740,011. Washing and drying glass tubes. JOHNSEN & JORGENSEN FLINT GLASS, Ltd. March 15, 1954 [March 13, 1953], No. 6941/53. Class 138(1) In a method and apparatus for cleaning glass tubes, batches of dirty tubes supported in open-ended cylindrical containers are carried step-by-step on a conveyer, through a plurality of washing and drying stages, whereafter containers of cleaned tubes may be subsequently sealed and thus serve to store the cleaned tubes. The containers 1, Fig. 1, preferably of metal, are each provided with end members 7, the lower one, Fig. 2, when a container is vertical, supporting by means of a pin and slot connection 9, 8, a grill 2 which supports the glass tubes in the container and is held in position by a spring- pressed ball 10. The ends of a container may be sealed by closure members 3 so that tubes, after cleaning and drying, may remain stored in the container. Each container is provided near its upper end with a pair of diametrically opposed lugs 4, Fig. 1, to suspend the container vertically from any one of a plurality of holders 16, Fig. 4, secured to a chain conveyer 5 rotatable in a horizontal plane. The conveyer is rotaable step-by-step by a Geneva mechanism from a loading station A through six washing stations 17 to 22, a draining station 23, and six drying stations 24 to 29, to an unloading station B whereafter the container ends are sealed by the members 3, Fig. 2. Six separate water storage compartments are positioned below the washing stations and each is associated with a separate pump and a water valve mechanism, each water valve being situated below the lower end of a container 1 when disposed at a washing station. Six air valve mechanisms are situated above the tops of containers at the drying stages. Referring to Figs. 8, 17 and 18 each water valve 90 is rotatable by a spindle 84 so that water may be pumped from a pipe 98, Fig. 18, to a pipe 94 or so that water may be drained from the pipe 94 to a drain pipe 97. Each pipe 94 is connected to a fixed sleeve 65, Fig. 17, on which is slidably mounted a sleeve 66 having a seating 67 engageable with the bottom of a container 1. A compression spring 68 is disposed between the top of each sleeve 66 and a plate 70. All the plates 70 are engaged by a platform 45, Fig. 8, which is raisable to engage the seats 67 with the bottoms of containers when stationary at the washing stations. The raising of the sleeves 66 also causes the raising of the containers so that top ends engage fixed seats in the upper part of the machine, while seats are connected by U-bands (not shown) for delivering water back into the tank from which it was pumped. Each valve spindle 84, Fig. 8, is provided with a crank pin 83 engageable in the slotted lower end of a block 82 having a pin 81 engageable in a slot 80 in horizontally slidable bar 72. When the bar is moved to the left in Fig. 8 by means of a cam 71 and link system 74, 76, 77, the blocks 82 move therewith to rotate the valve spindles. If at any washing station a container 1 is not present, the associated sleeve 66 is raised higher than normally and a lug 86 thereon causes a rod 85 to be lifted. This rod 85 is connected to a lever 87 pivoted at one end at 88 to the machine frame 54 whilst its other end is connected to a rod 89 connected to the block 82. Lifting of a rod 85 therefore causes the associated block 82 to be lifted to disengage its pin 81 from the associated slot 80 in the bar 72 and consequently the associated valve spindle 84 is not operated. Referring to Fig. 10, the upper fixed seats 47 of the drying stations are connected to rotary air valves 112 the spindles 113 of which are provided with crank pins 115 engageable in slots in blocks 117. In this case the blocks are normally disengaged from the crank pins but when a container is raised by the platform 45 to engage the seat 47 the top of the container operates a trip which in turn operates through a linkage, to raise a push member 119, the head 121 of which carries a block 117. The block is thus lifted to engage the valve crank pin. Should a container 1 be omitted at any drying station the associated push member 119 will not be raised and the block 117 will not engage the valve crank pin. The blocks are moved by a horizontally slidable bar 99. The Geneva mechanism, the mechanism for lifting the platform 45 and the mechanisms for causing the sliding of the bars 72, 99 are all driven from a common electric motor in timed sequence as described with reference to Figs. 5, 6, 7, 13 and 14 (not shown). The platform 45 and the sliding bar mechanisms are only operable when the conveyer is at rest and the water and air valves are only operable when a container is held between the associated lower slidable and upper fixed seats. The draining of water down the drain pipes 97 back to the respective tanks occurs before the platform 45 is lowered. To facilitate such draining the U-bend (not shown) previously referred to, is provided with a flap valve normally closed when water is pumped up through the container but which valve opens when pumping ceases to admit air into the container. Sliding seat mechanisms are provided below the containers at the drying stages but are not in these instances connected to any valves.