JP2709577B2 - Vacuum degassing device and attachment / detachment device for immersion tube - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum degassing apparatus for performing so-called suction type vacuum degassing of molten metal such as molten steel, and to an apparatus for attaching and detaching a dip tube in such a vacuum degassing apparatus. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With suction type vacuum degassing (or vacuum refining), molten steel or the like in a ladle is sucked into a vacuum tank,
This is a method of refining the steel by placing it in a vacuum atmosphere, and brings about effects such as degassing, decarburization, deoxidation, and floating of inclusions for high-grade steel, low alloy steel, and special steel. The vacuum degassing apparatus for performing such refining therefore has a vacuum tank, and also has an immersion pipe (or suction pipe) at a lower portion of the vacuum tank as a means for sucking molten steel. A method in which two dip tubes are immersed in molten steel at the same time and the molten steel is circulated by blowing argon gas into one (RH method) or a method in which one tube is dipped and molten steel is taken in and out (DH method) ).

[0003] The immersion pipe is mainly composed of a refractory or heat-resistant ceramic, but is still immersed in high-temperature molten steel, the inner wall is worn by the passing molten steel, and slag adheres and grows on the outer wall. Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately replace the battery. Therefore, the immersion pipe is generally attached to the vacuum chamber via a pair of flanges so that connection and separation can be performed, and the flanges are generally fastened with bolts and nuts.

However, it is preferable that the replacement be performed promptly from the viewpoint of operation efficiency, so that the connection between the vacuum chamber and the dip tube can be easily replaced even when the dip tube is in a red hot (high temperature) state. Various proposals have already been made.
For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-85610 discloses a technique in which a suspending device such as a hoist is provided on the side of a vacuum tank to lift an immersion pipe, and a wedge operated by a hydraulic cylinder tightens and fixes the space between the vacuum tank and the immersion pipe. Is described. Further, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 58-83455 and
In each of the publications of 85731, a plurality of cotters having inclined surfaces are arranged on one or both connection flanges of a vacuum tank and a dip tube, and a holding ring having an inclined surface matching the inclined surfaces on one side is connected. There is disclosed a configuration in which the flanges are covered on the outside of the flanges (the flanges are joined together, and the clamping ring is turned to tighten and fix the flanges).

[0005]

The conventional connection means between the vacuum chamber and the immersion tube requires equipment cost, a maintenance burden,
There is still room for improvement in the ease of attaching and detaching the immersion tube, the reliability of the seal at the connection part, and the like. For example, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-85610 described above requires the following: (a) Introducing the connection means requires a considerable modification of the vacuum degassing apparatus itself, resulting in considerable costs. Even if the existing vacuum tank is diverted to economically improve only the means of connection with the dip tube,
This is because it is necessary to change the shape or newly provide a hanging arm (a part to be lifted), and it is difficult to divert an existing product.

(B) Since a suspension device, a hydraulic cylinder, a wedge, and the like must be provided for each vacuum tank, the equipment configuration is not simple, and there is a disadvantage in terms of equipment cost or work load during maintenance. In other words, since the vacuum tank is generally a consumable item, the whole or part of the vacuum tank may be replaced for repair or other purposes. If it is increased and the original vacuum tank suspension device or the like is to be transferred to the replaced vacuum tank, a complicated operation is required and it takes considerable time. In all other cases, it is necessary to reconnect the hydraulic oil supply pipe for the hydraulic cylinder, and replacement of the vacuum tank is not easy.

(C) Since there is usually no space on the side of the vacuum chamber where a large number of relatively large devices such as a suspending device and a hydraulic cylinder / cotter can be arranged, the dip tube is lifted and fastened and fixed. The location is limited to a very small number. Therefore, when the connection flange undergoes thermal deformation or the like, the sealing performance of the connection portion is likely to be reduced.

On the other hand, in the examples described in JP-A-58-83455 and JP-A-58-185731, when the connecting flange or the holding tube is deformed due to heat or the like, the cotter and its inclination are distorted. Since the positional relationship between the surfaces slightly changes, only a part of the plurality of cotters exerts a fastening force on the flange, and in other cotter portions, the sealing performance between the flanges is likely to be reduced.

