US1971400A - Slug casting machine - Google Patents

Description

1934- F. c. FROLANDER 1,971,400

SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23, 1933 9 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR %& M

A TTOR EVS F. C. FROLANDER SLUG CASTING MACHINE Aug. 28, 1934.

INVENTOR 1934- F. c. FROLANDER SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23, 1935 9 Sheets-Sheet 6% [N VENTUR- 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR BY %61 I A TTOWEYJ F. 'c. FROLANDER SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23, 1953 Aug. 28, 1934.

Aug. 28, 1934. F. c. FROLANDER SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23, 1933 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 m w o w o 2 y? Z oH E 11 WW.. 6 f H 11 i! s m B I a 250 G Z 8 FN @w 6 INVENTOR Aug. 28, 1934. F. c.v FROLANDER I 1,971,400

SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23, 1933 9 Siieets-Sheet 5 I IN VENTOR M E I EYJ 'F. C. FROLANDER Aug. 28, 1934 SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23, 1935 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 l L VVENTORv Aug. 28, 1934. F. c. FR OLANDER SLUG CASTING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Feb. 23, 1953 Aug. 28, 1934- F. c. FROLANDER SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 25, 1935 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 v Q Patented Aug. 28,1934

SLUG CASTING MACHINE FrankO. Frolander, Elizabeth, N. J., assignor to Mergenthaler Linotype Company, a corporation of New York Application February 23, 1933, Serial No. 658,077

46 Claims. (Cl. 199-50) This invention relates to slug casting machines, such as linotype machines of the general organization represented in U. S. Letters Patent to O. Mergenthaler, No. 436,532, wherein circulating matrices and expansible spacebands are composed in line by the manipulation of a keyboard, the composed line transferred to a slotted mold for the casting of a type bar or slug, and the matrices and spacebands thereafter separated and returned by a distributing mechanism to the magazines from which they started.

In these machines, when the composed line is presented to the mold, it is positioned between a 'pair of clamping jaws which have previously been 16 set to receive it, and while so positioned, the line is justified by the expansion of the spacebands which are driven up through the line by a socalled justification bar operated prior to the casting operation. Ordinarily, the right-hand jaw is relatively fixed (havingonly a limited movement to operate the customary pump stop), Whereas the left-hand jaw is adjustable to different positions to accord with the length of the mold slot or with the length of the composed line in its justified condition. In casting under such conditions (which are the most common conditions), it is obvious that the number of matrices and spacebands composed must be sufficient to fill out the line completely (except of course for the limited spaceallowed for justification) andhence when it is desired to cast slugs with blank spaces at the ends for indentingor centering, it is necessary to employ blanks or quads for that purpose, involving considerable annoyance and delay.

The general object of this invention is to adapt the machine to handle not only lines of full length as ordinarily, but in addition lines of less than fulllength (regardless of their actual length), so that the latter lines may be composed without blanks or quads and merely with the matrices necessary for the printed matter. Whilevarious schemes of this sort have heretofore been pro-' posed, the present invention offers many improvements upon prior arrangements in the way of greater simplicity, better efiiciency, and more extended scope of operation.

According to the invention, the movable supports for the two line clamping jaws (the latter being made long enough to perform their required 50 functions of closing the mold slot at the front) vare actuated through twodistinct trains of connections from a vertically movable rod controlled directly from the main shaft of the machine. When both jaw supports are connected to the rod, 5 they are, prior to casting, moved equidistantly toward each other until arrested by the contact of their respective jaws with the opposite ends of the composed line (for centering) and later, after casting, restored to their original positions of maximum separation. Due provision is made 0 for disconnecting either the right-hand jaw or the left-hand 'jaw from the vertically movable rod, so that one or the other may be operated independently for quadding at the right or at the left as may be desired. When both jaws are disconnected, as they may be, the machine is free to function in the usual way, the right-hand jaw being leftv normally stationary and the left-hand jaw being adjustable by the customary devices.

The right-hand jaw is made rigid with its movable support, whereas the left-hand jaw is made adjustable with respect to its movable support, this adjustment permitting the two jaws to be spaced apart initially to correspond to the length of the mold slot, whether that be selected for a long measure or a short measure. The same adjustmentwould of course be useful in other ways. as for example, inwhat might be termed oifset centering or unequal indenting at opposite ends of the slug, that is to say centering with respect 8 to an imaginary line-located to one side of the actual transverse center line of the slug.

When the clamping jaws are moved into contact with the composed line, the vertically movable actuating rod is locked in its downwardly'8 moved position by means of a toggle clamp actuated by a lost-motion device included in the operating connections for the rod, said toggle clamp acting, not directly on the rod, but, on a sleeve carried by the rod. Under some conditions (as when casting from lines without spacebands) the clamping jaws are held in line-contacting positions, and under these conditions the sleeve and rod are as one and the locking of the sleeve in the downwardly moved position of the rod results in the actual locking of the rod in that position. Under other. conditions, however, (as when casting from lines with spacebands) in order to permit the expansion of such lines (whether used in quadding or centering), the jaws are moved outwardly for a limited distance (in the present instance a variable distance of from zero to three ems) from their line contacting positions and then held in their outwardly moved positions as the line .is spread out by the expansion of the spacebands when driven upwardly through the line by the customary justifying devices. This is accomplished by providing for a relative movement between the vertically movable rod and its sleeve when the latter is locked in the downwardly 10 2 l no? moved position of the rod, such-relative -jnov'ement being controlled by means of a rotary cam mounted on the sleeve, which is operated both manually and automatically in determining the eiitent of the relative movement and therefore the will of course depend upon the contour of the cam,

and in the present embodiment the cam is sodesigned that the reduction of the line spread will take place proportionately as the length of the line decreases from a given measure to a smaller measure (say, from three ems for a twenty-five em line to one and a half ems for a twelve and a half em line). reduction in the line spread for shorter lines is to compensate for the less number of spacebands which are included in such lines and are therefore incapable of producing the same amount of bands which areincluded in longer or full length As above intimated, the right-hand jaw in casting lines of full length, is normally arranged to engage and operate a pump stop lever which per.- mits casting to take place when the lines are properly composed, but since the right-hand jaw in the present instance is movable from its normal position for quadding or centering out of contact with the pump stop lever, provision is made for operating theiatter under these conditions. In the embodiment illustrated, the left-hand jaw is provided with a yieldable section which is caused to yield by the clamping of the composed line between the two jaws when the right-hand jaw is moved to the proper quadding or centering position, and' this section in yielding actuates a train of connections which operate the ordinary pump stop lever to permit casting. The train of connections referred to includes an interponent from which the movement of the yieldable section is imparted to the pump stop lever, and this interponent is rendered active or inactive as the righthand jaw is or is not conditioned for quadding or centering. When the left-hand jaw is used alone for quadding, the right-hand jaw is then left in its normal position and is utilized to operate the pump stop lever as the left-hand jaw in moving to quadding position clamps the composed line between the two jaws. The operating connections for the pump stop lever therefore thus not only provide for the quadding and centering operations for the two line clamping jaws, but moreover they are of such character that the casting operation cannot take place during the quadding or centering unless the composed line is clamped tightly between the two jaws.

