US2234575A - Self-sealing coke oven door - Google Patents

Description

March 11, 1941. Q QTTQ TAL SELF-sEALING com: ovEN DooR Filed Dec. 8, 1937 ATTORNEY C. OTTO HAL Filed Dec. 8, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 11, 1941.

SELF-SEALING ooms OVEN 4DooR Patented Mar. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-1G13g SELF-SEALING COKE OVEN DOOR Del., a corporation of Delaware Application December 8, 1937, Serial No. 178,767 In Germany December 28, 1936 13 Claims.

The general object of the present-invention is to provide coke oven doors and particularly selfsealing doors for horizontal coke ovens, with improved means for releasably locking the doors in their closed positions. More specifically stated, the object of the invention is to provide a coke oven door with simple and eifective door locking means, characterized by their novel construction and capacity for automatic actuation by the door handling mechanism to lock the door in place at the end of a door closing operation, and to unlock the door at the beginning of a door opening operation.

In accordance with the present invention, the

' hooks carried by the stationary doorframe, or

other door retaining devices, are engaged in the locked condition of the door by the locking bars or elements carried by supports mounted on the door for movement relative thereto in the direction of the axis of the door. Each suchsupport is adapted to be bodily adjusted axially of the door, to correspondingly adjust the corresponding door locking element, by a vertically moving cam element, mounted on the door and adapted to be given vertical movements by the door handling mechanism employed to remove and replace the door. In the usual case, in which there are two locking bar supports mounted on the door, the corresponding support adjusting cams are connected by a link for simultaneous actuation by the door handling mechanism.

In the use of our present invention in selfsealing coke oven doors, we advantageously provide resilient means acting between the door and its locking means, whereby in the locked position of the door, the sealing` element of the door is pressed against the sealing surface on the door seat, with a suitable pressure and depending on the spring corresponding to force or tension of said resilient means. In preferred forms of the present invention, the locking elements are adjustable relative to their supports to vary the sealing pressure due to said resilient means in the locking position of the door, and also to suitably secure in place and release the door, in case of failure of said resilient means. The cams may be actuated in one direction by the door machine to unlock the door and may be returned, when the door machine permits, by

spring or gravitational action.

In accordance with the present invention, the said resilient means may act between the locking bar supports and the door in the direction to press the locking bar against the retaining hooks -when the door .is in its locked condition, so Athat (Cl. 2oz-24s) the resilient means is compressed and has its tension increased-by the action of the door machine unlocking the door. Alternatively, the resilient means may be inserted between the locking elements and their supports, and in this case the coacting cams act to increase the spring tension in locking the door in place, and to decrease the spring tension as the door is unlocked. In the last mentioned arrangement, an additional weak spring may be employed to move the lockf ing bar support toward the door as the door is unlocked. v

In some cases, the hook engaging portions of the locking bars need not be vertically movable relative to the door, being then moved into and y15 out of engagement with the hooks by the corre-` sponding vertical bodily movements given the door by the door machine. When the extent of vertical door movement required for operation in the manner just mentioned is undesirable, it may be avoided by pivotingeach locking bar to turn relative to the door about a horizontal axis into and out of engagementl with the retaining hook. Such turning movements of the locking members maybe automatically effected by the door machine, when the latter is provided With known expedients for the purpose.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which we have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of our invention.

Oi the drawings:

Fig. l is a partial vertical section of a coke oven battery, taken on the line l--l of Fig. 2;

Fig. la is a fragmentary View taken similarly to Fig. 1, and showing the door locking parts in positions dierent from those shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of a portion of a coke oven door and doorway shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an elevation taken at right angles to Fig. 3, illustrating the relative arrangement of a door retaining hook and locking bar in the locked position of the door;

Fig. 4a is a View similar to Fig. 4, but with the locking .bar moved inwardly out of locking engagement with the locking hook;

Fig. 5 is a section taken similar to Fig. l,l illustrating a coke oven door having a modied locky50' ing construction;

Fig. 5a. is a View taken similarly to Fig. 5, but on a larger scale and showing a portion only,A of the construction shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 5b is a section taken on the same planen as Figs. 5 and 5a, but on a larger scale than Fig. 5a, and showing a portion only of what is shown in the last mentioned figure;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5

