SPLIT LOADING FUNNEL FOR CHARGING A MOLTEN GLASS GOB INTO A BLANK MOLD

The disclosure includes a process and an apparatus for delivering a gob of molten glass into a blank mold. The apparatus includes a loading funnel holder that defines at least one opening, and a split loading funnel rotatably carried by the funnel holder. The split loading funnel includes two or more individual funnel segments that together provide an outlet of the funnel having an exit plane, each of the individual funnel segments having a lower portion that includes a concave interior guide surface. The two or more individual funnel segments are coupled together so that the interior guide surfaces of the individual funnel segments cooperate to define a guide passage extending along a longitudinal axis and terminating at the outlet.