ITMI982396A1 - PISTON MECHANISM FOR A MACHINE WITH INDIVIDUAL SECTIONS (I. S) - Google Patents

Description

Title: "PLUNGER MECHANISM FOR AN INDIVIDUAL SECTION MACHINE (I.S.)"

TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to the plunger mechanism for an I.S. (in individual sections) which transforms drops of molten glass into bottles in a two-step process.

The first I.S. has been patented in U.S. Pat. No. 1,843,159 dated February 2, 1932 and No. 1,911,119 dated May 23, 1933. Today more than 4000 I.S. , manufactured by several companies, are in use around the world, producing more than a billion bottles every day of the year. An I.S. (individual sections) has a plurality of identical sections (a section frame in which and upon which a number of section mechanisms are mounted) each of which has a forming station which receives one or more drops of molten glass and shapes them into blanks having a threaded opening at the bottom (the terminal part) and a blowing station that receives the blanks and shapes them into bottles that stand upright with the terminal part on top. An inversion and neck ring retainer mechanism that includes a pair of opposing arms, rotatable about an inversion axis, carries the blanks from the forming station to the blow station by inverting the blanks from an end-down orientation to an orientation. with terminal part up in the process. A bottle formed at the blowing station is removed from the station by an extractor mechanism.

The forming station includes pairs of opposite forming dies and the blowing station includes pairs of opposite finishing dies. These molds can be moved between an open (separate) and a closed position. Pairs of opposing neck ring molds, carried (supported near their top) by the inversion mechanism and neck ring retainer, define the end of the bottle and hold a formed blank when it is transferred from the forming station to the blowing station .

The length of a blank generally corresponds to the length of a formed bottle and therefore the height of the forming molds can have a wide variety of heights. The forming molds are conventionally suspended near their tops from suitable bearing members as described in U.S. Pat. 5,516,352 and 4,878,935 which attempt to position the bottle centrally with respect to the axis of the inversion mechanism and neck ring retainer, so that the end of the shaped blank will be within a wide range of vertical positions. The vertical arrangement of the neck ring arms will accordingly be changed to follow the arrangement of the end portion and, to facilitate this change, quick replacement neck ring arms have been developed (U.S. Patent 4,652,291).

Since the closed neck rings lie near the top of the fixture of a plunger mechanism (a press-and-blow plunger or a blow-and-blow plunger) as described in U.S. Pat. 4,272,273, 3,314,775 and 3,190,188, the plunger mechanism will be rearranged vertically to follow the neck rings. To this end, since the introduction of the I.S. more than 50 years ago, the plunger mechanism, which defines a small hole in the blank at the end of the end, was mounted on a pressure screw which is secured to the bottom wall of the section frame. The set screw can be rotated to raise and lower the plunger mechanism to follow the vertical rearrangement of the neck ring retainers. A conventional plunger mechanism has a vertical stroke (one positioning range) of up to approximately 20.32 cm (8 in). The plunger mechanism is vertically displaceable with respect to a guide ring which is secured to the top wall of the section frame and guides the vertical movement of the plunger mechanism. As a result, any attempt to change the position of the plungers of the plunger mechanism by moving the guide ring to determine alignment between the plunger of the plunger mechanism and the axis of the mold will tilt the plunger mechanism relative to the base. fixed and this is very undesirable. Also, to convert the section from single gob operation to double gob operation or to switch from double gob operation to a first spacing to double gob operation at a different spacing, for example, the whole plunger mechanism above of the pressure screw needs to be changed. This is made even more difficult as all service air lines (as well as all lubrication lines) that connect to the plunger mechanism through individual hoses must be disconnected and reconnected individually and, when the machine configuration is changed from running to double gob to triple gob operation, for example, new lines must be defined. Also, since the molds are suspended from the structure near their top, the rise due to heat occurs downstream towards the plunger mechanism and may require repositioning of the neck ring retainers and plunger mechanism.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to define an improved plunger mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following part of this description and the accompanying drawings which illustrate a presently preferred embodiment, which incorporates the principles of the invention.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic drawing of an I.S. having a number of identical sections, each having a forming station and a blowing station;

Figure 2 is an oblique view of one of the section stations, schematically showing a mold opening and closing mechanism;

Figure 3 is an oblique view showing the interconnection of one of the mold support mechanisms shown in Figure 2 with its lead screw drive assembly;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional, side elevation view of the lead screw drive assembly shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a front view of the lead screw drive assembly shown in Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an oblique view of a transmission housing design separated from its support;

Figure 7 is an oblique view illustrating how a mold support mechanism is supported for linear displacement in a direction perpendicular to the clamping plane;

Figure 8 is an oblique view of the reverse and neck ring retainer mechanism for delivering blanks from the forming molds to the finishing molds;

Figure 9 is a view similar to that of Figure 7, illustrating a second way to support a mold support mechanism for linear displacement;

Figure 10 is a view similar to that of Figure 6 illustrating the transmission housing design for the embodiment shown in Figure 9; Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the mold support mechanism illustrated in Figure 9, showing how one of the round shafts can compensate for the increase by heating;

Figure 12 is an oblique view illustrating a lead screw and transmission screen;

Figure 13 is an oblique view illustrating the machine bed for supporting the individual sections of the IS machine;

Figure 14 is an oblique view of a part of the machine bed;

Figure 15 is a first schematic electronic diagram of the control of a mold opening and closing mechanism;

Figure 15A is an alternative schematic electronic diagram for driving a mold opening and closing mechanism;

Figure 16 is a first flowchart illustrating the control algorithm for a mold opening and closing mechanism;

Figure 16A is a second flow chart illustrating an alternative control algorithm for a mold opening and closing mechanism;

Figure 17 is an oblique view looking at the end of the section forming station, showing a deflector mechanism mounted on the top wall of the section frame at one corner thereof;

Figure 18 is a side elevational view of the drive portion of the deflector mechanism shown in Figure 17;

Figure 19 is a cross-sectional view in elevation showing a deflector above a forming mold of the IS machine;

Figure 20 is a view similar to Figure 19, showing a deflector engaging a forming mold in a first condition;

Figure 21 is a view similar to Figure 19, showing a deflector engaging a forming mold in a second condition;

Figure 22 is an oblique view of a deflector;

Figure 23 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the control for the deflector mechanism;

Figure 24 is a view similar to Figure 17, showing a funnel mechanism mounted on the section frame;

Figure 25 is an oblique view of an alternate embodiment of a reverse and neck ring retainer mechanism for use with the mold open and close mechanism shown in Figures 9 and 10;

Figure 26 is a view taken at 26-26 of Figure 25; Figure 27 is an axial view of the connection of the worm wheel housing and the motor housing;

