U.S. patent application number 11/822578 was filed with the patent office on 2008-07-17 for molding machine and molding method.
Invention is credited to Minoru Hirata, Takayuki Komiyama, Toshihiko Oya, Koichi Sakaguchi, Tsuyoshi Sakai.
Application Number | 20080169075 11/822578 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38461891 |
Filed Date | 2008-07-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080169075 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hirata; Minoru ; et
al. |
July 17, 2008 |
Molding machine and molding method
Abstract
Disclosed is a molding method for separating a cope flask and a
drag flask from a match plate at the same time. The method
comprises the steps of: holding the match plate between the cope
and drag flasks; inserting an upper squeeze member and a lower
squeeze member into openings of the cope and drag flasks, which are
opposed to the match plate, to define an upper molding space and a
lower molding space, respectively; filling the defined molding
space with molding sand; and driving the upper and lower squeeze
members toward the match plate to squeeze the molding sand within
the upper and lower molding space to mold an upper mold and a lower
mold at the same time. The cope and drag flasks that are included
within said molded upper and lower molds are forcibly pushed away
from the match plate at the same time when the flasks are
stationary.
Inventors: |
Hirata; Minoru;
(Toyokawa-shi, JP) ; Komiyama; Takayuki;
(Toyokawa-shi, JP) ; Oya; Toshihiko;
(Toyokawa-shi, JP) ; Sakai; Tsuyoshi;
(Toyokawa-shi, JP) ; Sakaguchi; Koichi;
(Toyokawa-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW, GARRETT & DUNNER;LLP
901 NEW YORK AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON
DC
20001-4413
US
|
Family ID: |
38461891 |
Appl. No.: |
11/822578 |
Filed: |
July 9, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
164/6 ;
164/214 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B22C 15/08 20130101;
B22C 11/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
164/6 ;
164/214 |
International
Class: |
B22C 7/06 20060101
B22C007/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 15, 2007 |
JP |
2007-005585 |
Claims
1. A molding method comprising steps of: holding a match plate
between a cope flask and a drag flask; inserting an upper squeeze
member and a lower squeeze member into openings of said cope and
drag flasks, which are opposed to said match plate, to define an
upper molding space and a lower molding spaces, respectively;
filling said defined molding spaces with molding sand; and forcing
said upper and lower squeeze members toward the match plate to
squeeze said molding sand within said upper and lower molding
spaces to make an upper mold and a lower mold at the same time;
said method being characterized in that: when the flasks are
stationary, said cope and drag flasks that include said molded
upper and lower molds are pushed away from said match plate at the
same time.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the velocity at which said cope
flask is separated from said drag flask is twice that when said
match plate is separated from said drag flask, and wherein the
velocity at which said cope flask is separated from said match
plate is the same as that when said drag flask is separated from
said match plate.
3. A molding machine comprising: a cope flask and a drag flask; a
match plate to be held between said cope and drag flasks; an upper
squeeze member and a lower squeeze member that are insertable into
openings of said cope and drag flasks, which are opposed to said
match plate; means for filling molding sand within an upper molding
space that is defined by said cope flask, said match plate, and
said upper squeeze member, and a lower molding space that is
defined by said drag flask, said match plate, and said lower
squeeze member; compacting means for forcing said upper and lower
squeeze members toward the match plate to squeeze said molding sand
within said upper and lower molding spaces to mold an upper mold
and a lower mold at the same time: said machine being characterized
in that: when the flasks are stationary, upper and lower pushing
means push away said cope and drag flasks that include said upper
and lower molds from said match plate at the same time, wherein
said upper means and said lower means are mounted on both the cope
flask and the drag flask.
4. The molding machine of claim 3, wherein a said upper pushing
means is a hydraulic cylinder that is extended by supplying an oil
therein, and wherein said lower pushing means is a hydraulic
cylinder that has a force for extruding the oil that is less that
that of said upper pushing means, or an air cylinder that is
extended by the compressed air, or an elastic means that is
extended by an elastic member.
5. The molding machine of claim 3 or 4, wherein said cope and drag
flasks have sand-filling ports on their sidewalls.
6. The molding machine of claim 3 or 4, wherein said drag flask is
mounted on a rotating frame that is upwardly and downwardly rotated
in a vertical plane, and wherein said cope flask is mounted on said
rotating frame such that said cope flask can approach and retract
from said drag flask.
7. The molding machine of claim 3 or 4, wherein said molding
machine further comprises a shuttle for carrying in and carrying
out said match plate between said cope and drag flasks.
8. The molding machine of claim 3 or 4, wherein said molding
machine further comprises a mechanism that enables said match plate
to approach and retract from the drag flask.
