Apparatus for separating casting strainers

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6619374
  • Patent Number
    6,619,374
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, June 1, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 16, 2003
    20 years ago
Abstract
An apparatus for separating casting strainers and transferring each separated casting strainer to a predetermined position. The apparatus includes a casting strainer receiving member in which a plurality of casting strainers are stacked up, a slide member for horizontally sliding under the casting strainer receiving member, a separator projecting from the slide member towards the casting strainers, a casting strainer stopper formed at the lower end or vicinity of the casting strainer receiving member, a casting strainer passage formed in the slide member at an area immediately under a projecting end of the separator for receiving the separated casting strainer, and a shooter formed under the slide member for transferring the casting strainer to the predetermined position.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates to an apparatus for separating casting strainers and transferring the casting strainers to a predetermined position.




RELATED ART




Conventionally, in order to separate and drop casting strainers, casting strainers are affixed by an adhesive tape, then taken out of a casting strainer magazine and then delivered to a destination for attachment.




However, the above-mentioned conventional attaching method has such a shortcoming that dusts or the like are readily deposited on an adhesive surface of the adhesive tape thus lessening its adhesive force and therefore, much time and labor is required to properly attach the casting strainers to a setting-up place.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide, in order to obviate the above-mentioned shortcoming, an apparatus for separating and dropping casting strainers which is easy to manage when the casting strainers are properly attached to a setting-up place.




In order to achieve the above object, there is essentially provided an apparatus for separating casting strainers comprising a slide member on which casting strainers are stacked up in superimposed relation, drive means for sliding the casting strainers and the slide member relative to each other, a separator projecting from the slide member towards the casting strainers and a casting strainer passage at an area closer to the casting strainers than the separator, wherein a casting strainer stopper is disposed at least on that side of the casting strainers opposite to the separator.




A shooter adapted to receive, separate and drop the casting strainers which have passed through the casting strainer passage and a base on which the shooter is placed may be disposed under the slide member such that the shooter is reciprocally movable with respect to the base in a generally horizontal posture and the shooter is forwardly downwardly turnable through proper means when the shooter reaches a foremost end of a reciprocal stroke motion on the base.




Since the apparatus for separating casting strainers according to the present invention is constructed in the manner as described above, that side of the casting strainers opposite to the separator is stopped advancement by the casting strainer stopper when the slide member is slidingly moved towards the casting strainers. As a consequence, the separator separates the casting strainers thereby enabling advancement while allowing entry of the casting strainers into the casting strainer passage. Thus, if this apparatus for separating casting strainers is used, the casting strainers can be dropped downward, one by one, so that they are easily set up at an appropriate place.




If a shooter adapted to receive, separate and drop the casting strainers which have passed through the casting strainer passage and a base on which the shooter is placed are disposed under the slide member such that the shooter is reciprocally movable with respect to the base in a generally horizontal posture and the shooter is forwardly downwardly turnable through proper means when the shooter reaches a foremost end of a reciprocal stroke motion on the base, the casting strainers can be placed on the shooter when the shooter is moved backward. If the shooter is moved in that condition, the casting strainers can be dropped downward while sliding on the shooter, so as to be set up at the gate portion of the casting device. Accordingly, if this apparatus for separating casting strainers is used, the casting strainers can easily and properly be attached to the gate portion of the casting device. Therefore, much time and labor is not required for its management. As a consequence, working performance of the casting operation can be enhanced.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a front sectional view of an apparatus for separating casting strainers according to the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a plan view of the apparatus of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a sectional view taken on line III—III of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is an enlarged view, when viewed in a direction indicated by an arrow IV of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 5

is a sectional view for explaining a state in which a casting strainer is guided by a separator;





FIG. 6

is a plan view of a device for setting casting strainers;





FIG. 7

is a front view of the setting device of

FIG. 6

;





FIG. 8

is a right side view of the setting device of

FIG. 6

; and





FIG. 9

is a perspective view showing another example of a casting strainer stopper.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




One embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.




Referring first to

FIGS. 1 through 3

, reference numeral


10


denotes a base of an apparatus M for separating casting strainers, and


11


denotes a tripod plate or leg plate which is fixed to the base


10


. Reference numeral


12


denotes a shelf board. This shelf board


12


is mounted on the leg plate


11


under the base


10


.




