Patent GB-190312494-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in and relating to Machines for Casting Type.
Inventor: BROWN FRANK HOWARTH
Filed: 1903-06-02
Granted: 1903-08-06
Abstract: 12,494. Brown, F. H., Hanrahan, J. E., and Boyden, G. A. June 2. Type.-The object of the invention is to produce a machine especially for use in printing- establishments, for casting " sorts " or other types for use with existing fonts, and capable of casting types of various sizes, and of being operated by workmen unskilled in t y p e founding. Fig. 3 shows a sectional elevation, and Fig. 7 a section through the mould &c., of one form of machine. The parts of the machine are actuated by a reciprocating slide 9, operated by a rod 10 and crankwheel 8 on a shaft 3 driven through a hand-operated clutch, and having a wheel for rotating it by hand when necessary. The mould is mounted on a head 21, on which is pivoted at 22 a mould yoke 20, which is held down by a clamp so as to secure and cover all the mould parts and prevent the molten metal being thrown on to the operator. The stationary base-plate 172 of the mould is fixed in the head 21, an air space 211 being formed between them by ribs 210, to reduce radiation, and thus to retain the heat in the mould and prevent the machine from getting overheated. The upper surface of the plate 172 forms the underside of the mould cavity, and is formed with a rib, Fig. 12, to form the nick in the type. The end of the ejector blade 119 forms another side of the mould cavity, the remaining two sides being formed by an angular recess in a movable mould block 170, sliding between guides 173, 174. To the plate 172 is secured a jet plate 175 having abutting surfaces 196, 198, which engage corresponding surfaces 199, 197 on the block 170 to position the block accurately when it is moved into the casting position. The jet orifice in the plate 175 is fixed as regards its position vertically, but is increased or decreased in size in a horizontal direction, according to the set-wise dimension of the type being cast, by means of a jet-ejector 171 secured to the type ejector 119 and reciprocating in a cavity in the plate 175. The different body sizas of the types are obtained by the use of a number of interchangeable ejector blades 119 of different thicknesses. One end of the blade 119 is used for casting types, and the other end, which is cut away at 203, is used, with a properly-constructed matrix, for casting spaces and quads of less height than the types. The matrix is placed in a recess in a block 179 secured in the block 170 by a screw 181. To the jet plate 175 is attached a plate 176 having a recess for the nipple 35 of the metal injecting-apparatus. The block 170 is moved by a stem 11 having a bead engaging in the T-slot 177. The stem 11 is in a socket in the slide 9 and is pressed cutwardly by a spring so that it may yield when the block 170 is stopped by the other parts of the mould. The block 170 is clamped down, when in the casting position, by a wedge 15 engaging between it and a roller 16. The wedge is connected by a link 14 to a rod 13 spring seated in the slide 9. The metal pot 31 is fixed in a casing 30 mounted so as to be movable towards and from the mould, on a yoke 37 pivoted on the head 21, so that the metal pot &c. may be swung away from the mould to give access'to the parts when desired. The nipple 35 is pressed into its socket by a spring 41 in the yoke 37, adjustable by a screw 42. Burners 33, 34 heat the pot 31 and the nozzle. The metal is pumped into the mould from a well 54 by a plunger 73. A valve-rod 50, having a valve at each end, is operated to open and close the nozzle and to simultaneously close and open the passage by which the metal enters the well 54. A small passage 75 is made from the well 54 for metal to pass into the pot when casting thin types, and the end of the plunger 73 is so situated that it closes the passage 75 when thicker types are being cast, because of the larger quantity of metal injected and the consequent further downward movement of the plunger. When the plunger descends, a valve 74 closes a passage extending through the piston from the pot to the well. The plunger is connected by a rod 70, 71 to an operating-lever 61. On the lever 61 is a lug 60, which operates a lever 55 connected with the valve-rod 50. The lever 60 is operated by a falling weight 80, which is raised by a lever operated from the slide 9, and is released at the proper time to inject the metal. A means is provided to release the lever 61 from the weight 80, and permit the lever to return under the influence of a spring, while the weight is still falling, and such releasing-means is so arranged that the release takes place earlier when thin types are being cast than when thicker ones are being cast. The weight 80 is arrested by a dash-pot 101. The ejector blade 119 is moved forward to eject the type by a crosshead 116, to which it is connected by a pin 118. The crosshead is operated by an arm 112 on a rock-shaft 81 operated from the slide 9. The crosshead is returned by a spring 114 until the blade 119 is stopped by a block 120, adjusted, to regulate the set-wise dimensions of the types, by means of liners 124 placed between it and a block 122. The liners are of specified thicknesses, and the matrix of each type is marked to indicate the liners to be used for that type. The ejected type is knocked off the end of the blade 119 and delivered on to a surface 200 behind a shoulder 146, by a vertically-reciprocating block 130 raised by a lever and pressed down by a spring. The block 130 is pressed by a spring 135 against a plate 133 to keep its exact position in relation to the shoulder 146. The jet is broken off by a vertically-reciprocating plate at one side of the block 130. The types are pushed on under a shoe 141 adjustable by an eccentric 142 turned by a graduated .knob 143. On the underside of the shoe 141 is a flat spring 145, which extends to and round the block 130. The foot of the type is finished and grooved by a fixed toothed cutter in line with the jet. In a modified form of machine, the movable mould block 170 moves vertically, and the operating-mechanisms are differently disposed and arranged. The metal valve 50 is modified so as to be operated to open the nozzle by the force of the metal when the pump acts.