerned. The threaded end 123 of a proximity switch or sensor 124 is screwed into a suitable hole 125 made in the side console and is fixed by a nut 126 at the location at which it will apprehend the presence of the cylinder when it is located in its fully inserted position (when the neck ring holder is retracted). The cable 128 of the proximity switch extends downward through a hole (not shown) in the side console and the proximity switch is protected by a cover 129. An additional pair of proximity switches 124A (FIG. 27) are mounted on a console 131 which is fixed to the screw housing 118. These proximity switches are placed below the worm housing 120, one being turned towards each cylinder. Fixed at one end of each cylinder, near the worm gear housing, we have a semicircular target 133 which will operate an associated switch among these proximity switches, when this cylinder is placed against the worm gear housing starting from the location where the neck ring support is in its first orientation, while the neck half-rings, carried by the neck ring support, are located in the upper part of the plunger mechanism ( the starting position of the 180 turn), to move to a second orientation (oriented about 180 from the first orientation), while the neck half-rings are maintaining the gobs at the level of the

  blowing (the final turning position at 0).

  Next, the expressions closed neck ring and open neck ring will be used to describe the position of the neck ring support / console / cylinder, and the control will be described with reference to a neck ring support, but the other neck ring support is controlled in the same way. Since the servomotor 108 has an encoder which generates a position feedback signal, the angular position of the ring support

  neck is known throughout its angular displacement.

  The algorithm, illustrated in Figure 28, will identify the operational problems encountered during the reversal process. The state of the neck ring closure sensor 124A will be continuously monitored, when the turning servo 108 advances the worm gear to rotate the gear and the neck ring from the turning position of start (1800) to the final turning position (0). If the neck ring does not keep its closed position during all this movement at 180, an alarm signal will be sent. This signal could either stop the cycle or

  initiate any desired mitigation action.

  The algorithm, illustrated in FIG. 29, will ensure that the moment of arrival of the neck ring, in the open position, will be constant. The neck ring cylinder will be actuated at a fixed time in the cycle (time T), in order to move the neck ring, from the closed position, apprehended by the sensor 124A mounted on the gear case, to the position open, apprehended by the sensor 124 mounted on the end console. The time between these two signals is estimated temporally "DT" and is compared to an ideal time difference (the original time difference), and a time offset ("T"), which is the difference between the difference real and ideal time is supplied to the control which activates the neck ring cylinder. In the event that the shift "T" becomes excessive or erratic, an alarm signal will be sent to cause any desired consequence ranging from a stop of the cycle, up to a warning intended for the operator, indicating that 'it is necessary

  to carry out a maintenance operation.

  Figure 30 illustrates the inversion algorithm. The neck rings will be opened at the blowing station, in order to release a completed bottle and before the arm can be turned 180 at the roughing station, the control must verify that the neck ring is in the open position . Having carried out this verification, the turning servo will be actuated to carry out the desired angular displacement. Once the selected angle of rotation has been reached (ideal ql), the control will actuate the cylinder (the neck ring) from the open position to the closed position. Such an action will be confined by limits including the limits for which ql must be greater than X, and for which the displacement of the neck ring must be completed by Yo. X, Y and ql are individually adjustable. The command determines the real angle (ql real) when the circuit of the neck ring opening sensor 124 is cut and determines that there is an offset ql # 1 by subtracting ql real from ql ideal. This offset is supplied to the controller to correct the positioning at which the neck ring cylinder operates. When this offset becomes excessive or erratic, a signal

alarm is sent.

  The control additionally monitors the time at which the neck ring reaches the closed position by determining the actual angle q2 at which the neck ring closure sensor 124A apprehends the neck ring. The cylinders are of the conventional type, actuated by air, and the moment during which a cylinder must be pneumatically moved, from the neck ring opening position to the neck ring closing position, may depend the condition of the pneumatic cylinder. When there is a deterioration in the operation of the cylinder, the time required for the desired displacement to occur may be longer, and this delay may cause an impact of the moving structure (the neck ring structure) on the blank molds, which normally should be out of the way. The command determines a second offset ql (ideal q2-real q2) and makes a second correction to reach the angle at which the neck ring is actuated. When this degradation reaches a selectable angle, which is indicative of the need to take action, the command will send an appropriate signal indicating that it is time

  to carry out repair and / or maintenance.

