IMPROVEMENTS IN MOULDING, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MOULDING, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN." A communication
from abroad by Jacques Désiré Delille, of Paris, in the Republic of Franco.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th April 1880.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOULDING, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN." A communication from abroad by Jacques Désiré Delille, of Paris,
in the Republic of France.
This Invention relates to a method of moulding in sand or equivalent material
by the aid of apparatus constructed with a hollow rammer, which acts as a feeder or
distributer, and enables the operation of moulding to be effected with perfect'
regularity and great rapidity by ordinary workmen. By this means great
advantages are obtained over the systems heretofore known and employed, and a
considerable saving is effected in the labor necessary for the operation.
In carrying out this Invention the apparatus is constructed with a hopper which
is supplied with sand (for example) automatically or otherwise in a continuous
manner; during the operation this supply of sand is capable of being arrested when
required. Through the bottom of the hoppe passes the upper extremity of a
vertical tube forming part of the rammer, the lower extremity of which tube is
connected to a rammer head by means of a cruciform prolongation of the said head,
which enters the lower extremity of the tube, and divides the same into four
passages. The tube is provided with a collar near its upper extremity bearing on
a conical cam fast on a horizontal shaft, by means of which the tube and rammer
head are alternately elevated and allowed to drop by gravitation, the descent being
accelerated by the action of a spring arranged between the collar and the bottom
of the hopper, and the extent of the motion is regulated by adjusting the position
of the cam.
Underneath the rammer there is arranged a platform which is capable of
ascending and descending upon guides; these movements are imparted to the said
platform by means of a vertical screw working in a nut at the lower extremity of
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page_text: .
a tubular projection on the underside of the platform. This screw terminates at
its lower extremity in a shaft which works in a bearing serving to prevent tho
screw from moving in the direction of its axis, and is also supported in a footstep
bearing at its lower extremity. A toothed wheel is keyed upon this shaft and
gears with another toothed wheel fast on the lower extremity of another vertical
shaft, actuated by a bevel wheel fast on its upper extremity, which bevel wheel is
driven by a corresponding bevel wheel fast on one extremity of a horizontal
driving shaft, receiving motion from any suitable source by means of a cone pulley.
A toothed wheel fast on this driving shaft is in gear with a pinion fast on the
horizontal shaft carrying the conical cam hereinbefore referred to, and serves to
transmit the requisite rotary motion to the said cam.
In working this apparatus the ascending and descending platform is first raised
-to its highest position, and a suitable mould carried on a truck, travelling or
swivelling rollers or castors is placed upon the said platform underneath-the rammer,.
the hopper is then supplied with sand, which descends through the vertical tube,
and is distributed inside the mould by the four passages formed by the rammer
head as herein before described. At the same time the rammer is alternately
elevated and depressed by the action of the cam and spring, and rams and consoli-
dates the sand as it enters the mould. The screw underneath the platform is also
caused to rotate at a suitable speed in order to cause the platform to descend in
proportion as the mould upon it becomes filled with sand, for which object.a. corre-
sponding hole may be provided in the floor of the workshop. The mould being
mounted on a truck, as herein before described, a workman standing upon the
platform moves the mould in any horizontal direction as required in order to bring
-every-part_under_the_action of the rammer. When the mould is filled it is removed
from underneath the rammer, and an empty mould substituted, after-which-the-
platform is again raised, and the operation herein before described is repeated, and
BO on in succession.
The vertical tube is by preference of an oval form, in cross section, but tubes of
a circular or any other suitable form may be employed.
Although when moulding articles of irregular form the mould may be mounted
on a truck, as in the arrangement hereinbefore described, the truck is not required
when moulding articles of a circular or cylindrical form, in which caso the mould
is secured to the platform by a central axis which allows of the rotation of the
mould, or it may be secured by lateral clamps, and in the latter case the platform
itself must be capable of rotating.

page_text: Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken along the line 1, 2, Figure 4.
Figure 7 is a plan drawn to the same scale as Figure 1 of a portion of the
apparatus hereinafter described.
Figures 8 and 9 are details bereinafter referred to.
The apparatus is constructed with a frame A supporting a hopper B provided
with a sliding valvo B', which is actuated by means of a rod or cord D. The
hopper B communicates with a tube E forming part of the rammer, which has
imparted to it a reciprocating vertical motion, and is provided with a collar G
working in a cylindrical guide G'. This tube is connected to the base of the hopper'
by a funnel F of india rubber or other flexible material, which allows the tube to
partake of the requisite motion, and at the same time prevents the contents of the
hopper from falling between the collar C and the guide G', in which it slides
without turning.
A rammer head H, Figure 4, is attached to the lower extremity of the tube E by
a pin, screw, or other suitable means, and cruciform partitions, Figure 6, are pro-
vided at this extremity of the tube the same forming four channels for the purpose
of distributing the sand uniformly on all sides of the rammer head through
openings. Tubes of circular or other form in cross section may be employed, but
it is preferred to employ tubes of oval form, as shewn in the Drawing.
Reciprocating motion in a vertical direction is imparted to the rammer (that is to
say, the tube c and rammer head H) by means of a cam or wiper I, Figure 2, on a
shaft i, which acts upon one extremity of a lever K pivotted at K, the other
extremity of which is forked (Figure 3), and bears against a collar L on the tube E.
The cam is adjusted so as to raise the tube the required distance and then allow it
to drop quickly by its own weight, assisted by a spring M, and enable the rammer
head to consolidate the sand or material in a mould box O, the latter being carried
on a platform P, arranged as hereinafter described.
This platform is capable of ascending. and descending along four guides R,
supported at their upper extremities by a frame R' (a portion of which is represented

