US1459985A

US1459985A - Ladle-tilting mechanism

Info

Publication number: US1459985A
Application number: US490243A
Authority: US
Inventors: Alfred C Nelson
Original assignee: William B Pollock Co
Current assignee: William B Pollock Co
Priority date: 1921-08-06
Filing date: 1921-08-06
Publication date: 1923-06-26
Anticipated expiration: 1940-06-26

Description

' June 26,1923, 1,459,985

A. NELSON LADLE TILTING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 6, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 m l/ ul S (I L I:

June 26, i923.

A. c. NELSON LADLE' TILTING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 6, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 "June 26,. 1923. 1,459,985

A.C NEL$ON LADLE TILTING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 6, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 AI'IUE/VEK June 26, 1923, 1,459,985

A. c. NELSON LADLE TILTING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 6, 1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 .Patented June 26, 1923.

tenets nnirnnsrares earner oeu res.

ALFRED C. NELSON, OF LAKEWOOD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE WILLIAM B. POLLOCK COMPANY, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

. LADLE-TILTING MECHANISM.

Application filed August 6, 1921. Serial No. 490,243.

- nace and other iron and steel manufacturill) ing plants.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention T. provide a flexible or articulated tilting member such as a rope or chain which is suspended near its ends by suitable supports provided. upon opposite sides of the ladle in its tilting plane. The tilting meniber loosely encompasses or girdles the bottom of the ladle so as to have enough slack in it to permit one of its ends to be lifted on or off its support. and is unwound from the surtace of the ladle as it is tilted. for pouring and then rewound upon the ladle as it again assumes its upright position. The tilting member is also provided with a suitable eye in its end or is otherwise adapted to be engaged by a crane book. The tilting member is so constructed andv supported that the crane hook engaging means is always presented in the proper direction to receive the nose of the crane hook as it is brought into position -for engagement. Preferably the eye (it the tilting member is presented outwardly of the side oi the ladle, so as to readily receive the nose oi the crane hook when it is approaching the side of the ladle in the tilting plane oi the ladle. When one end of the tilting member is engaged by a crane. hoolnand the crane is operated to hoist. the slack in the flexible member will first betaken up and the end of the tilting member will be lifted above its support upon the ladle so as to clear the support when the ladle is turned on its trunnions to be poured. Conversely when the crane is operated to lower andv the ladle has tilted backinto its normal upright position; the tilting member will again be engaged by the support'on the ladle and be suspended thereon while the crane hook is further lowered and moved away from the ladle. Except while the ladle is being tilted, the flexible member is not in close contact with the hot shell of the ladle and is therefore not damaged by overheatmg.

Among the objects of my invention are the provision of a ladle tilting device which requires no manual labor for its attachment to the ladle or for its operation; the provision of a tilting member which may be secured to or supported upon the ladle in such a manner that the hook of the crane employed for tilting the ladle may be made to engage with the tilting member without hand guiding or other manipulation by the floor mangthe provision of a simple, reliable and safe ladle tilting device; the provision of a ladle tilting device which is al' ways carried by the ladle and available for instant use; the provision of a ladle tilting device which may be readily used for tilting large hot metal ladles for either short or long pours when the ladle is supported. upon. a ladle car or when the ladle is supported by a traveling crane. These and other objects are accomplished by the use of my invention which is described in these specifications and shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig.' 1 is a side elevation of a hot metal ladle car carrying a ladle equipped with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of the clevis and rope eyes;

3 is a fragmentary vertical section on line IIIIII of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section on line IVIV of Fig. l with the ladle shown in dot and dash lines being tilted for a short pour;

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section on line li- JV of Fig. 1 with the ladle shown in dot and dash lines being tilted for a long pour;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation, Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section and Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the rope end of a preferred form 0t flexible member which may be employed in my invention; I I i Fig. 9 shows a ladle removed from the ladle ear and supported by crane hooks while it is being tilted by a mechanism embodying my invention;

Fig. 10 is afragmentary side elevation of a hot metal ladle car having drop side frames the ladle being equipped with a tllting device embodying my invention; and

. Fig. 11 is a vertical section on line XI- XI of Fig. 10.

