GB2253601A

GB2253601A - Electrically connecting a railborne steelworks vehicle to a stationary network

Info

Publication number: GB2253601A
Application number: GB9204813A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hellmuth Ing Smejkal
Original assignee: Voest Alpine Industrienlagenbau GmbH
Current assignee: Primetals Technologies Austria GmbH
Priority date: 1991-03-11
Filing date: 1992-03-03
Publication date: 1992-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 2012-03-03
Also published as: GB9204813D0; ATA51791A; DE4206755A1; AT396761B; DE4206755C2; GB2253601B

Abstract

The steelworks vehicle eg ladle car (4) is provided with an electrically operable device, eg. a ladle pivoting means, which needs to be connected to a stationary network at a station. For this purpose, the steelworks vehicle (4) is provided with a current collector (7) adapted to be connected to a contact line (9) of the stationary network, either the current collector (7) or the contact line (9) being movably supported in a plane perpendicular to the moving direction. Guide rollers (17, 23) associated with the current collector (7) cooperate with fixed guides (25, 26) to align the current collector (7) with the contact line (9), as the steelworks vehicle (4) enters the station. The invention thus avoids the need for manual connection, improving safety. <IMAGE>

Description

22 5 36 rl tRRANGEMENT INCLUDING A RAILBORNE STEELWORKS VEHICLE The

invention relates to an arrangement including a railborne steelworks vehicle, in particular, a ladle car, which is provided with an electrically operable means, such as a ladle pivoting means, adapted to be connected to a stationary network on a station of the travel path of the steelworks vehicle.

With an arrangement of this type, it is internally known to connect the steelworks vehicle to the network by means of a plug connector. To do this, it is necessary to assign a special operator to the station, who plugs in the connector manually. When conveying hot stock, such as, e.g., pig iron in a torpedo ladle arranged on the steelworks vehicle and rotatably mounted by means of an electromotor, handling in the immediate vicinity of, or directly at, the steelworks vehicle is to be avoided for safety reasons.

The invention aims at avoiding these disadvantages and difficulties and has as its object to provide an arrangement of the initially defined kind, with which the steelworks vehicle is connectable to the network automatically when arriving at the station without manual operations having to be carried out and without a special operator being required at the station.

In accordance with the invention, this object is achieved in that the steelworks vehicle is provided with a current collector adapted to be connected to a contact line of the network, which is provided on the station parallel to the moving direction of the steelworks vehicle, wherein either the current collector on the steelworks vehicle, or the contact line on a stationary structure of the station, are supported to be movable in two relatively angular directions in a plane oriented approximately perpendicular to the moving direction, and that guides arranged on the movable part as well as counter guides arranged rigidly relative to the immovable part are provided, which guides and counter guides are arranged in a manner that they get into contact with each other, mutually aligning the current collector and the contact line as the steelworks vehicle enters the station. Thus, it is possible to place the current collector and the contact line into a precisely registering position despite the varying spring deflection of the steelworks vehicle and despite the different positions of the steelworks vehicle as a function of its lateral tracking play, so as to ensure a constantly perfect electric contact.

Preferably, the contact line is arranged stationarily. Thereby, it is possible to adapt the contact line in terms of length to the different stops of the steelworks vehicle within the station that result from different lengths of the brake path of the steelworks vehicle depending on varying loads and from different reaction times oú the driver.

A preferred embodiment is characterized in that the current collector is movable relative to the steelworks vehicle in the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction.

Preferably, the current collector is fastened to a bracket laterally cantilevering from the steelworks vehicle.

Suitably, the current collector is resiliently supported on the steelworks vehicle, a spring means urging the current collector into a position lowermost relative to the steelworks vehicle and a further spring means urging the current collector into a position most remote laterally relative to the steelworks vehicle.

A particularly sturdy structure is characterized in that two guiding rollers forming the guides are arranged on the current collector so as to be movable with the same relative to the steelworks vehicle and two guide rails contacting the guiding rollers are arranged on the station as counter guides, one guide rail determining the position of the current collector in the vertical direction and the second guide rail determining the position of the current collector in the horizontal direction, wherein advantageously at least one end of each guide rail is angularly designed, forming a run-up ramp.

In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail by way of an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a partially sectioned view of a part of a steelworks vehicle in the moving direction, Fig. 2 is a partially sectioned view along line II-II of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a view of a section led along line III-III of Fig. 1 and of Fig. 2, respectively.

By 1, the frame of a vertically spring-mounted steelworks vehicle 4, such as a torpedo ladle car, is denoted, which vehicle is movable along rails 2 by means of flanged wheels 3 and on whose frame 1 a torpedo ladle is mounted rotatably about an axis directed parallel to the moving direction 5 of the steelworks vehicle 4. Rotation is effected by means of an electrically operated motor fed from a, stationarily bound network. The torpedo ladle car, thus, does not have its own current supply system.

A current collector 7 arranged on the steelworks vehicle 4 via a laterally cantilevering bracket 6 serves to connect the steelworks vehicle 4 to the network and, with the steelworks vehicle 4 being in a filling station and in an emptying station of the torpedo ladle, engages in a contact line 9 stationarily arranged parallel to the rails 2 and provided with a protective cover 8, whereupon the motor for rotating the torpedo ladle is settable into operation in the respective station. The current collector 7 and the contact line 9 are known and commercially available appliances.

