US2947044A - Continuous feed printing strip material caster - Google Patents

Description

A. J. SITTON 2,947,044

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 CONTINUOUS FEED PRINTING STRIP MATERIAL CASTER m m w N N I w h s J. w u 0% D I m a Y B 3Q o\\ 0 d vm *m I 0 O Q n 3E Aug. 2, 1960 Filed May 20. 1952 ATTORNEY i Aug. 2, 1960 A. J. SITTON 2,947,044 CONTINUOUS FEED PRINTING STRIP MATERIAL CASTER i Filed May 20, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Q: M i

o. k Y m Y INVENTOR ANDREW J. SITTON ATTORNEY Aug. 2, 1960 Filed May 20, 1952 J. SIT T ON CONTINUOUS FEED PRINTING STRIP MATERIAL CASTER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY g- 1960 A. J. SITTON 2,947,044

CONTINUOUS FEED PRINTING STRIP MATERIAL CASTER Filed May 20, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. l4. #3 419E946, I lo /6 0 w "7",;2 FIG. l3. 5%

INVENTOR ANDREW J. SITTON ATTORNEY i e tat The present invention relates to improvements in a continuous feed printing strip material caster and has for an object the provisionof a device of this-kind in which the molten metal is fed continuously and without interruption to themold or casting chamber.

l-Iere't'ofore the molten metal has been fed intermitf tently to-the mold, for example, byfthe plunger-and-well system. One of. the .main disadvantages of this inter-,1 mittent feeding is the formation in the incoming molten mater'ial'of'the swirl that is the crescent-shaped markings on astrip-niaterial'cast'on machines using. the intermittent feed'system. The.swi rl is caused 'by the intermittent actionof the plunger forcing molten metal into the mold against'the metal previously forced in by a former stroke of the plunger. The swir or crescentshaped markingsleave the bas'e side of the material imperfect and frequently the .side known as the face or printing surface. During the casting operation of :the

prior art machinesthe strip is cast upside, down, that is,

with the face that islater to be used asthe printing face lowermost in order to prevent as-much "aspo ssible the formation ofthe swirl on theprinting face. As the strip is moved through the machine to the receiving tray the printing face which is lowermost is dragged over other parts of the'machine and the printing face of the; .finished product is frequentlydefaced andis'thus rendered inefiicient orwholly unfit for use as a printing face.

It is-one of the objects of the present invention to overcome these disadvantages of the prior. art and to eliminate undesirable results flowing therefrom by providing a caster capable of evenlyand continuously forcing constantly high pressured molten metal into thecasting chamber and thereby eliminate the swir. The elimination of the swirl fromthe molten metal permits thestrip to be cast with its'printing face uppermost and the delivering of the strip to the receiving tray in this position thereby removing the possibility of the printing face becoming marred during its travel through the machine. 7

Another object of the present invention to provide a device of this character in which the'strip or slug has formed on its opposite side faces diagonalserrations which serve a dual purpose, namely, to .keep thestrip snug against the side of the receiving tray while being pulled from the mld andduring subsequent printing operations to prevent the; accidental sliding movement of the slugs on adjacent slugsor onan adjacent printingmemb'er causing whatistechnically known in the trade as workups. I i. 1

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved strip inatefiatcaster -in which the slugs are formed with recesses ori the opposite ,side faces thereof. toredu'ce the weight ofthe slugs and to effect saving in the amount of materialbeing used. The present invention aims toprovide a device of this typeiinto which means are.incorporat ed for cutting the strti'p into slugs of thedesired length and which'ineans Z a is automatically brought into it is moved through the device.

The present invention also aims to provide a device of this character which is adapted to be an addition to or attachment for a line-casting machine.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a strip material casterwhich comprises relatively few parts and can be sold at a price within the ability of small printing concerns to pay.