Reference numeral


13


denotes a complete round opening which is formed in the top of base


10


. The function of this complete round opening


13


will be described later. Reference numeral


14


denotes a pair of slide support members (see

FIG. 3

) which are disposed between the base


10


and the shelf board


12


at opposite end edges thereof and fixed to the leg plate


11


.




Reference numeral


15


denotes a casting strainer receiving sleeve (casting strainer receiving member). This casting strainer receiving member


15


is fixed to the base


10


with its lower end edge fitted to the interior of the complete round opening


13


and with its flange portion


151


engaged with a peripheral edge of the complete round opening


13


. Reference numeral


152


denotes a plurality of projections which are formed on a lower end edge of the casting strainer receiving member


15


. These projections


152


correspond to a casting strainer stopper of the present invention formed on that side of the casting strainer receiving member opposite to the separator. The function of the projections


152


will be described later.




Reference numeral


153


denotes a plurality of elongated holes or slots whose upper ends are open. The slots


153


are formed in a side wall of the casting strainer receiving member


15


along an axial direction thereof. Those slots


153


exhibit their functions when a casting strainer setting device A (see FIG.


6


), as later described, is used. Reference numeral


154


denotes a closure member of the casting strainer receiving member


15


. Reference numeral


155


denotes a casting strainer presser. This casting strainer presser


155


presses the casting strainers S in the casting strainer receiving member


15


downward or releases its pressing force with respect to the casting strainers S in accordance with a reciprocal movement of a control rod


156


.




Reference numeral


20


denotes a slide plate (this slide plate corresponds to a slide member of the present invention) which is placed on the slide support members


14


. This slide plate


20


is capable of making a reciprocal movement in response to the action of a piston/cylinder mechanism P which is set up on the leg plate


11


, while generally contacting an undersurface of the base


10


. It should be noted that instead of moving the slide plate


20


, the casting strainer receiving member


15


may be moved.




Reference numeral


21


denotes a passage hole (this passage hole corresponds to a “casting strainer passage” of the present invention) for allowing passage of the casting strainers S. This passage hole


21


is formed in the slide plate


20


. It is an elongated hole having a long diameter in a direction transversal to the reciprocating direction of the slide plate


20


. Reference numeral


22


denotes a wedge-like separator (engagement member) formed on a rear end edge (towards between the lowermost casting strainer and a casing strainer adjacent upwardly thereto) of the casting strainer passage hole


21


. The separator


22


separates, one by one, the end edges of the casting strainers S received in the casting strainer receiving member


15


, when the slide plate


20


slides under the casting strainer receiving member


15


, and guides them into the casting strainer passage hole


21


(see FIG.


5


).




Reference numeral


23


denotes auxiliary separators provided on opposite sides of the separator


22


at a rear end edge of the casting strainer passage hole


21


. Reference numeral


24


denotes casting strainer guide members which are disposed at opposing positions of the separator


22


and auxiliary separators


23


at a front end edge of the casting strainer passage hole


21


. The casting strainer guide members


24


are adapted to prevent the front end edge of the casting strainer passage hole


21


from being worn caused by passage of the casting strainers S. Distal end edges of the separator


22


and auxiliary separators


23


, as shown in

FIG. 5

, slightly project (about 1 mm) from the slide plate


20


so as to be able to separate the casting strainers S.




Since the distal ends (projecting ends) of both the separator


22


and the auxiliary separator


23


are, as shown in

FIG. 2

, sharpened into a V-shaped configuration (in a plan view), they can smoothly separate the casting strainers S which are in the form of a mesh. Also, since the distal ends of both the separator


22


and the auxiliary separator


23


are, as shown in

FIG. 5

, sharpened into a V-shaped configuration in a cross sectional view, the lowermost casting strainer S can easily be separated from all the remaining casting strainers S which are stacked up in superimposed relation. Since the surface of the casting strainer guide member


24


is flush with that of the slide plate


20


, the slide plate


20


never hits the base


10


when the slide plate


20


is reciprocally slidingly moved.




Reference numeral


25


denotes slide grooves. The slide grooves


25


are formed in an upper surface of the slide plate


20


along the reciprocally moving directions thereof. The projections


152


of the casting strainer receiving member


15


are fittingly inserted in the slide grooves


25


with their distal ends held in non-contacting relation to bottom portions of the slide grooves


25


. This arrangement makes it possible for the slide plate


20


to slidingly smoothly move guided by the projections


152


. Further in this arrangement, the projections


152


function as a casting strainer stopper to stop the movement of the casting strainer when the separator


22


slides and contacts the casting strainer S.




