US1941599A - Conveyer type of pair or pack furnace - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 2, 1934. T. J. COSTELLO CONVE YER TYPE OF PAIR OR PACK FURNACE Filed Feb. 25. 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOiQ Jan. 2, 1934. COSTELLO 1,941,599

CONVEYER TYPE OF PAIR OR PACK FURNACE Filed Feb. 25. 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTO/R Jan. 2, 1934. J COSTELLO 1,941,599

CONVEYER TYPE OF PAIR OR PACK FURNACE Filed Feb. 25, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Patented Jan. 2, 1934 PATENT OFFlCE CONVEYER TYPE OF PAIR OR PACK FURNACE Thomas J. Costello, Warren, Ohio Application February 25, 1930 Serial No. 431,101

5 Claims.

My invention relates to the heating of metal I sections such as sheet bars, break downs, plates, packs or the like. It provides not only improved apparatus for heating such pieces of metal, but furthermore introduces an improvement in the art of heating such metal sections. In the ensuing description the term bars is employed as illustrative of the invention; but it is to be understood that the same is useful in the treatment of various types of metal objects; and the term bars is to be understood as used in its generic sense as including any piece or packs of metal, such, for example, as above described, which it is desired to heat or heat treat.

My improved heating apparatus and improved method of heating metal objects are well adapted to the treatment of sheet bars; and for purposes of illustration 2, pair furnace, which is constructed in accordance with principles of my invention, has been disclosed in the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view of the furnace;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the furnace, showing the conveyers cooperating therewith;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the furnace, parts being shown in section on the line III-III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation of a detail of the conveyers;

Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation of abearing for a reversing mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line VI-VI of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 showing a modification for packs.

Furnaces heretofore employed for heating metal bars have been constructed so that the bars are passed through the apparatus in substantial contact one with another. In a typical pair furnace the bars are piled on edge with their flat faces substantially in contact. In order to advance the bars through the furnace, one or more additional bars is added at the entrance end of the furnace, placed against the rear of the series of bars and a pusher applied to move the entire series. It will be noted that such a furnace has but little flexibility since the movement of the bars through the furnace depends upon the addition of further material before the material being heated can be advanced through the furnace. It may, under certain conditions, be desirable to heat but a few bars. With a pair furnace of the type heretofore employed, it is,

nevertheless, necessary to operate the furnace for the heating of a complete series of bars; since none of the bars can be passed completely through the furnace until a complete series is in process or being heated. (19

One object of my invention is to provide an improved process of heating metal sections, in which the bars are uniformly heated not only on the edges but on all portions.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved process for the heating of metal objects, in which the objects are shifted during their travel through the heating apparatus, so as to subject all portions to uniform heat treatment.

Another object of my invention is to provide improved heating apparatus inwhich the conveying means on which the articles are supported during heating is principally within the fur. nace. 7

A further object of my invention is to provide heating apparatus which is flexible in operation and does not depend upon additional material being fed into the apparatus to advance material already placed therein through the same.

A still further object of my invention is to provide improved heating apparatus, in which the articles may be shifted during the course of their travel so that uniform treatment of all portions of the articles results.

Further objects of my invention will appear in the course of the ensuing description and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims.

The furnace includes an elongated chamber '7 having an opening at the front end for the admission of the metal bars which are to be heated. Heating means (not shown) of any suitable type are provided for raising the temperature within the chamber to the desired point. A conveyer 8 is arranged to transport barsfrom the bar yard or any other convenient point to the heating chamber. In the drawings the delivery end of the conveyer is illustrated as extending slightly within the chamber '7. It will be understood by those skilled in the art, however, that the conveyer may be located entirely outside of the furnace and discharge the material carried thereby into the furnace through a suitable slot by means of skids, supports, or the like. It will be further apparent that means other than the conveyer 8,

and such as frequently used in the art, may be the orbitally moving chain type. There is an upper run and a lower run of the conveyer 8; and, therefore, the opening for this conveyer is in two parts, a larger opening 9 and a smaller lower opening 10, the upper one being large enough toadmit the bars or other metal objects to be heated, and the lower opening being large enough for the passage of the conveyer.