With theforegoing and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter more fully described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 7

In the drawings in which the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the several views,

Figure l is a top plan view with parts broken away of an improved continuous feed printing strip material caster constructed in accordance with the present invention and illustrated as applied to a line-casting machine,

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the same,

Figure 3 is a'sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2,

Figured is an exploded perspective view of the mold with parts in section and with parts broken away,

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line =6--6 of Figure 5,

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 2, 7

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 6 but showing modified-forms of spacers, V

vFigur e 9 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the oil reservoir showing the control valve therefor, v

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a slug made by the use of the spacers shown in Figures 5 and 6,

Figure 11 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a slug made by the use of the spacers illustrated in Figure 8,

Figures 12 and 13 are enlarged fragmentary top plan views of the pusher mechanism with parts in section and with parts'broken away and showing different positions of the pusher mechanism, and I Figure 14 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of a modified form of pusher mechanism operating device.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10 indicates a pot of a conventional line-casting machine for containing the molten metal mixture 11 from which the strip material is 'to be cast. A tubular housing 12 extends into the mixture 11 and has its lower end adja- 'cent to the bottom of the pot 10. The upper end portion of the housing 12 extends'upwardly above the upper edge of the pot 10 and has its external surface screw threaded as indicated at 13 to' be received by the screw threaded. portion of a molten metal shell 14. The shell 14 may be made in two half sections which. may be secured together by bolts 15 or the like and has an outwardly projecting shelf-like portion 16. The shell 14 rests upon the upper edge of the pot 10 and may be secured thereto in any suitable manner. The inner face of the shell at the upper end of its screw threaded por tion has a downwardly facing shoulder 17 which engages the'upper edge of the housing 12 to limit its insertion into the shell.

The shell 14. has a through vertically extending bore 18, the lower endportion of which accommodates the threaded portion 13 of the housing 12 and the remaining portion of which-provides a chamber or space for receiving the molten. metal mixture from the pot 10. In

order to lift the mixture from the pot into the chamber: of the shell 14 a helicoid screw 19 isrotatably mounted c v p 2,947,044

operation by the strip as 3 within the housing 12 and has a sufliciently tight fit with the inner surface of the housing to prevent the molten mixture from falling between the inner surface of the housing and the peripheral edges of the screw 19 and.

yet permit free rotation of the screw. An inlet opening 20 is formed in the housing 12- adjacent the lower end thereof for permitting the mixture 11 to enter the housing to be engaged and raised by the screw 19.

The screw 19 has a smooth surfaced shaft portion 19a which extends upwardly through the shell 14 and through a gear casing 21 having a 'neck 22 depending from its bottom 23. An annular flange 24 extends outwardly from the lower edge of the neck 22 and seats upon the upper surface of the shell 14 to which it may be secured by screws 240 or the like. 'A liquid seal bearing 25 which may be in the form of a plug surrounds the intermediate part of the shaft portion 19a of the screw and extends through an opening formed in the bottom 23 and the neck 22 of the gear casing to seal off the bore 18 of the shell 14 from the interior of the casing 21. The bearing 25 has an enlarged head 26 which engages the area of the bottom 23 of the casing which surrounds the opening of the bottom to help retain the bearing in position.

The upper end portion ofthe shaft 19a of the screw. 19 extends through and beyond a bearing 27 carried by the top 28 of the gear casing. The upper end portion of the shaft 19a is screw threaded to receive a lock washer 29 and a nut 30 for mounting the screw on the top 28 of the gear casing. The top 28 may be removably secured to the gear casing by screws or in' any other suitable manner. A worm gear 31 is mountedon the shaft 19a within the casing 21 for rotation with the screw 19 and meshes with a worm 32 fixed on the inner end portion of a drive shaft 33 which is rotatably supported by strap bearings 34 mounted within the gear casing 21 and secured to the bottom 23 thereof by screws.

35 or the like. a suitable opening in the outer side wall of the gear casing and has secured to its extended portion a pulley wheel 36 which receives a belt 37. The belt 37 may be trained about a pulley wheel, not shown, which may be rotated by any suitable source of power. 7

The outer side wall of the shell 14 has an outlet opening 33 which is in registry with an inlet opening 39 provided by cooperating recesses 40 formed in locking members 41 adjacent the shell which comprise part of a mold generally indicated at A and, the recesses 40 of the locking members at the opposite end of the mold form an outlet 39a. In addition to the locking members 41 the mold comprises two half sections 42, a pair of side spacers 43, a top spacer 44, a pair of binding strips 45, wing bolts 46, nuts 47 and retaining screws 48. Each half section 42 has'a longitudinally extending dovetail groove 49 disposed intermediate its upper and lower face and a longitudinally extending recess 50 spaced from and above the dovetail groove 49. Eacrecess 50 has substantially horizontally extending upper and lower walls and an upwardly and inwardly inclined side wall. inwardly of the lower portion of the dovetail groove 49 each half section of the mold has a longitudinally extending ledge 51.