(E) If the deformation of the connection flange and the like becomes further large, it becomes difficult to rotate the holding ring. Therefore, if no countermeasures are taken, the immersion tube cannot be attached to or removed from the vacuum chamber. There is a risk.

[0010] The invention according to the present application has been made to improve the above points, and it is easy to attach / detach the immersion pipe to / from the vacuum tank, to secure the seal between the two, and to divert the existing degassing apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum degassing device which can be configured at low cost and can easily maintain a vacuum chamber and the like, and a device for easily attaching and detaching a dip tube for the vacuum degassing device.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum degassing apparatus in which an immersion pipe is connected to a lower portion of a vacuum tank via a pair of flanges (connection flanges). In each of the flanges, a plurality of groove-shaped notches that are open toward the outer periphery and are continuous between the two flanges at the time of joining are formed, and the pair of flanges are fastened by the following rod. . The rod can be a) inserted into each of the above notches from the outer circumference of the flange, and b) the head of one end (near one end of the rod) C) A part extending from the back of the other flange is provided with a spring (for example, a coil spring or disc spring) that can extend and contract in the axial direction of the rod so that it does not come out. It is a rod attached together with a frame having an operation engaging portion (a protrusion, a concave portion, or the like) for compressively deforming the rod.

[0012] The apparatus for attaching and detaching a dip tube according to claim 2 is
An apparatus for attaching and detaching an immersion tube to and from a vacuum tank in the vacuum degassing apparatus, wherein the rod is held and an operation engaging portion of a frame (and another portion if necessary, ie, a spring is compressed and deformed). A pair of engaging portions or a pair of engaging portions and another portion on the rod) for applying a force for compressively deforming the spring, and the lever in a radial direction of the flange. (In other words, a moving means for reciprocatingly moving in a direction along the notch provided in the flange).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the lever and the moving means are connected to each other.
Tables as many as the number of rods provided on the flange (that is, a structure having a spread similar to a general table)
In addition to the above, a table for mounting the immersion tube is provided on the table, and the table is preferably provided on a positioning means for vertical movement and horizontal movement.

[0014]

In the vacuum degassing apparatus according to the first aspect, the vacuum tank and the immersion pipe each have a flange (connection flange), and a pair thereof is joined and fastened with the plurality of rods. The connection between the vacuum chamber and the immersion pipe is made by the. Each of these rods has a head at one end hung on the back of one flange as in b) above, and does not come out of the spring and the frame as shown in c) on the back side of the other flange. Have. Therefore, at the time of fastening, the pair of flanges are sandwiched between the spring and the frame body thus mounted and the head, and are tightened by receiving the axial force (tension) of the rod together therewith. is there.

In this vacuum degassing apparatus, a pair of flanges are provided with a plurality of groove-shaped notches, not holes, as portions through which rods pass. Each of the notches is open to the outer circumference as described above, and when the flanges are joined, the notches are continuous between the flanges so that rods such as bolts can pass through them in a direction that intersects the joint surface. Become. Therefore, the rod for fastening the pair of flanges is not inserted into both flanges from the end of the rod, but is inserted into the notch from the open side of the outer periphery of the flange from the side surface of the rod (the above a). )) Can be attached to the flange. When the rod is inserted into the groove-shaped notch in this way, unlike the case where the rod is inserted through the hole, a head to be hung on the back surface of the flange as described in b) is formed in advance for each rod. Also, a spring or a frame as shown in c) can be mounted in advance. Also, when the rod is removed from the flange, it can be taken out with the head, spring, etc. formed and mounted. For this reason, it is possible to quickly and easily join and separate the two flanges, that is, attach and detach the dip tube to and from the vacuum chamber.

When attaching and detaching the rod as described above for joining or separating the flanges, it is necessary to widen the space between the spring or the frame and the head and provide a gap between them and the flanges. . To this end, a method of attaching a nut or the like as the above head and shifting the position one by one to provide a gap between the flange and the flange may be adopted.In this case, the nut is turned or the fastening force is fixed. This is not easy, and the problem remains in terms of the speed of operation and the like as in the conventional case using bolts and nuts (described above).