A furnace conveyer 11 is arranged to receive the bars from the delivery end of the conveyer 8, and has its receiving end disposed beneath the delivery end of the conveyer 8. One or more furnace conveyers may be employed. In the embodiment shown, the conveyer 11 and a second furnace .conveyer l2 combine to transport the bars through the chamber 7. It will be noted that both the conveyer 11 and the conveyer 12 are entirely contained within the chamber 7.

The conveyers 8, 11 and 12 may, if desired, be all of the same type. As is shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the conveyer 11 includes a pair of conveyer chains, each link of. which provided with a device in the form of a recess or pocket for spacthe, bars or rnetalsections. In the embodisalesmen herein, this device takes the form of an arm 13 having a' substantially flat side 14, a narrow. end 15, and a cut awayv or curved side 1 6 It will" be apparent, however, that different foirmsfof recesses or pockets may be provided by a suitable formation ef-the links. themselves, actual practice, the characteristics" of the pockets, i."e.,whether they are formed entirely by upwardly projecting fingers, entirely by suitable recesses or depressions in the links in the conveyer, or partly'by such depressions or recesses and'partly by means of fingers, will be determined by. the characteristics of the material being heated. With comparatively narrow sheet bars, it will be obvious that less supporting area is required. than with largermaterial such as afforded by packs, for example. The construction herein described will therefore be considered merely as illustrative of one embodiment of the invention.

Sprockets 18 are provided at each end of each conveyer 8,, l1 and 12, the conveyer chains being direct about the sprockets l8. At least one. of the sprockets engaging each chain is driven so as to move the material carried bythe conveyer intofor through the furnace.

' It will be noted from Fig. 4 that the cut away or curved sides 16 of the arms 13 permit arcuate movement of the edges of the bars or metal secmosses each bar tilts about theend 12. of the next precedingarm 10. This brings about discharge of the bars or metal sections in reversed pcsiti'on. In order to facilitate such discharge of. the bars or metal sections, one or. more engaging, devices or stationary abutments 19 is provided adjacent the delivery end. of each conveyer 8, Hand 12. Supports or hollow trunnions 20, on which these abutments are. mounted, extend through 'the 'sides'of the furnace; and are hollow.

so that cooling fluid maybe passed through the same. Means'are provided. for movingv the hollow supportsf2u bodily up and down so as to change the'elevation of the. same.

Inthe embodiment illustratedfin the drawings and particularly in Figs.'5 and. 6, a pair of. bearmg: members 22 and 23 are slidably disposed within a' frame 24 The bearing members 22 and 23 togetherprovidea journalforthe trunnion 20. An upper adjusting screw'26, and. a lower adjusting screw. 27 are passed through the frame 24 so tha'tthe journal just referred'to may be raised and lowered. A cover plate 28 is provided to close the opening in the wall of the. furnace chamber 7 through which the trunnion 20 extends, this plate moving with the trunnion.

A turning mechanism is also provided for rotating the trunnions 20, so that the angle at which the abutments 19 are disposed may be changed, as desired, by the operator. In the embodiment disclosed herein, a worm 30 is journalled in bearings 31 provided in the, upper portion of the frame 24. A worm wheel 32, secured to the outer end of the trunnion 20, meshes with the worm 30. A hand wheel 33 is provided for rotating the worm, thereby moving the trunnion 20, and accordingly the abutments 19 carried thereby, through the desired arc. It will be noted that through the adjusting mechanism just disclosed, a difference in the time of discharge of the plates or sections from the conveyer 8, 11 or 12 as the case may be, is made possible. The steeper the angle of the abutments 19, the easier the bars will slide down the same; and the higher the elevation of the supports 20, the socner. will the abutments, 19', engage the harsh sec, lens to. dislodge them; fronfthearms The abutments 1:9 'may. be substantially triangug lar mshspe; having'o'r'ie angle of the -triangle aid-i 1,00 jacent the inner edges of the sections or bars as. t e, sprocket wheels 18 cause the links to swing dpwnwar y The, abutments 19 are. disclosed herein as, being. flat plates turned upon deei THY may. 5 1 everfb e of substantial breadth sea to a 0rd a larger engaging surface'fer the metal sections or bars as they slide off the conveyer: 'll @112."

