Forced cooling casting apparatus

• US 4,671,337 A
• Filed: 04/18/1986
• Issued: 06/09/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Otsuka, Yukio, Kawai, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Godici, Nicholas P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BATTEN JR, J REED
• Application Number:
  US06/853,721
• Time in Patent Office: 417 Days
• Field of Search: 164/348, 164/126, 164/128, 164/4.1, 164/458, 164/150, 164/339, 164/342
• US Class Current: 164/151.2
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 27/045 Directionally solidified castings

Abstract

A lower mold made of a metal mold is disposed on a stool and an upper mold consisting of a sand mold is guided and fitted to the lower mold in such a manner as to define a cavity for a product. Tubular members are disposed at several positions in such a manner as to penetrate through the upper and lower molds and the cavity. A cooling plate equipped with cooling nozzles fitting to the projecting ends of the tubular members from the upper mold is disposed in such a manner as to clamp the upper and lower molds between it and the stool. The cooling nozzles are communicated with a cooling medium tube disposed on the cooling plate so that a cooling medium supplied to the cooling medium tube is uniformly distributed to the cooling nozzles.

Claims

1. A forced cooling casting apparatus comprising:

a stool;

upper and lower molds disposed on said stool;

a plurality of tubular members disposed in such a manner as to penetrate through said upper and lower molds and through a cavity defined by said upper and lower molds; and

a cooling plate disposed on said stool by guide members, said cooling plate being equipped with a plurality of nozzles for supplying a cooling medium, said nozzles fitting in upper ends of said tubular members, and with a cooling medium tube having a cooling medium coupler and communicating with said cooling nozzles; and

abnormality detector means for sensing an abnormal setting of said cooling plate on said stool and an abnormal fitting of said cooling nozzles in said tubular members.

2. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said abnormality detector includes limit type touch switches having antennas held at a first reference height of said cooling plate from said stool and at a second reference height of said cooling nozzles from said stool.

3. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 2, including a first groove formed at said first reference height in a part of said cooling plate and a second circumferential groove formed at said second reference height on said cooling nozzle.

4. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said switches include means for abnormality detection upon said antennas failing to pass through said first and second grooves.

5. A forced cooling casting apparatus comprising:

a stool having a punched out area at the center portion thereof;

upper and lower molds disposed on said stool;

a plurality of tubular members disposed in such a manner as to penetrate through said upper and lower molds and through a cavity defined by said upper and lower molds;

a cooling plate equipped with a plurality of cooling nozzles for supplying a cooling medium and fitted to upper ends of said tubular members, and cooling medium supply means communicating with said cooling nozzles; and

cooling medium jet means for supplying a cooling medium jet for cooling said lower mold within said punched-out area of said stool.

6. A forced cooling casting apparatus comprising:

a stool;

upper and lower elongate molds disposed on said stool;

tubular members penetrating through said upper and lower molds and through a cavity defined by said upper and lower molds; and

a cooling plate connected to said stool by guide means and equipped with cooling nozzles connected to means for supplying a cooling medium, said nozzles being fittable within the upper ends of said tubular members,

wherein said means for supplying a cooling medium comprise a cooling medium coupler connectable to a source of cooling medium and a cooling medium tube communicated between said cooling nozzles and said cooling medium coupler.

7. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 6, including a supporting bed for supporting the lower end of each of said tubular members.

8. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said guide means consists of a pair of guide pins disposed at longitudinal end portions of said stool and a pair of bushes disposed below said cooling plate in such a manner as to correspond to said guide pins, wherein an engagement between one of said guide pins and bushes has a play in the longitudinal direction of said cooling plate.

9. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said cooling plate has a mold support equipped with spring means for urging said mold support towards said upper mold, wherein said spring means is selected such that the total weight of said cooling plate is greater than the force of said spring means.

10. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 6 wherein each of said cooling nozzles has spring means for urging said cooling nozzle in the direction of said tubular member, and wherein a tip portion of each said nozzle is disposed inside a taper portion of said cooling plate for guiding said tubular member, said taper portion being disposed around the periphery of an opening of a cooling nozzle hole of said cooling plate.

11. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 6, including connection tube means for connecting said cooling medium tube to said cooling nozzles.

12. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 6 including taper cases provided at longitudinal end portions of said lower mold for guiding said upper mold.

13. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 12, wherein each of said taper cases has a downwardly expanding projection for guiding said upper mold.

14. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 6 including fitting position locating means disposed on said upper mold and said lower mold.

15. A forced cooling casting apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said position locating means comprise a round dowel and a square dowel disposed on said lower mold, a round recess in said upper mold and a square recess in said upper mold for fitting said round and square dowels, respectively, said square recess being sized so as to have a play in the longitudinal direction of said upper mold when said square dowel is fitted therein.