US3256571A - Pouring cup, sprue and riser pattern mounting for use in foundry mold forming machine - Google Patents

Description

: June 21, 1966 R. LUND 3,256,571

UP, SPRUE AND POURING 0 ER PATTERN MOUNTING FOR USE IN FOUNDRY M FORMING MACHINE Filed May 11, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l S i N INVENTOR ROBERT L U D BY M A T TOR/V5 Y June 21, 1966 R. LUND 3,256,571

POURING CUP, SPRUE AND RISER PATTERN MOUNTING FOR USE IN FOUNDRY MOLD FORMING MACHINE Filed May 11, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I NVENTOR.

ROBE R T L l/ND A 7' TORNE Y UnitedStates Patent once 3,256,57l Patented June 21, 1966 PUURING CUP, SPRUE AND RISER PATTERN MOUNTING FOR USE IN FOUNDRY MOLD FORMING MACHINE Robert Lund, Melrose Park, Ill., assignor to Pettibone Mulliken Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 11, 1964, Ser. No. 366,396 Claims. (Cl. 22-38) The present invention relates generally to foundry molding equipment and has particular reference to a mold forming machine by means of which cavities may be formed in a sand mold to produce a sprue leading to the mold cavity and also to produce an enlarged tapered cup leading to the sprue for facilitating pouring of molten metal through the cup and sprue to the mold cavity. The mold forming machine of the present invention may also, if desired, effect formation in the sand mold of a riser or feeder passage leading from the mold cavity'for surge of excess molten metal thereintodur-ing a metal pouring operation, a portion of the metal returning to the mold cavity to compensate for any shrinkage of the poured metal during cooling thereof, thus avoiding voids and other defects in the finished casting. The present invention is applicable to both mechanized or automatic foundry molding equipment, as well as to conventional manual mold box or flask procedures. The invent-ion also is applicable to mold forming operations involving molds other than sand molds, for example, graphite or loam molds or the like, whether the molds be formed of refractory material or otherwise, or whether the molds be of the permanent or destructible type. Irrespective, however, of the particular use to which the invention may be put, the essential features of the invention are at all times preserved.

-It is invariably the practice in foundry molding operations, particularly in automatic molding machine operations, to form in the cope section of a mold pouring cup or depression which communicates with at least one sprue passage in communication with and leading to the mold cavity. This pouring cup or depression functions in the manner of a funnel to conduct the poured molten metal to the sprue passage and from thence to the mold cavity. The pouring cup or depression and its associated sprue passage are formed at the time of forming the cope section of the mold and the means whereby they are formed include a pouring cup pattern and a sprue pattern or punch which move relatively to each other in axial alignment during flask-closing operations. The pouring cup pattern usually is mounted on the usual squeeze plate at the upper portion of the flask and the sprue pattern or punch is in most instances mounted indirectly on and is movable with the table of the molding machine so that as the table rises toward the squeeze plate, or the squeeze plate moves into the flask, the sprue and pouring cup patterns move relatively toward and finally into engagement with each other. It also is the practice, under certain circumstances, to form a riser passage in communication with mold cavity, utilizing a riser pattern in the same manner as the sprue pattern or punch.

In an effort to over-come certain difiiculties that'are associated with sprue and pouring cup patterns of the type briefly outlined above, there has been devised telescopic sprue and pouring cup patterns 'wherein automatic alignment between the two patterns takes place during flask-closing operations as soon as the sprue pattern moves into telescopic relation with respect to the pouring cu-p pattern. Furthermore, in order to obviate the necessity of maintaining close tolerances in the height of the flask or the length of the sprue pattern, to prevent either looseness or binding of the sprue pattern when the flask is closed, a spring-loaded lost-motion connection between the sprue pattern and either the table or other portion of the machine which supports the sprue pattern has been devised. These features present themselves in copending United States patent application Serial No. 239,663, filed by William A. Hunter and me on November 23, 1962, and now entitled, Self-Aligning Pouring Cup Pattern and Sprue Punch Assembly, over which application the present invention is an improvement.

