US2816333A

US2816333A - Apparatus for lowering cast ingots from a mold

Info

Publication number: US2816333A
Application number: US625745A
Authority: US
Inventors: John H Mellor
Original assignee: Canadian Copper Refiners Ltd
Current assignee: Canadian Copper Refiners Ltd
Priority date: 1956-12-03
Filing date: 1956-12-03
Publication date: 1957-12-17
Anticipated expiration: 1974-12-17

Description

Dec. 17, 1957 J. H. MELLoR 2,816,333

APPARATUS FOR LOWERING CAST INGOTS FROM A MOLD Filed Dec. 5, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet l Tizi. l.

Dec. 17, 1957 .1. H. MELLOR 2,816,333

APPARATUS FOR LOWERING CAST INGOTS FROM A MOLD Filed Dlec. 5, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY J. H. MELLOR Dec. 17, 1957 v APPARATUS FOR LowERING CAST INGoTs FROM A MOLD Filed Dec. 3, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 .A A AA Dec. 17, 1957 J. H. MELLOR 2,816,333

APPARATUS FOR LOWERING CAST INGOTS FROM A MOLD Filed Deo. 3, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 BYM YW A NORA/Ey APPARATUS FoR LowERING cAsT INGoTs FROM A MOLD Filed Dec. 5, 1956 Dec. 17, 1957 JJH. MELLoR 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR.

Tfno/wv f Maw/e BWM A', AIMA-f .Unite arent 'O APPARATUS FOR LOWERING CAST INGOTS FROM A MOLD John H. Mellor, Westmount, Montreal, Quebec, Canada,

assigner to Canadian Copper Reiiners Limited, Montreal East, Quebec, Canada, a corporation of Canada Application December 3, 1956, Serial No. 625,745

9 Claims. (Cl. 22-57) The present invention relates to apparatus for lowering cast ingots from a mold and more particularly for removing or unloading vertical cast ingots or cakes of a metal, such as copper, from molds in which such ingots are cast and preferably for lowering them into a tank of a cooling liquid, as Water, for cooling them prior to the further handling thereof. In the casting of metal into ingots, it is found that where the ingots are relatively small, for example, up to a weight of a thousand pounds per ingot, it is feasible lto unload the mold by opening a bottom door or bottom plate and to allow the ingot to fall from the mold by gravity and strike a suitable anvil disposed therebeneath, preferably at the bottom of a tank of water in which the ingot is to be cooled. It has been found, however, that larger cakes or ingots cannot be satisfactorily handled in this manner without the likelihood of damage, either to the anvil or parts adjacent thereto or to the ingot, or both. To overcome these diiculties, various means and mechanisms have been devised from time to time, but none of them, as far as is known, have the several advantages hereinafter set out in detail which are possessed by the apparatus of the present invention. This apparatus has been used satisfactorily, for example, in handling 2,000 pound ingots of copper.

A major advantage of the apparatus of the present invention resides in the provisions therein for continuous and elective control of the position of the ingot without the possibility of slippage or other malfunctioning of the apparatus, which could occur in the use of some devices which have been designed for the same general purpose. Particularly, this is accomplished by providing an elevator structure which is movable vertically upwardly to a position below the mold or below a position to which the mold is brought; then the mold bottom is secured to the elevator, so as to be bodily movable therewith and bodily movable along with the cast ingot away from the mold. According to the present invention, the elevator carrying the mold bottom and the ingot thereon is lowered substantially vertically to such an extent that the upper end of the ingot will be wholly below the bottom of the mold. This is accomplished by connecting the mold bottom to the elevator and detaching it from its connection to the mold and then lowering the elevator, mold bottom and ingot as a unit.

Once the elevator has been moved to its lowerrnost position, the next action is to tilt the entire structure carrying the elevator, which is herein designated as a tilting structure, so as to bring the ingot from a substantially vertical position to a substantially horizontal position. In this connection, however, the tilting is not done about an axis parallel with one of the larger surfaces of the ingot, but rather about an axis which is disposed at an acute angle with the plane of such surface and with the plane of a rolling support for one of the larger surfaces of the ingot, so that when the tilting structure has been turned over to its discharge position, the plane of the tilting structure from a vertical plane to a plane at an angle` to the horizontal and in such a position that the ingot will roll ot this rolling support by gravity. Thus, the discharge of the ingot from the elevator and supporting structure is effected automatically and without manual intervention and while the ingot is or may be completely immersed in the water in the cooling tank. Inasmuch as the ingot tends to roll olf the means by which it is carried as aforesaid, means must be and are provided in accordance with the present invention for preventing the premature rolling oli of the ingot, thus contributing in this additional way toward a complete control of the position of the ingot.

