TW202513774A - Telescoping charging chute for coke oven battery - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a telescoping charging chute (10) for coke oven battery, comprising an inlet section (12) and a sealing section (16), wherein the inlet section (12), and sealing section (16) are tubular or annular, respectively defining an inlet section axis (X) and a sealing section axis (Z). According to the invention, the telescoping charging chute (10) further comprises an intermediate section (14), the intermediate section (14) being tubular or annular and defining an intermediate section axis (Y), the intermediate section (14) is pivotably connected to the inlet section (12) and the sealing section (16) and arranged therebetween, thereby defining a continuous charging passage, and the telescoping charging chute further comprises a centering mechanism (18) configured to exert a force on the sealing section (16) when the intermediate section axis (Y) is at an angle with the inlet section axis (X), thereby biasing the sealing section axis (Z) vertically.

Description

Telescopic charging chute for coke oven unit

The present invention generally relates to telescopic charging chutes, and more particularly to telescopic charging chutes for charging coal into a sealed chamber.

Coke oven batteries are widely used to produce coke by heating coal in an airless environment at temperatures up to about 1300°C. A coke oven battery typically comprises a plurality of coking chambers separated from each other by heating walls and covered by a roof plate and an assembly roof. A typical facility may comprise more than 100 coking chambers, each chamber having a height ranging from 3.5 to about 8 m, a length from about 12 m up to 16 m, and a width from about 0.4 m up to 0.5 m.

In the top-charging coke furnace group, each coking chamber has at least one charging hole arranged to pass through its top plate and the furnace top, so that coal can be charged from the furnace top to the inside of the coking chamber. An annular charging frame surrounding the charging hole is set on the furnace top and covered by a cover when the charging operation is not in progress to prevent pollutant emissions.

The coal charging car is known to move on a track arranged on the top of the organized furnace to feed the coking chambers sequentially through one or more charging holes thereof according to the coking cycle requirements of the coking chambers. A telescopic charging chute is typically mounted on the coal charging car. This telescopic charging chute generally comprises an inlet section and a sealing section. The inlet section and the sealing section are typically cylindrical and/or conical and are pivotally and sealingly connected to each other to define an airtight charging channel.

During the charging operation, the cover of the charging hole is removed and the telescopic charging chute is lowered vertically so that its sealing section engages the charging hole, thereby preventing the discharge of pollutants. The coal is then fed into the inlet section, for example by means of a screw feeder and/or a charging funnel, through the charging channel defined by the inlet section and the sealing section and falls into the coking chamber through the charging hole.

Due to the repeated thermal expansion cycles to which the coking chamber ceiling and the assembly furnace roof are subjected, the actual position of the charging hole can differ from its initial position, i.e. its position when the coking furnace assembly is constructed. Due to the pivotable connection between the inlet section and the sealing section, modern telescopic charging chutes can compensate for misalignments of up to +/- 40 mm. Misalignments can be compensated by telescopic charging chutes as described, for example, in documents CN 209098572 U and US 5 384 015 A. However, for larger misalignments, these telescopic charging chutes cannot ensure proper sealing between their different sections or between their sealing section and the charging hole frame. Pollutant emissions then increase significantly, which of course should be avoided.

A possible solution to this problem is to mount the telescopic charging chute on a frame so that it can translate along a plane perpendicular to the direction of movement of the coal charging car. Larger misalignments can then be compensated by moving the telescopic charging chute horizontally. However, such a solution would require a large vertical space on the bottom side of the coal charging car, which is usually not available.

There is therefore a need to provide a telescopic feeding chute which does not have the disadvantages described above and which is able to compensate for misalignments greater than +/- 40 mm.

This object is achieved by a telescopic feeding chute according to item 1 of the patent application.

The present invention provides a telescopic charging chute of a coke furnace assembly, which comprises an inlet section and a sealing section, wherein the inlet section and the sealing section are tubular or annular, respectively defining an inlet section axis and a sealing section axis.

According to the present invention, the telescopic feeding chute further comprises a middle section, which is tubular or annular and defines a middle section axis. The middle section is pivotally connected to the inlet section and the sealing section and arranged therebetween, thereby defining a continuous feeding channel passing through the inlet section, the middle section and the sealing section. The telescopic feeding chute further comprises a centering mechanism, which is configured to apply a force to the sealing section when the middle section axis is at an angle to the inlet section axis, thereby vertically offsetting the sealing section axis.