The shaft 33 extends outwardly through The intermediate portion of each locking member 41 will be coextensive with the upper face of its ledge 51.:

The formation of the dovetail grooves 49. and the recesses 59 provide an intermediate space between the half sections and this space is maintained when the half sections are assembled by the opposed. faces .of the un- 'to tightly bind the side spacers 43 in position.

4 grooved portions of the half sections above and below the grooves and recesses abutting one another. One of the half sections 42 is provided with a longitudinally extending tongue or rib 54 adjacent its upper and lower face and the other half section has correspondingly shaped and located grooves 55 for receiving the ribs 54.

Each side spacer 43 is elongated and has a dovetail portion 43:: adapted to be received by the dovetail groove of one of the half sections of the mold and a base portion 43b. The binding strips 45 are of elongated ilat shape and; are adapted'to be received by the dovetail grooves 49 ofthe mold half sections in order A series of side spacers may be provided having base portions 43b of different thicknesses to determine the width of the space 56 between the bases of opposed side spacers. This space 56 determines the thickness of the finished slug. The top spacer 44 is elongated and has its opposite sides inclined upwardly and inwardly and its upper and lower faces flat to conform to the shape of the recesses 50.

The upper and lower faces of each half section 42 adjacent its opposite ends are provided'with cooperating sockets 57 for receiving the wing bolts 46 each of which may comprise an oblong shaped body portion 46a and of each wing bolt adjacent the opposite ends thereof.

Inward-1y of the sockets 57 the mold half sections are provided with screw threaded recesses 58 which open into the sockets 57 and are in alignment with through openings 59 and 60 formed in the mold half sections outwardly of the sockets 57 and in the locking members 41 when the parts are in assembled relation. The retaining screws 48 extend through the aligned openings 59 and 60 and have their screw threaded end portions 48a received by the threaded recesses 58 of, the mold half sections. The'heads 48b of the screws 48 engage the outer faces of the locking members 41 to retain the locking members in position.

The conventional well 6 1 for indicating that the mixture in the mold A is being maintained at the proper temperatures as it moves through the mold may be formed by cutting away the intermediate inner edge portion of the upper face of each mold half section. The rear end portion of the ledges 51 of the mold sections are inclined upwardly and rearwardly towards the mold inlet 39 as indicated at 62 in Figure 3 of the drawings. The rear end portion of the mold A engages the upper face of the shelf 16- of the shell 14 and the rear faces of the locking members abut the outer face of the outer side wall of the shell. The remainder of the lower surface of the mold rests upon a base 63 which may form a part of a conventional line-casting machine.

The outer end portion of the shaft 33 is rotatably mounted'in the vertical flange of a bracket 64 which may be of angle iron shape in cross section and the horizontal flange of which may be secured by screws 65 or the like to a support 65 carried by the base 63. A removable bearing 64a maybe secured to the bracket 64 by screws 6411 or the like for retaining the shaft 33 on the bracket 64.

A pinion 67 is fixed to the shaft 33 between the pulley 36 and the vertical flange of the bracket 64. The pinion meshes with a gear wheel 68 fixed to one end of'a worm 69. the opposite end portions of which are rotatably supported by the vertical flanges of the bracket 64 and of a second bracket 70 which is similar to the bracket 64 and may also be secured to the support 65 by screws 71 or the like. The worm 69 is in mesh with worm wheels 72 fixed to shafts 73 of driven puller or feeding rollers 74. The shafts 73' are rotatably supported by plates 75 which-are carried by the- brackets 64 and 70.

Two idler rollers '16. are adjustably' and rotatably mounted in a bracket 77 for cooperating with the driven rollers 73 to form twopairs of rollers for moving the strip material through the machine. The rollers 73 and 76 have spiral ridges 73a and 76a formed thereon. The bracket 77 is substantially L-shaped and may be fixed to the support 65 by screws 78 or' the like which extend through a foot 79 of the bracket. Each of the rollers 76 has a stub axle 80 extending from one end thereof to be rotatably and slidably received by an elongated slot 81 formed in the horizontal flange of the bracket has a neck 87 of reduceddiameter'which extends loosely through a suitable opening 88 of the vertical flange of the slide 83 and has a head89 cooperating with a shoulder 90 formed by the provision of the neck 87 for-attaching the screw 84 to the slide 83. A finger piece 91 is formed on the end; of the screw 84 opposite to the head 89.