In casting from lines with spacebands, it has already been explained that the jaws during the justification of the line are moved back and held back from their line contacting positions, leav-. ing a space which must be filled up by the expansion of the line. Asa further feature of the invention, ifthe 'spacebands fail to fill up the space between the jaws, under the conditions stated, a safety device acts to prevent the casting operation.

These and other features of the invention will As will readily be understood, this beufully-set forthin the detailed description to o ow.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a linotype tisnachine equipped with the present improvemen i a Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1, looking from the left in that-figure;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the vertically movablei rod, and the associated parts, for moving the jaws to and fro, certain parts being'shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig..3, but showing the right hand jaw as moved back to permit the expansion of the line during justification;

Fig. 5 is a section taken vertically through the parts shown in Fig. 4 and revealing the locking means by which the vertically movable rod is held in its downwardly moved position;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. l is a horizontal section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5; a Fig. 8 is an elevation 'of the line spread controlling cam and its operating parts;

, Fig; 9 is a horizontal section taken on the line 9 of Fig. 8,-and looking downwardly or in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the'actuating connections for the pump stop lever;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the same connections as they are embodied in the machine;

- Figs. 12 and 13 are detailed views of the rotatable head by which the vertically movable rod is connected to the line clamping jaws, the two figures showing the head in different positions;

\ Fig. 14 is a view similar; to Fig. 2, but showing in particular the connections by which the vertically movable rod is moved upwardly in providing for the line spread,the rod, however, being shown in its downwardly moved position;

Fig. 15 is a view of the same connections but showing the rod as raised for the line spread; 15Fig. 16 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig.

Fig. 1'? is a horizontal section taken on the line 17--17 of Fig. 14 and looking downwardly;

Fig. 18 is an elevation of the first elevator cam and the jaw operating cam, showing the relative disposition of these cams on the main shaft so as to cause a slight upward lifting of the first elevator head before the jaws are separated after casting; I

Fig. 19 is an enlarged view showing by the full and dotted lines the composed line before and after the first elevator is raised;

The matrices X and the e xpansible spacebands Y (see Figs. 3 to 5) are composed in line in the assembler A under the restraining influence of a line resistant (not shown). which can be set for lines of different length, all in the usual way. After the line has been composed, the assembler is raised to position the-line between the fingers of the line delivery carriage B, which thereupon moves to the left (and in doing so inaugurating the operation of the machine) and transfers the composed line through the intermediate channel B into the-vertically movable transporter or first elevator C slidably mounted in the vise frame D. Upon receiving the line, the first elevator immediately descends to position it between the lefthand jaw E and the right-hand jaw F and in front of the slotted mold G, which latter than advances from the rear and into contact with the line and the two clamping jaws for the slug cast- 150 ing operation, the line, prior to casting, being aligned and justified in the usual way when the machine is being operated under the usual conditions. After the slug has been cast, the mold is carried from its horizontal casting position (as shown in Fig. 1), to a vertical ejecting position by a three-quarter rotation of the mold disc G,

the first elevator in the meantime being raised to deliver the composed line to the matrix and vides devices whereby theline clamping jaws may be operated automatically to cooperate with. lines less than full length so as to cast slugs with blank spaces at either end, as for quadding,

. or'at both ends, as for centering, and these posed line, or in theabsence of a composed line,

to close the mold slot completely. Except as thus modified,'and as hereinafter noted, the two jaws are substantially the same as those employed in the commercial machines and they are mounted for movement in the vise frame D in the customary manner, being carried by supporting blocks E and F slidable in suitable guideways formed in the vise frame D (see forexample Figs. 2 and 5).

In the present embodiment, the two jaws E and F are movabletoward and from each other by a periodically operated part in the form of a vertically movable rod H which maybe connected at its upper end to the respective jaws through the medium of two similar but oppositely disposed bell-crank levers l1. and IF pivoted at E -and F to the vise frame B the longer arms of said levers being connected-by short links E and F to the jaw supports E and F, respectively, and the shorter arms of said levers being arranged for connection to the rod H. According to this arrangement, when the rod H is moved downwardly from its uppermost position (which is'its normal position of rest, as shown in Fig. 1) it will move the two jaws equidistantly toward each other (assuming both to be connected to the rod) until they contact with the opposite ends of a composed line which has previously been positioned between them, and when the rod is moved upwardly for restoration to its position of rest, it will in like manner move the jaws equidistantly away from each other to return them to their original positions of maximum separation. Since the composed lines positioned between the jaws may vary in length, the actual extent of movement of the rod H will of course vary accordingly, and hence provision is made for such varied movement of the rod in its actuating connections as will presently appear.

In providing for connection and disconnection of the rod H with and from the'jaws E and F, the rod (see Fig. 6) is formed at its upper end with a reduced headed portion N on which is mounted, for rotation only, a grooved collar N presenting two segments W and N (Figs. 12 and or depressions 13) for engagement with diametrically opposed pins N and N protruding inwardly from the extremities of the horizontal arms of the actuating levers E and F for the jaws E and F, respectively. When both jaws are to be connected to the rod H for centering, the collar is turned to the position shown in Fig. 13 to bring both of its segments N and N into engagement with the pins N 7 and N of the jaw actuating levers E and F', respectively. When both jaws are to be disconnected from the rod H for regular machine operation (which is the condition shown in Fig. 1), the collar is turned to the position shown in Fig. 12 to locate the segments N and N out of engagement with both of the pins N and N. In connecting the rod H to either of the jaws independently, the collar is moved to intermediate positions, the segment N being brought into engagement with the pin N of the lever F when selecting, the right-hand jaw.

While the collar "N'...could be turned directly by hand, a special control device is herein employed for setting the collar instantly in the required position. This device is shown in the form of a manually operable bar 0 mounted to slide in horizontal guides O of the vise frame D and disposed at right angles to the rod H. On its under edge the bar 0 is formed with a rack O meshing with a pinion 0 fast to the forward end of a fore and aft stub shaft 0 journaled in the vise frame D and provided at its rear end with a bevel pinion 0 adapted in'the raised or normal position of the rod H to mesh with a right angularly disposed bevel pinion O secured to theupper side of the rotatable collar N. The parts are so proportioned that by setting the bar 0 in one of four different positions the. collar N will be set in as many different positions to effect the connection and disconnection'of the rod H with and from the jaws in the manner above described. In the present instance the setting of the bar 0 is effected by means of a horizontally disposed hand lever O" pivoted at its rear end at O to the vise frame and loosely pivoted about midway of its length, as at O to the bar 0 (see Fig. 11) As a guide to the operator the bar 0 is provided with a pointer 0 (Fig. 3) which cooperates with a scale on the vise frame bearing the designations "Reg meaning regular machine operation, R meaning right jaw quadding, C meaning centering, and L meaning left jaw quadding. These designations are also given in Fig. 11 to indicate the four positions of the hand lever. If desired, a detent 0 (Fig. 11) may be employed to hold the bar 0 in its different adjusted positions, this detent being arranged to engage in one or the other of four different notches formed in the rear face of the bar 0.

