AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR THE PRE- PARATION OF SAND MOULDS FOR METAL CASTING
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Marc Antoine François Mennons, of the British and
Foreign Patent Offices, 39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, in the Empire of
France, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR THE PRE-
PARATION OF SAND MOULDS FOR METAL CASTING."-A communication from
Mess". Maudoy and Couty, of Paris.
Sealed the 12th August 1859, and dated the 24th May 1859.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Marc Antoine François
Mennons at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition and Declaration, on the 24th May 1859, pursuant to the
9th Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARC
ANTOINE FRANÇOIS MENNONS, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices,
39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, in the Empire of France, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR THE PREPARATION OF SAND MOULDS FOR METAL CASTING," communicated to
me by Messrs. Maudoy and Couty, of Paris, and have petitioned Her Majesty
to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal
Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn declaration that it is a
communication: .

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Marc Antoine François Mennons, do
hereby declare that the following Complete Specification under my hand and
seal fully describes and ascertains the nature of the Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing, and to the letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
The Invention communicated to me consists in an improved mechanical
arrangement for the preparation of the sand moulds employed in the casting of
metals, which arrangement is intended to replace the several manual processes
now generally followed. The action of the apparatus will be readily under-
stood by reference to the Drawing, in which it is represented on a scale of
one-eighth.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of the entire machine; Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, are
the four fronts of the square centre piece A, Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a stop bolt
for arresting at will the stroke of the centre piece A; Figure 7 is another stop
bolt, acting on the cog wheel C, mounted on the arbor B of A, Fig. 1 ;
Figure 8 is the sand case; and Figure 9 is a front view of the machine
complete.
A, Figs. 1 and 9, is a square metallic or wooden block or frame interposed
between the upper part of the apparatus and the truck H. On one of the
faces of this square are mounted twenty-five rods, in brass or other suitable
metal, intended to replace the fingers generally used for working up the sand
over the object to be moulded. The way in which these rods or mechanical
fingers are mounted in the centre piece A is shewn in front view, Figure 2,
and in side and front sections Figs. 1 & 9, the three rods or fingers at each
end being about d of an inch longer than the nineteen remaining ones, the
length of which is about 3 inches. The second face of the square, shewn
in Figure 3, forms a mechanical beater, replacing the hand or beetle generally
used. The third face of the square forms a second beater, with a flat surface,
as shewn in Figure 4, and the fourth face is studded with metallic discs (as in
Figure 5), which replace the finishing mallets in common use. These discs
project about one-third of an inch from the plane surface in which they are
mounted. The nature of the other accessories shewn in the Drawing will be
explained by the working of the machine. A bed of sand being arranged on
an ordinary moulding plate on the truck apparatus H, the object to be
reproduced is superposed. A moulding frame c, Fig. 1, is then laid on, then
a counter frame b, of the depth of about one-third of an inch, and, lastly, a
third moulding frame a, of about one and a half inches in depth. The whole
is then filled up with sifted and case sand in the ordinary way.
The truck

page_text: apparatus is then moved forward on its rollers by means of the rack
arrangement, shewn in Figure 1, so as to bring the mould exactly under the
centre piece A. The stop bolt J¹ being withdrawn, an up-and-down movement
is given to the centre piece by the cam I, worked by the fly-wheel in
communication with a steam engine or other convenient motor. The finger
rods of the centre piece A are thus forced to work up the sand on the moulding
board beneath them, the truck being moved backwards and forwards as often
as may be necessary. This operation terminated, the centre piece A is
stopped in its upward stroke by the bolt J', and is then turned on its axis so
as to replace the finger rods by the second face of the square forming the
beater shewn in Figure 3, which is held in position by the fixing bolt K,
Fig. 7, corresponding with the notches of the wheel C, Figure 1. The truck
is again brought forward on its rollers, the stop bolt J' withdrawn, and the
beater allowed to descend on the mould ten or twelve times. The movement
of the centre piece being again checked, the truck is thrown back, and the
moulding frame a removed. The sand is then levelled down to the edge of
the counter-frame b, which being removed, leaves a projecting surface of about
one-third of an inch deep. The centre piece A is again turned on its axis, so
as to replace the beater already employed by the one shewn in Figure 4. The
truck is moved forward as before the bolt J' freed, and the beater allowed to
strike about fifteen blows on the open surface of the sand, a backward and
forward movement being given to the truck during the operation. The action
of the machine is again checked, and the fourth side of the square studded with
discs, as in Figure 5, being brought into the place of the last beater; the stop
bolt is once more withdrawn and a dozen blows struck on the sand. This
completes the operation. The moulding board is then transferred to the sand
case, Figure 8, the top of which is on a level with the truck, the moulds are
removed, and the process recommenced for the following sett.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner of
carrying it into execution, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details above laid down, as these may be modified
without affecting the principle on which the system is based; 'I do not, on the
other hand, lay claim to the different parts of the machine taken separately, as
many of them are already known and employed for other purposes; but what
I claim is, the general construction and arrangement, substantially as above
described, and represented in the Drawing, of an apparatus for the mechanical
preparation of sand moulds for metal casting, in which the centre piece
marked A, Figures 1 and 9, performs the different operations of working and

page_text: beating the sand by the successive action of its four faces represented in
Figures 2, 3, 4, & 5.
In witness whereof, I, the said Marc Antoine François Mennons, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of May, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
M. F. MENNONS. (L.S.)