Fig. '7 is a section similar to Fig. 1, taken on the line 'I--1 of Fig. 8, and illustrating a second modification of the invention;

Fig. 'la is a fragmentary View taken similarly to Fig. 7, with parts shown in different relative positions;

Fig. '7b is a side elevation, on a larger scale than Fig. '7, of one of the clamping cams shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 8 is an elevation of a portion of the door and door-frame shown in Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

In the known type oi door and door-frame construction illustrated, the coke oven door comprises a rigid outer frame or supporting section, a flexible sealing member, and an inner plug section. The outer section includes main vertical channel bar members I, and horizontal connections between said members, one of the latter being shown in cross section in Fig. 3, as comprising the hereinafter mentioned guide member I 2. The sealing member comprises a flexible plate 2 extending across the doorway and formed with a marginal sealing rim or edge 3, adapted to engage and make a gas-tight joint with a sealing surface 4 on a door-frame 4 surrounding the mouth of the oven chamber with which the door is associated. The outer door section supports the flexible sealing member of the door, through connecting means which need not be illustrated or described since they may be of known form, such, for example, as that shown in the Otto U. S. Patent 1,827,329. Adjustable clamping connection 2' which may be of any usual or suitable form, transmit pressure from the outer door section to the marginal portion of the sealing member. The brickwork 6 of the plug section of the door rests upon a supporting shoe 5, connected in a known manner to, and directly supported by the sealing member 2.

As shown, the door is secured in place by upper and lower horizontal locking bars 1, each of which, in the closed and locked condition of the door has its ends in engagement with door retaining hooks 8, secured to the opposite sides of the door-frame member 4. Each locking bar 'l is mounted on a corresponding support which as shown in Figs. 1-3, comprises a horizontal bolt 9 extending in the axial direction of the door midway between the sides of the latter, and a supporting body or cross head .Ill in threaded engagement with the bolt 9. The body I is mounted for sliding movement in the axial direction of the door in a guide way formed in thepreviously mentioned guide member I2. Each bolt "I extends through and is so mounted in the corresponding locking bar, that the bolt may be rotated relative to the bar, but is not movable relative to the latter in the direction of its length. A spring II, acting between each guide I2, and the inner end of the corresponding support I0, tends to move the latter outwardly, so that with the door in its closed position, the ends of the corresponding locking bar are pressed outwardly against the retaining hooks 8, and the sealing rim 3 of the door is correspondingly pressed inwardly against the door frame member. Each locking bar 'I is prevented from rotating about the axis of its supporting bolt 1, by angular parts or projections 36 carried by the channel bars I.

The upper andlower locking bar supports are adapted to be retracted into their guides I2, by cam members I3 and I3a, respectively. The cam members I3 and I3a differ from one another only in that a connecting link I4 is connected to the lower end of the upper cam I3 and to the upper end of the lower cam I3a. Each of said cams extends through slots formed in the corresponding supporting body I0, and guide I2, and is in eiiect a wedge acting between upper and lower parts I6, carried by the guide member I2 at the front or outer side of the cam, and a roller I carried by the support IIl in position to be engaged by the inner or rear edge of the cam I3 or I3a. The parts I5 and I6, as shown, are anti-friction rollers mounted to turn about horizontal axes transverse to the door axis.

As shown, the door handling mechanism comprises an arm Il, the free end of which is given up and down movements in removing and replacing the door. Adjacent its free end, the arm I'I is formed with a notch I8 at its upper side, adapted to receive a part I9 rigidly connected to channel bars I,k when the arm I'I is raised, whereby, the door is lifted by the arm II, as the latter continues to move upward after the part I9 engages the bottom wall of the notch I8. Prior to the operative engagement of the arm I'l with the door part I9, the bifurcated ends of the arm projections or shoulders 2I of the link I4, and thereby raise the cams I3 and I3a., so that by the time the arm I'I operatively engages the lifting part I9 and starts to lift .the door, each locking bar 'I has been retracted as shown in Fig. 4a, by the action against the corresponding roller I5 of thecorresponding cam I3 or I3a. After the door has been raised sufficiently .to move the ends of the locking bars 1, above the hooks 8, the door handling mechanism may be manipulated in the usual manner to move the door out of the doorway and then laterally of the latter.