In as; event, they. should not be' centinueusf but shouldpermit passage. ofthe'devices 13 of 1 they chain's ofthef conveyer; M

Tliisfurnacefconveyer lljis, sloped upwann so that" its discharge end/is substa anyone level with the discharge e'nd'of the coriveyerB. The Second furnace conveyer 1 2, is. shown arranged M 5 substantially horizontally, with; its receivingTend arranged in position receivefinetal sections from the first of the two coiiveye'rsi Each cf the furnace convc ers. 11 and 12, is shown as. being fsubsiaj ifii i y, the a e c ei' as r e o" veyer f'The spacingdevice'speednot: have the precisev form which the; arms l f t e' cenyeyer 1'1 areshown to have, As illustratedinv Fig. 4, thelinks of the chains of the furnacecti f veyer. 12, may carry arms 35 of symmetrical form instad'ofthe type (if arms at 13 on ooh; Veyer l vi 1 The furnace herein illustrated and described is. particularly adapted for" the amiss" of sheet bars, breakdowns and the like. In many cases, 13g) howe r as. e m e. here using h se na'cefor the heating'fof packs," slightly dlficfeht operating conditicns'fare desired." 'In'such' case's, inz'order tof conserve spacewithin a furnace and therebypermit'theuse "of a furhacehavilig'shorfi 1 35 er. ven-an" length, it' may be desirable to tain the packs on"edge'jin spaced relation during afpr'eheatingope'ration, aaasupsequ nuy insut; stantially. fiat. position during" the, fin'al heating operation. A furnace. of th generalchafacter. 14p herein disclosed enables such an operation to he advantageously obtained, andf'I have; shown in Fig. 7, one arrangement of conveyer's for; carrying out the desired heat treating operatiensl such case, the conveyer 1 1 will maintain the desiiedi545 edgewise spaced relationship of the. packs, while theconveyer l2 will'be of a construction in whieh the fingers, 35 are omitted so as. to receive, support the packs in substantially fiat. ps1 tienl' While be n intain d 'ei l ma tress;

the travel of the conveyer, they will be subjected to the final heating operation.

It will be apparent that the relative lengths and speed of travel of the conveyers may be varied as desired to more effectively accomplish a heating of this character. With the example given, the conveyer 11 would preferably be operated at a materially lower speed than that at which the conveyer 12 would be operated.

At a lower level than the discharge end of the second conveyer 12, and arranged in position to receive the metal sections as they slide from the abutments which cooperate with this conveyer is a receiving and holding frame 36. A pivotal support 3'7, in the form of a rocking bar which extends through the sides of the chamber '7 and is supported in bearings 38 is provided for the receiving and holding frame 36. As is shown in Fig. 2, a conveyer 39 of suitable type passes beneath the frame 36, the chains or other conveying means for carrying the sections or bars being slightly lower than the supporting surface of the frame 36 as the same is arranged in its receiving position. The support 37 may, however, be rotated in its bearings 38 to deposit metal sections onto the conveyer 39 by mechanism disposed outside of the chamber '7. This rotating mechanism comprises a lever arm 40, a motor 41 and a link 42 connecting the motor and the lever arm. The motor, as shown in Fig. 3, consists of a cylinder and piston 43 and 44 having the piston rod 45 connected to the link 42. The supply of actuating fluid to the cylinder of the motor 41 may be controlled by the operator to control movements of the support 3'7. Under certain conditions of operation, it may be desirable to eliminate the special discharge mechanism just described and so construct the conveyer 12 as to enable it to effect a discharge directly from the furnace to suitable conveying means positioned exteriorly of the furnace. Such a situation is, for instance, present in the construction shown in Fig. '7, where the packs do not require the operation of the special mechanism including holding frame 36. In such case, the principal portion of the conveyer would always be maintained within the heating chamber and might be entirely maintained within the heating chamber, depending upon the particular furnace structure, and desired discharge operation.