  Since each angular displacement of the encoder is a function of time, these shifts could be correlated with respect to time differences for

  which we monitor their progress.

  These shifts ensure that the events dotting the

  cycle occur at constant times.

  A plunger mechanism which is part of the roughing station of a section is shown in Figures 31 and 32 and includes three plunger vessels 62, as shown, when the machine is a three drop machine. each plunger container has an upper cylindrical part 63 and a lower cylindrical part 64 with pins 65 supporting O-rings 71 and an exhaust duct 73 which extends axially downwards, from the lower surface 75 of the lower cylinder, to connect the plunger container to the necessary operating fluid (cooling the plunger, exhaust, lowering the plunger, raising the plunger, back-blowing / vacuum (in indoor and outdoor blowing machines) or cooling the plunger (in pressing and blowing machines), lubrication, lining or lifting of sleeves). The container may have an exhaust through the upper cylinder and, in this case, the exhaust pipe and associated piping should not be required. For the sake of clarity, the plunger mechanism will be described in an indoor and outdoor blow molding machine, but when a back-blowing / vacuum process is described, it is obvious that there would be cooling of the plunger in a press and blow machine. Fixed in the upper part of each upper cylinder, there is a mounting plate or flange 77 and a tool 79 which has opposite ears 81, intended to capture the neck half-rings when the neck ring supports are closed. These mounting plates 77 are fixed with suitable fixing elements 83, on the surface of a mounting block or mounting plate 85 having holes 87 (FIG. 33), through which the upper / lower cylinders can pass, and the block mounting is fixed to the upper surface 94 of the section frame 11 with appropriate bolts 89. On the upper part of the upper cylinder, a positioning pin 69 is placed. The upper surface of the section frame has a large opening (not shown) which makes it possible to accommodate the plunger cartridges, whether they are a single, double or triple drop. The upper surface 84 of the section frame is correspondingly the master surface. It is preferably machined at the location to which the mounting block is to be attached in order to define a precise horizontal mounting area. The upper part (or a surface or the area on which the flanges are to be mounted) and the upper surfaces of the mounting block are preferably machined to be parallel and the height of the mounting block is defined to position the tooling at the height desired. By also defining the cylindrical openings 87 of the mounting block, so that they receive the positioning pin of the plunger receptacles in an adjusted manner, the axes of these plunger receptacles will be placed precisely during insertion. By placing round diamond profile rods (not shown) on the top wall of the section frame and defining appropriate holes in the bottom surface of the mounting plate, this mounting plate will be positioned automatically. Since the upper part of the plunger container is fixed to the upper wall of the section frame, the expansion resulting from the effect of heat will not significantly change the positioning

of the upper part of the tool.

  The first four fluid conduits located below the rough side of a section (Figure 34) are intended for pneumatic services to ensure the descent of the plunger (conduit 300 - about 3.1 bars), the blow-molding (conduit 302 - approximately 2-3 bars), the vacuum (conduit 304) and the rise of the plunger (conduit 306 - approximately 1.5-2.5 bars). The connection of these fluids via the holes 307, in the upper wall of the conduits, is established with respect to vertical inlets 308 formed in the lower surface 310 of a plunger distribution plate 312, via corresponding holes 314 formed in a connection plate 316. The four pneumatic fluids are conveyed by the plunger distribution base to outlet orifices 320 formed in the front face 321 of the plunger distribution base. A fifth fluid conduit 301, placed under the lower wall of the section blanking station (FIG. 34), conveys the pressurized lubrication fluid. The lubricant passes through a hole 303 formed in the upper wall of the lubrication pipe through a hole 311 formed in the connection plate and into a lubricant inlet 305 formed on the lower surface of the plunger distribution base and supplying the lubricant via a

  outlet orifice 309 formed on the front face.

  The effective seal is obtained by O-rings 318 which are placed by being compressed between each surface of the connection plate 316 and the upper surface of the conduits and the lower surface 310 of the plunger distribution base, when this distribution base of diver is

  bolted to the bottom wall of the section frame.