In the door replacing operation, the door parts are returned to the positions illustrated in Fig. 4a, and thereafter, as the arm is lowered to transfer the weight of the door from the door handling mechanism to the door frame, the cams I3 and I3a are lowered to permit movement of the locking bars outwardly into operative engagement with the hooks 8 as shown in Fig. 4. The down movement of the cams I3 and I3a may be effected positively by the door handling mechanism, but advantageously, and as shown, the cams I3 and I3a are biased for down movement. To this end the eiect of the weight of the cams and link I4 is supplemented by the action of a spring 22, which acts between a nut secured to the lower end of the cam ISa, and a transverse portion of the rigid outer section of the door.

In effect, each bolt 9 and its support I0 forms both a sliding support for the corresponding locking bar, and a strut through which the spring I I acts on the corresponding locking bar 1, to force the latter outwardly against the hooks 8, and to force the sealing rim 3 against the sealing sur-- face on the door frame 4, with a sealing pressure dependent on the sum of the 4tension forces tending to elongate the two springs II of the door. The effective length of said strut may be Varied, and the normal sealing pressure increased or decreased, by screwing the bolt 9 further into, or out of its supporting body I0. To facilitate this screw-adjustment, the outer end of the bolt 9 is squared for wrench engagement as indicated at 23. In the case of a failure of a spring I I, the corresponding bolt 9 may be manually threaded out of its support I0, far enough out of thrust transmitting relationbetween the. roller l5 and the roller I6.

However, by making the upper portions of the inner and outer edges of each of the cams |3 and |3a parallel, said upper cam portions may act as stops, limiting the outward movements of the rollers relative to the rollers l5 under the springs regardless of the exact vertical positions of the cams. In such case, the total pressure between the two locking bars 1 and the corresponding members 8 cannot exceed the sum of the spring forces opposing the contraction of the two springs when the parallel portions of the cams i3 and 3a. are engaged by the rollers l5 and I8, and said pressure may be variably reduced by threading the bolts 9 into their respective supports Ill.

In the orm of the invention shown in Figs. 5, 5a, 5b and 6, the locking bars 1 are mounted on supports, each comprising an outer bolt portion 28 threaded into a cross head like part 21, substantially like the locking bar supports formed by the previously mentioned parts 9 and I0. In Figs. 5-6, however, each part 21 is slidingly received in a support 24, which is pivotally connected by pivots or bolts 25 to the channel bars The supporting pivots 25 for each member 24 are located at some distance above the corresponding part 21, and a spring 28, corresponding operatively to the previously mentioned springs I acts between the inner end of each part 21, and the corresponding member 24, and, when under compression tends to turn said member 24 counter-clockwise about its pivots'25. Each part 21 is in splined relation with the support 24, so that it cannot share the rotative movements of the bolt 28, when the latter vis rotated for adjustment purposes.

In the norma1 locked position of the door shown inFigs. 5-6, the supports 24 are held in their positions shown in Fig. 5, and in the door unlocking operation, the parts 24 are permitted to turn counterclockwise to relieve the locking pressure between the locking bars 1 and retaining devices 8 and to relieve the sealing pressure between the sealing edge 3 and door frame surface 4. The upper locking bar is shown in its released position in Fig. 5A. The upper support 24 is moved between its position shown in Figs. 5 and 5A, and the lower support 24 is similarly moved, as a result of vertical movements which the door handling mechanism arm I1 gives to an actuator, as movements, are given to thelink I4 and cams I3 and 13a of the construction first described. In the particular arrangement shown, the actuator of Figs. 5-6 is a vertical I beam having its web 29 transverse .to the door axis and extending upwardly above, and downwardly below, the upper and lower ends, respectively, of the I beam anges 3o, connected at the opposite edges of the web 23. the up and down movements of the I beam give turning movements to the support 24, comprise a thrust element acting between each member 24 Each thrust element comprises a pair The means through which of rollers 3| and 33, at the inner and outer sides, respectively, of the web 29, and having their ends journalled in transverse bar like parts forming the end members of a sliding frame 32. In the locked condition of the door, the rollers 3|- and 33 are frictionally held between the web 29 and the adjacent sides of the corresponding members 24 and 35, respectively. On an up movement of the web 29, the rollers 3| and 33 are caused to rotate, and are moved upward with half the vertical velocity of the web 29. The upper portions of the adjacent sides of the parts 24 and 35 diverge, so that the up movements of the thrust members :il- 3, permit counterclockwise movement of the parts 24, whereby the locking and sealing pressures are released. As shownthe upper ends of the ilanges 3|] are adapted to engage the upper sliding frame 32 and parts 34 secured to the webV 29 below the lower sliding frame 32, are adapted to engage the latter,-if, as a result of slippage, the sliders do not move upward as contemplated when thaweb 29 is raised. The web 29 might'carry provisions for positively engaging the sliding frames and moving the latter downward, but with the gravitational tendency of said frames for down moveguides l2 of the construction first described, re-

