US2689391A - Circular brick kiln with vertically moving kiln doors - Google Patents

Description

Sept; 21, 1954 J R, CLARK 2,689,391

' CIRCULAR BRICK KILN WITH VERTICALLY MOVING KILN DOORS Filed Oct. 10, 1951 4 Sheds-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. J HN R- l fXRK BY 13% sl ATTORNEYS P 1954 J. R. CLARK 2,689,391

CIRCULAR BRICK KILN WITH VERTICALLY MOVING KILN DOORS Filed Oct. 10, 1951 4 shets-sheet 2 FIG.-3.

IN VEN TOR.

E: R GLBRB BTTORNE-Y J. R. CLARK Sept. 21, 1954 CIRCULAR BRICK- KILN WITH VERTICALLY MOVING KILN DOORS Filed Oct. 10. 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. HN R- LARK IIIIII'IIIIIIIIFIII ATTORNEYS Sept. 21, 1954 CLARK 2,689,391

CIRCULAR BRICK KILN WITH VERTICALLY MOVING KILN DOORS Filed Oct. 10, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG .6.

INVENTOR. i'lN R- LBRK )QTTORNEYS Patented Sept. 21, 1954 CIRCULAR BRICK KILN WITH VERTICALLY MOVING KILN DOORS John K. Clark, Silver Spring, Md., assignor of one-half to Thomas Somerville III, trustee,

Kenwood, Md.

Application October 10, 1951, Serial No. 250,685

3 Claims.

The present invention is a circular brick kiln with vertically moving kiln doors for use in circular brick kilns of the kind covered in my Patent No. 2,399,664 of May '7, 1946, with improvement shown and described in my Patent No. 2,- 559,595 of July 10, 1951.

After much experimenting with the kiln of my said patent and application in the continuous manufacture of brick over a period of more than ten years, I have found it feasible to supplant the brick partitions, forming the ends of the kiln chamber, with doors which are vertically movable to permit elevation of the doors while the green ware is being tiered on the kiln floor preparatory to firing the kiln, and during removal of the brick from the floor. The doors, because of their tremendous weight, each weighing several tons, are preferably hydraulically operated and equipped with suitable means to effect immediate separation of the doors from the sides and top of the kiln promptly after hoisting of the door has been started.

It is within the objects of this invention to provide doors embodying refractory material to withstand the heat in the firing chambers of the kiln; to provide doors constructed and operated to produce a more flexible and more economical way for manufacturing brick, particularly in thatthe workmen move in a continuous orbit on the kiln floor while tiering the green ware in templates, superimposed on the floor, in predetermined units of usually 300 or 500, correspondingly permitting said predetermined units to be lifted andloaded in situ, also ina continuous operation around the kiln floor, after the bricks are baked, by lift forks or the like. And to provide doors at the ends of the kiln compartments which may be elevated sufiiciently to per mit complete orbital movement of the endless ware conveying belt while tiering the ware, avoiding the necessity of retracting the conveyor belt after each compartment is loaded, with very great saving of time and labor.

It is also within the objects of this invention to provide coacting door carried and hood carried means to efiect unsealing of the door automatically when the door is elevated, rescaling being effected by complemental door carried and hood carried means implemented by the inherent weight of the door. I

A further object of this invention is to provide a method of tiering raw bricks followed by elevation of the brick in situ for transportation after curing, which consists in tiering the brick in predetermined units on templates which are mounted on the kilnfloor, followed by removal of the templates, segments of the floor with the brick tiered thereon being encased in hoods, the ends of which are vertically movable to a position above the tops of the hoods permitting selective movement of the latter on the kiln floor to expose the bricks after curing, the units of cured bricks being then successively elevated from the floor, by lifting forks or the like and loaded on trucks or other transporting means, brought into engagement with, or arranged in close proximity to, the kiln floor.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the presently preferred form of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a horizontal fragmentary sectional view of a kiln embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the same, illustrating the manner of tiering the brick on templates superimposed on the kiln floor;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of a kiln door forming a part of the present invention, 11- lustrated in conjunction with the super structure with which the door hoist mechanism is associated;

Figure 4 is a detailed fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on the line 44 of Figure 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows, of a door constructed in accordance with this invention, illustrating its application, showing to advantage the door carried and the hood car ried. striker plates, and also the door carried and hood carried abutment plates and rollers;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 3 looking in the direc:-

tion of the arrows, showing to advantage the the abutment plates and rollers used for laterally moving the door into a closed sealed positicn when it is lowered;

Figure '7 is a further fragmentarycvertical sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 3 looking in the direction of the arrows, immediately above the door, showing the manner of engaging the door with the sides of the hood, in conjunction with the door moving means shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a detail fragmentary perspective view of one of the doors forming a part of the 3 present invention, equipped with a striker plate and abutment plates, and

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the complemental kiln carried striker plate.

