Article transfer apparatus

Claim 2

Apparatus for transferring glass article blanks each having an outwardly bulged moil portion at its upper end from a first conveyor to a second conveyor, said apparatus comprising endless conveying means including a stationary frame and an endless chain assembly mounted upon said frame for movement along an endless path having a first run extending parallel to the path of movement of blanks on said first conveyor and a second run extending parallel to the path of movement of blanks on said second conveyor, a plurality of transfer devices mounted upon said chain assembly for movement therewith and for movement relative thereto in both vertical and horizontal directions normal to the path of movement of said chain assembly, horizontally extending support finger means on each of said transfer devices adapted to be engaged beneath the bulged moil portion of a blank at the front and rear sides thereof with respect to the direction of movement of the blank on said first conveyor to suspend and support the blank for movement along said endless path, and retainer finger means on said transfer device beneath said support fingers selectively actuable to an open blank receiving or releasing position or to a closed position wherein said finger means surround the moil portion of a blank supported on said support finger means to retain said blank against horizontal movement relative to said support finger means.

Claim 3

Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said transfer devices comprises a bracket mounted upon said endless chain assembly for movement therewith, a carriage slidably mounted upon said bracket for movement relative to the bracket in a horizontal path normal to the path of movement of said chain assembly between an inner withdrawn position and an outwardly projected extended position with respect to the endless chain path, cam means on said stationary frame engageable with said carriage for locating said carriage at selected poSitions on its horizontal path relative to said bracket in accordance with the position of said bracket on the path of said endless chain assembly, and carrier means mounting said support finger means and said retainer finger means upon said carriage.

Claim 4

Apparatus as defined in claim 2 further comprising means supporting said carrier means for sliding movement upon said carriage in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of said carriage upon said bracket, means defining opposite end limits of said carrier relative to said carriage, spring means biasing said carrier to one of said end limits of movement relative to said carriage, retainer finger actuating means coupled to said carriage and operable to locate said finger means in its opened position when said carrier is at said one end limit of movement relative to said carriage and operable to shift said retainer finger means to their closed position when said carrier is moved to its other end limit of movement relative to said carriage, and stop means on said bracket engageable with said carrier when said carriage is at a position intermediate its withdrawn and extended position relative to said bracket to hold said carrier against further outward movement relative to said bracket as said carriage is moved outwardly from said intermediate position to its projected position, movement of said carriage from said intermediate position to said projected position shifting said carrier from said one end limit to its other end limit of movement relative to said carriage.

Claim 5

Apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said carriage during movement along said first run of the endless path of said chain assembly is successively engaged with a first, a second, and a third section of said cam means, said first section of said cam means being operable to shift said carriage from its withdrawn position relative to said bracket to its intermediate position, said second section of said cam means being operable to maintain said carriage in its intermediate position, and said third section of said cam means being operable to move said carriage from its intermediate position to its extended position, said carrier member being moved by said carriage upon movement of said carriage from its withdrawn to its intermediate position to shift said support finger means from a position clear of the path of movement of articles on said first conveyor into an article receiving alignment with an article on said first conveyor, and means operable while said carriage is engaged with said second section of said cam means for releasing the article from said first conveyor to transfer the support of the article from said first conveyor to said support finger means.

Claim 6

Apparatus as defined in claim 2 further comprising elevating roller means mounted on said bracket, and track means mounted upon said stationary frame in supporting engagement with said roller for positioning said bracket vertically relative to said stationary frame in accordance with the position of the bracket along the path of said endless chain assembly.

Claim 7

Apparatus as defined i claim 5 wherein articles on said first conveyor are suspended from said first conveyor, means on said second conveyor for supporting said articles from beneath, said track means having a downwardly inclined section extending along said second run to lower said bracket from a maximum elevation to a minimum elevation as said bracket passes along said second run, said bracket when at its minimum elevation supporting said support fingers below and out of contact with the bulged moil portion of an article supported on said second conveyor.

Claim 8

For use in combination with a glass-forming machine of the ribbon type wherein glass articles are formed at uniformly spaced intervals on a glass ribbon driven along a straight line path, the articles being integrally suspended from the ribbon by an outwardly bulged moil portion, and wherein the moil portion of the articles are severed at their upper ends frOm the ribbon as the ribbon is advanced past a severing station; transfer means for receiving severed articles from said forming machine and conveying the severed articles to a discharge location, said transfer means comprising conveying means having an endless chain assembly mounted upon a frame for movement along an endless path having a receiving run extending parallel to the path of movement of the glass ribbon with said severing station being located at a point intermediate the ends of said receiving runs, a plurality of transfer devices mounted upon said chain assembly at uniformly spaced intervals corresponding to the spacing of said articles upon said ribbon, article engaging support finger means mounted on each of said transfer devices for movement relative to said chain assembly vertically and horizontally in a direction normal to the path of movement of said chain assembly, means for driving said chain assembly in synchronism with the movement of articles on said ribbon to drive said transfer devices along said receiving run in aligned side-by-side relationship with articles on said ribbon, cam means on said frame extending along said receiving run for shifting each of said support finger means outwardly into underlying relationship to the bulged moil portion of an article on said ribbon before the article reaches said severing means, and article retaining finger means on each of said transfer devices actuable by said cam means after the article has been severed from said ribbon to retain the article against horizontal movement on said support finger means.