Reference numeral


26


denotes nozzles of an air blow. The nozzles


26


are disposed at a rear end edge of the slide plate


20


. When the slide plate


20


is moved extremely backward (i.e., when the slide plate


20


extremely approaches the gate portion B and thus a casting mold), a limit switch (not shown) is actuated to open a valve so that a compressed air is discharged from the nozzle


26


to blow off dusts, etc. which are deposited on the casting mold. In contrast, when the slide plate


20


is moved extremely forward (i.e., when the slide plate


20


is moved towards the piston/cylinder mechanism P side), another limit switch (not shown) is actuated to open the valve so that a compressed air is discharged from the nozzle


26


to blow off dusts etc. which are deposited on the slide support member


14


.




Reference numeral


30


denotes a cooling air nozzle. The cooling air nozzle


30


is mounted on a front end portion of the slide plate


20


. Since the cooling air nozzle


30


is set such that it is actuated by a limit switch (not shown) when the slide plate


20


moves extremely forward (i.e., when the slide-plate


20


moves towards the piston/cylinder mechanism P side), the slide plate.


20


, the slide support members


14


and the shelf board


12


can be cooled when the slide plate


20


moves forward and standbys on the slide support members


14


.




Reference numeral


27


denotes a shooter. This shooter


27


is turnably mounted on an undersurface of the slide plate


20


about a pin


271


through ridges


28


. The shooter


27


is located underneath the casting strainer passage hole


21


and reciprocally moved together with the slide plate


20


. When the shooter


27


is moved forward and placed on the shelf board


12


, it is held in its horizontal posture. In contrast, when the shooter


27


is moved backward away from the shelf board


12


, it is held in a slanted posture towards the gate portion B as indicated by a solid line of FIG.


1


.




Since the end edge portion


121


of the shelf board


12


exhibits an arcuate configuration in section at that time, the slide plate


20


can more smoothly turn as it projects from the end edge portion


121


of the shelf board


12


. As a consequence, the casting strainer S can be smoothly dropped onto a predetermined position. In this way, the shooter


27


can receive the casting strainers S in the horizontal posture (see

FIG. 5

) and carry them to the gate portion B in the slanted posture (see FIG.


1


).




Since the front end edge of the shooter


27


is cut into a generally V-shaped configuration as shown in

FIG. 4

, the rear end portion of the disc-like casting strainer S is supported by at least two points when the casting strainer S is slippingly dropped from the shooter


27


and therefore, the casting strainer S can smoothly be dropped onto the predetermined location without lateral swinging motion (see the imaginary line of FIG.


4


).




In

FIG. 1

, reference numeral


29


denotes a jump-out preventive member. This jump-out preventive member


29


is formed on a left end portion (in

FIG. 1

) of the slide plate


20


and projects downward therefrom. The jump-out preventive member


29


is adapted to prevent the casting strainer S from being slippingly dropped from the shooter


27


when the shooter


27


moves forward while receiving the casting strainer S and when the shooter


27


moves horizontally with the casting strainer S placed thereon.




A casting strainer setting device A will now be described with reference to

FIGS. 6

to


8


.




In those Figures, reference numeral


50


denotes a base of a casting strainer setting device A. Reference numeral


51


denotes a bell crank-like clamping arm. The clamping arm


51


is turnably mounted at its angular portion on an undersurface of the base


50


through a pin


52


. A long element portion


511


of the clamping arm


51


is a portion for clamping the casting strainer S and its inside diameter is set smaller by 0.2 mm or less than the outside diameter of the casting strainer S. The function of a short element portion


512


of the clamping arm


51


will be described later.




Reference numeral


70


denotes an engagement piece. This engagement piece


70


is provided on an end edge portion of the undersurface of the base


50


. The engagement piece


70


is brought into engagement with an upper end edge of the casting strainer receiving member


15


when the casting strainer setting device A is set to the casting strainer receiving member


15


of the casting strainers separating apparatus M.




Reference numeral


53


denotes a support sleeve having a bottom. This support sleeve


53


is fixedly inserted into a central portion of the base


50


. A through hole


54


is formed in the bottom portion of the support sleeve


53


. A reciprocating rod


55


is reciprocally movably fitted into the through hole


54


. Reference numeral


56


denotes a spring seat. The spring seat


56


is placed on the bottom portion of the support sleeve


53


and secured to an upper end of the reciprocating rod


55


. The spring seat


56


is adapted to support a compressed spring


57


which is fitted to the interior of the support sleeve


53


. Reference numeral


58


denotes a presser plate. The presser plate


58


is secured to a lower end of the reciprocating rod


55


. The presser plate


58


is adapted to press the clamped casting strainer S from the top.




