R. J. HINES FOUNDRY FLASK July 8, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 27, 1956 mmvrox. Russzu. J. Hines BY My 1 kjy aw ATTORNEYS R. J. HINES 2,841,842

FOUNDRY FLASK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEENTOR. Russm J. Hmas BY hfla/u 40%"K7ia ATTORNEYS July s, 1958 Filed. April 27, 1956 FOUNDRY FLASH Russell J. Hines, Lakewood, Ohio, assignor to The Hines gllzllsk Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Application April 27, 1956, Serial No. 581,115

1 Claim. (Cl. 22--106) This invention relates to separable molders flasks .of the type having side walls interconnected at abutting ends to form a closed boundary for sand and more particularly relates to improved arrangements for releasably interconnecting the abutting ends to permit separation of the flask side walls from the sand mold.

In one of the methods used for making metal castings, a pattern plate is placed on the bed plate of a press, the plate having the cope forming portion of a pattern on the upper side thereof. A conventional molders flask is then placed on the pattern plate in aligned relationship therewith. The flask may be rectangular in configuration and it may have side walls having a hinged interconnection at one corner and a separable interconnection at a diagonally opposite corner to permit its subsequent removal from a sand mold formed within it. Next, sand is loosely inserted into the flask. An endless member in the form of a band may then be inserted into the flask and supported upon the sand, with a portion of the band projecting above the top of the flask. The band is then filled with sand, after which the sand and the band undergo a squeezing operation wherein a press head (having a drag forming portion on its under side) is forced down onto the topsurface of the sand until the top of the band is flush with the top of the sand and preferably is disposed slightly above the top edge of the flask. Thereafter the filled flask is transported to a pouring station and the flask is removed from the mold. The operations of flask filling, band inserting, and the squeezing operation are repeated, whereupon a second mold section is superimposed upon the first, the flask being removed and, in

the case of stack molding, the operation is repeated until the desired number of molds suitable for pouring is atrained.

The grouping of a plurality of sand molds together to enable their pouring at one operation will be hereinafter referred to as stack molding. It envisions the stacking of molds one on top of another vertically in such a manner that the verious pouring sprues of the stacked molds register with each other for simultaneous casting of a great many articles of a desired form.

In the above method, difficulty has been experienced in that the compacted sand in the mold was often displaced when the flask was removed from the mold. Heretofore, the corner of the flask that was separably interconnected was provided with a latching mechanism actuated by a handle which could be moved only in an upward or downward direction. It was found that the vibration or shock resulting from such vertical turning of the handle was transmitted to the impacted sand in the mold with the result that the sand (particularly around the cope and drag portions) became displaced thus spoiling the mold. Another difiiculty is the fact that the latching mechanism ordinarily projects outwardly from the corners in a manner which increases the bulk outline of the flask boundary, thus making it more diflicult to handle the flask during use.

It is an object of this invention to provide a molders atent O 2,841,842 Patented July 8, 1958 flask having an improved arrangement for releasably interconnecting the separable corners of the flask walls.

Another object of the invention is to provide a molders flask having a latching mechanism for releasably interconnecting the separable corners of the flask walls, which, when actuated, will not dislocate the compacted sand in the mold.

A further object of the invention is to provide a molders flask having side walls and corners substantially free of obstructions for greater ease in handling.

Briefly, the foregoing objects are accomplished by the provision of a rectangular molders flask having two parts that are separable at diagonally opposed corners. A special hinged interconnection is provided between the parts at one corner. A releasable latch mechanism is pro-- vided at the diagonally opposite corner, thereby providing a separable interconnection thereat.

The latching mechanism includes a stud having a head at its outer end. The stud is longitudinally disposed in the end portion of one of the walls at the separably interconnected corner of the flask, and is adapted for limited longitudinal movement therein. The stud is adapted to fit into an oppositely disposed stud slot in the end portion of the other or opposed wall (at the separably interconnected corner) and is adapted to be tightened and locked by a pivoting lever system in a manner allowing the head portion on the stud to be drawn tightly against the outside surface adjacent the stud slot, thereby bringing the ends of the walls tightly together to secure them in interlocked clamping relation. The latch mechanism may be actuated by a handle which is adapted for actuation in a horizontal plane with respect to the flask. To release the latch mechanism, the handle may be pulled laterally and outwardly from the flask, there being no vertical motion whatsoever in the operation of the handle. When the latch mechanism is in locked position, the handle is disposed very close to the adjacent wall of the flask, thus decreasing the bulk and irregular outline of the flask boundary to a minimum and thereby making it easier to handle the flask during use.

