WO2020085890A1

WO2020085890A1 - Mechanism for transferring articles in machines for forming glass articles

Info

Publication number: WO2020085890A1
Application number: PCT/MX2018/000108
Authority: WO
Inventors: Victor Tijerina Ramos
Original assignee: Vitro, S.A.B. De C.V.
Priority date: 2018-10-22
Filing date: 2018-10-22
Publication date: 2020-04-30

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mechanism for transferring articles in machines for forming glass articles that includes a support base located above the upper part of a section for a forming machine, the base having a pair of columns located at each end thereof, one of said columns having a hollow housing. A crown-worm gear reducer coupled in the hollow housing of one of the columns. A rotating housing that includes a first end arrow and a second end arrow, which are coupled to the upper part of the columns, the first arrow being coupled to the crown of the reducer, and the worm gear being coupled to rotate around its own axis inside the hollow housing. One arrow and one motor are connected to the worm gear to generate a rotational movement of the worm gear towards the left or right, and to provide rotational movement to the crown to move the rotating housing around its own axis with an angular movement of between 0° and 180° and in the opposite direction, from a parison-forming position to a blow-forming position. A mechanism for retaining and releasing crown moulds located inside the rotating housing, with crown-retaining arms that open and close in parallel in a longitudinal plane, to open and close crown moulds, and to jointly rotate with the rotating housing. The crown-retaining arms can be adjusted for alignment, and the height of the retaining arms or turn radius of the centre of inversion of the crown-retaining arms can be adjusted.

Description

MECHANISM FOR THE TRANSFER OF ARTICLES IN GLASS ARTICLE FORMING MACHINES.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION.

The present invention relates to the production of glassware and, more specifically, to a mechanism for transferring glassware from a forming station to a final blowing station in glassware forming machines, of the type that includes multiple sections. individual forming machines, for the production of glass bottles, wide-mouth jars, glasses and other glass articles by the blow-blow, press-blow, press-blow or direct press processes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.

Glassware such as narrow neck glass bottles are normally produced on glassware forming machines of the type which may include multiple similar individual forming sections, by the blow-blow process, while coughing wide-mouth jars, the glasses and other glass articles are produced in the forming machines known as Series "E" and "F" by means of the press-blow process, in the so-called "hot mold".

In the process of manufacturing glass containers using the blow-blow or press-blow process, the glass in the form of drops is introduced into a parison or preformed mold, where, depending on the process, the drop settles, by means of a blowing or vacuum process, to the bottom of the parison mold, to form the crown of the container. Then once Once the crown of the container is formed, a counter blow is made to form a parison or preform of the container. Subsequently, the preform of the container is transferred by means of an inversion mechanism with a 180 degree movement from said parison mold to a final blow mold where the final shape of the container is given.

The main objective of the reversing mechanism has been to transfer the article from the parison mold to the blow mold as best as possible, without the parison deforming in the transfer and returning to its original position to start a new forming cycle.

However, due to the increase in the number of cavities (from two to three or four) in the forming stations and the increase in the production speeds of the forming machines, it is very important to control the transfer speed of the inverting mechanism with a controlled acceleration or deceleration. That is, because there are more mold cavities, the container preforms move away from the center of rotation, causing the last preform, if the same transfer speed is maintained, to reach the final blow mold in a warped form, affecting the alignment with the blow mold and consequently the quality of the final product. Currently, the transfer movement profile of the inverting mechanism has been programmed with a series of speeds with different accelerations and decelerations, in such a way that the transfer of the various preforms can maintain their verticality during their transfer movement (180 degrees) towards the puff mold. Glassware transfer mechanisms are shown, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 5843201, to Joseph A. Borbone et al, which refers to a crown holder and reversing mechanism for transferring a preform from a preforming station to a final blowing station. The crown and reverse gear mechanism has a pair of opposite side supports, a housing for a worm gear to support a worm gear, and a motor / worm gear housing to support the worm gear housing in an intermediate part to the opposite side brackets. The crown and inverting mechanism comprises a pair of cylinder-piston assemblies extending between the helical gear side portions and the pair of side supports. Cylinder assemblies include a cylinder that has a bracket. Each cylinder is axially displaced from a first position adjacent to the worm gear, to a second position location adjacent to the associated, rotationally displaceable side supports to displace the crown holder fastening support from a first position in the preforming station to a second station position puff.

A first switch indicates that a first cylinder in the cylinder assembly is close to its associated side bracket, a second switch indicates that the first cylinder-crown holder retaining bracket assembly is in the first position, a third switch indicates that the second cylinder The cylinder assembly is close to its associated side bracket, and a fourth switch indicates that the second cylinder and crown holder retention bracket assembly is in the second position. US Patent No. 7047766 to Wilhelm Schneider et al, describes an inversion mechanism for transferring preforms between a preforming station and a final blowing station of a glassware forming machine. The mechanism is arranged on top of a cover plate of a frame of the glass forming machine. An electric motor is arranged with its horizontal longitudinal axis above the cover plate. An electric motor drive shaft is connected to an inverted horizontal reversal shaft by means of a transmission. A planetary gear is connected between the drive shaft of the electric motor and the transmission.

