US2151003A

US2151003A - Charging machine

Info

Publication number: US2151003A
Application number: US226380A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harvey W Ball
Original assignee: MORGAN ENGINEERING CO
Current assignee: MORGAN ENGINEERING CO
Priority date: 1938-08-23
Filing date: 1938-08-23
Publication date: 1939-03-21
Anticipated expiration: 1956-03-21

Description

'March 21, 1939. H, W] BALL 2,151,003

CHARGING MAGHI'NE I Filed Aug. 23, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet Il..I

March 21, 1939.Y H. w. BALL CHARGING MACHINE Filed Aug. 25, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 21, 1939. H. w. BALL.

CHARGING MACHINE Filed Aug. 25, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Morgan Engineering Company,

Ohio

Alliance,

Application .August 23, 1938, Serial No..226,380

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in charging apparatus for open hearth furnaces, and more particularly to novel operating gear for locking charging boxes to the peel of such a machine.

.i In explanation of my invention, reference will be made to the Taylor U. S. Patent No. 1,444,282 dated Feb. 6, 1923, which shows a side elevation of an open hearth charging machine, the bridge or chassis of which runs on wide gage tracks parlo allel with a battery of furnaces. Between the furnaces and such tracks there is a standard gage track used for carrying cars loaded with charging boxes. The peel of the charging machine picks up loaded boxes from the cars and dumps their l5 contents into the furnace.

In such a structure, the peel head is provided with a locking bar or cross piece which is drawn into notches in each charging box for the purpose of locking the box to the head of the peel so that the box may be carried by the peel.

The locking and unlocking action of the crosspiece has been performed heretofore by moving a rod which runs centrally through the peel by means of a hand lever mounted directly on the '3 rear end portion of the peel housing.Y As the peel housing is fulcrumed at its medial portion to allow vertical movement, the operator whoV stands on a fixed platform has some difliculty in handling such lever. As the operator is at 30 a xed station and the rear end of the peel hous ing moves up and down, he must reach down for the lever when the peel head is engaging a box in a high position, and he must stand on tip-toe to operate the lever when the peel head engages :z5 a box in a low position.

Recently such arrangement has been improved by employing a lever having an axis that is fixed relatively to the operators platform, and to connect such lever to the locking rod of the pee-1 by i'l means which allows the operator to perform locking and unlocking actions at any position of the peel without stooping or standing on tip-toe.

The primaryV purpose of my invention is to improve upon all such arrangements by con- 43 trolling the locking rod by means arranged directly on the rear end of the peel.

A further object is to provide the rear end of the peel with a motor which may be readily controlled from the operators platform whereby the .1i operator may perform locking and unlocking actions at any position of the peel, even while sitting on the operators platform.

With the foregoing objects outlined and with other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described in detail, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointedout in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a floor charger involving my invention and showing a portion of a charging box, charging box car and a portion of an open hearth furnace.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the lo rear end of the charger (these parts being in dotted lines) and also showing in full lines my improved mechanism mounted on the rear end of the peel housing, the locking rod being in unlocked position. 15

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the peel housing provided with my improvements.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of such mechanism with the locking rod in locking position.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of one end portion of a conventional charging box.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the head of the peel.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the head portion of the peel and the locking rod. 25

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of one end of the charging box taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is an elevation of one end of the charging box.

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are detail views respectively illustrating the positions of the locking rod-actuating lever and crank when the locking rod is respectively in locked position, neutral position and unlocked position.

