Plastic bottle trimming machine

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING FLASH FROM THE SHOULDER PORTIONS OF MOLDED BOTTLES WHEREIN THE FLASH PROJECTS FROM FIRST AND SECOND LINES OF JUNCTURE WITH THE BOTTLE SHOULDER AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BOTTLE IN A VERTICAL GENERAL PLANE CONTAINING THE VERTICAL AXIS OF THE BOTTLE, COMPRISING A PLATFORM MOUNTED FOR FREE ROTATION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS, DIE MEANS SUPPORTED ABOVE SAID PLATFORM AND HAVING SEPARATE DIE FACES TERMINATING AT RESPECTIVE FIRST AND SECOND DIE EDGES CONFORMED TO SAID FIRST AND SAID SECOND LINES OF JUNCTURE, MEANS FOR LOCATING SAID DIE FACES IN A FIRST POSITION WHEREIN SAID FIRST AND SECOND DIE EDGES ARE LOCATED IN A COMMON VERTICAL PLANE CONTAINING SAID AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID PLATFORM IN THE SAME HORIZONTALLY SPACED RELATIONSHIPS TO SAID PLATFORM AXIS AS THOSE BETWEEN THE CORRESPONDING LINES OF JUNCTURE AND SAID BOTTLE AXIS AND WITH THE SECOND DIE EDGE VERTICALLY OFFSET UPWARDLY RELATIVE TO SAID FIRST DIE EDGE AS COMPARED TO THE VERTICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND LINES OF JUNCTURE, PLATFORM ELEVATING MEANS ACTUABLE IN RAISE OR LOWER SAID PLATFORM FROM AND TO A LOWER END LIMIT AT WHICH THE LINES OF JUNCTURE OF A BOTTLE SUPPORTED ON SAID PLATFORM ARE DISPOSED IN VERTICALLY SPACED RELATIONSHIP BELOW THEIR CORRESPONDING DIE EDGES, MEANS FOR LOCATING A BOTTLE IN A READY POSITION AT ONE SIDE OF SAID PLATFORM WITH THE BOTTLE AXIS AND PLATFORM AXIS LYING IN A SECOND VERTICAL PLANE WITH SAID FIRST LINE OF JUNCTURE LYING ON THE SAME SIDE OF SAID SECOND PLANE AS SAID FIRST DIE EDGE, HORIZONTAL TRANSFER MEANS OPERABLE WHEN SAID PLATFORM IS AT SAID LOWER END LIMIT FOR SHIFTING A BOTTLE FROM SAID READY POSITION ONTO SAID PLATFORM AND SUBSEQUENTLY SHIFTING THE BOTTLE ON THE PLATFORM TO MOVE THE BOTTLE AXIS INTO COINCIDENCE WITH THE PLATFORM AXIS, ACTUATING MEANS OPERABLE UPON THE MOVEMENT OF A BOTTLE ONTO SAID PLATFORM TO ACTUATE SAID ELEVATING MEANS TO ELEVATE THE PLATFORM UNTIL THE BOTTLE SHOULDER ADJACENT THE FIRST LINE OF JUNCTURE IS SEATED AGAINST THE FIRST DIE EDGE, FIRST KNIFE MEANS HAVING A CUTTING EDGE CONFORMED TO SAID FIRST LINE OF JUNCTURE OPERABLE UPON THE SEATING OF SAID BOTTLE SHOULDER AGAINST SAID FIRST DIE EDGE TO SEVER SAID FLASH FROM SAID BOTTLE ALONG SAID FIRST LINE OF JUNCTURE, MEANS OPERABLE SUBSEQUENT TO THE SEVERING OF SAID FLASH ALONG SAID FIRST LINE OF JUNCTURE FOR RETRACTING SAID FIRST KNIFE AND FIRST DIE EDGE CLEAR OF SAID BOTTLE, SAID ACTUATING MEANS BEING OPERABLE UPON THE RETRACTION OF SAID FIRST DIE EDGE TO ACTUATE SAID ELEVATING MEANS TO ELEVATE SAID PLATFORM UNTIL BOTTLE SHOULDER ADJACENT SAID SECOND LINE OF JUNCTURE IS SEATED AGAINST SAID SECOND DIE EDGE, AND SECOND KNIFE MEANS HAVING A CUTTING EDGE CONFORMED TO SAID SECOND LINE OF JUNCTURE OPERABLE UPON THE SEATING OF SAID BOTTLE SHOULDER AGAINST SAID SECOND DIE EDGE TO SEVER SAID FLASH FROM SAID BOTTLE ALONG SAID SECOND LINE OF JUNCTURE.