Claim 9

For use in combination with a glass-forming machine of the ribbon type wherein glass articles are formed at uniformly spaced intervals on a glass ribbon driven along a straight line path, the articles being integrally suspended from the ribbon by an outwardly bulged moil portion, and wherein the moil portion of the articles are severed at their upper ends frOm the ribbon as the ribbon is advanced past a severing station; transfer means for receiving severed articles from said forming machine and conveying the severed articles to a discharge location, said transfer means comprising conveying means having an endless chain assembly mounted upon a frame for movement along an endless path having a receiving run extending parallel to the path of movement of the glass ribbon with said severing station being located at a point intermediate the ends of said receiving runs, a plurality of transfer devices mounted upon said chain assembly at uniformly spaced intervals corresponding to the spacing of said articles upon said ribbon, article engaging support finger means mounted on each of said transfer devices for movement relative to said chain assembly vertically and horizontally in a direction normal to the path of movement of said chain assembly, means for driving said chain assembly in synchronism with the movement of articles on said ribbon to drive said transfer devices along said receiving run in aligned side-by-side relationship with articles on said ribbon, cam means on said frame extending along said receiving run for shifting each of said support finger means outwardly into underlying relationship to the bulged moil portion of an article on said ribbon before the article reaches said severing means, and article retaining finger means on each of said transfer devices actuable by said cam means after the article has been severed from said ribbon to retain the article against horizontal movement on said support finger means.

Claim 10

The invention defined in claim 7 further comprising track means on said frame extending along said receiving run for maintaining said support finger means at a maximum elevation until said support finger means has been moved along said run beyond said severing station, said support finger means when at said maximum elevation being spaced in vertical alignment beneath the bulged moil portion of the article on said ribbon, and a downwardly inclined section on said track means for lowering said support finger means with the severed article supported thereon downwardly away from said ribbon after the support finger means has moved beyond said severing station.

Claim 11

The invention defined in claim 7 further comprising means supporting said cam means on said frame for movement between a normal position wherein said cam means is operable to shift said support finger means into said underlying relationship and a second position relative to said frame, means for selectively locating said cam means in either of said first or said second positions, and means on said cam means operable when said cam means is in said second position for maintaining said support finger means in an inwardly withdrawn position clear of the path of movement of articles on said ribbon throughout the passage of the support finger means along said receiving run.

Claim 12

Apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said support finger means comprises a yoke element having spaced horizontally outwardly projecting fingers connected at their inner ends by a base portion, said fingers adjacent said base portion being spaced from each other to receive the moil portion of the article therebetween in underlying supporting relationship to the bulged portion of the moil, said fingers diverging from each other adjacent their outer ends.

Claim 13

The invention as defined in claim 10 further comprising means supporting said yoke element upon the transfer device for pivotal movement about a vertical axis, and spring means resiliently resisting pivotal movement of said yoke element about said axis in either direction from a normally maintained centered position relative to the transfer device.

Claim 14

Apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said retainer finger means comprises a pair of retainer fingers mounted upon the transfer device for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane between an opened and a closed position, said retainer fingers in said open posiTion being spaced from each other by a distance sufficient to clear the moil portion of said blank and having cooperating retaining sections at their respective outer ends conformed to closely surround the moil portion of a blank supported on said yoke element when said retainer fingers are in their closed position and means operable by said cam means when said yoke element is located in underlying supporting relationship to the bulged portion of the moil on an article for selectively locating said retainer fingers in their open or closed position.

Claim 15

For use in an article transfer apparatus; a transfer device comprising a bracket, a carriage mounted upon said bracket for sliding movement relative thereto along a horizontal path between spaced inner and outer end limits, a carrier mounted upon said carriage for movement relative to said carriage in directions parallel to said horizontal path between an inner retracted position and an outer extended position relative to said carriage, said carrier projecting outwardly beyond the outer end of said carriage, spring means engaged between said carriage and said carrier biasing said carrier toward said extended position relative to said carriage, an outwardly opening support yoke mounted upon said carrier and adapted to support an article to be transferred, a pair of retainer fingers pivotally mounted upon said carrier beneath said yoke for movement between an open article receiving position and a closed article retaining position wherein said retainer finers are operable to retain an article supported upon said yoke against outward movement relative to said yoke, retainer finger actuating means coupled between said retainer fingers and said carriage for locating said fingers in their open position when said carrier is in its extended position relative to said carriage and operable to move said fingers to their closed position upon movement of said carrier from its extended position to its retracted position relative to said carriage, and stop means on said bracket engageable with said carrier when said carriage has moved a selected distance from its inner end limit toward its out end limit to hold said carrier against further outward movement relative to said bracket whereby further outward movement of said carriage to its outer end limit moves said carrier against said spring means to its retracted position relative to said carriage.

Claim 16

For use in an article transfer apparatus; a transfer device comprising a bracket, a carriage mounted upon said bracket for sliding movement relative thereto along a horizontal path between spaced inner and outer end limits, a carrier mounted upon said carriage for movement relative to said carriage in directions parallel to said horizontal path between an inner retracted position and an outer extended position relative to said carriage, said carrier projecting outwardly beyond the outer end of said carriage, spring means engaged between said carriage and said carrier biasing said carrier toward said extended position relative to said carriage, an outwardly opening support yoke mounted upon said carrier and adapted to support an article to be transferred, a pair of retainer fingers pivotally mounted upon said carrier beneath said yoke for movement between an open article receiving position and a closed article retaining position wherein said retainer finers are operable to retain an article supported upon said yoke against outward movement relative to said yoke, retainer finger actuating means coupled between said retainer fingers and said carriage for locating said fingers in their open position when said carrier is in its extended position relative to said carriage and operable to move said fingers to their closed position upon movement of said carrier from its extended position to its retracted position relative to said carriage, and stop means on said bracket engageable with said carrier when said carriage has moved a selected distance from its inner end limit toward its out end limit to hold said carrier against further outward movement relative to said bracket whereby further outward movement of said carriage to its outer end limit moves said carrier against said spring means to its retracted position relative to said carriage.