Figure 28 is a flowchart illustrating the inversion algorithm; Figure 29 is a flowchart illustrating the neck ring opening algorithm;

Figure 30 is a flowchart illustrating the return algorithm;

Figure 31 is an oblique view of the forming station plunger mechanism shown partially in Figure 17;

Figure 32 is an oblique view of a single plunger container;

Figure 33 is an oblique view of the plunger mounting plate;

Figure 34 is a separate oblique view illustrating the connection of the first four service conduits to the bottom of a plunger distribution base;

Figure 35 is an oblique view looking at the front face of a junction box;

Figure 36 is an oblique view of the top surface of the junction box;

Figure 37 is an oblique view looking at the top 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 an alternate plunger transition plate;

Figure 39 is a view similar to Figure 31, showing an alternate mounting plate;

Figure 40 is an oblique view of a portion of a neck ring retainer having an alternate configuration;

Figure 41 is a side elevational view of a first mounting assembly showing a first mold half supported by a mold support insert; Figure 42 is a side elevational 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; Figure 44 is a schematic side elevational view showing a forming mold supported at a forming station and a finishing mold supported at the corresponding blowing station; Figure 45 is an oblique view of an extractor mechanism made in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

Figure 46 is a schematic illustration of the displacement of the puller arm of the puller mechanism shown in Figure 45; And

Figure 47 is a flowchart of the "Z" shift algorithm of the puller mechanism control.

An I.S. 10 includes a plurality (usually 6, 8, 10 or 12) of sections 11. A conventional section consists of a case-like frame of section 11A (Figure 2) which houses or supports section mechanisms. Each section has a forming station including a mold open and close mechanism 12 which carries forming molds which receive discrete drops of molten glass and mold them into blanks and a blow station including a mold open and close mechanism 13 which carries finishing molds that receive the blanks and mold the blanks into bottles. One, two, three or four drops can be processed in each section, in each cycle and the machine will be referred to as a single drop, double drop, triple drop (the illustrated embodiment) 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 an extractor mechanism (Figure 40) and transferred to a fixed plate 14 and then transferred by means of a pusher mechanism (not shown) to a conveyor 15 which carries the bottles away from the machine. The front of the machine (or section) is the end away from the conveyor, the back of the machine is the end adjacent to the conveyor, and the sides of the machine or sections extend perpendicular to the conveyor. Side-to-side movement is movement parallel to the conveyor.

Figure 2 shows a part of a section 11 of a triple gob machine made according to the teachings of the present invention, which schematically shows one or the other of the molding stations. Section 11 includes a frame of section 11A which is generally in the form of a case, having a top wall 134 with a top surface 94 and side walls 132. Each mold opening and closing mechanism includes a pair of mechanisms of opposing mold support 16. Each mold support mechanism is connected and operated by drive assembly means including a rotary to linear drive 18 mounted on top of the section frame 11A and driven by a drive system 19 having a rotary output for moving the mold support mechanism 16 associated, linearly in a lateral direction, between a separate retracted position and an advanced position in which the mold halves carried on a pair of opposing mold support mechanisms will forcibly engage. The mold support mechanisms for the forming station are identical and the mold support mechanisms for the blow station are identical, but a mold support mechanism at the first station may be dimensionally different from a mold support mechanism. mold at the other station as a result of differences in the process which will be well known to one skilled in the art. Since the machine illustrated is a triple gob machine, each mold support mechanism at the forming or blowing station will support three mold halves (forming molds or finishing molds) 17.

The interconnection of a mold support mechanism with its drive and the means for moving a mold support mechanism between the advanced and retracted positions will now be described with reference to Figures 3, 4 and 5. Figures 4 and 5 show only a mold support mechanism supporting a mechanism associated with a single section, while Figure 6 shows an alternative housing which will support two mold support mechanisms when two sections are adjacent and only one when no section is adjacent. The control system 19 includes a servomotor 66 (with possible gearbox and / or direction variator) having a rotating output in the form of a shaft 67 (Figure 4) which is connected to a lead screw 70 (for example ball or trapezoid), which has upper right-hand and lower left-hand thread parts, through a coupling 68. A housing 90 supports the lead screw 70. The lead screw is supported at its ends in the housing 90 in a vertical orientation in suitable bearing assemblies ball bearing 99 single or double radial. The housing has a base portion 93 which is secured to the top surface 94A, 94B (Figure 6) of two adjacent section frames (the top wall of the section will be extended outward to support the housing when there is no adjacent section) by suitable screws 95, opposing sidewalls 96 which include reinforcing ribs 97 and removable top portions 98. The lead screw is connected to a rotary-to-linear drive which includes nut means which includes a left-hand lower nut 72 and an upper right hand nut 74 received from the lead screw. The rotary to linear drive additionally comprises means for interconnecting the nuts 72, 74 with a mold support mechanism, comprising a first pair of idler links 76 connected at one end to the upper nut 74, a second pair of links idler pins 78 connected at one end to the lower nut 72 and a yoke 82 having a horizontal hole 91 supporting a horizontal, transverse pivot shaft 80 to which the other ends of the idler joints 76, 78 are pivotally connected (flanged or sleeve bushings are used to extend the life of the joints). The yoke 82 also has a vertical hole 92 pivotally receiving a vertical pivot shaft 27 of the mold support mechanism. Rotation of lead screw 70 in a first direction will accordingly advance the mold support mechanism towards.

opposite mold support mechanism and vice versa. It can be seen that the idler links 76 and 78 provide a movable toggle linkage between an extended and a retracted condition and acting horizontally between the housing 90 and the mold support mechanism.

Each mold support mechanism has a carrier 30 and upper and lower inserts 24 which support the mold halves and which are supported on the carrier 30 by the shaft 27 which passes through vertical holes in the carrier 30, the inserts 24 and the yoke 82. The yoke 82 is received in a pocket 101 in the carrier 30. As can be seen from the drawings, the lead screw is vertical and adjacent to the mold support mechanism and the rotary to linear transmission, which interconnects the The rotary output of the servomotor (the lead screw) and the mold support mechanism is compactly positioned between the lead screw and the mold support mechanism on top of the top wall 134 of the section. The rotary to linear drive is located completely over the top of the section frame and applies a load to the mold support mechanism through the yoke approximately at the center (vertically and horizontally) of the mold support mechanism (vertically , the axis of the horizontal shaft 80 lies midway between the upper insert 24 and the lower insert 24 and horizontally, the axis of the vertical shaft 27 is located at the center of mass of the carrier 30 (and The load that is transferred directly from the vertical shaft 27 to the upper and lower inserts 24 lies in a plane that normally extends to the plane of engagement of the molds and intersects the center of the molds (the center of the central mold or, when there is an even number of molds, halfway between the central molds). The direction of this load is perpendicular to the plane of engagement between the opposite mold halves (the most clamping ring) and since the vertical pivot shaft 27 rotatably receives the inserts 24 and the yoke 82 and the yoke also rotatably supports the horizontal pivot shaft 80, which is connected to the toggle joints, the inserts 24 are not subjected to any twisting force when a clamping load is applied. The force applied by the rotary-to-linear transmission will consequently be transmitted directly to the inserts 24 - the carrier 30 is not in the force path of the clamping load.