Intthe operation of the machine the pinion 0 is moved downwardly by the rod H out of engagement with the companion pinion 0 (see Figs. 5 and 6) and means are provided to lock these pinions and their associated parts against operation at such times. For the pinion 0' there is provided a stationary arm or finger 0 arranged to enter one of the four notches formed in the periphery of a disc 0 fastened to the collar N at its lower side, this finger being arranged to stand clear of the disc in the upper-' most position of the rod H but to engage the disc the instant the rod H starts its downward movement. For the pinion 0 there isprovided (see Figs. 5 and 6) a. spring pressed pawl O engage in one of the four notches formed in the periphery of a disc attached to the pinion shaft 0. In the uppermon position of the rod H the pawl O" is held out of engagement with the disc 0 by an upward extension 0" of the rod (see Fig. 2), but upon the lowering of the rodfithepawlisurgedbyitsspringintoengagementwith the disc 0 In this way the bar 0 or its operating handle-O" can only be operated when the rod H is in its uppermost or normal position of rest and when the two pinions OandO'areinmeshsothatthecollarN'can be turned by the operation of the bar 0 in connecting the rod H to either or both jaws or in disconnecting it from both. Likewise, the finger O" maintains the collar N in its set position at all times except when the two pinions are in mesh and can be operated to alter the condition of the parts. I

The rod H is slidable in suitable bearings H and H of the fixed vise frame D, being provided about midway of its length with a collar H carrying an adjusting screw which banks against the under side of the bearing l-I when the rod is in its uppermost or normal position of rest. At its lower end the rod H is connected by a link H to the forward end of a lever H having a hub portion H journaled on a pivot rod H carried by a bracket D secured to the vise frame D (see Figs. 1 and 2). Fixed to and depending from the hub portion H" is a barrel or cylinder H" containing an expansion spring H" pressing upwardly against a lug Hi projecting forwardly from a hub portion H" of a second lever II" also journaled on the pivot rod H". The

lifting tendency of the spring H is resisted and overcome by the engagement of a stop lug h" on the hub portion H" of the second lever H" with a stop lug h" formed on the hub portion H" of the first lever H", the effect of this arrangement being to cause the two levers to move in unison until the first lever H is arrested by a downward movement of the rodcarrying sleeve H.

The second lever H" is connected at its rear end by a roller and groove connection H to the forward end of a bent lever H formed with separated hub portions H journaled on a pivot rod 1-! carried by a bracket D secured to the main frame of the machine, a tension spring H being connected to the leverH" in advance of its pivot and serving constantly to move it downwardly at its forward end. The outer one of the hub portions H is provided with an upstanding arm H having a lateral projecting lug H" which, through an adjusting screw H bears against the rear edge ofa straight lever H journaled at its lower end upon the pivot rod H and carrying at its upper end a roller H" tracking upon the periphery of a rotary edge cam H fast to the'main shaft H of the ma chine.

From the foregoing construction, it will be seen that the rotation of the cam H'- (which is always in a clockwise direction and which makes one complete rotation at each cycle of operation of the machine) is imparted to the rod B, through the train of connections justdescribed, to move the rod first downwardly to effect the inward or closing movement of the jaws E and F, and then upwardly to effect the outward or separating movement of the jaws. Since, as already stated, the downward movement oftherodHwillvaryacordingtothelength of the line positioned between the Jaws, its actuating connections must be arranged to yield as the rotation of the cam H continues, and this yielding is provided for by the lost motion which takes place between the two levers H" and H", the latter acting on the former through the expansion spring H which, of

course, will be compressed to absorb the lost motion. The lever H being thus permitted to partake of g a full rocking movement, may be (as it is) positively connected to the cam operated lever H". The downward or jaw closing movement of the rod H takes place as the roller H" runs from the .low portion H of the cam onto the high portion H of the cam, while the upward or jaw separating movement of the rod H takes place as the roller runs from the hlgh portion of the cam onto the low portion thereof,

- this latter movement of the parts being effected by the spring H which acts always to hold the roller H" in contact with the rotary cam. It may here be noted that the high and low portions of the cam are concentric throughout approximately half the rotation of the cam, being made so in order that, in one case, the jaws will be closed before and held closed during the slug casting operation and, in the other case, separated and held separated between successive slug casting operations.

In order to lock the rod H in its downwardly moved position, there is provided a toggle member J (see Figs. 5 and 'I) enclosed within a box or housing D which carries the bearing Hlbefore alluded to. This toggle member J operates a clamping or grip element J arranged to contact with a sleeve T'carried by the rod H and which for purposes of the present description may be assumed to be integral with the rod. Associated with the toggle is an actuatinglink J? provided at its upper end with an adjusting screw J arranged to bear upon the toggle joint. At its lower end the link J is connected by a tum-buckle link J t to the forward laterally bent arm J of the lever H" before referred to. As will be noted in Fig. 5, the link J is slotted as at J so as to straddie the toggle joint, being encircled within the box D by a small compression spring J which normally presses upwardly through a pin or stud J on the toggle joint to maintain the grip element J in inactive position.

It will now be seen that the toggle member J is operated by reason of the lost motion which takes place between the two levers H" and H it being remembered that the former lever is the one connected to the rod H. In other words, after the lever H is arrested in its movement by the downward movement of the rod H (due of course to the contact of the jaws with the opposite ends of a composed line), the lever H continues to move to its full extent under the influence of a rotary cam H, acting in, the meantime to continue its drawing down of the link J. The length of the link J (or what amounts to the same thing, the position of the screw J thereon), is such that, during the last portion of the movement of the lever H", the screw J is moved down within the box D and caused to actuate the toggle member J so as thereby to press the grip element J under heavy pressure against the sleeve T and lock the rod H securely in its downwardly moved position. It may be explained in passing that the toggle member J is so designed that its members will never pass dead center, Later, after the slug has been cast and it becomes necessary to restore the jaws to their original positions,thelinkJ=israisedinadvancesoasto unlock the rod H and its h m '1' to permit the raising of the rod, the link duringLthe raising of the rod passing through the boxiorfhou'sing B (see Fig. 2) and the spring J" acting instantly to withdraw the grip element J from engagement with the, sleeve T.

Were the rod H and its sleeve T actually joined together as one (as above assumed), it is plain that there could be no spreading of the composed lines after the sleeve is locked in position by the toggle member J, and in such circumstances the jaws would be locked'directly in their line contacting positions, which actually happens when the lines are composed without spacebands. According to this invention, however, it is proposed to move the jaws outwardly from their line contacting positions, to a limited extent, after the locking of the sleeve T in order that a composed line may be spread to a corresponding extent under the expanding influence of the spacebands Y. In the present instance, provision is made for allowing the line to spread up to three ems in extent. This is accomplished, as before stated, byproviding for a relative movement between the rod H and the sleeve T after the latter has been locked by the toggle member J in the downwardly moved or line clamping position of the rod.

