NL9300187A - Automatic continuous cyclically functioning casting system and method of operation - Google Patents

Abstract

A casting system consisting of several stations for use with bottom moulds and top moulds that are arranged into mould groups is provided with means for placing at least one object in a cavity localized within the bottom and top moulds, with means for introducing encapsulating material into the cavity to encapsulate in a liquid state at least part of the said object, with a workpiece station for receiving a number of objects from an external source, with means of transportation provided with a coupling tool in the workpiece station and a delivery tool in the bottom-mould loading station, and with a mould assembly station for receiving the loaded bottom moulds from the bottom-mould loading station. The transporter consists of: a) a carriage; b) a coupling head mounted on the carriage in order to move with it; and c) a vacuum mechanism associated with the carriage and coupling head.

Description

Automatic continuous cyclically functioning casting system and method thereof.

Field of the invention

This invention generally relates to potting equipment and more particularly pertains to an automatic continuous cyclically functioning potting system ideally suited for encapsulating electronic components and pertaining to a casting method therefor.

Description of the prior art

In casting equipment in general and in equipment for encapsulating electronic components in particular, it has long been established to complete the entire casting cycle in a single workstation or, at most, in two or three workstations. This type of operation known in the art can be described as a batch operation because a group of parts is completed before the next group is started, while in some of the more advanced operations there may be an overlap between the various operations on the successive groups.

In a typical prior art system for encapsulating integrated circuits, a number of such circuits are arranged linearly in a single workpiece, referred to as a lead frame. The pre-machined guide frames, on which the encapsulated integrated circuits are to be located, are loaded in the lower mold half, hereinafter referred to as bottom shape, the number of guide frames in a single group being determined by the dimensions of the shape and the capacity of the used certain potting equipment. The bottom mold is supported in the casting equipment and after the guide frames are placed in the bottom mold, the top mold half or top mold is placed in place on the bottom mold. Means are present in the equipment for heating the molds to the correct temperature and then cooling them for curing purposes. The heated molds are clamped together by the equipment and, if the temperature is correct, casting material, such as epoxy in pellet form, is introduced into the mold by being inserted into bores formed in the top mold of the molding group. Plungers are then inserted into the bores of the top mold on top of the epoxy pellets and a pushing force is applied to the plungers. The combination of the plunger force and the temperature causes the epoxy pellet to liquefy and flow into the molding group to the cavities contained therein which determine the configuration and position of the moldings encapsulating the integrated circuits. At the completion of this liquefaction and flow of the epoxy, the molding group is cooled to cause curing and then the plungers are withdrawn from the molding group, the molding group is unlocked and the top mold is lifted off the bottom mold. The guide frames are then removed from the bottom shape and transferred to further equipment for debarking or other processing to terminate the fabrication of the electronic encapsulated circuits. The molds are then cleaned, reheated if necessary and then they are ready for use in the next group.

A fairly important portion of the above-described prior art typical casting operation is completed manually or under the direct control of an operator or operators, who determine the durations and initiate the initiation of the various operations. The need for operator participation is, of course, costly, but the major problem is directly related to the limited production capacity of such group operations. For example, the need to continuously and repeatedly heat and cool the molding groups takes a long time and, of course, limits production.

Therefore, there is a need for a new and improved automatic continuous cyclically functioning molding system that overcomes some of the drawbacks and problems of the prior art.

Brief overview of the invention

In accordance with the present invention, a new and improved fully automatic continuous cyclically functioning casting system is described which includes a plurality of molding groups that can be continuously conveyed by a number of consecutive workstations in which the various molding operations take place continuously in predetermined controlled time intervals.

The system includes a first workstation for inserting the guide frames or other containers into the system and unloading them from suitable magazines into a mechanism that arranges them in the correct orientation for placement in the heated bottom mold in the second station. The properly oriented guide frames are transported and placed in the bottom shape by a special means of transport. The bottom mold is then transported to a third station in which a preheated top mold is placed on the bottom mold to define a mold group. The molding group is then conveyed to a fourth station in which the molding group is clamped together, the potting material is introduced into the molding group and the required force is applied to the plungers that are removably inserted into the top mold. When the casting is completed at this fourth station, the molding group is conveyed to a fifth station for cooling and the resulting curing. The molding group is then transported to a sixth station in which the top shape is separated from the bottom shape and the bottom shape is transported to a seventh station in which the encapsulated guide frames are removed from the bottom shape. The encapsulated guide frames are then moved to an eighth station where they are separated and moved to a ninth station where they are loaded into warehouses and removed from the system. Further stations are provided for recirculating the bottom and top molds, cleaning them and returning them to the appropriate stations of the system for continuous reuse.

Although the above description of the system of the present invention has been presented as a sequentially occurring sequence of steps, it will be understood that the system is intended to function in such a manner that each of the steps is performed repeatedly and simultaneously in each of the workstations. Therefore, finished products are produced by the system in a substantially continuous manner.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved automatic continuous cyclical infusion system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved automatic continuous cyclically functioning casting system that is ideally suited for the production of encapsulated electronic components.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved automatic continuous cyclically functioning casting system comprising a number of in-line workstations, in which the various operations of a casting process occur continuously and repeatedly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved continuous cyclically functioning casting system comprising a number of workstations placed one behind the other in which the various steps of a casting process are carried out continuously and repeatedly in predetermined time cycles in order to Eliminate prior art problems with production delays resulting from continuous and repeated heating and then cooling of the molds.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved automatic continuous cyclically functioning casting system of the above-mentioned type in which a plurality of molding groups are conveyed through the various workstations placed one behind the other in which the steps of the casting process are performed together with other workpieces. input and output functions.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved automatic continuous cyclically functioning casting system of the type described above in which further workstations are provided for cleaning, inspecting and recirculating the molding groups for their continuous and repeated use within the system, these additional workstations operating in the same predetermined time cycles.

The above stated objects of the present invention, as well as the invention itself, will be more clearly understood from the following description, which refers to the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective drawn block diagram illustrating the various stations of the molding system of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of a particular type of workpiece well suited for being subjected to the casting operations of the system of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a partial view similar to that of Figure 2 showing the workpiece as it will appear after it has been partially treated in the casting system of the present invention.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of a molding group used in the system for performing the grouting operations on the workpieces shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 5 is a cross-section through the composite molding group shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a side view of a warehouse transport and oht loading subsystem by means of which the workpieces shown in Figure 2 are introduced into warehouses into the system and unloaded from the warehouses.

Figure 7 is a section on line 7-7 in Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a partial side view of a typical magazine into which the workpiece shown in Figure 2 is inserted into the system.

Figure 9 is a partial cross-section along the line 9-9 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a side view partially cut away to show the various parts of a receiving and arranging mechanism for receiving the workpieces from the warehouse transport and unloading subsystem and arranging them in a side-by-side relationship for them next placement in the bottom form.

Figure 11 is a top view of the receiving and arranging mechanism of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 12-12 of Figure 11.

Figure 13 is an enlarged partial section taken along line 13-13 of Figure 11.

Figure 14 is an enlarged partial section taken along line 14-14 of Figure 11.

Figure 15 is an enlarged partial section taken along line 15-15 of Figure 14.

Figure 15a is a partial top view, partly in section, showing the various parts of a modification of the mechanism for receiving and arranging the workpieces.

Figure 16 is a partial top plan view of a partially cut away transport mechanism interposed between stations A and B of the system for moving the workpieces from the receiving and arranging mechanism to the bottom forming loading station B.

Figure 17 is a partial cross-section on the line 17-17 of Figure 16.

Figure 18 is a partial section along line 18-18 of Figure 17.

Figure 19 is a partial section taken along line 19-19 of Figure 17.

Figure 20 is a partial section taken along a vertical plane through the casting system and shows a side view of station B and station S.

Figure 21 is a partial cross-section along the line 21-21 of Figure 20.

Figure 22 is a partial cross-section along the line 22-22 of Figure 20.

Figure 23 is a plan view, partly in section, of stations M and C.

Figure 24 is a partial cross-section along the line 24-24 of Figure 23.

Figure 25 is a partial cross-section along the line 24-24 of Figure 23.

Figure 25 is a partial cross-sectional view in the system of the present invention to show a side view of the means in the molding group transport subsystem, which system is used to transport the molds at stations B through G.

Figure 26 is a partial, reduced-scale side view of the mold group transport subsystem means viewed from line 26-26 of Figure 25.

Figure 27 is a partial section in the vertical plane through the system to show the various parts of the station D.

Figure 28 is a side view of the various mechanisms shown in Figure 27.

Figure 29 is a partial cross-section along the line 29-29 of Figure 28.

Figure 30 is an enlarged partial section taken along line 30-30 of Figure 28.

Figure 31 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 31-31 of Figure 27.

Figure 32 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 32-32 of Figure 28.

Figure 33 is a side view of the potting material input subsystem, designated as station D in Figure 27, but for the most part not shown in this Figure or Figure 28 for the sake of clarity.

Figure 34 is a partial cross-section along the line 34-34 of Figure 33.

Figure 35 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 35-35 of Figure 34.

Figure 36 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 36-36 of Figure 33.

Figure 36a is a partial cross section similar to that of Figure 36 but now of a modification of the potting material input subsystem.

Figure 37 is a partial cross-section along the line 37-37 of Figure 33.

Figure 38 is a side view showing stations D, E and F for showing the various parts of station E and further parts disposed in the molding group transport subsystem used for moving the molding groups through stations D, An F.

Figure 39 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 39-39 of Figure 38.

Figure 40 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 40-40 of Figure 38.

Figure 41 is an enlarged partial section taken along line 41-41 of Figure 39.

Figure 42 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 42-42 of Figure 41.

Figure 43 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 43-43 of Figure 41.

Figure 44 is a partial section through a vertical plane through the system to show the various parts of stations F and J.

Figure 45 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 45-45 of Figure 44.

Figure 46 is an enlarged sectional view of the circled portion of the mechanism shown in Figure 44.

Figure 47 is a side view partially cut away to show the various parts of the station G.

Figure 48 is a side view partially cut away to show the various parts of station H.

Figure 49 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 49-49 in Figure 48.

Figure 50 is a partial view of the mechanisms shown in Figure 49 for showing a different operating position of the mechanism.

Figure 51 is a partial side view for showing the various parts of the mechanism of station I.

Figure 52 is an enlarged partial section taken along line 52-52 of Figure 51.

Figure 53 is a partial view, partially cut away, to show the various parts of the mechanism of the stations K.

and L and the relationship of these stations to the equipment present in stations J and M.

Figure 54 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 54-54 of Figure 53.

Figure 55 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 55-55 of Figure 53.

Figure 56 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 56-56 of Figure 55.

Figure 57 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 57-57 of Figure 53.

Figure 58 is a partial general view taken along line 58-58 of Figure 47 for showing the various mechanisms of stations M, 0, P, Q, and R and the relationship of these stations to stations G, S and P.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments

Referring more particularly to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a block diagram identifying the various stations of the casting system 100 of the present invention. The various stations of the casting system 100 will now be briefly identified and discussed, and full detailed descriptions of the mechanisms and operations of these stations will be detailed below.

Station A is the workpiece handling station of the casting system 100 and includes mechanisms for entering warehouses containing the workpieces into the system, unloading workpieces from the warehouses, arranging them in a desired position, and transporting from it to station B.

Station B is a bottom mold loading station in which a heated bottom mold is placed to receive the workpieces from station A, and part of a mold group transport subsystem that transports the bottom mold to station C.

Station C is a mold assembly station and includes means for lowering a heated top mold into place on the bottom mold and contains part of the mold group transport subsystem that transports the assembled top and bottom molds, i.e. the mold group, to station D .

Station D is the casting station which is provided with means for introducing casting material into the molds, clamping the molds and increasing the internal pressure in the molds, so that in cooperation with the heating the desired casting process is carried out on the workpieces the molding group are present. A portion of the molding group transport subsystem is located in this station and includes means for providing a clamping pressure on the molds and conveying the molds to station E.

Station E is the curing station which is provided with means for maintaining the clamping pressure on the molds during the curing that takes place in this station, and contains part of the molding group transport subsystem through which the molds are moved to station F.

Station F is the mold release station where the top mold is lifted from the bottom mold and includes a part of the mold group conveying system for conveying the bottom mold to station G.

Station G is the bottom mold discharge station, in which the encapsulated workpieces are removed from the bottom mold and transported to station H.

Station H is the molding removal station in which the cast rings and legs are removed from the encapsulated workpieces in preparation for movement to station I.

Station I is the finished product handling station in which the finished products are placed in finished product warehouses and station I contains mechanisms for transporting the warehouses from the system.

In station F, the mold release station as indicated above, means are provided for transporting the lifted top mold to a higher and laterally shifted top mold recirculation transport subsystem, transporting the top shapes through stations J, K, L and M. Station J receives the top molds from station F. Stations K and L are used to clean the top molds, if necessary, and station F contains means for returning the heated and cleaned top molds to the top mold lowering mechanism in the molding assembly C.

When the bottom mold is discharged in station G, as described above, the bottom mold is conveyed by a mechanism present in station N to a laterally shifted bottom mold recirculation transport subsystem, which includes stations M, 0, P, Q, R and S. Stations N, 0, P, Q, R and S contain the bottom mold recirculation transport subsystem for moving the molds through these stations, in which the temperature of the molds is returned to the correct casting temperature, which temperature is maintained, and if necessary they are cleaned, and station R includes means for returning the heated and cleaned bottom molds to the bottom mold loading station B.

As previously noted, the molding system 100 of the present invention can be used to perform various casting or encapsulation processes with various types of workpieces. However, the system 100 is particularly suitable for handling various configurations of one particular type and for performing a particular encapsulation process therewith. For the sake of completeness of the description and to facilitate understanding of the system 100, the perspective partial view of Figure 2 shows an exemplary configuration of the particular workpiece 102, and the product substantially finished from the system 100 is at 102a shown in the perspective view shown in figure 3.

The workpiece 102 shown in Figure 2 is of the type generally referred to in the art with a guide frame and consists of an elongated strip of thin support metal with a high degree of electrical conductivity. The guide frame 102 is punched, or otherwise shaped to provide an array of conductors 103 and contacts or pins 104 for a discrete integrated circuit chip 105 connected to the array such that it is in electrically conductive contact with the conductors and the pins of the array. In Figure 2, a complete array is shown with parts of the adjacent linearly arranged arrays at their opposite ends. It will therefore be appreciated that the guide frame 102 consists of a number of such arrays, one for each integrated circuit chip 105. The arrays are interconnected, for ease of handling, by an opposed pair of longitudinally extending side rails 106. After the guide frames in the system 100 have been machined, the side rails 106 are removed and other cutting operations are performed on them such that each machined guide frame 102a produces a number of integrated circuit housings which, in the illustrated embodiment, are of the type generally known as dual- in-line housings.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a pair of lead frames 102 are simultaneously machined in a side-by-side relationship and upon removal from the bottom mold at the station G, the lead frames 102a have an encapsulated body 107 for each of the integrated circuit chips 105 and their associated conductors 103 with the pins 104 protruding from the housings. The side-by-side pair of guide frames 102a are interconnected at this step of the machining process by castings such as a ring 108 and legs 109 which are formed as the encapsulation material flows during the formation of the encapsulated bodies 107.

Figures 4 and 5 show the bottom mold 110 and the top mold 112 which cooperate to perform the encapsulation process on the guide frames 102 in the system 100 as described in more detail below. Molds 110 and 112 are manufactured in known manner and function in known manner. Thus, the shapes herein will be described in sufficient detail only to facilitate understanding of the present invention and to indicate the modifications made to these shapes to function within the system 100.

The bottom mold 110 is provided with a mold base 114 in the top surface of which the mold punch 115 is mounted in a manner known in the art, for example by means of bolts (not shown). The punch 115 is machined or otherwise shaped to define a centrally aligned row of cavities 116 intended to receive material and each comprising four runners 117 extending therefrom into contact with the inner edges of four different upwardly open recesses 118 The recesses 118 lie. in longitudinally extending rows on the opposite sides of the cavities 116 and each recess has a vent 119 extending from its opposite side.

