Vacuum system for an I.S. machine

A vacuum system for opposed engaged pairs of blow mold halves on a section of an I.S. machine comprising

• a vacuum mechanism including
• a bottom housing open at the top,
• a top plate assembly secured on the open top of said bottom housing including
• a top plate having a vertical opening for each of the opposed pairs of blow mold halves,
• an annular manifold housing below said top plate, and
• a vacuum manifold support by said annular manifold housing having a cylindrical inlet conduit and a vertical outlet conduit communicating with said cylindrical inlet conduit beneath each of said top plate vertical openings, and
• a vacuum tube assembly including
• a vacuum tube having an open end and selectively configured for sliding engagement within said cylindrical inlet conduit,
• said vacuum tube having a length sufficient to extend the vacuum tube past each of the vertical outlet conduits of the vacuum manifold,
• a mounting plate secured to the open end of said vacuum tube, and
• means for securing said mounting plate on said annular manifold housing with said vacuum tube within said vacuum manifold cylindrical inlet conduit,
• said vacuum tube having a hole for communicating with each of said vacuum manifold vertical outlets.