A reservoir 92 for containing a supply of oilvtobe added to the molten mixture 11 as it enters the mold A is secured bya bracket 93 to the gear casing 21 by screws 94 or the like. One end of a pipe 95 communicates with an opening 96forrn'ed in the bottom of the reservoir 92 and the opposite' end portion of the pipe extends through an opening 97 provided inthe top of the mold A. The

-flow of the oil from. the reservoir to the mold is controlled by a valve 98 in cooperation with the sides of the opening96..

A stem 99 has its lower end attached to the valve 9 8 and extends upwardly through. the top of the reservoir and an apertured boss 100 carried by the .top of the.

The upper 'end portion-:ofthe ,valve: stem is reservoir. 7 screw threaded as'indicated at 101 and the wall "of the aperturein the boss is also screw threaded to cooperate with the threaded portion of the stem to retain the valve in any adjusted position. A hand wheel-102 is attached to the upper end of the stem for. facilitating turning of the stem to adjust the valve and 103' indicates a collar interposed between the boss 100 and the hand wheel 102.

A slug receiving tray 104 is supported by a substanthe member 123 for receiving a guide pin'1'36 carried tially triangularly shaped bracketgenerally indicated at 105 which comprises a pair of longitudinally extending arms 106, a pair of vertical legs 107, a pair of diagonal struts 108 and a pair of vertical braces 109. The arms 106 may be of angle iron formation in cross section, as best shown in' Figure4 of the drawings and have their horizontal flanges secured to the under face of the bottom 110 of the tray by rivets 111 or the like adjacent oppositeside edges of the tray. The outer end portion of each strut 108 maybe enlarged and flattened as indicated at 112, as shown in Figure Z of the drawings, and may be secured to the inner face of the vertical flange of its arm 106 by rivets 113 or the like.

The upper end portions of the braces 109 may be secured by rivets 114 or the like to the intermediate portions of the vertical flanges of the arms 106 and the lower end portions of the braces may be secured by rivets 1.15 or the like to the intermediate portions of the struts:

108. The upper end portions of the legs 107 may be secured to the inner end-portions of the vertical flanges of the arms 106 by rivets'116 or the like and the lower endportions of the legs maybe secured to the inner I end portions of the struts by rivets 117 or the like. The

legs 107 may be secured by any suitable means to the base 63 and to the other members of a: conventional type line-casting machine which are indicated generally at 118. The tray 104 has its inner end open and is disposed sorthat the open end, of the tray is "adjacent to the rollers 73 and 76 and has one side portion of its open end in line with the nip of the rollers when nip is in turn; ad-

jacent to and in linewith the outlet 39a of the mold. The outer end of the tray is closed by'an end wall 119 and is provided with side walls 120 and 121. The side wall 121 isadjacent that portion of the open end of the tray which is in alignment with the nip of the rollers and has mounted thereon. a slug pusher mechanism generally indicated at 122. V

' The slug pusher mechanism comprises a pusher member 123, a bracket 124, a coil spring" 125 and a pair of links 126 and 127. As is shown in Figure 4, the member 123 is L-shaped and its vertical flange is substantially parallel to the side 121 of the tray and itshorizontal flange is slidingly supported by a flange 128 which extends outwardly from the upper edge of the side 12 1 of the tray. The outer end portion of the verticalflange of the member 123 is bent inwardly to form an'abutment or cam 123a. Y

The bracket 124 maybe securedto the flange 128 by rivets 129 or the like and has'an upstanding apertured abutment 130; The outer end portion of the horizontalv flange of the member 123 is bent atan angle of the order} offorty-five degrees to the longitudinal: axis of the tray and'has an upstanding apertured lug" 131. 'The spring" 125 isconfined between the abutment 130 and thelug' 131 and the opposite ends of the spring extend through the apertures in the abutment and lug and may be peened -over to anchor the spring thereto. The link 126 is'piv otally connected adjacent one end asat 132 to the inner 'end portion of the horizontal flange of the member 123 and the link-127 is pivotally connected adjacent one end as at 133 to theflange 128.' The opposite ends of the links 126 and127 are pivotally connected together as" at 134. A'slot 135 is formed in the horizontalflange of For the purpose of cutting'the strip material into slugs of the desired length after it has beenreceived by the I tray 104 a cutting mechanism generally indicated at 137 is mounted to operate across the open end of the tray.

