US1819472A - Enameling furnace conveyer - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 18, 1931. R. MacDOUGALL ENAMELING FURNACE CONVEYER' 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Sept. 10, 1928 Q 7zue7i/to 7753170 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 @W Wm W10; N@ N@ how Km w F,

R. M DOUGALL ENAMELING FURNACE CONVEYER Original Filed Sept. 10, 1928 Aug. 18, 1931.

Patented Aug. E 3931 STATES PATENT OFFICET ROBERT MAGDOUGALL, OF DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BEEMACK FUR- NAGE COMPANY, OF CICERO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS ENAMELING FURNACE GONVEYER Original application filed September 10, 1928, Serial No. 304,945. Divided and this application filed May 5, 1930. Serial No. 449,816.

My invention relates to improvements. in a furnace adapted particularly for drylng and fusing a coating of vitrifiable materials which has been applied in the form of a thin aqueous paste to sheet metal articles such as kitchen utensils and similar articles, to produce an adherent vitrified enamel covering. This application is adivision of my copending application No. 304,945, filed September The object of the present'invention is to provide an improved construction of the conveyer chain and carriers thereon employed for supporting articles passing through'the furnace.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated, for purposes of exposition and explanation art 0' an enameling furnace and associate apparatus in which my invention is embodied;

Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical section of a top portion of the furnace illustrating the conveyer improvements;

Fig. 2 is a central section through Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse vertical seo-- tions of the drying chambers;

Fig. 5 is a side view of a portion of the auxiliary furnace illustrated in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 illustrates the carrier device employed for supporting articles as they pass through the main furnace;

Fig. 7 is a view of the same as seen at right an les thereto;

ig. 8 is a plan view of the same; .Fig. 9 is a view of a modified form of carrier;

Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively a perspective and fragmentary section of a supporting pin used for supporting certain classes of articles in the carrier devices illustrated in Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive; and

Fig. 12 is a detail showing a joint between certain bafliing members.

The furnace, as shown more fully in the earlier application'ref'erred to, consists of a central burning. or vitrifying section at the middle of the structure, with an extension or pro-heating section at each end thereof, preferably in alignment therewith, and additional. or drying sections at the outer ends of the pro-heating sections also preferably in alignment with the other sections.

The main furnace structure has two parallel slots through the roof from one end to the other. An endless conveyer chain with depending parts travels through one of said slots in one direction returning as a loop outside of the furnace. Another chain conveyer loop passes in the opposite direction through the other slot. Two auxiliary drying furnaces are provided, one on each side of the main furnace structure and each of said chain con'veyer loopspasses through one of said auxiliarydrying furnaces through a slot in the roof.

The carrier chains of my novel improved furnace are constructed in a simple and efiicient manner, with especial reference to protection against undue heating of the links of the chain and the upper ends of the suspension rods by mealis of which the articles to be enameled are transported through the burning chamber. The chains are each constructed,see Figs. 1 and 2of inner link members 16 and 16 both consisting of upper and lower plate sections connected by orificed hubs by means of which they are driven and are pivoted to intermediate pairs of outer. link members 17. The lower plate sections of the inner link members 16 and 16 are formed with pivoting lugs to which are pivotally connected depending bafile plate members 34, which will later be referred to again. i

The links 16 spaced at short intervals throughout the chain, are formed with suspension brackets 18 which at their upper ends are severally formed with hubs which pivotally support a pair of rollers 1919 running upon tracks 2020 which are stationarily supported and extend between the sprocket wheels around which the two chains severally travel. Withinthe vertical planes of the endsof the auxiliary furnacessee F1 s. 3, 4 and 5the tracks may convenient ly %e secured within the sides of an inverted three-sided hood 21, open at the bottom, extending down into the furnace chamber, and suspended from the under side of an I-beam 22 extending longitudinally above the center pairs being severally bolted to cross frame members 29 on each side of two narrow tapering slots, marked 30, slightly wider at the bottom than the top, which severally extend on opposite sides of the top of the furnace centrally through the burning chamber on the particular side and the aligned portions of the preheating and drying sections of the furnace. Seated in the furnace wall at the upper end of each slot 30 are two opposite lines of baffling rails 31, formed with lugs also connectedby bolts severally to the bracket plates 28. These baffling rails are preferably shouldered at their meeting ends, to provide mating joints, offset at top and bottom,see Fig. 12. Between the bracket plates and the track members and baffling rails are secured thin three-sided sheet metal hood members 32 which make telescopic sealed connection with hood members 33, providing an airtight conduit into which cool air under a slight degree of pressure is admitted at a point about midway between the ends of the furnace. While the ends of the air conduit are open there is su'flicient pressure over the central part of the furnace, above the burning chamber and adjacent portions of the preheating chambers, to balance the tendency of the highly heated air within such chambers to rush upwardly through the slots 30.

The battling rails 31 have the cross-sectional form shown in Fig. 1, thus providing for a shouldered recess on each side of the slot 30 to receive upper flange portions a of the baffle blocks 34 hereinbefore mentioned. These blocks are also formed with lower flanges b which extend between the sides of the slot below the plane of the baffling rails, and the upper flanges are cut away at one end and extended at the other (see Fig. 2) so that in the assembled chain, rays of radiant heat from below are intercepted and direct passage of heated air through the gaps between the blocks is prevented. The blocks are also centrally orificedand recessed to permit insertion into seats therein of the hooked upper ends of suspension rods 35 which carry the skeleton carrier boxes employed to contain and suspend the articles to be enameled through the various furnace chambers.

