US2566096A

US2566096A - Billet heating apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2566096A
Application number: US51565A
Authority: US
Inventors: Skivesen Kristian
Original assignee: Selas Corp of America
Current assignee: Selas Corp of America
Priority date: 1948-09-28
Filing date: 1948-09-28
Publication date: 1951-08-28
Anticipated expiration: 1968-08-28

Description

Aug. 28, 1951 K. SKIVESEN 2,566,096

BILLET HEATING APPARATUS Filed Sept 28. 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet l FIG.|

INVENTOR. KRISTIAN SKIVESEN ATTORNEY.

Aug. 28, 1951 K. SKIVESEN I 2,566,096

BILLET HEATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 28. 1948 s ShetsSheet 2 INVENTOR. KRISTIAN SKIVESEN ATTORNEY.

Aug. 28, 1951 K, sK VESEN 2,566,096

BILLET HEATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 28. 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. KRISTIAN SKIVESEN ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 28, 1951 BILLET nmrmo APPARATUS Kristian Skivesen, Flour-town, Pa., assignor to Selas Corporation of America, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 2a, 1948, Serial No. 51,565

. i 7 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to machines for heating billets for forging, and more particularly to mechanism for ejectingthe billets from the machine after they have been heated.

Heat treating machines of the type shown herein form the subject matter of the application of Frederic O. Hess, Serial Number 764,443, filed July 29, 1947 now Patent ,Serial No. 2,547,755. In

a such machines the billets to be heated are supplied to a vertically disposed furnace chamber. The chamber is provided with guides between which the billets are received in a vertical row or stack where they are heated to the desired temperature. Periodically billets that have been heated are removed from the stack and discharged to a point of use. The discharging mechanism disclosed in the above-mentioned patent application performs in a satisfactory marine, but the parts thereof are so located that separate mechanisms are needed to eject and lower the billets, and a comparatively large number of openings are required in the furnace wall to accommodate the lowering and ejecting mechanisms.

With the ejecting mechanism of the present invention only two openings are required in the heating chamber and these are located below the heating zone. The mechanism itself is compact and of a unitary construction.

It is an object of the invention to provide an drawings and descriptive matterin which I have illustrated and described a preferredembodiment of the invention.

In the drawings: I Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a heat treating machine embodying the present invention; Figure 2 is a view. partly in section. from the left of Figure 1;

Figurefl is a view taken on line 1-3 of Figure 1; 'and a Figure 4 isa viewtaken on line 4-4 of Figure Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a heat treating machine having astructural steel support or framework l upon the uper part of which is mounted a furnace consisting of a stationary panel 2 and a movable panel 3. These furnace panels are made in accordancewith the usual furnace practice and include in them refractory burner blocks 4 that are placed relative to each other to form the proper or desired heat pattern for the billets that are being heated. Inbetween theburner blocks and at the top and bottom. portions of the furnace are placed refractory bricks efllcient means for removing a billet from a vertical stack of billets in a furnace and to lower the stack to a position in which another one can be removed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a compact, unitary ejecting mechanism to be used in combination with a billet heating furnace to remove the heated billets therefrom. The ejecting mechanism works in synchronism with means for supplying'billets to the furnace so that there is always a supply of billets in the furnace to take the place of those that have been removed.

It is also an object of the invention to provide means forming'part of the ejector mechanism which can be used to support and gradually lower a stack of billets into a furnace chamber as the furnace is being charged.

The various features of novelty which'characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, its advantages and specific objects attained with its use, reference should be had to the accompanying 5 to complete the furnace. The burner blocks and the refractory bricks are backed up by sheet metal work 6 that is suitably braced by structural members I. The frame in which panel 3 is built is mounted on wheels 8 that roll on tracks 9 fastened to a portion of the support. Thus the panel 3 can be moved toward and away from panel 2 in order to give acces to the interior of the furnace. The adjoining edges of each 01' the panels and the bottom oi panel 3 are each provided with water cooling to protect the metal backing from the heat. These panels, during operation of the furnace, are fastened together by any suitable means, such as bolts.