Each nut 72, 74 includes a flat rear bearing surface 84 which is associated with a machined, vertical, elongated, flat bearing surface 86 defined on a rear wall 88 of the transmission housing (casting) 90. When the mold support mechanism is retracted, a preselected spacing (clearance) separates the rear support surface of the nuts 72, 74 from the vertical support surface 86 defined on the rear wall. The lead screw is selected to have such a rigidity that when the mold support mechanisms are advanced to bring the supported mold halves into clamping engagement with the opposite mold halves and a desired load is applied between them, the lead screw 70 it will deflect sufficiently to bring the nut support surfaces 84 into engagement with the wall support surface 86. The lead screw housing 90 has sufficient rigidity to ensure that this load can be applied and the removable top portion 98 can be adjusted, prior to securing it in place, to set the desired clearance between the support surface of the nuts and the wall support surface. The mold halves, mold support mechanisms, opposing drives and housing 90 will consequently define a truss (consisting of triangular structures) supported above the top surface of the section frame to prevent vertical displacement (the truss truss will consequently isolate the support shafts from a downward load) or the lateral (horizontal) separation of the mold halves caused by vertical loads applied during the forming process. To provide lubrication for the bearing surfaces 84, 86 an oil groove 100 can be defined in the rear wall surface 86 and oil can be supplied to this groove through suitable passages extending through the lead screw housing 90. To minimize friction, the machined surface can be impregnated with solid lubricant. To provide additional strength, lead screw housing 90 (Figure 6) can be duplicated so that it can support lead screws of adjacent sections which will be connected to the rotary-to-linear drives of those adjacent sections.

Each insert 24 (Figure 7) comprises a first part 26 which is rotatable about the vertical pin shaft 27 and which carries one of the mold halves and a second part 28 which carries the other two mold halves and is connected through a pin pin 29 to the first part 26 at a position which will ensure that forces are applied equally to each mold. The pivot shaft 27 slides downwardly through the first insert part 26 of the upper insert 24, through an upper wall 30A of a carrier 30, through the drive yoke 82, through a lower wall 30B of the carrier 30 and finally through the first part 26 of the lower insert 24. A pair of pins 31, which extend downwards through the upper insert 24, through the carrier 30 and through the lower insert 24, have a preselected clearance with respect to the insert parts to limit the desired movement of the first and second insert parts 26, 28.

The mold support mechanisms are, as will now be described, slidably mounted for movement on two parallel shafts 40, 50. The carrier 30, which extends in a direction parallel to the clamping plane, has a flange 32 outboard mount (away from the reverse mechanism and neck ring retainer - Figure 8) on one end. The mounting flange is secured by fasteners 34 suitable for a block 35 which has a recessed portion 38 suitable for receiving the flange and has a horizontal, flat supporting surface 36 for sliding on a flat horizontal supporting surface (sliding guide ) 41 defined on shaft 40, which is square and is part of a bracket 42 which is secured to the section frame near one end (bracket 42 could optionally be formed as part of some other mechanism housing). Brushes (not shown) will keep the slide rail surface clean and lubricant can be supplied to the block so that the bearing surfaces can be lubricated. The in-edge end (near the neck ring inversion and retainer mechanism) of the carrier 30 is secured by fasteners 34 suitable for an "46" L-shaped block which is integral with a support block 48 and has a cylindrical bearing surface which slides over the cylindrical bearing surface of shaft 50.

A neck ring inversion and retainer mechanism 110 (Figure 8) is mounted on the top surface of a section box between the forming station and the blowing station. This mechanism has a pair of opposed neck ring retainers 112 which can be moved from a separate position to the closed position shown by suitable horizontally oriented pneumatic cylinders 114. These neck ring retainers support pairs of opposed neck half rings 115 which close the bottom of the forming molds when the mold halves are closed and which, when the neck rings are closed, define the end (threads) 116 of the blank and ultimately of the bottle. When the end portion has been formed, the neck ring retainers 112 will be rotated 180 ° by the reverse and neck ring retainer mechanism by driving a servo motor 108 to rotate a drive shaft in the form of a worm (not shown). supported by a worm housing 118 which rotates a worm wheel which is supported within a suitable worm wheel housing 120. The cylinders 114 of the turnaround and neck ring retainer mechanism are suitably supported between vertical, spaced, opposed supports or brackets 122 and the worm wheel housing. The vertical worm housing 118 and the reversing brackets 122 are secured to the top surface of the section frame.

As can be seen from Figure 8, the round shaft 50 for the forming side mold opening and closing mechanism, which is located near the neck ring inversion and retainer mechanism, is supported at one and a half. the other end from the opposite reversing brackets 122. The round shaft for the blow-side mold opening and closing mechanism is a two-part round shaft 50A, 50B. These shafts are mounted coaxially and each is supported at one end by a reversing bracket 122 and at the other end by the vertical worm housing 118. The square shafts 40 allow the carrier at the station or at the blowing station, to expand with an increase in temperature in a uniform direction away from the inversion axis (the center of the section).

Alternatively, as shown in Figures 9-11, two round shafts 50 can be mounted directly on the carrier 30. The free end of these shafts is slidably received by suitable bearings 170 (Figure 10) located within suitable holes 171 in a pair of mounting blocks 172 which are designed to be integral with the lead screw housing 90. Each mounting block has a pair of bearings 170 vertically spaced to receive a round shaft 50C of the die support mechanisms of the adjacent sections. Each pair of round shafts associated with a particular section (one upper and one lower) are located vertically equidistant above and below the axis of the pivot shaft 80 of the horizontal yoke. Since the heating increase of the control housing will not be as large as the heating increase of the carrier 30, a compensation mechanism is integrated in the carrier such that a carrier at the blowing or at the forming station, it will expand with an increase in temperature in a uniform direction away from the center (the inversion axis) of the section. As shown in Figure 11, a screw 174 interconnects a key 176 on one side of the carrier 30, which can slide horizontally into a horizontal, elongated keyway 177, with the round shaft 50C outboard on the other side of the carrier. The carrier holes 178 and 179 that receive the round shaft and screw have sufficient clearance to allow the keyway to slide horizontally in its keyway (relatively) to allow this round shaft to maintain its parallelism with the other round shaft across a range of ambient temperatures.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 8 and in the embodiment shown in Figures 9 and 10, each carrier is supported on a round shaft located between the inversion axis and the center of the mold opening and closing mechanism while being supported. on the other side of the center of the mold opening and closing mechanism on a shaft which can allow for temperature-controlled expansion away from the axis of the reverse and neck ring retainer mechanism. This means that the expansion for the temperature at the blowing station and the forming station will proceed in the same direction (away from the axis of the inversion mechanism and neck ring retainer). This has never been achieved before. In all previous I.S. machines, the expansion at the forming side occurs towards the inversion and neck ring retainer mechanism, while the expansion at the blow side occurs away from the inversion and neck ring retainer mechanism. neck. In this regard, the expansion at the forming and blowing stations is always in the same direction as the neck ring retainer, allowing for better machine alignment.