ceive sliding supports 31, into which locking bars supporting bolts 31 are threaded. A compression spring 38 acts between the outer end of each support 31 and the corresponding locking bar 1,

tending to move the latter outward into engagement with its retainingA hooks 8. Each support 31 is slotted for thepassage of a corresponding vertically movable upper cam 42' or lower cam-y 42a.. The outer edge of each of said cams engages a roller 4|, carried by the corresponding support 31. The rear edge of each cam engages 'two rollers 49, carried by the support 39.

In its lower position shown in Fig. 7a, each of .45

the cams 42 and 42a engages the corresponding roller 4| and holds the latter in its outer position, in which the corresponding spring 38 is compressed and establishes the proper locking pressure between the corresponding locking bar' 1 and hooks 8, and sealing pressure between the sealing edge 3 and door frame surface 4. When the cams 42 and 42a, are raised into the position shown in Fig. 7, the rollers 4| are permitted to move inwardly and thus relieve the compression` of the springs 38. As shown, springs 48 are provided to pull the supporting members 31 inwardly and thereby move the end of the locking bar inwardly away from the hooks 8, when the cams 42 and 42a are raised to vrelieve the tension ofl up into and down from its position of operativer* engagement with the door part I9 through which arm raises the door,`the latter is moved upward Y to engage the door part I9 and lift the door.

As shown, the upper portions vof the inner and outer edges of the ' cams 42 and 42a are parallelylil's so that in initial down movement of each cam subjects the corresponding spring 38 to the full compression force to which it is to be subjected, and further down movement of the cams has no eiect on the compression of the spring. 'I'his makes it possible to insure the proper sealing pressure, prior to the completion of the full down movement relative to thedoor given the cams 42 and 42a by the door handling mechanism. As shown, the right hand edges of the cams 42 and 42a are vertical, and the lower portion of the left hand edge of each cam is inclined to the vertical, so that the cam is in effect a wedge. The inclination to the vertical of the lower portion of the left hand edge of each cam may be diminished as the distance from the lower end of the cam increases, so as to reduce the ratio of compression stress of the corresponding spring 38 to the resultant force opposing the down movement of the corresponding cam, as said stress is increased in the door locking operation. Such a variation in the wedge action, to minimize the maximum resistance to wedge movement, may be employed with the constructions previously described. It will be apparent, also, that with the arrangement shown in Figs. '7-9, as with those shown in the other gures, it is immaterial whether the locking bar actuation is due to the location of a cam surface, is due to the inclination to the vertical of a cam surface at the front or the rear of the vertically movable actuator or is due to inclined cam surfaces at each side of the actuator.

With the arrangement shown in Figs. '7-9, as with those previously described, the rotation of each locking bar bolt relative to the supporting sleeve with which it is in threaded engagement, adjusts the normal sealing pressure, and also permits the doors to be manually locked in place and released in case of failure of the sealing. pressure springs.

As those skilled in the art will understand, changes may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit of our invention as set forth in the appended claims, and in some cases, use may advantageously be made of some features of the invention, without a corresponding use of other features.

