Glass container inspecting apparatus

Claim 1

IN APPARATUS FOR DETECTING ABNORMALTIES IN THE PLANE OF A GENERALLY CIRCULAR AREA OF AN EXTERNAL END SURFACE OF A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL ARTICLE, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING AN ARTICLE IN A RECUMBENT POSITION AT AN INSPECTING STATION, MEANS FOR ROTATING THE ARTICLE ABOUT ITS AXIS WHILE AT SAID STATION, INSPECTING APPARATUS AT SAID STATION COMPRISING A REFERENCE PLATE HAVING A FLAT WORK-CONTACTING SURFACE LYING IN A PLANE NORMAL TO THE AXIS OF THE ARTICLE FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID END SURFACE OF THE LATTER, SAID PLATE HAVING A PLURALITY OF APERTURES OPENING THROUGH THE WORK-CONTACTING SURFACE AND POSITIONED AT LEAST IN PART OPPOSITE THE AREA TO BE INSPECTED, A GAUGING FINGER SHIFTABLY MOUNTED IN EACH APERTURE, MEANS YIELDINGLY URGING THE FINGERS TO POSITIONS FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CIRCULAR AREA, A MAIN ELECTRICAL CONTACT COMPRISING A DISK WITH WHICH THE ARTICLE IS AXIALLY ALIGNED FOR TESTING, ELECTRICAL CONTACTS INDIVIDUAL TO AND MOVABLE WITH THE FINGERS AND ARRANGED IN AN ANNULAR SERIES ABOUT THE AXIS OF SAID MAIN CONTACT AND SO POSITIONED RELATIVE TO THE MAIN CONTACT THAT MOVEMENT OF ANY FINGER A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE BEYOND THE WORK-CONTACTING SURFACE BRINGS THE CORRESPONDING CONTACT INTO CIRCUIT CLOSING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE MAIN CONTACT AND MEANS FOR MOVING THE MAIN CONTACT AXIALLY THEREBY TO REGULABLY PREDETERMINED THE EXTENT TO WHICH A FINGER MUST RELATIVE TO THE REFERENCE PLATE TO CLOSE THE CIRCUIT.