Blow molding apparatus

A blow molding apparatus comprising

• a wheel plate,
• a shaft,
• means for supporting said wheel plate on said shaft for rotation about a horizontal axis,
• a hub mounted on said wheel plate for rotation with said wheel plate,
• a plurality of sets of molds defining a mold cavity when closed,
• each said set including a movable mold section and a fixed mold section,
• said fixed mold section of each said set being mounted on said hub on one side of said wheel plate such that said fixed mold sections are circumferentially spaced about said hub,
• said movable mold section of each said set being mounted on said wheel plate in circumferentially spaced relation and radial alignment with said associated fixed mold section of each set,
• means mounting each said movable mold section adjacent said one side of said wheel plate for movement toward and away from said associated fixed mold section of each set,
• means interconnecting each said cam follower and its respective movable mold section,
• each said mounting means including a cam follower,
• an arcuated cam mounted adjacent the other side of said wheel plate for engaging said cam follower and moving said movable mold sections radially toward and away from said fixed mold sections as they are rotated with respect to said cam,
• said wheel plate having an opening therethrough for each said cam follower through which each cam follower extends into engagement with said cam.

In a blow molding apparatus wherein a plurality of circumferentially spaced sets of molds are mounted on a wheel plate for rotation about a horizontal axis and plastic material is extruded in tubular form between the mold sections of each set of molds and the molds are closed and the portion of the plastic within each mold section is blown to form a hollow article, wherein each set of molds includes a radially outermost movable mold section and a fixed mold section, wherein the improvement comprises a slide assembly for mounting the radially outermost movable mold section of each set of molds, said slide assembly comprising:

• a base mounted on said wheel plate,
• a slide on said base supporting said movable mold section for radial movement inwardly toward and outwardly away from said fixed mold section,
• a cam follower slidable radially upon said base and adapted to follow an annular cam,
• and linkage means between the cam follower and the slide operable to move the slide and, in turn, the movable mold section mounted thereon in a radial direction at a multiple of the radial movement of the cam follower to provide a rapid movement of the movable mold section radially inwardly and radially outwardly as the cam follower follows an arcuate cam on the apparatus, said linkage means between the cam follower and the slide comprising:
• a secondary slide mounted on side base for radial movement on said base,
• said cam follower being mounted on said secondary slide,
• a lever having one end pivoted to said base,
• a first link interconnecting said secondary slide and said lever intermediate its ends,
• and a second link pivoting the other end of said lever to said slide.

A blow molding apparatus comprising:

• a wheel plate;
• a shaft;
• means for supporting said wheel plate on said shaft for rotation about a horizontal axis;
• a hub mounted on said wheel plate for rotation with said wheel plate;
• a plurality of sets of molds defining a mold cavity when closed;
• each said set comprising a movable mold section and a fixed mold section;
• said fixed mold sections of each said set being mounted on said hub on one side of said wheel plate such that said fixed mold sections are circumferentially spaced about said hub;
• said movable mold section of each said set being mounted on said wheel plate in circumferentially spaced relation and radial alignment with said associated fixed mold section of each set;
• means mounting each said movable mold section adjacent said one side of said wheel plate for movement toward and away from said associated fixed mold section of each set;
• a cam follower;
• an arcuate cam mounted adjacent the other side of said wheel plate for engaging said cam follower and moving said movable mold sections radially toward and away from said fixed mold sections as they are rotated with respect to the cam;
• said means mounting each said movable mold section comprising:
• a base mounted on said one side of said wheel plate,
• a slide on said base supporting said movable mold section and adapted to move radially inwardly toward and radially outwardly away from the fixed mold section associated with the movable mold section supported by the slide;
• said wheel plate having an opening for each said cam follower through which each cam follower extends into engagement with said arcuate cam;
• linkage means between the cam follower and the slide operable to move the slide and, in turn, the movable mold section mounted thereon in a radial direction at a multiple of the radial movement of the cam follower to provide a rapid movement of the movable mold section radially inwardly and radially outwardly as the cam follower follows an arcuate cam on the apparatus;
• said linkage means between the cam follower and the slide comprising:
• a secondary slide on said base,
• said cam follower mounted on said secondary slide,
• a lever having one end pivoted to said base,
• a first link interconnecting said secondary slide and said lever intermediate its ends,
• and a second link pivoting the other end of said lever to said slide.