Blow molding apparatus

A reheat blow molding machine to move a heated preform of circular section from an oven to a blow mold where it is blown into a hollow product using a stuffer assembly and to convey such product to an eject station;

• wherein the preform has an unblown finish with a capping ring from which depends a hollow tubular body that is blown to form the product and a groove immediately above said capping ring, the remainder of the finish being above said groove, comprising:
• an oven section which discharges downwardly a preform that has been heated preparatory to being blown;
• a blow section for blow molding the preform into a hollow product and ejecting such product from the machine;
• a preform transfer station, a blow mold station, a blow mold at said blow station, and a product eject station disposed linearly along one side of said blow section;
• a reach and take carriage means from receiving the preform downwardly discharged from the oven and moving said to said preform transfer station;
• an endless roller conveyor chain in said blow section disposed about its sprockets in a horizontal plane with the pins vertical and with a straight run extending along said blow section one side;
• a plurality of outward facing preform holder means each extending generally horizontally at a predetermined interval from each other along said chain such that a holder means is at each of said stations at the same time;
• each holder means having a generally horizontal resilient cantilever member attached to said chain and vertically flexible, a preform holder having a notch supported at the outer end of the resilient member and open on that side opposite the chain and shaped to snugly engage said preform groove, the notch being located relative to the chain and its movement along said run so as to align with the blow mold at the blow station;
• said carriage means having an upper plate, a capping ring notch in said plate for locating the preform by its capping ring, an inner plate movably supported underneath said upper plate, a body notch in said inner plate sized smaller than said capping ring notch and to receive a preform body, said capping ring notch and body notch defining a recess with a support surface surrounding said body notch the open side of the notches facing in the same direction as and aligned with said preform holder notch, said carriage means presenting said plates at said transfer station at an elevation such that said groove is engageable by said preform holder notch;
• and
• drive means to move said carriage means from said oven station to at least where the notches on said holder means and said carriage means are substantially vertically aligned;
• whereby the groove is engaged by said notch in said preform holder and the depending preform body is removed from within said upper plate capping ring notch when said preform is transferred from the reach and take carriage means to the preform holder on the conveyor chain thus to be aligned for movement to the blow mold.