Referring particularly to Fig. 5, it will be noted that at its lower end the rod H is provided with a fixed collar T which contains an expansion spring 'I' encircling the rod H and pressing upwardly on the lower end of the sleeve T. This lifting tendency of the spring T however, in the downwardly moved position of the rod H, will be resisted and overcome by a rotary cam V rotatably mounted on the sleeve at its upper end and arranged in position to engage the collar H fixed to the rod. When the cam V is set with its high point in contact with the collar H, it

will by reacting against the collar H, and over the opposition of the spring T hold the sleeve T in contact with the second collar T at the lower end of the rod. Under such a setting of the cam, as will now be evident, there can be no relative movement between the rod and the sleeve, and the two parts function as if they were rigidly united, which is the condition that should exist when casting from lines without spacebands. 0n the other hand, when the cam is set, say to bring its lowest point into contact with the collar H, then the sleeve T in the downwardly moved position of the rod H will be raised by the spring T out of engagement with the collar T, and the clearance thus provided will determine the amount of the relative movement which can take place between the rod and sleeve after the locking of the latter by the toggle member J in the manner before described. This is a condition which should exist when it is desired to permit of the maximum spread of a composed line during justification, which in the case of quadded lines is three ems. When it is desired to provide for a less spread of a composed line the cam V is set in an intermediate position, that is to say, in a position intermediate its lowest and highest points.

In Figs. 3, 4 and 5 the parts are shown as conditioned for quadding at the right of the line, which means that the right-hand jaw F is connected alone to the rod H. Let it be assumed that the length of the composed line shown in Fig. 3 is twenty-five ems and that it is desired to allow the line to be spread or justified to the full extent of three ems. which would result in a justified line of, twenty-eight ems length: When the machineis in operation the rod H will move downwardly until the jaw F is brought into conand since the sleeve T is carried with the rod it will move downwardly with it to the same extent. Then when the toggle member J is operated to lock the sleeve T in its downwardly moved position there will be a clearance space between the lower end of the sleeve T and the collar T fixed to the rod, this clearance space being also shown in Fig. 3. In such condition of the parts, it is plain that the rod H is free to be moved upwardly again to anextent, determined by the clearance between the lower end of the sleeve T and the rod collar T, and in carrying out the invention it is proposed to raise the rod positively to such limited extent so as thereby to move the bands Y produced by the upper thrust of the justification bar U in the customary way. On the basis of the foregoing assumption, the right-hand jaw will be moved outwardly to the extent of three ems and consequently the composed line will be allowed to expand to that extent. The same conditions would exist if the left-hand jaw were connected to the rod H instead of the righthand jaw. If both jaws were connected to the rod, as. for centering, the amount of spread would of coursebe doubled, since the same movement of the rod is imparted to each jaw independently; for that reason, when the parts are conditioned for centering, the setting of the cam V should be just half of what it would be for quadding, unless indeed it were desired to double the space in that way.

There will next be described the mechanism employed for effecting such upward limited or line-spread movement of the rod H, this mechanism being shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and in Figs, 14 to 17. By reference to these figures it will be seen that the lever H which actuates the rod H, is provided with an upwardly extending bifurcated arm H having a pin H playing in a closed slot H formed in the forward end of a fore and aft actuating link H, the length of the slot H being such that the pin H may travel from one end thereof to the other without affecting the link H as the rod H is moved back and forth by the lever H between its uppermost and lowermost positions. As will presently appear, when the machine is in operation the link H is moved rearwardly after the sleeve T has been locked by the toggle member J in its downwardly moved position with the clamping jaws in contact with the composed line, and in its rearward movement the link will sooner or later (depending upon the extent of the downward movement of the sleeve) engage the pin H and through the arm H rock the lever H in a counterclockwise direction against the opposition of the spring H This counterclockwise rocking of the lever H is. of course communicated to the rod H which, as a result, is moved upwardly with reference to the sleeve T until the rod collar T banks against the lower end of the sleeve, the extent of such relative movement of the rod being, as previously stated, determined by the setting of the cam V. Compare Figs. 14 and 15. It is this tact with the composed line, as shown in Fig. 3,

right-hand jaw'outwardly to a corresponding upward limited movement of the rod H which moves the line clamping jaws outwardly from their line contacting position and thus determines the final quadding or centering position of the jaws when a composed line is to be spread or justified by the expansion of the contained spacebands. I

Going back to the actuating connections, the link H is slidably supported in a bracket D attached to the fixed machine frame and is connected by a long tension spring H" (which is more powerful than the spring H" above referred to) to the lower end of a lever H secured to and depending from a shaft H journaled in a supporting bracket D attached to the fixed machine frame at the rear. Likewise, secured to the shaft H, in offset relation to the lever H (see Fig. 1), is a second lever H"'h.aving a forwardly extending arm which carries at its extremity a roller H" arranged to cooperate with a cam H. While this cam might be mounted directly on the main shaft H, it is as a matter of convenience attached to the side face of the cam H which controls the jaw closing and jaw opening movements of the rod H.

As will be noted in Fig. 14, the relations of the two cams H and H is such that shortly after the former has operated the lever H" to effect the downward or jaw closing movement of the rod H and to lock the sleeve T in its downwardly moved position, the cam H will be caused to engage with the roller H" and rock the connected levers H and H clockwise to draw the link H rearwardly in effecting the limited upward move- -ment of the rod H relatively to the locked sleeve T in the manner before described. The cam H maintains its engagement with the roller H and hence maintains the rod H in its limited raised position, until after the composed line has been justified or spread by the expansion of the spacebands. Thereafter the cam H travels clear of the roller H and the levers H" and H are then restored to their original or normal position of-rest by a spring H" connected to the lower end of the lever H and pulling forwardly thereon from an anchorage point in the machine frame, a stop I! engaged by the lever H serving to locate the parts in their proper position.

In order to move the link H forwardly to its original or nonnal position of rest, the link is provided with a long rod H extending through the spring H and connected at its rear end by a pin and slot connection H to the lever H. The play of the pin and slot connection is such that the actuating movement of the lever H will always be transmitted to the link H through the spring H", the rod therefore acting merely as a return connection for the link from the spring H"- While unnecessary perhaps, the rod H is slidably supported at its forward end in a bearing formed in the bracket 1).

Upon the return movement of the link H", the spring H again'comes into play and tends instantly to rock the lever H clockwise to move the rod H down again relatively to the locked sleeve T (it being noted that at this time the high portion H of the cam H" is still in engagement with the roller H" of the lever H"), but if the line has been promptly justified or spread out by the spacebands to the full extent'permitted by the outward movement of the jaws from their line contacting position, the line itself will serve to prevent such return movement of the rod by the spring II. On the other hand, if for any the spacebands so as to fill out the space between the jaws, the rod H can and will be moved downwardly by the spring H to whatever-extent is required to close the jaws upon the composed line. In this latter event, which is an abnormal operation, the return. downward movement of the rod H is utilized to prevent the casting operation from taking place, as will be subsequently described.

