Patent GB-1495966-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus and method for conveying pouring and cooling foundry moulds
IPC: B22D47/02
Filed: 1974-12-10
Abstract: 1495966 Foundry plant; moving-mould casting machines OSBORN MFG CORP 10 Dec 1974 [10 Dec 1973] 53398/74 Heading B3F [Also in Division B8] A compact area for cooling and conveying poured moulds is provided by a turntable C, Fig. 1 (shown in detail with moulds B in Fig. 5) which supports at least two circles of moulds (positions 2-23) and has a reciprocable member (beam) 128, Fig. 9, not rotatable with the table beneath it but generally aligned with opposed loading and discharge stations 2 and 19 thereof, Fig. 1, for transferring moulds from one circle to the other and for discharging moulds from the outer circle, the table being indexed to bring moulds into register with the member 128 after each of its mould transfer movements. The moulds may be poured while on the turntable. As shown in Fig. 1 the moulds B are brought by a conveyer A from an automatic moulding machine to a transfer station (position 1 at the end of the reciprocable beam 128). The mould at 2 will be successively indexed to positions 3, 4, 5, 6 and back to 2 before being transferred by the reciprocable beam (between indexing movements) to position 7, to be replaced by the mould from transfer position 1. From position 7 the mould is indexed to alternate positions, 8, 9-of the inner circle of moulds before being passed by way of positions 12, 13 on a fixed framework G, Figs. 5, 9, supporting the turntable, to position 14 in the same circle to go round again. It then passes to position 19 and recircles in outer positions 20, 21-before being discharged by the reciprocable beam 128, as shown, to a second, adjacent, turntable D for a repeat of the circling movements before discharge from position 41. In a further arrangement, one turntable handles forty moulds at a time and in another, Fig. 2 (not shown), the turntable has two levels, one above the other, moulds passing from the upper to the lower level near the axis for further circlings before discharge, there being a reciprocating member extending half-way across each level. The reciprocable beam 128 in Fig. 9 is shown carrying eight moulds B side-by-side, as opposed to the seven to be carried end-to-end for the Fig. 1 arrangement; it corresponds to a turntable (F, Fig. 3, not shown) which is fed with alternate moulds from a storage conveyer, is indexed in clockwise diection and has three intermediate positions (12-14), instead of two on the fixed framework G and is adjacent a transfer table H which receives the discharged mould. The beam 128 is freely positioned within a support member 126 which is reciprocated by an hydraulic cylinder 146, Fig. 9, when the beam is lifted therefrom (to pick up the diametrically-aligned moulds) by bell crank levers (132, Fig. 8, not shown) operated by a fluid cylinder (138). The member 126 bears rails 124 which run between opposed rollers 122. The moulds B are each engaged by four small extensions 142 on the beam 128 when lifted from ears 151 on the fixed framework G and brackets 76, Fig. 5, on the turntable. The turntable, Fig. 5, is indexed on the framework G about a central post 60. A drive member 62 is rotatably mounted on the post and is indexed by a double-acting fluid cylinder 90 pivoted at 92 on a support 88 fixed to the post and on which is also pivoted an arm 84 swingable by the cylinder and bearing a roller 82 to index the member 62 by rolling against a wall of a radial groove 80 in that member. When a vertical cylinder 102 couples the drive member 62 and a support 64 of the turntable (which rides on rollers 68, Fig. 11), radial, downcurving arms 70 of the table, Fig. 5 (and Fig. 6, not shown), can be indexed with the support 64 to index the moulds B. These are borne between horizontal V-shaped extensions 72 at the arm ends which carry the brackets 76 for supporting the moulds in the circles. After each index, the member 62 and support 64 are decoupled and locked against rotation (to the fixed support 68) by a cylinder 112. Mould weights 160, Fig. 11, with openings for register with mould gates and feeders, are mounted by a parallelogram linkage 162, on the rotatable support 64, between the extensions 72 of each alternate pair of adjacent extensions. A projection from the linkage carries a roller 166 which adjacent the loading station rides on the underside of a cam track 168 mounted on the fixed framework G to lift the weight 160 to allow an empty mould to be transferred on to the loading station on the rotatable support 64. During the next indexing movement, the weight 160 is lowered on to the mould, which is then ready for pouring.