Side shuttle apparatus and method for an injection molding machine

An injection molding machine, comprising:

• a mold cavity plate having a plurality of mold cavities;
• a mold core plate having a plurality of mold cores;
• a driver for opening and closing the mold core plate and the mold cavity plate with respect to each other;
• injection structure configured to inject molten plastic into said plurality of mold cavities;
• molded part evacuation structure configured to evacuate molded articles from the injection molding machine;
• and
• a shuttle device configured to move linearly between the mold core plate and the mold cavity plate when they are separated by a predetermined clearance, said shuttle device being configured to extract a plurality of molded article from the plurality of cavities or the plurality of cores, said shuttle device having at least a portion thereof inboard of a periphery of the mold cavity plate when the mold core plate and the mold cavity plate are in the closed position, said shuttle device including a plurality of grippers configured to respectively grip the plurality of molded articles, said grippers moving only linearly between the mold core plate and the mold cavity plate said shuttle device being configured to perform at least one of (i) a label application operation, and (ii) a lid partial-closing operation.

Mold machine shuttle structure, comprising:

• a plurality of shuttle members, each configured to be coupled to a portion of the mold and including a suction cup configured to extract a molded article from one of a mold core and a mold cavity;
• shuttle guide structure configured to be coupled to the portion of the mold and to limit the movement of each of said plurality of shuttle members and the corresponding suction cups to only coplanar linear directions, the coplanar linear directions being substantially parallel to a face of the mold;
• and
• shuttle drive structure configured to (i) be coupled to the mold portion, (ii) drive each of said plurality of shuttle members in only the coplanar linear directions, and (iii) park each of said plurality of shuttle members in a position where at least a portion of each of said plurality of shuttle members is disposed within a periphery of the mold portion when the mold is in a closed position, and (iv) perform a further operation of inserting a workpiece in one of the mold core and the mold cavity.

Molding machine side shuttle apparatus, comprising:

• shuttle means having a portion always disposed inboard of a perimeter of a first mold half of the molding machine, for shuttling between the first mold half and a second mold half when the mold halves are in an open position;
• guidance means, coupled to the first mold half, for guiding said shuttle means linearly across a molding face of the first mold half;
• drive means for driving said shuttle means linearly, whereby said shuttle means is moved only linearly across the molding face of the first mold half;
• and
• operation means coupled to said shuttle means and configured to (i) remove a molded article from one of a mold core and a mold cavity, and (ii) perform a further operation on at least one of (iia) a molded article disposed in/on a mold structure of the first mold half, and (iib) the mold structure of the first mold half.