Reference numeral


60


denotes an auxiliary plate. This auxiliary plate


60


is fixed to an upper part of the base


50


through connecting members


61


. Since the auxiliary plate


60


covers an opening which is formed in an upper end of the support sleeve


53


, it can press the presser plate


58


downward under the effect of the compressed spring


57


.




Reference numeral


80


denotes control rods. Those control rods


80


are reciprocally movably pierced into both the base


50


and auxiliary plate


60


. Lower end portions of the control rods


80


are turnably connected to the short element portion


512


of the clamping arm


51


through pins


81


. Owing to this arrangement, the clamping arm


51


can be turned by reciprocally (up-down) moving the control rods


80


. Thus, the long element portion


511


can be opened and closed. Reference numeral


90


denotes a control plate. This control plate


90


is fixed to upper end edges of the control rods


80


. Between the control plate


90


and the auxiliary plate


60


, the compressed springs


91


, which are fitted onto the control rods


80


, are interposed. Owing to this arrangement, by pushing the control rods


80


into the base


50


and the auxiliary plate


60


against the effect of the compressed springs


91


, the clamping arm


51


can be opened. When this pushing-in operation is released, the clamping arm


51


can be closed by resiliency of the compressed springs


91


.




Operation of the apparatus M for separating the casting strainers will now be described.




Firstly, a method for setting the casting strainers S to the casting strainer receiving member


15


of the apparatus M using the casting strainer setting device A is described.




A required number of casting strainers S are stacked up first. Those casting strainers S are clamped by the clamping arm


51


of the casting strainer setting device A. At that time, the presser plate


58


gently presses the upper surface of the uppermost casting strainer S.




In that state, the casting strainers S are received in the casting strainer receiving member


15


of the casting strainers separating apparatus M and the engagement piece


70


of the casting strainer setting device A is brought into engagement with the upper end edge of the casting strainer receiving member


15


. When the clamping arm


51


moves to a position where it is coincident with the slot


153


formed in the casting strainer receiving member


15


, the control plate


90


and thus the control rods


80


are pushed into the slot


153


against the effect of the compressed springs


91


. By doing so, the control plate


90


. and thus the control rods


80


can move out of the other side of the slot


153


while opening the clamping arm


51


and therefore, the clamped state of the casting strainers S can be released. Thus, the casting strainers S can be received in the casting strainer receiving member


15


. Then, a closure member


154


is brought into a closed position after the casting strainers S are received in the casting strainer receiving member


15


.




Thereafter, the piston/cylinder mechanism P is actuated to move the slide plate


20


forward (i.e., rightward in FIG.


1


). When the slide plate


20


is brought to under the casting strainer receiving member


15


, as shown in

FIG. 5

, that side of the casting strainer S opposite to the separator


22


is stopped its advancement by the projection


152


. Therefore, the separator


22


begins to separate the lowermost casting strainer S from all the other casting strainers S received in the casting strainer receiving member


15


and guides it into the casting strainer passage hole


21


while moving forward.




The casting strainer S, which has passed through the casting strainer passage hole


21


, is allowed to drop so as to be received in a shooter


27


(this shooter


27


is held in a horizontal posture). In that state, the piston/cylinder mechanism P is once stopped and then actuated again to move the slide plate


20


backward. Then, the shooter


27


is disconnected from the shelf board


12


and brought into a slanted posture, so that the casting strainer S can be carried to the gate portion B. Since the next remaining casting strainer S is brought into engagement with the projection


152


on the separator (engagement member) side when the slide plate


20


is moved backward, it never follows the movement of the slide plate


20


.




In this embodiment, the projections


152


are held in non-contacting relation with the slide member (slide plate


20


). Accordingly, the slide member can normally be held in a constant position with respect to the casting strainer receiving member


15


. As a consequence, the casting strainer received in the casting strainer receiving member


15


and the separator are normally held constant in positional relationship. Thus, the casting strainers can easily be separated in a stable manner.