  A transverse hole 322 is defined in the plunger distribution base to receive a crank 323 actuated by an isolation rod (valve) 324 which can be rotated from an opening orientation in which the pneumatic fluids and lubricants can flow through holes 325, to outlet ports, to a closed orientation in

  which such flow is blocked.

  Connected to the front face 321 of the plunger distribution base, a connection box 330 (FIG. 35) is provided and includes five service fluid inlet ports (320A, 309A), located on the other face and communicating with the service fluid outlet ports 320 and 309 of the plunger distribution base (O-rings 326 seal). The illustrated embodiment is a triple drop configuration, which means that the roughing station of each station comprises three plunger containers as shown in FIG. 32, that is to say, an inner plunger container (the one closest to the axis of the neck ring turning and support mechanism), a median plunger container and an external plunger container. Each individual pneumatic fluid inlet (raising the plunger, vacuum, counter-blowing, lowering the plunger) and the lubrication piping is divided into the connection box giving three outlets, one for each of the three plunger containers. On the left part of the front face 332 of the connection box, are placed, for the inner, middle and outer plunger containers (the vertical arrows, "inner container", etc., in FIG. 35, identify arranged groups vertically orifices provided on the front face associated with a particular receptacle and the horizontal arrows, "towards receptacle", etc., identify horizontal groups of orifices which are associated with a particular function), three outlet orifices 334 intended for the plunger lift fluid, starting from the single plunger lift inlet port, three exhaust ports 336 which communicate with the exhaust and three "container" inlet ports 338 which communicate with three outlet ports correspondents, defined in the rear face of the connection box (not shown) which communicate with inlet ports "lifting the plunger" 360 defined in the front face 321 of the plunger distribution base (Figure 37). The flow relating to each group of orifices arranged vertically on this left part of the front face can be regulated by a device which can modulate the pressure, such as a valve regulator and a receiving tank (not shown for the sake of clarity) , which will either connect the piping "to the container" to the plunger lifting fluid or to the exhaust. On the right side of the front face of the connection box (FIG. 35), there are also placed, for the inner, middle and outer plunger containers, three fluid outlet orifices 340 intended for vacuum, each starting with the orifice. individual vacuum inlet, three blow-out ports 342 each leaving with the individual blow-in port for back-blowing fluid services, three "to container" inlet 344 which communicate with three corresponding outlet orifices which are defined on the rear face of the connection box which communicate with corresponding "blow-molding / vacuum" inlet orifices 364 defined in the front face 321 of the plunger distribution base (figure 37) and three holes

  346 that communicate with the exhaust.

  At this point, a regulator and a valve (not shown) operate in conjunction with a valve actuated with a pilot (not shown), in order to connect the inlet ports "to container" either at the vacuum or at the counter. blowing or exhaust. Placed on the right side of the upper face 348 of the connection block (FIG. 36) are provided, for the inner and middle plunger receptacles, three outlet ports for plunger descent fluid 352 which leave from the inlet port of individual plunger descent concerning the plunger descent function, three orifices 350 communicating with three corresponding outlet orifices defined in the rear face of the connection box which communicate with the corresponding "plunger descent" inlet orifices 362 defined in the front face 321 of the plunger distributor base (fig. 37) and three orifices

  354 that communicate with the exhaust.

  The flow of each group of vertical orifices is regulated by an individual regulator valve (not shown for the sake of clarity) which will connect the piping "to container" either to the plunger lowering function or to the exhaust. On the left side of the upper face 348 of the connecting block are provided and for the inner, middle and outer plunger containers, three outlet orifices 351 intended for the function of lifting the lining, intended for the function of lifting the lining, communicate with a plunger down pipe, three "to container" inlet ports 353 which communicate with three corresponding outlet ports which are defined in the rear face of the connection box and which communicate with the "jacketing lift" inlet ports "363 correspondents defined in the front face 321 of the plunger distribution base (fig. 37) and three exhaust ports 355 which communicate with the exhaust. The flow of each vertical group of orifices is regulated by a regulator and an individual valve (not shown for the sake of clarity) which connect the piping "to container" either to the jacketed lifting function, or to the exhaust. The connection box also divides the lubrication piping into three branches which supply three lubricant inlet ports 313 (FIG. 37) provided on the front face of the plunger distribution base. Referring to Figure 37, the front face of the plunger distribution base also has a number of additional 365 inlets for additional fluid functions, such as cooling the neck ring, closing the the sampling tab, the cooling air, the opening / closing of the neck ring, etc., which connect to corresponding conduits provided in the connection box. These connection box pipes can connect to outlets provided in the upper surface of the connection box (not shown) which are connected to corresponding outlets provided in a corresponding number of regulators and individual valves (not shown for clarity ) which distribute air from the plunger down pipe, having been regulated

