US3253823A

US3253823A - Shaft furnaces

Info

Publication number: US3253823A
Application number: US370218A
Authority: US
Inventors: Junker Ernst; Schmallenbach Werner
Original assignee: KOELSCH FOELZER WERKE AG
Current assignee: KOELSCH FOELZER WERKE AG; KOLSCH-FOLZER-WERKE AG
Priority date: 1963-05-28
Filing date: 1964-05-26
Publication date: 1966-05-31
Anticipated expiration: 1983-05-31
Also published as: LU46215A1; GB1067367A; FR1397671A; DE1242656B; DE1230051B; BE648318A; DE1229565B; DE1231734B

Description

May 31, 1966 E. JUNKER ETAL SHAFT FURNACES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 26, 19 4 F ig] May 31, 1966 E. JUNKER ETAL SHAFT FURNACES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 26, 1964 IN VE N TOPS EIHJ' MAA-7 SHAFT FURNACES 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 26, 1964 LIIUU United States Patent 3,253,823 SHAFT FURNACES Ernst Junker, Siegen, Westphalia, and Werner Schrnallenbach, Netphen, Germany, assignors to Kdlsch-Folzer- Werke Aktiengesellschaft, Siegen, Westphalia, Germany Filed May 26, 1964, Ser. No. 370,218 Claims priority, application Germany, May 28, 1963, K 49,845; Jan. 27, 1964, K 51,944, K 51,945,

13 Claims. c1. 26329) The present invention relates to shaft furnaces in general and to blast furnaces in particular.

It is well known to introduce the charge into a blast furnace or other shaft furnace through the top end thereof, and in order to protect the wall of the furnace it 1s provided at its interior with a relatively rigid skirt or with another rigid inner wall structure forming a wear plate assembly against which the particles of the charge can strike so that in this way the furnace wall itself is protected from engagements with the charge when it is introduced into the furnace.

The wear plate assembly of such a shaft furnace has of.

course the purpose of protecting the wall of the furnace or the plating or other armor which covers the wall of the furnace against being damaged by the charge when it is introduced into the furnace. Depending upon the height through which the particles of the charge fall, as well as the angle at which the charge pours into the furnace and the particular weight of the components of the charge, these particles of the charge will strike against and rebound from the wear plate assembly at different angles and will reach different zones of the cross section of the furnace. It is however required that a shaft furnace have a uniform, regular distribution of the charge throughout the cross sectional area of the furnace, so as to avoid in this way a non-uniform distribution of the charge, and so as to avoid in the case of a blast furnace an unmixing of the burden. In order to achieve this result it has already been proposed to provide blast furnaces with wear plate assemblies which are adjustable to a slight extent but which in all cases are extremely heavy assemblies requiring a great deal of power to carry out even the limited extent of adjustment which is presently available with such known structures. The required power is essential not only because of the weight of the structure but also in order to overcome the friction with which sliding members engage each other.

It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide for shaft furnaces an adjustable wear plate assembly which will avoid all of the above drawbacks.

Thus, the objects of the present invention include the provision of a wear plate assembly which is quite simple and comparatively light and which on the other hand is still capable of withstanding the stresses encountered during operation of the furnace, while at the same time being capable of adjusting the diameter of the furnace in the region of the wear plate assembly to an extent which has heretofore not been possible.

It is also an object of the invention to provide for a shaft furnace a wear plate assembly which forms an adjustable inner wall structure surrounding the axis of the furnace and capable not only of having its diameter adjusted but which in addition lends itself very easily to adjustment which will provide the inner wall formed by the wear plate assembly with a taper giving the inner wall the configuration of a funnel, for example.

In addition, it is an object of the invention to provide .a structure which can accomplish the above objects while at the same time being composed of simple, light, rugged elements which can be easily and quickly assembled and disassembled and which can be very easily adjusted.