A conveyer 46 is arranged, preferably under a portion of the mill standing, to receive metal sections or bars from the conveyer 39 to transport the same and deliver them adjacent the forming rolls 47, as is shown in Fig. 2.

The operation of my improved conveying mechanism and the heating apparatus combined therewith provides for uniform and rapid heating of the metal bars or sections. These metal ob- .jects are loaded from the bar yard or other convenient point onto the conveyer 8 which automatically introduces the same through the opening 9 into the chamber '7. As the chains round the sprockets 18, the metal sections slide off the devices 13' and are received by the first conveyer 11. During their passage through the chamber '7, the metal sections are heated to the desired temperature. If, as shown in Fig. 2, there are two conveyers in the chamber '7, the bars or metal sections may be reversed as they pass from one conveyer to the other, so that the edges which were in contact with the first conveyer 11 are now uppermost and fully exposed to the heat of the chamber 7, or, as set forth, they may be carried flatwise on the conveyer 12. It is not necessary that two conveyers be provided in the chamber '7, as for certain purposes the heating of the bars may be carried out on but a single conveyer. Whether one or two conveyers are provided in the chamber '7, it will be noted that the metal sections pass through at least part of the chamber '7 in spaced relation so that the heat of the furnace may have full effect upon all sides of these sections. The use of two conveyers provides a refinement of the process which insures perfectly uniform heating of all sides and edges of the metal sections.

As the metal sections approach the end of the chamber '7 they are caused to slide down abutments 19 on to the receiving and holding frame 36. The operator who is watching the process controls the motor 41 and when the desired number of bars or sections has accumulated on the frame 36, he causes the support 37 to rotate so as to lower the sections on to the conveyer 39. In case the furnace is being operated as a pair furnace, this operation will be repeated each time a pair of bars has been matched by the support. The conveyer 39 delivers the bars in their individual or superposed relation to the conveyer 46 which carries them to a point adjacent the rolls 4'7. Here, another operator starts the bars through the forming rolls so that they may be rolled out into the desired shape.

It will be noted that my improved process results in uniform heating of the bars as they pass through the furnace. It Will furthermore be noted that my improved apparatus makes possible a greater flexibility in the operation of the furnaces. Should there be a need for a small number of bars, these may be run through the furnace and delivered to the forming rolls without necessitating the continuous feeding or delivering of more bars or sections to the furnace, so as to bring about the delivery of the few required bars from the delivery end of the furnace.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention provides a furnace of such characteristics as to permit the individual movement and rate of delivery of articles through the furnace while maintained in spaced rela tionship so as to facilitate the uniform heating thereof. The construction of the conveyers is such as to enable such articles to be placed between or in the successive devices 13 so as to completely charge the furnace, or between or in only certain of the devices 13. This makes it possible for the operator at any time to determine the exact amount of metal within the furnace, and to make this amount correspond to the demands on the furnace or mill being supplied thereby. Thus with the furnace only operating up to part of its capacity, the complete time of heating of the articles may be maintained the same as with the furnace operating at full capacity without changing the speed of the conveying means. For example, with the furnace operating at half of its normal capacity, articles would be placed between alternate devices 13 so that half the amount of metal would be contained within the furnace, while maintaining the time for heating each of the articles the same.

This condition is highly desirable not only from the standpoint of flexibility, but from the standpoint of the articles themselves. With orq dinary pair furnaces, for example, there are frequently periods of temporary shut-down during which all of the bars which are within the furnace must be maintained at full temperature preparatory to a succeeding operation.

