Conveyor for the stepwise advance of a vertically parted boxless mould through a pouring and cooling zone

A conveyor for the stepwise advance of a vertically parted boxless mould through a pouring and cooling zone, comprising

• a guideway having mould-carrying bottom rails and longitudinally movable side rails arranged on both sides of said guideway for advancing the mould stepwise while permanently squeezing the mould in its transverse direction, the side rails on each side of said guideway comprising at least two superposed lateral rods which are transversely movable inwardly for squeezing a mould in said guideway and moveable outwardly to ease said rod off a mould in said guideway, at least one of said rods on each side of said guideway being reciprocable in the longitudinal direction of the guideway, and each rod having a length sufficient to extend along a plurality of successive parts of the mould;
• means for transversely moving each of said superposed rods inwardly and outwardly;
• and
• means for controlling said rod moving means such that at least one superposed lateral rod on both sides of the guideway is not eased off a mould in said guideway until at least one other superposed lateral rod on both sides of said guideway is moved inwardly for squeezing a mould in said guideway whereby a mould in said guideway is held transversely compressed to approximately the same extent during the advancement of a mould along said guideway.