9. The molding machine of claim 3 or 4, wherein the resulting molds
are tight-flask molds or flaskless molds.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to a molding machine and molding
method, and, more particularly, it relates to a match-plate molding
machine and a molding method using a match plate.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] One example of conventional match plate molding machines for
molding upper and lower molds at the same time is disclosed in
WO2005/058528 A1. In this molding machine, first, a match plate is
sandwiched and held between a cope flask and a drag flask. Upper
and lower squeeze members are then inserted into the respective
flasks through their openings opposed to the match plate such that
upper and lower molding spaces are defined. The defined molding
spaces are then filled with molding sand. The upper and lower
squeeze members are then moved to the match plate to squeeze the
molding sand within the molding spaces to mold upper and lower
molds. The cope and drag flasks, which contain the corresponding
upper and lower molds, are then removed from the match plate. These
removing procedures are achieved with cylinders that
reciprocatingly move the cope and drag flasks relative to the match
plate.
[0003] The inconvenience of such a conventional molding machine is
that the procedures for removing the cope and drag flasks from the
match plate start when the match plate adheres to either the upper
mold or the lower mold. That is, if the match plate adheres to
either mold, first, the other mold (i.e., the mold that doesn't
adhere to the match plate) and the corresponding flask that
contains the other mold, are removed (i.e., stripped) from the
match plate in unison (the first stripping). Then one mold (i.e.,
the mold that adheres to the match plate), and the corresponding
flask that contains that one mold, are then removed from the match
plate in unison (the second stripping). The first stripping is to
be begun when the other mold is stationary. The second stripping
should, however, be done when the moving match plate, which is
moved immediately just before this point, is stopped, while the
mold (the one mold) that is adhered to the match plate is still
moving. Because of this, the one mold may receive a significant
impact when it is removed from the match plate. Thus the second
stripping may cause a defect.
[0004] Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to
provide a molding machine and molding method that prevent any
defect in a mold that is adhered to a match plate when it, and the
corresponding flask that contains the mold, are removed from the
match plate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In one aspect of the present invention, a molding method is
provided. The method includes the steps of holding a match plate
between a cope flask and a drag flask; inserting an upper squeeze
member and a lower squeeze member into the opening of the cope and
drag flasks opposed to the match plate to define an upper molding
space and a lower molding space, respectively; filling the defined
molding space with molding sand; and driving the upper and lower
squeeze members toward the match plate to squeeze the molding sand
within the upper and lower molding space to mold an upper mold and
a lower mold at the same time.
[0006] The method is characterized in that it further comprises the
step of: forcibly pushing away the cope and drag flasks that
contain the molded upper and lower molds from the match plate at
the same time when the flasks are stationary.
[0007] Preferably, the velocity at which the cope flask is
separated from the drag flask is twice that when the match plate is
separated from the drag flask, and preferably the velocity at which
the cope flask is separated from the match plate is the same as
that when the drag flask is separated from the match plate.
[0008] In another aspect of the present invention, a match-plate
molding machine is provided. It includes: a cope flask and a drag
flask; a match plate to be held between them; an upper squeeze
member and a lower squeeze member that are insertable into openings
of the cope and drag flasks, and which are opposed to the match
plate; means for filling molding sand within an upper molding space
that is defined by the cope flask, the match plate, and the upper
squeeze member, and a lower molding space that is defined by the
drag flask, the match plate, and the lower squeeze member; and
driving means for driving the upper and lower squeeze members
toward the match plate to squeeze the molding sand within the upper
and lower molding spaces to mold an upper mold and a lower mold at
the same time.
[0009] The molding machine is characterized in that it further
comprises: upper and lower pushing means for forcibly pushing away
the cope and drag flasks that contain the molded upper and lower
molds from the match plate when the flasks are stationary, wherein
the upper pushing means and the lower pushing means are mounted on
both the cope flask and the drag flask.
[0010] Preferably, the upper pushing means is a hydraulic cylinder
that is extended by oil therein. The lower pushing means is a
hydraulic cylinder that has less force to supply the oil that was
forced inside the cylinder than that of the upper pushing means, or
is an air cylinder that is extended by the compressed air, or is an
elastic means that is extended by an elastic member.
[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the cope and
drag flasks have sand-filling ports on their sidewalls for filling
sand.
[0012] Preferably, the drag flask is mounted on a rotating frame,
which is rotated downwardly and upwardly in a vertical plane. The
cope flask is mounted on the rotating frame such that the cope
flask can approach and retract from the drag flasks.
[0013] The molding machine may further comprise a shuttle for
carrying in and carrying out the match plate between the cope and
drag flasks. Also, it may further comprise a mechanism for the
match plate to approach and retract from the drag flask.
