US2358977A - Molding flask clamp - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 26, 1944. F

MOLDING FLASK CLAM Filed Aug. 28, 1942 'llllllll Tllllllll rroezyzys.

Patented Sept. 26, 1944 ErnestiHuff, Elm; Grove; ,Wisl, assignontmwehr Steel. Company, West Allis, ,Wis., a; corporation,

of Wisconsin;

, np iicationnugusezs, 1942,- Serial o, 456, 472

3 Claim.-

This invention relates" generally to. improvements in the art" of molding, and relates. more. specifically to improvements in the construction and operation-of rigsforclampingmolding flasks.

or 't-he liketo supports such-as. the pattern sup: porting-plates-of' roll over molding machines. I

'An-object of thepresent invention is to provide.

a new'and useful molding flaskclamp; whichv is simple in construction and highly eflicient in operation;

Many difierent types; of clamping; assemblages ior=detachablyattaching moldingrfiasks to the. pattern supporting plates". of, roll. over molding.

machines such asare employedin foundries, have heretofore" been proposedandlused with varying degrees of success. In order" to function. efiec tively; this kindof equipment must. be quickly operable: to firmly clamp: and to release flasks. of; various sizes and shapeasoias toavoid, loss of time, andthe. clamping rig; should also; bev constructed-anddisposedso as. to prevent interfering with the molding operations, pressure operated clamps have been used. in, the past; these priordevices were relatively complicated and. positioned at the sidesor ends. ofthe pattern supports. where they werev not only. ob-

structive, but could notbe universally appliedto. differentparts'ofthe opposite portions of flasks, ofvarious depthsand' the utility of. such. prior. power clamps was therefore relatively limited, In" order to enhance the usefulness. of these flask.

clamping and releasing assemblies to amaximum, they should'be extremely powerful in action, com.-

pact and durable in. structure and confined. to: non-interfering localities, readily. applicable. to: various types of pattern supports, protected, against injury. but open toready inspectiomand. cooperablewith the opposite side portions of deep, or shallow fiasksthroughout a considerable range of; lateral adjustment.

It is, therefore a more specific object; ofmy present invention to-provide an. improved fluid; pressure.- actuated molding:- fiaskz;.clampi which.

meets all. of the; above mentioned requirements,

and which is: extremely fiexible-inits adaptationsand uses;-

Another'specific object'of the present invention istaprovide an improved molding flask clamping system which can be readily applied to eithernew or old molding machines of various standard types at moderate cost, and which may be safely and conveniently manipulated tov meet. varying.

conditions of" operation and user These and other specific objects and advantages of the presentimprovement: will be'appar ent from the followingdescription.

A clear-conception of one embodiment of the present invention, and of the construction and operation of a molding flask clamping rig'built in accordance with the improvement, may be hadby'referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specificationwherein like-referencecharacters designatethe same or similar parts in the various views.

Fig; I is a somewhat diagrammatic partsec tional side elevation of a conventional roll over pattern support and inverting bracket, showing" a mold disposed thereon and having the improved! flask clamping system applied thereto;

Fig; 2 is a bottom View of the assemblage of Fig. 1, showing the disposition of the-improved flask clamping system, and with the fluid distribution and control'apparatus shown diagrammatically; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section through a,

fragmentof one side of the assemblage shown in Figs; 1 and-2.

While the invention has been illustrated herein aszbeing specifically-embodied in an air pressure actuated clamping assemblage applied to apar ticular type of roll over moldingmachine, it is. not? my desire-or intent to unnecessarily restrict the scope or utility of theimprovement by virtue of' such specific embodiment.

to permit packing of the sand about the pattern either: by highavelocity injection thereof into the; upper open end of the flask, or; by loose deposition ofithe sand within the flask and subsequent-jolt-. ing; and' my: present invention is applicable to bothof these types of machines.

Referring to-the drawing, the conventional roll:

overmolding machine specifically illustrated therein is of the high velocity sand injection type,

and: comprises a, pattern support or supporting.

plate 5' fixedly mounted-upon the swinging-end of: an inverting bracket '6 :which is suspended from apivot I, and havinga series of, parallelrecesses; 8 therein for effecting-rigid attachment of apattern 9 thereto with the aid of bolts) or the like. The successive molding 'fiasks I l withinwhichthe molds I2 are-formed, are adapted to be positioned upon the supporting plate 5 about the pat? tern 9.while the mechanism is in the positionshown in Fig. 1, andwith the parts thus positionedthe sand may be. packed about the pattern in any well known manner. Upon completion of each mold I2, the supporting plate Swiththe;

flask H and mold l2 firmly secured thereto must Molding machines. of: the-roll over class, are ordinarily:- constructed normally be inverted, whereupon the flask should be released for final withdrawal of the pattern 9 from the mold l2. After the draw, the plate and. bracket 6 should be returned to molding position for the reception of another flask II, and the. shape and depth of these flasks I l varies throughout a considerable range depending upon the size and shape of the patterns 9 which are being used. Since the flasks H and molds l2 are relatively large and heavy, these mold assemblages must be rigidly but releasably attached to the pattern support in order to prevent possible shifting or distortion of the molds during inversion, and this invention deals primarily with the construction and operation of an improved rig for effecting such attachment and release of the flask and mold relative to the pattern support.

The present improved clamping and releasing system or rig, comprises in general a pair of fluid I pressure actuated motors l4 each having a cyl--' inder I5 fixedly suspended beneath the pattern supporting plate 5, and a piston l6 reciprocable within its cylinder l5 and provided with a piston rod ll; a pair of flexible elongated elements or cables 18 each having one end swingably attached to one of the piston rods [1, while its medial portion is adapted to coact with a rotary guiding member or sheave [9 also suspended beneath and near an edge of thesupporting plate 5; a clamping device or hook 20 swingably connected to the opposite freely swinging end of each cable l8, these devices being cooperable with the opposite sides of a flask ll resting upon the plate 5; and means for simultaneously operating the motors M to pull on the cables l8 and to release the pulls or tension thereon, including a control valve 2| and fluid distribution piping 22,23.