at the desired pressures.

  The upper surface 315 of the plunger distribution plate has three sets of outlet ports which each have a plunger lift outlet port 366, a plunger descent outlet port 368, a blow-out outlet port / vacuum 370, a raised liner outlet orifice 372 and a lubricant outlet orifice 374. These outlet orifices are of a universal (permanent) nature, that is to say that the number of sets of outlet holes corresponds to the number

  maximum of drops to be treated in the section.

  To define a specific plunger configuration (single, double or triple drop) and to define a defined plunger spacing (5 1/4, 6 inches, or 13.3 or 15.2 cm, for example), in the possibility o we have to deal with multiple plungers, a transition plate 376 (fig. 38) is fixed to the upper surface 315 of the universal plunger distribution plate via appropriate bolts 377. The transition plate has for each container a plunger lift outlet hole 380, a plunger descent outlet hole 382, a counter-blow / vacuum outlet hole 384, a liner lift outlet hole 386 and a hole lubrication function outlet 388 formed in the upper surface 390 in order to receive the downwardly projecting connection studs, provided on the plunger receptacles (an O-ring 71 establishes the seal between a downwardly protruding stud and its receiving hole - any movement of a plunger container, either inside a mounting plate hole or as part of the mounting plate will not cause the containers to tip over, since sufficient floating is ensured via the seals on the receiving holes of the transition plate) and a plunger exhaust hole 392 is configured to receive the plunger exhaust pipe 73 dependent, from a plunger container. The plunger exhaust holes communicate with a

discharge opening 378.

  To change section, to pass from one configuration to another, i.e. to change from the illustrated triple blank operation to double blank operation for example, the triple blank transition plate illustrated will be removed and replaced by a double blank transition plate (Figure 38A) which will seal off by closing one of the three sets of plunger outlet ports provided on the upper surface of the plunger distribution plate by establishing connections to the third set of ports (the control of the plunger mechanism will be modified so that only the valves, etc., associated with the two sets of ports, located in

  the transition plate, be activated).

  To allow the manufacture of bottles having a substantial height variation, the neck rings or the plunger containers can be lifted by about 70 mm. The original transition plate having a height Hi and the mounting plate having a thickness Dl can be replaced by a transition plate and a mounting plate each having a height increased by 70 mm (H2 - figure 38 and D2 - figure 39, respectively) and the neck ring support can be replaced by arms constituting variants in which the mounting console 113A raises the neck ring support 112 by 70 mm from the position Pl (Figure 25) to the position P2 (figure 39). The fixed stop 111, which positions the mounting brackets, is shown

in Figure 40.

  As can be seen in Figures 41-43, the machine, with a given pair of neck ring supports, can use preform molds having a wide range of heights to produce bottles

  having a wide range of heights. Although the half

  blank mold 17A, 17B, 17C, 17D (figs. 41-43) and the insert can take various forms, the interconnection between the half blank mold and the insert is defined to establish a fixed vertical dimension "H "between the turning center 434 and the upper surface 438 of the groove 436 of the half-mold neck neck ring (the upper surface of the neck ring). For a neck ring support placed in Pi (fig. 25), this dimension could for example be 100 mm, while this dimension could, for example, be 30 mm when the neck ring is placed in P2 ( fig. 40). Each blank half-mold has a hook-shaped lip 440 which extends annularly and projects downward near the bottom surface and which may have a number of annular parts or segments and which is housed in a hook-shaped lip 442 extending in the form of a corresponding upwardly projecting ring provided in the outer wall of the insert and which vertically positions the pre-molded half-molds (the preformed mold is positioned vertically in the horizontal plane of contact between the blank mold lip projecting downwards and the lip protruding upwards, from the mold support insert). The preform half mold may be of sufficient size that a stabilizer button 442 may be required vertically above the