Referring to the drawings 1 represents a hot metal ladle car having straight side frames such as the car shown and described in my application Serial No. 397,285, filed July 19, 1920, issued JanuarySl, 1922, as Patent No. 1,405,065. Upon the car, 1, the

, ladle, 2, is supported bytrunnions, 3, 3,

which rest in suitable bearings, 4:, 41, which are carried by the car. 5, 5, are lifting trunnions which are adapted to be engaged by suitable hooks for lifting the ladle bodily from the car. The ladle, 2, has its bottom portion rounded as shown at 6 so that when it is tilted it will clear the straight side frame sills, 7, 7, of the car body. Firmly secured to the body of the ladle, 2, upon either side so that the ladle may be. tilted in either direction are brackets, 8, 8, each of whichis provided with a pair of spaced apart thumb like projections or hooks, 9, 9, in which there is formed a seat, 10, for the pin, 11, to which pin an end of the tilting member, 12, is secured. The pin, 11, is removably mounted in a clevis, 13, by suit able means such as the key plates, 14, which fit in shallow, transverse slots, 15, in pin, 11, and are secured to the clevis, 13, by means of cap screws or bolts, 16.

The sides of the clevis, 13, are connected together by a preferably integral cross bar, 17, which is'adapted to be engaged by a lifting hook such as is shown in dot and dash lines at 18 in Fig. 1. The clevis, 13, thus becomes a part of the tilting member, which may be said to be articulated at the pivot pin, 11. It will be observed that when the ladle, is in an upright position, for instance as shown in full lines in Fig. l, the upper part of the clevis, 13, falls away from the side of the ladle until arrested by the lower end, 13*, contacting with the side of. the ladle. The lifting eye of the clevis formed by the sides, 13. and bar, 17, is thus inclined I away from the ladle, so as to readily receive the nose of an upwardly moving crane hook.

The lower end, 13 of the clevis acts as a. stop to prevent the clevis from overturning too far about the pin, 11.

I preferto employ a, flexible tilting member made of a plurality of ropes of equal lengths, such as shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, each of the ropes having an eye formed in each end by bending the rope about a thimble, 19, and splicing the end into the body of the rope as shown at 20. When made in this manner ample strength and accurate length are assured and the ropes may be readily assembled upon pins, 11, by first withdrawing the pins from the clevises after removing the key plates,,14. then placing the eyes of the ropes in position in the clevisles, l3,reinserting the pins, 11, and again securing the key plates, 14, in position to retain the pins, 11, in the clevises. The fiex ible member, 12, is made suliiciently longer than the girth of the bottom of the ladle to loosely encompass it so as to provide enough slack to permit the pin, 11, to be lifted over the thumb, 9, and automatically drop into the seats, 10, formed in the thumbs, 9, when the clevis is brought close to the body of the ladle. lVhen thus constructed it is unnecessary for the flexible member or the olevis, 13, to be lifted by hand or other means in order to place it upon or detach it from the crane hook. For instance, upon lowering the ladle from its tilted position shown in dot and dash linesin Figs. 4,,

and 9, to upright position, the rope, 12, will be wrapped about the bottom of the ladle, the pin, 11, will swing over the thumbs, 9, close to the body of the ladle above the seats, 10, the pull of the crane taking the slack out of rope, 12; and then as the crane hook is lowered further and thepull on rope, 12, is relieved the pin, 11, will automatically drop into the seats, 10, which will support the clevis, 13, and thereby support the flexible member, 12, against further downward movement. The crane hook will now lower out of contact with the cross bar, 17, and may be moved away from the ladle by the crane man without any attention from the floor man. I

In Fig. 4 the ladle car is shown standing upon the track rails, 21, while the ladle, 2,

as shown in dot and dash lines is being tilted about the short pour stands, 22, to pour the contents of the ladle close to the side of the car.