The latching mechanism may additionally include a plurality of tapered aligning pins disposed on one of the wall end portions at the separably interconnected corner, said pins being adapted for insertion into oppositely disposed tapered slots in the end portion of the opposed flask wall, to align the two walls with respect to each other when they are connected.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

. Fig. l is a top view of a molders flask embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the molders flask shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partial side view of the hinged corner of the flask.

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a partial front view of the flask showing the abutting ends of the flask side walls parted at the separable corner of the flask.

Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a partial side elevational view of the inside surface of the end portion of the wall containing the aligning slots.

Fig. 8 is a partial side elevational view of that corner of the flask which is separable and has the latch mechanism. This view is taken from the side of the flask which has the aligning slots in the end portion thereof.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 99 of Fig. 8.

Fig. is a partial sectional view taken along the line til-1'9 of Fig. 2.

The invention is adapted for making a single mold cavity by superimposing a cope section over a drag secion, and is also adapted for stack molding wherein any desired number of mold sections may be superimposed upon each other, each section being provided with a cope cavity on one side and a drag cavity on the opposite side so that a pair of sectional cavities can be made to register to form a complete mold cavity into which the molten metal is to be poured.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a molders flask F having side walls 10, and 11 and end walls 12 and 13 disposed in abutting end to end relation to form a rectangular wall boundary for receiving molding sand therein. Each of the walls may have outwardly extending flanges 8 (Fig. 2) around their periphery to form the recess 9 (Fig. 10). In the preferred form, the walls 10 and 12 and the walls 11 and 13 are rigidly interconnected by the intersecting bolts 14 and 15 (Fig. l) to form a twopart flask. The free abutting ends of the walls 10 and 13 are hinger together. (Figs. 3 and 4), the hinged connection being formed by the interfitting, aligned vertically-spaced lugs or projections 16 and 17 respectively, which interlock when the ends are joined to form an interleaved joint. Each of the projections 16 and 17 is provided with a through aperture, which when aligned vertically with the other apertures along the corner parting line forms a continuous aperture 20 adapted to receive the hinge or pivot pin 21 to form the hinge. The projections 16 and 17 are preferably curved on their meeting faces to permit free rotation of the side walls 10 and 13 about their pivot pin 21.

The free abutting ends of the walls 11 and 12 are. provided with aligning means in the form of aligning pins or fingered projections 23 and 24, which are adapted for insertion in the oppositely disposed slots 26 and 27 respectively in the angled face plate 28, which is secured to the free end of the wall 11 by the screws 29, to provide an aligned interlock between the ends when they are joined together. The projections 23 and 24 have the tapered or conical bases or shoulders 31 and 32 (Fig. 5) respectively, which are adapted to be received in the tapered entrances 33 and 34 (Fig. 7) of the slots 26 and 27 respectively to provide a slide-free joint (in a vertical direction) between the ends of the flask walls.

To secure the two parts of the flask together at the separably interconnected corner, there is provided a latching mechanism M, which, when locked, is substantially disposed within the confines of the flask walls 11 and 12 and within the adjacent abutting ends of the walls. The mechanism includes a sliding stud 36 (Fig. 6), which is disposed in and extends longitudinally through the aperture 37 in the end portion of wall 12 and is adapted for limited longitudinal movement therein. The stud 36 has a head 38 at its outer end, which may be formed by two bolts threadedly locked against each other on the end of the stud as shown. The stud 36 is adapted for insertion into the oppositely disposed stud slot 40 in the face plate 28 (on the end portion of wall 11) in such a manner that when the stud is moved longitudinally to the right (Figs. 6 and 10), the stud head 38 (being larger than the stud slot 40) draws the end portion of wall 11 therealong and into a tight interlocking engagement with the end portion of wall 12. The stud slot 40 is adapted not only to receive the stud 36, but is also formed to receive the rectangular nib 41 (Fig. 5) on the end portion of wall 12, which, when positioned in the slot, serves (along with the aligning pins 23 and 24) to prevent vertical movement between the end portions of the Walls 11 and 12 when they are interconnected. The inner end of the stud 36 preferably is square in cross-section as shown, and contains the vertical opening 43 (Fig. 9)

therein, the function of which will be hereinafter explained.

