US1884637A - Furnace tilting mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 25, 1932. T. A. FEEHAN FURNACE TILTING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 50, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1932' T. A. FEEHAN FURNACE TILTING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 50. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 25, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THOMAS ARTHUR FEEHAN, 0F TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO AJAX ELECTRO- THERMIC CORPORATION, OF AJAX PARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY FURNACE TILTING MECHANISM Application filed November 30, 1931.

The invention relates to the discharge or pouring mechanism of a furnace, ladle or other container of molten metal adapting the container to be tilted for the pouring of its contents from a spout normally above the level of the melt.

It is believed the invention will have its widest application with induction electric furnaces or ladles in which the inductively heated molten charge may have been initially melted in the furnace or merelyreceived already molten and kept hot by inductive heating for subsequent operations, and for this reason the containers are herein conventionally called furnaces or electric furnaces.

A purpose of the invention is to use an early portion of the tilting movement of a furnace preparatory to pouring to project the furnace forwardly at its delivery spout from its normal position and to use a later portion of the tilting movement to pour without substantial change in the forward projection of the spout.

' A further purpose is to provide the forward or discharge side of an electric furnace 'with two horizontal pivots, one low near the bottom of the furnace and the other high at or near the furnace spout, and to tilt the furnace first with respect to the low pivot to forwardly project the furnace at its spout and then with respect to the high pivot to pour without substantial change in the position of the discharging stream.

A further purpose is to avoid structure projecting beyond the front of an induction furnace in upright position, while permitting a considerable forward movement of the furnace in pouring.

A further purpose is to provide a rocker that gives pivot support to a furnace at a point upwardly from the rocker pivot and preferably forwardly thereof with a range of arcuate movement adapting it to automatically bodily forwardly shift the furnace at a high portion thereof during an early portion of the tilting of the furnace and then to support the furnace with its pivot axis stationary during pouring, preferably subsequently using the retraction of the furnace to automatically retract the rocker.

Serial No. 577,892.

A further purpose is to provide a yoke support for a pivot of a tilting furnace with a limited range of arcuate movement.

A further purpose is to bring a furnace resiliently to rest after it has been poured.

A further purpose is automatically to open electrical supply connection to the inductor coil when the furnace is tilted, and to reestablish connection when the furnace returns to its erect position.

Further purposes will appear in thespecification and in the claims.

I have elected to show one only of the many forms of my invention, selecting however, a form that is practical and efiicient in operation and which well illustrates the principles involved.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tilting furnace structure that embodies a desirable form of my invention.

F i ure 2 shows the furnace of Figure 1 in a di erent position, the furnace being in a. normal upright position in Figure 1 and partially tiltedin Figure 2.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but with the tilting of the furnace progressed further than in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a front elevation of Figure 1.

Like numerals refer to like parts in all figures.

Describing in illustration and not in limitation and referring to the drawings I A tilting furnace of the character indicated has in the past been provided with a stationary horizontal pivot horizontally offset from the center of the furnace toward the spout thereof and a support on the rearward side vertically movable to tilt the furnace about its pivot.

The pivotal axis has been at or near the delivery point of the spout of the furnace in order to avoid change in the position of the delivery portion of the furnace during pourtionary mold or other receiver.

It frequently happens that an initial forward projection of the spout portion of the furnace is quite desirable, so much so that in the past it has been obtained by means of the low pivot which has accomplished the desired result at the expense of the undesirable progressive forward shifting of the delivery during pouring.

I provide means whereby the desired forward projection of the furnace at its spout takes place during an initial portion of the lifting of the rearward side of the furnace before the beginning of pouring and whereby during the actual pouring the forward projection of the spout and therefore the position of the delivering stream makes substantially no change.

In the illustration any furnace to which my invention is adapted to be applied is shown at 10 as an induction heating furnace of a well-known type, having an inductor coil 10.

The furnace 10 is carried in a suitable structural frame 11 and has a delivery spout 12 in the middle of the upper edge of the furnace front 13.

The furnace during normal heating sits upright as shown in Figure 1, resting at the rear on seats 14 and at front presenting laterally extending pivot pins 15 into pillow bearings 16 at the upper end of a rocker 17, and the rocker 17 in turn carrying alined stub shafts 18 supported in stationary bearings 19 at the top of pedestals 20.

The pivot pins 15 are suitably located so that their common axis passes across the front of the furnace at or near the, delivery point of the spout 12 and the fixed pivots 18 of the rocker when the furnace is in its nor- :mal position of Figure 1 axially cross the forwardly when the furnace is in the position of Figure 1.