The motors l4 while being simultaneously operable, are reversely disposed, and the cylinders l5 of these motors are arrangedapproximately parallel to each other and may be fixedly suspended either from the bracket 6 or directly from the bottom of the pattern supporting plate 5 at any convenient location, by means of brackets or otherwise. The motors I4 may be operated by compressed air or other suitable fluid under pressure derivedfrom any suitable source, and the strokes of the pistons I6 and rods i! should be sufficient to permit movement of the hooks 29 throughout a considerable range. The opposite ends of the elongated flexible elements or cables l8 may be swingably and durably connected to the rods I l and hooks 20 by means of loop connectors 26, and the guide sheaves l9 are freely rotatable in brackets 21 which may also be suspended either from the bracket 6 or directly from the plate 5, near the opposite edges of the latter as shown. The clamping hooks 20 are of conventional design, and may be replaced by any other type of clamping device, and due to the flexibility of their carrying cables 18, these clamps are freely universally movable and adjustable throughout extended areas above the pattern support. When the hooks 20 are in action as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, they preferably coact with opposite side portions of the flask ll as indicated in Fig. 2, and firmly retain the flask H in predetermined position upon the plate 5; but when the tension on the cables I8 is released and the clamping devices are removed from the Work, the hooks 20 may be dropped below the pattern support, thus avoiding all flxed obstructions disposed above the upper pattern supporting surface of the plate 5.

' 20 to either deep or shallow flasks l lof different;

The control valve 2| for effecting manual control of the fluid pressure actuated clamping system, may be located at a conveniently accessible place near the roll over machine controls, and is adapted to simultaneously admit fluid such as air under pressure from a supply line 28 to either set of corresponding piston displacement chambers of the motors I4, while at the same time releasing-the pressure from the'o'ppos'ed displacement' chambers of these motors through an exhaust line 29. If clamping action is desired, the

'valve 2| should be set as illustrated in Fig. 2, I thereby admitting fluid pressure to the adjacent or front displacement chambers through the piping 23, while at the same time permitting escape of fluid from the rear displacement chammatically for the sake of .clearness, and should preferably permit independent initial adjustment or positioning of the pistons l6 and rods IT.

The normal use and operation of the improved mold flask clamping ring should be clearly apparent from the foregoing detaileddescription of its construction, from which it should also be apparent that my present invention provides an improved clamping assemblage. which is simple, compact and durable in construction, and which. is also powerful and highly eflicient in operation. The fluid pressure actuated servo-motors l5 may obviously be readilydisposed in any convenient locality beneath the pattern supporting plate 5, thereby avoiding obstructions above this plate, and the flexible cables l8 and swing connectors 26 permit ready application of the clamping hooks sizes and shapes, at the localities where the clamps will act most effectively. The improved clamping assembly while being well protected against possible damage during normal use of the,

molding machine, is also readily accessible for inspection and manipulation, and the improved device is obviously highly flexible in itsiadaptations and uses. The guide sheaves l9 effectively protect the flexible cables I8 against abrupt bending and possible resultant damage, and also facili-; tate lateral adjustment of the clamping hooks 20 in all directions above the pattern table. The use of compressible fluid for actuating the motors I4 is not essential 'buthighly desirable since it permits simplification of these motors and also per units automatic equalization of the tension in the cables I8 and distribution of the stresses on the clamping rig. The improved power clamping system can be manufactured and applied to various types of molding machines atmoderate' cost, may be quickly and safely operated to either clam or release the successive flasks II, and has proven highly satisfactory and efficientin actual use.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this invention to the exact details of construction, or to the precise mode of operation of the molding flask clamp, herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the appended claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

support, a fluid pressure actuated motor having a' cylinder suspended from and beneath said support and a piston movable within the cylinder, a peri-pherally grooved wheel joumalled for, rotation upon said support so that the axis of said piston is approximately tangent to one portion of the wheel groove and another portion of the latter is disposed slightly beyond an edge of the support, a flexible cable having one end secured to said piston and its opposite end universally movable above said support while its medial portion is cooperable with said wheel groove to provide a bending zone for the cable, and a clamping hook movably secured to said universally movable cable end. a V

2. A molding flask clamp, comprising, a flask support, several fluid pressure actuated motors each having a cylinder suspended from and beneath said support and a piston movable within its cylinder, several peripherally grooved wheels joumalled for rotation upon said support, each of said wheels cooperating with one of said motors so that the axis of the motor piston is approximately tangent to one portion of the wheel groove and another portion of the latter is disposed slightly beyond the adjacent edge of the support, a. flexible cable cooperating with each motor and wheel set and having one end secured to the corresponding piston and its opposite end universally movable above said support while its medial portion is cooperable with the corresponding wheel groove to provide a bending zone for the cable, and a clamping hook movably secured to the universally movable end of each cable.

3. A molding flask clamp, comprising, a flask support, several fluid pressure actuated motors each having a cylinder suspended from and beneath said support and a piston movable within its cylinder, several peripherally grooved wheels journalled for rotation upon said support, each of said Wheels cooperating with one of said motors so that the axis of the motor piston is approximately tangent to one portion of the wheel groove and another portion of the latter is disposed slightly beyond the adjacent edge of the support, a flexible cable cooperating with each motor and wheel set and having one end secured to the corresponding piston and its opposite end universally movable above said support while its medial por-

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