A chamber 120 is formed in the mold base 114 below the punch 115, and an ejection plate 122 is movably mounted therein and biased downwardly by the springs 123. The ejection plate 122 has a plurality of thermally conductive pins 124, one cavity 116 for each material. and each pin 124 has a pair of auxiliary ejection pins 126 on either side thereof. Each central pin 124 has an upwardly extending end that forms the bottom surface of its respective material receiving cavity 116 and a downwardly extending end extending through the retaining plate 130 which retention ejection plates 122 in chamber 120. Each of the auxiliary ejector pins 126 extends upwardly from the ejector plate 122 through a bore 132 formed in the mold base 114 and punch 115. By applying heat to the lower ends of the center pins 124, heat is directly transferred to an area adjacent to the cavity to heat the epoxy resin. In this manner, the pins 126 will move upwardly to eject the product formed in the bottom mold 110. More specifically, the pins 126 will push the disposable rings 108 out of the cavities 116 and the pins 126 will press against the side rails 116 of the guide frames 102a.

The bottom mold 110 has, in addition to the features described above, a longitudinally extending pair of grooves 134 and 136 formed in the opposite side surfaces of the mold base 114. The grooves 134 and 136 are used for movement and clamping purposes in the system 100 as in the following. description will still be made clear. The top mold 112 includes a mold base 140 in the bottom surface of which the top die 142 is mounted. The top punch 142 includes a centrally extending row of openings 143, each arranged in line with one of the material receiving pockets 116 when the top shape and bottom shape 110 and 112, respectively, are positioned as shown in Figure 5. The punch 142 is also provided a plurality of downwardly open recesses 144 positioned in rows on opposite sides of the opening 143. Each of the recesses 144 is aligned with one of the recesses 118 of the bottom mold 110 when the molds are assembled in the manner as is shown in figure 5.

As shown in Figure 5, each of the openings 143 (one of which is visible) is defined by the lower end of a bore 146 formed in a sleeve 147 and a plunger 148 is detachably supported in the sleeve bore and can slide therein as will be described in the following.

A chamber 150 is formed in the mold base 140 above the punch 142 and an ejection plate 152 is movably disposed in this chamber. The ejector plate 152 is provided with two separate rows of ejector pins 153 (two of which are visible) which pins extend downwardly through the bores formed in the mold base 140 and the punch 142 which open bores as indicated at 154 on the downward facing surface of the punch 152. If the top mold 112 is placed on the bottom mold 110 during the operations in the system 100, the ejector pins 153 will hold the ejector plate 152 in the upward position shown in Figure 5. As the molds 110 and 112 are separated to remove the encapsulated guide frames 102a (Figure 3), then the ejection plate 152 is moved downwardly by a force applied thereto through the openings 155 in the holding plate 156, which holds the ejection plate 152 in. the chamber 150. When the ejector plate 152 is moved downward in this manner, the ejector pins 153 will also move downwardly to eject the molded product from the top mold 112. In particular, the ejector pins 153 will push against the side rails 106 of the validation frames. 102a.

Similarly to the bottom mold 110, the top mold 112 also includes a longitudinally extending pair of grooves 158 and 160 in its opposite side surfaces for movement and clamping purposes in the system 100. The mold base 140 also includes a central disposed slot 162 extending centrally from the groove 160, which slot is used to transport the top shape into the system 100.

As is common in the prior art, the top mold 110 and bottom mold 112 each include alignment means such as pins 164 to achieve correct alignment and mutual positioning of the molds in the assembled state.

In operation, a pair of guide frames 102 (Figure 2) are placed side by side in the bottom mold 110 such that they are above different rows of recesses 118 and each chip 105 is above one of the different recesses. The top shape 112 is then placed on the bottom of 110 in the manner shown in Figure 5 such that each chip 105 of the guide frames lies within the space defined by the different aligned recesses 118 gil 144 of the bottom shape and the top shape, respectively. . The molds 110 and 112 are then clamped together and the plungers 148 are removed and pellets (not shown) of a suitable potting material such as epoxy are inserted into the bores 146 of the top mold 112 and fall into the material receiving cavities 116 of the bottom mold 110. The plungers 148 are then re-inserted into the bores 146 and a downward force is applied to the plungers. In addition to the heating of the mold, this force changes the state of the pellets (not shown) from the solid state to a liquid state and the force applied to the plungers 148 causes the liquid potting material to flow through the runners 117 to in the spaces defined by the recesses 118 and 114. On subsequent cooling, the liquid material will return to the solid state and the guide frames 102a will be encapsulated as shown in Figure 3. Before proceeding with the detailed description of the various stations A to S of the encapsulation system 100, it will be clear that the system is supported by a suitable frame, to which the various stations are also interconnected, which frame is generally indicated by reference number 166 but that has not been shown for the sake of clarity. Instead, various structural elements and parts of the frame 166 are shown in the various figures of the drawings. It will also be appreciated that the system 100 is surrounded by a suitable shell consisting of panels, access doors, thermal insulation and the like, of which nothing is shown for the sake of clarity.

As indicated above, station A includes mechanisms for entering the magazines containing the workpieces to be encapsulated in the system 100, and for unloading the workpieces. The mechanisms intended for this first function of station A are shown in Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the drawings. Figures 6 and 7 show the entry warehouse transport and discharge subsystem of the system, which subsystem is generally identified by reference numeral 170, and is supported by the two spaced structural members 171 and 172 of system frame 166. The warehouse entry subsystem 170 includes a substantially rectangular subframe 174, which is suitably mounted on the structural member 171 and includes a separated pair of vertical members 175 interconnected by a high crossbar 176 and a low crossbar 178 A cleat 180 is suitably mounted to the other structural member 172 and a roller 182 is rotatably supported on the shaft 183 mounted in the cleat. A similar roller 174 is mounted on a drive shaft 185 suspended in bearings, mounted on the vertical elements 175 of the rectangular subframe 174. The drive shaft 185, and therefore the roller 184, is driven by an electric stepper motor 186 mounted on a of the vertical elements 175. An endless conveyor belt 188 extends between the rollers 182 and 184 and is movable by means of the motor 186 and the driven roller 184 in a counterclockwise direction in the view of Figure 7.

A plurality of workpiece feed magazines 190 are moved by the conveyor belt 188 to the unload position U where the guide frames 102 are removed therefrom in a manner to be described. When the magazines 190 are empty, they are removed from station A by a higher level roller carriage 192 carried on a pair of spaced rails 193, which are attached to one end at one end thereof. rectangular sub-frame 174 and with their other ends are carried in the elevated position by a pair of posts 194 (one of which is shown) which stands extend upwardly from the cleat 180.

The wheeled carriage 192 can be moved back and forth on the rails 193 by means of a cylinder 196 connected between the carriage and a crossbar 197 extending between the pillars 194.

As best seen in Figures 8 and 9, each of the magazines 190 consists of an upright rectangular structure that is open at both opposite ends and includes a plurality of vertically spaced beams 200 facing inwardly protruding from the spaced side walls 201 and each pair of aligned beams 202 carries a guide frame 102.

When an unloading magazine 190 arrives at the unloading position U, a vertically movable carriage 204 is moved upwardly to contact a spaced-apart pair of forks 206 with the base surface of the magazine. The carriage 204 can be moved vertically through the guide rod 208 fixedly mounted to extend between the bottom and top cross members 176 and 178 of the rectangular subframe 174. A long screw 210 is also placed vertically between the cross members 176 and 178 and the screw is rotatably mounted in the appropriate bearings 211 and 212 mounted in the crossbars. The screw 210 is rotated by means of a suitable reversible drive motor 214 mounted to the bottom surface of the crossbar 178. The screw 210 extends through the carriage 204 which has an internally threaded bore 215 adapted to and cooperating with the screw 210 for moving the carriage 204 upward when the screw is rotated in one direction and moving the carriage downward when the screw is rotated in the opposite direction.

The carriage 204 is moved in the upward direction so as to successively align each of the guide frames 102 supported in the magazine 100 raised by the carriage with a discharge member 216. The discharge member may be configured as a cylinder 217 with a outwardly movable push rod 218. In this manner, first the upper guide frame 102 is pushed out of the magazine 190 and then the magazine is moved upwards and the second guide frame 102 is unloaded. When the lower guide frame 102 is pushed out of the magazine, the carriage 204 moves further upward. such that the wheeled cart 192 can move below the now empty magazine to remove this magazine from the casting system 100. The carriage 204 then returns to its lowest position to retrieve the next unloaded magazine 190.

The second operation performed at station A is that of receiving the guide frames 102 unloaded from warehouses 190 and arranging them side-by-side for subsequent transport to station B, where they are loaded in bottom form 110. The receiving and ordering of the guiding frames is performed by a receiving and ordering mechanism generally designated by reference numeral 220 and illustrated in Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the drawings. The receiving and arranging mechanism 220 is positioned adjacent to the magazine feed and unloading subsystem 170 in the manner shown in Figures 6 and 10. The arranging mechanism 220 is mounted on a transverse member 222 of the frame 166 and is provided with a beam 224 supported by a spaced pair of columns 225 in a position above the transverse element 222.

A first cross plate 226 is fixed midway between the two ends to the beam 224 by bolts 227 (one of which is shown in Figure 10), which are located in grooves 228 provided in the first cross plate 226 for that purpose. A second transverse plate 230 is adjustment hair disposed between the heather ends of the beam 224 through a cleat 232 that includes bolts 233 that can be optionally mounted in an arbitrary pair from an array of internally threaded openings 235, as seen in FIG. 12 in order to vary the spacing between the first and second transverse plates 226 and 230 adjustment hair for reasons which will be discussed in detail below. In addition to the above-described mounting of the first and second transverse plates 226 and 230 to the beam 224, a pair of guide rods 236 are mounted at opposite ends of the first transverse plate 226, which rods extend perpendicularly thereto through suitable bores that are aligned in the opposite ends of the second transverse plate 230. The guide rods 236 are arranged to maintain parallelism between the two transverse plates 226 and 230.

An electric motor 240 is mounted on the first transverse plate 226 as best seen in Figure 13, and the motor has an output shaft 242 extending therefrom through aligned openings in the transverse plates 226 and 230. A first pulley 244 and a second belt pulley 246 are axially slidably positionable on output shaft 242 and both are provided with appropriate adjustment screws by means of which they can be adjustably secured to output shaft 242 for rotation with shaft. The projecting end of the output shaft 242 is rotatably mounted in a suitable bearing 248 mounted on the second cross plate 230.

The first pulley 244 is used to drive a pair of O-ring type belts 250 and 252. The first belt 250 is used to transmit the rotational movement to a pulley 254 located vertically under a pinch roller 256 on the surface of which an O-ring 257 is provided. The driven pulley 254 can rotate about a short axis 258 carried by the first transverse plate 226. The clamping roller 256 can rotate about a short axis 259 carried by a rectangular plate 260 which in turn is carried by the top end of a plunger 262 of a suitable solenoid 264 mounted on the first transverse plate 226. The rectangular plate 260 is biased into its normal top position, shown in Figure 10, by a pair of springs 265, and when the solenoid is energized, the plunger 262 will rectangular plate 260 and thereby pull the pinch roller 256 down toward the pulley 244. If a guide frame 102 (Figure 2) is unloaded from a magazine 190 in the manner previously described, it will be received tangentially above the driven pulley 254. The solenoid 264 is then energized to move the pinch roller 256 downward.

The belt 250, which drives the pulley 254, and the O-ring 257 on the pinch roller will grip the opposite surfaces of the friction guide frame and move it to the right as seen in Figure 10.

As can be seen in Figures 10 and 11, a pair of roller assemblies 268 and 270 are mounted on opposite ends of the first cross plate 226. These roller assemblies are identical in the manner best seen in Figure 13. Because these roller combinations 268 and 270 are identical, the following description of the combination 268 will also apply to the roller combination 270.

The roller assembly 268 includes a shaft 272 which runs transversely to the transverse plate 226 and which is slidable in an opening formed therein. A suitable adjustment screw is provided in the transverse plate 226 for locking the shaft in the desired position. A first roller 274 is rotatably mounted on shaft 272 such that this roller 274 is axially displaceable. The roller 274 is provided with an axially projecting hub 275 which is kept in contact with the. Cross plate 226 by means of a spring 276. The spring 276 is disposed between the first roller 274 and a second roller 278 which is also rotatably mounted on the shaft 272 adjacent to the end thereof. The shaft 272 includes an enlarged head 280 at its protruding end to hold the second roller 278 in place on the end of the shaft. The spring 276 holds the second roller against the axial movement away from the head 280 and also holds the first roller 274 such that the hub 275 remains in contact with the first transverse plate 226. In this manner, the spacing between the two rollers 274 and 278 are adjusted by simply loosening the shaft adjustment screw and moving the shaft laterally in the opening provided in the transverse plate 226.

The first pulley 224, which is carried by the output shaft 242 of the driving motor 240, drives the second belt 252 of the endless O-ring type, as previously noted. This second belt 252 extends over the first roller 274 of the first roller combination 268 and over the first roller 274 of the second roller combination 270. The second pulley 246, which is carried by the output shaft 242 of the motor 240, drives another endless belt 282 of the 0-ring type, which extends over the second roller 278 of the first roller combination 268 and the second roller 278 of the second roller combination 270.

It will be apparent from the above that the first and second roller combinations 268 and 270 together with the endless belts 252 and 282 form a conveyor driven by the two pulleys 224 and 226 located on the output shaft of the motor 240. As in The foregoing has further described the spacing between the two transverse plates 226 and 230 and between the two pulleys 224 and 226 as well as the spacing between the two rollers 274 and 278 of each of the roller combinations 268 and 270. The distance between the two endless belts 252 and 282 can thus be varied depending on the width dimensions of the guide frame, or of another workpiece to be subjected to the casting process in the system 100.

As best seen in Figure 12, a gear 286 is attached to the downward end of a shaft 287 carried vertically by the beam 224, and the gear 286 is suitably mounted for mounting. rotate about the axis of the shaft 287. A cylindrical hub 288 extends axially from the bottom surface of the gear 286 and is mounted to rotate therewith. A pin 287 extends from the hub 288, which pin is positioned adjacent the edge of the hub. A cylinder 290 is pivotally attached to the transverse element 222 with one of its ends as at 292 in Figures 10 and 11. The plunger 294 extendable from the cylinder 290 is pivotally attached to the downward pin 289 with its outer end, and the cylinder is used to rotate the gear 286 rotatably in both directions through a rotation angle of about 90 ° between two positions indicated by a and b in Figure 11.

A second gear 296 is fixedly mounted on the shaft 298, which is rotatably and axially movably mounted in a bore 299 vertically provided by the beam 224. The gear 296 engages the gear 286 and is dimensioned such that a two-up a transmission is obtained such that the gear wheel 296 is driven by the gear wheel 286 through a rotation angle of about 180 ° when the gear wheel 286 is driven by the cylinder 290 in the manner indicated above. The shaft 298 and thus the gear 296 are axially movable in the bore 299 of the beam, this movement being effected by linear actuator means 300 mounted below the transverse element 222. The transverse element 222 has an opening 301 through which the plunger 302 of the linear actuator 300 can move axially back and forth, which plunger 302 is connected to gear 296 via an elongated threaded bolt 304 about which a gear 296 and shaft 298 can rotate.

A turntable 306 is fixedly attached to the upper end of the shaft 298 to rotate and move axially therewith by means of the aforementioned threaded bolt 304. The turntable includes a central rail 308 connected between its opposite ends to the top end of shaft 298, and an identical pair of side rails 310 and 312 that run parallel and are disposed on either side of central rail 308. The aligned opposite ends of central rails 308 and side rails 310 and 312 on either side are connected together via end rails 314 and 316. End rails 314 and 316 are connected between their opposite ends to central rail 308 by suitable bolts 317. As shown in Figures 12, 14 and 15, end rails 314 and 316 are provided of elongated slots 318 in which the bolts 319 securing the opposite ends of the side rails 310 and 312 to the end rails 314 and 3 16, are displaceable such that the spacing between the central rail 308 and the side rails 310 and 312 can be adjusted. This adjustment capability is provided in order to enable the turntable 306 to be adjusted so that guide frames or other workpieces of varying width dimensions can be treated as will become apparent from the following description.

As an alternative to the adjustably positionable side rails 310 and 312, Figure 15a shows a modified form of the turntable in which the end rails are provided with openings 318a (one of which is shown), instead of the elongated slots 318, as shown in the modified end of the rail 316a. The central rail 308 is mounted as described above by means of the bolts 317 (one of which is shown) and the side rails 310 and 312 (of which only 312 is shown in Figure 15a) are fixed but dismountable by means of the bolts 319 (one of which is shown). With this modified shape of the turntable, the distance between the central rail and the side rails can be adjusted by replacing one group of rails with another group of different width sizes. A particular group of rails intended for receiving and supporting a workpiece is defined as comprising the central rail 308 and both side rails 310 and 312, or only the central rail 308, or only the two side rails 310 and 312, one and the other as necessary to achieve the desired spacing.

The end rail 314 has a spacer block 320 removably attached thereto and positioned between the central rail 308 and the side rail 310. The end rail 316 includes a similar spacer block 322 removably attached thereto such that it is between the central rail 308 and the opposite side rail 312. These spacer blocks 320 and 322 are identical to each other and are used to ensure that the gaps between the central rail 308 and the opposite side rails 310 and 312 are identical. In addition, the spacer blocks 320 and 322 have stop surfaces 324 that serve to accurately locate the guide frames or other workpieces longitudinally on the turntable 306. The spacer blocks 320 and 322 shown in the figures are detachably attached to their respective end rails 314 and 316, as in the above is indicated, and may be replaced with spacers (not shown) of other dimensions to place the side rails 310 and 312 at suitable positions adapted to the width dimensions of the guide frames or other workpieces, and for locating the stop surfaces. the necessary manner adapted to the length dimensions of the guide frames or other workpieces.

As best seen in Figures 11 and 14, the central rail 308 is formed to provide longitudinal right angled cuts 326 and 328 in the opposite edges of the top surface of the central rail, which cuts are recessed horizontal ridges 330 and 332 respectively. The side rail 310 is provided with a similar longitudinally extending rectangular incision 334 in the edge of its top surface, which is closest to the central rail 308, which incision 334 forms an indented horizontal ridge 336. Similarly, the other side rail 312 is formed with a longitudinal right-angled incision 338 in the edge of its top surface closest to central rail 308, which incision 338 provides a recessed horizontal ridge 340. All ridges 330, 332, 336 and 340 are in the same horizontal plane and are intended for a purpose to be described in more detail below.

When a first guide frame 102 (Figure 2) is ejected from the magazine 190 (Figure 6) and is received between the pulley 254 and the pinch roller 256, it will be advanced on the conveyor belts 252 and 258, the upper parts of which, as best seen in Figure 11, are located in the space between the central rail 308 and the side rail 312. Thus, the conveyor belts 252 and 282 will transport this first guide frame in this space on the near side of the central rail 308, in Figure 11. The leading edge of the guide frame will contact the stop surface 324 of the spacer block 322, and the first guide frame will be supported resting on the recessed horizontal ledge 332 of the central rail 308 and the recessed horizontal ledge 340 of the side rail 312. Thus, the longitudinal position of the guide frame is precisely determined by the spacer block 322 and the lateral position is precisely determined by the vertical side surfaces of the rectangular cuts 328 and 338 of the central rail 308 and side rail 312, respectively.

The turntable 306 is then moved upward to the position shown in phantom lines in Figure 10 to empty the conveyor belts 252 and 282, and then the turntable 306 is rotated through 180 °, and then the turntable is moved downward to the one with the towed line position shown. If the ends are reversed in this way, the space between the central ledge 308 and the side rail 312, in which the first guide frame was positioned in the manner described above, will exchange with the empty space between the central rail 308 and the other side rail 310. The turntable is then positioned to receive a second guide frame, which is placed in the space between the central rail 308 and the other side rail 310 in the manner described above.

As seen in Figure 10, an axial hub 348 extends downward from the gear 296 and a pin 350 extends radially thereof. A pair of spaced posts 351 and 352 are mounted on the transverse member 222 so that they extend upwardly therefrom on one side of the hub 348. An identical pair of spaced posts 353 and 354 are mounted on the diametrically opposite Lying side of the hub 348. These pairs of posts 351, 352, and 353, 354 are used to precisely limit the rotational weight of the turntable 306 to a 180 ° rotation. When the turntable 306 is moved upward, such as during the rotation, the radial pin 350 will rotate to a position between the pins 351 and 352 in one direction of rotation, and a position between the pins 353 and 354 in the opposite direction of rotation.

With a pair of guide frames 102 (Figure 2) arranged on the turntable mechanism 306 in a side-by-side relationship in the manner described above, these guide frames are now ready to be moved from station A to station B, and this movement is performed by a transport means 360 shown in Figures 16, 17, 18 and 19.

The transport means 360 is mounted between a spaced apart pair of support members 361 and 362 extending transversely from suitable frame members 363 (only one of which is shown) of the system frame 166. The conveyor means 360 includes a beam 364 the opposite ends of which are attached to the support elements 361 and 362 such that the beam extends between these elements. A first housing 366 is mounted downwardly on that end of the beam closest to the support member 361, the end of which is hereinafter referred to as the workpiece receiving end of the conveyor means 360. Another or second housing 368 is similarly mounted on the opposite end of the beam 364 which will hereinafter be referred to as the workpiece delivery end of the conveyor means 360.

The first housing 366 has a bore 370 formed therein, as shown in Figure 16, and a shaft 371 is rotatably supported therein via suitable bearings 372. A driven sprocket 374 is mounted on the shaft 371 to rotate in a transverse slot 375 which is open towards the second housing 368. The second housing 368 is similarly provided with a bore 376 in which a drive shaft 378 is rotatably mounted in the bearings 379. A driven sprocket 380 is fixedly mounted on the drive shaft 378 for rotation in the cross slot 381 disposed in the second housing 368 with the slot 381 open to and aligned with the slot 375 of the first housing 366. The drive shaft 378 extends from the bore 376 and is pivotally mounted in a bearing assembly 382 which is carried by the frame member 362 and has a driven pulley 383 mounted on its protruding end. A reversible drivable electric motor 384 is mounted on a motor support frame 386, which is attached to the frame member 362, and the electric motor 384 has an output shaft 387 on which a drive pulley 388 is fixedly mounted.

An endless belt 390 extends around the two pulleys 383 and 388 to rotate the drive sprocket 380. A chain 392 is wrapped around the two sprockets 383 and 388 as will be described in more detail below.

As seen in Figure 17, the first housing 366 is provided with a recess 394 below the cross slot 377 and the second housing 368 is similarly provided with a recess 395. The recesses 394 and 395 of the respective housings 366 and 368 are aligned and open to each other, and the opposite ends of a tube 396 are arranged in the recesses such that the tube extends between the receiving end and the delivery end of the conveyor means 360. An elongated rod 398 with threaded ends extends axially through the tube and at both ends through the two housings 366 and 368, with appropriate screws screwed on the ends to hold the tube in place between the two housings.

The tube 396 is preferably a square cross-section tube and has a plurality of ports 400 formed by the bottom wall of the tube, which ports are spaced in the longitudinal direction of the tube. An elongated flexible band 402, preferably formed of thin steel band, is provided in adjacent contact with the downward facing surface of the bottom wall of the tube 396 to selectively open and close the ports 400 as will be described in detail below. . One end of the strap 402 is fixedly attached to the second housing 368 by means of the mounting block 404, and the other end of the strap is contained in the pull block 406 mounted in a downwardly open cavity 407 mounted in the first housing 366. The pull block 406 is mounted on a bolt 408 that extends freely through an opening provided in the housing 366 with a spring 409 positioned between the head of the bolt 408 and the housing 366 to bias the bolt and thereby pulling the pull block 406 to the left in Figure 17. In this manner, the belt 402 is pulled taut to normally close the ports 400 of the tube 396 while still allowing the pull block 406 to move to the right when the belt is deflected to selectively open a gate as will be described later. .

A carriage 410 is carried by the tube 396 and is movable in the longitudinal direction of the tube between the receiving end and the delivery end of the transport means 360. The carriage 410 includes a two-piece housing 411 defining a bore 412 where extends through the tube 396 with some clearance such that the tube supports the carriage and allows free movement along the tube. A cleat 414 is mounted on top of the housing 411 by a shock absorbing spring screw configuration shown at 415. The opposite ends of the aforementioned chain 392 are mounted on the shock absorbing spring / pin combinations shown at 416 on the opposite ends of the clamp 414. Thus, the previously described sprocket-chain assembly will move the carriage 410 back and forth along the tube 396 by operating the reversibly drivable motor 384.

The carriage housing 411 internally includes a longitudinally extending chamber 418, which is closed at its opposite ends by the housing end walls 419 and 420, at the bottom by a plate 422 and at the top opening into the bore 412 into which the tube 396 has been applied. As shown in Figure 18, the spring / screw members 415 holding the previously described cleat 414 to the housing also hold the bottom plate 422. The plate 422 includes an upright belt deflector 424 with an inverted U- shape as best seen in Figure 18. The strap 402 extends between the spaced legs 425 of the deflector 424 below its deflection portion 426. The downwardly facing surface of the deflection portion 426 includes inclined cam surfaces 427 and 428 which have an upward slope and are located on either side of a central bearing surface or top surface 429. The plate 422 also has a pair of spaced spring-loaded rollers 430 mounted on both sides of the deflector 424 and rising from the plate 422 in contact with the belt 402.

As the carriage 410 is moved along the tube 396, the rollers 430 will roll along the downward facing surface of the belt 402 and the top face 429 and the comb surfaces 427 and 428 of the deflector 424 will slide along the upward facing surface of the thus, belt 402 deflects the portion located between rollers 430 from tube 396 to open ports 400 located between rollers.

As seen in Figure 19, the second housing 368 is provided with chamber 432 which opens into its recess 395 and thus communicates with the bore of the tube 396. The chamber 432 includes a lateral port 433 to which one end of the a channel element 434 is mounted. The other end (not shown) of the channel member 434 establishes connection to a suitable vacuum pump (not shown) or other suitable mechanism which may be located inside or outside the system 100 as desired. Thus, a negative static pressure, or partial vacuum, is drawn into the tube 396 to create an airflow movement upward through a passage 436 in the plate 422, through the ports 400 opened by the deflector 424, and into the tube.

A vacuum head 438 is mounted interchangeably on the downward facing surface of the plate 422 and the head includes an appropriate array of ports 440 and passages 441 designed to pick up any workpieces conveyed by the conveyor means 360 . More specifically, the ports 440 in the illustrated vacuum head 438 are located to abut the side rails 106 of the guide frames 102 (Figure 2) when the guide frames are processed in the system 100.

The conveyor means 360 is positioned such that its workpiece receiving end in station A is directly above the turntable mechanism 306, and its product delivery end is in station B as will be described below. When the carriage 410 is in the workpiece receiving position, the turntable mechanism 360 is moved upward in the manner previously described so as to bring the guide frames 102 (Figure 2) present side-by-side upwardly therewith the downward facing surface of the vacuum head 438 for releasably engaging the guide frames.

The station B, the bottom shape loading station, is shown on the right side of Figure 20 and in Figure 22. As will be described in detail below, the bottom shape located in the station B is identified by the reference numeral 110B indicating both the bottom shape and its position in the system received from the station S. The bottom shape 110B is placed on a heating plate 450 in a precise position thereon determined by recording means 451 which may be formed by upright pins in the manner shown. cooperating on the heating plate 450 with suitable recesses formed in the bottom mold 110B. The heating plate 450, which maintains the relatively high temperature of the mold required for the casting operations, is normally supported on a heating support plate 452 with an appropriate thermal insulating material 453 therebetween. The heating support plate 452 is an upwardly extending structure by a number of stations as will become apparent from the rest of this description. The heating support plate 452, in turn, is supported above a cross plate 454 by a number of support blocks 455. The cross plate 454 forms part of the system frame 166 and is, as will be apparent, quite extensive in its dimensions and extends through various stations and distributes those stations in a relatively hot zone or compartment above the cross plate and a relatively cool zone or compartment below the cross plate 454. The various operating mechanisms, such as engines, cylinders and the like, of much of the system 100 are physically located in the cool zone, so that they are not subject to the high temperatures required in the hot zone above the cross plate 454.

As can be seen in Figures 20 and 22, the heating plate 450 has a block-shaped structure with a suitable heating element 456 therein, which heating element may consist, for example, of electrically heating resistance elements. A separated pair of upwardly opened channels 457 is formed over the top surface of the heating plate 450 and the purpose of these channels 457 will be described in the description of the station S.

As best seen in Figure 22, a cylinder 458 is fixedly mounted on the downward facing surface of the transverse plate 454 and its extendable plunger 459 is attached to the plate 460 between its extreme ends. A pair of push rods 462 are mounted on the opposite ends of the plate 460 and these rods extend upwardly therefrom through the transverse plate 454 through a pair of sleeves 464, through the heating support plate 452 and through the insulation 453 into a bearing relationship with the bottom surface of the heating plate 450. As the cylinder 458 expands, which is its normal position, the push rods 462 are moved downward from the heating plate 450, which therefore normally rests on the insulation 453. When actuated, the plunger 459 is inserted into the cylinder 458 pulled to move the push rods 462 so that they slide axially upwardly into the bushes 465 provided in the bores of the sleeves 464 to lift the heating plate 450 and thereby the bottom mold 110B to a few higher positions, one of which is shown in Figures 20 and 22, the purpose of these higher positions being described below.

As shown in Figure 20, a pair of tread beams 466 and 468 I are mounted on opposite sides of the bottom mold 110B. The walking beams 466 and 468 are coupled together via the yoke 470 which includes a pair of blocks 471 each descending from one of the walking beams 466 and 468 with a cross bar 472 connecting the blocks 471 and extending between its downwardly directed ends. below the heating support plate 452. The running beams 466 and 468 form part of a molding group conveying means 474 which will be described in detail below.

As previously noted, the product delivery end of the transport means 360 is located in the station B. Although not shown, the workpiece delivery end of the transport means 360 is positioned directly above the bottom mold 110B in the station B, and that is, the workpieces, i.e. the guide frames are positioned or loaded in the bottom mold 110B raised to one of its above-mentioned higher positions simply by switching off the vacuum so that the guide frames will be released by the vacuum head 438. When that is completed, the mold group transport means 474 is actuated in a manner to be described for moving the bottom mold 110B to the station C.

Station C, which is shown on the right side of Figures 23 and 24, is the mold assembly station in which one of the top molds 112 is placed on the bottom mold loaded with the guide frames in the station B and moved to the station C. Because this bottom shape has moved, it will now be referred to as bottom shape 110C to identify the new location. Similarly, the crest shape is indicated by the reference numeral 112M in its solid line and position shown in Figure 24, and when it is moved and is in the dotted line position in the same figure in station C it is indicated by the reference number 112C.

As will be described in detail later, the top shape 112 is moved laterally from the station M into the station C and then moved downward into the assembled position on top of the bottom shape 110C.

The top shape 112M is supported by a carriage 476, which is part of the lateral top shape transport mechanism which will be discussed later in the description of the station M. When moving in station C, the carriage 476 is received on a pair of separate shelves 478 mounted on an opposite pair of identical side plates 479 of an elevator structure 480.

Each of the plates 479 includes a transverse element 481 at the bottom, a pair of spaced upright rail members 482, and a transverse element 483 at the top, which together define a central opening 484. The rail members 482 are held inside and are movable vertically sliding in L-shaped tracks 486 supported by the vertical plates 488 that form part of the system frame 166.

The transverse elements 481 on the underside of the opposed side plates 479 are positioned in the relatively cool zone below the transverse plate 454, and the rail elements 482 extend upward through suitable slots 489 provided in the transverse plate 454 such that most of the elevator structure 480 is located in the hot zone above the transverse plate 454. The opposing side plates 479 of the elevator 480 are joined together by a plate 490 extending between the transverse elements 481 at the bottom thereof. A suitable cylinder 492 is fixedly mounted on the downward facing surface of the cross plate 454 such that the cylinder faces downward. The extendable plunger 493 of the cylinder 492 is connected to the plate 490 so that actuation of the cylinder will result in a vertical movement of the elevator structure between an upper position for receiving the carriage 476 with the top shape 112C carried thereby and a lower position. wherein both the carriage 476 and the top mold 112C are located directly above the bottom mold 110C with the top mold 112C resting on the bottom mold.

The previously described heating support plate 452 extends through the openings 494 provided in the vertical plates 488 and another heating plate 496 is supported thereon in the station C with intermediate thermal insulating material 497. The bottom shape 110C is moved by the running beams 466 and 468 of the shape group transport subsystem 474 from the station B to the station C in a manner yet to be described.

Figures 25 and 26 show the mold group transport subsystem 474 with which molds 110 and 112 are sequentially transported through the various stations of system 100 for product encapsulation purposes. As shown in Figure 26, the walking beams 466 and 468 (one of which is shown in Figure 26) consist of elongated structures each. with a front end 500 and a rear end 502 and coupled together by a number of the previously described yoke means 470 arranged longitudinally spaced from the running beams. An elongated rack 504 is secured at its extreme ends to a spaced apart yoke means 470 such that the bar extends between these yoke means. A cross arm 506, which is part of the system frame 166, carries a reversible drivable motor 508 such that its drive shaft 509 projects upwardly through the transverse plate 454. A suitable tooth pinion 510 is mounted on the top end of the motor drive shaft 509 to rotate with the shaft , and the pinion 510 engages the rack 504.

A roller wheel 511 is rotatably mounted on the top surface of the cross plate 454 in line with the pinion 510 and communicates with the opposite side of the pinion 504 to engage the pinion and pinion.

When the motor 508 is driven, the running beams 466 will reciprocate along a horizontal travel path in directions determined by the rotational movement of the motor.

More specifically, if the walking beams 466 and 468 are moved to the left in Figure 26, their front ends 500 will move from the station C into the station B and the rear ends 502 of the walking beams will move out of the station G into the station F.

When moving in the opposite direction, i.e., to the right in Figure 26, the front ends 500 of the girders 266 and 268 will move out from the station B back into the station C and the rear ends 502 thereof will move back into the station G.

Each of the running beams 466 and 468 includes a longitudinally projecting spaced pair of rail members 512 on the outwardly opposed vertical surface, and with the ridges 514 on an inwardly facing vertical surfaces, the ridges 514 extending over the entire length of the respective girders. Each of the walking beams 466 and 468 is supported by a number of identical roller lifting mechanisms ^ 16, of which there are four in total, two for each walking beam. Each of the roller lifting mechanisms 516 includes a pair of support plates 517 mounted on the cross plate 454 such that they are positioned upwardly and spaced from each other. An angled crank rod 518 is mounted between each pair of support plates 517 on suitable hinge pins 519 such that one arm 520 of each angled crank rod extends upwardly toward the beams and the other arm 522 extends downwardly through a suitable opening disposed in the transverse plate 454. Each of the crank elements 518 has a roller wheel 524 rotatably mounted on a short shaft 525 carried by the protruding end of one arm 520 thereof, and the roller wheels 524 are positioned to roll are in contact with the lower surfaces of the rail members 512 of the running beam 466 and 468. The downwardly projecting ends of the other arms 522 of each pair of crank members 518 are interconnected by rods 526 and the rods 526 are in turn coupled to a pull joint 528 A suitable cylinder 530 is suspended from the downwardly facing surface of the cross plate 45 4 by means of a pull rod 532.

The reciprocating plunger 534 of the cylinder 530 is connected to one of the rods 526. Thus, if the cylinder 530 is operated by moving the plunger 534 to its extended position, the crank elements 518 will pivotally move to the lines shown in Figure 26, and if the cylinder 530 is operated to retract its plunger 534, the crank elements 518 will be simultaneously moved to the dotted lines positions in the same Figure.

If the crank elements 518 are pivotally moved as described above, their rollers 524 will move between an upper position and a lower position and this action will result in the up and down movement of the running beams 466 and 468.

It will be appreciated that the bottom mold 110C and the heating plate 496 shown in Figure 25 are characteristic of all the bottom molds and heating plates that are present in the stations BG and that are served by the mold group subsystem 474. It will therefore be appreciated that the The following description of the relationships and functions that apply to the shape group transport subsystem with the bottom shape 110C also apply to the relationships and functions that take place simultaneously in the other stations TG.

As shown in Figure 25, the ridges 514 on the running beams 466 and 468 protrude into the longitudinal grooves 134 and 136 provided on the opposite sides of the bottom mold 110C. If the cylinder 530 is operated such that the roller wheels 524 are in the lower position, then the running beams will also be in the lower position in which the bottom mold 110C rests on top of the heating plate 496 in the manner shown. When the cylinder 530 is actuated to raise the roller wheels 524 to vertically move the running beams 466 and 468, the bottom mold 110C will be lifted from the heating plate 496 by the ridges 514 so that the bottom mold 110C will hang between the running beam. In this higher position, the motor 508 is operated by moving the running beams 466 and 468 to the right, seen in Figure 26. This action transports the bottom mold 110C to station D and similarly transports the in stations D through F to the following stations. After the molds have been transported in this manner, the cylinder 530 is operated to lower the running beams 466 and 468 and thus to deposit the molds in those stations in which they are transported.

Station D is the casting station in which a number of operations are performed to achieve encapsulation of the workpiece. Since a number of operations must be performed in station D, not all mechanisms are required to perform these operations in a single view of the drawings shown for clarity, but instead illustrated in appropriate locations in Figures 27 to 36 .

The bottom mold 110C and the top mold 112C, which were assembled in station C in the manner described above, have been transported together to station D where they are placed on the heating plate 540 contained in station B, now indicating the molds with the respective reference numerals 110D and 112D.

It is noted that the running beams 466 and 468 of the molding group transport means 474, which perform the transportation of the molds 110D and 112D, are omitted in Figures 27 to 33 for the sake of clarity.

The first operation to be performed in station D is to apply a vertically directed force to the top mold and bottom mold 110D and 112D to hold the molds in place during the casting operations. To accomplish this, a first vertically movable elevator structure 542 is provided in station D. The first elevator 542, shown in Figures 27, 28 and 29, includes a pair of spaced identical end plates 543 and 544 each with a bottom transverse element 545 located in the relatively cool zone below the transverse plate 454 of the system frame 166. Each of the plates 543 and 544 includes side rail members 546 and 547 extending upwardly from the transverse element 545 through suitable openings 548 mounted in the transverse plate 454, the top ends of the side rail members 546 and 547 being joined together by a transverse element 549 at the top. The spaced pair of end plates 543 and 544 each define a central opening 550 (one of which is shown in Figure 27) and are interconnected at their lower ends by a central rod 552 as well as by spaced rods 553 at their top ends.

A suitable cylinder 554 is fixedly attached to the downward facing surface of the transverse plate 454 such that the cylinder faces downward, and the cylinder 554 includes the conventional reciprocating extendable plunger 556 centrally connected to the centrally positioned rod 552. connecting the lower ends of the end plates 543 and 544 of the first elevator 542. Thus, by operation of the cylinder 554, the first elevator 542 is vertically movable back and forth. As best seen in Figure 29, the outwardly facing edges of the side rails 546 and 547 are received and slidably movable in inwardly open channel members 558 extending vertically between a base plate 560 and a top support frame 562, both of which form part of the system frame 166.

The end plates 543 and 544 of the first elevator 542 have a horizontally spaced pair of power transmitting blocks 564 and 566 extending therebetween and positioned directly above the crest shape 112D. When the first elevator 542 has moved to its low position shown in the figure, the force transmitting blocks 564 and 566 will push against the top shape 112D to apply and hold the requested force on the shapes 112D and 110D. As indicated at 568 in Figure 27, each of the power transmitting blocks 564 and 566 has an internal heating element which maintains the correct temperature of the top mold 112D during the casting operations performed at the station D.

The next operation to be performed at station D is to pull up a number of aligned plungers 148 from the top mold 112D to access the bore holes 146 (Figure 5) of the top mold such that potting material can be deposited therein as in the following will be described in detail. The mechanism used to pull out the plungers 148 is also used to put them back in and exerts a downward force thereon as will become apparent from the following description.

The mechanism used for pulling out and re-inserting the plungers 148 and applying force thereto includes a second elevator structure 570 with an identical pair of spaced end plates 572 and 574, each, as best shown in Figure 27 are provided with a pair of spaced apart rail elements 575 and 576. The lower ends of the rail elements 575 and 576 of the end plates 572 and 574 are all interconnected via a connecting structure 578 located in the relatively cool zone under the transverse plate 454. The rail elements 575 and 576 extend upwardly through the openings 548 provided in the transverse plate 454 with the upper ends of the rail elements 575 and 576 of the end plate 572 connected by a transverse element 580 to the top and top ends of the rail members 575 and 576 of the other end plate 574 are similarly to each other r connected via an identical transverse element 582.

A support plate 584 is suitably mounted on the channel members 558 below the cross plate 454. A cylinder 585 is fixedly attached to the downward facing surface of the support plate 584 such that the cylinder faces downward. The reciprocating plunger 586 of the cylinder 585 is attached with its downward end at 587 to a crossbar 588 of the connecting structure 578 at the bottom of the second elevator 570. Thus, by operating the cylinder 585, the second elevator 570 will be vertical can move back and forth between the bottom position shown in Figures 27 and 28 and a top position (not shown).

As best seen in Figure 29, the end plates 572 and 574 of the second elevator are in sliding contact with the inwardly facing surfaces of the respective end plates 543 and 544 of the first elevator structure 542. The end plates 572 and 574 of the second elevator 570 are disposed between the channel elements 558. Thus, the second elevator structure 570 is supported and its movements are guided by the end plates 543 and 544 of the first elevator 542 and the channel elements 558..

A head assembly 590 is mounted in a manner to be described in more detail such that it is located between the upper cross members 580 and 582 of the respective end plates 572 and 574 of the second elevator structure 570 so that the head assembly 590 can reciprocate vertically therewith. to move.

The head assembly 590 includes a housing 592 which has an integral laterally projecting portion 593 in which a pair of vertical bores 594 are spaced apart. The bores 594 are provided with suitable bushings and a pair of spaced guide rods 596 can slide in the bores 594. The guide rods 596 are fixedly attached to the power transmitting heating block 566 of the previously described first elevator structure 542 and run upwardly from the block 566. The guide rods 596 cooperate with the bores 594 of the projection 593 of the housing 592 to guide the relative movements of the head assembly 590 and of the force transmitting heating blocks 564 and 566 as they move independently on the in the manner described above.

A number of identical pushrod assemblies 598 are mounted in the housing 592 with a pushrod assembly 598 present for each plunger 148 of the top form 112B. A typical push rod assembly 598 is best illustrated in Figure 32, it being understood that the following description of the illustrated push rod assembly also applies to all other assemblies.

A bore 600 is arranged vertically through the housing 592 and has an enlarged diameter counterbore 601 at its top end. A special sleeve 602 is axially slidably mounted in the bore 600, the sleeve having an enlarged head 603 at its top end. The sleeve is provided with an axial bore divided by an annular rim 604 into an upper bore portion 605 and a lower bore portion 606 as well as a reduced diameter opening 607 axially through the rim 604. A push pin 608 is axially slidably mounted in the opening 607 of the rim and is provided with an enlarged head 609 on one end of its shaft 610. A spring 611 is provided in the upper bore 605, where one end of the spring contacts the head 609 of the push pin 608 and the other end of the spring rests against a set screw 612 which is screwed into the upper end of the upper bore 605 of the sleeve 602. The spring 611 will therefore bias the push rod 608 downward and the biasing force may be adjusted as needed for reasons arising from the the following description will become clear, be set to a larger or lower value.

In addition to the biasing force exerted on the push pin 608, the sleeve 602 is also biased downwardly into the bore 600 disposed in the housing 592. A rod 614 is arranged so that its lower end contacts the enlarged head 603 of the sleeve 602. The rod 614 extends upwardly and passes freely through an opening 615 formed in a retaining plate 616. The retaining plate 616 is located above the housing. 592 and is supported in this position by a plurality of rods 620. The rods 620 are screwed with their lower ends 621 into the housing 592 and therefrom extend freely and pass through suitable openings formed in the retaining plate 616. On the upper ends of the rods on 622 suitable nuts 623 screwed on to adjustably position the retaining plate 616 in an upward position remote from the housing 592. A compression spring 624 is positioned coaxially about the rod 614 with its top end resting against the down-facing surface of the the holding plate 616 and its lower end rests against the enlarged head 603 of the sleeve 602. The opposite upright ends of the retaining plate 616 are attached to the upper cross members 580 and 582 of the second elevator structure 570 and in this manner the head assembly 590 is movable with the elevator.

In addition to the push rod assemblies 598, the housing 592 of the head assembly 590 is provided with clamping means 626 that can move into engagement with the plungers 148 of the crest 112D or out of engagement therewith. As best seen in Figure 31, a pair of identical plates 628 'is attached to the opposite ends of a downwardly-directed portion 627 with reduced housing length 592. A pair of elongated axle rods 629 are fixed with opposite ends mounted in the downwardly directed ends of the plates 628 with the rods 629 positioned laterally on the opposite sides of the lower ends / of the sleeves 602 extending downwardly from the housing 592. A pair of elongated jaws 630 and 632 with L-shaped cross section is rotatably supported each by a different shaft rod 629 and the jaws are positioned on the rods such that the plunger engaging ridges 633 are located on the lower ends of each of the jaws inwardly facing each other.

As best seen in Figures 30 and 32, plungers 148 have a pair of spaced annular flanges> 34 adjacent their upper ends and jaws 630 and 632 can be moved in m from the space between the flanges to selectively engage the plungers.

The movement of the jaws 630 and 632 of the clamping means 626 is performed by means of a cylinder 636 which, as shown in Figures 27 and 28, is mounted on the connecting structure 578 of the second elevator structure 570. An elongated rod 638 extends upward. from the cylinder 636 and is connected at its top end to one end of a lever 639 by a hinge pin 640. The lever 639 is pivotally mounted between its two ends by a suitable bolt 641 that fixes the lever at that point to a clamp 647 suitably mounted to the housing 592 of the head assembly 590. A rod 642 is pivotally attached to the other end of the lever 639 and extends downwardly through a vertical passage 643 formed by the housing 592 of the head assembly 590. Each of the jaws 630 and 632 has a tie rod 644 formed at one end thereof and the bottom The ends of a pair of connecting elements 646 are pivotally mounted each on a different tie rod. The upper ends of the connecting elements 646 are connected to the lower end of the rod 642 by a hinge pin 646.

When the cylinder 636 is actuated to extend the elongated rod 638, the lever 639, the rod 642 and the connecting members 645 are positioned for clamping engagement of the plungers 148 as shown by solid lines in Figure 30. And if the cylinder 636 is operated to retract the rod 638, then the lever 639 pulls the rod 642 upwardly causing the jaws 630 and 632 to move around their respective axle rods 629, causing the lower ends of the connecting members 645 to move together as shown with the dotted lines in Figure 30.

The second operation performed at the station D, ie, pulling the plungers 148 away from the top shape 112D, is performed by moving the second elevator structure 570 downward, moving the head assembly 590 down between the spaced force exercise blocks 564 and 566 previously placed on top form 112D in the previously described first operation of station D. As the head assembly is moved downward, the top ends of each of the plungers 148 will penetrate the lower bore portion 606 of the sleeves 602. of their respective aligned push rod assemblies 598. Thereafter, the clamping means 626 is actuated to move the jaws 630 and 632 into engagement with the plungers 48, and then the second elevator structure 570 is moved upwardly to the head assembly 590 and the plungers 148 to a higher position. above the top shape 112D.

The next operation performed at station D is that of depositing potting materials in molds 110D and 112D, and this operation is performed by the material handling means 650 shown in Figures 27, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37 Figure 27 indicates the physical location of handling means 650 relative to elevator structures 542 and 570 described heretofore, and their associated mechanisms, and Figure 33 shows handling means 650 with elevators 542 and 570 and their associated mechanisms for clarity. Figure 33 are not shown.

As shown in Figures 33 and 37, the potting material handling means 650 comprises a channel unit 652 having a plurality of channels 653, one for each of the material receiving pockets 116 (Figure 5) defined by the assembled bottom and top shapes 110D, respectively. and 112D. The plurality of channels 653 are fixedly interconnected at their aligned lower ends via an input manifold 654 and similarly, their upper ends are connected via an output manifold 655. The manifolds 654 and 655 are in the form of elongated plates with a plurality of therein formed openings 656 arranged at longitudinal intervals so that the bores align with channels 653. The channels are also interconnected by a guide plate 658 suitably attached, for example, by soldering or welding to the individual channels . The guide plate 658 is provided with laterally projecting parts 659 at both ends through which bores 660 are provided, in which bores suitable bushings are placed.

As will be described below, the channel assembly 652 is movable vertically and the above guide plate 658 is movable along with the channels along a pair of guide rods 662 passing through the bores 660 of the guide plate. The top ends of the guide rods are attached to a cleat 663 which in turn is attached to the cross plate 654 of the system frame 666 to span a suitable opening provided in the cross plate 454. A lift plate 664 is provided below the guide plate 658 and the lifting plate is provided with a number of openings 665, one for each channel 653. As best shown in Figure 7, the lifting plate 664 has a vertical plate 666 attached to one end thereof and a transverse plate 667 carried by the top end of the vertical plate 666. One end of the transverse plate 667 extends towards the channels 653 and the other end extends away from the channels. The top end of a reciprocating plunger 668 of a suitable cylinder 669 is attached to the other projecting end of the transverse plate. When cylinder 669 is in the retracted position, channels 653 are freely movable through openings 665 thereof. However, if the cylinder 669 is operated to extend the plunger 668 to the extended position shown in Figure 37, and the force exerted by it will cause displacement of the vertical plate 666 causing an edge of the transverse plate 667 to move in the direction. of channels 653 so that the plate contacts the channels. This same displacement of the vertical plate 666 will result in a tilting movement of the lifting plate 664 to bring the openings 665 thereof into contact with the channels 653. Thus, when the cylinder 669 is in the retracted position, the channels can move freely vertically with respect to the lift plate 664 and when the cylinder is energized, the lift plate will engage the channels 653 and cause its upward movement.

A delivery head 670 is pivotally mounted on suitable hinge pins 672 between the end plates 543 and 544 of the first elevator structure 542. The delivery head 670 includes a plurality of curved channels 674, one for each of the channels 653 of the channel unit 652, including each of the curved channels 674 debouches on one of the channels 653. The curved channels are supported by a spaced pair of end plates 675 to which hinge pins 672 are connected, and at the ends of the curved channels 674 are an input manifold 676 and an output manifold 678 attached. The input and output manifolds 676 and 678 of the delivery head, as was the case with the previously described manifolds 654 and 655 of the channel unit 652, are elongated plates with a plurality of apertures 679 passing therethrough, each apertures aligned with one of the curved channels.

The input manifold 676 of the delivery head 670 is connected to the output manifold 655 of the channel unit 652 through a pair of coupling members 680 pivotally connected to the opposite ends of the manifolds 676 and 655.

As previously noted, the delivery head 670 is carried on the first elevator structure 642 and is therefore movable vertically with this structure. When the first elevator 542 is moved upwards, the delivery head 670 will pivot around the pins 672 to the position shown by the dotted lines in Figure 37 and when this position is reached, the delivery head 670 will pull the channel unit 652 upward due to the connecting coupling elements 680. If the eletric structure is then lowered, the delivery head 670 and channel unit 652 will move down with the elevator to the positions shown in solid lines in Figure 37. All this takes place prior to pulling the plungers 148 out of the top shape 112D. When the plungers are retracted in the manner previously described, the cylinder 669 is actuated to protrude its plunger 668 thereby moving the channel unit 652 up to the solid line position shown in Figure 37 and, thanks to the coupling elements 680, the delivery head 670 pivotally moves to the solid line position, wherein each of the openings 679 of the outlet manifold 678 is aligned with and positioned directly above one of the various bores 146 of the top form 112D (Figure 5). In this position, the channel unit 652 and the delivery head 670 are ready to deliver casting materials to the molds.

A platform 682 is mounted above the base plate 560 of the system frame 166 on suitable posts 683 and means 684 for supplying and moving potting materials through the channel unit 652 and the delivery head 670 are mounted on this platform. A pair of upright end plates 685 and 686 are mounted on opposite ends of the platform 682 and a pair of spaced rails 688 run horizontally between the end plates. A carriage 690 is movable back and forth along rails 688 between a left side material receiving position in Figures 33 and 34 and a right side material delivery position in the same Figures. A vertical upright plate 692 is mounted on the platform 682 and a reversible drive motor 693 is mounted on the plate. The output shaft 694 of the motor has a drive pulley 695 mounted thereon that drives a driven pulley 696 by means of a suitable belt 697. The driven pulley is supported by one end of a short shaft 698 rotatably mounted in suitable bearings mounted on the vertical plate 692, and a tooth pinion 700 is mounted on the other end of the short shaft 698. The tooth pinion 700 engages a toothed rack 702 mounted on the carriage 690. As best seen in Figure 37, the carriage 690 consists of an elongated plate structure with a plurality of transverse openings 704 which are at the bottom. longitudinal distances are arranged in the structure.

The potting materials, such as an epoxy resin, are preferably in the form of pellets as indicated by 706 in Figures 35 and 36. The pellets 706 are supplied to a magazine 708 from any suitable feeder (not shown) that may exist as desired from an external member or an integral member of the system 100. The magazine 708 is mounted on a suitable mounting plate 709 attached to the platform 682 and the magazine extends at an angle above the plate 709. The magazine has an internal passage 710 in which the pellets 706 line up and can slide. A latch 711, operated by a solenoid 712, is mounted on the plate 709 adjacent to the lower end of the magazine 708, and each time the selenoid is operated, the latch is moved to allow a pellet to move downward from the passageway into the discharge compartment 713 at the bottom end of the magazine. A cylinder 714 is mounted on the vertical plate 692 with its reciprocating plunger 715 positioned such that each time the cylinder is operated, the plunger will move transversely in the discharge compartment 713 of the magazine to release the one pellet 706 from the compartment through an outlet 717 formed in the magazine for that purpose.

In this manner, each of the passages 704 of the carriage 690 is provided with one of the pellets 706 when the carriage is located in the material receiving position, the carriage being moved in steps such that each passage 704 of the carriage is aligned with the Discharge compartment 713 of the warehouse 708.

Figure 36a shows an alternative mechanism that can be used in place of the above-described pellet hopper 708, the cylinder 714, and the solenoid-operated latch 711 for delivering the pellets 706 to the different passages 704 of the carriage 690. In this embodiment the pellets 706 are stacked in a tube 718 and are free to slide down into this magazine tube. A solenoid actuated double pin mechanism -719 is associated with the outlet end of the magazine tube 718 so that when operated in one direction (down in Figure 36a) one of the pins will be withdrawn from the bore of the tube to expose the first pellet 706 so that it can move out of the tube into one of the passages 704 of the carriage in a manner to be described in more detail yet. The same downward actuation of the solenoid-actuated double pin mechanism 719 will cause a second oppositely directed pin of that mechanism to move into the bore of the tube 718 directly behind the released first pellet 706, thereby moving the second pellet and the pellets coming behind prevented. The first pellet 706, upon release, will be drawn into the aligned passage 704 of the carriage 690 by means of a vacuum tube 724 mounted on a muzzle plate 725 mounted on the platform 782 and positioned on the other side of the carriage so that the vacuum tube 742 and the orifice plate are aligned with the passage 704 in which the pellet is to be moved. The source of negative static pressure or partial vacuum can be any suitable mechanism (not shown) that can be located either inside or outside the system 100.

If the carriage 690 has a pellet 706 in each of its passages 704, the carriage is moved along rails 688 to its material delivery position in the manner previously described. In the delivery position best shown in Figure 34, the carriage 690 is positioned between the inlet manifold 654 of the channel unit 652 and a load manifold 720. The load manifold 720 has an internal chamber 721 which is supplied with pressurized air from a suitable source (not shown) through a hose 722. A plurality of high pressure outlets 723 are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the load manifold 720. When the carriage 690 is in the delivery position, the high pressure outlets 723 of the load manifold will each be in line with one of the transverse passages 704 of the carriage 690, and the passages 704 will each be aligned with one of the openings 656 of the inlet manifold 654 of the channel unit 652. Therefore, if pressurized air is supplied to the loading manifold 720, then the pellets 706 will be pushed from the carriage into the channel unit 652 and pass through it through the delivery head 670 and are deposited in the material receiving cavities 116 (Figure 5) of the molds 110D and 112D.

When the composite shapes 110D and 112D are loaded with the ingot pellets 706 in the manner described above, the cylinder 669 is operated to lower the channel unit 652 and pivotally move the delivery head 670 to the solid line position in Figure 37. The second elevator structure 570 is then lowered to re-insert the plungers 148 into the top shape 112D. Upon insertion, the clamping means 676 is actuated to move the jaws 630 and 632 out of engagement with the plungers 148. When this is done, an adjustable predetermined amount of force is applied to the plungers 148 by the sleeves 602 and the compression springs 624. of the pushrod assemblies 592 as described above in particular with reference to Figure 32.

It is known in the art of such grouting and encapsulation processes that the combination of pressure and temperature will lead to the grouting of the grouting pellets 706 and the stock will flow from the cavities 116 (Figure 5) through the runners 117 (Figure 4) flows into the recesses 118 of the bottom mold 110D and the recesses 144 of the top mold 112D thereby encapsulating the circuit chip 105 of the guide frame 102 (Figure 2) or any other workpiece to be incorporated into the system 100 processed, appropriately encapsulated.

After completion of the flow of the liquefied casting material described above, the second elevator structure 570 is again operated to move upward. When this upward movement occurs, the plungers 148 will remain in place in the top shape 112D due to the spring-loaded push pins 608 (Figure 32) and the lower bore portion 606 of the sleeve 602 will move upwardly out of contact with the plungers 148.

The number of operations to be performed in station D has now been described in detail and the molding group consisting of the composite shapes 110D and 112D is ready to be moved to station E with the exception that the clamping forces applied to the composite shapes the force transferring heating blocks 564 and 566 of the first elevator structure 542 are still applied to the molding group. The clamping force applied to the composite molds must be maintained for a predetermined period of time, which is necessary for the encapsulating materials to cool, i.e. to solidify. Instead of leaving the molds in station D to cool them, the application of the clamping forces to the mold group is taken over by a transport clamping means 726 shown in Figures 38, 39, 41, 42 and 43.

The advantages of moving the composite shapes from station D to station E for curing purposes is that this movement does not interrupt the shape movements and other operations that take place continuously in time intervals in the various stations of the system. If one were to leave the molds in station D, all functions of the entire system 100 would have to wait until the mold had cooled and until the equipment in station D had returned to the proper casting temperature.

As described in detail above, the shape group transport subsystem 474 (Fig. 26) includes a pair of girders 466 and 468 that can be moved back and forth between stations B through G. The parts of the girders 466 and 468 which run through and are reciprocable in stations D, E and F are shown in Figures 39 and 40 and are provided with the transport valve means 726.

The running beam 466 includes a first clamping head 728 and a second spaced clamping head 730, and the other running beam 468 is similarly provided with a first clamping head 732 and a second clamping head 734 spaced therefrom. The clamping heads 728, 730, 732 and 734 are identical and the following detailed description of the clamping head also applies to the other clamping heads.

As shown in Figures 41 and 42, the running beam 466 includes an aperture 736 extending therethrough with a clamp head housing 738 mounted on the top surface of the running beam over the opening 736 and a downwardly projecting housing 740 mounted on the bottom surface of the running beam under its opening 736.

The clamp head housing 738 is movable vertically with respect to the running beam as will be described later and has an elongated rod-shaped configuration with countersunk bores 741 extending vertically through both ends. The housing 738 is attached to the running beam 466 by relatively long bolts 742, the lower threaded ends of which are attached to the running beam while their shafts pass through the countersunk bores 741 such that their heads 743 are spaced apart at the top of the housing. The heads 743 of the bolts 742 serve as stop elements for limiting the vertical movement of the housing relative to the running beam 466. The housing 738 is normally biased upwardly to the position shown by a dotted line in Figure 41 by means of of compression springs 744 located in the countersunk bores 741, which springs are disposed between the housing 738 and the running beam 466 and thereby bias the housing in an upward direction.

A longitudinal pair of spaced clamping plates 746, each with an inwardly projecting portion 747, is supported by the top surface of the housing 738. Each of the plates 746 is secured to the housing 738 via a spaced pair of special bolts 748 which are mounted in downward direction freely through suitable openings formed by the plates and screwed into the housing in the manner indicated at 750 in Figure-43. The head 751 of each of the bolts 748 is spaced from the housing 738, and this distance is greater than the thickness of the plates, and the plates 746 are biased upwardly into contact with the heads 751 of the bolts 748 by compression springs 752 located between the housing 738 and the plates 746 and held in recesses 754 formed both in the housing and in the plates. A transverse pin 756 is mounted transversely through the enlarged head 751 of each of the special bolts 748 such that it lies on the top surface of the plates 746.

As described above, the bottom shapes are supported on the inwardly directed ridges 514 that are present on the walkways 466 and 468 due to the fact that these ridges extend in the longitudinally extending grooves 134 and 136 arranged in the opposite sides of the bottom shapes. These relations, previously indicated in previous figures of the drawings, are now again indicated in figure 39 in which the top shape is indicated with 112E and the bottom shape with HOE to indicate their positions in station E.

If the clamping heads 728, 730, 732, and 734 are in the non-clamping state, which will be described later, the housings 738 of each head have moved upward due to the biasing springs 744 and the inwardly projecting parts 747 of the clamping plates 746 will be loosely positioned in the longitudinally extending grooves 158 and 160 formed in the opposite sides of the top shape 112E. If the clamping heads are operated to move the heads down to the clamping positions, the housings 738 will move down to the solid line position shown in Figure 41, and the clamping plates 746 will move down with the housing 738. The inwardly projecting parts 747 of the clamping plates 746 will press downward on the bottom surfaces of the grooves 158 and 160 in the manner best seen in Figure 43. The clamping plates pivot around the transverse pins 756 of the special bolts against the upward bias. on the opposite sides of the clamping slots 746 is applied due to the compression springs 752. Therefore, a predetermined amount of clamping force will be applied to the composite shape.

Referring specifically to Figure 41, an angled crank rod 758 is mounted in the extended housing 740 on a hinge pin 759 extending through the elbow of the crank rod. A roller 760 is rotatably mounted on a short shaft 761 attached to the end of the angled crank rod 758. Another hinge pin 764 is carried by the projecting end of the load arm 765 of the angled crank rod 758 and the lower end of a clamping lever 768 is attached to the pivot pin 764. A pulling torque rod 770 is connected at one end to the pivot pin 764 of the load arm 765 of the angled crank rod 758 for reasons to be described hereinafter. The clamp lever 768 is curved longitudinally at 772 and extends upward through the extended housing 740 and through the opening 736 of the running beam 466. The top end of the clamping lever 768 is located in an opening 773 formed in the housing 738 and is supported on the hinge pin 774 rotated transversely in the housing such that the pin spans the opening 773 as best seen in Figure 42.

The above-described angled crank rod 758 and the clamping lever 768 are used to move the clamping cup 730 between the aforementioned non-clamping and clamping positions · When the clamping head 730 is in the upward non-clamping position, shown by dotted lines in Figure 41, then the curved crank rod 758 and the clamp lever 768 will be in the dotted lines positions shown in this figure. In the non-clamping position, the clamping lever 768 has moved upward due to the position of the crank rod 758 and the bias applied to the housing 738 by the compression springs 744. If the crank rod 758 is pivotally moved to the solid line position shown in Figure 41, it will pull the clamp lever 768 down and the clamp lever in turn will pull the housing 738 down. When this movement of the crank rod and clamping lever is performed, the hinge pin 764 will pass through the dead center, i.e., beyond an imaginary line through the pins 759 and 774 and will therefore inherently remain locked in the clamped position when absent. a positive force on the crank rod 758 which could move it to the dotted line position.

Referring again to Figure 38, it is noted that the clamping heads 728 and 732 of the running beams 466 and 468 are positioned in station E, respectively, and that the other clamping heads 730 and 734 are located in station F. This can be considered the forward position. of the molding group transport subsystem 774 within the framework of its reciprocating movements for transporting the molds from the station B to the station G. Therefore, if the mold group transporting means moves back, the clamping heads 728 and 732 will move to the station D and the clamp heads 730 and 734 will move to station E. From this, it appears that a pair of clamping heads will be located in the station E at each end of the reciprocating movement of the molding group transport subsystem means 474. Therefore, the station E as shown in Figs. 38 and 39 is provided with means 776 for operating the clamping heads 728, 730, 732 and 734 between their clamping and non-clamping positions.

The clamp head actuating means 776 includes a cylinder 778 fixedly attached to the downwardly facing surface of the cross plate 554 of the system frame 166. The reciprocating plunger 779 of the downwardly directed cylinder 778 is suitably connected to a rod 780 in the center of it. A pair of upright posts 781 and 782 are attached to both ends of the rod 780 and extend upwardly through suitable openings 783 formed in the transverse plate 554. Each of the posts 781 and 782 has a channel member 784 fixedly mounted at the top end of it. The channel members 784 have a C-shaped cross section and are positioned such that the internal open sides face each other.

When the molding group transport subsystem is in the forward position illustrated in Figure 38, the rollers 760 on the crank rods 758 of the clamping heads 728 and 732 will be located in the channel members 784 of the actuating means 776. Therefore, by the vertical movement of the channel elements 784 as a result of the actuation of the cylinder 778, the crank rods 758 of these clamping heads 728 and 732 are moved thanks to the aforementioned trigger couplings 770, which ensure simultaneous movement of the crank rods 758 of the other two clamping heads 730 and 734. One of the draw couplings 770 connects the crank rods 758 of the heads 728 and 730 while the other draw coupling 770 similarly connects the crank rods 758 of the klera heads 732 and 734.

When the molding group transport subsystem 474 has moved to its reverse position, the rollers 760 on the crank rods 758 of the clamping heads 730 and 734 will move in the channels 784 of the actuating means 776. Therefore, the clamping heads 728, 730 , 732 and 734 of the transport clamping means 726 are operable at either end of the back. and again moving the molding group transport subsystem 474.

If the transport clamping means 726 are actuated to apply a clamping pressure to the molds 110D and 112D (Figures 27 and 28), the first elevator structure 542 of station D has been moved upward as described above and the force heating blocks 564 and 566 will have moved up with the elevator. Thereafter, the molding group transport subsystem 774 is operated to move the composite shapes from station D to station E.

Station E Is a curing station, as previously noted. The shapes HOE and 112E are supported in station E on the heating plate 786 carried by the heating support plate 452 in the manner previously described. The heating plate 786 is maintained at a temperature lower than for the previously described heating plates in stations B, C and D to allow the encapsulated guide frames 102a (Figure 2) to cure.

As noted previously, the clamping pressure must be continuously applied to the molds during this curing. Therefore, the station E is provided with clamping force means 788 which take over the clamping force effect from the transport clamping means 726 when the molds HOE and 112E have been moved to the station E.

An elevator structure 790 is vertically movably supported in suitable guide rails 792 attached to the system frame 166. The elevator structure includes vertically extending corner posts 794 connected at their lower ends via a suitably constructed bottom plate 796 and connected at their upper ends by a frame structure 798. A pair of spaced force heating blocks 800 is mounted on the overlying frame structure 798 of the elevator 790 and is movable with the elevator into contact with the crest 112E. Blocks 800 are similar to the previously described force-exerting heating blocks 564 and 566 in station D, but are maintained at a lower suitable cure temperature by the heating elements 802 contained therein.

The movements of the elevator structure 790 are realized by a cylinder 804 mounted downward on the bottom surface of the transverse plate 454 and provided with a reciprocating plunger 806 attached to the bottom plate 796 of the elevator.

As will be described below, the shapes are moved stepwise by the various stations of the system 100 at predetermined precisely controlled time intervals. Curing of the workpiece starts in the station D, then continues in the station E and is completed in the first part of the time period in which the molds are present in the station F. Therefore, the previously described clamping heads 730 and 734 are used for exert the required clamping force on the molds while they are being transported from station E to station F.

As already noted, the station F is the mold release station, with the top mold 112F being moved upward away from the bottom mold HOF as shown in Figures 44 and 45. The station F includes a first elevator structure 810 with four corner rails 812 (two of which are shown) running vertically through suitable openings 813 in the transverse plate 454. The corner rails 812 are connected at their lower ends via a suitable bottom plate 814 and at their upper ends via a suitable frame structure 815 with a clamping plate 816 running transversely thereon. A cylinder 818 is fixedly mounted on the transverse plate 454 and runs downwardly thereof, and the reciprocating plunger 819 of the cylinder is centrally mounted on the bottom plate 814. The cylinder 818 is used for reciprocating the first elevator structure 810 in the vertical direction with the elevator supported by and movable vertically i s in the track members 820 suitably attached to the system frame 166.

A means 822 for pulling out and inserting the plungers 148 of the top form 112F is mounted on the tension plate 816 disposed at the top end of the first elevator structure 810. The plunger pulling means 822 includes a housing 823 located below the clamping plate 816 and plunger clamping means 824 mounted on the housing 823. The plunger clamping means 824 are similar in structure as well as in function to the previously fully described clamping means 626 contained in the station D. Thus, the clamping means 824 includes an opposed pair elongated jaws 825 and 826 each hingedly mounted on one of a pair of spaced axle rods 828 carried by the housing 823.

The clamping means 824 is actuated by a cylinder 830 suitably mounted on the outer surface of one of the corner rails 812 of the first elevator structure 810 in proximity to its bottom plate 814. An elongated rod 832 protrudes upwardly from the cylinder 830 and is connected at its top end to one end of a lever 833 via a hinge pin 834. The lever 833 is pivotally mounted between its two ends on the upper frame structure 815 of the elevator 810. a suitable hinge pin 835. A rod 836 is hingedly attached to the other end of the lever 833 and from there extends downward through a suitable passage 837 formed vertically through the housing 823. The lower ends of a pair of coupling elements 838 are pivotally attached to the upper ends of the jaws 825 and 826 and the coupling elements converge upwardly and are connected at their upper ends to the lower end of the rod 836 by a common pin 840.

As can be seen from the above, the clearing means 824 is substantially identical to the previously described clamping means 626. Therefore, a repetition of its functional description is considered unnecessary.

The first operation performed at the station F is to pull out the plungers 148 from the top mold 112F, the purpose of which is to detach the lower ends of the plungers from the sprues 108 (Figure 3) which during the casting operations station D are formed. The plungers are fully retracted from the top shapes 112F for inspection purposes and, if necessary, for cleaning purposes. Upon completion, the plungers 148 are re-inserted into the top molds 112F, the clamping means 824 is actuated to release the plungers, and the first elevator structure is moved to its highest position, shown in Figure 44, to provide sufficient space for further operations of station F.

The other operation of the station F, as already noted, is the detachment of the forms HOF and 112F. A second elevator structure 842 is disposed at station F and includes a pair of spaced end plates 844 and 846 each defining a central opening 845 (one of which is shown). The end plates each have a spaced pair of vertical rails 847 that are vertically movable through the openings 813 in the transverse plate 454. The end plates 844 and 846 are interconnected at their lower ends by a bottom plate 848, and their top ends are not linked for reasons which will become apparent from the following part of the description. A pair of cylinders 850 and 852 are mounted to project downward from cross plate 454 and their reciprocating plungers 854 are connected to the bottom plate 848 and to the second elevator structure 842. The second elevator 842 is disposed within the first elevator structure 810 such that its end plates 844 and 846 are supported by their corner rails 812 by the tracks 820 in which the first elevator can move. The second elevator 842 is provided with the inwardly directed ridges 856 and 858 on the end plates 844, respectively. 846, and these ridges are provided for demountable support of a carriage 860.

The carriage is provided with a housing 862 with opposing side plates 863 and 86.4 each having a longitudinally extending groove 865 formed therein. The ledge 856 of the second elevator 842 is positioned in the groove 865 of the side plate 863 and the other ledge 858 is positioned in the groove 865 of the other side plate 864 of the carriage. The fit between the ridges 856 and 858 and their respective grooves 865 is loose, so that the carriage 860 can move slidably over the ridges as will be described in detail below. The carriage housing 862 is provided with a pair of spaced shafts 866 and 868, which shafts can rotate in the pad blocks 870 shown in Figure 45. A pair of clamping elements 872 are fixedly mounted on the shaft 868 at some distance from each other. with the shaft rotating and an identical pair of oppositely aligned pair of clamping elements 873 (one of which is shown) is similarly mounted on the other shaft 866. Each of the clamping elements 872 and 873 has a block 874 transversely mounted on the protruding end of it. A slip torque assembly 876 is arranged in a manner to be described further for simultaneous rotation with the shafts 866 and 868 in opposite directions whereby the clamping elements 872 and 873 are rotated to and from each other. In the rotational position of the clamp members 872 and 873 shown in Figure 44 and in contact with the top form, the clamp members project downwardly from the carriage housing 862 on either side of the top form 112F and the blocks 874 are positioned in the longitudinal grooves 158 and 160 formed on opposite sides of the crest 112F. The slip clutch 876 functions to rotate the clamping elements 872 and 873 away from each other to the position in which the top shape is released and in which the blocks 874 are moved out of the grooves 158 and 160 of the top shape 112F.

The slip coupling 876 'is provided with a first lever 878, the ends of which are fixedly attached to the shaft 868 such that it extends upwards at an angle towards the other shaft 866 and is provided with a forked protruding end 879 in which a slot 880 is defined. A second lever 882 is fixed between its ends to the shaft 866. The second lever 882 has an angular position such that a first pin 883, which is perpendicular to one of its ends, is located in and can slide in the slot 880 of the forked end 879 of the first lever 878. A second pin 884 is disposed at the other end of the second lever 882 and is perpendicular thereto for reasons which will be discussed further below.

The carriage 860 further includes a pair of rack bars 885 and 886 mounted on the respective top edges of the side plates 863 and 864 of the carriage housing 862.

As described above, the carriage 860 is movable laterally between the station F and the station J to transport the crest shape 112F from the station F to the station J. If the carriage assembly 860 is located in the station F, then it is carried by ledges 856 and 858 of the second elevator structure 842, and the second elevator structure includes means 888 for operating the slip clutch 876 to rotate the clamping elements 872 and 873 into contact with or detached from the crest 112F . A cylinder 890 is suitably attached to the bottom plate 848 of the second elevator structure 842 to operate the elongated reciprocating rod 892. A head 893 with an inwardly opened lateral slot 894 is provided at the top end of the rod 892, and the second pin 884 of the lever 882 of the slip clutch 876 is positioned in the slot when the carriage is in station F.

Following the upward movement of the first elevator structure 810 in station F and after completion of the extraction and re-insertion of the plungers 148 out of resp. in the top shape 112F, as described above, the second elevator structure 842 is raised to its highest position. The carriage 860 is then moved laterally from the station J by a mechanism to be further described to station F. When the carriage is received at station F, it is supported by ridges 856 and 858 of the second elevator 842 as previously was noticed. Also the second pin 884 of the lever 882 of the slip clutch 876 will move into the slot 894 of the head 893 belonging to the clutch operating means 888. Then the ci. linder 890 operated to rotate clamping elements 872 and 873 to their spread positions where they are no longer in contact with the mold. The second elevator structure is then moved down to the position shown in Figure 44 and the cylinder 890 is again actuated to rotate the clamping elements 872 and 873 to their closed positions in contact with the mold. Then, the second elevator structure 842 is again moved up to its highest position so that the carriage will lift the top shape 12F from the bottom shape HOF. The bottom form HOF is left in place, carried by the heating plate 896 of the station F. With the carriage 860 in the raised position and the top form carried by the carriage 112F, the mechanism of the station J is further explained. describe mode operated for moving the car with the crest 112F out of the station F.

During the encapsulating casting process, which takes place in the assembled form, the encapsulated guide frames adhere almost invariably to both the top shape and the bottom shape as an inherent result of the process. Therefore, the carriage 860 includes at least a pair of actuator means 898 that operate the ejection plate 152 contained in the top form. As shown in Figure 5 and as previously described, apertures 155 are formed in the retaining plates 156 of the top shapes 112, and a downward force applied to the ejection plate 152 during the lifting of the top shape will cause the ejection plate of the top shape to move downwardly. to release guide frames from the mold.

The actuator means 898 disposed in the carriage 860 are identical and are best seen in Figure 46, each actuator means includes a pin 899 mounted in a suitable downwardly open recess 900 formed in the bottom surface of the carriage housing 862. The pin 899 is held in the recess 900 by a threaded plug 902 with an axial opening through which the shaft of the pin extends so that it protrudes downwardly from the carriage housing. A spring 904 is mounted in the recess 900 to bias the pin to its extended position. As soon as the lifting movement of the top form 112F begins, the ejection plate 152 of the top form will start to move freely and the pins 899 of the actuator means 889 will move downwards under the influence of their biasing springs in the openings 155 and thus the ejection plate 152 within the top form downwards. to push.

The bottom mold HOF, which contains the cured encapsulated guide frames, is conveyed from station F to station G by the above-described mold group transport subsystem means 474. The bottom mold denoted in reference 47 by the reference numeral 110G is placed on the heating plate 906 carried by the end of the previously described heating support plate 452. The heating plate includes a pair of spaced apart open grooves 907, the purpose of which will be described in more detail hereinafter.

As previously noted, the station G is the station where the guide frames 102A (Figure 3) are discharged from the bottom mold 110G, and this discharge operation requires, among other things, that the bottom mold 110G be lifted from the heating plate 906 for reasons which will be discussed in more detail below. .

The mechanism for lifting the bottom mold 110G includes the cylinder 908 mounted on the downward facing surface of the cross plate 454 of the system frame 166 so that it projects downward from the cross plate. The reciprocating plunger 910 of cylinder 908 is connected to a plate 912 between the opposite ends of the plate. A pair of push rods 914 are mounted on the opposite ends of the plate 912 and run upward from there. The push rods 914 pass through and are slidably movable into bores 916 formed by the cross plate 454, a guide plate 918 mounted on the cross plate, and by the insulating material 919 and the heating plate 906. The top ends of the push rods 914 are located therefore in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the bottom mold 110G.

As shown in Figure 5 and described in detail above, the bottom molds 110 include ejector plates 122 and ejector pins 124, and an upward force on the pins will cause the ejector plates 122 to break or release the encapsulated guide frames the bottom shapes.

The push rods 914 of the lifting mechanism present in the station G will push a pair of ejector pins 124 (Figure 5) of the bottom mold 110G upward and thereby release the guide frames 112A from the bottom mold when the cylinder 908 is actuated. The movement of the ejection plate 122 and the ejection pins 124 (Figure 5) of the bottom mold 110G is inherently limited by the mold structure itself. Therefore, when the upper limit of the movement of the ejector plate is reached, a continued upward movement of the push rods 914 will lead to the lifting of the entire bottom shape 110G.

The lifting of the entire bottom mold 110G brings the encapsulated guide frames 102a (Figure 3), which are still in the bottom mold 110G ", into contact with a special vacuum head 920 of a conveyor 922, which is operated to move the guide frames of the station G to station H. The conveyor 922 is structurally similar and functionally identical to the above fully described conveyor 360. In connection therewith, the conveyor 992 will be described only briefly because a complete description is considered unnecessary and therefore unnecessary.

Since the conveyor 922 is used to transport the guide frames from the station G to the station H, its workpiece receiving end is illustrated in Figure 47 and the workpiece delivery end is illustrated in Figure 48. The conveyor 922 includes a tubular beam 924 the opposite ends of which are attached to a first housing 925 and a spaced second housing 926. Negative static pressure is maintained within the tubular beam 924 by means of a suitable external source (not shown) coupled through a channel 928. The tubular beam 924, like the previously described transport means 960, is provided with a number of ports (not shown) in its bottom surface and with a flexible band 930. The first and second housings 925 and 926 are provided with sprockets (not shown) for reversibly driving a chain 932 by means of a suitable m (not shown) otor. Both ends of the chain 932 are connected to a carriage 934 which can move back and forth between the ends of the beam 924 via the motor driven chain 932.

The carriage 934, shown in Figure 47 at the workpiece receiving end of the conveyor 922, is again shown at the workpiece delivery end thereof in Figure 48, which is identical to the carriage 410 of the conveyor 360 for simplicity of description. but includes a special vacuum head 920 mounted on the bottom plate 936.

The vacuum conveyor 922 will therefore transport the encapsulated guide frames 102a to station H, which station, as already noted, is the station where excess moldings are removed and in which the two simultaneously processed guide frames 102a are separated by removing the cast rings 108 and the legs 109 which still connect the two guide frames. The special vacuum head 920 of the conveyor 922 not only transports the guide frames 102a to the station H but also interacts with the mechanisms in the station H to perform this removal operation.

The bottom plate 936 of the carriage 934, as shown in Figure 49, is provided with a vertical port through which negative static pressure is drawn into the central chamber 938 which is open at the bottom. A number of lateral passages 939 (two of which are shown) run from a central chamber 938 such that the negative static pressure is also drawn into a number of vertical recesses 940 (two of which are shown). The vertical recesses 940 are formed in combination via bottom open cavities formed in the bottom plate 936 and aligned with the top open cavities in the housing 942 of the special vacuum pump 920 which is detachably attached to the bottom plate 936 of the carriage 934.

A plurality of cylinders 944 are mounted on the bottom surface of the housing 942 and positioned to project centrally longitudinally from the housing at predetermined distances. The number of cylinders 944 is equal to the number of cast rings 108 formed in the system 100 during the encapsulation process, as will be described below. Each of the cylinders 944, as shown in Figure 49, has an axial bore extending therethrough with an enlarged countersink bore 945 formed at the downward end of the axial bore. A special bolt 946 is positioned axially in the barrel and the bolt has an axial bore 947 extending through it. The threaded top end of the special bolt 946 is screwed into a vertical bore 948 which extends centrally through the housing 942 and thus debouches at its upper end in the central chamber 938 of the base plate 936 of the carriage 934. Therefore, the negative static pressure will which is generated in the carriage 934 in the manner already described above, are also generated in the enlarged counter bores 945 at the lower ends of each of the cylinders 944.

The number of recesses 940 formed in cooperation by the bottom plate 936 and the housing 942 are arranged alternately on both sides of the centrally located cylinders 944 such that no two recesses 940 are aligned transversely in the housing. Rather, each of the number of recesses 940 is transversely aligned with one of the bores 950 of the number of bores interposed between the adjacent pairs of recesses 940 on each side of the central cylinders 944. A number of compressors 952 are each provided in one of the bores 950 such that their upper ends contact the downward facing surface of the carriage bottom plate 936 and the lower ends are nested in aligned blind bores 953 disposed in an upward facing surface of a deflector plate 954.

The deflector plate 954 has an elongated configuration and includes a plurality of bores 955 (one of which is shown) and which are provided. viewed centrally in the longitudinal direction of the plate 954 and positioned such that one of the cylinders 944 is in each case axially positioned in each of the bores 955. A sleeve 956 is fixedly mounted in each of the bores 955 and the deflection plate 954 can be in vertical direction to and from the housing 942 as will be described hereinafter such that each sleeve 956 can slide axially along its respective cylinder 944. As shown, the sleeves 956 have an axial length greater than the thickness of the deflector. plate 954 and there is thus a projecting end 957 at the top and a projecting 958 at the bottom.

Each of the plurality of recesses 940 provided in the housing 942 includes the head 959 of one of a plurality of special bolts 960 disposed therein. The special bolts 960 have axial bores 961 extending through them and their shafts extend downward through the axial bores with reduced diameter formed in the bottom of their respective recesses 940 and each bolt is screwed with its lower end into the deflector plate 954. As previously noted, the deflector plate 954 is movable vertically to and from the housing 942. The deflector plate 954 is biased to the downwardly projecting position shown in Figure 49 via the compression springs 954 and the downward movement is limited by the heads 959 of the special bolts 960 located in the bottom of the recesses 940 when the deflector plate 954 is in its downward biased position with the heads 959 moving upward in the onion recesses 940 when the deflector plate 954 is moved vertically toward the housing 942.

The lower ends of the special bolts 960 are, as already noted, screwed into the deflector plate 954 and the internally threaded bores 963 in which the bolts are mounted each terminate in a different recess 964, the recesses 964 being spaced apart arranged along the downward facing surface of the deflection plate. A negative static pressure will therefore also arise in each of these recesses.

When the carriage 934 is in the workpiece receiving position of the conveyor 922, as shown in Figure 49, and the bottom mold 110G is moved upwardly in the manner previously described, the cast rings 108 connecting the guide frames will come into contact with the lower ends 958 of the sleeves 956 disposed in the deflection plate 954 due to the negative static pressure. The encapsulated bodies 107 of the guide frames 102a will similarly contact the bottom surface of the deflector plate 954 due to the negative static pressure generated in the recesses 964.

The carriage 934 is then moved to the workpiece delivery end of the conveyor 922 and the contacted pair of mutually coupled guide frames 102a is transported with the carriage to a position in the station H above a mechanism 966 consisting of a turntable mechanism intended for removal of superfluous castings. ___

The turntable / removal mechanism 966 includes a bearing housing 968 with an axial bore 969, which housing 968 is mounted in the transverse plate 454 of the system frame 166 such that its bore 969 is open above and below the transverse plate. A shaft 970 is mounted in the bore 969 of the bearing housing 968 and is axially and rotatably movable therein, and the shaft 970 has an axial bore 971 formed therein. A gear 972 is fixedly mounted on the lower end of the shaft 970 and this gear 972 engages a drive gear 974 mounted on the output shaft 975 of a suitable motor 976 mounted so that it protrudes vertically upward from a plate 978 that is part of the system frame 166. Thus, the motor 976 is used for rotatably driving shaft 970 for reasons to be described in further detail.

A suitable cylinder 980 is mounted on the plate 978 so that it projects upwardly therefrom. The cylinder 980 can be operated to reciprocate a rod 982 passing through the axial bore 971 of the shaft 970. Suitable bushings 983 (one of which is shown) are provided in the bore 971 of the shaft 970 such that the rod 982 is axially movable therein and such that the shaft 970 can rotate about the rod 982.

A flat plate 984 is integrally formed on the upwardly projecting end of the shaft 970 and a pair of spaced plates 976 are mounted on the flat plate 984. An elongated housing 988 is suitably fixed to the top ends of the upright plates 986 such that they lie in a plane transverse to the upright plates. The housing 988 is provided with a number of suitable bores spaced centrally in the longitudinal direction of the housing and each of these bores has a piston 990 that can move axially therein. For reasons which will become apparent from the following description, the number of pistons 990 mounted in housing 988 is equal to the number of cylinders 944 carried at the bottom by housing 942 of the above-described vacuum head 920, the pistons 988 each are aligned in vertical directions on one of the cylinders 944 when the carriage 934 is at the workpiece delivery end of the conveyor 922.

The plurality of pistons 990 are normally positioned to protrude downwardly from the housing 998 and each piston is connected to the threaded top end. a bolt 991 such that the bolts 991 protrude axially downward from their respective pistons. The bolts 991 each have an enlarged head 992 located below the downward facing surface of the plate 993 so that the shafts of the bolts each pass freely upwardly through suitable openings formed in the plate 993. A coil spring 994 is concentrically positioned on the shaft from each of the bolts 991 and the ends of the springs 994 contact the downward facing surface of the pistons 990 and the upward facing surface of the plate 993, so that the pistons 990 with the plates 993 are biased apart. The plate 993 rests on the upwardly facing ends of upstanding arms of an upwardly opened U-shaped cross-section channel element 996 located between the spaced upstanding plates 986 carried by the flat plate 984 formed on the upper end of the shaft 970. The channel element 996 includes a blind hole 997 opened at the bottom in which the reduced diameter upper end 998 of the reciprocating rod 982 is received snugly.

A pair of spaced cleats 1000 is suitably mounted on each side edge of the housing 988 and the shafts 1002 and 1004. are carried by each longitudinally aligned pair of cleats 1000. In this manner, the shafts 1002 and 1004 extend longitudinally through the housing 988 and are above and spaced from a different longitudinally extending side edge of the housing 988. An inwardly extending elongated plate-shaped flange 1006 is hingedly supported by shaft 1002 and an identical inwardly extending plate-shaped flange 1008 is hingedly supported by the other shaft 1004. Flanges 1006 and. 1008 are pivotally biased into the horizontal positions shown in Figure 49 by push pins 1010 carried in the housing 988 and spring biased upwardly through the springs 1011 as shown. Each of the hingedly mounted plate-shaped flanges 1006 and 1008 has a plurality of recesses 1012 (one of which is shown in each flange) spaced longitudinally in the upwardly facing surface.

To remove the excess moldings, the cylinder 980 is actuated to push the rod 982 upward, with the result that the pistons 990 move upwardly into contact with the underside of the cast-on rings 108. As a result, each of the rings 108 is clamped between the downwardly projecting end 958 of the sleeves 956 and the pistons 990. Continued upward movement of the rod 982 will push the deflector plate 954 upwardly against the bias applied by the springs 952 and a flange 1014 mounted on the rod 982 will move into contact with the downward facing surface of the gear 972 resulting in an upward movement of the shaft 970. This movement of the shaft 970 lifts the housing 988, moving the inwardly projecting flanges 1006 and 1008 into contact with the encapsulated bodies 107 of the guide frames 102a, each encapsulated body 107 being snugly received in one of the n the recesses 1012 in the flanges. If the limit of the upward movement of the sleeves 956 of the deflector plate 954 is reached by the upper ends 957 of the sleeves 956 coming into contact with the downward facing surface of the housing 942, the deflector plate 954 will move further upward until the downward facing preload force of the springs 952 becomes greater than the upwardly directed preload forces applied to the hinge flanges 1006 and 1008 by the spring-loaded push pins 1010. If this happens, the flanges 1006 and 1008 will pivotally move to the downwardly converging positions shown in Figure 50 and the guide frames 102a will be moved similarly with respect to the captured rings 108. This action will cause the rings 108 and legs 109 (Figure 3) to break off the guide frames 102a at the points where the legs 109 are attached. to the guide frames.

After completion of the removal operation in the manner described above, the removal mechanism is moved down by reverse actuation of the cylinder 980. The rings 108 with their attached legs 109 drop down between the hinge flanges 106 and 108 and can be discharged with any suitable removal means . The separated guide frames 102a remain supported on the hinge flanges 1006 and 1008 which return to their normal horizontal positions as the removal mechanism moves downward.

The separated guide frames 102a are now ready to be transported to the station I, and the turntable function of the mechanism 966 is activated as part of the transfer operation and thus will be described in connection with the description of station I.

Station I, shown in Figs. 51 and 52, includes a conveyor 1016 that moves the guide frames 102a separated from each other at station H into station I and deposits them in the finished product warehouses 1018 as in the following will be described.

The conveyor 1016 is similar to the conveyors 360 and 922 previously described, except for the vacuum head 1020. Since the conveyor 1016 is similar to the conveyors previously described, it is considered unnecessary to repeat the description completely. Therefore, the conveyor 1016 will only be described to the extent deemed necessary to properly understand its structure and function.

The conveyor 1016 includes a tubular beam 1022, both ends of which are attached to a first housing 1023 and a spaced second housing 1024. A negative static pressure is generated in the beam 1022 by the action of a suitable spaced (not structure shown via a channel 1025. The tubular beam 1022, like the previously described conveyor 360, is provided with a number of ports (not shown) in its bottom surface and a deflectable belt 1026 which can selectively open these ports as previously described. The first and second housings 1023 and 1024 have sprockets (not shown) intended for reversibly moving a chain 1027 by means of a suitable drive motor (not shown). Both ends of the chain 1027 are coupled to a carriage 1028 for reciprocating the carriage longitudinally of the tubular beam 1022.

The carriage is identical to the previously described carriage 410 of the conveyor 360 and therefore supplies a negative static pressure to the carriage bottom plate 1029 and thus into the vacuum head 1020 suitably mounted to the carriage bottom plate 1029.

The vacuum head 1020 includes a housing 1030 with an internal chamber 1031 and a channel 1032 extending laterally therein. A recording head 1034 is mounted on the bottom surface of the channel in the vicinity of the closed end of the channel. The recording head 1034 is in the form of an elongated flat plate with a plurality of ports 1035 (one of which is shown) spaced longitudinally apart. Each of the ports 1035 debouches in the channel 1032 at the top and at the bottom in a transversely extending recess 1036 which debouches at the bottom on the bottom surface of the recording head 1034. It will be from the above description of the recording head 1034 and from FIG. 52, it should be understood that the receiving head 1034 is intended to receive a single encapsulated guide frame 102a when the head is positioned such that each recess 1032 thereof is above one of several encapsulated bodies 107 (one of which is shown) of the guide frame. 102a.

If the carriage 1028 is located at the workpiece receiving end of the conveyor 1016, i.e., on the left side in Figure 51, then the receiving head 1034 will be positioned directly above the turntable / removal mechanism 966 of the station H due to the laterally extending channel. 1032. This positioning of the pickup head 1034 of the conveyor sorter 1016 can of course only be accomplished if the carriage 934 of the conveyor 922 is moved from its workpiece delivery position shown in Figure 48 to its workpiece pickup position shown in Figure 47.

If the carriage 1028 of the conveyor 1016 is located above the turntable / removal mechanism 966, the mechanism 966 is moved upward as described above to contact one of the encapsulated guide frames 102a with its recording head 1034. The turntable / removal mechanism 966 is then lowered and the conveyor 1016 is operated to transport the carriage 1028 with the hanging guide frame 102a to station I for depositing the guide frame in the warehouse 1018 as will be described later. While delivery of the first guide frame 102a is taking place, the turntable / removal mechanism 966 is rotated through 180 ° by actuation of the motor 976. This puts the remaining guide frame 102a in the correct position to be received by the recording head 1034 when the above is described. pick-up and delivery operation of the conveyor 1016 for the remaining guide frame 102a is repeated.

The rotary action of the turntable / removal mechanism 966 will turn the second guide frame 102a half a turn so that it is now exactly oriented as when it was introduced into the system 100 through the product feed magazines 190 and before it was turned half a turn by the receiving and arranging mechanism 220 in station A. The incoming guide frames 102 (Figure 2) are arranged as previously described at station A for the processing purposes in the system 100 and are now returned to their original sequential and positional configuration for further group processing and for facilitating the further processing following encapsulation encapsulation within the system 100.

Referring again to Figure 51, the finished product magazines 1018 are fed empty into the system 100, and after loading, they are removed from the system by a warehouse transport subsystem 1040 similar to the previously described input warehouse transport and discharge subsystem 170. The only The difference between the two warehouse transport subsystems 170 and 1040 is that the subsystem 1040 does not require a cylinder 1017 (Figure 6) and movable push rod 218 to push out the validation frames 102 from the input magazines 190. Because the warehouse transport subsystems 170 and 1040 are otherwise identical The following description of subsystem 1040 will be short because a repetition of the detailed structure and operation is considered unnecessary.

The empty magazines 1018 are introduced into the system 100 by an endless belt conveyor 1042 supported by a spaced-apart pair of rollers 1043 (one of which is shown) the illustrated roll of which is mounted on a drive shaft 1044 rotatably mounted in the frame structure 1045. An electric stepper motor 1046 is coupled by rotatably driving the shaft 1044 and thus the roller 1043 and the belt 1042. A carriage 1048 is used to move the incoming empty magazines 1018 one at a time, to a high loading position. The carriage 1048 is reciprocated in a vertical direction by an elongated screw 1049 driven by a reversible motor 1050 mounted on the frame 1045, the carriage being movable over a guide rod 1052.

When one of the magazines is moved up to the described loading position, it is located directly under the pickup head 1034 of the conveyor 1016 and the guide frames 102a simply fall into the magazine which, as shown, has a trap-like structure that is on the top and open at the bottom.

When the magazines are filled, they are removed from the system 100 by a wheeled cart 1054 which can move over a pair of spaced tracks 1055 mounted on the frame 1045 at the higher loading level. The carriage 1054 can reciprocate by any suitable means (not shown), such as the cylinder 196 (Figure 7) used to move the carriage 192 of the input warehouse subsystem 170. Reference is again made to Figures 44 and 45, in which the top shape 112F was lifted from the bottom shape HOF in preparation for the transfer of the top shape from the station F to the station J. The carriage 860 to which via the hingedly movable clamping elements 872 and 873 crest shape 112F, as described above, rests on ridges 856 and 858 of the second elevator structure. When this second elevator structure 852 is moved to its highest position, the rack bars 885 and 886 of the carriage 860 will engage with a pair of rack pinions 1060 and 1061 that are part of a lateral top-form transport mechanism 1062. The transport mechanism 1062 can be operated to move the carriage 860 and the top form 112F as a whole from the station F to the station J and then return the car to the station F if the top form has been removed therefrom as will be described below. .

A pair of spaced plates 1063 and 1064 are suitably attached to the system frame 166 so that they extend laterally from station F to station J. Each of the plates is provided with an inwardly directed ledge 1065 and these ridges extend in line with ridges 856 and 858 of the second elevator structure 842 when this elevator is in its highest position. The above toothed pinions 1060 and 1062 are mounted on a shaft 1066 extending between plates 1063 and 1064 and rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 1067 attached to the plates. A reversible drivable motor 1068 is mounted on the plate 1064 and is used to rotatably drive the shaft 1066 such that the pinions 1060 and 1061 cooperate with the respective rack bars 885 and 886 to slide the carriage 860 from ridges 856 and 858. from the second elevator 842 from the station F over the ridges 1065 of the plates 1063 and 1064 to the station J. As indicated by dotted lines at 1070 in Figure 44, the top form 112J hangs on the carriage 860 so that it is below the lower edge 1071 of the plate 1074 and therefore it can pass under this plate in the station K as will be described later.

Reference is now made to Figures 53 to 57 showing a longitudinal top shape transport mechanism 1074 for moving the top shapes from station J through stations K and L to station M.

If the crest shape 112J, indicated by dotted lines in Figure 53, is moved to station J in the manner described above, the carriage will be positioned such that the longitudinal grooves 158 and 160 (Figure 4) are provided in both opposite sides thereof, are laterally moved and aligned with a pair of spaced rails 1076 and 1077 fixedly attached to the system 266 such that they pass through stations K and L.

