Claims
- 1. An injector for injecting molten metal into a mold cavity of a casting mold, comprising:
a cylinder for at least partially submerging in a supply of molten metal, with the cylinder defining a piston cavity, and with the cylinder defining a fill conduit in fluid communication with the piston cavity and extending through a top wall of the cylinder; a piston positioned within the piston cavity and movable through a downstroke and a return stroke, with the piston defining a molten metal intake for receiving molten metal into the piston cavity; and a lifting mechanism fixed to the cylinder and operatively connected to the piston for moving the piston through the downstroke and the return stroke,
wherein the fill conduit extends along an axis substantially parallel to the piston.
- 2. The injector of claim 1, further including a check valve positioned in the molten metal intake defined by the piston, with the check valve having an inlet for receiving molten metal into the piston cavity when the cylinder and piston are at least partially submerged in molten metal.
- 3. The injector of claim 2, wherein the check valve is a ball check valve.
- 4. The injector of claim 2, wherein the check valve is configured to permit inflow of molten metal into the piston cavity during the downstroke of the piston when the cylinder and piston are at least partially submerged in molten metal, and wherein the check valve is configured to prevent inflow of molten metal into the piston cavity during the return stroke of the piston when the cylinder and piston are at least partially submerged in molten metal.
- 5. The injector of claim 2, further including a molten metal filter covering the inlet to the check valve.
- 6. The injector of claim 1, wherein the piston and the cylinder are made of materials compatible with molten aluminum and molten aluminum alloys.
- 7. The injector of claim 1, wherein the lifting mechanism is a rack and pinion.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/630,781, filed Aug. 2, 2000, entitled “Ball Check Valve Molten Metal Injector System”, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/146,827, filed Aug. 2, 1999, entitled “Ball Check Valve Metal Injector System”.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
[0002] The subject matter of this application was made with United States government support under Contract No. 86X-SU545C awarded by the Department of Energy. The United States government has certain rights to this invention.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60146827 |
Aug 1999 |
US |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09630781 |
Aug 2000 |
US |
Child |
10074865 |
Feb 2002 |
US |