In this respect, in this vacuum degassing apparatus, a frame is attached to the rod together with the spring as described in c) above, and the frame has an operating engaging portion for compressively deforming the spring. ing. Therefore, by operating the engaging portion to compress and deform the spring, the space between the spring (or the frame) and the head is widened, and then the rod can be attached to and detached from the flange. To operate the engaging part to compress and deform the spring, a force that opposes the spring is required, but the required displacement is linear and simple, so the equipment required for operation is simple, and the work can be speeded up. It is also possible to aim.

This vacuum degassing apparatus is characterized in that the flange portion is different from that of the conventional general apparatus and that the general bolts and nuts are replaced with the rods described above. It also has the following features in manufacturing or use. That is, first, the existing product can be easily diverted, and it is only necessary to provide a groove-shaped notch in the pair of flanges for the vacuum tank and the immersion pipe. This modification is extremely simple and does not add much complexity to the conventional vacuum chamber and immersion tube, so the equipment cost is small and the maintenance work such as replacement and replacement of each can be complicated. Nor. Since the rods can be arranged close to each other in the same manner as a general bolt / nut, a fastening force can be uniformly applied to the pair of flanges over the entire circumference, and a high sealing property can be secured between the two. In addition, since each rod applies a fastening force to each part on the flange independently, even if the flange is slightly deformed due to heat etc., it does not affect the smoothness of the attachment and detachment work of the immersion pipe by joining and separating the flange, The sealing performance between the flanges is not easily reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vacuum degassing apparatus having the above-described configuration, the vacuum degassing apparatus is configured to mount and remove an immersion pipe in a vacuum chamber via the pair of flanges.
After compressing and deforming the above-described spring, the rod can be attached to and detached from the flange. First, in the case where a rod is attached to a pair of overlapped flanges in order to connect an immersion tube to a vacuum chamber, the present device functions as follows, for example.

The lever holds the rod, and engages with the operating engagement portion of the frame to apply a force to compressively deform the spring. This increases the distance between the head at one end of the rod and the spring (or frame),
In the meantime, the pair of flanges is easily inserted. The rod is moved by the moving means in the radial direction of the flange together with the lever (that is, inward in the radial direction along each notch), and the rod is moved with respect to the pair of stacked flanges. Put into each notch from the outer circumference Release the force exerted on the engagement part and release the spring force to the flange etc. to realize the fastening state of the flange, then release the lever from the rod by moving means Again away from the vacuum chamber.

On the other hand, when removing the rod from the flange to remove the immersion tube, the lever is moved by the moving means to the position of each rod on both flanges in the fastened state, so that the rod can be held by the lever. A force is applied to the operation engaging portion of the frame by the lever to compress and deform the spring. As a result, the distance between the spring or the like and the head is increased, and a gap is formed between the head and the flange. The lever is moved by the moving means in the radial direction of the flange (that is, radially outward along the notch). By moving, the rod is taken out from the groove-shaped notch on the flange, and then the compression of the spring is released by removing the force of the lever.

Next, the attaching and detaching device according to the third aspect is provided with the above-mentioned levers and moving means by the number of rods on the flange, so that all the rods can be detached from the flange in a short time. be able to. Since each lever works on all the rods at the same time, it is obviously clearer than when one lever removes one rod and then moves to the position of another rod and repeats the same removal work. It is efficient.

Further, since this apparatus also has a stand for mounting the immersion tube, before and after attaching and detaching the rod,
The dip tube with the flange overlapped with the vacuum chamber can be held without using any means other than the present apparatus. Therefore, not only the attachment / detachment of the rod to / from the flange, but also the entire operation of attaching / detaching the immersion tube can be smoothly performed.

In the apparatus according to the third aspect, the gantry, the lever, and the moving means are arranged on one table, and the table is provided on the positioning means for vertical movement and horizontal movement. Therefore, as long as the relative positional relationship between the flange and the notch (and the rod) in the vacuum degassing apparatus is not changed, the table, the lever, and the moving member can be moved only by appropriately setting the position of the table by the above-described positioning means. The means are simultaneously in the preferred position. As described above, according to the present apparatus, since the position of each part can be quickly determined, the mounting and dismounting of the dip tube can be performed extremely efficiently, and the work can be easily remote-controlled or automated. is there.

