Quick change blow mold shell assembly

A blow mold shell assembly for use with a blow mold machine, said blow mold shell assembly comprising:

• a planar carrier plate having a top edge and two parallel side edges extending from said top edge;
• a first slotted opening defined in the top edge of said carrier plate;
• a blow mold half shell having a top edge and two parallel side edges extending from the top edge thereof;
• a second slotted opening defined in the top edge of said shell;
• said first and second openings being placed in approximate registry with one another as said shell is positioned on said carrier plate;
• and
• a fastener clip sized and shaped to be received in said openings, said clip being constructed and arranged to align said openings with respect to one another and to draw said shell snugly against said carrier plate as a fastener is passed through said clip and into said carrier plate for fastening the half shell to the carrier plate.

A blow mold shell assembly for use with a blow mold machine, the blow mold machine having a clamshell style blow mold shell opening and closing mechanism to which said blow mold shell assembly is mounted, said blow mold shell assembly comprising:

• first and second carrier plates, each said carrier plate being adapted to be separately affixed to the shell opening mechanism of the blow mold machine;
• first and second blow mold half shells for being separately and removably fastened to each said carrier plate, respectively;
• a first slotted opening defined in a top edge of each said carrier plate;
• a second slotted opening defined in a top edge of each said half shell;
• said first and second openings being placed in registry with one another as each respective shell is placed on its respective carrier plate;
• and
• a fastener clip for each pair of said first and second openings, respectively, each said clip being sized and shaped to be received in both of the openings of each said pair of openings and being constructed and arranged to draw each said half shell snugly against its respective carrier plate as a separate fastener is passed through each said clip and into its respective carrier plate, and to fasten the half shell to its respective carrier plate.

A system for assembling a blow mold shell assembly, said assembly characterized by a mold shell having a rear face and a carrier plate having a mounting face, said system comprising:

• a means for fastening said mold shell to said carrier plate;
• a first means for receiving said fastening means in an edge of said mounting face of said carrier plate;
• and
• a second means for receiving said fastening means in an edge of said rear face of said mold shell,
• said fastening means comprising:
• a means for aligning said first receiving means and said second receiving means along a mating surface generally defined by said rear face and said mounting face;
• a means for progressively drawing together said mold shell and said carrier plate;
• and
• a means for securing said fastening means.