Improvements in Moulding Boxes or Flasks.
Year: 1897

page_text: GEORGE MICHAEL RICHES, Foundry Foreman, Azalea, Queens Road, Beccles,
Suffolk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
This invention consists in the application to moulding boxes or flasks, of right
and left hand inclined planes on lugs or handles attached thereto and which form
a part thereof, also keys for the same by which a slight movement of the said keys
on the said inclined planes by the fingers are sufficient to securely fasten said
boxes or flasks together during the process of casting or any other process.
Dated this 20th day of December 1897.
Improvements in Moulding Boxes or Flasks.
I, GEORGE MICHAEL RICHES, of "Azalea," Queens Road, Beccles, in the County
of Suffolk, Foundry Foreman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in moulding boxes or flasks, its object
being to provide means whereby the moulding boxes may be easily and quickly
fastened together without the employment of clamps, wedges, cottars or similar
devices.
In carrying out this invention, inclined faces are provided, preferably formed
on lugs which are made in one piece with the moulding box and generally used
as handles. Slots or openings are provided in the lugs to take a loose or free
key which is so shaped that when turned it operates upon the inclined faces of the
opposite box--or in case of a hinged box, opposite members of one box-and
securely fastens them together.
The inclined faces are preferably so disposed upon the moulding boxes that
any two boxes may be fastened together in the manner described. This may be
accomplished by making similar inclined faces slope in opposite directions at the
two ends of each box, as hereinafter explained.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a perspective view showing portions of two moulding boxes pro-
vided with one construction of fastening according to this invention, and

page_text: Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
A are lugs or handles formed in one piece with the sides of the moulding
boxes B Each lug A. is slotted as at C, and has two inclined faces formed upon
it as at D. These inclined faces D are adjacent to the slots C and slope in con-
trary directions on each lug; for the purpose of explanation they may be re-
garded as forming relatively to the key hereinafter referred to, portions of two
screw threads; it is desirable that if the faces on the lug at one side or end of
one moulding box constitute portions of say, two right hand threads, the faces of
the lug on the other or opposite end of the same moulding box should constitute
portions of two left hand threads. This arrangement of the faces facilitates the
proper and rapid fastening of the two moulding boxes together because the keys
at opposite sides can conveniently be readily rotated simultaneously in opposite
directions, one by the right hand and the other by the left hand of the user, and
moreover enables different moulding boxes to be used together, that is to say,
boxes, composing a pair need not always be used together, but for either of them
there may be substituted a box from another pair.
E is the loose or free key, that is to say, it is not permanently attached in any
way to either of the boxes. Each key E has two T-shaped heads E, the under
surfaces of which are preferably slightly rounded as at E.
The method of fastening two boxes together is as follows:-
The boxes having been placed upon one another in the usual way, a key E.is
taken and one of the T-shaped heads E' is passed through the slots C. The key E
is then easily turned by hand, so that the surfaces E2 of the heads E! move up the
inclined faces D, and thus tend to pull the two boxes B together thus keeping
them securely fastened in proper position relatively to each other. In the example
illustrated this fastening would be effected by turning the key E in the direction
indicated by the arrow a in Figure 1.
If desired the lugs upon one set of boxes may be flat as it is obvious that the
tightening or fastening action would take place by the action of T-heads E¹ on
a pair of lugs in which only one lug possessed inclined faces.
Further, although it is convenient to form the slots and inclined faces upon
lugs, yet it is possible to form them in the walls of the moulding boxes them-
selves the method illustrated is however, found to be very satisfactory in practice.
The chief advantages of this invention are that weights on the top of the mould
are, not needed, so that it is left clear for the operation of casting; further, the
time and labour spent in the old method of connecting moulding boxes are almost
entirely saved; in addition it is not necessary to jar the. mould at all as in the
old process in which it was necessary to use a hammer in tightening up wedges or
driving in cottars to clamp the parts of the mould together. Moreover, the keys E
do not extend laterally beyond the lugs A and are therefore protected by the
latter from accidental shock or displacement such as would be likely to result in
injury to the mould and the production of useless castings.
Another advantage of this method of fastening moulding boxes, is that a stock
of loose or free keys can be kept and any one of them can at once be used to fasten
any two boxes together, supposing of course, that the distance between the opposite
lugs is approximately constant."
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
. :
1. Fastening moulding boxes or the like by a free key working upon inclined
faces substantially as described.
2. The combination with a moulding box having inclined faces upon it of a
key such as E operating upon the inclined faces substantially as described.
3. The combination in a moulding box of inclined faces and a slot such as C or
equivalent means of admitting a free key.
1

page_text: 4. In a moulding box or the like a double-headed key such as E E¹ operating
substantially as described.
5. The complete fastening for a moulding box or the like substantially as
described or illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Doted this Coventh de 1000
G. M. RICHES,
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.
G. M. RICHES,
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.