Claims
- 1. Apparatus for forming a sand cake for flaskless sand mold casting of molten metal, comprising:
- a flask having walls forming a lower, drag frame section and an aligned upper, cope frame section within which sections sand may be filled and compacted around a casting pattern which may be removed to form a casting cavity within the sand cake which results from such filling;
- said cope frame section being openable for releasing it from and, thereby, removing it from the sand cake;
- the opposite walls forming said drag frame section being laterally movable away from each other for sidewise movement of said walls away from the sand cake;
- means for selectively securing said walls in an initial flask-forming portion and for releasing said walls for laterally moving them away from each other;
- whereby, a compacted, substantially hard sand cake may be formed within the flask by tightly compressing the sand filling in the flask, and the cake may be separated from the flask against whose walls it is tightly pressed, by opening the cope frame section and by laterally moving apart the walls of the drag frame section so that the cake may be removed out of the bottom of the drag frame section for subsequent casting of metal in its cavity.
- 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 and including said drag frame section having at least two of its opposed corners formed of upright, elongated corner pieces against which the adjacent wall ends are normally abutted;
- fastening means connecting the adjacent wall ends to said corner pieces in normal, abutting relationship, and said fastening means being operable to temporarily separate the wall ends from the corner pieces a short distance to thereby cause opposing walls of the frame section to laterally move apart a short distance for releasing the sand cake.
- 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, and said fastening means including a selectively movable piston means interconnecting each of the frame corner pieces, with at least one of its abutting wall portions, with the piston means moving and holding its corner piece and wall portion together when actuated.
- 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3, and including spring means arranged to spring bias the corner pieces and their adjacent wall portions apart upon deactivation of the piston means.
- 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, and including limit means restricting the amount of separation of the corner pieces from their wall portions so that the opposed walls of the drag frame section move apart only a small amount, which amount is sufficient to release the pressure between the sand cake and the drag frame section, which pressure is due to the compacting of the sand within the drag frame section, so that the sand cake is sufficiently loose that it may be withdrawn out of the bottom of the drag frame section.
- 6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5, and said piston means being contained within a cylinder which is loosely mounted upon one wall portion by bolts that extend through the adjacent corner piece and are rigidly fastened to the adjacent wall portion, and with the piston means engaging the wall portion, upon which its cylinder is mounted, to relatively move the cylinder and its mounting wall apart a limited distance and thereby, simultaneously draw the adjacent wall portion towards the corner piece and the corner piece towards the wall upon which the cylinder is mounted for tightly abutting the two adjacent wall portions to the corner piece;
- and said springs loosely extending through the corner piece and engaging the opposite wall portions adjacent the corner piece to normally urge such portions apart.
- 7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, and including means for opening the cope frame section comprising separate corner pieces arranged at opposite corners of the cope frame section and engaged with the adjacent end portions of the cope frame section walls;
- powered piston means arranged between the corner pieces and their adjacent cope frame wall portions, with said piston means being operable in one direction to move their wall portions a short distance away from the corner pieces and in an opposite direction to move their wall portions into abutment with their corner pieces.
- 8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7, and said piston means comprising a cylinder mounted upon each wall portion and each cylinder having a fluid movable piston extending from the cylinder and extending through and being operatively engaged with the opposite wall portion, so that activation of one piston separates the wall portions from the corner piece and actuation of the other piston moves the walls into abutment with the corner piece;
- and including limit means for limiting the amount of separation of the corner pieces and wall pieces to a relatively small amount, that is, an amount only sufficient to release the sand cake from the cope frame section.