Figure 12 illustrates a screen structure for one of the lead screw housings. As shown, the carrier is fully retracted. The screen has a front sloping wall 52 which is equal in extension to the top of the carrier 30 and which is connected to the rear top edge of the carrier by a hinge 53. The screen also has sides 54 which are integral with the side of inclined top along each edge 56 of the top portion. Each side has a vertical portion 57 which covers the end of the carrier in this retracted position. A screen control, in the form of a hinged plane 58 connected to the front edge of the top portion 98 at a hinge 60, is received within opposing inwardly projecting brackets 61 secured to the sloping front wall 52 of the screen. At the retracted position, the top edge of the screen is close to the hinge 60. As the carrier is advanced, the top part of the screen (and the hinged plane) will become less inclined and the hinged plane and the hinged part. tops will move relatively to allow for movement.

With the drives of the mold open and close mechanisms located above the top wall of the section frame and with the drives powered by electronic motors being mounted, as shown, to extend downward from the top wall of the section frame, the floor portion of the section frame, which is conventionally filled with these motors (pneumatic cylinders) and transmissions (linkages), becomes open. The section frames 11A of the machine (there may be 6, 8, 10, etc.) are mounted on the base of the machine, which is defined by a number of bases 130 of two sections (Figure 13) which are connected together. Each two-section base 130 has side walls 132 and top 134. The two-section base has passage means which extend continuously from one side to the other side of the base with rectangular openings 136 in the sides 132 of the base, which they are separated by a sidewall rib 137 to slidably receive a plurality (eight in the preferred embodiment) of square, seamless, fluid conduits 138 extending across the entire width of the machine. The conduits are supplied with pneumatic services, cooling air, treatment air, lubrication and treatment vacuum, etc., as required. The top wall 134 has forming station openings 140 and blow station openings 142 which expose these fluid conduits 138 within each of the section boxes. Section cables and harnesses extend beneath fluid conduits in suitable channels and come up through the space between the sets of conduits and through harness ports 145 defined in the top wall 134 of the crankcase for connection to the individual mechanisms.

The conduits 138, which run from one end of the machine to the other and which are connected to suitable sources, are releasably clamped to each two-section bed by a clamping structure (Figure 14) which includes a double "T beam. 147, which is under all the conduits and a toggle device 148 at the front and rear of the base, which is connected between the double "T" beam and the top wall of the base. Each toggle device has a toggle drive screw 149 which has an engageable head 151 and which can have access to conduits 138 through suitable base openings 153. Rotation of the drive screw in one direction will push the conduits against the sidewall ribs 137 and lift them upward in forced engagement with a rib 143 projecting downwardly from the top wall 134 of the two section base. Should it be necessary to remove one of these conduits and replace it with two conduits, for example, the conduit clamping mechanism can be released by rotating the engageable head of the toggle mechanisms in the opposite direction so that the conduit can be slidably removed. and replaced with more ducts side by side (ducts can be added or removed to define the desired number of ducts).

Referring to Figures 15 and 16, each motor of a mold opening and closing mechanism operates in a conventional manner, where feedback signals are supplied to a motion controller, which controls the servo amplifiers that drive the motors (servo motors). As shown, the motors are electronically meshed together. Motor / encoder number 1 (the main one) M1 / 154 follows the demand signal from the command position sequencer 150 of the motion controller 155. The signal from the position feedback processor 152 of the motion controller, which receives a digital feedback signal from the encoder portion of the motor / encoder number 1, is supplied to the adder circuit 156. The adder circuit outputs, for the command signal processor 158, a digital signal which is supplied to the amplifier 160 which drives the motor / encoder number 1. The motion controller command position sequencer receives a signal from the adder circuit 156 which is processed into a demand signal and sent to a second adder circuit 161, which also receives a signal from the position feedback processor 166 which receives a digital feedback signal from the encoder part of the motor / encoder No.

2 (M2 / 168) and outputs a digital signal. This signal is converted by the second amplifier control signal processor 159, which supplies the signal to the second amplifier 162 which drives the motor / encoder No. 2 (the slave) 168.

The separation between the half-molds, when the mold-bearing elements are totally withdrawn (each is in the starting position) can be determined and halfway between them is the ideal central point of the movement of the molds. The initial stage of the feeding program is for the command position sequencer 150 to define a displacement profile that will drive the motors (M1, M2), which are electronically meshed together, to move the molds associated with these motors to that ideal center point. . To verify that the displacement of both mold carriers has been completed, the speed of each motor is tested and if the speed of one motor (MV1) and the speed of the other motor (MV2) are zero, the next step in the power program will start with the command position sequencer emitting a speed profile which will drive both motors at a very low speed (Vs) - this can be any command that will cause the motors to turn. When the actual speed of each motor becomes zero, a determination is made to verify that the actual end position of the advanced mold carrier is within an acceptable error (+/- "X" from the ideal center point). The encoder associated with each motor provides data from which the actual end position can be determined. If the print carriers are located acceptably, the third stage of the feeding program proceeds with each motor running to apply a selected torque for a set period of time ("T1"), which can be entered through a computer. This time period is the time period in which the mold halves will be clamped together. When this time runs out, each mold carrier is returned to its "0" or home position. As shown, to return the mold support mechanisms to their starting positions, each motor is driven at a low speed -VS, the minus sign meaning rotation in the opposite direction (which can be set - the arrow represents an input of processor) for a limited period of time T2 (which can also be set - the arrow represents a processor input) to "break" the molds before the mold retainers are withdrawn to the "0" position at a rapid speed - VR (an open profile - a constant acceleration segment followed by a constant deceleration segment ending in the starting position, for example).