[0014] The molds from the match-plate molding machine of the
present invention may to be tight-flask molds or flaskless
molds.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The foregoing and other purposes and advantages of the
present invention are further clarified by the following
descriptions, which refer to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a front view schematically illustrating a molding
machine of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a schematic left view of the molding machine of
FIG. 1; and
[0018] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a pressurizing fluidic unit
that drives the molding machine of FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0019] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an alternative embodiment
of the hydraulic power unit.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT
INVENTION
[0020] One embodiment of the match plate molding machine of the
present invention will now be explained in detail by reference to
FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the molding machine
of the present invention includes a rotating frame 2, which is
extended substantially vertically. The rotating frame 2 is
pivotally mounted on a supporting shaft 1 such that it can be moved
up and down in the vertical plane about the supporting shaft 1. A
drag flask 4, whose sidewall has sand-filling ports, is mounted on
the lower end of the rotating frame 2 via a supporting member 3. On
the left side of the rotating frame 2, a pair of guide rods 5 is
attached at a predetermined interval therebetween in back and front
such that they extend substantially vertically. On the guide rods
5, a match plate 7 is slidably and vertically mounted via guide
holders 6. Immediately above the guide holders 6 of the guide rods
5, a cope flask, whose sidewall has sand-filling ports, is slidably
and vertically mounted via guide holders 8. Attached to the left
side of the rotating frame 2 is the distal end of a piston rod of a
downwardly facing, vertical cylinder 10.
[0021] The match plate 7 can be carried in and carried out between
the cope flask 9 and the drag flask 4 by any well-known shuttle
(not shown). The match plate 7 can be moved to approach and retract
from the drag flask 4 by an upwardly-facing cylinder (not shown)
that is mounted on the rotating frame 2, as it is extended and
contracted.
[0022] The cope flask 9 is mounted on a cylinder 10 such that it is
moved upward and downward by extending and contracting operation of
the cylinder 10 to approach and retract from the match plate 7.
Mounted near the four corners of the outer periphery of the cope
flask 9 are four downwardly facing hydraulic cylinders (upper
pushing means) 11 for pushing away the cope flask 9 from the match
plate 7. Similarly, mounted near the four corners of the outer
periphery of the drag flask 4 are four, upwardly facing, air
cylinders (lower pushing means) 12 for pushing away the drag flask
4 from the match plate 7.
[0023] As in FIG. 3, the molding machine is provided with a
pressurizing fluidic unit 13 that supplies oil to the four
hydraulic cylinders 11 and compressed air to the four air cylinders
12. The pressurizing fluidic unit 13 includes a hydraulic unit 14
having a hydraulic pump for generating the oil and a compressor 15
for generating the compressed air. The hydraulic pump of the
hydraulic unit 14 is connected to an upper port and a lower port of
a downwardly facing, hydraulic cylinder 16 through a directional
control valve 17 and a shut-off valve 18.
[0024] On the lower end of the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder
16, a pusher plate 19 is fixed. Below the pusher plate 19, four
hydraulic pushers 21, for extruding and supplying the oil to
respective upper ports of the four hydraulic cylinders 11 through
four pipes 20, are provided such that their upper ends abut the
pusher plate 19. Each of the hydraulic pushers 21 comprises an
upwardly facing, hydraulic cylinder structure. The four pipes 20
are connected to the hydraulic pump of the hydraulic unit 14
through four respective shut-off valves 22. The respective lower
ports of the four hydraulic cylinders 11 are connected to the
hydraulic unit 14 through the directional control valve 17. The
four air cylinders 12 are connected to the compressor 15 through a
directional control valve 23.
[0025] With the foregoing molding machine, prior to the machinery
state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the match plate 7 is sandwiched and
held between the cope flask 9 and the drag flask 4 at a molding
station (not shown). Upper and lower squeeze members (not shown)
are then inserted into the corresponding openings, which are
opposed to the match plate 7, of the cope flask 9 and the drag
flask 4, to define upper and lower molding spaces. The cope flask
9, the drag flask 4, the match plate 7, and their associated
elements defining the molding space are then turned to their
vertical positions or horizontal positions such that molding sand
is blown and filled within the molding spaces through the
sand-filling ports of the cope and drag flasks 9 and 4. The upper
and lower squeeze members are then drivingly moved to the match
plate 7 to squeeze the molding sand within the upper and lower
molding spaces to make an upper mold and a lower mold at the same
time. As a result, the molding machine is in the state shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0026] At the same time, the shut-off valve 18 is preliminarily
opened to supply the oil to the lower port of the cylinder 16 and
the upper ports of the four hydraulic pushers 21 to contract the
cylinder 16 and to extend the four hydraulic pushers 21. The
shut-off valve 18 is then closed and the four shut-off valves 22
are opened to supply the oil from the hydraulic pump of the
hydraulic unit 14 to the four pipes 20, and the lower ports of the
four hydraulic pushers 21. The oil from the hydraulic pump is also
supplied to the upper ports of the four hydraulic cylinders 11 to
contract them. The four shut-off valves 22, which are located
between the four pipes 20 and the hydraulic unit 14, are then shut
off.