Since this attaching / detaching device can be constituted separately from the vacuum degassing device, the immersion pipe can be attached / detached to a plurality of vacuum degassing devices by one unit. That is, when there are a plurality of vacuum degassing devices (or immersion pipes), if the positional relationship of the flange and the notch is shared in each case, one attachment / detachment device can be used for each vacuum degassing device (or immersion tube). It can be used, and it is possible to efficiently attach and detach each immersion tube as described above.

[0026]

1 to 3 show one embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
1 is a front view showing a vacuum degassing device 1 and a detachable device 2 for immersion tubes 20A and 20B at the same time. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the entire detachable device 2 during operation, wherein FIG. 2 (b) is a side view including the vacuum degassing device 1, and FIG.
FIG. FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing an operation state of the attaching / detaching device 2. FIG.
, (B) is a side view thereof, and (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line cc in (b) of FIG.

The vacuum degassing device 1 is a device for performing a vacuum degassing by the so-called RH method. As shown in FIG. 1, two immersion tubes 20A and 20B are connected to a lower portion of a vacuum tank 10. The inside of the vacuum chamber 10 is brought into a state close to a vacuum, and molten steel in a ladle (not shown) arranged below (same as above)
When the dip tubes 20A and 20B are immersed therein and argon gas is blown into one of the dip tubes 20A (not shown), molten steel flows from the ladle through the dip tube 20A as the gas flows upward. The circulation enters the vacuum chamber 10 and returns to the ladle through the dip tube 20B. Immersion tube 2
Since 0A and 20B are consumables and need to be replaced periodically, they are connected to the vacuum chamber 10 by flanges 11 and 21 so as to be separable. The flange 11 is provided integrally with the lower portion of the vacuum chamber 10, and the flange 21 is provided integrally with the immersion tubes 20A and 20B at the upper portion.

In this embodiment, the flanges 11 and 21 have the following structure so as to efficiently and easily connect and disconnect the immersion tubes 20A and 20B to and from the vacuum chamber 10.
Have concluded between. That is, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 (a), groove-shaped notches 12 and 22 opened toward the outer periphery are formed at six locations for a pair of flanges 11 and 21, and a plate is formed inside each. The rod 30 attached with a spring (spring) 33 and the like is attached. Notch 12.2
2 has a U-shape in plan view as shown in FIG. 2 (a) so that the cylindrical shaft 31 of the rod 30 can be vertically arranged through the pair of flanges 11 and 21 in FIG. And so on. Positioning projections (not shown) are provided between the flanges 11 and 21 so that the notches 12 and 22 can join the flanges 11 and 21 in an appropriate positional relationship continuing vertically.
And the hole (the same) are provided mutually. The dip tube 20A
The two immersion tubes 20A and 20B are attached and detached so that they can be attached and detached in the same procedure with one attachment / detachment device 2 described later.
Regarding B, the shapes and dimensions of the flanges 11 and 21 including the positions of the notches 12 and 22 were the same.

On the other hand, each rod 30 is shown in FIG.
Alternatively, as shown in (b), a shaft 31 having a large-diameter head 32 and a threaded portion at the tip is centered, and a disc spring 33 functioning as a spring, a frame body 34 containing the spring, and the like are provided. It is assembled. The frame body 34 is composed of a cylindrical portion for accommodating a plurality of disc springs 33, and a washer 34a which is placed inside the disc spring 33 and rests on the disc spring 33. The cylindrical portion has a bottom plate and a detachable device 2 to be described later. An engaging portion 34p, which is a projection to be operated by the, is provided integrally. The disc spring 33 and the frame body 34 are attached to the shaft 31 as shown in FIG.
Is fixed to the screw portion of the shaft 31. Therefore, each rod 30 hooks the head 32 on the back of the flange 21 (that is, the lower end of the notch 22), and hooks the bottom plate of the frame 34 on the back of the flange 11 (the upper end of the notch 12), thereby forming a disc spring 33.
Of the flange 11 by the shaft 31 with a force equal to the elastic repulsive force of
21 has been tightened.