In Fig. 5 the ladle car is shown standing upon the track rails, 21. while the ladle as shown in dot and dash lines is being tilted about its right hand trunnion, 3, for making a long pour thus delivering the metal at a greater distance from the side of the car than when tilted for a short pour as shown in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 9 theladle, 2, is shown supported by the crane books. 23, as having been litted bodily off from the ladle car and the ladle is being poured into a charging trough, 24, such as is used when charging open hearth furnaces such as that conventionally shown at 25. I

In Figs. 10 and 11 the ladle, 26, is shown mounted upon a drop frame car whose side frame members, 27, are dropped or de pressed as shown at 28, to permit the ordinary flat bottom ladle to clear them when the ladle is tilted. In this application of my invention one end, 29, of the tilting member, 30, isshown permanently. secured to a bracket, 31, upon one side of the car while the other end, 32, of the tilting member, 30, is detachablv supported upon a bracket, 8, which is similar to the brackets shown in the other figures of the drawings. This construction may be employed when the ladle has to be tilted in only one direction.

To prevent the flexible members from slipping out of place I prefer to provide guides, such as the flanged brackets shown at 33, upon the corners of the ladle, 26, as in this form of ladle the bottom is ordinarily circular and the flexible member tends-to slip out of position upon the rather abruptteorner where the bottom joins the side of the ladle unless some provision such as that shown at 33 for retaining the flexible member is made.

The operation of my invention as will be understood from the foregoing description is as followsthe ladle being equipped with my invention, for instance as shown in the drawings, when it is desired to tiltthe ladle the crane operator lowers the crane hook to the proper height to engage the bar, 17. of the clevis, 13, and moves the crane hook toward the ladle until the point of the hook enters the opening in the clevis below the bar, 17. He then causes the hook to rise into engagement with the bar, 17, and tilts the ladle in the manner described. After the ladle has been poured the crane operator lowers the crane hook until the pin, 11, drops into the seats, 10, provided upon the bracket, 8, and the weight. of the flexible member, 12, and its clevis, 13, is supported by the thumbs, 9. Further lowering of the hook causes it to be disengaged from the clevis. 13, after which 7 the hook may be moved away. It requires no'more than ordinary skill upon the part of the crane operatorto thus operate my improved tilting mechanism.

The use of my invention eliminates the necessity of employing a man to attach and detach a chain, rope or other tilting device.

to the ladle or to attach the tilting device to the crane hook. which operations. as is well known. are arduous, difficult and dangerous on account of the great heat which is radiated from the hot metal in the ladlesa My improved tilting device is always carried by the ladle and is ready for immediate use. whereas. when detached ropes, chains or hooks are employed they are frequently not at the place they should be for convenient use when required. For large capacity ladles the weight of the detachable tilting connection is too great for a man to .member shown and described herein.' Neither do I limit my. invention to the particular.

ner or means by which the end of the fieXi-' ble member is adapted to be engaged by a crane hook. I a

It is essential only that the tilting member have one of its ends secured to the ladleFand its other end detachably supported by the ladle, the tilting member encompassing a port-ion of the periphery of the ladle in the tilting plane thereof sorthat the tilting memher will be unwound as the ladle is being tilted for pouring and then be rewound as the ladle is allowed to again assume its upright position. It is obvious that the portion of the periphery of the ladle encompassed by the tilting member need be only so much as is needed to give the tilting me'mber the desired leverage for holding the ladle in its maximum tilted position.

Havingv thus described my inventioml claim: i a

. 1. The combination of a 'ladle, brackets secured to opposite sides of said ladle and a flexible member loosely encompassing the bottom of said ladle and having its ends supported, one of them detachably, by said brackets.

2. The combination of a ladle, brackets secured to opposite sides of said ladle; a flexible member loosely encompassing the bottom of said ladle having its ends supported, one of them detachably, by said brackets, said ,detachablysupported end being adapted to .be engaged by a crane hook.

3. The combination of a ladle. brackets secured to said ladle at spaced apart points in the plane in which the ladleis tilted,-and a flexible member loosely encompassing the bottom of said ladle and having its endssup ported, one of themdetachably. by said brackets.