The pouring cup pattern and sprue punch apparatus or assembly of the above-mentioned copending patent application is predicated upon the use of a pouring cup pattern and a sprue punch (sprue pattern or punch) which cooperate telescopically with each other and, moreover, require that the sprue punch pass completely through a hole in either the squeeze plate or the cross wall of the associated flask section so that it may find yielding reaction support above the squeeze plate or below such cross wall and, in either event, outside of the flask proper. Thus, once an installation has been made for a given positioning of the pouring cup pattern and sprue punch, change-over operations to accommodate a different positioning of such parts can be made only with great difliculty and at considerable expense. The original tapped hole in the squeeze plate or the cross wall of the associated flask section must be plugged, a new hole drilled and tapped at the new location, and in certain instances, when employed, the sprue punch seat on the cross Wall of the flask must be relocated, after which the parts may then be assembled at their new location. These operations weaken the squeeze plate or the cross wall and, after a few such change-over operations, a new squeeze plate or cross wall is required. As a matter of fact, the expense of repositioning the pouring cup pattern and the sprue punch frequently justifies the substitution of a new squeeze plate or flask section cross wall for each change of position. Still further, the assembly or apparatus of the aforementioned patent application precludes certain positioning of the pattern parts due to interference with outside machine instrumentalities, such as the ram plunger or ram cylinder, or other adjacent obstructions. For example, it precludes centering the pattern parts directly above the pattern proper so that it is always necessary to resort to the use of lateral feeders or runners between the sprue punch and the pattern proper.

The present invention is designed to overcome the above-noted limitations that are attendant upon the construction and use of a pouring cup pattern and sprue punch assembly of the type that is shown and described in said copending patent application Serial No. 239,663 and, toward this end, the invention contemplates the provision of a pneumatic pouring cup pattern and sprue pattern mounting which will enable repeated change-over operations for the purpose of repositioning the pattern parts, the change-over operations being performed economically and with no damage, whatsoever, to the squeeze plate or other constituent flask parts. According to the present invention, once an initial pattern parts installation has been made, repeated repositioning of the pattern parts within the flask cavity may be made with no modification, whatsoever, to the squeeze plate or other flask parts.

The provision of a pouring cup pattern and sprue pattern mounting of the character briefly outlined above being the principal object of the invention, this object is attained by establishing, immediately beneath the squeeze plate of the molding machine with which the mounting is associated, an air pocket or reservoir of extremely small vertical dimension or height but of wide horizontal expense. If desired, this reservoir may be of such extent that it is substantially coextensive with the effective area of the squeeze plate. Means are provided for feeding this reservoir with air under pressure during the blow operation. The pouring cup pattern is in the form of a tubular member which telescopically receives the sprue pattern or punch and the latter is provided with a pistonlike head which operates within the tubular pouring cup pattern, and with a shank which is capable of being retracted into and projected from the tubular pouring cup pattern in the manner of a cylinder and plunger assembly. The pouring cup pattern communicates with the aforementioned reservoir through the bottom reservoir wall and is permanently supported from such bottom wall [for any given installation. Air within the pouring cup pattern forces the sprue pattern downwardly and into engagement with the subjacent flask member at the time of initial flask-closing operations and maintains the sprue pattern yieldingly in engagement with such member during the blow operation. During the squeeze operation, the sprue pattern is forced telescopically upwardly into the pouring cup pattern. By such an arrangement, the lostmotion connection and the sprue pattern and pouring cup pattern alignment that is made possible by the pouring cup pattern and sprue punch assembly of aforementioned copending patent application Serial No. 239,663, as well as other advantageous features thereof, are preserved, while an additional advantage accrues from the fact that relocation of the pattern parts may be effected economically and without damaging or otherwise modifying the squeeze plate proper. Relocation of the pattern parts may be effected simply by forming a tapped hole in the air reservoir beneath the squeeze plate at the desired location after sealing off the initial tapped hole. The pouring cup pattern and the sprue pattern, as an assembled unit, may be moved bodily to the new location. The new location may be either above the flask pattern proper or it may be to one side thereof. No centering (protuberance or other centering device for the lower end of the sprue pattern is required on the bottom wall of the flask and the only alteration of machine structure resides in a relocation of the tapped hole in the bottom wall of the air reservoir. This bottom wall is of plate metal construction so that the relocation of holes is a simple matter and may be repeatedly performed many times before this expendible plate metal item requires replacement.