The cutting mechanism comprises a cutter blade 138 detachably mounted by screws 139 or the like on 'a cutter slide 140 which is mounted for reciprocating movement in a guide frame 141 attached by screws 142 of the like to a supporting member 143 of the line-casting machine. I

A solenoid 144 is mounted on the member 143 in any suitablemanner and its core 145 is attached to the cutter slide. The solenoid may be connected by wires 146 to a breaker switch 147 which may be of the conventional type having a lever 148 normallyspring urged to the ofl position of the switchwhich maybe mounted in any suitable manner on the outer end portion of the tray 104 with the lever 148 disposed in the path of the strip material being fed into the tray. l

The side wall 121 and the flange 128 of the tray 104 are continued inwardly beyond the open end'of the: tray as indicated at 121a and 128a and an upstanding abutment'149 is mounted on the portion 128a of the flange 128. One end of a coil spring 150 is attached to this abutment as by welding or the like and the opposite end a of the spring is received by a recess 151 formed in the slide 140 to which it may be secured in any suitable manner. A slot 152 is formed in the side 121 of the tray to accommodate the end of the cutter blade 138 during the cutting operation. V I v v In Figure 8 of the drawings a modified form of side spacer 43 is' shown in'which the base portion 43b of each spacer is'provided with longitudinally extending ribs 153. It will be noted that the ribs of one spacer are vertically staggered 'With' respect to the ribs on the other spacer so that when this type of spaceris'used the finished'slu'g' 154 illustrated in Figure 11 of the drawings will have recesses 155 on one side thereof and recesses 156 formed I on the opposite side thereof. The recesses 155' and 156 are vertically staggered with respect to each'other. .The

p ov sion o e' e e s sl flec a s y n n. he moun of. ma r a he eby r du n e tq p ducont nd e-amq nt f mate a nec ss y q e k p -tie up. The formation; of the recesses will also reduce the weight; of; each slug from about five percent to thirty per ent- T s edu ion w h s. ery mp ta t since each slng comprises about eighty-five percent lead which is extremely heavy and it is necessary for a. workman to h ndle a arge n m er of e e slugs t one e. o oyer, theproyision of'the; recesses. 1 55' and- 156 will insure against the possibility of work-ups during the printingoperations. a

As illustrated in Figure 8 of the drawings, the, top pacer may be, provided with. a, longitudinally substantially centrally disposed groove 44a in, its lower face for forminga rib.157.- on thetupper. face of the slug 154 shown in. Figure 11. of the drawings; The grooved top spacer will be used for making a rule slug and top spacersv hav-.,

inggrooves 4400f different widths may be provided. An ungrooved top spacer as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings may. be used with the side spacers of Figure 8 if desired. By the use of the spacers of Figure 6 of the drawings, a, slug 158. illustrated in Figure 10 will be produced. The spiral ridges. 73a. and 76a of the rollers 74 and 76 will. form diagonal serrations or grooves 159 on each side of the slugs 154 and 158.

In the operation of the device, assuming that the proper molten metalrnixture is placed in the pot-10, the operator will energizethe source of power for driving. the shaft 33.

whichwill; cause rotation of thescrew 1S v to lift the mixture from the pot and force it continually without interruption under a'constanthigh pressure into the mold A. A previously produced: slug will be forced between the rollers 74.. and76 and throughthe outlet 39a of the mold into the mold so that the gradually solidifying mixture in.

the mold will attach itself to the adjacent end of the inserted previously formed slug.

The shaft 33 through the gearing 67, 68, 72 will rotate the power rollers 74. which in cooperation with the idler rollers 76 will draw the previouslyformed slug and the newly formed strip, of material from the mold and will deliver it to the receiving tray 104. The strip of material 158 will be moved longitudinally of the tray in engagement with the vertical flange of the member 123 which is urged by the spring 125 inwardly of the tray to the position shown in Figure 12- ofthe drawings so that the cam 123a is disposed in the path of movement of the strip- 158; As the stripv 158; moves into the tray the free end thereof will engage the cam 123a to move it out of the path of the strip and move the member 123 against the action of the spring 125 to the position shown in Figure 13 of the drawings. The strip158 is then free to continue its movement until the end of the strip engages the lever 148 of the switch to move the lever to the on position ofthe switch. This will close the circuit to the solenoid 144 and thereby cause movement of the core 145. This movement of the core 145 will cause the cutter blade 138 to sever the strip adjacent the open end of the tray. At this time the pusher member 123 under the influence of the spring 125, will be moved inwardly of the tray to cause the cam 12311 to engage the severed slug to move it towards the center of the tray and out of engagement with the lever 148 which under the influence of its spring will return .to the off position of the switch breaker 147. This will cause de-energization of the solenoid 14,4 and the cutter blade 138. and the'core 145 of the solenoid will be returned to their original inoperative position under the influence of the spring 150'. The severed end. portionof the strip'will engage the cam 123a of the pusher member 123, as described above, and force it laterally against the side 121 of the tray' and outwardly tobuild up the'resistance of the spring 125 for the next pusher action of the member 123;