A second algorithm for controlling the two servomotors is shown in Figure 15A. In this embodiment the motion controller includes a drive position sequencer for each motor. The motors, therefore, are not electronically meshed together. As shown in Figure 16A, each motor is driven simultaneously to move its associated mold retainer, according to a predetermined feed profile (displacement / speed / acceleration profile) to an ideal center position (half the total distance plus a preselected distance that should result in opposing retainers engaging and then stopping). The fact that the two mold holders have stopped is verified (the error signal can be monitored) and the actual position of each mold holder is determined and compared to the ideal intermediate point position. If the actual position of each mold holder is located at / -X from the ideal midpoint position, the feed is acceptable. If this is not the case an error signal will be produced. The actual intermediate point is determined (the total distance traveled by both mold retainers divided by two) and defines a new ideal intermediate point. If one mold retainer has moved farther than the other (more than an acceptable difference) the control will define a feed profile scale factor for one of the motors, which will either speed up the movement or slow down the movement to reduce the difference in distance traveled by the two mold retainers. The control will then apply the required torque to the motors and continue the program shown in Figure 16.

Figure 17 shows a deflector mechanism 180 mounted on the top wall 134 of a frame of section 11 A. A carrier arm 182 supporting three deflectors 184 (the deflector mechanism is shown schematically as there is a large variety of specific designs) is connected to a vertical actuation rod 186. This actuation rod will be raised and rotated during the uppermost portion of its elevation so that the flaps can be moved between a raised, retracted position and a lowered, forward position in which the flaps they will be located on the top of the forming molds. This composite displacement is accomplished by a servomotor 188 (Figure 18) which has a rotating output 190 which is connected, through a coupling 192, to a screw 194. The screw is screwed in to a nut 196 which is free. to rotate within a suitable bore 198 in a cam housing 199. A cam follower, in the form of a roller 202, slides in a cylinder cam 204 defined in the wall 206 of the cam housing. The vertical drive rod 186 is mounted on top of the nut. As can be seen from Figure 17, the cam housing has a base 208 which is bolted 209 to the top wall 134 of the section frame 11A at a front corner of the section frame defined by a side wall 132 and from the front wall 135. At the forward position, the axes of the deflectors are coaxial with the axes of the closed forming molds and on top of the forming molds. When the cam is operated, the baffles will first lift partially away from the forming dies and then, as the baffles are raised for the remainder of the path, the baffles will be moved away from the center of the forming dies so that the reversing and holding mechanism of neck ring can transfer the shaped blanks into the finishing molds. The deflector mechanism can be located at the front of the section frame at any angle and unlike conventional deflector mechanisms, the fully raised and retracted deflector arm can be located fully within the section, as shown in Figure 17, and do not overhang 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 extending around its open bottom to engage and seal a corresponding surface 254 at the top of the mold. open trainer. The body 248 also includes a vertical tubular sleeve portion 256 which defines a cylindrical bearing surface 258 for slidably receiving the rod 260 of a piston element 262. The cylindrical head 264 of the piston element 262 has a surface of annular seal 265 which is slidably displaceable within hole 266 of cup-shaped part 250. A spring 268, which is located around the vertical tubular sleeve portion 256, is compressed between a collar 270 which is releasably secured to the carrier arm and which is secured to the piston rod 260 and the top of the cup-shaped portion 250 for maintaining the top surface of the cylindrical head 264 in engagement with the adjacent surface of the cup-shaped part when the deflector is separated from the forming mold.

When the deflector is lowered onto a forming die as shown in Figure 20, the control (Figure 23) will move the collar 270 down until the top of the collar is located at a first distance D1 from the top surface 272 of the forming die, where the cylindrical head will be lowered, with respect to the cup-shaped part, to define a desired clearance "X" between the annular bottom surface 274 of the cylindrical head of the piston and the top surface of the forming mold (the cylindrical head has moved with respect to the cup-shaped part by a vertical distance "y"). This applies a desired compressive force between the piston member and the forming mold to establish the desired seal between the sloped annular surfaces 252, 254 in engagement. Now, settling air introduced into the forming mold through the central hole 276 in the piston rod will pass through a number of holes 278 extending radially in the cylindrical head into a corresponding number of vertical holes 280 and through the annular space between the bottom surface. annular 281 of the cylindrical head and the top surface 272 of the finishing mold in the forming mold (suitable holes 282 connecting the interior of the body to the atmosphere ensure that the cylindrical head can move smoothly relative to the body). When the settling blow is completed and the gob is to be molded into a blank, the collar is moved until the top of the collar is located a second distance D2 from the top surface 272 of the forming mold. This results in the annular bottom surface 281 of the cylindrical head forcibly engaging the top surface 272 of the forming mold to close the forming mold. When the blank is formed (forced to fill the internal cavity defined by the internal surface of the forming die and the bottom surface of the cylindrical head), air can escape through a number (four in the preferred embodiment) of small notches. 286 defined in the bottom annular surface 281 of the cylindrical head (Figure 22) in the vertical holes 280, through the radial holes 278 in the piston rod hole 276 and out through the now exposed escape holes 290, in the space between the top of the piston and the cup-shaped part 250 and out of the discharge openings 282.

When a funnel mechanism 210 is required, it can be mounted in the other front corner. As can be seen from Figure 24, the deflector and funnel mechanisms are identical except for the direction of the cylinder cam and except that a funnel carrier 212 supporting three funnels 214 is mounted on the other rod. drive. The funnel mechanism, like the deflector mechanism, can always be located within the territory of its own section.

Figure 25 illustrates an alternate neck ring reversing and retainer mechanism 110. As shown, this neck ring reversal and retainer mechanism can be used with the embodiment shown in Figures 8-10. The end of each neck ring retainer adjacent the worm wheel housing 120 terminates in a slot mounting bracket 113 which is slidably received by the keyed end 109 of a support bracket 117 secured to a reversing cylinder 114. The annular outboard end 119 of a cylinder 114 (Figure 26) slides into a corresponding annular groove 121 in the top of the related outboard side bracket 122A. The threaded end 123 of a proximity switch or sensor 124 is screwed into a suitable hole 125 in the side bracket and secured by a nut 126 at the position it will sense the cylinder at its fully inserted position (ring retainer neck withdrawn). The proximity switch cable 128 extends downward through a hole (not shown) in the side bracket and the proximity switch is protected by a cover 129. An additional pair of proximity switches 124A (figure 27) is fitted on a bracket 131 which is secured to the worm housing 118. These proximity switches are located beneath the worm wheel housing 120, one facing each cylinder. Secured at the end of each cylinder, near the worm wheel housing, is a semicircular target 133 which will actuate one associated one of these proximity switches when that cylinder is located against the worm wheel housing from the position where the neck ring is in a first orientation at which the neck half rings carried by the neck ring retainer are on top of the plunger mechanism (the 180 ° inversion starting position) in a second orientation (approximately 180 ° from the first orientation) at which the neck half-rings hold the blanks at the blowing station (the final 0 ° inversion position). In the following the phrases closed neck ring and open neck ring will be used to describe the position of the neck ring / bracket / cylinder retainer and the controls will be described with reference to one neck ring retainer, but the other ring retainer. of neck is controlled in the same way. Since the servomotor 108 has an encoder which generates a position feedback, the angular position of the neck ring retainer is known throughout its angular displacement.