In order to ensure the current collector 7 to exactly contact the contact line 9 automatically as a steelworks vehicle 4 enters a station, the current collector 7 is mounted on the steelworks vehicle 4 so as to be movable in a plane perpendicular to the moving direction 5 and, thus, in a plane perpendicular to the contact line provided parallel to the moving direction 5.

For this purpose, a guiding block 10 is mounted on the bracket 6, in which two horizontal sleeves 11 are inserted, which are displaceable relative to the guiding block 10 in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the rails 2. To the external ends of these horizontal sleeves 11, a horizontal carrier 12 is fastened, on which two vertical sleeves 13 are guided so as to be displaceable in the vertical direction.

The lower ends of the vertically movable vertical sleeves 13 are interconnected by a yoke support 14, which comprises upwardly extending struts 15 to which the current collector 7 is rigidly fastened. The yoke support 14, on its lower side, carries a guide roller 17 rotatable about a horizontal axis 16 and is urged into the lowermost position it can assume, by means of springs 18 arranged within the vertical sleeves and abutting, via lids 19, on the horizontal carrier 12 as well as on the yoke support 14.

By springs 20 arranged within the horizontal sleeves 11 and abutting on the guiding block 10 via lids 21, on the one hand, as well as on the horizontal carrier 12, on the other hand, the horizontal carrier 12 is urged into a tosition in which the current collector 7 cantilevers most laterally from the steelworks vehicle 4. On the external side of the horizontal carrier 12, a guide roller 23 rotatable about a vertical axis 22 is mounted via roller retaining means 24.

As the steelworks vehicle 4 enters a station, the current collector 7 reaches its correct position relative to the contact line 9 by the guide rollers 17 and 23 running up counter guides 25, 26, which are designed as guide rails and are arranged on a stationary structure 27 of the station in a manner that the current collector 7 will get into precise alignment with the contact line 9 upon running up of the guide rollers 17 and 23 onto the guide rails 25, 26. In order to facilitate this running up of the guide rollers 17, 23 on the guide rails 25, 26, the rails are angularly designed on their ends, forming run-up ramps 251, 26'. The length of the guide rails 25, 26 corresponds to at least the length of the contact line 9.

By aid of the current collector 7 resiliently supported on the steelworks vehicle 4, it is feasible to compensate for different positions of the steelworks vehicle 4 that resultfrom the tracking play 28 inevitably prevailing between the rail 2 and the wheel 3 of the steelworks vehicle 4. In addition, different spring deflections of the steelworks vehicle 4 depending on different useful loads, are balanced out by the abovedescribed arrangement.

The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment illustrated, but may be modified in various aspects. It is, for instance, possible to resiliently support the contact line, unless the latter exceeds a certain length, and to fasten the current collector rigidly to the steelworks vehicle. Moreover, the resilient mounting of the current collector also may be effected by different structures, such as, e.g., those including pivot arms etc.

p x-laims:

1. An arrangement including a railborne steelworks vehicle (4), in particular, a ladle car, which is provided with an electrically operable means, such as a ladle pivoting means, adapted to be connected to a stationary network on a station of the travel path of the steelworks vehicle (4), characterized in that the steelworks vehicle (4) is provided with a current collector (7) adapted to be connected to a contact line (9) of the network provided on the station parallel to the moving direction (5) of the steelworks vehicle (4), wherein either the current collector (7) on the steelworks vehicle (4), or the contact line (9) on a stationary structure (27) of the station, are supported to be movable in two relatively angular directions in a plane oriented approximately perpendicular to the moving direction (5), and that guides (17, 23) arranged on the movable part (7) as well as counter guides (25, 26) arranged rigidly relative to the immovable part (9) are provided, which guides (17, 23) and counter guides (25, 26) are arranged in a manner that they get into contact with each other, mutually aligning the current collector (7) and the contact line (9), as the steelworks vehicle (4) enters the station.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the contact line (9) is arranged stationarily.

3. An arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that the current collector (7) is movable relative to the steelworks vehicle (4) in the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction.

4. An arrangement according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the current collector (7) is fastened to a bracket (6) laterally cantilevering from the steelworks vehicle (4).

5. An arrangement according to one or several of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the current collector (7) is resiliently supported on the steelworks vehicle (4), a spring means (13, 18) urging the current collector (7) into a position - 6 _Lowermost relative to the steelworks vehicle (4) and a further spring means (11, 20) urging the current collector (7) into a position most remote laterally relative to the steelworks vehicle (4).

6. An arrangement according to one or several of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that two guiding rollers (17, 23) forming the guides are arranged on the current collector (7) so as to be movable with the same relative to the steelworks vehicle (4) and two guide rails (25, 26) contacting the guiding rollers (17, 23) are arranged on the station as counter guides, one guide rail (25) determining the position of the current collector (7) in the vertical direction and the second guide rail (26) determining the position of the current collector (7) in the horizontal direction.

7. An arrangement according to claim 6, characterized in that at least one end of each guide rail (25, 26) is angularly designed, forming a run- up ramp (251, 261).

8. An arrangement including a railborne steelworks vehicle, substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.