US Patent No. 7779650 to Víctor Tijerina, et al, relates to a method and a machine for the production of hollow glassware, such as bottles, jars, cups, and other glassware, by blow-blow processes. , press-blow, press-blow and direct press in glassware forming machines that include among their multiple mechanisms, a parison forming station that includes a mold of a bulb, a reversing mechanism that includes at least one horizontal arm of open retention, and at least one transferable, open crown mold per cavity, removably retained by a horizontal reversing mechanism retention arm, to be initially placed under the bulb mold to form a parison which is retained by the transferable and open crown mold and, once formed, is transferred by the inversion from this parison forming station to an intermediate station in a vertical orientation.

Finally, International Publication No. W02017111570 (A1) of

Víctor Tijerina refers to a mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines that comprises a pair of columns or hollow housings that are separated in parallel and placed vertically on a support base. A motor located in the support base has a first gear engaged to rotate with a movement to the left or to the right. A rotary housing, containing and supporting a crown mold retention and release mechanism and for parallel opening and closing of crown retention arms and crown molds, is coupled by output shafts axially coupled to the top of the pair of columns or accommodation. At least one second gear is coupled to one of the output shafts of the rotating housing. A floating gear coupling the first gear and the second gear, the floating gear being orbitally or linearly adjustable, to reduce clearance or play between the first gear and second gear, and minimize impact movement between them.

However, one of the main problems with known reversing mechanisms is that, to generate their movement, they normally require a system of gears, be it rack and pinion type or a series of gears connected in series. Said gear systems can be coupled to a cylinder-piston assembly to transmit a rectilinear movement up and down or towards the right and left, to move the reverse mechanism with a 180 degree rotational motion from a parison forming station to a final blow station and vice versa.

During operation, the gears of the inverting mechanism are subject to wear such as the deterioration suffered by the teeth and by which metal layers are removed more or less uniformly from their surfaces. This kind of wear reduces the thickness of the tooth and often causes large changes in the tooth profile. These changes, although they appear gradually, cause that during the beginning of the movement of the reverse mechanism, the teeth are subjected to sudden contacts that may be due to their misalignment or imbalance, producing vibrations and noise.

In addition to the above, a misalignment of the teeth can produce a movement of vibration in the inversion arm on the side of the preform, that is, once the preform has been formed and the halves of the bulb mold are opened, the The reverse gear arm receives a drive motion from a motor through the gear system and, if worn or misaligned, causes a slight vibration before initiating the transfer motion.

Another disadvantage of the known mechanisms is that some are quite complex, with enough equipment, which makes it difficult to maintain or interchange them in the structure of the machine.

In order to simplify the construction of the mechanisms that make up the machine, seeking to increase the speed of the machine and a reduction of the time of the forming cycle, as well as, reducing as much as possible the cost of equipment of a machine and the simplicity in the assembly of the specific instruments of common mechanisms and apparatuses, the present invention refers to a mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines, which are modular, easy to build and easily interchangeable during maintenance.

Another disadvantage of the known transfer mechanisms is that, during their assembly, the inversion arms must be perfectly aligned to the size and height of the articles according to their inversion radius. For this, the operators adjust the arms individually, which takes a long time, since they have to adjust each arm with respect to the turning radius and also with the alignment with themselves.

To overcome the above disadvantages, the inventor of the present invention, who is also a co-inventor of US Patent No.

7779650, considered that it was possible to simplify the transmission system of the inverting mechanism, to facilitate the alignment of the inverting arms and, in addition, to adjust the height of the arms.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.

It is therefore a main objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines, which replaces the gear system and allows adjustment of the arms according to their radius of gyration. It is another main objective of the present invention, to provide a mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines, which is of the modular type, which can be quickly exchanged in a multiple section and multiple cavity machine, for another list for be operated, without removing the section from the work area section, for maintenance, repair and / or updating.

It is a further main objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines, wherein the inverting mechanism transmission system includes a simpler transmission system.

It is also a main objective of the present invention to provide a mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines, which allows to increase the production speed and a reduction in the machine forming cycle time, due to the fact that They can handle smaller turning radii of inversion and the management of the inversion center directly proportional to the center of gravity or mass of the preforms.