The telescopic feeding chute of the present invention defines an articulated continuous feeding channel having three different sections and two different joints. When in use, the entrance section should remain substantially vertical to enable coal to be fed through the entrance section. Similarly, the sealing section should remain substantially vertical to ensure proper sealing with the feeding hole frame. The intermediate section connects the entrance section to the sealing section, thereby compensating for possible displacement of the feeding hole frame, while enabling the entrance section and the sealing section to remain substantially vertical. In particular, a centering member is provided to ensure that the sealing section axis is at the desired angle of the sealing section with the intermediate section axis to ensure proper sealing with the feeding hole frame. Therefore, even for misalignments of up to +/- 100 mm, the telescopic charging chute of the present invention is able to ensure proper sealing between its sealing section and the charging hole frame, thereby reducing pollutant emissions.

In a specific example, the centering member comprises an elongated element, preferably a rope or chain, connected to the support frame at one end and to the sealing section at the other end, so that when the middle section axis is at an angle to the inlet section axis, the elongated element applies tension to the sealing section, thereby vertically offsetting the sealing section axis. The use of such centering members enables the sealing section axis to be constrained to a predetermined angle range, which depends on the length and configuration of the elongated element. The predetermined angle range can then be selected to ensure proper coupling between the sealing section and the feed hole frame. Preferably, the sealing section axis is at an angle of at most 10° to the vertical straight axis.

The support frame is movable in a vertical direction relative to the inlet section. The middle section may be pivotally connected to the support frame, thereby enabling the middle section to rotate around at least one axis, preferably two axes. For example, the middle section may be pivotally connected to the support frame via at least one, preferably two, rotation rings. Thus, the support frame enables the middle section to translate along vertical and vertical axes (e.g. to retract or lower the telescopic charging chute) and to rotate (to compensate for the displacement of the charging port frame).

The support frame may include actuators configured to control the angle between the middle section axis and the entrance section axis. These actuators may include levers.

In a specific example, the inlet segment includes a circular lower portion, the middle segment includes an upper portion configured to partially surround the circular lower portion of the inlet segment, and the upper portion of the middle segment is configured to sealingly engage the circular lower portion of the inlet segment. Thus, the inlet segment and the middle segment overlap to form a joint that both enables the middle segment to rotate relative to the inlet segment and ensures a seal between the middle segment and the inlet segment.

In a specific example, the middle section includes a circular lower portion, the sealing section includes an upper portion configured to partially surround the circular lower portion of the middle section, and the upper portion of the sealing section is configured to sealingly engage the circular lower portion of the middle section. As described above, the sealing section overlaps the middle section to form a joint that enables the sealing section to rotate relative to the middle section and ensures a seal between the middle section and the sealing section.

Preferably, the upper portion of the sealing section is circular. The sealing section may comprise a circular or conical lower portion to improve the seal with the feed hole frame.

The present invention further provides a telescopic charging device for a coke oven assembly, which comprises a frame cleaner, a cover lifter and the telescopic charging chute described above.

In a specific example, the telescopic feeding device further comprises a screw feeder and a sealing membrane, which is configured to seal the screw feeder to the inlet section of the telescopic feeding chute. Therefore, the sealing membrane prevents the leakage/discharge of pollutants between the inlet section and the screw feeder.

In a specific example, each of the frame cleaner and the cap lifter is configured as an end effector of a robot arm mounted on a telescopic loading device, and each robot arm includes a first actuator configured to enable the robot arm to rotate in a vertical plane and at least one additional actuator configured to enable its respective end effector to further rotate and/or translate. The at least one additional actuator enables the frame cleaner/cap lifter to operate to displace the loading hole by more than +/-40 mm.

The present invention further provides a coal charging car comprising the telescopic charging device described above and a coke oven assembly comprising at least one coking chamber and such a coal charging car.

Fig. 1 shows a vertical cross section of a telescopic charging chute 10 according to the present invention. The telescopic charging chute 10 comprises an inlet section 12, a middle section 14 and a sealing section 16. The inlet section 12, the middle section 14 and the sealing section 16 are annular/tubular and are pivotally and sealingly connected to each other to define a continuous charging channel.

More specifically, the inlet section 12 includes a circular lower portion 12b, which is surrounded by an upper portion 14a of the middle section 14. The upper portion 14a of the middle section 14 includes an annular surface/edge having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the circular lower portion 12b of the inlet section 12. Therefore, the circular lower portion 12b of the inlet section 12 holds the upper portion 14a of the middle section 14, thereby limiting the downward movement of the middle section. In addition, when the middle section 14 is biased downward, for example by gravity or by an actuator, the upper portion 14a of the middle section 14 sealingly engages the circular lower portion 12b of the inlet section 12, thereby preventing contaminants between the inlet section 12 and the middle section 14 from leaking.