vThelend'of the strip material will again trip the switch lever 148 and the cycle of operation will be'repeated as ing face, of; the slug uppermost. A block or bar of lead; or the like may be positioned upon the bottom.

" 110 of the tray to support the severed slugs; in vertical position with the tray until the operator desires to. remove the slugs from the tray.

The mold A may be disassembled for the purpose of inserting different sized or shapedv side spacers 43. and

top spacer 44. by loosening the retaining screws 48' and the nuts 47 and removing the outermost locking members 41 adjacent to the rollers. After the desired spacers have. been inserted in the mold the. mold will be reassembledand it will be noted that the inner ends of the spacers 43 and 44 and the binding strips 45 will engage the overlying portions of the locking members 41- which are adjacent to the shell 14 to limit their insertion into the mold. Afterthe locking members atthe oppositeend of the mold have been secured'in position they will engage the outer ends of the spacers and bindingstrips to prevent accidental movement of; the spacers and bind ing strips-from the mold,

The idler rollers 76 may be adjusted towards and from the driven rollers 74 by turning the adjusting screw 84in the proper direction to moyethe slide 83. This adjustment'will compensate for the thickness of'the base portions 43a of the spacers 43 and also for any wear of the rollers which may take place. i V

The required helicoid shaft rpm. is variedaccording to the size of material being cast, and also according to the speed at which the material ispulled from the mold; or casting chamber. The minimum or safe.helicoid shaft r.p.m. for various sizes of material and/or speeds of delivery is approximately a six-to-one ratio of pressurized molten metal i.e., the helicoidshaft is driven by a variable-speed motor to. turn up and deliver approximately six times the molten metal required to cast the strip material. then being pulled from the mold, or casting chamber. The effect is to maintain constant pressure of molten metal in the helicoid casing and the mold, or casting chamber, in order to eliminate any noticeable flow. The moltenv metal in the helicoid shaft appears to. be sus pendedor, standing still, apparently without movement. The helicoid shaft revolves in the suspended or apparently non-moving molten metal the same as, a shaft on a bearing.

The molten metal mixture is maintained at the proper temperature in the pot and in the mold by any conventional type of heating unit employed for this purpose.

Figure 14 of the drawings illustrates a modified form of pusher mechanism operating device. In this 'Figure 14 the samereference characters have been used wherever possible to denote parts which are common to both forms of the invention. A coil spring a has its opposite ends seoured'to the abutment and the lug 131. A bell crank lever generally indicated at is pivotally mounted as at 161 to the flange 128 and has a short arm 162 and a long arm 163. The short arm. 162 is pivotally connected as at 164 to the free end of the link 1226, One end of a coil spring 150a is secured to the free end portion of the long arm 163 ofthe bell, crank lever and the opposite end of the spring 1594 is received by the recess 151 of the slide 140 to which it may be secured in any suitable manner. A bumper 165 'is secured to the slide- 140 by screws 166 or the like. so that it extends outwardly of the outer edge of the slide 140. but adjacent to and inwardly of the cutter blade 138.