With the above objects in view the invention includes, in a shaft furnace, an outer furnace wall surrounding a central axis of the furnace and having a top end to which a top wall of the furnace is fixed. Within the outer furnace wall is situated a wear plate means constituted by a plurailty of individual platesdistributed about the axis of the furnace and overlapping each other to form a substantially continuous inner wall surrounding the axis of the furnace and surrounded by and spaced from the outer wall. A linkage means is operatively connected to at least some of the plates of the wear plate means for adjusting the distance between the outer' wall and the plates of the wear plate means so that in this way the diameter of the continuous inner wall formed by the wear plate means can be regulated.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method-of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional elevation of that part of a shaft furnace which includes the structure of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of another embodiment of a structure according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of still another embodiment of a structure according to the invention, FIGS. 3 and 4 also showing only that part of a shaft furnace which includes the structure of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional plan view fragmentarily illustrating the structure of .the embodiment of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing yet another embodiment of a structure according to the invention, FIG. 6 again showing only that part of a furnace which includes the structure of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional plan view of the structure of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 shows one embodiment of a mounting means for use with the structure of FIGS. 6 and 7 to support some of the plates on other plates; and

FIG. 9 shows a further embodiment of a mounting I means for mounting some of the plates on other plates.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is fragmentarily illustrated therein the outer Wall 9 of a blast furnace, this outer wall 9 surrounding the central vertical axis of the furnace in a well known manner and having connected to its top end a top wall of frustoconical configuration as shown, this top wall carrying a conventional charging means CH of the bell-and-hopper type of distributor for distributing the charge CH downwardly into the interior of the furnace by temporarily lowering the bell relative to the hopper, as is well known in the art.

Situated within the furnace adjacent its top end is a wear plate means constituted by a plurality of individual plates 1 and 1a which are located closely adjacent to each other and which are distributed about the central axis of the furnace, as shown in FIG. 2, so that the plurality of plates of the wear plate means form a substantially continuous inner wall which is surrounded by and spaced from the outer wall and which surrounds the central axis of the furnace. The structure of the present invention includes not only the wear plate means but also the structure for adjusting the wear plate means between the solid Patented May 31, 1966 and dotted line positions indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, so that the distance of the individual plates from the central axis of the furnace can be adjusted. This adjustment is brought about by a linkage means, including elements such as the

links

2 and 3 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and this linkage means is connected to the wear plate means 1, 1a for adjusting the position of the latter with respect to the central axis of the furnace so as in this way to adjust the diameter of the inner wall formed by the plurality of plates which constitute the wear plate means.

The plates 1 and 1a of the wear plate means are of a substantially rectangular configuration. They are slightly curved so as to have inner concave'surfaces directed toward the axis of the furnace and outer convex surfaces directed toward and conforming substantially to the curvature of the outer wall 9 of the furnace. The radius of curvature of the plates 1 and 1a is equal to the radius of the continuous inner wall formed by the plates 1 and 1a when they are at an average position between the axis of the furnace and the outer wall thereof. Thus, the several plates 1 and 1a form a tubular wall assembly and these plates have vertical side edges overlapping each other so that the burden of the furnace, particularly when it is introduced into the furnace by the distributor at the top thereof, cannot have access to the space between the inner continuous wall 1, 1a and the outer wall 9.

As is apparent particularly from FIG. 2 the several plates 1 and 1a are arranged in such a way that the plates 1a are spaced from each other and are uniformly distributed about the axis of the furnace inwardly of the plates 1 which are also spaced from each other and uniformly distributed about the axis of the furnace, with the plates 1 respectively covering the gaps between the plates 1a and the plates 1a respectively covering the gaps between the plates 1 so that the opposed side edges of the several plates 1a are located inwardly of and overlap the opposed side edges of the outer series of plates 1. The plates 1 and 1a are shown slightly spaced from each other in FIG. 2 only for the sake of clarity. Actually these plates directly engage eachother and there is no spacing between the several plates so that they do indeed form a continuous inner wall as mentioned above.