Likewise, the middle section 14 includes a circular lower portion 14b, which is surrounded by an upper portion 16a of the sealing section 16. The upper portion 16a of the sealing section 16 is hemispherical and tightly surrounds the circular lower portion 14b of the middle section 14. Therefore, the circular lower portion 14b of the middle section 14 holds the hemispherical upper portion 16a of the sealing section 16, thereby limiting the downward movement of the sealing section. In addition, the upper portion 16a of the sealing section 16 sealingly engages the circular lower portion 14b of the middle section 14, thereby preventing contaminants between the sealing section 16 and the middle section 14 from leaking.

The telescopic feeding chute 10 further comprises a support frame 18 which is coupled to the middle section 14 in a vertical translational manner. The support frame 18 is movable along a vertical axis relative to the entrance section 12 using known components known in the art. Thus, when the support frame 18 is raised, the middle section 14 moves upward while the entrance section 12 remains stationary, thereby retracting the telescopic feeding chute 10. Conversely, when the support frame 18 is lowered, the middle section 14 moves downward while the entrance section 12 remains stationary, thereby expanding the telescopic feeding chute 10.

The middle section 14 is pivotally mounted on a support frame 18 so that the middle section 14 can rotate around two different axes. In the specific example of FIG. 1 , the support frame 18 includes two concentrically arranged rotating rings 22, 24 surrounding the middle section 14. The middle section 14 is rotatably mounted on an inner rotating ring 24, which is itself rotatably mounted on an outer rotating ring 22, which remains relatively stationary during rotation. The two rotating axes intersect, thereby enabling the middle section 14 to rotate around two different axes. The actuator 26 is further configured to control the rotation of the middle section 14 around the two axes.

The inlet section 12, the middle section 14 and the sealing section 16 define the inlet section axis X, the middle section axis Y and the sealing section axis Z respectively, which coincide when the telescopic feeding chute 10 is in its preset original position. In the specific example of FIG. 1 , the inlet section axis X is vertical. When the telescopic feeding chute 10 needs to feed the chamber through the feeding hole displaced from its original position, the middle section 14 rotates around its rotation axis so that the middle section axis Y forms an angle with the inlet section axis X, that is, different from 0°, 180°, 360°, etc. In a preferred embodiment, in order to ensure proper sealing between the sections of the telescopic charging chute 10, the angle between the middle section axis Y and the inlet section axis X and the angle between the middle section axis Y and the sealing section axis Z are kept less than 14°. Advantageously, the sealing section 16 comprises a conical lower portion 16b adapted to sealingly engage a correspondingly shaped portion of the charging port frame.

The elongated chain 20 is connected at one end to the support frame 18 and at the other end to the sealing section 16 so that when the mid-section axis Y is at an angle to the inlet section axis X, the chain 20 applies tension to the sealing section 16, thereby biasing it vertically. The elongated chain 20 thus acts as a centering member for the sealing section axis Z. It should be noted that other centering members may alternatively or additionally be used, such as a balancer disposed at the lower end of the sealing section 16 to tilt the sealing section downward.

The telescopic charging chute 10 can be mounted on a telescopic charging device 100, as shown in FIG. 2 . The telescopic charging device 100 further comprises a lid lifter 102 and a frame cleaner 104. The lid lifter 102 and the frame cleaner 104 are configured as end effectors of a robot arm 106, 108 mounted on the telescopic charging device 100, which itself can be mounted on a coal charging car. The robot arm 106, 108 is pivotable in a plane parallel to the direction of movement of the coal charging car and further comprises additional actuators 110, 112 configured to enable their respective end effectors to further translate and/or rotate relative to the base of the robot arm 106, 108.

The telescopic charging device 100 further includes a screw feeder configured to introduce coal into the inlet section 12. A sealing membrane is inserted between the screw feeder and the inlet section 12 to prevent the pollutant gas from leaking therebetween.

A coal charging car including the above-mentioned telescopic charging device 100 can be used in a coke furnace group to feed coal into a coking chamber through a charging hole. This charging hole typically includes a charging hole frame covered by a cover when the charging operation is not in progress. Coking chambers are supplied with coal in sequence as the charging car typically moves along a track arranged on the furnace top of the coke furnace group. When the coking chamber is to be fed with coal, the cover lifter 102 of the coke charging car is actuated to lift the cover of the charging hole frame. The position of the cover lifter 102 can be fine-tuned using an additional actuator to match the position of the displaced charging hole. Once the cover is removed, the telescopic feed chute 10 (previously in the retracted position) is partially lowered and the rotation of the middle section 14 is adjusted to align the sealing section 16 vertically with the feed hole frame. The telescopic feed chute 10 is then lowered until the sealing section 16 sealingly engages the feed hole frame.

