Easily changeable gripping head for blow-molding pallet assembly
First Claim
1. In a movable pallet containing a plurality of stations for releasably gripping a plurality of workpieces as they are moved through a manufacturing process, the improvement for providing rapid reconfiguration of the stations to accept different sized workpieces wherein each station comprises:
- (a) a mounting member, at each station, including a mounting place perpendicular to a shaft rotatable relative to and supported by the pallet;
(b) a locking member carried by said mounting member for rotation about said shaft; and
,(c) a collet member for releasably gripping a workpiece of a given size, said collet member including locking means for interacting with said locking member to releasably attach said collet member to said mounting plate to be moved in combination therewith whereby to reconfigure the pallet for different sized workpieces said collet members are replaced with ones of said collet members sized to grip said different sized workpieces;
wherein(d) said mounting plate has bores therethrough symmetrically disposed about said shaft;
(e) said collet member has collet pins projecting therefrom spaced to fit through said bores when said collet member is disposed against said plate; and
,(f) said locking member includes locking means for releasably gripping said collet pins to releasably hold said collet member against said plate.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An easily replaceable collet assembly for use in a movable pallet containing a plurality of stations for releasably gripping and rotating a plurality of resin preforms as they are moved through a blow molding process for providing rapid reconfiguration of the stations to accept different sized preforms. There is a mounting member carried by the pallet for rotation, the mounting member comprising a mounting plate perpendicular to a rotatable shaft connecting it to the pallet; a locking member carried by the mounting member for rotation about the shaft; and, a collet member for releasably gripping a preform of a given size, the collet member including locking apparatus for interacting with the locking member to releasably attach the collet member to the mounting plate to be moved in combination therewith.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. In a movable pallet containing a plurality of stations for releasably gripping a plurality of workpieces as they are moved through a manufacturing process, the improvement for providing rapid reconfiguration of the stations to accept different sized workpieces wherein each station comprises:
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(a) a mounting member, at each station, including a mounting place perpendicular to a shaft rotatable relative to and supported by the pallet; (b) a locking member carried by said mounting member for rotation about said shaft; and
,(c) a collet member for releasably gripping a workpiece of a given size, said collet member including locking means for interacting with said locking member to releasably attach said collet member to said mounting plate to be moved in combination therewith whereby to reconfigure the pallet for different sized workpieces said collet members are replaced with ones of said collet members sized to grip said different sized workpieces;
wherein(d) said mounting plate has bores therethrough symmetrically disposed about said shaft; (e) said collet member has collet pins projecting therefrom spaced to fit through said bores when said collet member is disposed against said plate; and
,(f) said locking member includes locking means for releasably gripping said collet pins to releasably hold said collet member against said plate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8)
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6. The improvement to a movable pallet of claim 6 wherein:
said spring-biased member is a ball.
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9. An easily replacable collet assembly for use in a moveable pallet containing a plurality of stations for releasably gripping a plurality of workpieces as they are moved through a manufacturing process for providing rapid reconfiguration of the stations to accept different sized workpieces, said collet assembly comprising:
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(a) a mounting member, including a mounting plate perpendicular to a shaft and rotatable relative to and supported by the pallet; (b) a locking member carried by said mounting member for rotation about said shaft; and
,(c) a collet member for releasably gripping a workpiece of a give size, said collet member including locking means for interacting with said locking member to releasably attach said collet member to said mounting plate to be moved in combination therewith;
wherein(d) said mounting plate has bores therethrough symmetrically disposed about said shaft; (e) said collet member has collet pins projecting therefrom spaced to fit through said bores when said collet member is disposed against said plate; and
,(f) said locking member includes locking means for releasably gripping said collet pins to releasably hold said collet member against said plate. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An easily replacable collet assembly for use in a movable pallet containing a plurality of stations for releasably gripping and rotating a plurality of resin preforms as they are moved through a blow molding process for providing rapid reconfiguration of the stations to accept different sized preforms, said collet assembly comprising:
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(a) a mounting member supported by the pallet for rotation relative thereto, said mounting member comprising a mounting plate perpendicular to a rotatable shart by which the mounting plate is supported by the pallet; (b) a locking member carried by said mounting member for rotation about said shaft; and
,(c) a collet member for releasably gripping a preform of a given size, said collet member including locking means for interacting with said locking member to releasably attach said collet member to said mounting plate to be moved in combination therewith;
wherein(d) said mounting plate has bores therethrough symmetrically disposed about said shaft; (e) said collet member has collet pins projecting therefrom spaced to fit through said bores when said collet member is disposed against said plate; and
,(f) said locking member includes locking means for releasably gripping said collet pins to releasably hold said collet member against said plate. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification