US2137217A - Slush casting machine - Google Patents

Description

Nov. l5, 1938. o. Rl-EG sLUsH CASTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 9, 19:5#

5 Sheets-Sheet J llnlllmllllllllll I "vil Inv. Il;

'452 afg ATTORNEY Nov. l5, 1938. -o. RIEG SLUSH CASTING' MACHINE Filed Jan. 9, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. l5, 1938. o, mEq 2,137,217-

lSIgUSH CASTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 9, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY Patented Nv.15,193s y 'l Y YZBLZi'Z narranA STATES PATENT orrics Otto Rieg, Newark, N. J., assigner to The A. C.

- Gilbert Company, New Haven,Y Conn., a corpov ration of Maryland Application January' s, 1937, serial No. 119,762 e claims. (olaz-57) This invention relates to apparatus for making A further object is to provide interlocking decastings particularly of `metals `or other moldvices which shall hold the mold sections against able materials'having a low melting point and turning movement while the sections are sepawhich are therefore quick to solidify within a rated-for removing an article which has been cast '5Y mold. Such metals or materials are most suittherewithin, and which shall cooperate with the 5 able'for use by an unskilled operator in the makaforesaid safety devices to preclude discharge of ing of toy castings and other small articles. molten material from the crucible atthat time. It is an object of the present-invention to AV further object is to provide stops for limiting Y u provide an apparatus which shall facilitate vthe the movements of various parts of the apparatus l l0 making of castings of this nature by persons who when shifted to their'respefctive stations for car- 10 have little or no knowledge of the founding` art ryingrout the casting operations above described. and an apparatus which may safelybe used, even A further object is to provide a removable reby children, in the home. ceptacle to receive the,v unsolidiiied casting ma- Another object of the invention is to provide Van terial when it isdumped out of the mold cavity 15 apparatus of this nature'capable of producing andl to equip such receptacle with slopingwalls hollow or slush castings of lighter weight than adaptedvto cause the liquid material discharged solid castings, this feature being ,desirableV in toy from the mold cavity to solidify within the receprsoldiers, ornamental statuettes and various other tacl'e in the general shape of an ingot whereby articles not required to have an accurate contheingot may easily be removed from the recepfiguration of their hollow interiors. Also a greattacle by overturning the latter and redeposited 20 er number of hollow or slush castings can-be proin the crucible for repeated delivery to the mold duced from a given supply of molding metal or cavity in liquid form. t I material, than is the case where only solid cast- A still further object is to provide means disings can be produced. Y posed to come in contact with the liquid casting A further object is to provide an apparatus for material received from the mold cavity by the 25 operating separable and rotatable mold sections receptacle, which shall ca use to be formed on the by the use of a' single hand so`that the other surface of the ingot, depressed or raised markings hand of the operator may be free to control the constituting a name, figures` or the like, or a pouring of the liquid material to be cast in consymbol of any kind' which may be useful in laterl junctionwith the opening, closing, and dumping identifying the ingots formed by a given kind of 30 action of the mold sections for making hollow casting materialqor for 'propagating the tradecastings. By the speed of operation thus made mark or advertising marks of the manufacturer. lpossible, I avoid the slowness of in and out pour- A still further object is to provide in a toggle ing operations inherentfin apparatus for prolinkage mechanism employed for pressing toducing slush castings as heretofore known, and gether cooperative mold sections, parts capable 35 am able to work with more quickly solidifying of resilientlyyielding to a'limitedextent for opmaterials and produce a greater variety of more posing the overcentering action of Athe toggle perfect and uniformcastings. mechanism and holding the 'mold sections to- A further object is Vto provideV mechanism gether. p Y y 40 whereby the mold sections may be opened, closed, A still further-object is to construct an appara- 4.o

andturned to dump out the unsolidied content tus ofthe *type described with parts of sufficient of the mold for producing a slush casting, all by ruggednessto withstand hard and constant usage the manipulation of a single operating handle. so that the apparatus may be used as a machinel A further object is to provide mechanism adaptfor the rapid production of uniform slush casted automatically to maintain the mold sections ings in the commercial production of same, if 45 in closed'relationship while' they are being rturned desired.

to dump out unsolidified casting material from The foregoing and other objects will appear in the mold cavity. ,greater particular fromtthe following detailed A further object is to provide safety devices description which has reference to the appendcooperative between the mold operating mechaed drawings, wherein: i e 50 nism` and certain mechanism-which controls the Fig.. l is a plan view showing in suitable acpouring or feeding of casting material from a tual size one possible embodiment of the present crucible into the mold, to insure that no molten improvements in casting apparatus, the rear exmetal or material shall be poured or fed from tremity'of the machine being broken away and the crucible when the mold sections are open. the actual widthfof the base or platform being 55 condensed. The complementary mold sections are shown in closed relationship beneath the pouring spout of the crucible.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking from the right closed.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary View of the operating mechanism for the slidable mold section taken in vertical section on the plane 3-3 in Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows and by overcentering action of the toggle mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a front View of the apparatus showing the parts positioned as in Fig. 2 and showing a portion of the base and side wall of the receptacle cup broken away to exposetheir construction, the upper part of the Crucible being omitted. Y

Fig. 5 is a View looking at the rear end of the machine, portions of which are omitted, and shows the mold turned aboutA its horizontal axis for discharging unsolidied portions of the casting material from the mold cavity to produce a slush casting.

The working parts of the apparatus are mounted upon a hollow base I which may be made oi' sheet metal with down-turned edges and of suicient area toV form an underlying platform extending well to shift position or overturn when the parts of the apparatus are manipulated.

At the rear of base I a superstructure II is fixed to the top surface of the base by welding or any suitable means, consisting of a wide U- shaped sheet of metal having side walls I2 and in-turned flanges I3 respectively at their tops affording an elevated support for .a Crucible I4.

The crucible employed may have sundry forms but as here shown comprises a cast metal body incorporating an annular chamber I containing electrical resistance I6 preferably embedded in refractory material I1 for heating the crucible chamber I8. A ring-like cap I9 covers the annular chamber I5 and exposes the crucible chamber I8. The electrical resistance I6 terminates at the rear of the machine in side-by-side prongs 2li adapted to receive an electrical attachment cord terminal 2| for connection to a source of electric current. The Crucible may be heated by lgas flame or in any other suitable way. At the lower front edge of the crucible aspout 22 containing a delivery orifice 23 is provided for discharging molten metal or other material from the Crucible under the control of a valve rod 2f! Whose lower end operates to control the` passage of the casting material outwardly through orifice 23. Rod 24 extends di- 25 which hooks over a crank 26.

Crank 26 forms a portion of a long, bent handle 21 and together with the same is pivotally supported at the top of a standard 28 iixed to the top flange I3 of the superstructure II. A standard similar to 28 is preferably employed at the opposite side of the machine to provide a double pivotal support for crank handle 21 which part of the machine to be manipulated by the right hand of the operator and contains a downwardly oiTset bent portion 32 to et 34 secured to base I0 by screws 35 on which is mounted a bearing stud 36 axially aligned with the bearing hole in bracket 33. All of the parts for supporting and operating the mold sections 31, 38 comprise a movable structure which as a whole is pivotally suspended between brackets 33 and 34, which structure will now be described.

A front plate 39 of less than full circular area is rigidly secured to a rear plate 40 by three horizontally disposed rods 4I each of Whose end portions may be reduced and threaded to penetrate plates 39 and 4U and to receive the retaining nuts 42. Front plate 39 is centrally apertured to receive and be pivotally supported by bearing stud 36 on bracket 34. Rear plate 40 has Xedly secured thereto a straddle bar 43 carrying the trunnion stud 44 which is pivotally supported in bearing bracket 33.

adapted to receive the retaining pin 46 which by removal permits mold section 31 to be demounted from plate 40 and replaced by a diierent mold section.

The three rods 4I are utilized as ways for slidably mounting a third plate 41 adapted to carry the cooperative mounting projection 48 may penetrate sliding plate 41 and be retained therein by pin 49 all asl described in connection with the mold section 31 and plate 40. To give stability to the sliding constraint or plate 41 by the rods 4I,

i'it, respectively, upon the rods 4I. the carrier plate 41 is extended to form a splash guard 5I containing the aperture 52 Whose purpose will appear hereinafter.

At its lateral opposite edges, the sliding plate 41 carries ears 53 bent forwardly and to which are respectively pivoted by suitable studs 54, the

has a crosswise hole c tion 4of theibail handle `55 by suitable studs 59 which are in axial alignment; The togglelinks 51 Vare bowed topermit 4of a resilient yielding action whose purpose willV appear hereinafter. The pivotedend 61 of-bail handle 55 at the right side-of the `machine,is-bent outwardly V-and extends intothe vertical plane of movement of the valve handle21 for reasons which will-latervappear.. Front plate 39 further carries in rigid 'relation-thereto stop brackets G positioned-to engage with togglelinks 51- respectively and to be cleared by the bailhandle 55in Vits 4svi/inging movement aboutpivots 54, Y j lThe sliding plate 41 carriesV a forwardly projecting post 6l in rigid relation thereto andthe 'front plate39 together with bearing bracket y311 are each apertured at 62r in line with post 6l to receive the p'ost whenthe mold sections are Opened thereby tolock plates 39,41, and the entire structure supporting fthe moldv sections against rotative movement relative tobracket 34. Bracket 34 further carries the upwardlyV projecting stop 63 for limiting rotationof the parts" when they have been turned to mold lling position.' The top wall of base I9 is apertured at 64 to receive and fit a receptacle cup 65 having slopto solidify in the shape characteristic of an ingot which may therefore readily be removed from 'the cup when the latterl isfremoved from'the base l0 and overturned. `This is conveniently done by use of the cup handle 66 by means of which, if desired, the ingot' may be redeposited in the Crucible for replenishing the supply of molten casting material. be formed by an extension of the sheet-like material of the capwalls to provide a large area of heat dissipating surface'tending to keep the cup handle cool enough to be grasped by the'hand of Vthe operator. Indentations 68 stamped or otherwise produced in the floor wall of receptacle 65 may be provided for causing' a corresponding embossed markingto appear on thesurface of the ingot, by which means the trade-mark of a manufacturer or some identifying mark for the kind of casting material being used will be propagated. If preferred, a separate indented or ern-` bossed ingot marking platemay be inserted into Athe bottom of the cup so that the characters68/ comprising the mark may be varied at will and without requiring a separate cup'to be usedfor changingthe marking.

The operation of my improved apparatusis as follows. Starting with the parts positioned as in Figs. 1 and 3A and as represented by broken lines in Fig. 2, it will be clear that the locking projection 61 carried by bail 55 is positioned to free the handle 21 and its'crank portion 26 for swinging movement clockwise inl Fig. 2 about its pivot -at the top of frame standard 28 because ofthe downwardly offset portion 32 ofthe long bent rod which comprises handle 21. `While grasping the frontmostspan of the bail or mold operating handle 55 with `his left hand, the operator will raise the'valve control handle 21 with his right hand against theresistance of spring 29 to aneasilycontrolled extent so that swinging of crank 26 ina clockwise direction -will withdraw the lower end of valve rod 24 a corresponding extent from'ts sealing position in rela- Handle 66 may conveniently.

tion to the pouring orice 23V if Crucible i4 is sufficiently heatedto liquify the casting material in Crucible chamber I8.

Thereupon, an accurately controlled supply of the molten casting material will be delivered by gravity into the mouth or gate 1l of the mold V cavity 12 formed by the abutting mold sections -31`and 38 whose correct register is assured by the n dowels 69 on mold section 38 engaging Jthe'dowelv holes 10 in mold section 31. The rate of delivery of the casting-material to the mold is conveniently observed by the operator through the aperture 52 in the splash guard 5l which also gives aview of the mold gate 1I so that the operator may knowvwhen the moldf'cavity is full and thereupon drop handle 21 to cut off the discharge of casting material Vfrom thecrucible.

Immediately, or when a suitably brief time has elapsed, the operator will twist' the wrist of vhis left hand to turnthe mold sections, and the entire structure by which they are supported and operated,counterclockwise in Figli, or clockwise in Figf5, about the pivotal supports 3&5V and 4d until an arm of the bail 55 strikes the edge or frame bracket 34 as shown in Fig., 5. In this position of the parts, the mold gatell has been shifted fromlits upwardly disposedu'position in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, to its downwardly disposed positionin Fig. 5, whereupon unsolidined. portions of the casting material within the mold vcavity will be poured out through'the mold gate 17| into receptacle cup 65. The angle'at which the gate 1I shall be downwardly disposed may differ fromvthat shown in Fig. 5 to suit the shapeV and disposition of the moldy cavity, the kind of casting material beingused, or any other factor determining the abruptness with which lthe unsolidied content of the mold should be discharged to produce the characteristic of slush casting desired. It is preferable that some limit.