It is obvious, from the description of the chain assembly above described, that radiant heat from the burning chamber in which the heat is most intense), will largely be absorbed by the lower flanged portion of the baffle blocks 34, and taken up by the cool air slowly forced down and seeping from above through the tortuous passages between the baffle rails and baffle plates. In practice, it has been found that the suspension rods 35 (which require frequent replacement) are not heated above redness for a distance of a foot or more from their upper ends, and the conveyor chain members are adequately protected from injury caused by heat escaping through the slot in the top furnace wal While the baflling blocks 34 are all arranged to engage suspension rods 35, in order to provide for spacing the latter as may be desired, it is in general found convenient to attach the rods to the blocks 16* which carry the roller supporting the chain, and to connect these rods flexibly together by means of upper and lower spacing links, 50 and 50 respectively, having overlapping looped ends engaging pivots 51 formed with upper hooks arranged to engage hooks formed on the lower ends of the suspension rods and lower hooks arranged to engage the top cross members of the carrier boxes next to be described.

Describing first the form of box illustrated in Figs. 6 to 8, inclusive,'the ends of the box consist of a pair of frames having side bars 52 (which may be made of metal tubing, flattened at top and bottom, as shown) secured to a top cross member 53, preferably formed with a row of orifices for the engagement of suspension hooks, and to a bottom cross strip 54, which preferably extends beyond the side bars 52. A pair of such frames, suspended from chains by the hooked pivots 51, are tied together by what I term a box tool, consisting of a frame having side members 55-55, and cross members 5656. The side members 55 are notched on both sides near their opposite ends (see Fig. 7), so that when warped and bowed downwardly by the weight of articles carried in the box under the extreme heat to which they are subjected in the burning chamber, the box tools may be inverted, the notches in either position being arranged to fit over the cross strip 54 of the carrier frames. Removable supports for the articles to be enameled, of the ordinary type illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8, may be placed on the box tools, as desired.

As indicated in Fig. 7, the spacing links between the carrier boxes are also utilized for suspending articles to be treated, by means of hooks engaging such links and flanges on articles such as jars, or the like. which are formed with flanges capable of being engaged by such hooks.

The form of carrier'box illustrated in Fig. 9 differs from that above described in having end frames formed with longer side bars 57-57 which are constructed with bonds providing seats for attachment of the ends of intermediate cross-strips 58, and having a bottom cross-strip 54 corresponding to the cross-strip 54 of the previously described form of box. The box tools above described may be engaged with either the intermediate cross-strips, or the bottom cross-strips of a pair of adjacent frames of the last described construction.

- I have also illustrated in said Fig. 9, and Figs. 10 and 11 a form of box tool adapted to suport certain classes of articles, such as pans and other articles having a broad flat bottom. This tool consists of a flat strip 59 having end bends adapted to hook over the cross-stri s of a pair of frames, and formed with sockets arranged to loosely receive pointed flanged studs 60, which may be replaced as soon as they become smeared in use with the enameling composition. At appropriate work stations between the furnace, work tables are arranged adjacent to the line of travel of the conveyer chain.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus of the class described and having a heating passage and a metal-link conveyer chain equipped with suspension rods extending downwardly into said pasbers and a horizontal bottom member extending outside the planes of said side members, and tool frames extending across spaces between the box frames and connected adjacent opposite ends to a pair of such box frames, said tool frames including members longer than the distance between said box frames and arranged to interlock with said horizontal member of such box frame inside the plane of said vertical members, whereby lateral displacement is prevented.

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed my name.

ROBERT MAoDOUGALL.

sage, means for suspending articles through said rods including spacin links flexibly connecting the lower ends 0 the rods, transversely disposed skeleton box frames also flexiblyconnected. to .said rods, and tool frames extending across spaces between the box frames and connected adjacent opposite ends to a pair of such frames.

2. In apparatus .of the class described and having a heating passage and a metal-link conveyer chain equipped with suspension rods extending downwardly into said passage, means for suspending articles through said rods including skeleton box-frames flexi'bly connected to said rods and dis osed transversely of the line of travel of the c ain, and tool frames extending across spaces between the box frames and connected at opposite ends to such flat metal'strips set edgewise and notched on op osite sides to reversibly engage a pair of sai box frames.

3. In apparatus of the class described having a heating chamber of refractory material with a slot through the top, alink conveyer,

havin suspension members pivotally connecte thereto and dependin through said slot, means secured to said li s-for supporting articles to be enameled and a steel structure above said heating chamber and supported at the side thereof independently of said refractory material for carrying the weight of said link conveyer. a 4. In apparatus of the class described an having a heating passage and a metal-link conveyer chain equipped with suspension rods extending downwardly into said passage,means for suspending articles through said rods including skeleton box frames flexibly connected to said rods and disposed transversely of the line of travel of the chain, said bo'x frames including vertical side mem-

Images