In this embodiment, the slide plate


20


is provided with the slide grooves


25


and the casting strainer receiving member


15


is provided with the projections


152


which are fittingly inserted in the slide grooves


25


. Accordingly, the casting strainer receiving member


15


is restricted in position in both the reciprocating direction and the transversal direction with respect to the movement of the slide plate


20


. As a consequence, the casting strainer S received in the casting strainer receiving member


15


and the separator


22


are normally held constant in positional relationship. Thus, the casting strainers S can easily be separated in a stable manner.




As the casting strainer stopper, rod members


19


may be formed on the base


10


as shown in FIG.


9


. And elongate holes or slots (those holes or slots are formed in a reciprocally moving direction of the slide plate


20


)


97


and the rod members


19


are loosely fitted in the slots


97


. In this case, the casting strainers S are placed at the inner side of the rod members


19


.




If, in this embodiment, the rear end portion of the shooter


27


is turnably mounted on the slide plate


20


such that the shooter


27


is reciprocally moved on the shelf board


12


together with the slide plate


20


and if the rear end portion of the shelf board


12


is designed to have an arcuate configuration in section, the slide plate


20


is smoothly turned as it projects from the end edge portion of the shelf board


12


. Accordingly, the casting strainer S can be dropped in the predetermined position smoothly.




In this embodiment, the slide plate


20


has the jump-out preventive member


29


which is allowed to project from the undersurface thereof and adapted to prevent the casting strainer S from slipping out. Accordingly, the casting strainer S placed on the shooter


27


can be prevented from slipping down when the shooter


27


moves horizontally together with the slide plate


20


.




In this embodiment, the front end edge of the shooter


27


is cut into a generally V-shaped configuration. Accordingly, even if the casting strainer S has a disc-like configuration, the rear end portion of the casting strainer S is supported by at least two points when it is slippingly dropped from the shooter


27


and therefore, it can smoothly be dropped to a predetermined position (gate portion).




In this embodiment, the slide plate


20


is provided with a cooling means (cooling nozzle)


30


such that the cooling means is actuated when the slide plate


20


moves forward. Accordingly, the slide plate


20


can be cooled by the cooling means when the slide plate


20


is moved forward and stays in a standby position on the shelf board


12


.




In this embodiment, the slide plate,


20


is provided on its rear end with the air nozzle


26


. Accordingly, dusts deposited on an object to which the casting strainers S are to be supplied can be blown off when the slide plate


20


moves backward, and dusts deposited on the shelf board


12


, etc. can be blown off when the slide plate


20


moves forward.




If a distal end of the separator


22


is sharpened into a V-shaped configuration, even the casting strainers S in the form of mesh can smoothly be separated.




If a distal end of the separator


22


is sharpened into a V-shaped configuration in cross-section, the lowermost casting strainer S can easily be separated from all the remaining casting strainers S which are stacked up in superimposed relation.




Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.



