Apparatus for the preparation of hollow plastic articles

Claim 1

A blow molding apparatus for forming a plurality of oriented, blown, hollow plastic articles of moldable plastic material which comprises: a plurality of first molds for tempering a plurality of parisons in spaced relationship to each other and having a first center spacing; a plurality of first cores engageable with said first molds and being in fixed, spaced relationship to each other corresponding to said first center spacing; a plurality of blow molds in spaced relationship to said first molds for forming said tempered parisons into oriented, blown, hollow plastic articles, said blow molds being in spaced relationship to each other and having a second center spacing greater than said first center spacing; a plurality of second cores in spaced relationship to said first cores and to each other corresponding to said first center spacing, said second cores being spaced from and engageable with said first molds; means operatively associated with said second cores for moving said second cores away from and towards each other to change the center spacing thereof from said first center spacing to said second center spacing so that said second cores are aligned with said first molds for engagement therewith and are aligned with said blow molds for engagement therewith; means including said plurality of first cores for providing a parison in each of said first molds; means operatively associated with said second cores for placing said second cores in said first molds and in said parisons; means operatively associated with said second cores for removing said second cores with parisons contained thereon from said first molds at the end of the tempering cycle prior to orienting and blowing; and means operatively associated with said second cores for placing said second cores with parisons thereon in said blow molds.