Still further, according to the present invention, provision is made for producing in the sand mold a riser passage, the passage being established by means similar to the means for producing the sprue passage and utilizing telescopic riser pattern parts, including a tubular cylinderlike part and a cooperating plunger-like part, the cylinderlike part being in communication with the aforementioned air reservoir through a tapped hole in the bottom wall of the reservoir. The telescopic riser pattern assembly is thus equally capable of relocation within the flask cavity and its position may be shifted when desired either in conjunction with or independent of any shifting of the assembly of pouring cup pattern and sprue pattern.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention not at this time enumerated will become readily apparent as the following description ensues.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification, one embodiment of the invention has been shown.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view, somewhat schematic in its representation, showing the improved pouring cup, sprue and riser pattern mounting of the present invention operatively installed in the cope flask section of an automatic match plate-type molding machine, the section being taken substantially centrally and longitudinally through the flask and showing the squeeze plate, the match plate, and the flask sections closed upon one another and the flask filled with sand preparatory to a sand squeeze operation;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1 and in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. '1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the parts in a different position.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and in particular to FIG. 1, the pouring cup, sprue and riser pattern mounting of the present invention has been shown as being embodied in a match plate molding machine of the general type that is shown and described in copending United States patent application Serial No. 276,479, filed on April 29, 1963 by William A. Hunter and me and entitled, Match Plate Molding Machine for the Simultaneous Production of Cope and Drag Mold Sections. Only the essential elements of the molding machine as they apply to the pattern mounting of the present invention have been illustrated and the illustration thereof is of simplified or schematic form.

Briefly, the molding machine, insofar as it applies to the pattern mounting of the present invention, is a fully automatic machine wherein blow-squeeze functions may be carried out on a pair of flask sections 10 and 12 on opposite sides of a horizontal match plate 14 in one operation. The match plate 14 is essentially a two-sided pattern plate and carries an upwardly presented pattern 16 and a downwardly presented pattern 18, the pattern 16 being designed for projection into the upper or cope flask section 10 and the pattern 18 being similarly designed for projection into the lower or drag flask section 12. The two flask sections are relatively movable in vertical in-line relationshi between a position of wide separation and a position of close proximity wherein the sections are closed upon each other and the match plate is sandwiched between them as shown in FIG. 1. The lower or drag flask section 12 is carried on a vertically shiftable table (not shown) and moves vertically therewith. An upper sandcompacting squeeze plate 20 is attached to a ram plunger 22 which shifts vertically under the influence of an actuating hydraulic ram cylinder (not shown). A similar lower squeeze plate (not shown) is carried by the table and is likewise vertically shiftable by hydraulic means (also, not shown). The match plate is laterally shiftable between an out-of-the-Way position remote from the working area of the machine to an advanced or operative position wherein it is interposed between the cope and drag flask sections 10 and 12. The drag flask section is movable vertically from a lowered position, through an intermediate position wherein it engages and .picks up the match plate and shifts the same vertically into engagement with the upper cope flask section with the adjacent rims of the two flask sections bearing sealingly against the match plate as shown in FIG. 1. Thereafter, loose sand is blown into both flask sections simultaneuosly through blow holes or openings in the side walls thereof, such for example, as the blow openings 24 in the upper flask section 10; and, after both flask sections have been filled with sand, the upper and lower squeeze plates are moved toward each other and into their respective flask sections in order simultaneously to compact the sand in the flask sections 10 and 12 about the patterns 16 and 18. Since the present pattern mounting is associated only with the upper or cope flask section 10, the details of the lower or drag flask section have not been illustrated herein nor have the associated instrumentalities, such as the lower squeeze plate, been shown. The squeeze position of the upper squeeze plate 20 when it descends into the upper or cope flask section 10 has been shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1. In this position of the squeeze plate 20, the match plate 1 and the squeeze plate 20 function as sandcompacting members to comprise the sand between.