It will be understood that the ingot may be removed from the tank of the cooling Water by any conventional conveyor such as those which have been used for this purpose for some time.

Following the discharge of the ingot, the tilting structure is brought back to its substantially vertical position, the elevator is raised to raise the mold bottom toward the mold, and, if desired, the parts are held in an intermediate position to permit the suitable treatment of the mold and mold bottom prior to the casting of the next ingot therein. The mold bottom may then be brought to its position closing the bottom of the mold and there be secured to the mold at that position and be released from the elevator.

The device of the present invention is arranged so that it can cooperate With a single mold permanently arranged above the receiving position for the elevator or, alternatively, the device of the present invention may cooperate successfully with each of the plurality of molds, such as are now commonly used in the copper industry on a mold wheel, wherein a plurality of molds are arranged around the periphery of a rotatable structure which is indexed along by an angle corresponding to the annular spacing between adjacent molds at predetermined time intervals, which may be gaged automatically or manually at the convenience of the operators.

Further advantages and details of a preferred structural embodiment of the present invention will be set forth hereinafter and will be described particularly in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan View of the device with the elevator empty;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device with the elevator lowered and the tilting structure turned over to its discharge position, showing a cake or ingot of metal being discharged therefrom; n

Fig. 3 is a View substantially in elevation and with parts in vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 showing the elevator in a raised position in readiness to beattached to a mold bottom at the start of the mold unloading operation;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the parts in position with the elevator lowered, carrying a mold bottom and ingot thereon, but prior to the tilting of the tilting structure;

Fig. 5 is a View principally in elevation, but with the parts in vertical section on the line 5 5 of Fig. l and with the parts in the position described for Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary View, similar to that of Fig. 5, but with the elevator at its lowermost position, corresponding to the position of the parts shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detailed view principally in plan, but with some parts in horizontal section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5, showing the elevator with a-bottom plate secured thereto and prior to the release of thebottom plate from the mold, the mold not beingfshown;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary detailed view in vertical sectionl rollingsupport will havebeen moved by movement ofthe on the line 8 8 of Fig. 7; t g

Fig.'9 is a fragmentary detailed View in vertical section on the line 9--9 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. l is a view principaliy in elevation and with some parts in Vertical section, showing the means for preventing ingots fromrolling oifthe elevator *andA thetilting structure prior to the arrival of the tilting structure substantially at its discharge position.

The device of the present invention'which `is particularly shown in the accompanying drawings is arranged to cooperate successively Witheach of a` plurality of'molds for unloading vertically cast copper cakes therefrom, these copper cakes weighing, for example, about one ton or one and one-half tons each. It iscontemplated that the present apparatus or other apparatus similarthereto 'and possibly differing therefrom only in size'could be used with larger or smaller cast ingots, not only of copper, but also, if desired, of any other metal. In thedevice being particularly described, there are seven molds (only one of which is shown herein), uniformly spaced about the periphery of a rotatable supporting structure, this structure being rotated oneseventh of a revolution at a time, so as to bring cach mold successively to a position at which it is filled with molten metal and subsequently to bring each mold successively to an unloading position, adjacent to which the device of the present invention is located. Each of the molds is water-cooled, has a vertical cavity therein open at the top for the introduction of molten metal thereto, and is arranged with its lowerend closed by a bodily removable mold bottom during the casting of an ingot therein. One of the molds is shown generally in Figs. 3 and 4 at,11 and is provided with a mold bottom 12, a cast ingot therein being indicated at 13. The mold bottom 12 comprises a metallic supporting plate 14 carrying a bottom portion or liner 15, which is' preferably of copper when casting copper ingots, andalso including a locking structure 16, which is generally U-shaped as best seen in Figs. 8 and 9. The end portions of the downwardly turned flanges of the structure 16 are cut away as shown at 17, Figs. 3 and 4, and are shaped so as to receive the lower bight portions of bails 13 which are suitably pivoted to the mold as shown at 19.