In theoperation of the form of the pusher mechanism operating device; when the solenoid has bee en rgi the cutter blade 138 will cut the slug nd B 3 h slot 152. .At this time the bumper 165: will engage the long arm 163 of the bell crank lever and swing it in the direction" of the arrow -1;6 7t0. move the short arm 162, the link 1126 and the pusher member 123 in the direction of the arrows 168. This action Will move the cut slug 154 inwardly of the tray, out of the path of the strip of material 158 and out of engagement with the lever 148 which under the influence of its spring will return to the 01f position and the solenoid will be deenergized. The spring 125a which has been expanded and the spring 150a which has been compressed during the cutting and slug pushing operation as shown in Figure 14 of the drawings will return the slide 140 and the pusher member 1123 to their inoperative positions ready for the next cycle of operation.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An improved continuous feed printing strip material caster comprising a mold for receiving a molten metal mixture and forming it into a strip material, a tray for receiving the strip material from the mold, cutting means for cutting the strip material into slugs, a solenoid for operating said cutting means and being normally tie-energized, means for energizing said solenoid and having a member disposed in the path of the strip material entering the tray and adapted to be moved by the strip material for energizing the solenoid without deformation of the strip material, whereby the cutting means is operated to sever the strip material to form a slug, means for moving the strip material from the mold past the cutting means and into said tray, and pusher means for moving the severed slugs out of the path of the strip material and comprising a pusher member slidably supported by said tray and having an upstanding lug, an abutment on said tray, a bell crank lever operatively connected with said pusher member for moving said pusher member inwardly against a severed slug, means carried by said cutting means for actuating said lever at the end of a cutting operation, means for de-energizing said solenoid, resilient means confined between said abutment and lug for withdrawing said pusher member from engagement with the severed slug after the solenoid is de-energized and resilient means for returning said cutting means and said lever actuating means to their inoperative positions after the solenoid is die-energized.

2. An improved continuous feed printing strip material caster comprising a mold for receiving a molten metal mixture and forming it into a strip material, a tray for receiving the strip material from the mold, cutting means for cutting the strip material-into slugs, a solenoid for operating said cutting means and being normally de-energized, means for energizing said solenoid whereby the cutting means is operated to sever the strip material to form a slug, means for moving the strip material from the mold past the cutting means and into said tray, and pusher means for moving the severed slugs out of the path of the strip material and comprising a pusher member slidably supported by said tray and having an upstanding lug, an abutment on said tray, a bell crank lever operatively connected with said pusher member for moving said pusher member inwardly against a severed slug, means carried by said cutting means for actuating said lever at the end of a cutting operation,

means for deenergizing said solenoid, resilient means confined between said abutment and lug for withdrawing said pusher member from engagement with the severed slug after the solenoid is deenergized and resilient means for returning said cutting means and said lever actuating means to their inopertive positions after the solenoid is deenergized.

3. An improved continuous feed printing strip material caster comprising a mold for receiving a molten metal mixture and forming it into a strip material, a tray for receiving the strip material from the mold, cutting means for cutting the strip material intoslugs, a solenoid for operating said cutting means and being normally deenergized, means for energizing said solenoid and having a member disposed in the path of the strip material entering the tray and adapted to be moved by the strip material :for energizing the solenoid without deformation of the strip material, whereby the cutting means is operated to sever the strip material to form a slug, means for moving the strip material from the mold past the cutting means and into said tray, pusher means for moving the severed slugs out of the path of the strip material comprising a pusher member slidably supported by said tray and having an upstanding lug, an abutment on said tray, resilient means confined between said abutment and lug for urging said pusher member inwardly against the severed slug, and a pair of links pivotally connected at one end and having their opposite ends pivotally connected to said tray and pusher member respectively, and resilient means for urging said cutter means to inoperative position.

4. A printing strip material caster comprising a mold having a restricted inlet, a pressure chamber communito enter the mold through. the inlet and will return to' the source of mixture supply through the mixture moving means, said mixture moving means comprising a helicoid screw extended into said mixture, a shell surrounding the upper portion of said screw, 2. housing surrounding the lower portion of said screw and supported by said shell, a gear casing mounted on said shell and supporting said screw, a driven shaft, gearing between said shaft and said screw, a mold supported by said shell for receiving the mixture from said screw, withdrawal rollers for withdrawing the strip material from the mold, and gearing between said driven shaft and said rollers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 770,130 Trotz Sept. 13, 1904 1,063,668 Egli June 3, 1913 1,220,211 Feldkamp et a1 Mar. 27, 1917 1,237,058 Knight Aug. 14, 1917 1,256,808 Knight Feb. 19, 1918 1,283,626 Bancroft et'al. Nov. 5, 1918 1,349,536 Stevenson Aug. 10, 1920 1,355,879 Bancroft et a1. Oct. 19, 1920 1,436,852 Babcock Nov. 28, 1922 1,438,951 Elrod Dec. 19, 1922 1,444,905 Dittman Feb. 13, 1923 1,479,596 Fleming Jan. 1, 1924 1,551,838 Myers Sept. 1, 1925 2,351,962 Harrison June 20, 1944 2,531,290 Narrow Nov. 21, 1950 Horn Feb. 5,1952

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