The pattern mounting of the present invention includes a pouring cup pattern 30, a sprue pattern or punch 32 and a two-piece telescopic riser pattern 31. The pouring c'up pattern 30 is generally of inverted frusto-conical configuration and is provided with a vertically extending cylindrical bore 33 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) presenting an internal upwardly facing annular shoulder 34 adjacent to its lower rim. The sprue pattern 32 is of elongated cylindrical design and the upper region thereof is telescopically slidable in the bore 33 and is provided with an enlarged head 36. The latter carries an O-ring 38 which makes sealing engagement with the wall of the bore 33 so that the pouring cup pattern and the sprue pattern constitute, in effect, an extensible and contractible cylinder and plunger assembly.

Means are provided for supplying air under pressure to the upper end of the bore 33 during the blow operation in order to force the sprue pattern 32 downwardly and into seating contact with the match plate 14. Accordingly, a shallow pan-shaped air reservoir 40 which is of wide dimensions and is preferably, but not necessarily, of rectangular design, is positioned immediately below the squeeze plate 20, this reservoir being established by reason of a rectangular stamped metal plate 42 which underlies and is maintained in slightly spaced relationship from the bottom surface of the squeeze plate 20 by means of a rectangular gasket-like spacer strip 44. The spacer strip 44 and the plate 42 are secured to the underneath face of the squeeze plate 20 by means of screws 46 (see FIGS. 1 and 3). Spacer blocks 48, which are appropriately spaced within the air reservoir 40 between the plate 42 and squeeze plate 20 and are suitably secured in place, reinforce the plate 42 against collapse or bucklingduring the squeeze operation.

The plate 42 is formed of heavy gauge plate or sheet metal and constitutes the bottom wall for the narrow reservoir while the rectangular spacer strip 44 constitutes an'extremely small height side wall for the reservoir.

Communication between the air reservoir 40 and the interior of the pouring cup pattern 30 is established by way of a threaded nipple 50, the upper end of which is threadedly received in a tapped hole 52 in the plate 42 and the lower end of which is threadedly received in a tapped hole 54 in an attachment plate 56. The latter is seated within an annular recess 58 in the upper end face of the pouring cup pattern 30 and is secured therein by means of a plurality of screws 60. The nipple 50 maintains the attachment plate, and consequently, the pouring cup pattern as a whole, in position on the underneath side of the plate 42 and in communication with the air reservoir 40. An O-ring 62 seals the upper rim of the pouring cup to the intermediate face of the plate 42.

The composite two-piece telescopic riser pattern 31 is similar in its design to the assembly 01f pouring cup pattern and sprue pattern and includes a tubular cylindrical upper section 70 and a lower section 72. The upper end of the lower section is provided with an enlarged head 74 constituting, in effect, a piston. An annular outwardly extending attachment flange 76 on the upper end of the upper section 70 is secured by screws 78 to the underneath face of the reservoir plate 42and a hole 80 in said plate establishes communication between the air reservoir and the interior of the upper section 70 of the riser pattern. During the blow operation, air under pressure in the upper section 70 serves to force the lower section 72 downwardly into seating engagement with the match plate 14.

a source of air under pressure and having interposed therein a suitable valve (not shown) by means of which there is control of the supply of air under pressure to the reservoir during the blow operation.

In the operation of the herein-described pattern mounting, air pressure is applied to the reservoir 40 only during the blow operation. At this time, the flask sections 10 and 112 and the match plate 14 assume the positions in which they are shown in FIG. 1 with the adjacent rims of both flask sections seated on the peripheral region of the match plate. The squeeze plate 20 is in a raised position wherein it has just entered the upper rim of the upper or cope flask section 10 while the lower squeeze plate (not shown) similarly assumes the same relationship wi-th respect to the lower rim of the lower or drag flask section 12. Air pressure is maintained in the reservoir 40 so that both the sprue pattern 32 and the lower section 72 of the telescopic riser pattern 31 are maintained in yielding seating engagement with the match plate 14.

