FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005
&
The Patents Rules, 2003
As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2006
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
A flexible head opener for opening sealing heads within an indexing type sealing machine
APPLICANT
Crompton Greaves Limited, CG House, Dr Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai 400 030,
Maharashtra, India, an Indian Company
INVENTOR
Dipak Gangaram Mahajan and Nagin C. Rana, both of Crompton Greaves Limited, Baroda Lamp Works, Kural Village, Padra Taluka, Padra Jambusar Road, Distt- Baroda, Pin- 391430, Gujarat, both Indian Nationals
PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to
be performed:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The present invention relates generally to flexible head opener for horizontal
indexing machine.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART
[002] At sealing machine, coated bend tube and mount are sealed with the help of gas
fired burners. The bend tube is loaded manually over the mount. The mount is loaded automatically with the help of mount loading assembly. For loading of the mount at sealing machine, sealing head is opened with the help cam and lever arrangement with the help of head opener mechanism. The sealing machine heads are with spring loaded levers which are opened with the help of head opener mechanism. The sealing machine rotation axis is vertical plane and the heads are rotated in the horizontal plane with indexing mechanism. The head opener mechanism also operates in the vertical plane but with up and down movement. When it goes down it presses the lever of the sealing head to open it for loading the mount and it comes up before the sealing head is indexed.
[003] With the old head opener, if it does not come back due to jamming of the
mechanism before indexing of the sealing machine, it was resulting in damage to sealing machine heads. Thus, there is a need to provide an improved sealing head opener that overcomes at least some of the above problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[004] Accordingly disclosed herein is a flexible head opener for opening sealing heads
that is rotatable within an indexing type sealing machine along a horizontal plane including a base member extending between an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion including a first hole formed along a front surface and a second hole formed adjacent to the first hole and along a side surface of the base member, a top member having an actuating head

disposed at a first end and extending to have a hemispherical bottom portion at an opposite end, the top member pivotally connected to the first hole formed on the upper portion of the base member in a manner that the hemispherical portion contacts a portion of the lower portion of the base member, the actuating head pivotally displaceable in lateral directions, and an intermediate connecting means disposed along the side surface of the base member and fixedly connected to the second hole of the base member, the intermediate connecting means including a biasing member that extends to connect a portion of the top member adjacent to the actuating head, wherein a lateral force applied to the actuating head from the side to which the biasing member is connected allows the actuating head to be displaced to the opposite side.
[005] In some embodiments, the intermediate connecting means is a small rectangular
mechanical piece that has a pair of fastening members connected thereto at its opposite ends, one of the fastening members insertable within the second hole formed within the upper portion of the base member whereas, the other of the fastening members is insertable within the top member.
[006J In some embodiments, the portion of the top member adjacent to the actuating
head has a connecting pin attached therewith; the connecting pin holds an end of the biasing member.
[007] In some embodiments, a mechanical linkage that is connected to the flexible head
opener in a manner that when the mechanical linkage describes an up and down motion, the flexible head opener moves upwards and downwards, respectively.
[008] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the
following detailed description of the present embodiments of the invention are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the

invention and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles and operation of the invention.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[009] The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of the various
embodiments of the invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a flexible head opener according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the flexible head opener of FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 3 is top view of a sealing head within a indexing type sealing machine
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a top view of the indexing type sealing machine having a plurality of
sealing head; and
[0014] FIG. 5 is side of view of a linkage mechanism connected to the flexible head
opener of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] Reference is given to FIGS. 1 and 2 that illustrate a flexible head opener 100
according to one embodiment of the present invention. The flexible head opener 100 is constructed to from a two piece arrangement that are interconnected with each other in a manner that the first piece 102 can be displaced against the second piece 104. As seen in FIG. 1, the first piece 102 is a base member that has a length and extends between an upper portion 108 and a lower portion 110. The upper portion 108 has a stepped part (not shown) that is joined with the

lower portion 110 which is constructed to be relatively flat. The upper portion 108 of the base member 106 has a first hole formed along a front surface (not shown). The upper portion 108 also has a second hole formed along a side surface 112 of the base member 106 and preferably formed adjacent to the first hole. Further, the lower portion 110 of the base member 106 also has a plurality of third type of hole 114. As discussed later, within the first hole a second piece 104, which is the top member 115, is pivotally attached and within the second hole, an intermediate connecting means 116 is attached. To the third type of holes 114 a linkage mechanism 118, as discussed later, is connected.
[0016] As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first piece 102, which is essentially the top
member 115, is constructed to extend between a first end 120 and a second end 122. An actuating head 124 is preferably detachably connected to the first end 120 of the top member 115. Preferably, the actuating head 124 is a circular ring 126 however other variants may also be considered to be within the scope of the present invention. The second end 122 of the top member 115 has a hemispherical bottom portion 128. The second end 122 of the top member
115 is pivotally connected to the first hole of the base member 106 by a first fastening means 130
in a manner that the hemispherical portion 128 sits on the stepped part of the upper portion 108
of the base member 106. Preferably, the hemispherical portion 128 makes a point contact with
the stepped part of the base member 106 so that the top member 115 can easily pivot on the base
member 106 when a lateral force is applied on the top member 115.
[0017] Further, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, an intermediate connecting intermediate means
116 is connected with both the base member 106 and the top member 115. Preferably, the
connecting intermediate means 116 is a small rectangular mechanical piece which is partly
connected to a side surface of the top member 115 and partly connected to base member 106
through the second hole. Further, the intermediate connecting means 116 has a pair of fastening
members 134 connected thereto at its opposite ends. The fastening members extend within the

