US2370659A

US2370659A - Ore-roasting oven

Info

Publication number: US2370659A
Application number: US460909A
Authority: US
Inventors: Henry H Harris
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1942-10-05
Filing date: 1942-10-05
Publication date: 1945-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 1962-03-06

Description

March-6, 1945. H. H. HARRIS I 2,370,659

ORE ROASTING OVEN Filed Oct. 5,1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 B ja M d ATTORNEY March 6, 1945. H; H. HARRIS ORE ROASTING OVEN Filed Oct. 5, 1942 s Sheets-Sheet s v lNVEN TOR HENRY H- HARRIS BY W a, d We. ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 6, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RE -R0AS'1"INGOVEN Henry IL Harris, Champaign, Ill. Application October 5, 1942,.Serial. No. 460,909

12 Claims. (o1. assm) My inventionrelates to ore roasting ovens, and in particular, to roasting, ovens within which retorts or other ore containers are diSp0S8d';d111-' ing the roasting of the ore, or may be used for,

reduction treatment of metal as magnesium.

Retorts commonly used in roasting processes are relatively elongated, .hollow cylindrical tubes or high .heat'and corrosion resisting metal al-'- loys. ofthe necessary materials makes their protection and continuously eflicient operationimportant, and the furnace of my invention is well adaptednot onlyto protect the retort against the destructive effects of furnace operation, but also" to insure operation at peak e'fi'iciency. Their exaggerated length in respect of diameter and wall thickness is'dictated'by the necessity for uniform'heat application to the interior thereof, and they must be protected during expansion and contraction',-I have found, in order to prevent premature cracking, sagging and consequent failure.

According to one well-known process, the retort is charged with ore andsubjected'to heat within the furnace. The metal volatized by the heat moves to the cooler or charging end of the retort, as is customary, at which point it is condensed. The. retort is periodically opened, the condensate, removed, and the spent ores taken out. 'I'heretortis refilled with anew charge and again subjected. to heat. The weight of the load isoriginally distributed-over that portion of the retort which; is within the; furnace. As a result of'the heat treating :process, themetalisvolatilizedi from the ore and-moves toward the cooler portion of the retort, outside of the furnace, where it is condensed. Therexis thus a shifting ofthe weight within the retort, from one end thereof. to the other. I The retorts are thusnot only subjected to the intense heats and thermal Their cost, and the present-day scarcity I shocks incident to the cyclic nature of the process, but also to the destructive eifects of expansion while loaded under heat, and the sub-- sequent contraction when the heat isabated.

"The main object of my invention, therefore, is the provision of an ore roasting oven in which meansare provided to support and protect the ore-containing retorts during the entire roasting process.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an ore roasting oven with means thereinto support a plurality of'ore-containing retorts-at a plurality of points, and means are-provided at these points to compensate for changes] in theposition oftheretort.

provision of means, in an ore roasting oven, to

support'a plurality of retorts therein each at a plurality of points, and m-eansto permit the retorts to expand and contract under the-infiuence of'the supporting means.

.A still further object of my invention is -the provision, in an ore roasting oven, of a plurality of piers, which may be evenly spacedjalong' the furnace length, having retort supporting means thereonand 'therethrough.

A still further object of my inventioni the provision, in an ore roasting oven, of a pluralityof saddle-topped piers to support retorts within the oven, the saddles being laterally yieldable to compensate for changes in retort expansion and contraction.

Other and further.objects of my inventionwill' I be apparent from the following description of anillustrative. embodiment, and still others will be specifically pointed out. For convenience, -I will describe my invention in respect of an ap paratus for the roasting of ores or it may be used for reduction of magnesium from magnesiumcontaining ores, although my invention is not to be limited except by the scope of the annexed claims.

In the drawings annexed hereto, forming a part hereof, v

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectionthrough one form of oven constructed accord-'- ing to and embodying my invention, several of the 'retorts being shown in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of my invention, a seen from the charging end thereof, the

erallycylindrical casing l2, of high heat and corrosion resisting material, which casing is closed at both ends thereof. The innersurface of the oven is lined with suitable refractory ma- Within the interior of the oven chamber 24,

I erect a plurality of

piers

26, 26, each of which may extend completely across the chamber, and evenly spaced apart along the length thereof (see Figs. 1 and 2). Piers 26, 26, are built of fire brick or other suitable heat resisting material,

and rise to just below the center line of chamber.

The use of piers, as 26, evenly spaced along the furnace length may provide brute support for the

retorts

30, 30, but this mere vertical line support for the retorts is not sufficient under expansion and contraction, and I have, therefore, devised means to provide lateral support as well as vertical line support for the retorts within my furnace. I provide a number of openings, as 28, 28, through the

piers

26, 26, said openings 28, 28, being formed in longitudinal alignment along the line of oven length. As will be seen in Figs. 2 and 3, my oven may be constructed to receive therewithin seven

retorts

30, 30, and I arrange them in spaced-apart relation to permit free flow and ready access of heat thereto. Three of the retorts are substantially on the center line of the furnace, with two above and two below, staggered in vertical alignment.

