US2142451A - Coke oven door handling machine - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 3, 1939. M. H. MCEWAN 2,142,451

COKE OVEN DOOR HANDLING MACHINE F iled Feb. 26, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l Fig. 1.

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Jab. 3, 1939. M. H. MCEWAN COKE OVEN DOOR HANDLING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1938 Fig. 2.

Jan. 3, 1939.

M.- H. M EWAN COKE OVEN DOOR HANDLING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 26, 1938 MIME || I. 1 I11 F E I m I mn gflwll. 771 dam-m mwigww, i

Patented Jan. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COKE OVEN DOOR HANDLING MACHINE Application February 26, 1938, Serial No. 192,830 In Great Britain March 10, 1937 9 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in coke-oven door handling machines, which are employed for removing and replacing the heavy doors which close the, ends of horizontal cokeovens.

In the conventional method of removing a coke-oven door prior to discharging coke from .the oven, the door locking devices are first released and a hook member on the headstock of the door handling machine is then engaged with a cooperating lip on the door, the hook member is raised slightly to lift the door off its seating in the oven, and the headstock is then drawn back to withdraw the door from the oven, after which the headstock with the door supported thereon is removed to a position out of the path of the coke. In replacing the door after an oven has been discharged, the above sequence of operations is reversed.

Hitherto, the engagement of the hook with the door, the lifting of the door off its seating, the subsequent lowering of the door into position on its seating after discharge, and the dis-engagement of the hook from the door, have all been effected by manually operated mechanism on the headstock of the door handling machine. The present invention provides an arrangement by means of which this sequence of operations can be effected in a large measure automatically, so that operating time is economized, and the exertion required on the part of the operator is considerably reduced.

According to the present invention, in a cokeoven door handling machine the door-engaging hook is pivoted about a horizontal axis on the movable headstock of the machine and is connected to a linkage on the headstock, the extent of movement of the linkage being limited by a movable stop member under the control of the operator, means being provided operating on the linkage whereby movement of the headstock towards the door to be removed first raises the hook into engagement with the door and then raises the door by the requisite amount off its seating, whereupon the linkage coacts with the stop memher to hold the hook and door until the latter is returned to the oven. According to the present invention also, the said movable stop member is movable to a position in which the constraint on the linkage is removed, whereby the door is lowered on to its seating and the hook is disengaged from the door.

The invention also comprises a coke-oven door handling machine including a hook arm pivoted horizontally on the movable headstock of the machine having at one end a door-engaging hook, a linkage including two arms connected by a joint, one end of which linkage is pivoted to the end of the hook arm remote from the hook, and the other end of the linkage being pivoted to the headstock, a movable stop member coacting with and limiting the movement of the joint of the linkage, which stop member can be fixed in a predetermined position and means actuated by the motion of the headstock operating on the linkage to raise the hook'into engagement with the door and to raise the door off its seating.

According to a further feature of the invention the door is lowered on to its seating under the restraint of a dash-pot or similar uni-directional restraining device.

The method of setting the hook and linkage mechanism in the appropriate position before the removal of a door also forms part of the present invention and is fully described hereina er.

A device which is known per so can also be incorporated in the machine, by means of which device the upward movement of the hook-arm into engagement with the door raises the latchbars of the door from out of engagement with the co-operating members on the door-frame, so that the operator is relieved of this duty also. The device will be described in detail hereinafter.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a door-operating machine embodying a preferred form of the present invention, but it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise details of the arrangement now to be described.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine showing the position of the hook before engaging the door,

Figure 2 is a side elevation showing the hook engaged with the door and the door lifted off its seating,

Figure 3 is a front view of the device as seen from the coke-oven battery,

Figure 4 is a part-sectional plan view of Figure 1,

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are diagrams illustrating the disposition of the linkage mechanism at various stages in the operation of the device, and

Figure 8 is a detail, showing diagrammatically the action of the latch-lifting mechanism on the latch-bar of a door.

The present invention may be applied to the door handling machines on both the pusher and coke sides of a coke-oven battery, and may be applied to any machine incorporating a travelling headstock by means of which the oven door is engaged and is withdrawn and replaced in a direction perpendicular to the face of the oven battery.