After the blow operation has been completed, during which time sand is blown into the flask through the aforementioned blow openings including the openings 24, the two squeeze plates are moved relatively to each other to compact the sand in both flask sections about the patterns 16 and 18, pressure thus being equalized on opposite sides of the match plate 14 as described in aforementioned copending patent application Serial No. 276,479 and, during this squeeze operation, the sprue pattern 32 is carried upwardly from the position wherein it is shown in FIG. 4 to the position wherein it is shown in FIG. 5, thus telescoping the sprue pattern 32 into the pouring cup pattern 30. During this squeeze operation, the bottom Wall 42 of the reservoir, reinforced by the internal pressure of air thereabove, is instrumental in effecting the squeeze operation since it is in direct contact with the sand.

In the illustratedenvironment of the present invention, the sprue pattern 32 and the lower section 72 of the riser pattern 31 are shown as being laterally offset from the pattern 16 and connected thereto by horizontal runner patterns and 92. These two runner patterns may be positioned for direct seating against the pattern 16 if desired and, according to the present invention, it is possible economically and with a minimum of labor, to effect a change-over operation where the positioning of the pattern parts may be effected at any desired location within the flask section 10.

To make any given change-over operation, it is necessary merely to drill and tap a new hole 52 in the reservoir bottom plate 42 at the desired location and unscrew the threaded nipple 50 from the original hole 52 and transfer it, together with the assembly of pouring cup pattern and sprue pattern in position thereon to the new hole. To facilitate unscrewing of the nipple 50 from the original hole 52 and threading of the same into the new hole, the nipple may be spot-Welded in position in the attachment plate 56. After such transfer of the pouring cup pattern 30 and the sprue pattern 32, the original tapped hole may be suitably plugged.

The composite telescopic two-piece riser pattern 34 may similarly be transferred from one location within the flask section 10 to another.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Neither is the invention tobe limited to the specific environment in which it is disclosed herein. For example, although the pouring cup, sprue and riser pattern mounting has been illustrated as beingoperatively associated with the cope flask section 10 of a match plate molding machine of the type that is shown and described in the aforementioned copending patent application Serial No. 276,479, the same may, if desired, with or without siutable modification, be applied to automatic saind molding machines whether the same be of the match plate type or otherwise. Irrespective, however, of the particular use to which the present invention may be put or to the specific form which it assumes, the essential features of the invention remain substantially the same. Therefore, only insofar as the invention has particularly been pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a molding machine of the character described, an open-ended flask section adapted to receive a charge of loose molding material for subsequent compacting thereof about a pattern within the flask section, a first material compacting member seated upon and closing one open end of the flask section, a second materialcompacting member movable'toward and away from the first material-compacting member for compacting the material within the flask section against the first materialcompacting member, an air reservoir carried by the second material-compacting member, a tubular pouring cup pattern supported on and depending from the second material-compacting member and shaped to create a pouring depression in the material during compacting thereof, said pouring cup pattern having a central vertical bore therein, a sprue pattern telescopically and slidably received in said bore through the lower end of the pouring cup pattern and shaped to create a sprue passage in the material in communication with the depression during compacting of the material within the flask section, means providing a passage establishing open communication between the upper region of said bore and said air reservoir, and means for supplying air under pressure to the interior of said air reservoir to extend the sprue pattern from the pouring cup pattern and into yielding engagement with said first material-compacting member.

2. In a molding machine of the character described, in combination, a flask section having open upper and lower ends and adapted to receive a charge of loose sand for subsequent compacting thereof about a pattern within the flask section, an upper sand compacting member and a lower sand-compacting member in vertical register with the upper and lower open ends of the flask section respectively and relatively movable toward and away from each other for compacting the sand within the flask section therebetween, an air reservoir supported on and positioned immediately beneath said upper sand compacting member, a tubular pouring cup pattern supported on and depending from the second sandcompacting member and shaped to create a pouring depression in the sand during compacting of the latter, said pouring cup pattern having a central vertical bore therein, a sprue pattern telescopically and slidably received in said bore and adapted to create a sprue passage in the sand in communication with the depression during compacting of the sand, means providing a passage establishing open communication between the upper region of said bore and said air reservoir, and means for supplying air under pressure to the interior of said air reservoir.