Coming next to the means employed for operating the line spread or justifying control cam V, reference is made particularly to Figs. 1 to 5 and 8 and 9. As clearly shown in these figures, the cam is mounted to turn on a pin or stud V'- p jecting laterally from a band T fixed to t e sleeve T at its. upper end. A ball member V, likewise journaled on the stud V, is pinned to the cam V and presents a forwardly extending arm V formed with an elongated slot V The slot V receives a pin V carried by a hand lever V pivoted at W to a vertically arranged sector plate V attached to the vise frame D. In making connection between the hand lever and the bail arm, the pin V passes through a curved guide slot W formed in the sector plate concentric to the pivot V". The outer edge of the sector plate is also made concentric to the pivot V and is formed with a series of locking holes or notches to receive a spring actuated detent V carried by the hand lever. The locking holesare spaced apart in accordance with the desired manual settings of the cam V, being designed in the present instance for one-half em settings for a rangeof three ems total.

When the machine is at rest, with the rod H in its uppermost position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, the upper rod collar K (through an adjusting screw) banks against the underside of the upper bearing member H and a collar or band T on the lower end of the sleeve T (through an adjusting screw also if desired) banks against the underside of the lower bearing member H. the band T being so located that in the upward movement of the rod H, it (the band) will engage the bearing member H far enough in advance of the engagement of the rod collar H with the bearing member H as to take up any clearance between the lower end of the sleeve T and the lower rod collar T. In other words, in the uppermost position of the rod H, the sleeve T will be fully depressed, so that the cam V is free to be turned by the hand lever V for the initial setting without having to overcome the resistance of the spring T", as would otherwise be necessary. When in the operation of the machine the rod H is moved downwardly, the spring '1 will be allowed to exert itself in raising the sleeve T relatively to the rod, depending of course upon the initial setting of the cam V. If the cam V is set for no line spread, its high point will be brought into contact with the collar H and no raising of the sleeve can take place, but for any other settingof the cam, such upward movement of the sleeve will take place as is necessary to bring the cam into contact with the collar H (see Fig. 3).

In Figs. 1 and 8, the hand lever V is shown as having been swung downwardly to its lowermost position for a three em setting of the cam V. This being the maximum setting, the cam is shown as rotated to bring its lowest portion 0 into contacting relation to the upper rod collar H, and under such setting of the cam the sleeve T in the downward movement of the rod H will reason the line has not-been fully expanded by be raised by its spring T the maximum distance 159 from the lower rod collar T (see Figs. 1 and 3). Were the cam allowed to remain in this set position, the rod H, when moved upwardly by the cam H after the locking of the sleeveT in its downwardly moved position, would be allowed to partake of a relative movement to the sleeve T such as to move the connected jaw or jaws back from its or their line contacting position for a distance of three ems.

In the embodiment illustrated, however, it is also proposed to rotate the cam V automatically.

as the rod H and sleeve T are moved downwardly to bring the clamping jaws into contact with the composed line, and it is for this reason that the hand lever V instead of being connected directly to the cam V and therefore movable with it, is mounted upon the stationary sector plate V Being thus mounted independently of the cam V, when the cam moves downwardly with the sleeve T its slotted bail arm V due to its engagement with the now fixed pin V will always be rockedupwardly (see the dotted lines in Fig. 8) to turn the cam counterclockwise or in a direction to bring its higher portions into contact with the rod collar H" and thereby reduce the space between the rod collar T and the lower end of the sleeve.

The extent of turning of the cam will of course depend upon the extent of the downward movement of the sleeve. Thus, if the sleeve should be carried to its lowermost position, as when there is no line-between the clamping jaws, the

cam V will be turned to bring its highest portion 12 into contact with the collar H and in such case no clearance space will remain between the sleeve and the collar T. On the other hand, if the sleeve should be carried only part way down, as when there is a line between the clamping jaws, the turning of the cam will vary according to the length of the line, being greater for shorter lines and lesser for longer lines.

In Figs. 3, 4 and 5, (the machine shown being a so-called thirty em machine) a twenty-five em line is shown in positionbetween the clamping jaws and the hand lever V is shown as set for a three em line spread Now, when the rod H is moved downwardly by the cam H, the righthand jaw F (which alone in this instance is connected" to the rod for quadding) will first be moved into contact with the composed line, as shown in Fig. 3. Since the inward movement of the jaw will be but five ems, the downward movement of the rod H will necessarily be relatively small, but small as it is, inasmuch as there is some relative movement between the bail arm V and the fixed pin V the cam V will turn counterclockwise to a corresponding extent, and hence to prevent the cam from efiecting the position of the sleeve T, its lowermost portion 12 is given a concentricity suflicient to permit the cam to turn idly during this initial five em equivalent motion to the rod. As a result, when the sleeve T is locked in its downwardly moved position by the toggle member J, the rod H will be moved upwardly in relation to the sleeve to the full extent permitted bythe cam V, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, thereby moving the jaw F outwardly from its line contacting position for a distance of three ems. As before explained, the jaw will be maintained in such outwardly moved position (by the cam H until the line has been spread or justified by the expansion of the spacebands Y, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4. Under such conditions, the casting operation will take place in due course, and the slug produced will be a thirty em slug bearing on its edge a line of characters justified to a length of twenty-eight ems.

The concentricity of the lowest portion 1; of the cam \Fmight be greater or less than that stated, the five em allowance being mentioned only for purposes of illustration. There is a similar concentricity at the highest portion 0 of the cam, as when'it is set for no line spread, but the extent of this concentricity must be great enough to allow for such turning of the cam by the bail arm V as may take place during a full downward movement of the sleeve T in the absence of a composed line.

When the cam V is made with a five em concentricity as above described, it will be understood that the eflective turning of the cam in automatically reducing the line spread does not begin until the rod H in its downward or jaw closing movement goes beyond that range, but once it does, the turning of the cam proceeds progressively as the rod descends, thereby enabling the composed line to determine for itself the amount of spread or justification which may be given .to it. Thus, if as shown the rise of the cam increases gradually from its lowest portion 12 to its highest portion 1;, then the line spread is reduced proportionately as the length of the line decreases from the given measure of twentyfive ems to a less measure. For example, if the composed line is twelve and one-half ems long 7 and the hand lever V is set for a three em spread as in Fig. 8, then the downward movement of the rod H in bringing the right-hand jaw F into contact with the composed line will result in turning the cam V counterclockwise far enough to reduce the line spread to one and one-half ems. Or again, if the line should be but five ems in length, the line spread will be cut down to three-fifths of an em. In its automatic adjustment by the rod H, the cam V will not belimited in its settings to one-half emor whole em variations, due of course to the gradual rise of the cam surface.