  lower lip, working with a half lip

  upper mold 440 in order to stabilize the mold during its movement (as shown, the button

  stabilizer 442 does not support the weight of the half

  blank mold). Since the blank half-molds are supported at a point close to the neck ring groove at the location where the mold lip is supported by the lip on the mold support, practically all of the expansion of the preform molds, of thermal origin, will occur upward from this location and all the expansion from this location and acting downward will be insignificant (without requiring any adjustment of the plunger mechanism or the 'neck ring, which is conventionally necessary in the structures of the prior art in which the blank molds are supported at a point close to the upper part of the mold). In addition, using conventional blow molds 380 (Figure 44) which are hooked to the top via a downwardly projecting lip, the lip 382 extending in the form of a ring having a number of segments supported by a corresponding lip extending in the shape of a ring, projecting upward, provided on the blow mold support insert (not shown), which may also have a number of segments (in a location close to the groove neck), the expansion of the mold halves due to heat will also manifest in the direction opposite to the finish (the threaded part) so as to be

consistent for both positions.

  As can be appreciated, in the prior art, to pass from a configuration (single, double or triple drop) at a certain distance from the center for an identical configuration or a different configuration at a distance from the different center, it was often necessary to acquire an IS machine different or to perform

  substantial reconstruction of an existing machine.

  The main reason for this is the complication of the mold opening and closing links which have

  different defined geometries. The I.S. machine

  described is a machine remote from the universal center. It can be modified from any configuration or distance to the desired center to take any other configuration or distance to the desired center, simply by replacing a certain number of parts which define the configuration or distance to the desired center; that is, by replacing the quick-change mold support assembly of the mold opening and closing mechanism, the mounting plate, the transition plate, and possibly the plunger containers of the plunger, neck ring supports and, at the blowing station, the mold cooling mechanism could be modified, as is conventional, to modify the configuration of

the machine.

  The sampling mechanism which is represented in FIGS. 45-47, is mounted on the upper surface 94 of the upper wall 134 of the section frame and comprises a head of sampling tongue 450, which can grasp in a detachable manner the bottle or bottles located at the blowing station and which is supported by a slide, sliding along the X axis and designated by 452, which is slidably carried by a mounting housing or slide 454 movable in the "Z" axis which is movable sliding along a column of axis Z designated by 456. The axes X and Z are controlled by suitable servomotors 457, 458. The bottles formed at the blowing station, whatever their height, will always have their finish placed in a fixed vertical location (given "Z") and the bottom surface of a bottle can be placed in different vertical locations ( ZB1, ZB2) with respect to this datum Z, while remaining in the vertical height range of the bottles. These bottles are picked up by the pick-up tab head, they are removed from the blowing station and placed on a dead plate 460 which can be placed in a quantity of locations in Z (ZD1, ZD2). A short bottle will move a different distance Z (Zî) from what a tall bottle (Z2) will do. The pick command (Figure 47) defines an X-Z displacement profile for the pick tab head, to obtain any "Z" offset (ZB-ZD), and will perform the desired move.

Claims (10)

