920,067. Endless conveyers. OWENS-ILLINOIS GLASS CO. May 20, 1959 [May 20, 1958; June 5, 1958], No. 17067/59. Class 78 (1). [Also in Group XXIII] Bottles 13 are transferred from a number of delivery platforms 14, to which the bottles are delivered from corresponding forming machines 12, to different positions across the width of an endless Lehr belt by transfer mechanism comprising a number of arms 80a-80f, each of a different length and swingable in a vertical plane transversely of the belt. Each arm carries at its outer end one or two pairs of gripping tongs 125 which can be operated both to grip and release a bottle and also to rotate the bottle about a vertical axis during transfer so that the bottles, which have a major transverse axis and a minor transverse axis, are deposited on the belt with their major transverse axes arranged other than transversely of the belt. In one embodiment, Figs. 1-5, 7, 10, six brackets 19a to 19f extend transversely above six delivery platforms 14, each bracket being of a different length. A frame 23 is mounted for vertical sliding movement in the outer end of each bracket so that the height of the transfer arm, which is mounted on a shaft 70 arranged in the lower portion of frame 23, can be adjusted by screw-and-nut mechanism (Fig. 11, not shown). A fluid-pressure cylinder 31, Fig. 7, containing a piston 41 mounted on a rod 42, is secured to the upper portion of each frame 23. The rod 42 is formed at its lower end as a rack bar 44 which engages a pinion 78 secured to a hub 81, Fig. 5, formed integrally with the transfer arm and journalled on the shaft 70. A shaft 85 is journalled in the outer end of the arm and is secured to a frame 105, Fig. 3, which supports two pairs of gripping tongs 125 for lateral sliding movement towards and away from one another. The frame 105 is adapted to maintain the tongs vertical during swinging of the arm by a chain and sprocket connection 84, 88, 89, Fig. 5, between the shafts 70, 85. Adjustment of the position of the tongs about the axis of shaft 85 is provided by a wrench 72 secured to an end of shaft 70, the wrench being provided with an arcuate slot 74 so that it can be secured in a desired position of adjustment to the frame 23. Each pair of tongs 125 is carried by lazy-tongs 123a, 123b, Fig. 4, from a vertical shaft 122 which is vertically slidable in a slide 127. The two slides 127 are slidable in slideways provided at the lower end of a sleeve 114 which is rotatable about a vertical shaft 118, Fig. 3, depending from and secured to the frame 105. The slides 127 are also interconnected by toggle linkage comprising a twoarmed lever 129 secured to the lower end of shaft 118, and connecting links 131. The upper portion of the sleeve 114 is journalled in a split bearing 115 of the frame 105 and contains a piston 116 having a hollow extension 117 disposed around the shaft, the lower end of which carries a double cross-head 121 engaging the tops of the vertically slidable shafts 122. Springs 132 disposed around shafts 122 normally maintain the gripping tongs 125 open, downward movement of the piston 116 acting against the springs to close the tongs 125. The two pairs of gripping tongs are automatically rotated together through either ninety degrees, Fig. 2, or forty-five degrees, Fig. 26, by Geneva mechanism comprising a drive pin 110 carried by an arm formed integral with a gear sector 101, and a driven member 112 secured to sleeve 114, the driven member incorporating a slot to receive the drive pin and locking recesses 113 to receive a hub portion of sector 101 in the two extreme positions of rotation of the latter. Sector 101 is driven during swinging of the transfer arm by engagement of its teeth with a toothed wheel 102 secured to the outer end of the transfer arm. Fluid is supplied at the appropriate times in the cycle of operation of the bottle forming machine to the pistons 41 and 116 of the various transfer arm assemblies by timing discs 150 associated with the machine and valves 153, 195 for each assembly which are controlled by the timing discs. In operation, as a pair of bottles 13 is delivered to one of the platforms 14 the respective valve 153 is actuated by a pin 151b of one of the timing discs lifting and latching an operating arm 152 which lifts poppet valve 162. Fluid is thereby supplied through pipe 157 to the space above piston 116 to close the gripping tongs on the two bottles. Shortly afterwards, pin 193 on another disc 150 lifts and latches an operating arm 194 of valve 195 which lifts poppet valve 196 to supply fluid via pipe 202 to the end 204 of a shuttle valve 172 which reverses the connections of pressure fluid to cylinder 31, causing piston 41 to move downwards and swing the transfer arm over the conveyer. Subsequently, arm 152 is unlatched by pin 151a on the first timing disc to release the bottles on to the conveyer, after which arm 194 is unlatched by a further pin to allow fluid to escape from the end 204 so that a spring 183 returns the shuttle valve 172 to its former position causing piston 41 to be raised to return the transfer arm. Means is provided for adjustably damping the swinging movements of the arm at the ends of such movements. During the downward movement of the piston 41 this is effected by cutting off of one exhaust port 55 by the piston 41 and causing the fluid to pass through a one-way adjustable needle valve 58 in the base of cylinder 31. During the return stroke of piston 41, the damping is effected progressively by a tapered pin 45 on the piston entering one exhaust port 46 after which fluid passes through an adjustable needle valve 34. In another embodiment, Fig. 21, the construction is similar to that of the previous embodiment excepting that only one pair of gripping tongs is provided on each transfer arm and is mounted directly on the lower end of the sleeve 114 which is adapted to be rotated through forty-five degrees during swinging of the transfer arm. U.S.A. Specification 1,911,119 is referred to.