The burner blocks 4 are each provided with a concave cup into which projects a distributor ll through which a combustible mixture of gas and air is passed. This mixture is burned in the cups of the blocks. The distributors are supplied with the combustible mixture through manifolds l 2, that are arranged to supply various groups of burners in accordance with the desired heat pattern or gradient that is who used for heating the billets in any particular part of the furnace. When the panels are in their closed position, as shown in the drawing. there is formed between them a furnace chamber l3. In the operation of the furnace the fuel supply will be regulated by suitable valves to maintain a constant furnace 3 temperature considerably higher than the temperature to which the billets are to be heated;

Located in chamber l3 are a pair of water cooled guides l4 and I5 which form a vertical path centered between the sides of the furnace chamber through which a stack or row of billets is passed during the heating process. Each of the water cooled guides comprises a pipe which extends from the top of the furnace chamber through the same and out at the bottom. These pipes are provided with flanges I6 that serve as wear plates on the sides that are engaged by the billets being heated. The billets moving through the furnace chamber from top to bottom engage these plates rather than directly engage the tubes forming the guides. There are also provided refractory shields I'I around the tubes to protect them somewhat from the heating during the time that the furnace is in operation. As shown best in Figure 2, the water cooled guides extend at an angle to the vertical so that each portion of the billets will receive radiant heat from the burner cups. It is noted that the water cooled tube l4 in the stationary panel 2 extends to the bottom of the furnace whereas the water cooled tube It in the movable panel 3 extends to a distance above the floor "3 of the furnace equal to substantially the diameter of one of the billets that is being heated. Because of this arrangement the billets can be moved one by one from the bottom of the stack to the left through an opening l9 which is provided in the floor. There are also provided water cooled tubes 2| in the floor of the exit opening which tubes have wear plates 22 welded to their upper surfaces as is shown in the drawing. When the billets move down through the furnace exit they are received on a chute 23 from which they can be removed to a forging mechanism or any other apparatus that is to work upon the heated billets.

The billets to be heated are supplied to the path formed between the tubes I4 and I5 from a guideway or chute 24 extending across the top of the stationary panel 2. They are supplied to this guideway by means of a conveyor 25. The conveyor is in the form of a pair of endless chains, one on each side of the furnace, passing over upper sprockets 28 and lower sprockets 21. The lower sprockets 21 are fastened to a shaft which is joumalled in suitable bearings that can be adjusted vertically by a turnbuckle or other arrangement in order to maintain the proper tension on the conveyor chains. The upper sprockets 2B are also mounted on a shaft that is Journalled in suitable hearings to the top of the frame. The sprocket shaft is driven through gearing 23 from a shaft 23 in a manner that will be described below. Each of the links of the conveyor chain has extended outwardly from it a pin or support 3| upon which the billets are placed by the operator to be moved to the top of the machine and fed into the furnace chamber.

Heated work is removed from the furnace by an ejector mechanism which projects up through the floor I8 of the furnace chamber. This ejector mechanism includes a pair of cylindrical members 32 projecting through the floor adiacent to the sides of the chamber, as best shown in Figure 2 of the drawings. The cylinders each have a projection 33 extending upwardly from their upper face a distance substantially equal to the diameter of one of the billets that is being heated. Extending through each of the cylinders is a rod 34. The operation is such that the two cylinders rotate around their axes so that the projections extending from the upper surface thereof will engage a billet and force it to the left in Figure 1 from beneath the stack and out of the outlet opening I9. When this occurs the stack of billets is then resting on top of the projections. Thereafter, the rods 34 are raised sufficiently to lift the stack of billets off the projections so that the cylinders may be returned to their initial positions. The rods are then lowered to lower the stack of billets so that the lowermost billet will be in front of the projections 33 in order for it to be removed upon the next cycle of operation. As mentioned above, and as.

shown in the drawing, there are provided two of the cylinders and two of the rods, and since they are identical, like parts of each are given the same reference numerals.

