EP0599674B1 - Lateral kiln charging device for products of the iron and steel industry - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device intended to ensure the introduction of steel products such as, in particular, billets or the like into heat treatment furnaces.

In general, the introduction of steel products into heat treatment chambers and in particular into reheating ovens is carried out, at the inlet of the furnace, either frontally or laterally, using for example roller tables or various mechanisms designed for this purpose.

In certain applications, and in particular in the case of loading hot products coming from a continuous casting line, it may be advantageous to put the products directly into the heating zone of the oven, after the recovery zone. It is therefore necessary to load the products laterally in the area of the oven whose temperature corresponds to that of the products to be treated.

There are already known devices ensuring a lateral charging of the products in an oven. Such known devices located in the main part of the oven can be produced either in the form of a clamp suspended under a cantilever arm and carrying the product inside the oven, or in the form of thrust systems which cause the product to rip inside the oven ( US-A-3,854,863).

These known devices have the disadvantage of being heavy and expensive and furthermore of being limited in their application to the charging of short products, in particular for safety reasons. In fact, in systems of the clamp type suspended under a cantilever arm, this cantilever is necessarily limited, and in systems employing slip pushing devices, products having deformations important can undergo trajectory drifts during their introduction into the oven, which obviously affects the accuracy of their positioning in this oven. Furthermore, the passage of the fingers of the tongs of the charging device or the deformation of the product to be placed requires considerable distances between the products introduced into the oven, which limits the load on the latter and increases its length.

The present invention therefore proposes to provide a device which does not have the drawbacks of the devices according to the prior art mentioned above and which allows lateral introduction into the main part of an oven of very long steel products or products having significant deformations. while offering the possibility of placing them in a precise location in the oven on the supports provided for the products inside the oven. Furthermore, the invention makes it possible to produce simple equipment, inexpensive and of reduced size with regard to the weight of the products to be put into the oven.

Consequently, the present invention relates to a device intended to ensure the lateral introduction of products. steel, such as in particular billets, directly in the heating zone of an oven, in particular a reheating oven, to which said steel products are brought by means of handling of known type, this device comprises a chute on which the product is deposited by the handling means, before the lateral introduction into the oven, this chute serving as support for said product during the introduction into the oven and being provided for this purpose with displacement means to ensure its charging at the same time that the product it supports, means being further provided for ensuring the deposit of said product in the oven, from said chute.

According to the present invention, the cross section of the chute has a shape which is chosen so that it has a face serving as a support for the product, said support face constituting a positioning reference during the removal of said product. in the oven.

According to the invention, means are provided for cooling said chute, for example by circulation of a cooling fluid, in particular water, the chute can then comprise chambers or circulation channels for the cooling fluid.

According to the invention, means are provided for guiding the chute during its movements outside the oven, then through the lateral opening of the latter, provided for charging and also inside the oven. , on the side members or on the sole of the latter.

The guide means outside the oven can be produced in the form of rollers provided with shoulders, on which the chute circulates before it is placed in the oven.

The guide means through the lateral charging opening can be produced in the form of guide rails positioned in said opening.

In the case of an oven with refractory beams, the guide of the chute inside the oven can be obtained by grooves made in the fixed hearth and by centering slides, optionally cooled, positioned at the junction between the elements of the fixed hearth and the mobile longitudinal members of the oven

In the case where the furnace is of the type with tubular beams, the guide of the chute inside the furnace is ensured by slides which are welded to the beams.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the displacement of the chute according to an alternative longitudinal translational movement can be ensured by a pinion-rack system or by a winch mechanism with a drive cable on which said chute is coupled.

According to the invention, a movable stop is provided through the lateral charging opening, the installation in the chute, during the displacement thereof allows the product to be deposited on the hearth or on the rails of the oven .

According to a preferred embodiment of this invention, the movable stop can be controlled by a jack, pneumatic or hydraulic, or it can be of the gravity return type. Its position is preferably variable in order to allow the steel product to be positioned in the furnace, for example as a function of its length.