The algorithm illustrated in Figure 28 will identify operational problems during inversion. The state of the closed neck ring sensor 124A will be monitored continuously as the reversing servo 108 advances the worm to rotate the gear and neck ring from the starting reversing position (180 °) to the position of final inversion (0 °). If the neck ring does not maintain its closed position throughout this 180 ° shift, an alarm signal will be sent. This signal can stop the cycle or initiate any desired minor action.

The algorithm illustrated in Figure 29 will ensure that the instant of arrival of the neck ring in the open position is constant. The neck ring cylinder will be operated at a set time in the cycle (time T) to move the neck ring from the closed position sensed by the sensor 124A on the gear case to the open position sensed by the sensor 124 on the end bracket. The time between these two signals is the time "ΔΤ" and is compared to an ideal time difference (the original time difference) and a time difference ("T"), which is the difference between the actual time difference and the ideal one, is supplied to the control which operates the neck ring cylinder. In the event that the deviation of ’T" becomes excessive or irregular, an alarm signal will be emitted to carry out any desired consequence from the stop of the cycle, to a warning to the operator that maintenance is required.

Figure 30 illustrates the return algorithm. The neck rings will be opened at the blowing station to release a completed bottle and, before the arm can be rotated 180 ° in the forming station, the control must verify that the neck ring is in the open position . With this verification, the reversing servo device will be operated to effect the desired angular displacement. At a preselected angle of rotation (ideal Θ1) the control will operate the neck ring cylinder to move the cylinder (neck ring) from the open position to the closed position. Such action will be confined by limits, including limits that Θ1 must be greater than X ° and that the movement of the neck ring must be complete within Υ °. X, Y and Θ1 can be set individually. The control determines the actual angle (actual Θ1) when the open neck ring sensor 124 is turned off and determines a deviation of Θ1 # 1 by subtracting actual Θ1 from ideal Θ1. This offset is provided to the control to correct the position in which the neck ring cylinder is operated. When this deviation becomes excessive or irregular, an alarm signal is sent.

The control additionally monitors when the neck ring reaches the closed position by determining the actual angle Θ2 when the closed neck ring sensor 124A detects the neck ring. The cylinders are conventionally operated by air and the time for pneumatically moving a cylinder from the open neck ring position to the closed neck ring position may depend on the condition of the pneumatic cylinder. As cylinder operation degrades, the desired displacement may take longer to take place and such delay may cause the movable structure (the neck ring structure) to impact forming dies that would normally be out of the way. The control determines a second deviation of Θ1 (Θ2 ideal - Θ2 effective) and performs a second correction of the angle at which the neck ring is operated. When this degradation reaches a selectable angle indicative of the need for action, the control will issue an appropriate signal, indicating that repair and / or maintenance is in order. Since each angular shift of the encoder is a function of time, these deviations could be related to time differences followed. These deviations ensure that cycle events occur at constant instants.

A plunger mechanism, which is part of the section forming station, is shown in Figures 31 and 32 and includes three plunger containers 62, as shown, when the machine is a triple gob machine. Each plunger container has an upper cylinder part 63 and a lower cylinder part 64, with plugs 65 supporting O-ring seals 71 and an exhaust duct 73 extending axially downwardly from the bottom surface 75 of the Bottom cylinder to connect the plunger canister to required services (plunger cooling, drain, plunger down, plunger up, blow / vacuum (in blow and blow machines) or plunger cooling (in press and blow machines), lubrication, bush on separate. The container can discharge through the upper cylinder and in that case the exhaust duct and associated duct shown will not be required. For clarity, the plunger mechanism will be described in a blow and blow machine, but where it is describes the blowback / vacuum, it should be understood that this would be the plunger cooling in a machine by pressing and blowing. Secured at the top of each upper cylinder is a mounting plate or flange 77 and a workpiece 79 which has opposite ears 81 for capturing the opposite neck half rings when the neck ring retainers are closed. These mounting plates 77 are secured with suitable fasteners 83 to the top surface of a mounting block or plate 85 which has 87 holes (Figure 33) through which the upper / lower cylinders can pass and the mounting block is secured to the top surface 94 of the section frame 11 with suitable bolts 89. Located on the top portion of the upper cylinder is a positioning diameter 69. The top surface of the section frame has a large opening (not shown) which can accept single, double or triple drop plunger cartridges. The top surface 94 of the section frame is, accordingly, the main surface. It is preferably machined, in the position where the mounting block is to be secured, to define a precisely horizontal mounting footprint. The top surface (or area or footprint on which the flanges are to be mounted) and the bottom surface of the mounting block are preferably machined to be parallel and the height of the mounting block is defined to position the piece machined at the desired height. By also defining the cylindrical openings 87 of the mounting block to coupledly receive the positioning diameter of the plunger housings, the axes of these plunger housings will be precisely located upon insertion. By placing diamond and round pins (not shown) on the top wall of the section frame and defining suitable holes in the bottom surface of the mounting plate, the mounting plate will be positioned automatically. Since the top of the plunger container is secured to the top wall of the section frame, the increase resulting from heating will not significantly vary the position of the top of the workpiece.

The first four fluid lines below the forming side of a section (Figure 34) are pneumatic services for plunger down (line 300 - approximately 3.1 bar), blowback (line 302 - approximately 2-3 bar) vacuum (line 304 ) and plunger up (duct 306 - approximately 1.5 - 2.5 bar). The connection of these services, through holes 307 in the top wall of the conduits, is established to vertical inlets 308 in the bottom surface 310 of a piston distribution base 312 through corresponding holes 314 in a connection plate 316. The four pneumatic services are directed through the plunger distribution base to outlet ports 320 in the front face 321 of the plunger distribution base. A fifth fluid conduit 301 underneath the bottom wall of the section forming station (Figure 34) carries lubricating fluid under pressure. The lubricant passes through a hole 303 in the top wall of the lubrication conduit, through a hole 311 in the connection plate, and a lubrication inlet 305 in the bottom surface of the piston distribution base, which provides lubrication through a port of exit 309 on the front face. Effective sealing is achieved with O-rings 318 compressively located between one and the other surface of the connecting plate 316 and the top surface of the conduits and the bottom surface 310 of the piston distribution base when the piston distribution base is bolted to the bottom wall of the section frame. A transverse hole 322 is defined in the plunger distribution base to receive an isolation rod (valve) 324 operated by a crank 323, which can be rotated from an open orientation in which pneumatic services and lubrication can flow through the holes 325 towards the outlet ports, in a closed orientation in which such flow is blocked.

