Guidance system for shallow articles discharged from a mold cavity

In an injection-molding machine including a mold with a first and a second mold portion having substantially vertical confronting surfaces, one of said surfaces being formed with at least one shallow cavity, reciprocable drive means coupled with said first mold portion for displacing same relatively to said second mold portion between a mold-open position and a mold-closed position, injection means connected to said second mold portion for filling said cavity in said mold-closed position with a flowable mass hardening into a molded article, and ejection means on the mold portion formed with said cavity for discharging the molded article therefrom,

• the combination therewith of:
• guide means on at least one of said mold portions projecting in said mold-open position toward the other of said mold portions on opposite sides of said cavity at and below the level thereof to define with the confronting surfaces of the separated mold portions a substantially vertical channel for the controlled descent of the ejected article, said drive means having a stroke which limits the separation of said confronting surfaces in said mold-open position to a distance greater than the depth of said cavity perpendicular to said surfaces but less than the dimensions of said cavity parallel to said surfaces whereby the descending article is maintained substantially in its original upright orientation within said channel, said guide means including at least one pair of cavity-flanking elements retractable into said one of said mold portions in said mold-closed position;
• a chute underneath said mold portions having an entrance end aligned with said channel for receiving the descending article therefrom;
• and
• conveyor means for removing the article to a further destination in a predetermined position, said chute having a downwardly slanting exit end opening onto a transport surface of said conveyor means.