'handlej55 to move the parts into .their positions shown in full lines in Fig. 2. WhileV the mold 'section 38 is lcapable of further movement to the left than is indicated in Fig. 2, enough separation of the mold section 38 from moldsection 31 has been effected to expose the slush casting and enableits removal from the moldsection to which it most strongly adheres. Also in Fig. 2-the projection 61 has cammed downwardly `and. forwardly against the top of valve control handle 21 so that therlatter cannot be accidentally llifted and the pouring orifice 23 can discharge no hot casting material to burn the handsof the operator While the castingv is being'removed from the mold section.- Also in Figs. 2 and 4 the locking postEI has entered apertures 62 in the plate 39 and in the frame bracket 374 thus holding the moldv sections and the entire rotatable structure which supports them, against turning Vmovement. Thus projections 61 and posts Si cooperate not only to hold down the valve handle 21 but also to keep all of the movableparts rigidly positioned'as shown Vin Fig, 2 until the operating handle 55 is again manipulated for repeating the casting operation.

When a new casting is to be made, the operating or bail handle 55 is swung downwardly from its position in Fig. 2 to its position in Fig. 3. Toward the last end of this motion the link pivots 59 slightly pass a dead center relationship to a straight line connecting the centers of pivots 54 and 58, and by this overcentering action, permitted by resilient yielding of the bowed links 51, firmly and automatically press and hold mold sections 3l and 38 tightly together until bail handle 55 is subsequently swung upwardly about its pivots 54.

When sucient casting material has been discharged into the receptacle cup 65, the latter may be removed from its seat in the base l0 by means of its relatively cool handle 55 which is remote from the path of discharge of casting material both from the Crucible and from the mold, and the solidied ingot formed within the receptacle dumped out by overturning the cupf and if desired deposited in this manner within the crucible chamber I8 for remeltingv without requiring the relatively hot ingot to be touched by the hand of the operator.

While various ways of producing hollow or slush castings are old and well known, I am not aware that any apparatus has heretofore existed for the purpose which is capable of the speed, safety and uniformity of production of such castings made possible by my present improvements. If it is preferred that solid castings be produced, many of the advantages ofthe improvements likewise apply. The operation of dumping out the unsolidied casting material is merely omitted.

By the appended claims, therefore, I do not intend to limit the invention to any particular construction herein employed for illustrative purposes, but intend by said claims to cover all equivalents and substitutions which may come within the terms of the claims and the principles of the invention.

I claim: f l

1. A self stable appliance for making slush castings while the appliance rests'unattached on a table top, embodying in combination, an underlying platform-like base, spaced front and rear frame members upstanding from said base, a cradle-like structure adapted to hold a mold section and pivotally supported by and between said frame members in a mannertobe swung relative to said base for overturning said mold section while the latter is positioned over said base, a carrier equipped to hold a complementary mo-ld section and slidably mounted on said cradle-like structure in a manner to swing rotatively in unison therewith relative to said base and also to shuttle relative to said cradle-like structure away from either of said frame members and simultaneously toward the other frame member thereby to open or close said mold sections while the latter remain in constant rotative register, and an operating handle connected in common to said carrier and to said cradle-like structure in a manner selectively to swing said carrier and structure in unison or to slide said carrier relative to said structure.

2. In apparatus for movably supporting complementary mold sections and operating them single handedly in a manner to produce slush castings, the combination with spaced rear and front frame abutments, of a turnable structure intermediate and pivotallyv supported by said abutments including a mold section holding member at the rear end of said structure and a carrier for a complementary mold section slidably mounted on said structure in a location to travel away from said front frame abutment toward said holding member for closing the mold sections and to travel away from said holding member toward said front frame abutment for opening said mold sections, together with an operating lever extending past said front frame abutment connected at the Arear thereof to said carrier in a manner selectively to slide said carrier and/or to swing said structure.

3. In apparatus as dened in claim 2 the combination therein defined in which the said mold section kholding member comprises an apertured plate adapted to accommodate in the aperture thereof a portion of a removable mold section which penetrates said plate and projects to the rear thereof, together with a bearing` bracket rigid with and offset rearwardly from said plate in a manner to make room for and give access to said projecting portion of the mold section.

4. Apparatus as described in claim 2 in which the said operating lever includes a bail portion disposed to straddle the said turnable structure and having its arms pivotally connected at their ends to opposite edges respectively of the said carrier thereby to be swingable in relation to said structure and rotatable in unison with said structure.

5. Apparatus as describedin claim 2 in which the said operating lever includes a bail portion disposed to straddle a portion of the said front frame abutment and having arms pivotally connected to opposite edges respectively of the said carrier. Y

6. In apparatus as defined in claim 2 the combination therein dened together with a toggle link having one end pivotally connected to the said turnable structure at a point intermediate the said frame abutments and extending away from the said front frame abutment toward the said rear frame abutment and pivoted at its opposite end to said operating lever.