As will be seen from a comparison of Figs. 3 and 4, the mold bottom 12 is bodily movable with respect to-the 'mold 11, when it is detached or disconnected therefrom by moving the bails 18 from their locking position shown in Fig. 3 to lateral inoperative positions, at which they may be supported by suitable depending hooks 20. The hooks 20 may be suitably pivotally secured tol some upper portion of the moldin a manner not herein illustrated. As shown, the unlocking or disconnecting of the mold bottom 12 from the mold 11 may be effected manually in a manner which will now be obvious from the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings.

The device of the present invention is preferably arranged to lower cast ingots into a relatively large body of a cooling liquid, such as water. For this purpose it is arranged so that a major portion of the elements thereof hereinafter to be described, are below the surface of the liquid in a relatively large tank. The tank as shown in the accompanying drawings is constructed of concrete comprising walls 21, which are arranged vertically and a bottom (not shown). A portion of the tank, as shown in plan view Figs. l and 2, is formed with a bay 22 in and adjacent to which the apparatus particularly forming the subject matter of the present invention is located. This apparatus is mounted on rigid elements, which may be of structural steel and which are suitably secured to the Walls 21 of the tank. These elements include, for example,

horizontal beams

23, 24 and 25 as shown best in Fig. l0. Mounted on the outer ends of the beams 23 as particularly shown in Figs. 3 and 10 is a tilt pivot shaft 26, which is securedat its endsl to the beams 23 bysuitable'fttings' 27.

y Suitably supported on the shaft 26 for pivotalA movement about the axis thereof is a tilting structure generally indicated at 28.

The tilting structure 28 comprises suitable structural elements, which may be of steel and may be formed either as castings or as prefabricated structural elements, including a base portion 29, which may be fabricated by welding together suitably shaped flat members.

Means are provided for tilting the structure 28 about the axis of the shaft 26. For this purpose the base portion 29 may be suitably pivotally connected as at 30 with the lower end of a piston rod 31, which cooperates with an hydraulic cylinder 32. The upper end portion of the cylinder 32 is pivotally connected to a stationary structural element rigid with the beams 23 to 25 and rigid with the Y walls 21, this construction not being shown in detail as it is substantially conventional. The hydraulic cylinder 32 and conventional control means therefor including a source of hydraulic pressure and suitable flexible conduits for conducting the hydraulic lluid under pressure to and from the cylinder 32 (these means not being illustrated), serve to move the tilting structure 28 between its substantially vertical or receiving position shown in Figs. l and 5, for example, and its substantially horizontal or discharge position shown in Fig. 2.

The tilting structure includes upstanding

structural elements

33 and 34 carried by the base portion 29 and arranged to support a plurality of rotatable supporting means 0n parallel axes as hereinafter set out. The structural element or channel 33 has secured thereto a plurality of laterally extending, structural elements 35, which extends around the path of the elevator hereinafter described and hold a pair of vertical guide means 36 (shown as channel members) for that elevator. These guide means are suitably connected together by structural elements 37, which are also rigid with respect to the tilting structure. Arranged for sliding movement in the guide means 36 is a crosshead structure including a pair of channel-shaped members 38 (Figs. l and 3), which are located within and in effect parallel with the guide means 36 and which are interconnected at their upper ends (at the vertical position of the elevator) by a cross member 39, Figs. 3 and 5, rigid with the members 38. The cross member 39 has secured thereto the upper end of a piston rod 40 of an hydraulic cylinder 41. It will be understood that iluid under pressure may be transmitted to and exhausted from the two ends of the cylinder 41 by suitable flexible conduits (not shown) and that the admission and exhaust of such fluid may be controlled by suitable valve means which may be conventional in nature and hence which are not illustrated herein. The crosshead structure,` including members 38-39, carries adjacent to the member 39 a pair of pulleys 42, Fig. 5, about which are trained a pair of flexible means, such as chains 43. One end of each of the chains 43 is secured to a cross member-44 (Fig. 3), which isin turn secured rigidly to the guide means 36; while the other end of each chain 43 is secured `to an elevator, generally indicated at 45.

The` elevatory 45 may be built up either as a suitable castingor, as shown in Fig. 3, by welding structural elements together, including a iloor plate 46, and a side plate 47 and suitable bracing or supporting webs 48.k The side plate 47 carries suitable brackets 49 which in turn carry pairs of guide rollers 50. The rollers 50 are arranged for free rolling movement in the tracks formed by the channel shaped members 38 of the crosshead. The cylinder 41 is suitably secured to certain structural elements as 37 which are rigid with the tilting .structure 28.