top member 115 and the base member 106, respectively, so that the intermediate connecting means 116 is rigidly connected to both the top and the base members 115, 106. Further, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the intermediate connecting means 116 has a biasing member, preferably a spring 136, attached to it that extends to connect an upper portion 108 of the top member 115 adjacent to the actuating head 124. The spring 136 is fixedly connected to the top member 115 through the spring 136. It is to be noted that with the present configuration of the flexible head opener 100, whenever a lateral force is applied on the actuating head 124 from the side to which the intermediate connecting means 116 is connected, due to the fact that the spring 136 is connected, the flexible head pivotally swings to the opposite direction.
[0018] FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a horizontal indexing type rotating machine 138 that is
used as a sealing machine 138 in case of compact florescent lamp making. The sealing machine 138, coated bend tube and mount are sealed with the help of gas fired burners. The bend tube is loaded manually over the mount. The mount is loaded automatically with the help of mount loading assembly. For loading of the mount at sealing machine 138, sealing head 140 is opened with the help cam and lever arrangement (FIG. 5) with the help of the flexible head opener 100. The sealing machine heads are with spring 136 loaded levers which are opened with the help of flexible head opener 100 connected to the linkage mechanism 118. As seen in FIG. 4, the sealing machine 138 is capable of rotating along an axis is a vertical plane and the heads are rotated in the horizontal plane with indexing mechanism.
[0019] FIG. 5 illustrates the linkage mechanism 118 that is couplable with the flexible
head opener 100. An end of the linkage mechanism 118 is fixedly connected to the third type of holes 114 formed on the lower portion 110 of the bottom through another fastening member. Further, as seen in FIG. 5, the linkage mechanism 118 is operably connected to a cam member 142. Due to rotation of the cam member 142, the flexible head opener 100 also operates in the vertical plane but with up and down movement. So, when the flexible head opener 100 moves

upward, it raise to a sufficient level of the sealing head 140 and when the flexible head opener 100 goes down it presses the lever of the sealing head 140 to open it for loading the mount and it comes up before the sealing head 140 is indexed. The advantages that the flexible head opener 100 offers during operation is that if somehow the linkage mechanism 118 is jammed and the flexible head opener 100 is not able to return down then in that case if the lever of the subsequent sealing head 140 takes position of the previous lever it can only do so by striking the lever. At his point of time the flexible head opener 100 is able to exert its flexibility thereby and is prevented from breaking down.
[0020] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and
variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

We Claim:
1. A flexible head opener for opening sealing heads that is rotatable within an indexing type
sealing machine along a horizontal plane comprising:
a base member extending between an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion including a first hole formed along a front surface and a second hole formed adjacent to the first hole and along a side surface of the base member;
a top member having an actuating head disposed at a first end and extending to have a hemispherical bottom portion at an opposite end, the top member pivotally connected to the first hole formed on the upper portion of the base member in a manner that the hemispherical portion contacts a portion of the lower portion of the base member, the actuating head pivotally displaceable in lateral directions; and
an intermediate connecting means disposed along the side surface of the base member and fixedly connected to the second hole of the base member, the intermediate connecting means including a biasing member that extends to connect a portion of the top member adjacent to the actuating head,
wherein a lateral force applied to the actuating head from the side to which the biasing member is connected allows the actuating head to be displaced to the opposite side.
2. The flexible head opener according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate connecting means is a
small rectangular mechanical piece that has a pair of fastening members connected thereto at its
opposite ends, one of the fastening members insertable within the second hole formed within the
upper portion of the base member whereas, the other of the fastening members is insertable
within the top member.

3. The flexible head opener according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the top member adjacent to the actuating head has a connecting pin attached therewith, the connecting pin holds an end of the biasing member.
4. The flexible head opener according to claim 1, further includes a mechanical linkage that is connected to the flexible head opener in a manner that when the mechanical linkage describes an up and down motion, the flexible head opener moves upwards and downwards, respectively.