In the particular example which is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the linkage means includes a pair of upper links 3 having inner ends pivotally connected to each of the plates 1 and 1a of the wear plate means 1, 1a, and also a pair of lower links 3 each having inner ends pivotally connected to the several plates 1 and 1a. Thus, for each of the plates 1 and In there is an upper pair of links 3 and a lower pair of links 3 with the lower pair of links situated beneath the upper pair of links in the manner shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, there is pivotally connected to a central upper part of each of the plates 1 and 1a a supporting link 2 which has an upper end pivotally connected directly to the top wall of the furnace. The several pairs of links 3 have outer ends, and the outer ends of all of the upper links 3 are pivotally connected to an upper ring 4, while the outer ends of all of the lower links 3 are pivotally connected to a lower ring 4. The upper and lower rings 4 are maintained spaced from each other by a plurality of spacer rods 5 respectively fixed at their upper ends to the upper ring 4 and to their lower ends to the lower ring 4, and these spacer rods 5 are uniformly distributed about the central axis of the fur nace. In this way the spacing between the rings 4 is maintained constant.

A means is provided for raising and lowering the rings 4 so that in this way the position of the wear plate means relative to the furnace axis can be adjusted, and this means for adjusting the elevation of the rings 4 in the illustrated example takes the form of a plurality of rods 6 which are uniformly distributed about the furnace axis and which are fixed at their bottom ends to the upper ring 4. Any suitable supporting structure supports at the exterior of the furnace a plurality of moving means 7 in the form of hydraulic, pneumatic, or mechanical assemblies operatively connected to the several rods 6 for raising or lowering the same, so that through this raising or lowering of the several rods 6, during which they move substantially along their axes, respectively, the rings 4 are raised and lowered and thus the inclination of the

links

2 and 3 is changed so as to control the positions of the several plates of the wear plate means 1, 1a. Although the spacer rods 5 can be separate from the raising and lowering rods 6, it is preferred to make the rods 5 continuations of the rods 6 so that they are made in one piece with the several rods 6.

In order to avoid rotary movement of the rings 4, the outer wall 9 of the furnace carries a guide means 8 which cooperates with the rings 4in order to guide the latter only for vertical movement. Thus, as is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the guide means includes a plurality of elongated members 8 fixedly carried by the wall 9 at its interior and respectively formed with V-grooves directed toward and extending substantially parallel to the axis of the furnace, and the rings 4 carry substantially V-shaped members extending into the grooves of the guide members 8 and slidably engaging the latter so that in this way the rings 4 will be guided for vertical movement but will be prevented from turning about the central axis of the furnace.

The several rods 6 respectively pass through suitable stufiing boxes or other sealing glands 10, so as to maintain a fluid-tight separation between the interior and exterior of the furnace at the places where the rods 6 pass to the exterior of the furnace to be connected to the several moving means 7.

If, for example, the several rods 6 are raised by the distance b, then the plates 1 and 1a are displaced from their positions shown in solid lines to the positions shown in dotted lines, and it will be seen that while the inclination of the plates 1 does not change nevertheless they move inwardly toward the axis of the furnace to the dotted line position indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vertical displacement through the distance b of the rods 6 (and of course the rings 4 and spacer members 5 therewith) resulting in displacement of the plates 1, 1a through the distance a, and of course the

several links

2 and 3 will turn from the solid line positions to the dotted line positions indicated most clearly in FIG. 1. It is believed to be apparent that in the illustrated example the pairs of links 3 together with the plates 1 and 1a form a series of parallelogram linkages where the angle between the plates 1 and 1a, on the one hand, and the wall 9 on the other hand will not change during a change in the inclination of the several links 3 in order to produce the adjustment indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, with this construction the continuous inner wall formed by the several plates of the wear plate means 1, 1a can assume a position providing the relatively large inner diameter D or the relatively small inner diameter d. It is emphasized, however, that these positions do not illustrate the end positions of the plates 1 and 1a, since the diameter can be reduced still further by raising the rods 6 to a greater extent, and on the other hand by lowering the rods 6 to a position lower than illustrated in solid lines, it is possible to increase the diameter beyond the largest diameter shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, in practice the range of adjustment illustrated in the drawings will suffice for most purposes, and it is apparent that with this construction the plates 1 can be adjusted not only between the solid and dotted line positions but also to any position in between these latter positions.

By decreasing the length of the upper links 3 with respect to the length of the lower links 3 it is possible also to provide the plates 1 and 1a with inclined positions so that the several plates form a substantially funnel-shaped wall which tapers in a downward direction. Instead of simply making the upper links 3 shorter than the lower links for this purpose, it is also possible to provide each of the upper links 3 with a turnbuckle construction enabling the length of the upper links to be adjusted so as to provide a selected inclination of the several plates 1 and 1a.