The machine illustrated in the accompanying drawings has a travelling headstock I, suspended from a carriage 2 movable on rails on the framework of the machine. For the purposes of the present description the headstock and carriage, which form a single unit, will hereinafter be referred to as the headstock. The headstock I is advanced and retracted by the conventional rack and pinion mechanism 3 customarily employed on this type of machine. On the headstock is a horizontally-pivoted bell-crank hook arm, the outer end of which arm carries the usual hook 4 for engaging the door. The pivot 5 for the hook arm passes through the bend of the arm, and the other end of the hook arm is connected at 6 to the lower end of a jointed pair of arms I, 8, which constitutes the linkage referred to above. In the practical embodiment, two sets of linkage arms I, 8, are provided, one on each side of the hook arm, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The arms I and 8 are pivoted on a pin 9 which joins the two linkages. Both sets of linkage arms move together, and in the following description will be referred to as the linkage. The upper ends of the arms 8 are pivoted at to on the headstock 2.

The pin 9 forming the joint between the two arms of the linkage moves in a slot, shaped as shown, in the movable stop member I I on the end of a hand-operated control lever I2 pivoted at I3 on the headstock. The control lever I2 moves over a quadrant I 4 and has a locking catch whereby the lever I2 may be locked in a predetermined position B on the quadrant I 4, for a purpose hereinafter described. The extent of movement of the pin 9 (and consequently of the linkage arms I and 8) is limited by the stop member II and is accordingly determined by the position of the control lever I2.

The pin 9 is connected by a chain I5 to the longer arm of a lever I6 which is pivoted on the fixed framework of the machine. The shorter arm of the lever I5 is connected by a chain II to the travelling headstock as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

A dash-pot device I8, or like uni-directional damping device, is mounted on the headstock. The movable portion of the dash-pot I8 is connected at I9 to the linkage end of the hook arm (as shown in Figures 1 and 2). The dash-pot, (which is preferably of the oil-filled variety, and is provided with an oil reservoir I8a) is arranged to permit the free upward movement of the hook into engagement with the coke-oven door, but to restrain the downward movement of the hook when the door is being lowered on to its seating.

Before the removal of a coke-oven door the headstock I is in the retracted position, and the component parts take up the position shown in Figure 5, with the hook 4 lowered, and the linkage arms I, 8, at an angle, with the pin 9 at the lefthand end of the slot in the stop member I I. The control lever I2 is locked in position B on the quadrant I4. The headstock is then moved slowly forward towards the oven door which is to be re- -moved. The disposition of the components when the headstock is approaching the end of its forward travel is shown in Figure 1. At this point the chains I5 and I! become taut and the effect of further inward movement of the headstock is to move the shorter end of the lever I6 to the left, the longer end moving to the right, so that the chain I5 draws the pin 9 and the linkage arms I, 8, back to the position shown in Figure 2. The movement of the linkage arms to the in line" position of Figure 2 first raises the hook 4 into engagement with the corresponding hook on the oven door, and then lifts the door. The direction of approach of the book 4 to the hook 20'is shown by the arrow 2| in Figure 5, but the disposition and proportions of the linkage arms, and the ratio of the long and short arms of the lever I6, are such that over the last part of the inward travel of the headstock the hook 4 is raised practically vertically and lifts the door by the appropriate small amount off its seating in the oven.

The inward movement of the headstock causes the pin 9 to move to the opposite end of the slot in the stop member II as shown in Figure 2, and, as stated above, the arrangement is such that in this position the linkage arms I, 8, are directly in line, or just past dead centre, As shown in Figure 6, the weight of the door acting through the hook arm on the pivot 6 sets up a couple on the linkage I, 8, tending to force the pin 9 in the direction of the arrow 22, so that the weight of the door presses the pin 9 against the right-hand side of the slot in the stop member II, which latter is held in the position shown, since the control lever I2 is locked in position B on the quadrant I4. Hence the hook with the door thereon is held securely in the raised position by the weight of the door itself.

The headstock I, with the oven door supported thereon, is then drawn backwards, and can be moved aside for cleaning or adjustment while the coke is being discharged from the oven.