Claims
  • 1. An apparatus for separating casting strainers comprising:a casting strainer receiving member formed on a base of said apparatus, said casting strainer receiving member storing a plurality of casting strainers stacked with one another; a slide member formed on said base, said slide member horizontally sliding under the casting strainer receiving member; a separator projecting from said slide member towards said casting strainers to separate a lowermost casting strainer from other casting strainers in the casting strainer receiving member by engaging the lowermost casting strainer at each horizontal movement of said slide member; a casting strainer stopper formed at a lower end of said casting strainer receiving member, said casting strainer stopper restricting movements of the casting strainers other than said lowermost casting strainer when said separator contacts said lowermost casting strainer; and a casting strainer passage provided on said slide member at immediately under a projecting end of the separator, said casting strainer passage guiding the separated casting strainer therethrough in response to said horizontal movement of said slide member; whereby separating the casting strainers stacked in the casting strainer receiving member and dropping the separated casting strainers will occur on predetermined separate locations, and wherein said lowermost casting strainer is separated from the other casting strainers toward a horizontal direction when the separator is moved to a position of the casting strainer stopper.
  • 2. An apparatus for separating casting strainers according to claim 1, further comprising a shooter provided under the slide member to transfer the casting strainer received through the casting strainer passage to a predetermined position, wherein said shooter is disposed under said slide member such that said shooter is reciprocally movable with respect to said base in a generally horizontal posture and said shooter is forwardly downwardly turned when said shooter reaches a foremost end of a reciprocal stroke motion on said base.
  • 3. A strainer separating apparatus for separating casting strainers and transferring each separated casting strainer to a predetermined position, comprising:a base; a casting strainer receiving member formed on said base of said apparatus, said casting strainer receiving member storing a plurality of casting strainers stacked with one another; a slide member formed on said base, said slide member horizontally sliding under the casting strainer receiving member; a separator projecting from said slide member towards said casting strainers to separate a lowermost casting strainer from other casting strainers in the casting strainer receiving member by engaging the lowermost casting strainer at each horizontal movement of said slide member; a casting strainer stopper formed at a lower end of said casting strainer receiving member, said casting strainer stopper restricting movements of the casting strainers other than said lowermost casting strainer when said separator contacts with said lowermost casting strainer; a casting strainer passage provided on said slide member at immediately under a projecting end of the separator, said casting strainer passage guiding the separated casting strainer therethrough in response to said horizontal movement of said slide member; and a shooter provided under the slide member, said shooter transferring the casting strainer from the casting strainer passage to the predetermined position; wherein said lowermost casting strainer is separated from the other casting strainers toward a horizontal direction when the separator is moved to a position of the casting strainer stopper.
  • 4. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said casting strainer receiving member has a generally tubular shape with a top opening to receive the plurality of casting strainers through a casting strainer setting device, and wherein said casting strainer receiving member has a plurality of slots which are vertically extended on a tubular wall thereof.
  • 5. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said casting strainer setting device includes:means for clamping the casting strainers by supporting the plurality of casting strainers at outer edges or bottom edges thereof; means for controlling open and close operations of said clamping means; and an engagement piece that engages with the top-opening of said casting strainer receiving member to install the plurality of casting strainers in said casting strainer receiving member.
  • 6. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said clamping means is configured by a plurality of clamping arms each pivotally moving about a pin for said open and close operations and said controlling means is configured by a rod to control said open and close operations of said clamping arms by up-down movement thereof.
  • 7. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said clamping arms fit in said slots vertically formed on said casting strainer receiving member when said casting strainer setting device is temporarily attached to said casting strainer receiving member when installing the plurality of casting strainers in said casting strainer receiving member.
  • 8. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said slide member reciprocally moves in a back and forth manner in a horizontal direction thereby sliding under said casting strainer receiving member, and wherein said lowermost casting strainer is separated from other casting strainers at each reciprocal movement of said slide member.
  • 9. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said slide member has a slide groove on an upper surface thereof oriented in said horizontal direction and wherein said casting strainer receiving member has a projection at the lower end which engages with said slide groove thereby forming said casting strainer stopper.
  • 10. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said separator is projected from said slide member and oriented in a horizontal direction in such a way that the lowermost casting strainer contacts the projecting end of said separator thereby separating the lowermost casting strainer from other casting strainers in said casting strainer receiving member.
  • 11. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said separator is projected from said slide member in a degree that the projecting end thereof contacts with the lowermost casting strainer and wherein said projecting end of said separator is sharpened in a V-shape in cross section thereby securely separating the lowermost casting strainer from other casting strainers in said casting strainer receiving member when the projecting end contacts with said lowermost casting strainer.
  • 12. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said casting strainer stopper is formed with a plurality of projections at the lower end of said casting strainer receiving member disposed at least on a side of said casting strainer receiving member opposite to said separator.
  • 13. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said casting strainer stopper is formed with a plurality of rods upwardly projected from said slide member through slots formed on said slide member.
  • 14. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said shooter repeats reciprocal movement in the horizontal direction along with said slide member, said shooter receiving said lowermost casting strainer through said casting strainer passage at one end of said reciprocal movement when said separator contacts said lowermost casting strainer and drops said casting strainer at another end of- said reciprocal movement.
  • 15. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said shooter rotates downwardly at said another end of said reciprocal movement thereby slidably dropping said casting strainer on said predetermined position.
  • 16. A strainer separating apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said shooter has an edge from which said casting strainer drops on said predetermined position, wherein said edge is cut into a generally V-shape in top view for supporting said casting strainer when slidably dropping from said shooter.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
4154289 Jeanneret May 1979 A
4362616 Gehrmann et al. Dec 1982 A
RE31972 Nieman et al. Aug 1985 E
4576219 Uram Mar 1986 A
4749022 Jeanneret Jun 1988 A
5556592 Hitchings Sep 1996 A
6231639 Eichenmiller et al. May 2001 B1
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number Date Country
2303080 Feb 1997 GB
56-70808 Jun 1981 JP
10-193435 Jul 1998 JP
WO 9915290 Apr 1999 WO