Each of the cylinders is journalled for rotation in and held from axial movement by bearlngs 35 that are suitably mounted in the frame I of the machine. The lower end of each cylinder has a gear 36 upon it which is engaged by a rack 33. The racks are attached to opposite sides of a slide 39 that is reciprocated between a pair of tracks 4|. Therefore as the slide is moved back and forth along the tracks 4|, the cylinders will simultaneously be oscillated. The arrangement is such that the projection of the left hand cylinder in Figure 3 will move clockwise while the projection of the right hand cylinder in Figure 3 will move counterclockwise during the electing operation. It is noted that the two cylinders are water cooled in order to keep the top end thereof and the projections at a reasonable temperature. For this purpose there is provided a water inlet 42 and a water outlet 43. Water is forced up through each cylinder and to the top thereof where it can be exhausted through a narrow section of the cylinder that is formed by partitions 44 as is shown in Figure 4 of the drawing. Because of this arrangement the cylinders will always be full of cooling water since the overflow takes place at the top through the channel formed by the partition 44. Suitable flexible hoses are connected to the cylinders at 42 and 43 so that the cooling water may be supplied to and removed from the device while it is oscillating.

Rods 34 are raised and lowered by means of pinions 31 that are received by threads 45 on the lower ends of the rods. Each pinion has an elongated collar which is provided with a groove 43. The grooves in the collars of the two pinions receive yokes 41 on opposite sides of a lifting block 43. This block is reciprocated vertically to move the rods up and down the proper amount by means of rollers 49 attached to extensions on the lower end of the block that are received in cam grooves 5| formed in a pair of cam plates 52 joined by a cross piece 53. The assembly formed by the two cam plates and plate 53 is reciprocated in a horizontal direction in a pair of tracks or guideways 54. It will be seen that as the cam plates 52 are moved to the left or to the right in Figure l of the drawing that the lifting block 48 will be raised or lowered to carry with it the pinions and the rods 34.

The rack slide 39 and the cam pieces 52 are moved in a horizontal direction by means of

rods

45 and 56 respectively. These rods are pivotally attached at one end to the sliding members above-mentioned and at their other ends to

cranks

51 and 53, respectively, on the ends of a vertically disposed crank shaft 59.

51 and 58 extend from shaft 58 at such an angle to each other that the cylinders 32 and rods 34 move in the proper sequence to perform their operations. As shaft 53 is rotated from the slide the bottom billet from the stackthrough opening it in the furnace floor. The lower corners of water cooled pipes I! retain the upper billets in the stack during the ejecting operation. When in their dotted line position the projections are supporting the stack of billets above them. It is noted that the projections are so shaped that they present a substantially flat side to the billet being ejected during the first part of the operation. This is done so that the plastic billet will not be deformed while it is being moved out of the furnace.

Just after the projections 33 reach their dotted line positions, cam plates 52 will begin to move to the left to raise rods 34. These rods will be raised to lift the stack of billets off the projections and the latter will be returned to their full line positions as racks 33 move to the right. After the projections are out from under the stack cam plates 52 move to the right to lower rods 34 and the stack of billets carried thereby to the bottom of the furnace chamber. The billets are now resting on the tops of cylinders 32 ready for another ejecting operation to take place.

Rotation is imparted to the crank shaft 59 and the shaft 29, which drives the conveyor by means of motor 6|. This motor is suitably attached to the frame of the machine and drives a belt 62 which in turn drives a variable speed mechanism 63. The output shaft of the variable speed mechanism has a pinion on it which directly engages with a gear 64 on theshaft 29. There is provideda second pinion 65 on a clutch shaft 66 which is rotated by gear 64. The arrangement is such that a clutch member 66a is driven continuously whenever the motor is rotated, but a clutch member 66b, that is keyed to-the shaft 68, is only rotated when the clutch is closed. This shaft drives through gearing t1 and 68 the vertically disposed crank shaft 59.

It will be seen from the above that the conveyor mechanism is driven at all times when the motor is rotated. but the ejecting mechanism is only driven when the clutch is closed. The reason for this is that during the time that the furnace is being loaded, as when it is starting up,