As illustrated the frame carries at opposite sides of the furnace angle stop blocks 21 in position to engage the rocker and in cooperation with the pivots 18 to hold the rocker in the position on Figure 1 when the furnace is in its corresponding retracted position.

The rocker 17 is shown as a structural yoke with upwardly directed arms carrying the trunnions 18 and a cross connection 22 between the arms.

The yoke is provided with a limited range of angular movement and as shown carries a horizontal rod 23'spaced below and parallel to the fixed pivots 18, with the ends of the rod projecting through slots 24 in the pedestals to limit the angular movement of the yoke with respect to its pivots 18, by engagement with the pedestal at the rearward ends of the slots when the rocker reaches the selected limit of its forward position, as that shown in Figures 2 and 3.

It will be seen that the rocker 17 shown as a yoke having arms upon opposite sides of the furnace need not comprise an integral member, optionally the arms of the yoke being relatively separate and each provided with a fixed pivot 18 toward the lower end, pivot connection 15 toward the upper end with the front of the furnace and with a stop 21 making a lost motion connection between the furnace and arm adapting the arm and furnace to move as a unit during the early portion of the tilting movement.

The seats 25 at the rearward side of the furnace are suitably made resilient and as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 each seat includes a headed bar 26 movable up and down in a suitable vertical guide-way of the seat and pressed upwardly by a spring 27.

Supply of power to the inductor coil 10' takes place through bus bars 10 which are stationary and connect when the furnace is erect with contacts 10 mounted on the furnace body. When the furnace tilts connection in broken, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

When the furnace is ready for pouring its rearward side is lifted in any suitable way as by means of a hook and chain 28.

During the initial portion of the lifting, the furnace is in effect pivoted at the pivots 18 of the rocker member, the rocker member moving as a unit with the furnace until the rocker reaches the limit of its angular movement to the right. At this point the movement of the rocker is stopped by reason of an engagement between the ends of the rod 23 and the pedestals 29 in the slots 24. During the initial movement of the furnace, connection between the bus bars 10 and the contacts 10 is broken.

The result of this initial movement has been to forwardly project the spout of the furnace, the furnace being now in the position shown in Figure 2 there having as yet been no relative movement between the furnace, and the rocker, the rocker however hav ing now come to the limit of forward movement with the level of the molten charge within the furnace suitably at or near that 'of the spout. v

During continued upward movement of the hook and chain the furnace turns about the pivots 15 without movement of the pivotal axis and therefore without substantial change in the position of the delivery stream out the spout in that the delivery portion of the spout is at or near the pivotal axis of the pins 15, Figure 3 showing the furnace raised to its ultimate delivery position or near thereto.

During the retraction, the furnace follows back the same path, first turning about the pivots 15 with the rocker member stationary in the position of Figures 2 and 3 until, after the furnace has moved down from the position of Figure 3 to that of Figure 2, an engagement occurs between the stops 14 on the frame of the furnace and the bottom of the rocker 17, preventing further angular movement of the furnace with respect to the rocker.

As a result during the continued downward retractive movement of the furnace the rocker and furnace move as a unit, coming finally to rest in the position of Figure 1. During the latter part of the return movement of the furnace to its erect position, the

bus bars 10 engage the contacts 10 This preferably occurs just after the furnace en gages the resilient stops 25, to prevent battering of the contacts. a

In View of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet inthe rocker about the fixed pivot during an i initial portion of the range of movement of the rearward side of the furnace.

2. A furnace of the character indicated, in combination with horizontally spaced alined bearings near the front and bottom of the furnace and on opposite sides thereof, a

means for lifting and lowering the furnace.

at the rearward side thereof along a range of movement.

3. In an'electric induction furnace, a furnace body, an inductor coil in the body, tilting mechanism comprising levers pivotally supported near their lower ends and pivotally mounting the furnace body near their upper ends, cooperating switch contacts in two sets, one set of which is mounted on and movable with the furnace body and the other set of which is stationary, connections from the inductor coil to the contacts of the set movable with the furnace body and resilient stops for engaging the furnace before the contacts are in their limiting closed position to absorb the shock of closing.

THOMAS ARTHUR FEEHAN.

dividual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to, others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure I shown, and I, therefore, claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A furnace of the character indicated, in combination with means for progressively raising the rearward side of the furnace throughout a range of movement and subsequently progressively retracting the said side downwardly along the range, a rocker support for the forward side thereof having a pivotal connection with the furnace, a fixed pivot for the rocker downwardly and rearwardly from the c'onnectionwith'the furnace, means limiting the range of pivotal movement of the rocker, a lost motion connection between the furnace and rocker adapting the furnace when itself in normal upright position to hold the roclrer in a retracted position and to move forwardly as a unit with

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