Atop the piers 26, and on the bottoms of openings 28,28, I place saddles or cradles 50, 50. The

saddles comprise metallic castings, having flat floor portions to rest atop the furnace piers and the pier openings;

leg members

52, 52, depending from the sides thereof to straddle the piers and secure the device thereof; raised

sides

54, 54, and concavely curved bed portions 56. A rectangular openwork frame 60 is provided for each saddle, the ends $2 of which frame are straight. The sides 64'. of frame 60 are downwardly curved to conform to the curvature of bed 55, and the frames are of such size as to overlie and rest directly upon the saddles 50. Frame and

members

62, 62, are provided with a plurality of aligned

apertures

66, 66, and a similar plurality of

wire cables

68, 68, of high heat resisting material are thread-ed therethrough across the frameand secured to the

frame sides

62, 62, as by welding .or otherwise, as indicated at f'I0. Cables 68 are longer than the distance between the end members of frame 60, and sag down-- wardly to conform to the curvature of the frame side bars 64 and saddle bed 56. The construction illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6, inclusive, describes the type of saddle placed across openings. 20 through piers 26. The three saddles mounted atop piers 26 are ubstantially identical, differing only in having connecting 1ll'lkS,BU, 80,;and the two topmost saddles are also similar in construction, except that they are mounted atop

stubpiers

92, 92, which extend upwardly from the top of pier 2B, and are connected by a link 99.'

The elongated retorts 36 are supported within the oven by the

saddles

50, 50, aligned along piers 26. -The cables 68 on the saddle frames 60 take the retort weight, and are deformable to some slight extent to cushion the retort and yieldably' support same against deformation under heat and weight. Each saddle is independent of the other, except that originally they are all mounted on a common level.

- The front end 10 of each retort projects out of the oven and through suitable openings 12 in the front end cover I4 thereof. A hanger bar I6 is provided for each retort, having a stirrup member 18 at the bottom thereof to receive the retort therethrough. The upper end of each hanger I6 is .pivotally connected to a rod I00 extending along the furnace length and secured atop the oven. Rods I00, I00 are pivoted near the front ends thereof, and are provided with counterweights C. A number of viewing openings P may be formed in the rear end wall I6, and also in the sides of the oven proper, so that the interior of the oven and the actions of the retorts may be inspected during the process, and the counterweights shifted back and forth along rods I00 to raise or lower the retorts in response to oven conditions.

As seen in Fig. 1, the retorts are supported mainly by the saddle-topped piers. The extending portion I0 are supported by hanger bars 16. There is preferably no contact between the retort and the'oven end I4, through which the retort projects out of the oven.

A tapered collar 91 is provided, having longitudinal slits 99, and fitted over each retort at the opening in the oven end I4 (see Fig. 1). This collar acts to absorb the temperature differential between the parts of the retort in and out of the oven at the zone of change.

My saddles 5a, with their cable loops, permit the retorts to move laterally under expansion and contraction. The deformability of the cables provides a cushioning seat for the loaded retorts which are thereby upported vertically and in a lateral direction. The counterweight system at the frontof the oven permits adjustment of level for optimum distribution of retort weight throughout the reducing process.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a roasting oven of the character .described, a plurality of longitudinally disposed retorts within the oven, means to support each thereof at a plurality'of points within the oven, and heat responsive means to permit the expansion and contraction of the retorts under the influence of thesupporting means, said supporting means being adjustable in response to heat conditions within the oven. 2. In a roasting oven of the character described, a plurality of retorts disposed within the oven-and having a portion of each retort projecting laterally out-from the oven, and mean to support each retort at a plurality of points, some of which supporting means are within the oven and others of which are Without the oven, all of said supporting means permitting lateral move,- ment of the retorts in response to heat conditions within the oven.

3. In an oven as in claim 2, the supporting means without the oven being vertically adjustable to compensate for movement of theretorts Within the oven.

4. In an oven of the character described, a retort, mean within and without the oven to support said retort, the means within the oven supporting the retort frombelow, and the means without the oven supporting-the retort from above, both means being adjustable to compensate for heat conditions, within the oven.

5. An oven as in claim 4, in which the supportingmeans within the oven permit lateral movement of the retort in both directions in response to heat conditions within the oven.

6. An oven as in claim 4, in which the supporting means Without the oven also permit lateral movement of the retort and are vertically adjustable to compensate for changes in the horizontality of the retort. '7. In a roasting oven of the character described, a pluralit of retorts horizontally disposed within the oven, means to support each thereof at a plurality of points, and means to permit change in the horizontality of the retorts under the influence of the supporting means.

8. In an oven of the character described, a retort and means to support same within the oven comprising a plurality of piers, -means thereon to yieldably receive the retort while permitting lateral movement thereof under expansion and contraction.

9. In an oven of the character described, a

retort and means to support same within the oven, said support means comprising a plurality of piers arranged lengthwise of the oven, and having saddles thereon, to'yieldably receive the retort While permitting lateral movement thereof under expansion and contraction, said saddles being shaped to receive the retorts and having cushioning members extending thereacross to ioning means stretching across the frame, the

- cushioning means being yieldable to absorb retort weight to some extent While permitting lateral movement of the retort in respect thereof. 12. In an oven of the character described, a plurality of retort-receiving saddles, in longitudinal alignment, each saddle comprising a shaped base member to receive the retort thereon and having a similarly shaped frame fitting thereover, the frame having a plurality of transversely arranged retort cushioning members, the cushioning members being conformable to the retort shape and laterally shiftable to permit retort movement under expansion and contraction.

HENRY H. HARRIS.