The notch 12.2 opened on the outer periphery as described above
By using such a rod 30 for 2,
Fastening and releasing between the flanges 11 and 21 can be performed extremely efficiently. A rod 30 with a disc spring 33, a frame 34, and a nut 35 attached to a shaft 31.
Can be fastened by moving laterally along the notches 12 and 22 from the outer circumferences of the flanges 11 and 21 radially inward along with the notches 12 and 22, and conversely by moving radially outward to cancel the fastening. is there. That is, in the vacuum degassing apparatus 1, the immersion tubes 20A
There is no trouble of screwing the nut into the bolt and adjusting the degree of tightening each time the 0B is attached or detached.

However, the immersion tubes 20A and 20
In order to attach and detach B, not only the rod 30 is moved as described above, but also the disk spring 33 is compressed and deformed for each rod 30 so that the movement is smooth, and the head 32 and the frame 34 are moved.
It is also necessary to widen the space between them and to hold the immersion tubes 20A and 20B at appropriate positions before and after fastening the flanges 11 and 21. Therefore, in this embodiment, FIG.
2, the detachable device 2 is configured, and is mounted on a trolley (not shown, which is movable in the steelmaking factory according to the embodiment). The attachment / detachment device 2 mainly includes a lever 5 for compressively deforming the disc spring 33 of each rod 30.
0, a moving means 60 for each lever 50, a table 70 in which the lever 50 and the moving means 60 are arranged, and a table 75 for holding the immersion tube is provided, and a positioning means 80 for the table 70, The details are as follows.

The flanges 11 and 21 have notches 12 in six places.
・ Because it is fastened with the same number of rods 30 having 22
As shown in FIG. 2A, six sets of the lever 50 and its moving means 60 are arranged in the attachment / detachment apparatus 2 at the same height. The lever 50 applies a compressive force to the disc spring 33 by operating the engaging portion 34p of the frame 34 to contract the disc spring 33 with respect to the rod 30. The number is set to six so that can be simultaneously attached and detached. Structurally, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c), two lower levers 51 capable of holding the rod 30 by hanging the tip portions on the lower surfaces of the two engaging portions 34p of the frame 34, One upper lever 52 capable of pressing the upper end of the upper and lower levers 51 and 5 is pivotably combined by a horizontal pin 53.
A portion for opening and closing is provided at a rear end portion of the second member (a side separated from the front end portion with the pin 53 interposed therebetween). As this opening / closing drive portion, two links 54 forming a so-called toggle mechanism are connected to the rear ends of the levers 51 and 52, and guided by a guide bracket 56 to the links 54 and pushed and pulled by a hydraulic cylinder 58. Link 57 was connected. When the hydraulic cylinder 58 is extended, the link 54 and the upper and lower levers 51.5 are moved from the state of the virtual line to the state of the solid line in FIG.
2 is displaced, and the vertical movement of the distal end portion is reduced by a strong force due to the boosting action of the link 54 constituting the toggle mechanism and the "leverage" action of the levers 51 and 52. Therefore, the front ends of the lower levers 51 are respectively hung on the lower surfaces of the two engagement portions 34p of the frame 34, and the upper lever 52 is placed on the shaft 31.
If you extend the hydraulic cylinder 58 after placing the tip of
By pulling up the frame body 34 near the upper end of the shaft 31, the disc spring 33 inside the frame body 34 can be compressed and deformed.

Since each of the rods 30 must be moved in the radial direction of the flanges 11 and 21 along the notches 12 and 22 as described above, each lever 50 is provided with the following moving means 60. I have. That is, FIG.
As shown in (b), the entirety of each lever 50 is formed on a moving frame 64, and the moving frame 64 is connected to a frame 71 via a guide rail 62, a slider 63 combined therewith, and a hydraulic cylinder 61.
Mounted on top. With such a configuration, each lever 50
Are reciprocated on the frame 71 along the guide rail 62 together with the moving frame 64 by extending and contracting the hydraulic cylinder 61 respectively. Note that the direction of the movement, that is, the longitudinal direction of each guide rail 62 is determined by the notch 12 on the pair of flanges 11 and 21.
22.