In order to illustrate the application of this invention, I have, in the drawingsshown a kiln generally designated In, which is the same as shown in my said patent 2,399,664 and includes a circular kiln floor II, movable hoods [2 which include integral sides and tops and are equipped with rollers I3 engageable with tracks 4 mounted in close proximity to the opposite sides or the kiln floor. The hoods additionally include doors 15 adapted for selective engagement with the ends of the hoods l2, the doors being vertically movable on parallelly-arranged hood carried vertical beams 16, which form a part of a door hoisting superstructure I! at each end of the hood. Each superstructure also embodies pulley wheels 58 over which cables l9 are trained, one end or each cable being engaged with the upper margin of the door Ill, as indicated at 2%. The opposite end of each cable is engaged with a hoist rod 2|, the latter being operatively mounted in a hydraulic hoist cylinder 22. It is to be understood that the door hoist mechanism may be of any suitable conventional type capable of withstanding the strain necessarily exerted thereon in the elevation and lowering of the doors I5, each of which weighs several tons. Upon reference to Figure or" the drawings, it will be noted that each superstructure ll includes horizontal I beams 23 w -ich are engaged with the top of the hood.

To facilitate expeditious disengagement of the doors from the ends and tops of the kiln hoods, as soon as hoist of the doors is initiated, I provide complemental coacting means on each door and on the hoods adjacent the doors. This means includes vertically aligned striker plates, one of inch, 35, is carried by each end or" the door It near the top of the latter, another plate, 3i, being secured to one of the vertical beams it of the hood carried superstructure The proximate ends of each pair of coasting plates are oppositely bent to provide overlapping striker terminals Consequently when pressure is exerted on the upper edge of the door through operation of the hoist mechanism, the striker terminals 32 will engage to effect dislcdgement of the door from the kiln hood to thereby facilitate elevation of the door in an obvious manner.

in order to efiect inward lateral movement .f the doors, toward the ends of the hood, during descent of the doors, suitable coacting means on the doors and on the kiln hood are also provided. The means in this instance consists of abutment plates 33, a pair of which are fixedly secured to each side of each door and project outwardly from the latter as advantageously illustrated in Figures 6 to 8, inclusive. The abutment plates 33 are adapted for engagement with complemental roller assemblies B l, which latter are carried by the vertical beam l6, as also shown to advantage in Figures 6 to 8. It is, of course, to be understood that the abutment plates 33 and roller assemblies 34 are shown as one form of coasting means which may be adjusted for wear takeupv As is apparent, as the door is lowered coaction of the roller assemblies 34 and abutment plates 33 will, implemented with the inherent weight of the doors, eiTect contiguous engagement of the doors with the ends and top of the hood it.

The bottom of each door [5 may be sealed to the kiln floor inany conventional manner. I have, to illustrate the application of the invention, shown in Figures 4 and 5 sand troughs 36 mounted at intervals in the floor H which may be engaged by an integral sealing flange 3'5 pendently carried by the bottom of each door. I also employ sand seals for the sides of the hoods as indicated at 38 in Figure 2. The seal includes plates 39 hinged on each side of each hood 12, the drag edges 39' of which are embedded in the sand when the brick are being cured. Each of the plates as may be elevated above the sand and engaged with hood carried catch 45! while the hood is being moved on the kiln floor.

In use of this invention I employ conventional templates 4! which are superimposed on the floor H of the kiln. Each template may be used in tiering predetermined units of bricks, usually 300 or 500, the raw bricks being tiered directly over the templates by the workmen as said bricks are taken from the ware-conveying belt. After the desired number of raw bricks have been tiered the template is removed and placed on top of the tiered raw bricks and another unit superposed thereon, followed by removal. of the template. When the desired number of raw bricks are tiered, the ends of the hood are sealed by lowering the doors 1-5 into engagement with the ends and top of the hood as shown in Figure l of the drawings. After the bricks have been processed, Ln a manner as set out in my Patent No. 2,399,684, the doors to are elevated to a point above the tops of the hoods and in due time, after the cooling period has elapsed, the bricks may be lifted in units by conventional loading forks and deposited in a truck or other suitable conveyance positioned in or near the kiln. It is to be understood that the removal or he manufactured or cured bricks from the kiln iioor is also eiiected while the workmen move in orbit. It has been found that the orbital movement of the workmen in tiering the green ware on the kiln floor and in removing the cured bricks the floor efiects a very great savin in time all known methods of brick manufacture and brick loading pursuant to manufacture.

While I have herein shown a preferred form of this invention and described a preferred method of reducing this invention to practice, I am aware that various changes'm'ay be with the scope of the claims hereto What I claim is:

1. A brick kiln including a continuous floor, hoods arched over the floor and movably mounted on the latter, doors mounted at opposite ends the hood and engageable with the latter and the floor to provide a sealed compartment, hoist means engaged with each door for elevating the door to permit ingress and egress through the hoods, and striker plates mounted on each door and complemental striker plates carried by each hood, the plates being in the path of movement of one another to effect outward horizontal displacement of the door when hoisting of the latter is initiated.

2. A continuous kiln embodying a fixed floor and hoods movable over the floor, doors to seal the ends of each hood to form independent compartments in the kilns, the doors being vertion the door and hood for unsealing the door when the latter is elevated, and coacting means on the door and hood to facilitate sealing of the door upon lowering of the latter into a closed position.

3. A brick kiln including a continuous floor, hoods arched over the floor and movably mounted on the latter, doors mounted at the opposite ends of the hood and engageable with the latter and the floor to provide a sealed compartment, hoist means engaged with each door for elevating the door to permit ingress and egress through the hoods, abutment plates mounted on each door,

5 the doors into contact with the kiln floor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS m Number Name Date 729,026 West et a1. May 26, 1903 1,403,300 Dickinson, Jr Jan. 10, 1922 2,559,595 Clark July 10, 1951

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