Connected to the front face 321 of the plunger distribution base is a junction box 330 (Figure 35) which includes five service inlet ports (320A, 309A) on the rear face, which communicate with service outlet ports 320 and 309 of the piston distribution base (O-rings 326 provide the seal). The illustrated embodiment is a triple drop configuration, which means that the forming station of each section includes three plunger containers as shown in Figure 32, i.e. an internal plunger container (the one closest to the axis of the mechanism. and neck ring retainer), an intermediate plunger container and an external plunger container. Each individual pneumatic service inlet (plunger up, vacuum, blowback, plunger down) and the lubrication line are divided in the junction box into three outlets, one for each of the three plunger housings. On the left side of the front face 332 of the junction box are located, for the internal, intermediate and external piston containers (the vertical arrows, "internal container", etc., in Figure 35 identify groups of lights arranged vertically on the front face, which are associated with a particular container and the horizontal arrows, "to the container" etc., identify horizontal groups of lights that are associated with a particular function) three outlet ports 334 for the plunger up service, which originate from the inlet port of plunger on single, three discharge ports 336 communicating with the discharge and three inlet ports 338 "to container" that communicate with three corresponding outlet ports defined in the rear face of the junction box (not shown), which communicate with corresponding ports "plunger up" inlet 360 defined in the front face 321 of the plunger distribution base (Figure 37). The flow for each group of lights arranged vertically on this left side of the front face can be controlled with a device that can regulate the pressure, such as a regulator / valve and receiver tank (not shown for clarity) which will connect the line " to the container "to the plunger service on or to the drain. On the right side of the front face of the junction box (Figure 35) there are also positioned, for the inner, intermediate and outer piston containers, three service outlet ports 340 for vacuum, each originating from the single vacuum inlet port , three counterblowing outlet ports 342 each originating from the single counterblowing inlet port for counterblowing service services, three inlet ports 344 "to the container" which communicate with three corresponding outlet ports defined in the rear face of the junction box, which communicate with corresponding "blow / vacuum" inlet ports 364 defined in the front face 321 of the plunger distribution base (Figure 37) and three exhaust ports 346 which communicate with the exhaust. Here, a regulator and valve (not shown) operates in connection with a valve operated by the pilot valve (not shown) to connect the inlet ports "to the container" to the vacuum or blowback or drain. On the right-hand side of the top face 348 of the splice block (Figure 36) are positioned, for the inner, middle and outer plunger containers, three plunger down service outlet ports 352 originating from the single inlet port of plunger down service plunger down, three inlet ports 350 communicating with three corresponding outlet ports defined in the rear face of the junction box, communicating with corresponding "plunger down" inlet ports 362 defined in the front face 321 of the plunger distribution base (Figure 37) and three 354 exhaust ports communicating with the exhaust. The flow of each vertical light cluster is controlled by a single regulator and valve (not shown for clarity) that will connect the "to the can" line to the plunger down service or drain. On the left side of the top face 348 of the splicing block are, for the inner, intermediate and outer plunger housings, three bushing service outlet ports 351 up for the bushing service up which communicate with a plunger line down , three inlet ports 353, "to the container" which communicate with three corresponding outlet ports defined in the rear face of the junction box, which communicate with corresponding inlet ports 363 of "compass up" defined in the front face 321 of the distribution base plunger (Figure 37) and three 355 exhaust ports that communicate with the exhaust. The flow of each group of vertical ports is controlled by a single regulator and valve (not shown for clarity) which will connect the line "to the container" to the compass service on or to the drain. The junction box also divides the lubrication line into three lines providing three lubrication inlet ports 313 (Figure 37) on the front face of the plunger distribution base.

Referring to Figure 37, the front face of the plunger dispensing base also includes a number of additional inputs 365 for additional fluid functions such as cooling the neck ring, closing the extractor pincer, cooling air, opening / closing of neck ring etc., which connect with corresponding channels in the junction box. These junction box lines can connect to outlets in the top surface of the junction box (not shown) that are connected to corresponding outlets in a corresponding number of individual regulators and valves (not shown for clarity) that distribute air from the line plunger down, adjusted to the desired pressures.

The top surface 315 of the plunger distribution plate has three sets of outlet ports each having a plunger up outlet port 366, a plunger down outlet port 368, a counterblow / vacuum outlet port 370, a 372, bushing up and a lubrication outlet 374. These exit ports are universal (permanent), i.e. the number of series of exit holes corresponds to the maximum number 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 "= 13.335cm, 6" = 15.24cm for example) in case there are multiple plungers , a transition plate 376 (Figure 38) is secured to the top surface 315 of the universal plunger distribution plate through suitable bolts 377. The transition plate has, for each container, a plunger up exit hole 308, a plunger down exit hole 382, a blowout / vacuum exit hole 384, a bush up exit hole 386, and an exit hole 386. lubrication service outlet 388 in the top surface 390 to receive the downwardly protruding connecting stubs 65 on the plunger housings (an o-ring 71 establishes the seal between a downwardly protruding stub and the receiving hole - any movement of a plunger housing, within its mounting plate hole or as part of the mounting plate, will not result in tilting of the containers as sufficient float is ensured through the o-ring seals on the mounting holes. transition plate) and a plunger drain hole 392 is shaped to receive the pendant plunger drain tube 73 of a container of plunger. The plunger drain holes communicate with a 378 drain port.

To change the section from one configuration to another, i.e. to change from illustrated triple gob operation to double gob operation, for example, the illustrated triple gob transition plate will be removed and replaced with a triple gob transition plate. double droplet (Figure 38A) which will isolate one of the three sets of plunger outlet ports on the top surface of the plunger distributor plate while establishing connections with 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 lights in the transition plate will be operated).