The operation of the elevator should now be obvious. In the position of the parts shown in Fig. 3, the elevator s atits uppermost position. In lowering the elevator from. this position, pressure is exhausted at the lower end ofthe. cylinder 41 and supplied to the upper end thereof, causing thefpiston 40 to'be moveddownwardly inthe cylinder. This moves the crosshead including members 38--39 downwardly and permits the downward movement of the elevator 45'by`gravty. Due to thefact;

agotaasaA that the piston 40 is connected to the crosshcad which carries the pulleys 42, the vertical movement of the crosshead will be but one-half the movement of the elevator, so that for a given elevator movement, a relatively shorter cylinder 41 need be provided.

As generally stated hereinabove, means are provided in conjunction with this invention for 'supporting an ingot as the tilting structure turns rover and particularly for supporting it so as to permit it ultimately to move off the support by gravity. For this purpose rotatable supporting means are provided which are arranged on parallel axes, so as to provide a rolling support substantially in a single plane for supporting the plane surface of one side of an ingot shown at the left thereof at 51 in Fig. 6. While it is contemplated that rotatable means, possibly of different diameters, but with their axes parallel to each other could be arranged to provide a rolling support in a single plane, the preferred construction is one in which a plurality of similar rollers are provided, all with their axes parallel to the plane of the rolling support and also located in a plane which is also parallel thereto. AS shown in the accompanying drawings, there are two sets of rollers at 52 and 53 respectively, each set comprising rollers 54, the pintles of which are received in

suitable angle members

55 and 56 at the top and bottom respectively and in the side flanges of a channel member 57, midway between the

angle members

55 and 56. All the

members

55, 56 and 57 are suitably secured to the upstanding

structural elements

33 and 34.

Means are also provided as generally set forth above for securing a mold bottom to the elevator 45. These means are shown best in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. It will be understood that when a mold is either located or brought to rest at a position above the vertical path of movement of the elevator 45, the elevator is raised by its operating cylinder 41 until it engages the lower edges of the flanges of the U-shaped locking structure 16. At this time the mold bottom 12 is normally connected and secured to the elevator 45 (as shown in Fig. 7); although it `will be understood that, if desired, the mold bottom 12 could be rst released from the mold and thereafter secured to the elevator 45. In any event means are provided for securing 'the mold bottom to the elevator so as to prevent relative movement therebetween when the elevator 4S and the tilting structure 28 are bodily tilted about the axis of the shaft 26. For this purpose each mold bottom 12 has a locking structure 16 as aforesaid, which is provided with a spaced apart pair of laterally extending lugs 58 (Fig. 7) having apertures which are arranged to be in alignment with apertures in a pair of upstanding lugs 59 secured to and extending upwardly from the lloor plate 46 of the elevator. A pin 60 may then be inserted through the aligned apertures in

lugs

58 and 59 as shown in Figs. 7 to 9, this pin having a laterally turned outer end 61 for convenience in handling. In order to prevent the pin 6i) from being accidentally dislocated, so as to permit the inadvertent unlocking of the mold bottom 12 from the elevator 45 when this is not desired, the pin 60 may be provided with a laterally extending lug 62 secured thereto having a substantially spiral outer contour. By rotating the pin. 60, the lug 62 may be caused to occupy a position shown in Figs. 7 and 9 between a pair of upstanding lugs 63 which are secured to the floor plate 46 of the elevator. Thus the pin 60 is prevented from undesired endwise movement, which Would serve to free the mold bottom 12 from the elevator 45. As the pin 60 and its locking arrangements are located on the sides of the mold bottom 12 and the elevator 45 which are uppermost after the tilting structure has been turned over to its discharge position, it will be seen that the parts are securely held against inadvertent movement apart or otherwise with respect to each other.