10: Telescopic feeding chute 12: Entry section 12b: Circular lower part 14: Middle section 14a: Upper part 14b: Circular lower part 16: Sealing section 16a: Upper part 16b: Conical lower part 18: Support frame 20: Slender chain 22: Outer swivel ring 24: Inner swivel ring 26: Actuator 100: Telescopic feeding device 102: Lid lifter 104: Frame cleaner 106: Robot arm 108: Robot arm 110: Additional actuator 112: Additional actuator X: Entry section axis Y: Middle section axis Z: Sealing section axis

Further details and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting specific examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [FIG. 1] is a vertical cross-section of a telescopic feeding chute according to the present invention; and [FIG. 2] is a perspective view of a telescopic feeding device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

10: Telescopic feeding chute

12: Entrance section

12b: Circular lower part

14: Middle section

14a: Upper part

14b: Circular lower part

16: Sealing section

16a: Upper part

16b: Conical lower part

18: Support frame

20: Thin long chain

22: External swivel ring

24: Internal swivel ring

26: Actuator

X: Entrance segment axis

Y: Middle segment axis

Z: Sealing section axis

Claims (16)

A telescopic charging chute (10) for a coke furnace assembly, comprising an inlet section (12) and a sealing section (16), wherein the inlet section (12) and the sealing section (16) are tubular or annular, and define an inlet section axis (X) and a sealing section axis (Z) respectively; The telescopic feeding chute (10) further comprises a middle section (14), which is tubular or annular and defines a middle section axis (Y); and the middle section (14) is pivotally connected to the inlet section (12) and the sealing section (16) and arranged therebetween, thereby defining a continuous feeding channel passing through the inlet section, the middle section and the sealing section; the telescopic feeding chute further comprises a centering mechanism (18), which is configured to apply a force to the sealing section (16) when the middle section axis (Y) is at an angle to the inlet section axis (X), thereby vertically offsetting the sealing section axis (Z). A telescopic loading chute as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the centering member (18) comprises an elongated element (20), preferably a rope or chain, connected at one end to a support frame (22) and at the other end to the sealing section (16), so that when the middle section axis (Y) is at an angle to the inlet section axis (X), the elongated element (20) applies tension to the sealing section (16), thereby vertically offsetting the sealing section axis (Z). A telescopic feeding chute as claimed in claim 2, wherein the support frame (22) can move in a vertical direction relative to the inlet section (12). A telescopic loading chute as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the middle section (14) is pivotally connected to the supporting frame (22), so that the middle section (14) can rotate around at least one axis, preferably two axes. A telescopic loading chute as claimed in claim 4, wherein the middle section (14) is pivotally connected to the supporting frame via at least one, preferably two, rotating rings (24). A telescopic loading chute as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein the support frame (22) includes an actuator (26) configured to control the angle between the middle section axis (Y) and the entrance section axis (X), preferably, wherein the actuator (26) includes a lever. A telescopic loading chute as in any of the aforementioned claims, wherein the inlet section (12) includes a circular lower portion (12b); wherein the middle section (14) includes an upper portion (14a) configured to partially surround the circular lower portion (12b) of the inlet section (12); and wherein the upper portion (14a) of the middle section (14) is configured to sealingly engage the circular lower portion (12b) of the inlet section (12). A telescopic loading chute as in any of the aforementioned claims, wherein the middle section (14) includes a circular lower portion (14b); wherein the sealing section (16) includes an upper portion (16a) configured to partially surround the circular lower portion of the middle section (14); and wherein the upper portion (16a) of the sealing section (16) is configured to sealingly engage the circular lower portion (14b) of the middle section (14). A telescopic feeding chute as in the previous claim, wherein the upper portion (16a) of the sealing section (16) is circular. A telescopic loading chute as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the sealing section (16) comprises a circular or conical lower portion (16b). A telescopic feeding device (100) comprises a frame cleaner (104), a cover lifter (102) and a telescopic feeding chute (10) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims. The telescopic feeding device as in the previous claim further comprises a screw feeder and a sealing membrane, wherein the sealing membrane is configured to sealingly connect the screw feeder to the inlet section (12) of the telescopic feeding chute. A telescopic loading device as in the preceding claim, wherein each of the frame cleaner (104) and the lid lifter (102) is configured as an end effector of a robot arm (106, 108) mounted on the telescopic loading device (100), and wherein each robot arm includes a first actuator configured to enable the robot arm to rotate in a vertical plane and at least one additional actuator configured to enable its respective end effector to further rotate and/or translate. A coal charging car comprising a telescopic charging device as described in any one of claims 11 to 13. A coke oven assembly comprises at least one coking chamber and a coal charging car as described in the previous claim. A use of a telescopic charging chute as in any one of claims 1 to 10 for charging coal into a sealed chamber.