It may be noted that the automatic operation 120 of the cam take place irrespective of the position in which the cam is initially set by the hand lever V. For example, if the jaws E and F (by the manual adjustment of the jaw E) were originally set for a fifteen em slug as distinguished from a full length or thirty em slug, then the operator would be expected to set the hand lever V for a one and one-half line spread and in that case the intermediate point of the cam would be brought into engaging relation to the rod collar H, but since the cam at that point has no concentricity the initial downward movement of the rod H in closing the jaws upon the line will be transmitted immediately to the cam to reduce the line spread according as the length of the line drops below the given measure of fifteen ems. Obviously. such intermediate point of the cam orother intermediate points, like the lowest and highest points 1) and 1), could be made concentric so as to provide a given tolerance for the cam in the initial downward move-' ment of the rod H, but it is preferred to make the rise of the cam gradual owing to its automatic operation from any of its different manually set positions. Except for such universal use of the cam, its contour might be variously altered to produce different changes in line spread in its different set positions. Indeed, the cam might even be designed so as to have no concentricity at its lowest point 12, and in that case the rise of 8 the cam mightdbesufllciently greater to com-' pensate for any desired idle motion which may be given to the rod H in its initial downward upon the actual length of the composed line in use or upon the extent of the inward or line contacting movement of the jaws. It will be understood of course, that the line spread is intended only for lines containing spacebands, and since the number of spacebands in a composed line will depend essentially upon the length of that line, it follows that the amount of line spread may be safely fixed with reference to the length of the line. In casting from lines without 'spacebands, the hand lever V will be set in its uppermost position so as to prevent relative motion between the rod H and sleeve T, the concentricity of the highest portion 12' of the cam permitting the cam tobe turned idly as the bail arm W is rocked upwardly by the downward movement of therod H.

The advantage of producing a line spread is not limited to the improved typographic eilect which comes from the wider spacing permitted between the words of a quadded or centered line, important as that is. By proper settings of the hand lever V and careful composition of the lines, many difierent effects may be obtained. Thus, by composing lines of the same length and by varying the setting of the hand lever V, difierentword spacings may be produced in diflerent printed iines,an effect frequently desired for centered lines. Again, by composing lines of slightly difierent lengths and by varying the setting of the hand lever V for different lines, all of them may be spread out or justified to approximately the same length ,an eflect which is often desired for quadded lines fitted about inserts. The arrangement also lends itself to the casting of slugs from full length lines, as when the lines must be spread out or justified to thirty em measure, along with the casting of slugs from shorter lines, as for quadding or centering, and this without having to disconnect the rod H from the jaws. For example, if as shown in Figs. 3 to 5 the right-hand jaw F is connected to the rod H for quadding, the mechanism will function without disconnecting the jaw from the rod to cast a slug with a thirty em type line. In casting such full measure slugs. the matrix line will be composed as usual to a length of at least twenty-seven ems and if therefore the hand lever V is set for a three em line spread, as it can be, the composed line will be spread out or justified to the thirty cm length required without quadding.

In the commercial machines, the slug casting operation is controlled bya pivoted lever L mounted on the machine frame and which actuates a pump stop (see Figs. 1, 3, 10 and 11). The pump stop normally stands in position to prevent casting, and the lever must be moved to the right, as viewed in the figures noted, in order to release the pump. Ordinarily, this pump releasing movement of the lever L is effected during the justification of the line by a slight yielding to the right of the right-hand jaw P which engages directly with the lever, but since this jaw when used as herein for quadding or centering, must be moved away from instead of toward the lever, means are provided for operating the lever by the leftward movement of the jaw to quadding or centering position, such movement of the jaw being transmitted through the composed line to a train of connections leading to the pump stop lever.

The train of connections referred to includes a vertically arranged pivoted section L carried by the left-hand jaw E and protruding inwardly beyond the matrix engaging face of the jaw. At its lower free end, the section L is provided with a laterally projecting pin L? which bears at one edge against an inclined or cam face L formed on the inside of the free end of a horizontally upper side a roller L arranged in engagement with the lower end of a vertically disposed twoarmed lever L centrally pivoted at L'to the vise frame. In the upper end of the lever 11' there is mounted a spring actuated plunger L arranged in the plane of the pump stop lever L and adapted (through an interponent M later to be described) to move the lever to the right and release the pump.

According to the arrangement just described, when the right-hand jaw F moves to the left for quadding or centering, it pushes the composed line before it and finally clamps the line tightly against the left-hand jaw E. As the line is thus clamped between the jaws, the section L is rocked to the left and cams the lever L forwardly, impartinga similar movement to the bar L which, because of the parallel motion links L is moved to the left. Such leftward movement of the bar L produces a clockwise rotation of the lever U about its central pivot L, and thereby moves the plunger L toward the right to actuate the pump stop lever L.

As above stated, the plunger L instead of acting directly upon the pump stop lever L, acts thereon through an interponent M. This interponent is movable forwardly and backwardly so as to stand between the plunger L and the lever L, as in Fig. 11, or between the jaw F and the lever L, as in Fig. 10. In the former position, which is really its active position, the interponent transmits the motion of the lever L to the pump stop lever L when the right-hand jaw F is moved to its quadding or centering position. In the latter position, which is really its inactive position (since the jaw F except for the clearance space it provides for the interponent might just as well be engaged directly with the lever L), the interponent transmits the movement of the right-hand jaw to the lever L as the jaw is caused to yield toward the right. In this connection it may be explained that such rightward yielding of the jaw F takes place when the composed line is justified between the two jaws in the regular machine operation, and also when the left-hand jaw E is moved to the right for quadding and clamps the composed line up against the right-hand jaw.

It is pointed out that the actuating connections for the pump stop lever L serve not only to operate that lever by the inward or quadding movements of the two jaws E and F but in addition, by acting through the composed line in all cases, they are rendered incapable of operating the lever unless the composed line is clamped tightly between the jaws. This safety feature of the connections is important since in quadding or centering there is always danger of a squirt due to the failure of the two clamping jaws to contact with the opposite ends ofthe composed line. Thus, if the matrices should become caught or wedged in the first elevator channel, the inward movement of the right-hand jaw would be blocked and that would result in the failure of the left-hand jaw to move inward far enough to contact with the line, in which event of course a squirt would almost certainly occur. Should such a contingency arise in the use of the present arrangement however, the jaw section L would remain in its protruding condition and thus fail to actuate the pump stop lever. While the jaw section L is inoperative when the interponent M stands between the right-hand jaw F and the pump stop lever L, the same safety feature is present, because to actuate the lever the line must be clamped tightly between the jaws, either by the expansion of the line in regular machine operation or by the inward movement of the left-hand jaw when quadding with that jaw.

