Mold Arm Drive Mechanism for Glassware Forming Machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Glassware forming machines experience significant downtime due to complex and time-consuming maintenance and repair processes for opening and closing blank and blow molds, as existing solutions lack efficient mechanisms for servicing and repairing mold arms.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus incorporates a gearbox-mounted cylinder system with a gear rack and drive gears, coupled to operating shafts through idler gears, allowing simultaneous opposite rotation of mold arms for easy maintenance and repair, reducing machine downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a single servo motor drives both mold arms through shared gearboxes, then space is saved and structure is compact, but maintenance time increases and machine downtime increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the drive system into separate independent modules: each mold arm has its own dedicated servo motor and gearbox, and the cylinder assembly is a standalone unit that can be removed independently. This segmentation allows maintenance of one component without affecting others, directly reducing machine downtime while maintaining compact arrangement through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The cylinder assembly is designed as a removable unit that can be extracted from the gearbox without disassembling the entire drive system. The cylinder housing can be removed separately for maintenance, allowing quick servicing of the opening/closing mechanism without affecting the mold arm drive systems, thereby reducing maintenance time.
2Stability of the object's composition
If complex gear mechanisms are used to achieve simultaneous opposite rotation of mold arms, then synchronized operation is achieved, but device complexity increases and repair difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces idler gears as intermediary components between the drive gears and the operating shafts. These idler gears simplify the transmission path and make the gear train more manageable for maintenance. The idler gears facilitate the simultaneous opposite rotation of mold arms while keeping the overall mechanism less complex and easier to service.
3Area of stationary object
If mold arms are driven by centralized drive system, then space is optimized, but ease of repair deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The drive system is segmented into independently removable modules: each servo motor, each gearbox, and the cylinder assembly can be accessed and removed separately. This modular segmentation maintains compact overall arrangement while dramatically improving ease of repair, as technicians can service individual components without disassembling the entire drive system.
Solution Approach 2:
The cylinder assembly is designed for easy extraction from the gearbox housing. The cylinder housing can be removed as a complete unit, allowing maintenance of the opening/closing mechanism without affecting the mold arm drive systems. This extraction capability directly improves ease of repair while maintaining space efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables quick and efficient opening and closing of mold arms, reducing maintenance and repair time, and allows for easy removal of the mold open/close mechanism from the machine frame, thereby minimizing downtime and facilitating commonality of parts across different machine sizes.
Implementation Method 1
a gear rack machined or otherwise formed in the piston rod. A first drive gear in the cylinder housing is coupled to the gear rack
Implementation Method 2
A second drive gear is disposed in the gearbox and coupled to the drive shaft. Laterally spaced operating shafts extend upwardly from within the gearbox. Means including an idler gear couple the second drive gear to the operating shafts
Data Source
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AI summary
Apparatus for opening and closing mold arms (38, 40 or 44, 46) in a glassware forming machine includes a gearbox (50 or 50a)for mounting on a glassware machine frame (52), a cylinder housing (56 or 56a) suspended beneath the gearbox, and a cylinder (58 or 58a) disposed within the cylinder housing. The cylinder has a piston (60 or 60a) with an extending piston rod and a gear rack (62 or 62a) machined or otherwise formed in the piston rod. A first drive gear (66 or 66a) in the cylinder housing is coupled to the gear rack and a drive shaft (70 or 70a) extends from the first drive gear and the cylinder housing into the gearbox. A second drive gear (74 or 74a or 74b) is disposed in the gearbox and coupled to the drive shaft. Laterally spaced operating shafts (82, 84 or 82a, 84a) extend upwardly from within the gearbox. Means including an idler gear (88 or 88a or 88b) couple the second drive gear to the operating shafts such that the operating shafts are rotated simultaneously in opposite directions by the cylinder, the gear rack, the first and second drive gears and the idler gear. In exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, the means include driven gears or connecting links coupling the second drive gear and the idler gear to the operating shafts. Linkages (114, 116 or 146, 148) couple the operating shafts to the mold arms of the glassware forming machine.