Importance

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Abstract

Apparatus for orienting and feeding blow molded preforms which are elongated generally cylindrical plastic objects, one end of which is a threaded neck portion for the ultimate blow molded container, and the other end of which extends from the opposed end of the cylindrical object as a narrower and heavier tubular portion which during the blow molding operation will be softened and enlarged into the ultimate container, the preform further including an encircling handling disc between the said threaded neck portion and tubular portion which has a larger diameter than the remaining portions of the preform, the disc serving to facilitate handling of the preforms. First and second conveying belts are provided having input and output ends for cooperatively conveying such objects toward a downstream processing line. The belts are mounted so that their respective conveying surfaces are movable in a common parallel direction. The facing edges of the conveying surfaces of these belts are spaced from one another to define a uniform gap between them of a dimension less than that of the disc. The conveying surfaces are upwardly sloped away from the gap, to define a zone converging downwardly in the direction of the gap. Object input means deposit the initially unoriented preforms at the input ends of the conveying belts. The belts are moved in a common direction, but at different speeds. The preforms are rotated by contact with the differentially speeding belts as they descend into the converging zone and become supported at the gap and conveyed by riding on the edges of the moving belts which border the gap. Object output means at the ends of the belts receive the oriented objects and direct them toward the downstream processing line. Means at the output ends of the belts deflect any preforms which are not properly oriented and seated in the gap; and preform output means at the output end of the belts receive the oriented preforms and direct them toward the processing line. In order to preclude or minimize the preforms resisting deflection due to frictional lock between the disc portion of the preform and an adjacent lateral edge of an opposed belt, one or both of the lateral edges of the belts abounding the gap are formed to diverge upwardly away from the belt gap.

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First Claim