When it is desired to replace the door in the oven, the headstock I with the door supported thereon is moved inwards until the door is in position in the mouth of the oven.

The operator then releases the catch on the control lever I2 and moves the lever I2 (or allows it to move of its own accord under the thrust imparted by the pin 9) towards the position C on the quadrant I4, whereby the stop member II ismoved to the right of its position in Figures 1, 2 and 5. The pin 9 is now free to move along the slot in the stop member towards its final position shown in Figure '7. The door is lowered gently on to its seating under the restraint of the dash-pot mechanism I8 on the hook arm, the hook 4 finally falling clear of the door to the position shown in Figure 7. In this position the linkage arms I, 8, are again in an inclined position on the opposite side of the central (in line) position of Figure 6. The headstock is then finally withdrawn.

To re-set the mechanism before removing another door, the control lever I2 is moved to the position A on the quadrant I4. Movement of the lever I2 to position A causes the stop member II to engage the pin 9 and move the pin and the linkage arms "I, 8, back to the position of Figures 1 and 5, after which the control lever is brought back and locked in the position B. The machine is then in readiness for engagement with another door.

The mechanism for lifting the latch-bars of the doors is shown in Figures 1, 2, 4 and 8. It is known to provide mechanism of this type in other door handling machines in which the hook 4 is not actuated automatically. A verticallymovable latch-bar striker 23 is attached by a pair of parallelr-motion arms 24 to the headstock 2.

A projecting portion 25 on the'arm 26 carrying the hook 4 is arranged to engage the lower end of the striker 23 when the hook 4 is raised. When the hook 4 is nearly in position below the cooperating portion 20 on the door, the striker 23 has moved to a position below the latch-bar 21, and as the hook rises to lift the door, the striker 23 rises simultaneously and turns the latch-bar 21 to the position 21a (Figure 8) so freeing the latch-bar from the hooks 28 on the door-frame. The upper and lower latch-bars of the door are interconnected by the rod 29 (Figure 8) so that the lower latch is released. at the same time.

By means of the present invention the operator is relieved of the duty of engaging and disengaging the lifting hook with the door, and of the effort required for raising the door, both of which functions are now performed by the motive power provided for the travelling headstock. If the latch-lifting mechanism described is incorporated in the machine, the operator is also relieved of the duty of disengaging the latchbars from their hooks.

What I claim is:

1. Coke-oven door handling machine, comprising in combination a movable headstock on the machine, a hook arm pivoted about a horizontal axis on said headstock, a hook at the end of said hook arm, a linkage connecting said hook arm to said headstock, a movable stop member controlled by the operator co-acting with and limiting the extent of movement of said linkage, means actuated by the movement of said headstock towards the door operating on said linkage to raise said hook into engagement with the door and raise the door off its seating, said stop member in one position imposing a restraint on said linkage to hold the hook and door in the raised position, and said stop member being movable to a position in which the restraint on the linkage is removed whereby the door is lowered on to its seating and the hook is disengaged from the door.

2. Coke-oven door handling machine, comprising in combination a movable headstock on the machine, a hook arm pivoted about a horizontal axis on said headstock, a door-engaging hook at one end of said hook arm, a linkage comprising two arms connected by a joint, one end of which linkage is pivoted to the end of said hook arm remote from the hook, and the other end of the linkage is pivoted to the headstock, a movable stop member controlled by the operator co-acting with and limiting the movement of the joint of the linkage, which stop member can be locked in a predetermined position, a lever having unequal arms pivoted on a fixed portion of the machine, a flex ble but non-extensible connection between said joint of the linkage and the end of the longer arm of said lever, and a similar connection between the end of the shorter arm of said lever and said movable headstock.

3. Coke-oven door handling machine, comprising in combination a movable headstock on the machine, a hook arm pivoted about a horizontal aids on said headstock, a door-engaging hook at one end of said hook arm, a linkage comprising two arms connected by a joint, one end of which linkage is pivoted to the end of said hook arm remote from the hook, and the other end of the linkage is pivoted to the headstock, a movable stop member controlled by the operator coacting with and limiting the movement of the joint of the linkage, which stop member can be locked in a predetermined position, means actuated by the movement of the headstock towards the door operating on said linkage to raise said hook into engagement with the door and lift the door, and dash-pot mechanism connected to said hook arm, operating to control the lowering of the hook with the door supported thereon.