In the drawings, I0 designates the bridge of a charging machine forming a guide or tracks for a carriage Illa. having a stationary operators station or platform II. I2 designates the housing of the peel I2a, (Fig. '7), which is pivotally mounted at I3 on a stationary arm I4 of the charging machine. The pivot is positioned at the front end of the carriage and about midway the ends of the peel housing, and its horizontal axis is iixed relatively to the stationary arm I4. A con- 5 ventional axially movable locking rod I5 extends through the peel and it'is provided at its forward end with a cross-piece I6which moves with the rod in the head I8 of the peel. As is customary, the peel head is adapted to enter a vertical pocket I9 50 in the end of the charging box 20 (Figs. 5, 8 and 9), which pocket communicates with a crossshaped slot 2| in an end wall 22 of the box. The notches 23 forming part of the slot 2| receive the endsof the cross-piece I6 after the peel head has 55 been engaged with the charging box, and when the locking rod I5 is moved rearwardly.

In accordance with my invention (Figs. 2, 3, 4, 10, 11 and 12) the rear end of the locking rod I5 is provided with a cross-head 24 having oppositely projecting pintles 25 which engage elongated upper slots 26 in an actuating lever` 21. The latter is pivotally connected at its upper ends to a horizontal pin 28 carried by the outer end of a crank 29 that is fixedly mounted on a horizontal shaft 30, journalled in bearings 3| on the rear end of the peel housing I2.

The shaft is provided With a fixed gear 32, meshing with a pinion 33 driven by any suitable prime mover 34 mounted on the rear endof the peel housing. I prefer that the prime mover be an electric motor that is electrically connected with a control switch 35 arranged on the operators station or platform II.

The lever 21 is also provided with elongated lower slots 36 which receive pintles 31 projecting from brackets 38 arranged on the rear end of the peel housing I2.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that when the mechanism is in the position shown in Fig. 2 and the operating rod I5 is in unlocked position, the peel may be manipulated in the customary manner so as to bring its head I8 into the pocket I9 of a charging box 20 arranged on a loading car (see Fig. 1). Then the motor 34 is actuated to cause the crank 29 to turn approximately 180 degrees which in turn'causes the lever 21 to shift in a counter-clockwise direction to move lthe locking rod I5 rearwardly which forces the cross piece I6 of the peel head into the notches 23 or into locking position. 'Ihen the peel may be manipulated to lift the charging box and to deposit its contents into the furnace. After the charging box is withdrawn from the furnace, of course, the motor 34 may be again actuated to shift the lever 21 in a clockwise direction so as to disengage the cross piece I6 from the notches 23 to allow the peel head I8 to be released from the charging box.

From Figs. 10, 11 and 12, it will be observed that the lower slots 36 in the lever 21 which engage the pins or pintles 31 are of such a length that they limit the rotation of the crank 29 to something over 180 degrees of movement. In other words, at the locked or unlocked position, the crank travels a few degrees beyond thev horizontal center line. Thus, any unintentional movement of the locking rod I5 in either direction in a horizontal position tending to rotate the crank, is arrested either by the slots in the lever 21 coming against pins 31, if the movement is from leftto right, or if in the reverse direction, the movement holds the lever 21 in an extreme horizontal position. Thus, I obtain a locked condition of the rod in both extremes of its travel.

As will be clear to those skilled in electricity, I can arrange the control of the motor to automatically cut off the current at the stalled posi* tions which are the ends of the strokes, or I can use the recently perfected small torque motor which allows a stalled condition.

From the above it will be appreciated that I have invented a new and improved means of operating the locking rod in an open hearth charging machine, and as it does not require any mechanical connection and links and end levers between the operators platform and the peel housing, it has a safety feature of being locked in both locked and unlocked positions.

Many modifications of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing therefrom or from the scope of the claims, and since the foregoing disclosure has been given by way of example, for clearness and understanding, no unnecessary limitations should be understood and the appended claims should be construed as broadly as the state of the art permits. v

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a charging machine, a peel having a housing pivotally mounted for movement about a horizontal axis, a locking rod movable lengthwise of the peel and carried by the latter, a lever having slotted portions operatively connected to the rod and to the peel housing, said lever being swingable about its slotted portion where it is connected to said housing, and moto-r-operated means operatively connected to the lever for swinging the latter and actuating said rod` 2. In la charging machine, a peel having a housing pivotally mounted for movement about a horizontal axis, a locking rod movable lengthwise of the peel and carried by the latter, a lever having slotted portions operatively connected to the rod and to the peel housing, said lever being swingable about its slotted portion where it is connected to said housing, and motor-operated means operatively connected to the lever for swinging the latter and actuating said rod, said motor-operated means being supported in its entirety by the peel housing.