there is no reason for having the ejecting mechanism operating. a

In loading the furnace initially, if some means were not provided to receive the billets one by one as they are moved into the upper end of the furnace by the conveyor mechanism, each billet would fall the full length of the furnace'chamber. This would soon damage the machine. A means is therefore provided to receive these billets and gradually lower them into the furnace during the time that they are being heated when the machine is started. To this end the rods 34 can be raised to the top of the furnaceat will by a mechanism that is independent of the mecha nism for reciprocating them. This is an additional reason for the pinions 31 and the threads 45 to be placed on the lower ends of the rods. These pinions can be rotated relative to the rods to thereby raise or lower the rods at any time that such isnecessary. The rotation of the pinions is accomplished by means of a wide gear 83 that engages the left hand pinion 31 in Figure 2 of the drawing and a wide gear II that engages the right hand pinion 31. These two wide gears are rotated simultaneously by means of a. gear I! that is attached to a short shaft I3 which is journalled in. the frame of the machine. Shaft I3 has on its upper end a bevel gear I4 meshing with a similar gear on a shaft 15 extending to the side of the machine. The latter shaft is provided with a hand wheel I6 by means of which it may berotated. As the hand wheel is rotated gears 31 will also be rotated to raise or lower the rods 34. Shaft I3, the gear attached to it and the wide gears 69 and II, are mounted in the framework of the machine for rotation but not for vertical movement, and the gears 63 and II are wide enough to engage pinions 31 during their entire vertical movement. Therefore rods 34 can be raised and lowered at any time whether their reciprocating mechanism is operating or not. In view of the fact that the rods 34 may be extended entirely through the heating furnace, these rods are also water cooled. To this end each of the rods is provided with a centrally located tube 11, slightly shorter than the rod. The tubes are joined to the rods by blocks I8 that are attached to their lower-ends. Inlets for the cooling water are formed in the blocks and lead directly to the rods 34 and outside of the partition tubes 11. Outlets lead from the interior of the partition tube through the blocks. The inlets and outlets are connected by suitable flexible hoses to a source of water supply and a drain respectively.

The overall operation of the machine starting fromv the time it is first put in use will now be described. Hand wheel I6 is rotated in a direction to raise rods 34 until their upper ends are adjacent to the top of the water cooled guides I4 and I5. Clutch 56a, 66b is open and the motor is started. The operator will place billets to be heated on the pins 3| of the conveyor and they will be moved by this conveyor to the top of the furnace where they roll down guideway or chute 24 to be received between the water cooled guides in the furnace chamber. .As more of the billets are added to the top of this pile the hand wheel will be rotated to lower gradually the upper end of the rods and to lower the billets into the furnace. As this takes place the billets will be heated so that by 'the time the bottom billet reaches the bottom of the furnace chamber it will be at its desired temperature. At this time the clutch will be closed so that the eiecting mechanism will start to operate. Thereafter the ejecting mechanism will operate at a speed rela tive tothe speed of the conveyor which has been predetermined by the gearing ratio in the respective drives of these two parts. The arrangement is such that one billet will be removed from the furnace as a new billet is added to the top so that the furnace will always be full. Since it may be necessary to heat some billets to a higher temperature than others the variable speed drive mechanism can be adjusted to supply the proper number of billets within a unit time to the furnace, and the elector mechanism can take these billets away. Therefore, each billet will be in the furnace for a predetermined length of time depending upon the adjustment of the variable speed mechanism. If the furnace is operating at a constant temperature it will be easy to adjust the speed of the supply of the billets through the furnace to insure that they are heated to the.

proper temperature.

. opening in the furnace floor.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided a positively operating ejecting mechanism to remove billets from a furnace as they are being heated. This ejecting mechanism, acting against the sides of the billets, is so designed that they will be moved evenly and smoothly from the bottom of the pile and will not be bent as they move out through the exit The operation of the ejecting mechanism is synchronized with the supply of billets so that the furnace will perform in a continuous manner.

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I have illustrated and described the bestform of embodiment of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims, and that in some cases certain features of my invention may be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for heating billets, the combination of means forming a furnace chamber having side walls and a floor, guide means in said chamber to guide billets to be heated in a vertical row with one billet on top of the next, said chamber being formed with an opening in the floor through which heated billets are discharged, rods extending through the floor of said chamber to support said stack of billets, a sleeve surrounding each rod and having a projection ex tending upwardly therefrom, means to rotate said sleeves in one direction whereby'said projections will move a billet from the stack through said opening, the top of said projections then supporting the billets in said stack, means to raise said rods to lift said stack from said projections so said means to rotate said sleeves can return them totheir original positions, said means to raise then lowering said rods to a position where the lowest billet in said stack is in a position to be engaged by said projections.