- 9. Apparatus for forming a sand cake for flaskless sand mold casting of molten metal, comprising:
- a flask having walls forming a lower, drag frame section and an aligned upper, cope frame section within which sections sand may be filled and compacted around a casting pattern which may be removed to form a casting cavity within the sand cake which results from such filling;
- said cope frame section being openable for releasing it from and, thereby, removing it from the sand cake;
- the opposite walls forming said drag frame section being laterally movable away from each other for sidewise movement of said walls away from the sand cake;
- means for selectively securing said walls in an initial flask-forming portion and for releasing said walls for laterally moving them away from each other;
- said means for opening the cope or drag section comprising:
- corner pieces arranged at opposite corners of the cope or drag frame section and engaged with the adjacent end portions of the respective cope or drag frame walls;
- powered piston means arranged between the corner pieces and their adjacent frame wall portions, with said piston means being operable in one direction to move their wall portions a short distance away from the corner pieces and in an opposite direction to move their wall portions into abutment with their corner pieces; said piston means comprising a cylinder mounted upon a wall portion and said cylinder having a fluid movable piston extending from the cylinder, so that activation of said piston moves the walls into abutment with the corner piece and means for separating the wall portions from the corner piece;
- and including limit means for limiting the amount of separation of the corner pieces and wall pieces to a relatively small amount, that is, an amount only sufficient to release the sand cake from the cope frame section; said limit means coupled with said frame walls and said corner pieces;
- whereby, a compacted, substantially hard sand cake may be formed within the flask by tightly compressing the sand filling in the flask, and the cake may be separated from the flask against whose walls it is tightly pressed, by opening the cope frame section and by laterally moving apart the walls of the drag frame section so that the cake may be removed out of the bottom of the drag frame section for subsequent casting of metal in its cavity.
- 10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, and including said drag frame section having at least two of its opposed corners formed of upright, elongated corner pieces against which the adjacent wall ends are normally abutted;
- fastening means connecting the adjacent wall ends to said corner pieces in normal, abutting relationship, and said fastening means being operable to temporarily separate the wall ends from the corner pieces a short distance to thereby cause opposing walls of the frame section to laterally move apart a short distance for releasing the sand cake.
- 11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10, and including spring means arranged to spring bias the corner pieces and their adjacent wall portions apart upon deactivation of the piston means.
- 12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11, and said piston being contained within a cylinder which is loosely mounted upon one wall portion by bolts that extend through the adjacent corner piece and are rigidly fastened to the adjacent wall portion, and with the piston engaging the wall portion, upon which its cylinder is mounted, to relatively move the cylinder and its mounting wall apart a limited distance and thereby, simultaneously draw the adjacent wall portion towards the corner piece and the corner piece towards the wall upon which the cylinder is mounted for tightly abutting the two adjacent wall portions to the corner piece;
- and said springs loosely extending through the corner piece and engaging the opposite wall portions adjacent the corner piece to normally urge such portions apart.
- 13. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, and including means for opening the cope section comprising separate corner pieces arranged at opposite corners of the cope frame and engaged with the adjacent end portions of the cope frame walls;
- powered piston means arranged between the corner pieces and their adjacent cope frame wall portions, with said piston means being operable in one direction to move their wall portions a short distance away from the corner pieces and in an opposite direction to move their wall portions into abutment with their corner pieces.
- 14. Apparatus as defined in claim 13, and said piston means comprising a cylinder mounted upon each wall portion and each cylinder having a fluid movable piston extending from the cylinder and extending through and being operatively engaged with the opposite wall portion, so that activation of one piston separates the wall portions from the corner piece and actuation of the other piston moves the walls into abutment with the cover piece.