3. In a charging machine, the combination with a peel having a housing pivotally mounted for movement about a horizontal axis and a movable locking rod carried by the peel, of a motor-0perated shaft mounted on the peel housing, a crank driven by the shaft, a lever pivotally connected to and suspended from the crank, said lever having a slotted lower portion, fixed guide means carried by said housing and engaging the slotted portion of the lever for guiding the latter, said lever also having an upper slotted portion arranged between its first-mentioned slotted portion and the crank, and guide means operatively connected to the locking rod and extending into the upper slotted portion of said lever.

4. Means for shifting the locking rod of the peel of a charging machine comprising a peel housing, a motor mounted on the peel housing, a shaft driven by the motor and having a crank, a lever actuated by the crank and having one of its end portions connected to the crank, the opposite end portion of the lever being slotted lengthwise and guided by a fixed part carried by the peel housing, said lever having a slotted medial portion, and means operatively connected to the rod and extending into the slotted medial portion of the lever. f

5. In a charging machine, a peel having a housing pivotally mounted for movement about a horizontal axis, a locking rod movable lengthwise of the peel and carried by the latter, a motor supported by the rear end portion of the housing, crank means driven by the motor, a lever having one of its ends pivotally connected to the crank means and shifted by the latter, means operatively connecting the other end portion of the lever to said housing and for guiding the lever longitudinally as it is shifted by the crank means, and means shiftable lengthwise of the medial portion of the lever and operatively connecting the rear end of the locking rod to said lever.

6. In a charging machine, a peel having a housing pivotally mounted for movement aboutY a horizontal axis, a locking rod movable lengthwise of the peel and carried by the latter, a motor supported by the rear end portion of the housing, crank means driven by the motor, a lever having one of its ends pivotally connected to the crank means and shifted by the latter, means operatively connecting the other end portion of the lever to said housing and for guiding the lever longitudinally as it is shifted by the crank means, and means shiftable lengthwise of the medial portion of the lever and operatively connecting the rear end of the looking rod to said lever, the means operatively connecting the lever to the housing functioning to cause the crank means to move slightly over 180 degrees each time the locking rod is shifted either forwardly or rearwardly.

7. In a charging machine, a peel having a housing pivotally mounted for movement about a horizontal axis, a locking rod movable lengthwise of the peel and carried by the latter, a lever having one of itsl end portions pivotally connected to the rear end of the housing, means connecting the rear end of the locking rod to the medial portion of said lever, a rotatable member connected to the other end portion of the lever, and motoroperated means mounted on the housing and operatively connected to the rotatable member for swinging the lever and actuating said rod.

8. In a charging machine, a peel having a housing pivotally mounted for movement about a horizontal axis, a locking rod movable lengthwise of the peel and carried by the latter, a lever having one of its end portions pivotally connected to the rear end of the housing, means connecting the rear end of the locking rod to the medial portion of said lever, a rotatable member connected to the other end portion of the lever, and motor-operated means mounted on the housing and operatively connected tothe rotatable member for swinging the lever and actuating said rod, said lever being slotted to accommodate movement of the rotatable member.

9. In a charging machine, a peel having a housing pivotally mounted for movement about a horizontal axis, a locking rod movable lengthwise of the peel and carried by the latter, a lever having one of its end portions pivotally connected to the rear end of said housing, a slot and pin connection at the medial portion of the lever connecting the lever to the rear end of the locking rod, a rotatable member connected to the opposite end portion of the lever, and motor-operated means operatively connected to the rotatable member for swinging the lever and actuating said rod.

HARVEY W. BALL.