4c. The con'ibination of a ladle. brackets secured to opposite sides otsaid ladleya flexible member loosely encompassing the bottom of said ladleandhaving its ends supported, one of them detachably: by said brackets, said. detachably supported end be ing provided with an eye adapted to be engaged by a crane hook.

. 5. The combination of a ladle. brackets secured to opposite sides of said ladle. a flexible member loosely encompassing the bottom of said ladle. having its ends supported by said brackets. one of said ends being detachably supported by one of said brackets and provided with an eye adapted to be engaged by a crane hook. said flexible member being constructed and supported to prepeg? said eye outwardly of the side of said 6. The combination of a ladle, brackets secured to opposite sides of said ladle, a flexible member loosely encompassing the bottomof said ladle and having an eye in each end and lateral projections adjacent to said cured to opposite sides of said ladle. said brackets having spaced apart projections forming pin-bearings, a flexible member provided with an eye in each end, cross pinssecured to the ends of said flexible member 1ns1de said eyes, said flexible member bemg adapted to loosely encompass the bottom of said ladle between said brackets and said pins being adapted to rest in said pin bearings in said projections to support said flexible member. 7

8. The combination of a ladle, a bracket secured to one side of the ladle, a flexible member having one of its ends secured to said bracket, said flexible member extending loosely under the bottom of the ladle, a second bracketsecured to the other side of the ladle, said second bracket beingprovided with a projection extending outwardly from said ladle, the free end of said flexible member being provided with meansadaptedto be engagedby a lifting hook saidmeans be ing also adapted to be supported by said projection.

- 9. The combination of alad-le, a flexible member provided with a crane hook eye in each end, two brackets secured one on either side of said ladle, means for supporting; said flexible memberson said brackets to present said crane hook eyes outwardly of said ladle, said brackets having upturned projections, said flexible member being of such a length that when its ends are supported on said brackets the flexible member will hang loose-' ly under said ladle to permitof'its being lifted off from its support on one ofsaid brackets.

10. The combination of a ladle, two brackets secured one on either side of said ladle, one of said brackets having an upturned projection forming a hook extending outwardly and upwardly from the side of said ladle,'a flexible member having a crane hook eye in one of its ends, supporting means connected to said flexible member for supporting it on said hook to present said crane hook eye outwardly from the side of said ladle, the other end of said flexible member being. secured to the other of said brackets, said flexible member being of a length, when thus mounted on said ladle to permit said supporting means to be lifted on and off said hook, s

11. The combination of a ladle having jections and loosely encompassing the ladle between said projections to provide enough slack to permit one end of said flexible member to be lifted on and off its support, this cnd of said, flexible member being: also adaptedto be engaged by a crane book,

12. The combination of a ladle, a tilting member loosely encompassing a port-ion of the periphery of the ladle in the tilting plane thereof, said tilting member having one end attached to the ladle the other end of said tilting member being free, and means on said ladle detachably supporting said free end of said tilting member in position to be engaged by a crane hook.

13. The combination of a ladle having trunnions about which it is adapted to be tilted for pouring, tilting means secured to the ladle encompassing a portion of the periphery thereof in its tilting plane, said tilting means having afree end adapted to be engaged by a crane hook, saidtilting means being adapted to be unwound from the surface of the ladle as it be being poured and're'wound upon the surface of the ladle as 1t returns to its upright position, and means for supporting the free end of said tilting means in position on said ladle to be engaged bysaid crane hook.

' 14(The combination of a ladle, a tiltingmember having one endsecured to said ladle and its other end detachably supported thereon, said tilting member encompassing a portion of the periphery of said ladle in a tilting plane thereof 15. The combination of a ladle, a tilting member having one end secured to said ladle and its other end detachably supported thereon, said tilting member encompassing a portion of the periphery of said ladle in a tilting plane, thereof, and guiding means for said tilting member on said ladle.

16. A ladle provided with books upon its opposite sides, a flexible member having its ends respectively supported by said hooks andlooselyencompassing the bottom of the ladle so as to provide enough slack in the flexible member to permit one of its ends to be lifted off from its hook, the flexible memher having one of it's ends adapted to be J ALFRED c. NELSON.