The interponent M is set in one or the other of its two positions automatically by the conditioning of the parts. That is to say, when the right hand jaw is connected-to the rod H for quadding or centering, the interponent will be located between the lever L and the plunger L as in Fig. 11, whereas when the left-hand jaw is connected to the rod H, the interponent will be located between the lever L and the right-hand jaw F as in Fig. 10. When both jaws are disconnected from the rod H for regular machine operation, the interponent will also be located between the lever L and the right-hand jaw F as in Fig. 10.

In providing for the automatic positioning of the interponent M, it is attached to the rear end of a fore and aft slide M mounted on the vise frame D. Through the interposition of a horizontally disposed centrally pivoted bell crank lever M also mounted on the vise frame, the for.- ward end of the slide M is connected to the up-' per end of a vertically disposed lever M pivoted to the vise frame at M 'and having an arm M extending horizontally toward the left. The arm M carries at its extremity a pin M arranged to cooperate with a cam piece M extended to the -right from the before mentioned bar 0 by which the jaws are connected to and disconnected from the rod H, in the manner before described. On

its under edge, the cam piece M" is formed with two notches ordepressions M which are adapted to receive the pin M when the bar 0 is adjusted for left jaw quadding or regular machine operation, a spring M acting at such time to pull upwardly on the arm M and thrust the slide M rearwardly to position the interponent M between the right-hand jaw F and the pump stop lever L. When the bar 0 is adjusted for right jaw quadding or centering, on the other hand, the pin M is moved out of the notches M onto the straight edge of the came piece M and therebycaused to draw the slide M forwardly to position the interponent M between the lever L and the plunger L Here it will be convenient to describe the safety device by which the casting operation is prevented in the event that the composed line is not expanded sufliciently to fill out the space between the clamping jaws when they are used for quadding or centering. As before explained, after the locking of the sleeve T in its downwardly moved position, as in Fig. 3, the rod H is moved upwardly by the cm H" for a limited distance as permitted by the setting of the cam V to back of! the connected jaw (the right-hand jaw F in the instance illustrated) for a corresponding distance, as in Fig. 4. In this limited upward movement of the rod H, its lower collar T is raised into engagement with the lower end of the locked sleeve T (compare Figs. 3 and 4) and in so doing. the collar engages a roller R on the lower end of an arm R= pivoted to the band T secured to the sleeve T at its lower end, a pin T (see Fig. 5) passing through the sleeve and an elongated slot in the rod H to prevent rotation of the band and sleeve on the rod. The arm R forms part of a parallel motion link R having a companion link R pivoted to the upper sleeve band T and these two links give support to a vertically disposed bar R Tracking upon the inner edge of the bar R is a roller Rjournaled in the extremity of the lower ar'm R" of a long upright lever B pivotally mounted on the vise frame at B". At its upper end, the lever R carries a lug R arranged to engage a bolt or set screw R protruding to the right from the forward end of the pump stop lever L. A spring R connected to the lever arm R" acts constantly to hold the locking lug R in engagement with the pump stop lever L and prevent the lever from being actuated, this spring B being stronger than the customary spring which serves to maintain the pump stop lever in its normal locking position and being also stronger than the spring associated with plunger L included in the actuating connections for the pump stop lever.

Inasmuch as the bar R is attached to the sleeve T, it will be raised and lowered with the sleeve, the roller R running freely on the inner edge of the bar. The actual position of the sleeve T on the rod H, however, will depend upon the setting of the cam V, so that whenever the cam is set to provide for a line spread the sleeve T will be held up by its spring 'I out of engage-.

ment with the lower rod collar T',-see for example Fig. 3, which shows the rod H in a downwardly moved position. In such raised position of the sleeve T relatively to the rod H, the roller R will stand clear of the rod collar T and hence the spring R is free to exert itself in holding the lever R in its active position to-lock the pump stop lever against actuation. Consequently, as is to be expected, when the right-hand jaw F (using the same illustration as before) is moved into contact with the composed line, as in Fig. 3, the jaw section L will operate the lever L in the manner before described but, owing to "the locking of the pump stop lever L by the lever R, the

plunger L will be caused to yield, as indicated in Fig. 3. Later, however, when the rod H is moved upwardly to back up the jaw F as in Fig. 4, the collar T engages the roller R and draws the bar R inwardly to overcome the action of the spring R and move the lever R out of locking position. Thereupon, the plunger L under the influence of its actuating spring, is pushed outwardly and caused to actuate the pump stop lever. Then follows the justifying action which normally results in the expansion of the composed line to fill out the space between the two 1 jaws, and if this result does occur then the pump stop lever will be maintained in its actuated position by the plunger L and the casting opera tion may take place. If, however, the justifying action fails to expand the line sufficiently to fill out the space between the jaws, the right-hand jaw F will be moved back into contact with the composed line before the casting period arrives, and in this return movement of the jaw, the rod H will be moved downwardly with reference to the sleeve T, lowering the collar T out of engagement with the roller R and allowing the spring B, through the lever B, to move the lever L back to its original or pump stop position against the opposition of the plunger L as shown in Fig. 3.

As previously noted, when the rod H is in its uppermost position or at rest, the sleeve T is held down against the collar '1" by reason of the engagement of the sleeve band 1' with the bearing member H Hence, at this time (see Fig. 1), due to the engagement of the roller R with the collar T', the lever R will be held in inactive position against the tension of the spring R". The rod H may therefore be disconnected from both of the vise jaws for regular machine operation, without regard to the position of the cam-setting hand lever V, i. e., whether it is set for line spread or not. If the sleeve T were subject solely to the action of the cam V at the time (as it might actually be) the hand lever V would always have to be adjusted to its uppermost or zero position in order to depress the sleeve far enough to render the lever R inactive. With the present arrangement, the sleeve T is automatically depressed to its lowermost position on the rod H whenever the rod is returned to its uppermost position, so that in changing the regular machine operation the attendant need only operate the hand lever 0" by which the rod is disconnected from both laws.

It may be explained at this point that the jaw section L is normally returned to its protruding position, as shown in Fig. 10, after the composed line has been removed from between the jaws, by the usual actuating spring which serves constantly to hold the lever L in its active or pump stop position. On the rare occasions when the lever L is moved back to its pump stop position by the safety device R, the spring associated with the plunger L being under tension at such times, will perform the same ofiice. The relation of the cam surface L to the pin U (which latter is arranged in advance of the pivot point of the jaw section L) is such that no separate spring is required for the jaw section.

Turning to another feature of the invention, attention is directed to Figs. 2 to 5 and 10, which show the vise jaws E and F as equipped each with a depending bracket plate S formed with a horizontal lip S slidably engaged with an overlying horizontal shelf S or a long bar S secured to the vise frame. The bracket plate for the left hand jaw E is attached directly thereto, since that jaw is adjustable relatively to its supporting block E; whereas the bracket plate for the right hand jaw F, which is non-adjustable with respect to its supporting block F, which is attached to the block. As will be observed, the bracket plates are located adjacent the matrix contacting faces of the respective jaws and are adapted to maintain engagement with the bar S (which is made long enough for that purpose) throughout the whole range of movement of the jaws. By reason of this arrangement, the jaws will always be held against upward displacement during the justification of a composed line and hence maintain the proper lock-up of the line. Heretofore, when dependent solely upon the fit of their supporting blocks E and F in the customary guideways of the vice frame, the jaws sometimes are shifted to an inclined position by the lifting force exerted thereon by the line justifying action and leave crevices between the matrices of the line or between the end matrices and the jaws, thereby producing squirts" or defective slugs.

