US2365546A - Loading apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 19, 1944-. E. KHANEN 2,365,546

LOADING APPARATUS Filed April 5, 1945 v INVENTOR 1 f/mef/L//anfen.

' ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 19, 1944 LOADING APPARATUS Elmer K. Hansen, Edgewood, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 5, 1943, Serial No. 481,823

6 Claims.

yMy invention relates to loading-apparatus of a type comprising a loading-pan and a stripperplate or member cooperating therewith so that the material on the pan may be scraped oif onto or into a device to be charged or loaded. While my invention is of broad application, it has particular relation to apparatus for charging a furnace of the belt-conveyor type, in which it is desired to deposit the material on an endless belt v a very small moment of time, so that the fur- A nace-door need be kept open-only a short time, y

thus minimizing the loss or contamination of the atmosphere within the furnace.

Heretofore, diniculty has lbeen encountered with such loading-apparatus, particularly because of the warping of the bottom of the loading pan, as a result of undergoing repeated cycles of heating and cooling, in charging a furnace. My invention relates to the various means for overcoming this difficulty.

A preferred form of embodiment of my invention is shown, by Way of illustration, in the drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation, partly in section, showing my loading-apparatus in position relative to a furnace;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional View of the loading-pan, on the section-plane indicated by the line II-II-in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the scraper-member, on the section-plane indicatedby the line III- III in Fig. 2.

My loading-apparatus is illustrated as comprising a carriage or other supporting-member 4, which is movable forwardly and backwardly on a track 6. The carriage or movable supportingmember 4 has two forwardly projecting side-arms 8 which, in turn, are provided with a U-bent bottom ange 9 (Fig. 2), providing a track for movably supporting a loading-pan I0, which is thus movable forwardly and backwardly with reference to the side-arms 8 of the carriage 4. The rear end of the loading-pan Ill is provided with a long handle I2, which is drawn back by means of a spring I4. A catch or latch-member I6 is provided for holding the pan Ill in its cocked or forward position, so that a depression of the latch-member will result in a rapid jerking-back of the pan under the action of the spring I4.

The carriage 4 is disposed, on its track 6, in an operative position with respect to the door 20 of a furnace 2l, which may be of the belt-conveyor type, as indicated by the endless belt 22, so that the door 20 may be momentarily opened, and the carriage 4 may be quickly rolled forward so that its forwardly projecting arms 8 extend into the furnace, with the pan Ill over the belt 22, after which the latch-member I6 may be instantly tripped, jerking back the pan I0, and depositing its charge 24 on the belt, and finally, the carriage 4 can be rolled back again, and the furnace-door 29 closed, all in the space of a few seconds time.

In accordance with my present invention, I preferably minimize warping of the pan l0 by building its bottom-member with crisscrossed warping-resisting members, preferably in the form of two metal corrugated members 30 and 3I, having crisscrossed corrugations joined together, as by welding, at some or all of the touchingpoints 32Y of the corrugations. The corrugations of the upper corrugated member 30 are disposed in a forwardly and backwardly extending direction, substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the loading-pan, while the corrugations of the lower corrugated member 3| are disposed transversely, so as to resist warping in the transverse direction.

In accordance with my invention, I also provide an improved form of scraper-member 33 which is aixed to the forwardly projecting side-arms 8 of the carriage 4, in a position to scrape off the material 24 which is carried by the wading-pan when the loading-pan is jerked backwardly by the spring I4, upon the release of the catch IS. The quick backward jerking of the pan tends to jerk the pan from under its charge 24, permitting said charge to be droppedonto the conveyor-belt 22 withinthe furnace, and the scraper-member 33 serves to scrape off any small pieces which may tend to cling to the bottom o-f the pan I0.

In my preferred, or improved, form of scrapermember 33, a movable metal scraper-plate 34 is preferably carried by a stationary scraper-frame 35 which is carried by the side-arms 8 of the carriage. The scraper-plate 34 is movable in an up-and-down direction, so that the bottom edge of the scraper-plate bears against the bottom of the loading pan I0. Any suitable means may be utilized for pressing the lower edge of the scraperplate 34 against'the bottom of the pan, the illustrated means, for this purpose, being gravity, which is aided, in the illustrated embodiment, by

a special weight-member 36 which is Secured to the Scraper-plate 34. The movable scraper-assembly 34-36 is loosely guided, in the illustrated form of embodiment, between blocks 31, which are held between front and back plates 38 and 39 of the Scraper-frame 35, by means of bolts 40, the loose play being suicient So that the movable scraper-plate 34 is laterally tiltable, or loose, in an amount sufficient to accommodate its lower edge to any warping or unevenness in the bottom of the loading-pan l0, while the latter is being moved backwardly under the impetus 4,of the spring I4. The bottom edge of the scraperplate 34 is shaped, of course, to accommodate the top surface of the bottom of the loading-pan |10, that iS, to accommodate the corrugations of the upper corrugated member 30.