2. In a machine for heating billets, the combination of means to support billets in a stack with one above the other, means to add billets to the top of said stack, means to heat billets in the stack, and means to remove billets one at a time from the bottom of the stack, said last means comprising a pair of rods located to support said stack of billets on their upper ends, a sleeve surrounding each rod, said sleeves each having a projection extending upwardly therefrom substantially the thickness of a billet, said projections normally being positioned at one side of the stack of billets, means to oscillate said sleeves through an arc suilicient to move said projections into engagement with the lowest billet and force it from the stack, the stack then resting on said projections, and means to raise and lower said rods, the rods when raised lifting said stack from said projections so that the projections may return to their starting point.

3. Ejecting mechanism for removing heated billets from a stack of billets in a furnace including a rod, a sleeve surrounding said rod, said sleeve having a projection ext-ending upwardly from its top surface adjacent to said rod, means to raise and lower said rod from a position where its upper end is substantially even with the bottom of said projection to a position where its upper end is slightly higher than said projection. and means to oscillate said sleeve to move said projection around a portion of the circumference of said rod.

4. In a device for heating billets, the combination of means forming a furnace chamber having side walls and a floor with an exit formed in one side thereof, guide means in the chamber for supporting a plurality of work pieces in a stack, means extending through the floor of said chamber to support the stack of work pieces and remove them one by one from the bottom of said stack comprising a rotatable sleeve having a flat top with a projection extending up from said top beside the bottom work piece, the stack of work pieces resting on said top, a rod in said sleeve, means to rotate said sleeve whereby said projection will engage the bottom work piece and move it from the stack through said exit, and means to raise said rod to support the stack of work pieces as said means to rotate returns said projection to its original position.

5. In a machine for heating billets, the combination of a furnace having a chamber that is provided with a floor having an opening therein, means in said chamber to guide billets in said chamber in a vertical row one upon the other, means toheat said billets, and means to remove the heated billets from said chamber through the opening in said floor comprising a first part projecting through said floor substantially the height of a billet, and to one side of said stack, means to move said part against said stack to move the bottom'billet to said opening and back to its original position, said stack resting upon said part after the bottom billet-has been removed, supporting means projecting through said floor directly below said stack, means to raise said support-ing means from a position substantially even with said floor to a position slightly above the top of said part to thereby support said stack as said part is moved to its position at one side of said stack, and to lower said supporting means and the stack carried thereby so that another billet may be removed therefrom, and means to correlate the operation of the means for moving said part and the means for raising and lowering said supporting means.

6. In a machine for heating billets, the combination of structure forming a furnace chamber having a floor that is provided with an opening, means in said furnace chamber to support a vertically extending stack of horizontally disposed billets in said chamber, and means to discharge the billets one by one through the opening in said floor comprising a rotatable part having an eccentrically positioned portion extending through said floor to one side of said stack, said portion projecting upwardly the height of one billet, means to rotate said part to bring said portion from its position to one side of said stack to a position beneath said stack, means to raise said supporting means to support said stack after a billet has been removed therefrom and to lower said stack to a position where another billet may be removed therefrom, and means to raise said supporting means to the top of said chamber to receive billets as the stack is being formed in said chamber.

7. In an ejecting mechanism to remove heated work pieces from a furnace, the combination of rotatable means having a fiat surface at the end thereof upon which a work piece rests, said means having a projection extending upwardly therefrom eccentric to the axis about which it rotates and to one side of the work pieces, mechanism to oscillate said means and the projection carried thereby, said projection acting against the side of a work piece as it moves in one direction and returning to its original position upon its move- 9 10 ment in a reverse direction whereby another UNITED STATES PATENTS work piece may be placed upon said means. Number Name Date KRISTEN SKIVESEN- 712,386 Keiser Oct. 28, 1902 a 957,998 Parsons May 17, 1910 1,252,561 Fassinger Jan. 8, 1918 REFERENCES CITED 1,273,902 Muller July so, 1918 The following references are of record in the 1,865,954 Powers July 5, 1932 file 01 this patent: 2,269,838 Wroblewski Jan. 13, 1942