To enable the manufacture of bottles having a substantial height variation, the plunger neck / container rings (s) can be raised about 70 mm. The original transition plate having a height H1 and the mounting plate having a thickness D1 can be replaced with a transition plate and a mounting plate each having an increased height of 70 mm (H2 - Figure 38 and D2 Figure 39 , respectively) and the neck ring retainer can be replaced with alternative arms, wherein the mounting bracket 113A raises the neck ring retainer 112 70 mm from position P1 (Figure 25) to position P2 (Figure 39). 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 retainers, can use forming molds having a wide range of heights to produce bottles having a wide range of heights. While the forming half 17A, 17B, 17C, 17D (Figures 41-43) and the insert can take various shapes, the interconnection of the forming half and the insert is defined so as to establish a fixed vertical dimension "H" between the center of inversion 434 and the top surface 438 of the forming half-mold neck ring groove 436 (the top surface of the neck ring). For a neck ring retainer located at P1 (Figure 25), this dimension could be for example 100 mm, while this dimension could be for example 30 mm when the neck ring is located at P2 (Figure 40 ). Each forming half has a hook-shaped, annularly extending, downwardly projecting lip 440 near the bottom surface, which may have a number of annular parts or segments and which is received by a corresponding hook-shaped, extending lip 442 annularly, protruding upwards into the outer wall of the insert, which vertically positions the forming mold halves (the forming mold is located vertically in correspondence with the horizontal plane of engagement between the downwardly protruding forming mold lip and the lower protruding lip top of the mold holder insert). The forming half may be of a size sufficient for a stabilizer button 442 to be required vertically above the lower lip, which functions with an upper half lip 440 to stabilize the die during its movement (as shown, stabilizer button 442 does not support the weight of the forming half). Since the forming mold halves are supported near the neck ring groove at the position where the mold lip is supported by the lip on the mold holder, substantially all of the forming mold increase due to heating will occur upward from this position and any increase from this position downward will be insignificant (without requiring any adjustment of the plunger mechanism or neck ring, which is conventionally required in prior art structures where the forming molds are supported near the top of the mold In addition, using conventional 380 finishing dies (Figure 44) which are suspended from the top through a downwardly extending annularly extending lip 382 having a number of segments supported by a corresponding upwardly extending annularly extending lip , on the finishing mold holder insert (not shown), the q While this may also have a number of segments (at a position close to the neck ring groove), the expansion of the finishing halves due to heating will also occur in the direction away from the end part (the threaded part), being therefore it agrees in both stations.

As can be understood, in the prior art the change from a configuration (single, double, triple drop) to a first center distance in the same configuration or to a different one at a different center distance often required the purchase of a different I.S. or a substantial reconstruction of an existing machine. The main reason for this is the complicated opening and closing levers of the mold which defined different geometries. The I.S. described is a machine at a distance from the universal center. It can be changed from any desired configuration / center distance to any other desired center configuration / distance simply by replacing a number of parts that define a desired center configuration / distance; i.e. by replacing the quick-change mold carrier assembly of the mold open and close mechanism, the mounting plate, the transition plate, and perhaps the plunger housings of the plunger mechanism, the ring retainers and, at the blowing station, the mold cooling mechanism would be, as is conventional, changed to change the configuration of the machine.

The puller mechanism, which is shown in Figures 45-47, is mounted on the top surface 94 of the top wall 134 of the section frame and has a puller pincer head 450 which can releasably grasp the bottle (s). at the blowing station and which is supported by an X axis slider 452 slidably carried by a "Z" axis mounting housing or slider 454 which is slidably displaceable along a "Z" axis column 456. The X and Z axes are controlled by suitable servomotors 457, 458. The bottles formed in the blowing station, whatever their height, will always have their end part located in a fixed vertical position (reference of "Z") and the surface bottom of a bottle can be located in different vertical positions (ZB1, ZB2) with respect to this reference of Z within the range of vertical heights of the bottles. These bottles are grasped by the extractor pincer head, removed from the blowing station and deposited on a fixed plate 460 which can be located at a variety of Z positions (ZD1, ZD2). A low bottle will move a different distance Z (Z1) than a tall bottle (Z2). The extraction control (Figure 47) defines an X-Z displacement profile for the extractor pincer head for any offset of "Z" (ZB - ZD) and performs the desired displacement.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS 1. Plunger mechanism for use in a section forming station of an individual section (I.S.) machine, the section including a frame having a top wall, the plunger mechanism comprising a plunger housing module for mounting on the top wall of a section frame of an I.S. including at least one plunger housing having a vertically extending cylinder having a locating diameter at its top and a mounting flange secured to the top of said vertically extending cylinder, a horizontal mounting plate adapted to be mounted on the top wall of the section frame, said mounting plate having top and bottom surfaces and a number of holes, corresponding to the number of plunger housings, extending vertically through thereof for coupledly receiving said positioning diameter of each of said plunger containers for axially positioning each of said plunger containers, first fastening device means for releasably securing said horizontal mounting plate to the top wall of the section frame; and second fastening device means for securing each of said mounting flanges to the top surface of said mounting plate. 2. A plunger mechanism according to claim 1, each of said plunger containers having a bottom surface and including a series of service conduits including plunger up, plunger down, blowback / vacuum or cooling and lubrication, each of said service conduits having an inlet port which communicates with the bottom surface of the plunger container. 3. A plunger mechanism according to claim 2, wherein each of said inlet ports of each of said plunger containers comprises a downwardly projecting plug. 4. A plunger mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the top and bottom surfaces of said mounting plate are machined parallel. The plunger mechanism of claim 1 wherein said mounting flange includes a plurality of vertically extending holes and said second fastener means comprises a fastener for each of said vertically extending holes of the mounting flange. 6. A plunger mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said horizontal mounting plate includes a plurality of vertically extending holes and said first fastener means comprises a fastener for each of said vertically extending holes of the horizontal mounting plate. 7. Plunger mechanism for use in a section forming station of an individual section (I.S.) machine, the section including a frame having a top wall, the plunger mechanism comprising a plunger housing module for mounting on the top wall of a section frame of an I.S. including at least one plunger housing having a vertically extending cylinder and a mounting flange secured to the top of said vertically extending cylinder, a horizontal mounting plate adapted to be mounted on the top wall of the section frame, said mounting plate having top and bottom surfaces and opening means, extending vertically therethrough, to receive the vertically extending cylinder of each of said plunger containers said horizontal mounting plate and each of said plunger housings including alignment means for positioning the axis of each of said vertically extending cylinders in a desired position relative to said horizontal mounting plate, first fastening device means for releasably securing said horizontal mounting plate to the top wall of the section frame; and second fastening device means for securing each of said mounting flanges to the top surface of said mounting plate. 8. A plunger mechanism according to claim 7, wherein each of said vertically extending plunger container cylinders has a locating diameter at its top and wherein said opening means comprises a bore for each of said plunger containers, extending vertically therethrough to coupledly receive the positioning diameter of a corresponding plunger container for axially positioning each of said plunger containers. 9. A plunger mechanism according to claim 8, wherein said mounting flange includes a plurality of vertically extending holes and said second fastener means comprises a fastener for each of said vertically extending holes of the mounting flange. The plunger mechanism of claim 9, wherein said horizontal mounting plate includes a plurality of vertically extending holes and said first fastener means comprises a fastener for each and the vertically extending holes of the horizontal mounting plate.