3. In a molding machine of the character described, the combination set forth in claim 2 and including, additionally, an enlarged head on the upper end of the sprue pattern within the bore and constituting a piston for effective telescopic movement of the sprue pattern into and out of the bore, and means defining an internal annular shoulder at the lower'end of the bore and designed for contact with said enlarged head to prevent separation of the pouring cup pattern and the sprue pattern.

4. In a molding machine of the character described, in combination, a flask section having open upper and lower ends and adapted to receive a charge of loose sand for subsequent compacting thereof about a pattern within the flask section, a sand-compacting plate closing the lower open end of the flask section, a squeeze plate movable vertically into and out of said flask section through the upper open end of the flask section for compacting sand within the flask section against the sand-compacting plate and about the pattern, a shallow pan-shaped air reservoir secured to the underneath face of said squeeze plate and including a flat bottom wall spaced a small distance from said underneath face, an open-ended tubular pouring cup pattern, means for securing the open upper end of said pouring cup to the underneath face of said bottom wall, said pouring cup pattern depending from said underneath face of the bottom wall and being shaped to create a pouring depression in the sand during compacting thereof, said pouring cup pattern being provided with a central vertical bore therethrough, a sprue pattern telescopically and slidably received in said bore and adapted to create a sprue passage in the sand in communication with the depression during compacting of the sand, said bottom wall of the reservoir being formed with an opening therein establishing communication between the air reservoir and the upper end of the bore, and means for supplying air under pressure to the interior of said air reservoir.

5. In a molding machine of the character described, the combination set forth in claim 4 and wherein the means for securing the open upper end of the pouring cup to the underneath face of the reservoir bottom wall comprises an attachment plate secured to and extending across said open upper end of the pouring cup pattern, said attachment plate being provided with an opening therein in register with the opening in said bottom wall, and means releasably securing the attachment plate to said bottom wall.

6. In a molding machine of the character described, the combination set forth in claim 4 and wherein the means for securing the open upper end of the pouring cup to the underneath face of the reservoir bottom wall comcomprises an attachment plate secured to and extending across said open upper end, said attachment plate being provided with an opening therein, and a tubular nipple having one end thereof threadedly received in the opening in the attachment plate and its other end threadedly received in the opening in said bottom wall.

7. In a molding machine of the character described, the combination set forth in claim 4 and wherein the means for securing the open upper end of the pouring cup to the underneath face of the reservoir bottom wall comprises an attachment plate secured to and extending across said open upper end, said attachment plate being provided with a central opening therethrough, a tubular threaded nipple projecting upwardly from said attachment plate in communication with and surrounding said latter opening, said nipple being threadedly received within the opening in said bottom wall of the reservoir.

8. In a molding machine of the character described, in combination, a flask section having open upper and lower ends and adapted to receive a charge of loose sand for subsequent compacting thereof about a pattern within the flask section, a sand-compacting plate closing the lower open end of the flask, a squeeze plate movable vertically into and out of said flask section through the upper open end of the flask section for compacting sand within the flask section against the sand-compacting plate and about the pattern, a shallow pan-shaped reservoir disposed beneath and supported from said squeeze plate, said reservoir including a rectangular flat plate underlying and spaced a slight distance from the underneath face of said squeeze plate and constituting a bottom wall for the reservoir, a continuous marginal gasket-like spacer strip interposed between the peripheral edge region of the plate and the squeeze plate and constituting a side wall for the reservoir, attachment screws passing through the plate and strip and serving to secure the reservoir in position on the squeeze plate, said plate being formed with a threaded opening therethrough, an elongated vertically extending open-ended tubular pouring cup pattern shaped to create a pouring opening in the sand during compacting of the latter, an attachment plate extending across and secured to the open upper end of the pouring cup pattern, said attachment plate being formed with a central opening therethrough, a threaded nipple on said attachment plate surrounding said central opening and threadedly received in the opening in said plate, said nipple establishing communication between the upper end of the pouring cup pattern and the reservoir and serving to support the pouring cup pattern from the plate, a sprue pattern telescopically and slidably received in said pouring cup pattern and projecting outwardly fromthe lower open end thereof, said sprue pattern being shaped to create a sprue passage in the sand during compacting of the latter and in communication with said pouring opening, and means for supplying air under pressure to the interior of said reservoir.