Turning now to the operation of the present device, once the elevator has been raised as aforesaid by the operation of the cylinder 41 into contact with the lockingstructure 16 of the mold bottom and the mold bot-t tom secured thereto as just described, it is normal to disengage or disconnect the mold bottom from the mold. This may be done by moving the bails 18 from their respective positions shown in .Fig.'3 to the positions shown in Fig. 4. The mold bottom 12 and the ingot 13 thereon may then be lowered by lowering the elevator 45. This is done as 'aforesaid by the operation of the cylinder 41. When the mold bottom has been moved to its lowermost position, fluid pressure is transmitted to the cylinder 32 to tilt the tilting structure 2S about the axis of the shaft 26. As best seen in Fig. l the axis of this shaft is disposed at an acute angle with the plane of the rolling support provided by rollers 54. Thus as the tilting structure is moved through substantially from a substantially vertical position shown in Fig. 1, which may be termed its receiving position, to its substantially horizontal or discharge position shown in Fig. 2, the ingot which was initially supported solely upon the mold bottom now moves over and is supported on the rolling surface of the rollers 54. Further, as will be seen from a careful inspection of Fig. l, as the axes of the rollers 54 are moved from the Fig. l position to that of Fig. 2, there is an increasing tendency for the ingot 13 to roll off these rollers. This is prevented by providing an arcuate member 64, Figs. l, 2 and l0, which is secured to some stationary part or parts of the apparatus, for example, to the beam 24, and which is in a position to be engaged by a part of the ingot as it tends to move olf the rolling surface. The arcuate member 64 serves, therefore, as a means for preventing a cast ingot from rolling off the rotatable supporting means provided by the roller sets 52 and 53 until the tilting structure 28 has been moved about the horizontal axis of the shaft 26 substantially to its horizontal or discharge position of the tilting structure. It will be noted as seen in Fig. 10 that the member 64 terminates at 65 a sufficient distance above the final position 66e of an ingot shown in two former positions in broken lines at 66a and 66b. Thus the member 64 will not interfere with this discharging operation in which the ingot rolls by gravity from the surface of the rollers 54 and preferably onto the surface of a conveyor generally indicated at 67, Figs. 2 and l0, which conveys the ingots out of the cooling bath in the direction of the arrows 68, Figs. l and 2. Inasmuch as the structure of the cooling bath and of the conveyor 67 for removing ingots therefrom are both substantially conventional as herein generally indicated and have been used in this manner by the prior art for some time, no further detailed description thereof is or will be given.

Once an ingot has rolled 0H the rolling surface provided by rollers 54 as aforesaid, the tilting structure may be righted or brought to its vertical position shown in Fig. 1 by the operation of the cylinder 32; whereupon the elevator 45 may be brought up to a position, preferably intermediate between its lowermost and uppermost positions, but in which the mold bottom is above the surface of the cooling water, indicated by the broken line 69 in Figs. 3, 5 and 6 and also shown in Fig. 10. At this intermediate position it may and often is desired for an operator to treat the upper surface of the mold bottom portion 15 by applying a material thereto to prevent the molten metal from adhering thereto. The inside of the mold may also be treated with similar material for the same purpose. The elevator is then raised to its uppermost position so that the mold bottom may again be secured to the mold by the bails 18 and disengaged from the elevator by rotating and then withdrawing the pin 60. The cycle is now complete.

In the event that mold-s are used on a rotatable support as aforesaid, then the elevator is lowered following the securing of the mold bottom to the mold and the disengaging thereof from the elevator, so as to permit the indexing of the rotatable support to the next position and so as to bring the next succeeding mold into vertical alignment with the elevator. The cycle is then repeated as aforesaid.

Means may also be provided for predeterming the limits of movement of the tilting structure and of the elevator. As to the tilting structure, such means may be in the form of a stationary abutment '70, Figs, l and 2, which is suitably secured to a stationary part ofthe apparatus and is arranged to be engaged by a more or less complementary abutment means '71 carried by the tilting structure 28. The other end of the movement of the tilting structure may be determined, for example, by a fixed stop '72 (Fig. 1), which is arranged to beengaged by a suitable portion of the tilting structure 28 in a manner not particularly illustrated. The upper end of the elevator movement is normally determined by the position of a mold bottom, suicient resiliency being provided in the hydraulic moving means to prevent damage to the parts when the elevator is brought up into actual engagement with the locking structure 16 of a mold bottom. The lower end of the elevator movement is not particularly critical as to its exact position, but is ordinarily determined by the terminal of the movement of the piston carried by piston rod 40 in the cylinder 41.

While there is herein shown and described but one principal form of the present invention, an attempt has been made as the description proceeded to bring out the functional purpose of the several instrumentalities particularly described, so that equivalents thereof may be readily appreciated. It is intended that all such equivalents as may occur to those skilled in the art from the foregoing disclosure shall be included within the purview of the present invention, which is to be measured by the scope of the appended claims, the latter to beiconstrued validly as broadly as the state of the prior art permits.

