US2165066A - Supporting means for ladles - Google Patents

Description

y H. H. NEEDHAM ET AL 2,165,066

' SUPPORTING MEANS FOR LADLES Filed July 22, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l I Howard HNeedham Hen A.5c zmifz,./'r: I re erz'ckKZerbe INVENTORS.-

'1939- H. H. NEEDHAM El AL 2,165,066 SUPPORTING MEANS FOR LADLES I Filed July 22, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Howard l-LN'eea'Imm Henry A.5rhmifz,.fr:

Frederick K. Zerbe INVENTORS ATTORNEY.

Patented July 4, 1939 SUPPORTING MEANS FOR LADLES Howard H. Needham, Wauwatosa, and Henry A. Schmitz, Jr., and Frederick K. Zerbe, 'Milwau kee. Wis., assignors to A. 0. Smith Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of New York Application July 22, 1937, Serial No. 154,970

4 Claims. (01. 22-42) The present invention relates to an improved means of supporting a ladle or similar article which is subject to extremely heavy. loads. Ladies used in the steel mills for carrying molten 5 metal form the readiest application for the supporting means herein disclosed.

Such ladies are commonly made of a steel shell and are lined with brick or other fire proofing material, Loads in excess of one hundred tons 10 of molten metal are frequently carried in the ladle and means for supporting the ladle while it is moved in the mill or set at rest must be provided which will safely handle this great weight.

15 In present practice, cast or forged trunnions are usually mounted either by casting or riveting directly to the shell of the ladle. Such cast-.- ings or forgings are necessarily heavy and bulky and increase the already great load which cranes must support when moving a ladle and its contents.

Attempts have been made to reduce the weight of the trunnion mountings by employing a steel frame work to support the trunnions. It has 25 been found that when the trunnions are mounted directly on the ladle, =heat transfers from the molten metal set up indeterminable stresses in the trunnions and their mountings and no matter with what care and forethought designs are 30 made, the sudden expansion and contraction of the metal causes weaknesses and there are frequent failures with great resulting damage and danger.

The object of the present invention is to pro- 35 vide a frame work and trunnion mounting which is completely separate from the ladle and which will support the ladle safely and securely. By designing the support in such a manner that the trunnions become a part of the frame and.are

40 not attached to the ladle, indeterminable stresses arising from the expansion and contraction of metal due to the heat of the ladle contents cannot affect the load carrying characteristics of the supporting means.

45 Another object of the invention is to lighten the weight of the trunnions and their mountings'in order to promote economy in their production and use. 5 A further object is to provide a support having trunnion mountings which are a part of the support rather than the ladle, and thus permit centering cf the trunnions in such a manner with respect to the ladle center that the ladle,

55 which is often unevenly balanced, may be made to hang vertically, or at such tilting angle as the needs of the user require.

These and other objects of the invention are more specifically set forth hereinafter in the de scription and drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front or end view of the ladle and trunnion, partially in cross section;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the same ladle and mounting, also partly in section around the mounting;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the same structure;

Fig. 4 is a side view showing an alternative form of transferring the ladle load to the trunnions;

Fig. 5 is an alternative form of trunnion mounting in cross section; and

Fig. 6 is still another form of trunnion mounting in cross section.

In all of the drawings and the ladle itself is shown without details; it will be understood that the ladle must be equipped with means for tapping and pouring the molten metal, and such other features as are commonly used in ladle construction. The ladles shown herein are of elliptical horizontal section, but it will be apparent that the present invention will be equally applicable to a ladle of circular cross section or of any other form.

Referring to Figure 1, the ladle I is equipped '30 with a horizontal ring 2 which extends around the outside of the ladle a short distance from the top. This ring rests on the support and must carry the entire load of the ladle and its contents. Conventional ladies have sides which taper inwardly toward the bottom and conse quently the surrounding ring, which is continuous, cannot be sheared from the shell without breaking open the ring or rupturing the ladle shell. In this manner the weight of the ladle 40 is transferred to the support at all points on its circumference and is evenly distributed over the area of the shell above the ring. The ring 3 on which the ladle ring rests will follow the external contour of the ladle, but will be of a larger size in order to permit expansion of the ladle within its confines. Lugs fltmay be built up on the top of ring 3 at spaced intervals along the outer periphery to serve as centering means for the ladle when it is placed inside the support. 5

The support consists of the ring 3, as mentioned, and a lower ring 5, also horizontal, the two rings being joined together by "a plate 6, shown in the cross sectional part of Fig 2. The

plate 6 will cover the entire area between the for transferring the ladle load between the rings. A number of vertical brackets 1 are disposed within the plate 6 for reinforcing purposes. Since the ordinary construction of ladies calls for a tapered shell, the internal radius of the ring 5 will be less than that for the ring. 3 and the vertical brackets .1 may have an inside taper to correspond to the taper of' theshell. This will facilitate centering the ladle in the support'and prevent damage to the support when the ladle is'lowered into the support. The design of the lower ring and brackets must afford an opportunity for ladle expansion however, the same as in the case of the upper ring, the object being to provide means whereby the ladle Will rest loosely in the support and beat all timesout of contact with the support except at the ring 3 upon which the ladle rests.

To support the ladle when it is desired to rest it on stationary supports on the floor, frame structures are provided which are located beneath the ring 5 and preferably beneath thetrunnions. The frame structure consists of a horizontal plate 9 which will rest on the stationary support II, a vertical plate I!) welded to' the bottom of the ring 5 and to the top of the plate 9, and brackets l2 to reinforce the structure. Inclined brackets 8 will transfer the forces bearing on the stationary support to a greater area of the ring 5.