As shown in FIG. 1, the above-mentioned frame 71, in which all six sets of the lever 50 and the moving means 60 are arranged, is formed as a table 70, and is formed into an integral structure having a circular spread by a shape steel or the like. doing. As shown, a plurality of (four) pedestals 75 are attached near the inside of the table 70 so that the immersion tube 20A or 20B separated from the vacuum tank 10 can be placed thereon. FIG. 2 (a)
Each flange 21 of the immersion pipes 20A and 20B has
Since the bracket 23 is attached to the attachment / detachment device 2 at a position corresponding to the gantry 75, each of the immersion tubes 20A and 20B is placed on the table 70 by stacking the bracket 23 on the gantry 75. Also, a hole 23a is made in some brackets 23, and
5 is provided with an upward projection (not shown, having a tapered shape at the upper end). By inserting the projection into the hole 23a, the table 70 can be moved so that the dip tubes 20A and 20B are not displaced. In addition to being able to support it, it is easier to position it ahead of the support.

In order to connect the immersion tubes 20A and 20B to the vacuum chamber 10, they are brought to an appropriate position in the vacuum chamber 10, and the lever 50 holding the rod 30 is moved to an appropriate position with respect to the flanges 11 and 21. Need to be
The same applies to the case where the immersion tubes 20A and 20B are separated from the vacuum chamber 10. Therefore, in the attaching / detaching device 2, the table 70 is provided on the positioning means 80 as shown in FIG. First, as the positioning means 80,
A link 81 for raising and lowering the table 70 to the height of the flange 11 of the vacuum chamber 10 above and a hydraulic cylinder 82 (see FIG. 2B) for driving the expansion and contraction thereof are assembled. On them, guide rails 83 and 85 and hydraulic cylinders 84 and 86 for horizontally moving the table 70 in directions of two orthogonal axes, and hydraulic cylinders 87 and 8 for tilting or horizontally turning the table 70.
8 etc. were arranged. In addition, reference numeral 89A in FIG.
And 89B are devices for supplying hydraulic pressure and electric power. If the hydraulic cylinders 82 and 84, 86, 87, and 88 are appropriately expanded and contracted, the positions of the immersion pipes 20A and 20B are determined so that the flanges 11 and 21 are joined in an appropriate positional relationship. Each lever 50 can be made to stand by in an appropriate arrangement close to each notch 12, 22 on 21. If the positions of the flanges 21 of the immersion tubes 20A and 20B are properly determined, the positions of the notches 12 and 22 are uniquely determined. Therefore, a lever 50 for inserting the rod 30 into the notches 12 and 22 and a moving means thereof are provided. 60 is a dip tube 20A
20B is integrally provided on a table 70 together with a gantry 75 for positioning and supporting, and the positions are collectively positioned.

By using the attaching / detaching device 2 configured as described above, the attaching / detaching of the immersion tube 20A or 20B in the above-described vacuum degassing device 1 can be performed in the following manner.
The case where the immersion tube 20A (the same applies to the immersion tube 20B) is attached to the lower part of the vacuum chamber 10 will be described. The carriage (not shown) carries the attaching / detaching device 2 directly below the flange 11 of the vacuum chamber 10. . In addition, using a crane (not shown) or the like in advance, the bracket 23 (and the hole 2
3a and a projection, etc.) are overlapped and a new immersion tube 20A is placed on the lower end of the lower lever 51 of each lever 50.
It is assumed that 0 is held.

The table 70 is raised by the positioning means 80 and the horizontal position and the angle are also adjusted, so that the flange 21 of the immersion tube 20A is superimposed on the flange 11 of the vacuum chamber 10 in an appropriate positional relationship (FIG. 2).
reference). At this time, in order to determine the positional relationship, the above-described protrusion and hole between the flanges 12 and 22 are used.