What is claimed is:

l. Apparatus for lowering cast ingots from a mold having a vertical mold cavity extending therethrough and a bodily removable mold bottom, which is arranged to be connected to said mold for closing the lower end thereof during the casting of an ingot therein, comprising, in combination, an elevator arranged for substantially vertical movement between an upper position immediately beneath said mold bottom and a lower position, means effective when said elevator is at said upper position for securing said mold bottom to said elevator, means for disconnecting said mold bottom from said mold, means for lowering said elevator with said mold bottom secured thereto and a cast ingot supported thereon from its r upper to its lower position, at which lower position the upper end of the cast ingot is below the lower end of said mold, and for subsequently raising said elevator to its upper position; a tilting structure carrying said elevator and said lowering and raising means therefor, a plurality of rotatable supporting means arranged on parallel axes and providing a rolling support substan tially in a single plane, said rotatable supporting means being carried by said tilting structure with said axes and said plane vertical' when said tilting structure is in a vertical position with said elevator carried thereby arranged for vertical movement, means mount-ing said tilting structure for tilting movement about'a horizontal axis whichis disposed at an acute angle with said plane; means for moving said tilting structure betweenl a vertical receiving position in which said plane is vertical and in which said elevator is vertically movable and a discharge position, about 90 away from said receiving position about said horizontal axis, and in which discharge position said plane will be disposed at an acute angleto the horizontal, so that a cast ingot supported on said rotatable supporting means when said tilting'struotureA is at its discharge position will .roll by gravity off said rotatable supporting means; and means for preventing a cast ingot from rolling off said rotatable supporting means until said tilting structure has been moved about said horizontal axis substantially to its discharge pisition.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said means for lowering and subsequently raising said elevator comprises an hydraulic cylinder.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said tilting structure is provided with guide means for said elevator, an hydraulic cylinder, a crosshead moved by said cylinder and carrying at least one pulley, `and flexible means trained over said pulley, anchored at one end to a part of said tilting structure and connected at its other end to said elevator, so that movement of said crosshead by said cylinder is only one-half the amplitude of movement of said elevator between the lower and upper positions thereof.

4. Apparatus according to claim l, in which said means for moving said tilting structure between its receiving and discharge positions comprises an hydraulic cylinder having one end portion pivotally secured to a stationary part of the apparatus and having a piston slidable in said cylinder and pivotally connected to said tilting structure.

5. Apparatus according to claim l, in which said tilting structure is provided with guide means for said elevator, an hydraulic cylinder, a crosshead moved by said cylinder and carrying at least one pulley, and flexible means trained over said pulley, anchored at one end to a part of said tilting structure, and connected at its other end to said elevator, so that movement of said crosshead by said cylinderV is only one-half the amplitude of movement of said elevator between the lower and upper positions thereof; andV in which said means for moving said tilting structure between its receiving and discharge positions comprises a second hydraulic cylinder having one end portion pivotally secured to a stationary part of the apparatus, and having a piston slidable in said cylinder land pivotally connected to said tilting structure.

6. Apparatus according to claim l, in which said rotatable supporting means comprise a plurality of similar rollers having their `axes all disposed in a plane parallel to` said single plane.

7. Apparatus according to claim l, in which said rotatable supporting means comprise a plurality of similar rollers having their axes all disposed in a plane parallel to said single plane, said rollers being arranged in two sets, with the rollers of one of said sets spaced from those of the other of said sets in a direction parallel to the axes of said rollers.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said means for preventing a cast ingot from rolling oit said rotatable supporting means comprises a stationary planiform member, arcuate in shape and disposed with the planiform portion thereof substantially vertical and perpendicular to said horizontal axis; and in which the lower end portion of thisplaniform member is located at a position such that the member serves to prevent ingots carried by said tilting structure from rolling off the rotatable supporting means thereof during all portions of the tilting movement of said tilting structure except that portion at and adjacent to the discharge position thereof.

9.1Apparatus according to claim l, in which a major portion of the structural means recited are disposed beneath the surface of a bath of cooling liquid, into which a hot cast ngot is lowered by the operation of the apparatus.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,030,482 Sumrney Feb. ll, 1936 2,184,519 Eppensiner Dec. 26, 1939 2,733,490 l Yates etal Feb. 7, 1956