The longitudinal top shape transport mechanism 1074 functions in the manner to be described for sliding the top shape 112J from the clamping elements 872 and 873 (Figure 44) of the carriage 860 to the rails 1076 and 1077 and sliding the sliding motion of the top shape over these rails through stations K and L and then pushing the top shape from rails 1076 and 1077 into station M. ·

A roof sheet 1078 is suitably mounted to the system frame 166 above stations J, K and L, and a number of posts 1079 are spaced longitudinally from the roof sheet 1078 approximately near an edge thereof to support the side rail 1077. which is permanently attached to it. Similarly, the other side rail 1076 is supported by special posts 1080, 1081 and 1082 mounted vertically to the roof sheet 1078 spaced therefrom in the longitudinal direction of the roof sheet near its other edge. In addition to the bearing function for the side rail 1076, the special posts 1080, 1081 and 1082 each include a pair of spaced openings 1083 with suitable bushings therein in which a first elongated rod 1084 is positioned in and sliding. moving in a first aligned group of openings 1032 and a second elongated rod 1086 similarly carried in and able to move in the outer group of aligned openings

The first and second rods 1084 and 1086 are mutually mutilated via a plurality of longitudinally spaced transverse brackets 1088 with a rack 1090 mounted on an adjacent pair of these brackets 1088 as best seen in Figures 53 and 57. These same two figures also show how the reversible drivable motor 1092, which is mounted on the pillars 1093 above the roof plate 1078. The motor 1092 has a pulley 1094 on its output shaft and the pulley 1094 is coupled through a ring 1095 for Driving a pulley 1096 mounted on the top end of a short shaft 1098. The short shaft 1098 is rotatably mounted in a bearing housing 1099 which is attached to the roof plate 1078 and partially passes through this plate. A tooth pinion 1100 is rigidly mounted to the downward end of the short shaft 1098 and engages the gear rod 1090. It will be appreciated that the motor 1092 is used to reciprocate the coupled rods 1084 and 1086 to reasons that will become clear from the following.

A plurality of levers 1102 are fixedly attached to the first elongated rod 1084 for movement therewith, each lever positioned adjacent one of the various cleats 1088 to which the rods are coupled. As best seen in Figure 54, which illustrates one of the levers 1102 as an example, each of the levers includes a collar-shaped body 1103 which extends downwardly from the rod 1084 and is attached to an elongated rod 1104. As shown in Figure 53, the rod 1104 extends mainly through the stations J, K and L and due to the fact that the rod is mounted on the levers 1102 it can move back and forth with the rods 1084 and 1086. A number of T-shaped clamping elements 1106 is fixedly attached to the rod 1104 at predetermined intervals and they can move with the rod.

The above-described reciprocating components of the longitudinal top-mold transport mechanism 1074 can be reciprocated to transport the top-shape 112J in steps. In other words, a cycle of the reciprocating components will transport the top shape 112J from the station J to the station K. The next cycle will transfer the shape from the station K to the station L, and the subsequent cycle will transporting shape from station L to station M. This cyclical stepwise transport is accomplished by selectively rotating the first rod 1084 to move the drivers 1106 in and out of contact with the top shapes.

O

As described above and as seen in Figures 5, 54 and 55, each of the top shapes 112 is provided with a slot 162 extending centrally in one of its side walls such that it descends from the longitudinal groove 160 therein. The drivers 1106 are rotated in and out of these slots 162 in the manner shown in Figure 55, by the mechanism best seen in the same Figure. A cylinder 1108 is mounted downwardly on the plate 1109 supported on suitable posts 1110 such that it is spaced above the roof plate 178. The reciprocating plunger 1112 of the cylinder extends through the roof plate and through a vertical bore 1113 formed in the special pillar 1081. The bore 113 debouches at its upper end in the downwardly-opened chamber 1114 formed in the pillar 1081 with a tie rod 1115 mounted on the drooping end of the plunger 1112, which located in the chamber 1114. A tie rod 1116 is located in the chamber 1114 and the tie rod 1115 is coupled to the protruding end of the crank rod by means of a suitable hinge pin 1117. The crank rod 1116 has a bore 1118 in which the elongated rod 1084 is mounted such that the rod is axially slidable in the bore 1118 of the crank rod. The crank rod 1116 is secured against axial movement with the rod 1084 by means of one of the side walls 1119 of the special post 1081 and an access cover 1120 detachably attached thereto. As best seen in Figure 56, the elongated rod 1084 has an elongated keyway 1122 disposed therein, and a key 1124 is fixedly mounted in the bore 1118 of the crank rod 1116 so as to insert into the keyway 1122 of the rod 1084. As the rod 1084 is moved axially in the bore of the crank rod 1116, then the keyway will slide along the key 1024 and when the cylinder 1108 is actuated, the crank rod 1116 will rotate the rod 1084 thanks to the cooperation between the key and the keyway. The rotation of the rod 1084 will pivotally move the levers 1102 and 1104 and thereby the drivers 1106 between the positions shown in dotted lines and solid lines in Figure 5.

As noted above, stations K and L are used to inspect the top molds 1102 and clean them if necessary, and to heat the top molds to return them to the correct temperature for reuse. The reheating of the top shapes is carried out by vertically movable heating means which are present in the station K and identical heating means 1128 which are present in the station L. Since the heating means 1126 and 1128 are identical, it will be clear that the following description of the heating means 1128 which can best be seen in figure 54 also applies to the heating means 1126.

The vertically movable heating means 1128 includes a cylinder 1130 mounted on the top surface of the roof sheet 1078 so that it extends upward therefrom. The reciprocating plunger 1182 of the cylinder 1130 is centrally connected with its top end to a plate 1134 which is provided with four shafts 1136, each of which is mounted at the bottom of the plate at different angles to the plate. The shafts 1136 extend downward through the roof plate 1078 with guide sleeves 1138 mounted to the roof plate. Each longitudinally aligned pair of shafts 1136 has a heating block 1140 attached to its drooping ends. The pair of heating blocks 1140 spaced laterally from each other is therefore movable into contact with the crest shape 112L for maximum heat transfer when the mold is in place in the station L and can move vertically upward to pass the top shape to the next station in the manner described above.

Station M, as shown in Figures 23 and 24, has a pair of vertically disposed plates 1142 and 1143 suitably attached to system frame 166. Plate 1142 positioned between stations L and M is provided with an opening 1144 through which opening the previously described longitudinal top shape transport mechanism 1074 (Fig. 53) pushes the top shape out of station L onto a lateral top shape transport mechanism contained in station H.

Each of the plates 1142 and 1143 is provided with an inwardly projecting rim 1145 on which the aforementioned carriage 476 rests such that the carriage can slide over these edges. The carriage 476 has a pair of spaced-apart engaging elements 1146 that project downwardly such that the crest shape 112M is suspended from these engaging elements. When the crest shape is pushed into the station M, the longitudinal grooves 158 and 160 of the crest shape 112M will slide on the engaging elements. A pair of rack bars 1148 and 1149 are mounted on the top surface of the carriage 476 near its opposite side edges and these rack bars engage one pair of tooth pinions 1150 and 1151, respectively. The rack pinions 1150 and 1151 are spaced apart on a shaft 1152 and this shaft is rotatably driven by a reversible drivable motor 1154 mounted on the plate 1143. The motor 1154 is operated to drive the carriage 476 with the suspended top form 112M from the station M in the station C in preparation for the assembly on the bottom mold 110C in the station C. If the carriage 476 is driven in this manner, it will slide over the edges 1145 to the aligned edges 478 of the elevator structure 480 of the station C. When the elevator 480 is lowered as described above and the top shape is removed from the carriage 476, then it returns to the high position using the eleva tor structure 480 and is transported back to station M by the reverse action of motor 1154.

If the bottom mold 110G is discharged in the station G as described above, then a bottom mold recirculation subsystem is used for sequentially moving the bottom mold from the station G through the stations M, 0, P, Q, R and S and returning the mold to station B for reuse. The bottom molding recirculation subsystem is shown in Figure 58 and includes a first lateral bottom molding conveying mechanism 1160, a longitudinal bottom molding conveying mechanism 1162 and a second lateral bottom molding conveying mechanism 1164. The first and second lateral conveying mechanisms 1160 and 1164 are identical as best. can be seen in Figures 20, 21, 47 and 58, and each includes a carriage 1166 which can be moved leg and forth by drive means 1168 together with. a pair of guide rods 1170. As best seen in Figures 20 and 21, the carriages 1166 each include a housing 1172 with a suitable pair of spaced bores 1173 in which the guide rods 1170 are positioned such that the carriages are along respective rod pairs can be moved. An upright block 1174 is mounted on the top surface of each of the housings 1172 so as to be positioned transversely with respect to the articulation rods 1170 and a pair of forks 1176 are each mounted on one different end of each of the upright blocks. The vprks 1176 are spaced above the guide rods 1170 and extend in the same direction. The guide rods 1170 are fixedly mounted in suitable carrier blocks 1178 which are mounted at the opposite ends of the guide rods and the carrier blocks 1178 are mounted on the top surface of the cross plate 454.

The drive means 1168 for each of the lateral bottom shape conveying mechanisms 1160 and 1164, as best shown in Figures 20 and 21, comprise a pair of spaced plates 1180 and 1181 mounted downwardly. to the transverse plate 454. A suitable reversible drive motor 1182 is mounted on the plate 1181 and a pulley 1183 is mounted on its output shaft. A belt 1184 extends over the pulley 1183 and over a driven pulley 1186 which provides the rotational input power to a reducing gear transmission 1188 mounted in the space between the drop plates 1180 and 1181. The output gear 1190 of the gear transmission 1188 protrudes upward through a slot 1182 which is provided in cross plate 454 and engages the rack. 1194. The rack rod 1194 is mounted on the housing 1172 so that it runs parallel to the guide rods 1170 ..

The first lateral bottom mold transport mechanism 1160 is actuated by moving the bottom mold 110G out of the station G by moving the carriage 1166 toward the station. The forks 1176 will move in the slots 907 (Figure 47) of the heating plate 906 with the bottom mold 110G being lifted above the heating plate by the action of the cylinder 908 before the forks 1176 move into the slots 907. In this position, the bottom mold 110G is lowered onto the forks 1176 and the carriage is operated to be transported back to the starting position shown in solid lines in Figure 58.

To load the bottom mold HOS (Figure 20) into station B, the lateral bottom mold transport mechanism 1164, which has received the bottom mold HOS on its forks 1176, from the longitudinal bottom mold transport mechanism 1162, as will be described later, is moved in the direction of station B. When the forks 1176 enter the slots 457 formed in the heating plate 45, which had been lifted to one of its two higher positions, before the forks insert into the slots, the cylinder 458 is operated to raise the heating plate 450 over a short distance which lifts the bottom mold 110B out of the forks 1176. The carriage 1166 is then retracted to its starting position and the cylinder 458 is operated to lower the heating plate 450 and the bottom mold 110B into the correct operating position in the station B.

The longitudinal bottom mold transport mechanism 1162 is the same as the mold group transport mechanism 474 fully described above (Figure 26) except that the longitudinal bottom mold transport mechanism 1162 is not provided with the transport clamping means (Figure 38). Because of this similarity, a detailed description of the mechanism 1162 is considered unnecessary. Briefly, the bottom mold entry end 1196 of the longitudinal bottom mold transport mechanism 1162 is disposed adjacent to and lateral to the lateral bottom mold transport mechanism 1160, and the output end 1198 is positioned adjacent to and lateral to the lateral bottom mold transport mechanism 1164. A pair of spaced running beams 1200 and 1202 are interconnected by a number of yoke members 1203. A drive mechanism (not shown), similar to the mechanism shown and described in the mold group conveying mechanism 474, is located below the cross plate 454 and is coupled such that the runners 1200 and 1202 can be moved back and forth in steps. In addition, a mechanism 1162 is provided with roller lifting mechanisms 1204 that can be operated to move the treads up and down so that the bottom shapes 110-0, HOP, H0Q and HOR can be moved up and down relative to the heating plate 1206 of the station 0, the heating plate 1208 of the station P, the heating plate 1210 of the station Q and the heating plate 1212 of the station R as it is transported by these stations via the transport mechanism 1162. As shown, the heating plates 1206, 1208, 1210 and 1212 each supported on an elongated heating support plate 1214 in the manner previously described.

Referring to the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the system 100 can be operated to perform the functions of each station simultaneously and continuously. For example, the guide frames 102 can be loaded into the bottom mold 110B in the station B at the same time that the top mold 112C is placed on the top of the bottom mold 110C in the station C. It will therefore be appreciated that the time relationships between the various operations of the system 100 are very important. Although many things need to be taken into account when determining the operational time relationships in the system 100, the curing time of the encapsulating materials is of primary importance.

To ensure an understanding of the time relationships within the system 100, the following example is given. For example, if an encapsulating material with a curing time of about 30 seconds is used in the system, an operational time base of 15 seconds can be used throughout the system. The 15 second time base is divided in the following manner. All operations of the various stations can be completed within 10 seconds, and the transport functions between the stations take 5 seconds. In other words, the composite forms 110D and 112D will arrive, for example, in the station D at time 0, and the functions to be performed in that station will be finished 10 seconds later and at this 10 seconds time the transport of the composite forms 110D and 112D to the station E take place and this will be completed at the 15 second time. These time relationships are used in each station of the system 110 and therefore the functions will be performed simultaneously in all stations and the transport between the stations will also take place simultaneously. With regard to the curing of the encapsulating material given in this example, it is noted that the curing starts at about the 10 second time in station D, that is, 5 seconds of curing time have already elapsed when the molds arrive in the station E and a total of 15 seconds of curing time will pass when the transport of the molds to station F begins, and a total of 20 seconds will pass before the molds arrive at station F. When the functions of station F are completed, another 10 seconds have passed and must be added to the above total of 20 seconds, resulting in a total of 30 seconds of curing time elapsing.

Although the principles of the invention have now been made clear from illustrated embodiments, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications of structure, configurations, mutual dimensions, elements, materials and components are put into practice of the invention may also be used otherwise, especially when used in specific environments and with special operating requirements without departing from the principles of the invention. The appended claims therefore also include all these modifications without departing from the limits of the invention. ·

Claims (3)

1. A multi-station casting system for use with bottom molds and top molds assembled into mold groups, which system includes means for placing at least one article in a cavity located within said bottom and top molds, means for inserting encapsulating material into said cavity to encapsulate at least a portion of said article in liquid form, with a workpiece station for receiving a plurality of articles from an external source, conveyor means having a receiving end in said workpiece station and a delivery end in the bottom molding loading station, which conveyor means are adapted to move at least one vertical from the workpiece station to the bottom molding loading station and to load the article in the received bottom mold; a mold assembly station for receiving the loaded bottom mold from the bottom mold loading station, comprising means for receiving a preheated top mold and moving it into the assembled position on the received loaded bottom mold to realize a mold group, characterized by said conveyor : a) a carriage capable of reciprocating movement between a receiving end and the delivery end of the conveyor; b) a recording head mounted on said carriage to move therewith; and c) a vacuum mechanism associated with said carriage and said take-up head, said vacuum mechanism operable to adhere the workpieces arranged side by side by the arranging means to said take-up head when the carriage is at the take-up end of the conveyor, and further, can be operated to release the attached workpieces from the pick-up head when the carriage has been moved to the delivery end of the conveyor for loading the released 73 workpieces side by side in the bottom mold that can be received at the bottom mold loading station. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom mold loading station is provided with means for moving the bottom mold received therein up and down and into a position directly below the pick-up head of the conveyor for loading in the bottom mold the workpieces arranged side by side. The conveyor mechanism for transporting articles for use in the system according to claim 1, characterized by a) an elongated tube with a bore and a plurality of longitudinally spaced ports; b) an elongated band resting against the tube to close said plurality of ports, said band being bent out of contact with the ports of said tube; c) a carriage supported on the tube defining a chamber enclosing part of the tire and part of the tube; d) means coupled to the carriage for reciprocating the carriage longitudinally of the tube; e) holding means mounted in the chamber of the carriage engaging the tire in spaced apart positions; f) deflecting means mounted in the chamber of the carriage, which means are in contact with that part of the tire between said spaced positions, the retaining means engaging the tire such that part of the tire no longer has a gate closing function whereby a bore of the tube communicates with the chamber of the carriage; g) a pick-up head that is releasably carried by the housing and is provided with at least one article-engaging recess communicating with the chamber of the carriage; and h) means coupled to the tube for selectively generating a negative static pressure therein. o%