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique en coupe par un plan vertical montrant la position de la goulotte en cours de chargement par une billette et avant son introduction au travers de l'ouverture latérale du four.
• les figures 2a et 2b sont des vues en section droite de deux exemples de réalisation de goulottes et de leurs moyens de guidages avant leur introduction latérale dans le four ;
• la figure 3 est une vue schématique en perspective illustrant un exemple de réalisation d'un moyen de guidage de la goulotte au travers de l'ouverture latérale d'enfournement ;
• la figure 4 est une vue schématique en perspective représentant un exemple de réalisation des moyens de guidage de la goulotte dans un four à longerons réfractaires ;
• la figure 5 est une vue schématique en perspective représentant un exemple de réalisation des moyens de guidage de la goulotte dans un four à longerons tubulaires.
• la figure 6 est une vue schématique en plan représentant l'ensemble du dispositif selon la présente invention et ;
• les figures 7a, 7b et 7c sont des vues en élévation latérale illustrant une opération de chargement latéral dans un four d'un produit sidérurgique de grande longueur par le dispositif objet de l'invention.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate various thereof. exemplary embodiments, devoid of any limiting character. In the drawings:

• Figure 1 is a schematic sectional view through a vertical plane showing the position of the chute during loading by a billet and before its introduction through the lateral opening of the oven.
• FIGS. 2a and 2b are cross-section views of two exemplary embodiments of troughs and their guide means before their lateral introduction into the oven;
• Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a guide means of the chute through the lateral opening of the oven;
• Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the guide means of the chute in an oven with refractory beams;
• Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of the guide means of the chute in an oven with tubular beams.
• Figure 6 is a schematic plan view showing the entire device according to the present invention and;
• Figures 7a, 7b and 7c are side elevational views illustrating a lateral loading operation in a furnace of a steel product of great length by the device object of the invention.

Referring firstly to Figure 1 which is a sectional view through a vertical plane representing in particular the chute of the device according to the invention, outside the oven, before loading the product to be introduced laterally into the oven, this product being shown here in the form of a steel billet 10 whose section may be small compared to its length, and whose deformation may be significant. In known manner, the feeding of the billet 10 can be ensured by any known handling system, for example by a roller table 12.

According to the invention, the charging device comprises a chute designated as a whole by the reference 14. This chute has a cross section whose shape is determined so that it serves to support the product 10 during its handling for its charging. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the chute 14 has a bearing face 14 'which constitutes the positioning reference for depositing the product in the oven.

As can be understood, this trough 14 of regular section serves as a support for the steel product 10 when it is introduced into the furnace as will be described below. This chute is therefore provided with displacement means, which will be described below and its rigidity as well as its precise dimensions make it possible to ensure its precise guidance both outside and inside the oven in order to guarantee the precision of positioning of the product 10 regardless of its shape or deformation.

According to the invention, the chute 14 can be cooled by a circulation of a cooling fluid, for example water. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the chute has internal chambers or channels 16 and 16 'ensuring the circulation of the cooling fluid.

The billet 10, correctly positioned is pushed into the chute 14, from the roller table 12, by example using a pusher 18 or any other known means which deposits it in the chute.

When moving, it is necessary to guide the chute carrying the steel product / 0.

Guidance means are therefore provided outside the oven, in the lateral charging opening and inside the oven.

Figures 2a and 2b show two embodiments of the means provided by the invention for guiding the chute 14 outside the oven. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2a, the guide of the chute is obtained using rollers 20 provided with lateral shoulders 22, 22 ′ and, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2b, the guidance of the chute moving on rollers such as 20 'is obtained using lateral rollers 24, 24'.

In Figure 3, there is shown an embodiment of the means provided by the invention for guiding the chute 14 during its passage through the charging opening provided in the wall P of the oven. In this exemplary embodiment, this guidance is obtained using parts in the form of slides such as 26 which are positioned in the wall P as seen in this FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 schematically represents the hearth of a furnace with refractory beams. This sole comprises, in a known manner, fixed elements such as 28, 28 ′ between which are movable beams 30. The guide of the chute 14 in such a furnace with refractory beams is ensured on the one hand using a groove such as 32 made in element 28 of the fixed sole and on the other hand, by pieces or centering slides such as 34 which are embedded in the elements 28 'of the fixed hearth, at the junction between the mobile side members 30 and these elements 28'. Such centering pieces 34 may optionally include cooling means.