An additional objective of the transfer mechanism of the present invention that allows adjusting the height of the inversion arms.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the field from the following description of a specific and preferred embodiment of the invention, provided in combination with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS. FIG. 1 is a conventional perspective view of the article transfer mechanism in glass article forming machines of the present invention, shown from the side of the bulb mold;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line A1-A2 of Figure 1 of the mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a perspective view, in section, taken from the line

B1-B2, of Figure 1, showing in detail the mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a sectional side view, taken on the line C1-C2 of Figure 3, of the article transfer mechanism in glass article forming machines of the present invention; and,

Figure 5 is a side sectional view of the mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines, in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.

For a better understanding of the invention, the packaging manufacturing process will now be partially described, and then reference will be made to the article transfer mechanism in glass article forming machines of the present invention.

Additionally, for simplicity, only the reversing mechanism will be described, without most of the components that are involved in an individual section of a forming machine. In a preferred embodiment, the reversing mechanism is shown for two cavities, but may be single or multiple cavities.

As previously commented, the glass packaging manufacturing process is either by the blow-blow process or blow press, the glass in the form of drops, is introduced into a parison or preformed mold, where, depending on the process, the drop is it sets, by means of a blowing or vacuum process, to the lower part of the parison mold, to form the crown of the container. Then, once the crown of the container is formed, a counter blow is made to form a parison or preform of the container.

Subsequently, the preform of the container is transferred by means of an inversion mechanism with a 180 degree movement from said parison mold to a final blow mold where the final shape of the container is given.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the article transfer mechanism (MI) of the present invention consists of:

A support base 10 that is coupled to the top of a section of a forming machine (not shown) by means of screws (not shown). The support base 10 including a pair of columns 12, 14, placed at each end of the support base 10, which are located parallel to each other. Each column 12, 14, having at its upper end a support plate 16, 18, where lateral supports 20, 22 are placed. Column 12, having configured a hollow vertical housing 24, between the support base 10 and the support 16. The lower part of the support base 10 having a transverse hole

26 coinciding with the lower part of the housing 24; and, a coupling section 28 located by the lower part of the support base 10 and in coincidence with the hole 26 of said base 10.

The lateral support 20 being configured to receive a worm gear reducer 30, (which will be described in more detail later) and, the lateral support 22 being a pillow block.

A rotating housing 32, which contains and supports a crown mold retention and release mechanism 34 (Figure 4), for each of the crown retention arms 36, 38, in order to parallel open and close said crown arms crown retention 36, 38, and crown molds 40, 42, with a movement in a longitudinal plane, and subsequently rotated together with the rotary casing 32 with an angular movement from 0 ° to 180 ° and vice versa.

The rotating housing 32 including arrows 44, 46 (Figures 3 and 4) axially coupled to each of its ends. The support casing 30 and its respective arrows 44, 46, being coupled in a horizontal position, in the upper part of the pair of columns 12, 14, between the lateral supports 20,

22. One end of arrow 44 being coupled to bearing 22 and the end of arrow 46 being connected to worm gear reducer 28.

As illustrated in Figure 2, said worm gear reducer 28 comprises a gear or ring 48 which is located within the lateral support 20. Gear 48 is fixedly coupled to the arrow 46 (Figure 1). The gear or crown 48 being connected to a double wrap worm 50, that is, under this concept, the worm screw 50 wraps the helical gear or crown 48, which increases the load capacity providing more contact to the teeth area of the crown or gear 48, which allows to increase the torque without increasing its size. The worm screw 50 is coupled to rotate vertically within the lateral support 20, between an upper bearing 52 and a lower bearing 54, located in said lateral support 20.

An arrow 56 having an upper end 58 and a lower end 60, said arrow 56 being positioned vertically in the housing 24 of the column 12 to rotate on its own axis with a rotational movement to the left or to the left. The upper end 58 of the arrow 56 being fixedly coupled to the endless screw 50 and the lower end of the arrow 60 being connected to a servo motor 62. The servo motor 62 being placed below the support base 10 which is fixed to the part of the coupling section 26, to provide rotational movement to the double-ended shaft 56 and worm 50 and, in this way. provide rotational motion to the gear or ring gear 48.

Referring now to the crown mold retention and release mechanism 36, 38, (figure 3) being formed by two sliding arm carriages 64, 66, which separate and join on the same horizontal reference axis, with a movement towards left or right, to open or close crown molds 40, 42.

At the bottom of the rotating housing 32 and below the sliding arm carriages 64, 66, a pneumatic cylinder or a servo-controlled motor 68 is located, with its output shaft 70 directed upward.

A triangular cam 72, with two straight faces 74, 76, or with any other type of movement profile, for example, a cycloidal movement, of constant acceleration, etc. and, a base 78. The base 78 being coupled to the exit arrow 70. A tongue 80 in the straight track or straight wall mode, located at the upper vertex of the triangular cam 72, will serve as an adjustment for the opening or closing of each one of the two sliding arm carriages 64, 66 of the crown mold retention and release mechanism 34 (Figure 4). Straight tab 80 serves to position the machine start line to instantly open or close each of the crown retaining arms 36, 38 and crown molds 40, 42.