- 15. Apparatus for forming a sand cake for flaskless sand mold casting of molten metal, comprising:
- a flask having walls forming a lower, drag frame section and an aligned upper, cope frame section within which sections sand may be filled and compacted around a casting pattern which may be removed to form a casting cavity within the sand cake which results from such filling;
- said cope frame section being openable for releasing it from and, thereby, removing it from the sand cake;
- the opposite walls forming said drag frame section being laterally movable away from each other for sidewise movement of said walls away from the sand cake;
- means for selectively securing said walls in an initial flask-forming portion and for releasing said walls for laterally moving them away from each other;
- said means for opening the cope section comprising:
- separate corner pieces arranged at opposite corners of the cope frame and engaged with the adjacent end portions of the cope frame walls;
- powered piston means arranged between the corner pieces and their adjacent frame wall portions, with said piston means being operable in one direction to move their wall portions a short distance away from the corner pieces and in an opposite direction to move their wall portions into abutment with their corner pieces; said piston means comprising a cylinder mounted upon each wall portion and each cylinder having a fluid movable piston extending from the cylinder and extending through and being operatively engaged with the opposite wall portion, so that activation of one piston separates the wall portions from the corner piece and actuation of the other piston moves the walls into abutment with the corner piece;
- whereby, a compacted, substantially hard sand cake may be formed within the flask by tightly compressing the sand filling in the flask, and the cake may be separated from the flask against whose walls it is tightly pressed, by opening the cope frame section and by laterally moving apart the walls of the drag frame section so that the cake may be removed out of the bottom of the drag frame section for subsequent casting of metal in its cavity.
- 16. Apparatus as defined in claim 15, including limit means for limiting the amount of separation of the corner pieces and wall pieces to a relatively small amount, that is, an amount only sufficient to release the sand cake from the cope frame section.
- 17. Apparatus for forming a sand cake for flaskless sand mold casting of molten metal, comprising:
- a flask having walls forming a lower, drag frame section and an aligned upper, cope frame section within which sections sand may be filled and compacted around a casting pattern which may be removed to form a casting cavity within the sand cake which results from such filling;
- said cope frame section being openable for releasing it from and, thereby, removing it from the sand cake;
- the opposite walls forming said drag frame section being laterally movable away from each other for sidewise movement of said walls away from the sand cake;
- means for selectively securing said walls in an initial flask-forming portion and for releasing said walls for laterally moving them away from each other;
- said drag frame section having at least two of its opposed corners formed of upright, elongated corner pieces against which the adjacent wall ends are normally abutted;
- fastening means connecting the adjacent wall ends to said corner pieces in normal, abutting relationship, and said fastening means being operable to temporarily separate the walls ends from the corner pieces a short distance to thereby cause opposing walls of the frame section to laterally move apart a short distance for releasing the sand cake;
- said fastening means including a selectively movable piston means interconnecting each of the frame corner pieces, with at least one of its abutting wall portions, with the piston means moving and holding its corner piece and wall portion together when actuated; and
- limit means restricting the amount of separation of the corner pieces from their wall portions so that the opposed walls of the drag frame section move apart only a small amount, which amount is sufficient to release the pressure between the sand cake and the drag frame section, which pressure is due to the compacting of the sand within the drag section, so that the sand cake is sufficiently loose that it may be withdrawn out of the bottom of the drag frame section;
- whereby, a compacted, substantially hard sand cake may be formed within the flask by tightly compressing the sand filling in the flask, and the cake may be separated from the flask against whose walls it is tightly pressed, by opening the cope frame section and by laterally moving apart the walls of the drag frame section so that the cake may be removed out of the bottom of the drag frame section for subsequent casting of metal in its cavity.
- 18. Apparatus as defined in claim 17, and including spring means arranged to spring bias the corner pieces and their adjacent wall portions apart upon deactivation of the piston means.
- 19. Apparatus as defined in claim 18, and said piston means being contained within a cylinder which is loosely mounted upon one wall portion by bolts that extend through the adjacent corner piece and are rigidly fastened to the adjacent wall portion, and with the piston means engaging the wall portion, upon which its cylinder is mounted, to relatively move the cylinder and its mounting wall apart a limited distance and thereby, simultaneously draw the adjacent wall portion towards the corner piece and the corner piece towards the wall upon which the cylinder is mounted for tightly abutting the two adjacent wall portions to the corner piece;
- and said springs loosely extending through the corner piece and engaging the opposite wall portions adjacent the corner piece to normally urge such portions apart.
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 028,122, filed Mar. 19, 1987, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,975.
US Referenced Citations (4)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
28122 |
Mar 1987 |
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