In FIG. 5, the case of a furnace with tubular beams 36 has been illustrated. In such an application, the guide of the chute 14 inside the furnace is ensured by means of slides of suitable shape such as 38 , 38 'which are welded to the longitudinal members 36.

As specified above, the chute 14 includes means which ensure its displacement for the purpose of charging the steel product 10 which it supports. This displacement can be obtained using any conventional system, for example using a rack and pinion mechanism driven by an electric or hydraulic motor, by a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder or, as shown in FIG. by way of nonlimiting exemplary embodiment, by a winch system 40 controlled by an electric geared motor group 42, and driving a cable 44 on which is mounted a connecting piece 46 coupled to the chute 14. Such a system allows 'Drive the chute 14 in an alternative longitudinal translational movement to bring the product 10 inside the oven F as will be described below. In this FIG. 6, there is also shown the furnace F which, in this exemplary embodiment, is an oven with refractory beams which includes the means for guiding the chute 14 as described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

For the description of the operation of the device which is the subject of the invention, reference is now made to FIGS. 7a to 7c.

The chute 14 carrying the product 10 enters the oven F, through the charging opening formed in the wall P of the latter. This movement of the chute 14 is provided by the drive device, described above with reference to FIG. 6 and, during this displacement outside the oven, the chute 14 carrying the product 10 is guided here by lateral guide rollers 24, 24 'of the type described above, with reference to FIG. 2b.

The chute 14 carrying the billet 10 is guided during its passage through the lateral opening of the oven, then into the oven, after its lateral introduction, by the guide means described above with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

According to the invention, means are provided which make it possible to deposit the steel product such as 10 on the hearth S of the furnace or on the side members which the latter comprises. In the embodiment illustrated by FIGS. 7a to 7c, these means are produced in the form of a movable stop 48 which can come to be positioned in the chute 14 as will be seen below. This movable stop can be actuated by any conventional means, for example by a jack such as 50, pneumatic or hydraulic, as shown in Figures 7a to 7c, or it can be biased by gravity. Its position can be variable in order to allow positioning of the product such as 10 as a function of the length of the latter in the oven.

During the introduction of the chute 14 carrying the steel product 10, the stop 14 is in the high position as illustrated in FIG. 7a.

After positioning in the furnace F (FIG. 7b) of the chute 14 carrying the product 10, the movable stop 48 is brought to the low position so that it is positioned in the chute as seen in the figure. When the stop is in place, the means for moving the chute 14 are actuated so as to bring this chute outside the furnace as shown in FIG. 7c. During this backward movement of the chute 14, the product 10 is retained by the stop 48 in the low position and it is then gradually deposited on the sole S (or on the side members of the latter) in a precise position.

After complete retraction of the chute 14, that is to say when the latter returns to its starting position as shown in FIG. 6, the chute is in the waiting position before receiving a new product 10 and the movable stop 48 is returned to the high position. The longitudinal members of the oven can then freely execute their advance cycle. The movement of these beams is carried out in a conventional manner, the lifting stroke being simply increased in order to take account of the lower level of charging of the product resulting from the device which is the subject of the invention.

• la possibilité d'enfourner latéralement des produits sidérurgiques en n'importe quel point de la longueur d'un four, ce qui permet d'optimiser le fonctionnement de ce four, en fonction de la température des produits à enfourner;
• l'application du dispositif à tous les types de fours et de produits devant y être traités, notamment des produits de grande longueur et de faible section en regard de cette longueur ;
• la déformation des produits devant être enfournés n'a pas d'incidence sur la qualité de l'enfournement et sur la précision de dépose du produit sur les supports prévus sur la sole du four ;
• l'ensemble des équipements devant être mis en oeuvre pour réaliser le dispositif objet de l'invention est particulièrement simple, de poids réduit et faisant appel à des technologies éprouvées, ce qui permet d'obtenir un faible prix de revient ;
• une possibilité d'automatiser facilement le fonctionnement du dispositif par la mise en place de capteurs et de systèmes de fin de course, correspondants à chaque mouvement élémentaire de la goulotte ;
• possibilité d'asservir le fonctionnement du dispositif à la cadence d'arrivée des produits sidérurgiques sur le système d'alimentation du four, pour assurer leur enfournement régulier ;
• le dispositif ne nécessite pas d'augmentation importante de la distance séparant les produits dans le four et donc, il ne pénalise ni sa charge au m², ni sa longueur utile.