A pair of cam followers 82, 84, one for each arm carriage 64, 66, which is kept in contact with the straight faces 74, 76, of the triangular cam 72. The straight tongue 80 located at the top of the Triangular cam 72 being aligned with respect to the center line or starting line of the junction of the bulb mold or the blow mold (not shown), in order to uniformly and simultaneously open the arm carriages sliders 64, 66, and crown retaining arms 36, 38, overcoming the pushing force or compressing a pair of springs 86, 88 (Figure 4). Said springs 86, 88, are coupled between a support section 90, 92, located in the internal part of the support casing 30 and an internal wall 94, 96, of the sliding arm carriages 64, 66, in such a way that by means of The action of the motor 68, arrow 70 and triangular cam 72, open the crown retention arms 36, 38, and the crown molds 40, 42, for the formation of the article. The crown retaining arms 36, 38, are closed when the compression force is released on the springs 86, 88.

With particular reference now to Figures 2 and 5, the article transfer mechanism in glass article forming machines enables the height of the crown retaining arms 36, 38 to be adjusted to reduce the radius of inversion thereof. That is, the arms 36, 38 are vertically adjusted on male vertical coupling guides 98, 100, located on each of the two sliding arm carriages 64,

66. Each guide 98, 100 includes a series of holes 102, which are distributed aligned one above the other in a vertical reference line (figure 5), and located at different heights. Also, the crown retaining arms 36, 38 include a vertical arm 104, 106, which include female coupling guides 108, 110. The vertical arms 104,

106, including a knob 112, 114, including an alignment bolt 116

(Only one is shown in Figure 5), which transversely crosses each vertical arm 104, 106. Each knob 112, 114, with its respective alignment bolts 116, allows the height of the arms 36, 38 to be adjusted with respect to the investment radius. That is, the knob 112, 114 can be removed and attached according to each of the holes 102 of the guides 98, 100, for exact adjustment or position of the center of inversion of the arms 36, 38.

As can be seen from the above, a mechanism for transferring articles into glass article forming machines of the blow-blow process has been described. However, this mechanism is usable in other processes such as wide mouth blow press, narrow mouth blow press and direct press, and it will be evident to experts in the field that many other features or improvements could be made, which may be considered within of the field determined by the following claims.

Claims

1.- A mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines of the type comprising:

a support base, said support base being coupled to the top of a section of the forming machine, the support base including a pair of columns, each of the columns being placed at each end of the support base, and the upper end of one of the columns being aligned with respect to each other having a hollow housing; and, the opposite column having a lateral support on top of it;

a worm gear reducer fitted in the hollow housing of one of the columns;

a rotary casing including a first end arrow and a second end arrow, said first arrow and second arrow being located on the same axis of rotation on each side of the casing, said rotary casing and their respective arrows being coupled in horizontal position in the upper part of the columns, where the first arrow is fixedly coupled with the crown of the reducer and, said second arrow being coupled to said lateral support, the rotary casing being coupled to rotate on its own axes; and where the worm gear reducer is coupled to rotate on its own axis, vertically, within the hollow housing;

an arrow having an upper end and a lower end, the upper end being coupled to the auger; drive means being connected at the lower end of the shaft, to provide a rotational movement to the shaft and auger, to the left or to the right, to provide a unidirectional movement to the crown and to move the rotary casing with an angular movement of 0 ° to 180 ° and in reverse; and,

a crown mold retention and release mechanism located inside the rotary casing, said mold retention and release mechanism including two sliding arm carriages that separate and join on the same horizontal reference axis, with a movement to the left or to the right and, crown retention arms for each one of said sliding arm carriages that open and close according to the movement of the sliding arm carriages to open and close crown molds, said mold retention and release mechanism rotating in conjunction with the rotating housing with said angular movement from 0 ° to 180 ° and in reverse, to transfer a glass article from a parison forming station to an article forming station.

2. The mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines, according to claim 1, wherein the sliding arm carriages comprise male coupling guides, located in a vertical position, each male coupling guide including at least a hole located in the transverse direction, which are distributed aligned one above the other; and, the crown retention arms including a vertical support section for coupling on each sliding carriage, the vertical support section including female coupling guides for coupling with the male coupling guides of the sliding arm carriages; alignment means transversely traversing each vertical support section, said alignment means being coupled or uncoupled through each of the holes of each male coupling guide of each sliding carriage, to align and / or adjust the crown retention arms or to modify their investment center.

3. The mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines, in accordance with claim 1, wherein the worm gear is a double wrap endless screw.

4. The mechanism for the transfer of articles in glass article forming machines, according to claim 2, wherein the alignment means is an adjustment knob.