4. Coke-oven door handling machine for withdrawing a door from, and replacing the door in coke-oven, comprising in combination a. headstock on the machine movable towards and away from the oven door, a hook-arm pivoted about a horizontal axis on said headstock, a door-engaging hook at the end of said hook-arm, a linkage connecting said hook-arm to said headstock, a movable stop member controlled by the operator co-actlng with and limiting the extent of movement of said linkage, means actuated by the movement of said headstock towards the door operating on said linkage to raise said doorengaging hook into engagement with the door and raise the door off its seating, said stop member in one position imposing a restraint on said linkage to hold the hook and door in the raised position, said stop member being movable to a position in which the restraint on the linkage is removed whereby the door is lowered on to its seating and the hook is disengaged from the door, and a unidirectional damping device associated with said hook-arm for regulating the lowering of the door on to its seating.

5. Coke-oven door handling machine, comprising in combination a movable headstock on the machine, a hook-arm pivoted about a horizontal axis on said headstock, a door-engaging hook at one end of said hook-arm, a linkage comprising two arms connected by a joint, one end of which linkage is pivoted to the end of said hook-arm remote from the hook, whilst the other end of said linkage is pivoted to the headstock, a control lever pivoted on the headstock and having at one end a slot in which the joint of said linkage is free to move, which control lever can be locked in a predetermined position, and means actuated by the movement of the headstock towards the door operating on said linkage to depress the end of said hook-arm remote from the hook and raise the hook into engagement with the door and raise the door off its seating, the joint of said linkage being thereupon restrained against further movement by the slot in the control lever.

6. Coke-oven door handling machine as claimed in claim 5 in which the said predetermined position in which the control lever can be locked is an intermediate position and the control lever can move to each side of said predetermined position.

7.'Coke-oven door handling machine, including in combination a movable headstock on the machine, a hook-arm pivoted about a horizontal axis on said headstock, a door-engaging hook at one end of said hook-arm which hook prior to the engagement of the door is in a lowered position, a linkage comprising twoarms connected by a joint, one end of which linkage is pivoted to the end of the hook-arm remote from the hook and the other end of the linkage is pivoted on the headstock, the arms of the linkage in the aforesaid position of the hook being inclined one to the other, a movable stop member containing a slot, which stop member can be locked in a predetermined intermediate position, the joint of said linkage working in said slot and in the aforesaid position of the linkage being at one end of the slot, means actuated by the movement of the headstock towards the door operating on said linkage to move the joint of the linkage to the other end of the slot, raise the hook into engagement with the door and raise the door off its seating, the door being held supported on the hook by the restraint of the stop member on the linkage, means to release said stopmember to remove the restraint on the linkage and lower the door on to its seating whereby the arms of the linkage assume an inclination one to the other opposite to their initial inclination, and a unidirectional damping device associated with said hook-arm for regulating the lowering of the door on to its seating.

8. Coke-oven door handling machine as claimedv in claim '7, in which the mechanism is re-set by operating the said movable stop member to displace the linkage through. the in line position to the inclined position which it originally occupied.

9. Coke-oven door handling machine, comprising in combination a movable headstock on the machine, a hook arm pivoted about a horizontal axis on said headstock, a door-engaging hook at one end of said hook arm, a linkage comprising two arms connected by a joint, one end of which linkage is pivoted to the end of said hook arm remote from the hook, and the other end of the linkage is pivoted to the headstock, a movable stop member controlled by the operator co-acting with and limiting the movement of the joint of the linkage, which stop member can be locked in a predetermined position, means actuated by the movement of the headstock towards the door operating on the linkage to raise the hook into engagement with the door and lift the door, the door being held supported on the hook by the restraint exercised by the stop member on said linkage, the door being lowered on to its seating by removal of the said restraint, damping means to control the lowering of the door on to its seating, a vertically-movable striker on the headstock adapted to engage the latching means of the door and a projection on said hook arm contacting with the lower end of said striker as the hook is raised.

MATTHEW HAMILTON MCEWAN.

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