As before stated there is an area between the rings on opposite sides of the support in which the trunnions are mounted. This area is rectangular in form and the front view of the trannion i3 is shown 'on Fig. 2. Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show a preferred form of mounting the trunnions which utilizes a box-like frame structure capable of transferring severe strains.

Plates I 4 and iii are designed to fit inside the rectangular space left open in plate 6. These plates are welded to the rings 3 and 5 and the vertical brackets l6 and ,l1. The plates contain an aperture Within which is lodged an annular sleeve l8 having an internal radius such that it will fit tightly around the trunnion l3. Ribs I9 extend from the outside periphery of the sleeve l8 to the rings 3 and 5, as shown on Fig. 2, to reinforce the mountings and distribute the stresses over the rings. Additional horizontal ribs 29 may be spaced between the brackets l6 and I! and the nearest vertical brackets 1. These ribs, of-course,

. will be' located inside the plate 6.

The trunnions are preferably forged and the design for the extending portion is conventional with the flange l3 adapted to prevent the ladle hook from sliding off the trunnion. The inner end of the trunnion is extended in radius to pro.- videa seat against which the inner end of the sleeve l8 may rest. This extension or rim prevents the possibility of pulling the trunnions from the mounting in the event the weld between the sleeve and trunnion should prove defective; It will also serve to transfer the stresses more equally between the box like structure formed by the plates i4 and I5.

In'Fig. 5 an alternative form of mounting the trunnions is shown. In this embodiment the sleeve I8 is dispensed with and the radius of the trunnion is extended to provide a rim 2!] to which greater resulting safety.

the plate 2| is welded directly. Plate 22 is welded to the extended portion of thetrunnion at 23 and to the reduced extension at 24. This design is lighter and would be more adapted to lighter weight ladies.

In Fig. 6, instead of using two plates to connect the trunnion to the support, one large plate is used on which the trunnion is mounted by disposing the trunnion radially within an aperture in the plate. The darkened sections indicate the preferable locations for welding the parts of the structure.

It frequently happens that the ladies are over filled or slightly tilted resulting in the overflow j of metal and slag from. the top of the ladle. Some "of the metal will drop onto the trunnion and the effect of the hot metal is to cause cracks and damage to parts afiected. Consequently a ring 25 may be placed over the extended portion of the trunnion as shown in Fig. 6, and this ring may be replaced, if injured with less expense than the replacement of the trunnion and will serve to protect the trunnion from these injurious effects. 5

In Fig. 4, instead of using a ring 2 as a rest for the ladle, a number of brackets 26 are welded to the outside of the ladle beneath the flange 21 at the top of the ladle. Reinforcing plates 28 may be disposed between the brackets 26 at different intervals. By extending the brackets to the outside of the ring 3 the force transmitted is extended to a greater area of the ring with Whether the means shown in Fig. 1 or in Fig. 4 be employed, it will be appreciated that the principle of the invention is the same, that of supporting the ladle loosely .in the ring by means for resting the ladle on the ring 3. Accordingly no limitation on the scope of the invention is intended to be madeby the particular means herein illustrated and described.

In order to prevent the support from slipping off the ladle when the ladle is placed at rest on its own bottom rather than the stationarysupports ll, lugs 30 are welded to the ladle shell a short distance below the lower ring 5. When the support isto be completely. removed from the ladle these lugs may be, easily cut off and the ladlelifted' out of the support.

Since the ladies are often designed with one end, at which the metal is tapped, lower than other portions of the bottom, the resulting increase in weight on this side'will cause the ladle to hang at a tilting angle if suspended through its geometric center. To cause the ladle to hang perfectly vertical the trunnion axis may be offset to compensate for the variation between the center of gravity of the ladle and its geometric center. By mounting the trunnions on the supporting member instead of the ladle, different supports may be used with different ladies and the desired hanging angle obtained.

One of the principal features of this invention is the great saving in weight effected by the structure employed. This results inan initial cost Suchfactors can be com-,

and contraction of vthe metal ladle cannot effect the supporting means and cause fracture due to the unequal expansion and contraction of such members.

We claim:

1. In combination with a ladle having a horizontal, outwardly extending flange near the top thereof, a support consisting of two horizontal concentric rings spaced apart and joined by a body member, said flange resting on the upper of said rings, means on said upper ring and cooperating with said flange for centering said ladle in said support so that at all points the ladle is spaced away from the support, and trunnions mounted on said support for lifting said ladle.

2. In combination with a ladle having a continuous ring surrounding the same and near the top thereof, a support enclosing the ladle comprising a body member, an upper supporting ring upon which the ladle ring rests and lugs on the top horizontal surface of said upper supporting ring, centering the ladle in said support and spacing the same therefrom.

3. A support for a ladle comprising a body to enclose the ladle, means for spacing said body from the ladle to prevent direct heat transfer from the latter to the former, horizontal rings at the top and bottom of said body, vertical ribs connecting said rings and forming rectangular sections on opposite sides of said support for trunnion mountings, a pair of vertical plates in each of said rectangular section, bearing sleeves perpendicular to said plates and disposed therein, and trunnions inserted in saidbearing sleeves and welded thereto.

4. In combination with a ladle having an outwardly extending flange near the top thereof, a support comprising a member encircling said ladle and upon which said flange rests, means 01" spacing said support from the ladle walls, trunnions mounted in alignment on opposite sides of said support for lifting the same, and a frame structure disposed beneath each trunnion and welded to said member for supporting the same when at rest.

HOWARD H. NEEDHAM. HENRY A. SCHMITZ, JR. FREDERICK K. ZERBE.

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