In accordance with my invention, I also preferably subdivide the scraper-plate 34 into a plurality of individual Scrapers 34A, 34B, 34C etc., each of the individual Scrapers having a width considerably less than the width `of the loadingpan .l 0, the plurality of indiyidual Scrapers being so disposed that substantially the entire materialsupporting bottom `of the Vloading-pan is collec,- tively scraped by the plurality of Scrapers. Preferably, the pluralityl of individual Scrapers are alined, end-to-end,"in close, but spaced relation to each other, as indicated by the close spacing ,42 in Fig. 2, so that the individual Scrapers have avery slight amount of tiltability in the lateral direction, with respect to each other, so as to enable them to individually accommodate themselves to any slight roughness or warping of the corrugated pan-bottom' on which the Scrapers are resting.

InV operation, experience has proved that the crisscrossed Vbottom-construction of the lo-ading-pan ld constitutes a very eective warp-resisting construction; and .that the vertical movement and loose mounting of the scraper-plate, together with the subdivision of the scrapermember into'a number of individual scrapingelements of relatively small width, constitutes a very effective means for' scraping oi even the thinnest of paper-thin objects from the bottom of the tray lil.

While I have illustrated my invention in a single form of embodiment, which at present is the preferredl form, itwill beobvious ,that many changes may be made, in the way of substituting equivalents, adding refinements, or omitting some of the `features whichrnay not always be necessary. I desire it to be understood, therefore, that the drawing is only illustrative, and that the appended claims are to be accorded the widest construction consistent with their language.

I claim as my invention:

1. A loading-apparatus comprising a forwardly and backwardly movable Supporting-member having forwardly projecting side-arms adapted to project over the place where material is to be deposited, a forwardly and backwardly movable loading-member movably supported on said sidearms, and ascraper member carried by said sidearms in a position to scrape oi the material carried by said loading-member when the loadingmember is moved backwardly with respect to said side-arms, said scraper-member comprising a plurality of Scrapers individually bearing against the bottom or the loading-member, means for so guiding each of said Scrapers that it is individually movable in an up-,and-down direction and each individually laterally tiltable in an amount suilcient to accommodate the bottoms of the individual Scrapers to any unevenness in the bottom of the loading-member while the latter is being moved backwardly, each of the individual Scrapers having a width considerably less than the width of the loading-member, and the scrapers being So disposed that substantially the entire material-Supporting bottom of the loadingmember is collectively scraped by the plurality of Scrapers.

2. A loading-apparatus adapted to operate under such repeated cycles of heating and cooling that wrapping is a diiculty, comprising a forwardly and vbackwardly movable supportingmember 'having forwardly projecting side-arms adapted to project over the place where material is -to be deposited, a forwardly and backwardly movable loading-member movably supported on Said'side-arms, the bottom of said loading-member having crisscrossed warp-resisting members so .disposed that the top Surfacea of Said bottom has forwardly and backwardly disposed elevated-portions thereon substantially parallel to the direction of movement of said loading-member, and a scraper-member carried by said side-arms in a position to scrape oli the material carried by said loading-member when the loading-member is moved backwardly with respect to said side-arms, Said Scraper-member comprising a plurality of Scrapers individually bearing against the bottom of the loading-member, means for so guiding each of said Scrapers that it is individually movable in an up-and-down direction and each individually laterally tiltable in an amount Suiiicient to accommodate the bottoms of the individual Scrapers to any unevenneSS in the bottom of the loading-member while the latter is being moved backwardly, the bottoms of the Scrapers being shaped to accommodate the top Surface of the bottom of Said loading-member, each of the individual .Scrapers having a width considerably less than the width of the loading-member, and the Scrapers being so disposed that Substantially the entire material-Supl porting bottom of the loading-member iS collectively scraped by the plurality of Scrapers.

3. A loading-apparatus adapted to operate under such repeated cycles of heating and cooling that warping is a difculty, comprising a forwardly and backwardly movable supportingmember having forwardly projecting side-arms adapted to project over the place where material is to be deposited, a forwardly and backwardly movable loading-member movably supported on Said Side-arms, the bottom of said loading-member being composed of` at least two corrugated members having crisscrossed corrugations joined together at numerous points, the corrugations yof the upper corrugated member being disposed in a forwardly and backwardly eX- tending direction substantially parallel to the direction of movement of said loading-member, and a scraper-member carried by `said side-arms in a position to scrape off lthe material carried by Said loading-member when the loading-member is movedlbaclgwardly with respect to Said sidearms, Said Scraper-member comprising a plurality of Scrapers individually bearing against the bottom of the loading-member, means for So guiding each of Said Scrapers that it is individually movable in an up-and-down direction and each individually laterally tiltable in an amount sufficient to accommodate the bottoms'of the lindividual vScrapers to lany unevenness inA the botmember, and the scrapers being so disposed that substantially the entire material-supporting bottom of the loading-member is collectively scraped by the plurality of Scrapers.

4. The invention as delined in claim 2, characterized by the plurality of individual Scrapers being alined, end to end, in close, but spaced, relation to each other.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4, characterized by the plurality of Jndividual Scrapers 5 being alined, end to end, in close, but spaced, re-

lation to each other.

6. The invention as dened in claim 6, characterized by the plurality of individual scrapers being alined, end to end, in close, but spaced, re-

10 lation to each other.

ELMER K. HANSEN.

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