Having now described our inventiony what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A coke oven door comprising in combination a door adapted to engage the door seat of a coke oven structure having a door seat and door holding means associated with said seat, of a locking member mounted on said door for movements toward and away from the latter into and out of operative engagement with said holding means, cam means mounted on said door and including an actuating member mounted on said doo-r for bodily vertical movement relative thereto and adapted to be moved vertically by a vertically moving door machine part and a spring, said spring and cam means collectively forming a mechanism adapted to establish or eliminate a resilient force action between said locking member and door tending to move them apart, accordingly as said member is bodily moved in one vertical direction or the other.

2. A coke oven door as specied in claim 1, in which the said spring isdisposed to act between said door and locking member to move the latter away from the door when said spring is free to expand, and in which said cam means acts on said spring to compress it, or to permit it to expand accordingly as said actuating member is moved bodily in one vertical direction or the other.

3. A coke oven door as specied in claim ,1,

in which said spring is a compression spring disposed to act between said locking bar and cam means, whereby said spring is compressed by said cam to establish the resilient force tending to mfove said locking bar and door apart.

4. A coke oven door as specied in claim l, in which said spring is a compression spring disposed to act between said locking bar and cam means, whereby said spring is compressed by said cam to establish the resilient force tending to move the last mentioned locking bar and door apart, and in which a spring weaker than the iirst mentioned spring is mounted on said door and is adapted to move said bar toward said door when the first mentioned spring is not compressed threaded engagement with the last mentioned4 member, and interposed with said spring and cam means between said door and locking member.

6. A coke oven door as specified in claim 1, in which said locking member is mounted on a support comprising a member movable in and extending in a direction parallel to the door axis and adjustable in length and forming a strut interposed in series with said spring and cam means between said door and locking member.

'7. A coke oven door as speciiied in claim 1, in which said locking member is carried by a support comprising a bolt extending in the axial direction of the door and a supporting body movable relative to the door in the axial direction of the latter and formed with a threaded socket into which said bolt is threaded, and in which said bolt extends through and is rotatable, but not axially adjustable relative to said member, and in which said spring andA cam means act on lssaid locking member through said supporting ody.

8. A coke oven door as specied in claim 1, comprising a supporting member formed with a guideway extending in the general direction of rthe axis of the door, and pivotally connected to the latter to turn relative thereto about an axis vertically displaced from said guideway, and in which a part axially movable in said guideway directly supports said locking member, and in which said spring-acts between the rst mentioned member and said door in a direction to move said locking member away from the door, and in which said cam means act between said door and supporting member.

9. A coke oven door as specied in claim l, comprising a supporting member formed with a guidewayextending in the general direction of the axis of the door, and pivotally connected to the latter to turn relative thereto about an axis vertically displaced fromfsaid guideway, and in which a part axially movable in said guideway directly supports said locking member, and in which said spring acts between the rst mentioned member and said door in a direction to move said locking member away from the door, and in which said cam means act between said door and sup-A porting member, and comprises a pair ofr spaced apart horizontal rollers interposed between said supporting member surface and a door surface, and a vertical and vertically movable bar extending between said rollers.

l0. A 'coke oven door as specified in claim 1, and including means for biasing said actuating member for movement in one vertical direction and in which said actuating member is adapted to be moved in the opposite direction by the' door machine.

l1. A coke oven door as specified in claim 1, in which the said actuating member is a wedge acting between said locking member and door and adapted to effect movement of said locking member toward and away from said door accordingly as it is moved in one vertical direction or the other.

l2. A coke oven door as specied in claim 1, in which the said actuating member comprises a wedge portion having inclined edge portions adapted to act between said locking member and door in one portion of the range of movement of said actuating member and elect movement of said locking member toward and away from said door accordingly as said wedge portion is moved in one vertical direction or the other, and comprising a second portion in end to end relation with its said wedge portion and having parallel edge portions adapted in ano-ther portion of the range of movement of said actuating member, to act between said locking member and door and maintain said resilient force constant.

13. A coke oven door as specified in claim 1, in which the said actuating member is a vertically disposed wedge varying in taper along its length and acting between said locking member and door and adapted to eiect movement of said locking member toward and away from said door accordingly as it is moved in one vertical direction or the other. y

CARL OTTO. EBERHARD GRASSI-IOFF.

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