There only remains to be described how the end matrices of a composed line are wiped by the clamping jaws after casting. By reference to Fig. 18, it will be seen that the first elevator C is moved vertically to and from casting position by means of a cam C mounted on the main shaft H, the cam acting in the usual way through two lever arms C, C. In Fig. 18, the first elevator is shown in its lowermost or casting position with the cam C (rotating in the direction of the arrow) about to engage the lever arm (I and start the elevator on its upward movement. At this time, the roller H of the lever H" (which operates the line clamping jaws E and F) is about to run from the high portion H of the cam H onto the low portion H so as to separate the jaws and restore them to their original positions of rest. In order, however, to permit the first elevator to partake of a slight upward movement before the roller H" actually leaves the high portion H the latter is slightly extended by the addition to the cam track of a shoe (2* which produces the necessary time interval. In consequence, the jaws E and F will remain in their closed or line contacting position during the initial upward movement of the first elevator, and in this slight interval the composed line will be carried upward by the elevator to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 19, producing a wiping action between the end matrices of the line and the clamping jaws to remove any metal which may be adhering to the matrices or to the jaws in the casting zone. As the elevator moves on beyond the dotted line position shown in Fig. 19, the roller H" descends to the lower portion H of the cam H and the two jaws are separated in readiness to receive the next line.

In the accompanying drawings the invention has been shown in preferred form and by way of example and as applied to the machine of the class stated, but obviously many modifications and alterations may be made therein and in its mode of application without departing from the spirit of the invention. It should, therefore, be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, its construction and mode of operation, what I claim is as follows:

1. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a pair of line clamping jaws, means for moving one of said jaws into contact with a composed line, means independent of the line for of a pair of line clamping jaws, one movable toward the other Iorquadding, means for eiiecting such quadding movement of the jaw, means independent of the line for moving the jaw outwardly a limited distance from its line contacting position to permit the line to be expanded by spaceb'ands to a corresponding extent, and means for holding the jaw in its outwardly moved or quadding position during the expansion of the line. a v

3. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a pair of line clamping jaws movable equidistantly toward each other for centering, means for effecting such centering movement of the jaws, means for moving the jaws outwardly a limited distance from their line contacting positions to permit the line to be expanded by spacebands to a corresponding extent, and means for holding the jaws in their outwardly moved or centering position during the expansion 01' the line.

4. A combination as in claim 1, including manually adjustable means Ior varying the extent of the outward movement of the jaw from its line contacting position. 1

5, A combination as in claim 1, including automatically adjustable means for varying the extent of the outward movement .oi the jaw from its line contacting position. I

6. A combination as in claim 1, including means adjustable both manually and automatically for varying the extent of the outward movement of the jaw from its line contacting position.

7. In a slug casting machine, the combination 1 of a pair of line clamping jaws, means for moving one of said jaws inwardly into contact with a composed line,'said jaw being thereafter movable outwardly a limited distance from its line contacting position, means for holding the jaw in its outwardly moved position, and automatic means for varying the extent of the outward movement of the jaw in accordance with the length of the composed line.

8. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a pair of line clamping jaws, means for moving one of said jaws inwardly into contact with a composed line, said jaw being thereafter movable outwardly a limited distance from its line contacting position, means for holding the jaw in its outwardly moved position, and automatically adjus'table means for reducing the extent of the outward movement of the jaw as the length of the composed line decreases from a given measure to a smaller measure.

9. In a slug casting machine, the combination of apair of line clamping jaws, means for moving one of said jaws inwardly into contact with a composed line, said jaw being thereafter movable outwardly a'limited distance from its line contacting position, means for holding the jaw in its outwardly moved position, manually operable means to determine the extent of the outward movement of the jaw for lines of a given length, and automatically operable means to reduce that extent of movement for lines of less length.

10. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a pair of line clamping jaws, means for moving one of said jaws inwardly into contact with a composed line, said jaw being thereafter movable outwardly a limited distance from its line contacting position, means for holding the jaw in its outwardly moved position, manually operable means to determine the extent of the outward movement of the jaw for lines of a given length, and automatically operable means to reduce that extent of movement for lines of less length, said automatically operable means being controlled by the extent of the inward or line contacting movement oi the jaw.

11. In is slug casting machine, the combination of a pair of line clamping jaws, means for moving one of saidjaws inwardly into contact with a composed line, said jaw being thereafter movable outwardly a limited distance from its line contacting position, means for holding the jaw in its outwardly moved position, and automatic means for progressively reducing the extent of the outward movement of the jaw in proportion to the extent of the inward or line contacting movement of the jaw.

12. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a pair of lineclamping jaws, a vertically movable rod connected to at least one of said jaws, means for moving the-rod downwardly to effect a closing movement of the jaws and then upwardly to effect a separating movement of the jaws, means for locking the rod in its downwardly moved position with capacity for a limited upward movement to permit of a corresponding separation of the jaws during justification, and means independent of the line for eilecting such limited upward movement of the rod.

13. In a .slug casting machine, the combination of a pair of line clamping jaws, a vertically movable rod connected to at least one of said jaws, means for moving the rod downwardly to eflect a closing movement of the jaws and then upwardly to eifect a separating movement of the jaws, means for locking the rodin its downwardly moved position with capacity for a limited upward movement to permit of a corresponding separation of the jaws during justification, means independent of the line for eilfecting such limited upward movement of the rod, and a cam movable with the rod and adjustable with reference there to to control the extent of its upward movement after locking. I

14. In a slug casting machine, the combination of pair of line clamping jaws, a vertically movable rod connected to at least one of said jaws, means for moving the rod downwardly to efiect a closing movement of the jaws and then upwardly to efiect a separating movement' of the jaws, means for locking the rod in its downwardly moved position with capacity for a limited upward movement to permit of a corresponding separation of the jaws during justification, means independent of the line for effecting such limited upward movement of the rod, a cam movable with the rod and adjustable with reference thereto to control the extent of its upward movement after looking, and a settingv device for the cam mounted independently of the rod and cooperating therewith to adjust the cam automatically in varying the upward movement of the rod according to the extent of its downward movement beforelocking.

15. A combination as in claim 13, wherein the vertically movable rod carries a sleeve with which the locking device engages and with reference to which the rod is movable upwardly in its limited movement after locking of the sleeve, and wherein the cam which controls the limited upward movement of the rod is mounted on the sleeve.

16. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a pair of line clamping jaws, a periodically operated device connected to at least one of said jaws, said device being movable in one direction before casting to effect a closing movement of the jaws, and movable in the opposite direction

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