Among the technical advantages and effect provided by the invention, there may be mentioned in particular:

• the possibility of laterally placing steel products at any point along the length of an oven, which makes it possible to optimize the operation of this oven, as a function of the temperature of the products to be placed;
• the application of the device to all types of ovens and products to be treated therein, in particular products of great length and of small section opposite this length;
• the deformation of the products to be placed in the oven does not affect the quality of the oven or the precision of depositing the product on the supports provided on the bottom of the oven;
• all of the equipment to be used to make the device that is the subject of the invention is particularly simple, of reduced weight and using proven technologies, which makes it possible to obtain a low cost price;
• a possibility of easily automating the operation of the device by the installation of sensors and limit switch systems, corresponding to each elementary movement of the chute;
• possibility of slaving the operation of the device to the rate of arrival of steel products on the furnace supply system, to ensure their regular charging;
• the device does not require a significant increase in the distance separating the products in the oven and therefore, it does not penalize either its load per m ² , nor its useful length.

It remains to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and / or shown but that it encompasses all variants thereof.

Claims (14)

1. Device intended for ensuring the lateral introduction of steel products, such as notably billets, directly into the heating zone of a furnace, notably a reheating furnace, to which said steel products are brought by a handling means of known type, this device comprising a chute (14), onto which the product (10) is deposited by the handling means before being introduced laterally into the furnace, characterized in that this chute serves as support for said product during the introduction into the furnace and is provided, for this purpose, with displacement means (40-46) for ensuring its feed into the furnace at the same time as the product that it supports, means (48) being provided in addition for ensuring the deposition of said product into the furnace from said chute.
2. Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the cross-section of the chute (14) has a shape which is chosen in such a way that it comprises a face (14') serving as support for the product, said support face (14') constituting a positioning reference during the deposition of said product in the furnace.
3. Device according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterized in that cooling means for said chute are provided.
4. Device according to Claim 3, characterized in that said cooling means consist of a flow of cooling fluid, notably water, through chambers or channels (16, 16') formed in said chute (14).
5. Device according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterized in that guidance means are provided for the chute during its displacements outside the furnace, then through the lateral opening of this furnace intended for feeding into the furnace, and also inside the furnace, on the hearth or the longitudinal beams of the latter.
6. Device according to Claim 5, characterized in that the guidance means for the chute (14) outside the furnace (F) are realized in the form of rollers (20) provided with flanges (22, 22'), on which the chute travels before it is fed into the furnace.
7. Device according to Claim 5, characterized in that the guidance means for the chute (14) through the lateral furnace feed opening are realized in the form of slide guides (26) positioned in said opening.
8. Device according to Claim 5, applied to a furnace with refractory walking beams, characterized in that the guidance of the chute (14) inside the furnace is achieved by grooves (32) formed in the fixed hearth (28, 28') and by centering slide guides (34), possibly cooled, positioned at the junction between the elements of the fixed hearth and the walking beams (30) of the furnace.
9. Device according to Claim 5, applied to a furnace of the type with tubular longitudinal beams, characterized in that the guidance of the chute (14) inside the furnace is ensured by slide guides (38, 38') which are welded to the tubular beams (36).
10. Device according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterized in that the displacement of the chute (14) in an alternating longitudinal translatory movement is assured by a rack-and-pinion system.
11. Device according to any one of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the displacement of the chute (14) in an alternating longitudinal translatory movement is assured by a winch mechanism (40) with drive cable (44), to which said chute is coupled.
12. Device according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterized in that a movable stop (48) is provided across the lateral furnace feed opening, the positioning of which stop in the chute (14) during the displacement of the chute enables the product (10) to be deposited on the hearth (S) of the furnace.
13. Device according to Claim 12, characterized in that said movable stop (48) is operated by a pneumatic or hydraulic jack (50) or is of the gravity return type.
14. Device according to one of Claims 12 or 13, characterized in that the position of said stop can be varied in order to position the product (10) in the furnace, for example as a function of its length.

Images