9. In a molding machine of the character described, the combination set forth in claim 8 and including, additionally, an enlarged head on said sprue pattern and within the pouring cup pattern, said head functioning in the manner of a piston to force the sprue pattern downwardly and outwardly of the pouring cup pattern and into seating engagement with said sand-compacting plate.

10. In a molding machine of the character described, in combination, a flask section having open upper and lower ends and adapted to receive a charge of loose sand for subsequent compacting thereof about a pattern within the flask section, a sand-compacting plate closing the lower open end of the flask, a squeeze plate movable vertically into and out of said flask section through the upper open end of the flask section for compacting sand within the flask section against the sand-compacting plate and about the pattern, a shallow pan-shaped reservoir disposed beneath and supported from said squeeze plate, said reservoir including a rectangular fiat plate underlying and spaced a slight distance from the underneath face of said squeeze plate and constituting a bottom wall for the reservoir, a continuous marginal gasket-like spacer strip interposed between the peripheral edge region of the plate and the squeeze plate and constituting a side wall for the reservoir, attachment screws passing through the plate and strip and serving to secure the reservoir in position on the squeeze plate, said plate being formed with first and second threaded openings therethrough, first and second open-ended tubular cylindrical members secured to the underneath face of said plate and encompassing said first and second openings respectively and in communication with the reservoir through said openings, first and second plungers telescopically and slidably disposed within the first and second cylindrical members respectively and extensible therefrom under the influence of air pressure in the reservoir and said cylindrical members, said first cylindrical member constituting a pouring cup pattern for creating a pouring depression in the sand during compacting of the latter, said first plunger constituting a sprue pattern for creating a sprue passage in the sand in communication with the pouring depression during compacting of the sand, said second cylindrical member and second plunger constituting a composite telescopic riser pattern for creating a riser passage in the sand during compacting of the latter, and means for supplying air under pressure to said reservoir.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 695,146 3/1902 Davis 22162 798,675 9/1905 Hall 2238 1,095,356 4/1933 Norwick I 2238 2,908,951 10/1959 Melka 2238 MARCUS U. LYONS, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN A MOLDING MACHINE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, AN OPEN-ENDED FLASK SECTION ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A CHARGE OF LOOSE MOLDING MATERIAL FOR SUBSEQUENT COMPACTING THEREOF ABOUT A PATTERN WITHIN THE FLASK SECTION, A FIRST MATERIAL COMPACTING MEMBER SEATED UPON AND CLOSING ONE OPEN END OF THE FLASK SECTION, A SECOND MATERIALCOMPACTING MEMBER MOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE FIRST MATERIAL-COMPACTING MEMBER FOR COMPACTING THE MATERIAL WITHIN THE FLASK SECTION AGAINST THE FIRST MATERIALCOMPACTING MEMBER, AND AIR RESERVOIR CARRIED BY THE SECOND MATERIAL-COMPACTING MEMBER, A TUBULAR POURING CUP PATTERN SUPPORTED ON AND DEPENDING FROM THE SECOND MATERIAL-COMPACTING MEMBER AND SHAPED TO CREATE A POURING DEPRESSION IN THE MATERIAL DURING COMPACTING THEREOF, SAID POURING CUP PATTERN HAVING A CENTRAL VERTICAL BORE THEREIN, A SPRUE PATTERN TELESCOPICALLY AND SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN SAID BORE THROUGH THE LOWER END OF THE POURING CUP PATTERN AND SHAPED TO CREATE A SPRUE PASSAGE IN THE MATERIAL IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE DEPRESSION DURING COMPACTING OF THE MATERIAL WITHIN THE FLASK SECTION, MEANS PROVIDING A PASSAGE ESTABLISHING OPEN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE UPPER REGION OF SAID BORE AND SAID AIR RESERVOIR, AND MEANS FOR SUPPLYING AIR UNDER PRESSURE TO THE INTERIOR OF SAID AIR RESERVOIR TO EXTEND THE SPRUE PATTERN FROM THE POURING CUP PATTERN AND INTO YIELDING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FIRST MATERIAL-COMPACTING MEMBER.

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