page_text: as broken away in the Drawing), and the said guides at their lower extremities
are fixed to another frame R. The platform P is actuated by a screw S working
in a female screw formed in the boss of a toothed wheel T supported by a suitable
base plate U. The wheel T is driven by a wheel T fast on a shaft W, to which
motion is imparted by means of a bevel wheel W¹ in gear with a corresponding
wheel X on the driving shaft X' of the apparatus, the said driving shaft being pro-
vided with suitable fast and loose pulleys Y, Y'. The driving shaft also imparts
motion to the mechanism hereinbefore described for actuating the rammer by
means of a toothed wheel Z fast on the said shaft, and in gear with a corresponding
wheel on the shaft i.
In working this apparatus a mould box is placed upon the platform, and the
hopper being supplied with sand (for example) motion is transmitted to the driving
shaft X, and is communicated to the rammer tube E with its rammer head Has
well-as to tho platform P, which latter descends in proportion as the mould box
becomes filled with sand, which is consolidated by the action of the rammer hoad..
When. preparing moulds for articles of irregular form the mould box is placed upon
a carriage provided with rollers or castors, as shown in Figure 8, for the purpose of
enabling the workman to move the mould box in a horizontal direction upon the
platform so as to bring all the parts of the mould under the action of the rammer.
In the case of moulds of a circular form an apparatus is employed, as shown in
Figures 1 and 8, consisting of an endless chain & passed round sprocket wheels e, e'.
The sprocket wheel e turns on the upper extremity of the screw S as a centre
and bears upon rollers u, being secured by pins s to a table, which is formed in
two parts, marked respectively and t¹. The sprocket wheel e', which is supported
by an arm on the platform P, revolves with the shaft W, and is capable of sliding
longitudinally theroon, the said shaft being provided with a suitable feather
engaging in a corresponding key way formed in the boss of the wheel-el-(or-vice-
versa).
By means of this apparatus the mould box, which is placed upon the table t, t¹,
is caused to rotate upon the screw S as a centre, so as to enable the rammer to :
work all round the circular mould.
Is is obvious that a belt or toothed gearing may, if prepared, bo substituted for
the endless chain.
The rammer and mechanism for actuating the same are capable of lateral adjust-
ment, being carried by a frame y supported by guides g, along which it is caused
to slide by means of a screw h actuated by a handle h, or automatically a feather
or key way is provided on the shaft i, a corresponding feather or key way being
provided upon the cam I to enable the latter to revolve with the shaft, and
also to slide longitudinally upon the same during the adjustment of the sliding
frame y
This lateral adjustment of the rammer is indispensable when making moulds
of a circular form in order to place the rammer at the required distance from
the centre of rotation of the mould, but it is also very convenient for other
forms of moulds.
When the operation is completed the rammer is thrown out of gear by means of a
clutch operated by a lever . The platform P and the part t of the rotating
table which supports the mould box are then prevented from continuing their
descent by coming in contact with a suitable stop, but the part t¹ of the table
continues to descend, carrying with it the pattern, which is thus drawn out of the
mould, and may then be removed between the guides R. The mould is then
removed and an empty box placed in position on the table, which is then caused
to riso by reversing the motion of the wheel T. This may be accomplished by
causing the driving belt to run on to the loose pulley Y', and by driving a pulley V
fast on the shaft X by another belt running in the reverse direction and at a
greater speed, so as to bring the mould box quickly into position. It is obvious
that a similar result may be obtained by employing a suitable arrangement of
toothed wheels.

page_text: In lieu of employing the straight and rigid tube E a tube constructed with an
elbow and swivel joint may be employed, or the said tube may be formed in two
parts connected by a piece of flexible material, as shewn in Figure 9, in which E¹
is a portion of one of the metal parts of the tube, which is connected to the hopper,
and E is a portion of the other metal part connected to the rammer head. These
two parts are connected together, as shown, by a flexible tube E³ consisting of two
helical springs of wire coiled in opposite directions, and covered on the inside or
outside or both with india rubbor, leather, canvas, or other suitable materials,
either separately or in combination.
By means of this arrangement it is possible to ram small moulds without shifting
the mould box by directing the raminer to the different parts of the mould. This
arrangement is also advantageous in ramming conical moulds, as it enables the
rammer to act in an inclined direction.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The system or mode of moulding by the employment of a hollow rammer
distributing the sand, the said rammer having a regular movement imparted to it
for the purpose of ramming the sand supplied at the bottom of the mould by a
central tube forming part of the rammer, which is caused to descend regularly until
the operation of moulding is completod, substantially as herein before described.
Secondly. The general construction, arrangement, and combination of parts
constituting an apparatus for moulding, substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my Speci-
fication set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of October, One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.