Each lever 50 is advanced by the moving means 60, and the rod 30 is inserted into each of the notches 12 and 22 of the flanges 11 and 21 (see FIG. 3). At this time, in order to widen the space between the head 32 and the frame 34 in the rod 30 and to facilitate insertion, the hydraulic cylinder 58 is extended in the lever 50 and the frame 34 is The disc spring 33 is compressed and deformed by applying a force to the shaft 31.

The rod 30 extends to the notches 12 and 22
Is released, the force of the lever 50 is released, and only the lever 50 is moved while the rod 30 remains on the flanges 11 and 21.
To retract to the standby position. Thereby, the flanges 11 and 21 are fastened by receiving an axial force equal to the elastic force of the disc spring 33, and the attachment of the immersion tube 20A to the vacuum chamber 10 is completed.

After all the levers 50 have been retracted after the above operation, the table 70 is lowered (see FIG. 1), and the attachment / detachment device 2 is carried out from below the vacuum degassing device 1.

On the other hand, when removing the immersion tube 20A (similarly for the immersion tube 20B) from the vacuum chamber 10, first, as described above, the detaching device 2 is carried just below the immersion tube 20A (see FIG. 1). However, in this case, there is no need to place a new immersion tube on the table 70 or hold the rod 30.

The table 70 by the alignment means 80
Is raised and the position and angle are adjusted to apply the gantry 75 under the bracket 23 of the immersion tube 20A (see FIG. 2). At this time, the above-mentioned protrusion on the gantry 75 is inserted into the hole 23a of the bracket 23 for positioning and fixing.

Each lever 50 is moved forward by the moving means 60, and the tips of the lower levers 51 are respectively inserted below the two engagement portions 34 p of the rod 30.
The tip of the upper lever 52 is positioned on the shaft 31 (see FIG. 3).

The hydraulic cylinder 58 at the lever 50
Is extended, and force is applied between the frame body 34 and the shaft 31 at each end of the upper and lower levers 51 and 52 to compressively deform the disc spring 33, thereby expanding the space between the head 32 of the rod 30 and the frame body 34. In this state, the lever 50 is moved backward by the moving means 60. As a result, the fastening between the flanges 11 and 21 is released.
It is stably supported on zero.

When all the levers 50 come to the retracted position while holding the rod 30, the table 70 is lowered while supporting the immersion tube 20 A separated from the vacuum tank 10, and the attachment / detachment device 2 is further subjected to vacuum degassing. It is carried out from below the device 1. The immersion tube 20A is later lowered from the table 70 by a crane (not shown) or the like.

Although an embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment but can be implemented in various modes. For example, the lever 50 described above is similar to the lever 150 in FIG.
The bases of the lower lever 151 and the upper lever 152 may be connected by a gear 154, and one of the lower lever 151 and the upper lever 152 may be connected to a rotary drive source 158 such as a hydraulic motor.

[0047]

The vacuum degassing apparatus according to claim 1 has the following effects.

1) A rod having a groove-shaped notch formed in the flange for connection between the vacuum chamber and the immersion pipe, and having a spring and a frame formed to easily compress and deform the spring is mounted on the rod.
Since the flange is fastened by being inserted into the notch from the outer circumference, the fastening and release, that is, the attachment and detachment of the immersion tube to and from the vacuum chamber are extremely easy.

2) Compared to the widely used general equipment, only the shape of the flange and the bolts and nuts need to be changed, so that existing equipment can be easily used and the equipment cost is small. In addition, it does not complicate maintenance and handling operations.

3) Since the rods can be arranged on the flange by approaching each other, the fastening force is evenly applied to the entire circumference of the flange, and a high sealing property can be secured between the joint surfaces.

4) Since each rod applies a fastening force independently to the pair of flanges, even if the flanges are slightly deformed due to heat or the like, the joining and separating of the flanges for attaching and detaching the immersion tube is always smoothly performed. Yes, and the sealing performance between the flanges is not easily reduced.

Since the attachment / detachment device of the second aspect has a lever capable of smoothly operating the fastening rod in the above-described vacuum degassing device and its moving means, the fastening and release of the flange can be performed quickly and quickly. By performing the operation smoothly, the attaching and detaching operation of the immersion tube can be efficiently performed.