[0027] From the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cylinder 10 is
extended to raise the cope flask 9, while another cylinder (not
shown) is contracted to raise the match plate 7. In this case, the
velocity of the cope flask 9 when it rises is preferably twice that
of the match plate 7. The directional control valve 17 is then
turned to extend the cylinder 16 to contract the four hydraulic
pushers 21 through the pusher plate 19 to supply the oil to the
upper ports of the four hydraulic cylinders 11 to extend them. At
the same time, the directional control valve 23 is turned to supply
the compressed air from the compressor 15 to the four air cylinders
12 to extend them. Therefore, the four hydraulic cylinders 11 push
down the match plate 7, while the four air cylinders 12 are
simultaneously pushed up to the match plate 7. This causes the cope
and drag flasks 9 and 4, which contain upper and lower molds, to be
simultaneously pushed away from the match plate 7 and each other.
In contrast to the conventional two-step stripping, the cope flask
9 and the drag flask 4 are thus stripping at the same time.
Therefore, this prevents an undesirable impact that may cause a
defect in a mold that is involved in the conventional second
stripping (stripping one flask from the match plate on which a mold
that is contained within the flask is adhered).
[0028] In this case, setting the velocity of the cope flask 9 when
it is rising to twice that of the match plate 7 results in there
being a sufficient space in which the cope and drag flasks 9, 4 can
be simultaneously pushed away from the match plate 7 and each
other, in the following step.
[0029] While the molding machine and molding method of the present
invention have been described with respect to the preferred
embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is intended
to cover all of the various modifications and variations that can
be included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Accordingly, the arrangements and operations of the match-plate
molding machine for which the present invention can be applied are
not limited to those described and shown herein. For example, the
match plate, the cope flask, and the drag flask may rotate after
the match plate is held between the cope and drag flasks.
Alternatively, the match plate may be held between the cope flask
and the drag flask after the flasks are rotated. Therefore, the
timing of holding the match plate and rotating the flasks does not
limit the present invention. The resulting upper and lower molds
that are made by the molding machine and molding method of the
present invention may be tight-flask molds or flaskless molds.
[0030] Further, the hydraulic power unit 13 of the molding machine
of the present invention is not limited to its embodiment shown in
FIG. 3. The hydraulic power unit 13 of FIG. 3 may be replaced with,
e.g., the alternative hydraulic power unit 13A of FIG. 4. The
alternative hydraulic power unit 13A of FIG. 4 differs from the
foregoing hydraulic power unit 13 of FIG. 3 in that the hydraulic
cylinder 16 and the shut-off valve 18 are eliminated, while the
upper ports of the hydraulic pushers 21 are connected to the
directional control valve 17. Because the other elements of the
alternative hydraulic power unit 13A of FIG. 4 are the same as
those that are denoted by the same numbers of the hydraulic power
unit 13 of FIG. 3, their explanations are omitted.
[0031] The operation of the molding machine that employs the
alternative hydraulic power unit 13A will now be explained. First,
the molding machine makes the upper and lower molds at the same
time, in the same manner as in the foregoing embodiment. As a
result, the molding machine is thus in the state shown in FIGS. 1
and 2. The four shut-off valves are then opened to supply the oil
to the four pipes 20 and the lower ports of the four hydraulic
pushers 21. The oil is also supplied to the upper ports of the four
cylinders 11, to contract them. The four shut-off valves are then
closed to shut off the fluid communication between the four pipes
20 and the hydraulic unit 14.
[0032] From the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cylinder 10 is
then extended to raise the cope flask, while the other cylinder
(not shown) is contracted to raise the match plate 7. In this case
the velocity of the cope flask 9 when it rises is preferably twice
that of the match plate 7. The directional control valve 17 is then
turned to contract the hydraulic pushers 21 through the pusher
plate 19 to supply the oil to the upper ports of the four hydraulic
cylinders 11, to extend them. At the same time, the directional
control valve 23 is turned to supply the compressed air from the
compressor 15 to the four air cylinders 12 to extend them.
Therefore, the four hydraulic cylinders 11 push down the match
plate 7, while the four air cylinders 12 push up the match plate 7.
This causes the cope flask 9 and the drag flask 4, which contain
the upper and lower molds, to be simultaneously pushed away from
the match plate 7 and pushed away relative to each other. The cope
flask 9 and the drag flask 4 are thus stripped at the same time,
the same as in the foregoing embodiment.
* * * * *