7. In apparatus as dened in claim 2 the combination therein defined together witha toggle link having one end pivotally connected to the said turnable structure at a point intermediate the said frame abutments and extending away from the said front frame abutment toward the said rear frame abutment and pivoted at its opposite end to said operating lever, the said ends of said link falling in substantially a common plane aligned with the direction of their travel and the intermediate body of said link being normally bowed out of alignment with said direction of travel and comprised of suciently thin and resilient material to spring into more abruptly bowed shape thereby to exert a yielding resilient thrust against said carrier after the mold sections have been forced together in a manner to permit overcentering of the said toggle link and operating lever for automatically retaining them in overcentered position.

8. In combination with apparatus as described invclaim 2, a locking device cooperative between said turnable structure and the said frame to prevent movement of the former relative to the latter and arranged to be impelled into locking position by the movement of said carrier which causes the mold sections to separate.

9. In casting apparatus, in combination with a structure including spaced and rigidly related front and rear end members, a longitudinal guide extending from one of said members toward the l other member, a mold section Amounted on the rear member, a carrier slidably Vmounted onsaid guide between said members, a complementary mold section mounted on said carrier, a handle for operating the carrier; and mechanism including toggle connections cooperative with saidV handle, said front end member, and said carrier and arranged Vto transmit force for moving the mold sections into contact when said handle isl moved, together with yieldable resilient means forming a part of said mechanism constructed and. arranged to yield to the force transmitted by said mechanism in a manner to permit said toggle connections to overcenter while forcing the mold sections into contact. A

10. In combination with an appliance as defined in claim 1, a crucible stationed on the said rear frame membery at a higher level than the said cradle-like structure above the `said base and having a discharge spout leadingifrom a low point in said crucible to a position above the rear f end portion of said cradle-likestructure between the said iront and rear frame members for directing moltenl casting metal into the mouth of the said mold sections when closed, and a receptacle constrained on said base under said cradlelike structure between said framemembers in a position to receive sprue dumped from the mouth of the closed moldV sections when theyV are ove-rturned.

11. In an apparatus of portable type for supu porting complementary moldsections and operating them single-handedly tomake slush castportableapparatus Y ings, in combination with a frame including spaced front and vrear standards and a platform-like base extending between and supporting said standards, a cradle-like structure equipped and arranged to carry the mold sections in a manner to permit them to be opened Y and closed said structure being turnably supported above said base byy said standards in ka manner to swing relative to said base and having one of said f one of its ends positioned nearest standards and its opposite end positioned nearest the other of said standards, and an operating lever connected to saidcradle-like structure in a manner to turn in unison therewith and also to swing relative thereto said lever being operatively related to one of saidmold sections for imparting respectively diierent characteristicst of movement thereto while both mold sections are carried by the cradle-like structure between frame standards.

12. In apparatus as described inclaim 11, the combination dened in claim 11 inwhich the said operating lever comprises a rbail having arms straddling the said cradle-like structure' constructed and arranged to be .swingable relatively thereto in planes iianking the sides thereof for opening and closing'the mold sections.

13. In apparatus as described in claim 11, the combination defined in claim 11 in which the said operating lever comprises a bail having arms straddling' the said cradle-like structure constructed and arranged to be' swingable relatively thereto in planes flanking the sides thereof for opening and closing the mold sections, together with separate toggle links each pivotally connected aty one end to laterally spaced portions respectively of said cradle-like structure and extending rearwardly in flankingrelation thereto and pivotally connected at their opposite end to each of said bail arms respectively in a manner to enable said links to swing to a position paralleling the sides of the cradle-like structure between the said frame standards.

14. In apparatus of the character described, in

combination with a -stationary apparatus frame, stationary abutments held in spaced relation by a length of said frame,l a movable guide way structure,supportedbetween said abutments in vside by side relation to said length of the frame in a manner to be turnable in relation thereto, separable mold sections carried by said structure in a manner to turn in unison therewith one of Vsaid mold sections being also movable relative to said structure along vsaid guide way toward and away from the other mold section,

and an operating handle connected to actuate said movable mold section in a manner toimpel the latter along saidA guide way and also to turn said guide wayk structure relativeto said frame and abutments, fork overturning said mold sections to empty them of their contents.

15. In n apparatus `of the character described, a frame of light sheet metal construction includinga base with a relatively high rear standard `and a relatively low front standard spaced apart thereon, aV movable mold carrying structure supported for turning'movement between said frame standardsin superimposedy relation

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