In the case of the attachment / detachment device according to the third aspect, the following effects are also obtained.

1) Since the above-described levers and moving means for manipulating the rods are provided by the number of rods on the flange, the entire number of rods can be attached to and detached from the flange in a short time. The tube can be attached and detached more efficiently.

2) Since there is a base on which the immersion tube is placed, the immersion tube can be stably held by itself before being connected to the vacuum chamber or after being separated from the vacuum tank. In addition, the entire operation of attaching and detaching the dip tube can be facilitated.

3) The pedestal, the lever, and the moving means are arranged on one table, and the table is provided on the positioning means for vertical movement and horizontal movement. , Or the position of the lever or the like with respect to them can be quickly determined, and in that respect also, the work of attaching and detaching the immersion tube is streamlined.

4) A detachable device is provided separately from the vacuum degassing device, so that it can be used for attaching and detaching a dip tube of another vacuum degassing device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vacuum degassing apparatus 1 and an attaching / detaching apparatus 2 for immersion tubes 20A and 20B at the same time as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram generally showing the detachable device 2 in operation;
(b) is a side view including the vacuum degassing device 1, and (a) is the same.
It is an aa arrow view in (b).

FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing an operation state of the attachment / detachment device 2;
(a) is a plan view showing the lever 50 together with the rod 30;
(b) is a side view, and (c) is a cc cross-sectional view in (b).

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a lever 150 as another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum degassing device 2 Detachable device 10 Vacuum tank 11 ・ 21 Flange 12.22 Notch 20A ・ 20B Immersion tube 30 Rod 32 Head 33 Disc spring (Spring) 34 Frame 34p Operation engaging part 50 Lever 60 Moving means 70 table 75 gantry 80 positioning means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (73) Patent holder 000002118 Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. 4-33, Kitahama, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka (73) Patent holder 000004123 Nippon Kokan Co., Ltd. 1-Chome, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 1-2-2 (72) Inventor Masayuki Saito 3-1-1 Higashikawasaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo Prefecture Inside the Kobe Plant of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. No. 1 Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. Kobe Plant (72) Inventor Yoshiki Uejima 1-chome, Mizushima-Kawasaki-dori, Kurashiki-shi, Okayama Pref. Kawasaki Steel Corporation Mizushima Works (72) Inventor Hidemi Tsutsui Hyogo Kanazawa-cho, Kakogawa 1 Kobe Steel, Ltd. Inside the Kakogawa Works (72) Inventor Masashi Kawamoto 3, Hikariji, Kashima-cho, Kashima-gun, Ibaraki Prefecture Sumitomo (72) Inventor Naohiko Murakami 1-2-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Kokan Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-7-188730 (JP, A) JP-A Sho58 -19444 (JP, A) JP-B-57-56637 (JP, B2) JP-B-51-4498 (JP, B2)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A vacuum degassing device having a dip tube connected to a lower portion of a vacuum chamber via a pair of flanges, wherein each of the flanges is open to the outer periphery and is connected between both flanges at the time of joining. A rod capable of forming a plurality of continuous groove-shaped notches and inserting the pair of flanges into the respective notches from the outer periphery of the flange, and hanging a head at one end on the back surface of one of the flanges. A spring, which can be extended and contracted in the axial direction of the rod, is attached together with a frame having an operation engaging portion for compressively deforming the spring so as not to come out of a portion coming out of the back surface of the other flange. A vacuum degassing device characterized by being fastened by a device. 2. A device for attaching and detaching an immersion tube to and from a vacuum tank in the vacuum degassing device according to claim 1, wherein the spring is held in an operating engagement portion of a frame while holding the rod. An apparatus for attaching and detaching an immersion pipe in a vacuum degassing apparatus, comprising: a lever for applying a force for compressive deformation; and a moving means for reciprocating the lever in a radial direction of the flange. 3. The above-mentioned lever and moving means are arranged on a table by the number of rods provided on the flange, and a stand for mounting an immersion tube is provided on the table, and the table is moved up and down. 3. An apparatus for attaching and detaching a dip tube in a vacuum degassing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said apparatus is provided on a positioning means which performs horizontal movement.