The stud 36 is actuated by a bracket or elbow lever 42 (Fig. 9), which is pivotally secured to the inner end 39 of the stud. The outer end 47 of the lever may be bifurcated as shown and includes the legs 46 and 43, which have the vertically aligned openings 56} and 52 therein. The openings 50 and 52 are hexagonally slotted and are adapted to receive the extension or handle 44 therein in any one of a plurality of positions. The handle serves as an extension of the bracket 42, thus allowing increased leverage on the bracket when it is being pivoted, as will be hereinafter explained. The inner end 49 of the lever 42 may be bifurcated also and includes the legs 54 and 56, which have the vertically aligned openings 58 and 6d therein. The lever 42 is pivotally connected to the stud 36 by the removable pin 62, which is received in the vertically aligned openings 43 (in the stud), and 58 and 60 (in the lever). This connection or fulcrum point is located outwardly from the inner end 49 of the lever, leaving an extension or pivot portion 64 (Fig. 6), which provides a leverage means enabling the pivoting of the lever about the end plate 66.

The stud 36 (Fig. 6) is actuated or drawn to the right (in a direction perpendicular to the corner parting line) by turning the handle horizontally counterclockwise (with respect to the flask), whereby the inner end 49 of the lever 42 pivots on the plate 66 and draws the stud to the right until the stud and the lever are substantially in axial alignment as shown in Fig. 10, at which point the stud is in locked or clamped position and the ends of the walls 11 and 12 are locked together. The inner end 49 of the lever has a cammed surface to facilitate the coaction of the lever with the plate 66. To release the stud, the handle 44 is pulled horizontally outwardly (Fig. 2). An E-shaped plate 68 (Figs. 5 and 6) may be secured near the end portion of wall 12 as shown, whereby the lever legs 54 and 56 straddle the middle leg of the E to keep the operation of the mechanism in a horizontal plane. When the mechanism M is in locked position, only a small portion of the end of the handle 44 (Fig. 8) projects expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recog nized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

1 claim:

In a molding flask having vertical walls interconnected at the respective ends thereof to define an enclosed boundary and having a hinged interconnection at one corner and a separable interconnection at another corner whereby the abutting end of one wall at the separably interconnected corner may be laterally advanced to or drawn away from the abutting end of the other wall thereat, a latch mechanism for releasably interlocking the abutting ends of the walls at the separably interconnected corner comprising, a stud slidably disposed in the abutting end of one of the walls at the separably interconnected corner and adapted for horizontal longitudinal displacement with respect to the one wall in a plane substantially parallel thereto, said stud being displaceable in a direction away from the abutting end it is disposed in to an outer released position and in a direction toward the abutting end to an inner locked position, the abutting end of the other wall at the separably inerconnected corner having an open-ended horizontal slot positioned for releasably receiving said stud laterally through the open end of the slot when the abutting ends approach each other with the stud disposed in released position, said stud having a head at its outer end to engage the outer surface around said slot and to coact therewith to draw the abutting ends into locking engagement when the stud is displaced to its locked position, and a leverage means rotatably disposed on the inner end of the stud for displacing the stud to its released and locked positions including, a lever having one end adapted to pivot about an inside surface of the adjacent abutting end and being pivotally connected at a point near said last-named one end to the inner end of the stud to form a fulcrum point for the lever thereat, whereby horizontal rotation of the lever into the plane of the adjacent wall displaces the stud horizontally toward the abutting end- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hines Dec. 17, 1940 Spensley Jan. 14, 1941