US2737409A

US2737409A - Magnetically lifted charging bucket

Info

Publication number: US2737409A
Application number: US312775A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hookham George
Original assignee: JOHN MILES AND PARTNERS LONDON
Current assignee: JOHN MILES AND PARTNERS (LONDON) Ltd; JOHN MILES AND PARTNERS LONDON
Priority date: 1952-10-02
Filing date: 1952-10-02
Publication date: 1956-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 1973-03-06

Description

March 6, 1956 G. HOOKHAM 2,737,409

MAGNETICALLY LIFTED CHARGING BUCKET Filed Oct. 2, 1952 y NMMM 42 @104 w. WM.

United States Patent M MAGNETICALLY LIFTED CHARGING BUCKET George Hookham, London, England, .assignor to John Miles and Partners (London) Limited, London, England, a British company Application October 2, 1952, Serial No. 312,515

6 Claims. or. 294-655) The present invention relates to an improved method and means for handling materials.

Present day operation of iron-melting cupola furnaces involves charging into the cupola metal (usually in the form of scrap), coke and slag-forming materials. These materials are charged into the cupola by means of a suitable skip or bucket mechanically elevated to the charging opening where provision is made for discharging their contents. It is common practice to charge the metal from wagons, or from scrap stock bins, into the skip or bucket by means of a magnet, usually suspended from an overhead electrically operated travelling crane. The coke and slag-forming materials do not usually amount to more than two wagons per day, and it is common practice to deal with these by hand, transferring them first from the wagon into a stock pile and then into the skip or bucket, or from the wagon directly into the skip or bucket.

In modern plants there is a tendency to store these materials in an overhead stock bin from where they can be discharged directly or semi-directly, and in controlled quantities, to the charging skip or bucket.

There is no difiiculty about providing mechanical means for transferring the coke and slag-forming materials to the stock bin, whether at a low or elevated level, but the quantities to be dealt with do not justify expensive mechanical equipment for the purpose.

On the other hand, although the crane for charging the metal is not fully occupied, nevertheless it has insuflicient spare time to deal with these materials because, they being non-magnetic, it entails removing the magnet from the crane-hook and hooking onto it the container into which these materials have been put by hand. Furthermore such a container usually requires elaborate releasing mechanism for discharging the contents into the stock bunker. Alternatively the services of a man are required at this point.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a single mechanism which can handle both the magnetisable and non-magnetisable material.

According to the invention, a bucket for non-magnetisable material comprises separable inner and outer members, the outer one being in the form of a cylinder or an inverted frustum of a cone and the inner one being in the form of a conical bell hung upon a rod, the upper end of which is provided with a magnetisable member magnetically insulated from the remainder of the bucket.

In other words, the bucket comprises separable centre and outer pieces, the centre piece being in the form of a cone with its peak uppermost and to which is attached a vertical rod having at its top end member such as a disc of magnetisable material. The other piece of the bucket is in the form of an annulus which rests on the peripheral edge of the cone, the sides of the annulus being either outwardly flared or vertical with an outstanding flange.

The bunkers into which these materials have to be discharged are provided with suitable openings through v Patented Max-. 6, 1.956

which the cone of :the containerzcan freely pass, but either small enough or so shaped as to prevent the passage through of the outer member of the container.

The method of handling this bucket is as follows:

The materials are shovelled by hand directly from the wagon into the bucket which has been placed suitably alongside or inside the wagon, and when full the magnet is. brought into position over the magnetisable disc, the magnet energised and the whole bucket lifted and moved over one of the openings in the stock. bunker. It is then lowered until the outer member of the bucket rests on the structure surrounding the bunker opening and lowering is continued until the cone is low enough to allow the contents of the bucket to fall into the stock bunker. The magnet is then raised sufliciently to lift the cone up to the outer member and then further to lift the two parts together, move them away and lower them to the wagon for further filling.

Because the wagon into which the bucket is lowered may be made of steel and because it is desirable to make the stock bunker of steel, some means must be provided to insulate the magnetisable head of the bucket, i. e. the disc, from the rest of the container. If this is not done then when the magnet is energised it would tend to pick up not only the bucket but the steel structure on which it rests. This can be done by making part of the rod between the magnetisable disc and the cone of nonmagnetisable material or by making the whole of the bucket (apart from the disc) of non-magnetisable material.

A preferred form of bucket is shown in sectional elevation in the accompanyingdrawing and comprises a cone 1 as the inner member "and the frustrum 2 of a cone inverted, as the outer member, but the shape need not be limited to this provided the outer member is made separate from the inner member and is a suitable shape (for example, has projecting flanges) for holding it on to the stock bunker while the inner member is lowered. Attached to the peak of the cone is a rod 3 having, at its head, a magnetisable disc 4 magnetically insulated from the remainder of the bucket.

It is not essential that the magnetisable member should be in the shape of a disc.

The magnet, which hitherto has been thought suitable for handling scrap metal only, is in this way brought into use for handling non-magnetisable material such as coke and slag-forming material in a way which requires the use of a minimum of labour and equipment.

What I claim is:

l. A bucket comprising a base member of inverted conical form and a side member of inverted frusto-conical form loosely seated on the periphery of said base member, both said base member and said side member being formed of non-magnetic material, a rod formed in part of non-magnetic material extending upwardly from the apex of said base member, and a disc member of magnetic material fast with the upper end of said rod.

2. A bucket for lifting non-magnetic material with the aid of magnetic lifting means such as a magnetic crane, comprising a magnetisable member for cooperation with the magnetic lifting means, an inner bucket member fixed to the magnetisable member, magnetic insulating means between, and serving to insulate, the magnetisable and inner bucket members, and an outer annular member resting upon but separable from the inner member.

3. A bucket for lifting non-magnetic material with the aid of magnetic lifting means such as a magnetic crane, comprising an outwardly and upwardly flaring annulus, a floor upon which the annulus rests, a rod fixed to the floor, a magnetisable member fixed to the rod, and an insert in the rod of magnetically insulating material serving to insulate the floor and annulus from the magnetis- I able member.

4. A bucket for lifting .non-magnetic material with the aid of magnetic lifting means such as a magnetic crane, comprising an outwardly and upwardly flaring annulus, a conical bell upon which the annulus rests, a rod fixed to the apex of the bell, a magnetisable member fixed to the rod, and an insert in the rod of magnetically insulating material serving to insulate the bell and annulus from the magnetisablemember.

5. A bucket for lifting non-magnetic material with the aid of magnetic lifting means such as a magnetic crane, comprising a magnetisable member for cooperation with the'magnetic lifting means, an inner bucket member of non-magnetic material fixed to the magnetisable member, and and outer annular member resting upon but separable from the inner member.

6. A bucket for lifting non-magnetic material with the aid of magnetic lifting means such as a magnetic crane, comprising a magnetisable member for cooperation with the magnetic lifting means, an inner bucket member fixed to the magnetisable member, and an outer annular member resting upon but separable from the inner member, the inner and outer members being made of magnetically insulating material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,285,440 Kaiser June 9, 1942 2,622,750 Ehlers Dec. 23, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 626,666 France Sept. 16. 1927