RESELL I CATIONS   1. A single section forming machine having a section (11) having a roughing station (140) for forming a parison from a drop of molten glass in at least an opposite pair of roughing half molds (17A-17D) supported by opposite mold supports, movable between retracted and advanced positions, and a blowing station (142) to give a parison the shape of a bottle in a corresponding number of opposite pairs of half blow molds supported by opposing mold supports, movable between retracted and advanced positions, comprising: first means adapted to move one of the mold supports from the roughing station (140), second means designed to move the other of the mold supports of the roughing station (142), third means designed to move one of the mold supports of the blowing station, and fourth means designed to move the other of the supports of mold of the blowing station (142), said first, second, third and fourth displacement means comprising the same drive arrangement, comprising: transmission means (18) designed to convert a rotary inlet into a straight outlet, and motor means having a rotary output connected to the rotary input of said transmission. 2. A single section forming machine according to claim 1, wherein said motor means comprises a threaded rod (70), and wherein said transmission means (18) comprises: housing means adapted to support said threaded rod (70), nut means (72, 74) associated in operation with said threaded rod (70), means serving to connect said nut means (72, 74) and a mold support, said housing means having a rear wall defining a bearing surface (86), and said nut means (72, 74) having a rear bearing surface (84), said rear wall bearing surface (86) and said means bearing surface forming a nut (84) having a selected spacing therebetween, when said mold support mechanism (16) is in said retracted position, and said threaded rod (70) has a rigidity selectively selected so that when said mold support is moved to the advanced position, said threaded rod (70) undergoes deflection to establish contact between said bearing surface of nut means (84) and said   rear wall bearing surface (86).   3. A forming machine with individual sections according to claim 1, in which said nut means comprise separate left and right nuts (72, 74), associated in operation with said threaded rod (70), and in which said means ( 76, 78) used to connect together said left and right nuts (72, 74) and the mold support comprise: first connecting means (76) connected by one end to said right nut (74), second connecting means (78) connected by one end to said left nut (72), a stirrup, a transverse shaft pivotally supported by said stirrup, and means serving to connect the other end of each of said first and second   means of connection to said transverse shaft.   4. A single section forming machine according to claim 3, wherein   said threaded rod (70) is vertical.   5. A single section forming machine having a plurality of individual sections (11) themselves having a roughing station (140) for forming a parison from a drop of molten glass in at least an opposite pair of blank half-molds (17A, 17D) supported by first and second opposite mold supports linearly movable between retracted and advanced positions and a blowing station (142) to form a bottle-shaped parison in opposite pairs of blow molding molds, supported by third and fourth opposite mold supports, linearly movable between retracted and advanced positions, comprising: four identical motors having a rotary output (190), four identical transmissions for converting the rotary outputs (190) at linear outputs, a first transmission assembly for linearly displacing said first mold support comprising: the first of said motors, e t the first of said transmissions connected with one of said motors and said first mold support, a second transmission assembly for linearly moving said second mold support comprising: a second of said motors, and a second of said transmissions connected to the second of said motors and to the second mold support, a third transmission assembly for linearly moving the third mold support comprising: a third of said motors, and a third of said transmissions connected to the third of said motors and to said third mold support, a fourth transmission assembly for linearly moving said mold support fourth mold support comprising: a fourth of said motors, and the fourth of said transmissions connected to the fourth of said motors and to said fourth mold support.   6. A forming machine with individual sections according to claim 5, in which said transmission means comprise: a threaded rod (70), housing means designed to support said threaded rod (70), nut means (72, 74) associated in operation with said threaded rod (70), and means serving to interconnect said said   nut means (72, 74) and a mold support.   7. A single section forming machine according to claim 6, wherein said nut means comprises separate left (72) and right (74) nuts, operating in association with said threaded rod (70), wherein said means serving to connect said left (72) and right (74) nuts and the mold support comprise: first connection means (76) connected at one end to the right nut, second connection means (76) connected by one end to the left nut (72), a stirrup, a transverse shaft pivotally supported by said stirrup, and means serving to connect the other end of each of said first and second connecting means audit transverse tree.   8. A single section forming machine according to claim 7, wherein said rod threaded (70) is vertical.   9. A forming machine with individual sections according to claim 8, comprising a mechanism for opening and closing the mold and in which said first connecting means (76) comprise a first left torque and said second means of   link (78) include a second left pair.   An individual section forming machine according to claim 6, wherein: said housing means has a rear wall (88) defining a bearing surface, said nut means has a rear bearing surface, said bearing surface of the rear wall (88) and the bearing surface of the nut means (72, 74) have a space selected therebetween when said mold support mechanism is in a so-called retracted position, and said threaded rod (70) has rigidity selectively selected so that when said mold mechanism (16) is moved to said advanced position, said threaded rod (70) is deflected to establish contact between said bearing surfaces of nut means (72, 74) and said   bearing surface of the rear wall (88).