"tion, however, obviously requires an excessive furnace length in order to accommodate the turn makes it possible to provide a furnace of This subjects a large number of bars to a scaking temperaturawhich may be objectionable from the standpoint of their grain characteristics, particularly where the heating is at a temperature above the lowest thermo-critical temperature at which grain growth may be observed. With the present invention, in anticipation of a shut-down of this character, it is possible to completely discharge the furnace preparatory to the shut-down, and thereafter maintain only the furnace and the conveyers at the required temperature condition preparatory to a succeeding feeding operation.

The individual handling and conveying of the shapes or sections is therefore seen to be exceedingly important in that it effects a saving of fuel, insures uniformity of heating of the individual articles, decreases the number of articles which it is necessary to maintain at the desired temperature, enables the articles to be passed through the furnace without objectionable results as to grain characteristics, and hastens the heating period inasmuch as the shapes are in reality individually heated. With furnaces of known types as used prior to the present invention, such uniformity of heating has only been possible where the bars or other sections have been placed substantially flatwise so as to travel through the furnace in substantially a given horizontal plane. Such an operasections while so placed. With a furnace constructed in accordance with the present invention, this uniformity of heating is obtainable 'with a much shorter furnace than that heretofore required inasmuch as a plurality of articles can be maintained and heated within the same unit of length as that heretofore required for an individual article placed flatwise. This in given capacityv having a shorter length and therefore lower cost than furnaces of the same capacity heretofore provided. It also results in a conservation of space and in a material saving in operating cost, both from a standpoint of fuel and a standpoint of labor, these savings all being effected while maintaining the desired uniformity of heating.

It should furthermore be noted that the furnace conveyers are entirely or at least principally within the chamber 7 so that no parts of the same are appreciably cooled at any time during operation of the furnace, This not only results in economy but enables the furnace conveyers to be maintained at the full temperature which it is desired to impart to the bars or other shapes. The conveyer 8 projects, if at all, but a slight amount into the furnace and the conveyer 39 extends, if at all, but slightly into the chamber '7. It is apparent, therefore, that almost, no heat is abstracted from the chamber 7 due to the travel of the conveyers. The adjustable mountings for the supports 20 permit the operator to control the discharge of the metal sec-. tions from the ends of the conveyers, thereby making it possible to use these conveyers for various sizes and types of metal sections.

It is obvious that my invention provides an improved process for more uniformly heating metal bars and sections, and that my improved furnace makes it possible to heat metal sections with greater facility, and to heat a wide range of shapes and sizes of metal bars with uniform results in the heating of the same.

It will furthermore be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes in the construction, location and arrangement of the parts and in the manner of controlling the same may be, effected without change 01' departure from'the inventive concept herein disclosed.

I claim:

1. A method of heating metal plates, sheet bars, or flat metal pieces comprising passing flat metal pieces or the like through a heating chamber on'edge and reversing their positions one or more times during their progress through the chamber.

2. A method of heating metal plates, sheet bars or flat metal pieces comprising passing flat metal pieces or the like through a heating chamber on edge and turning the pieces bottomedge-up one or more times during their progress through the chamber.

3. A method of heating metal plates, sheet bars, or fiat metal pieces, comprising passing fiat metal pieces through a heating chamber on edge in spaced relation, and turning the pieces bottom-edge-up one or more times during their progress through the chamber.

4. The method of heating relatively thin metal sections comprising supporting the sections on edge, feeding the sections broad side while so supported into a heating furnace, advancing the sections in the furnace, and turning the sections bottom edge up before completing their travel through the heating furnace.

5. The method of charging relatively thin metal sections, such as plates, sheet bars and packs, comprising conveying the sections, in spaced relation on edge in a heating furnace, and transferring them while within the furnace to another conveyer. V

THOMAS J. COSTELLO.

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