In the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIG. 3 each of the plates 1 and 1a also has a pair of upper links 3 and a pair of lower links 3 pivotally connected thereto, as illustrated in FIG. 3, but in this case the links 3 are directly connected pivotally to the outer wall 9 of the furnace, this outer wall carrying suitable brackets- 11 to which the outer ends of the links 3 are pivotally connected as illustrated in FIG. 3. Thu-s, with this embodiment there are no rings 4 or any guide means 8.

The several plates of the wear plate means of FIG. 3 are respectively supported by a plurality of supporting links 12 which are pivotally connected at their lower ends to the top ends of the several plates in the manner described above in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2. However, in the embodiment of FIG. 3 the upper ends of the links 12 are pivotally connected to a ring 13 which is quite rigid and which is situated within the upper end of the furnace, as illustrated in FIG. 3. In this case the several rods 6 which serve to raise and lower the linkage means are directly connected to the rigid ring 13 and extend through suitable sealing glands to the exterior of the furnace where the several rods 6 are operatively connected with the several devices 7 for raising and lowering the rods 6, as mentioned above in connection with FIG. 1. Thus, with this embodiment in response to upward or downwardmovementof the rods 6, which also are uniformly distributed about the axis of the furnace, the ring 13 will be raised and lowered with the result that the supporting links 12 will be raised and lowered so that the links 3 can turn, for example, between the solid and dotted line positions illustrated in-FIG. 3 providing the continuous inner wall formed by the plates of the wear plate means with a range of diameters extending, for example, between -the diameters D and d.

The outer wall 9 of the furnace of FIG. 3 carries a plurality of guide members 14 distributed about the axis .of the furnace and cooperating with the ring 13 to guide the latter for vertical movement while preventing rotary movement of the ring 13. This guiding structure can, for example, correspond to the guiding structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to guide the rings 4 for vertical movement while preventing rotary movement thereof.

Thus, the sinking of the ring 13 from the solid to the dotted line position illustrated in FIG. 3 will result in a reduction in the diameter of the wear plate means by twice the distance a indicated in FIG. 3, and at this smaller diameter the parts will have the dotted line position shown in FIG. 3.

By shortening either the upper or the lower links 3 the several plates of the wear plate means can be given any desired inclination.

In the event that the parts are to be subjected only to relatively small or normal stresses, it is possible to use only a single pair of links 3 connected to each of the plates of the wear plate means.

In the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 the plates 1 and 1a also constitute a wear plate means capable of being moved toward and away from the central axis while forming a continuous inner wall surrounded by and spaced from the outer wall 9 ofthe furnace and capable of having its diameter adjusted as shown by the solid and dotted line positions of the plates 1 and 1a in FIG. 5. However, with this embodiment the links 3 of the linkage means are connected only to the outer series of plates 1,.and a mounting means mounts the inner plates 1a against the outer plates 1 for sliding overlapping movement relative thereto.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 all of the plates are connected at their upper central end portions to the lower ends of links 2 which extend upwardly from the several plates 1 and 1a and are pivotally connected to the roof or top wall of the furnace.

However, in this embodiment a pair of upper links 3 and a pair of lower links 3 are pivotally connected at their inner ends only to each of the plates 1 which alternate with the plates 1a and which are located outwardly of the plates 1a, as described above. These upper and lower pairs of links 3 form in this particular embodiment inner pairs of links, and the outer ends of the inner links are pivotally connected to inner ends of upper and lower outer pairs of links 3a (FIG. 4) which are in turn pivotally connected at their outer ends to brackets 15 fixedly carried by the outer wall 9 of the furnace. The pivotal connections between the upper pairs of inner and

outer links

3 and 3a and the lower pairs of inner and

outer links

3 and 3a are interconnected by an elongated spacer rod 4a so that the distance between these pivotal connections between the inner and outer pairs of links is fixed in accordance with the length of the rod 4a. A plurality of elongated rods 4b which respectively form substantial extensions of the rods 4a are pivotally connected at their bottom ends only to the pivotal connections between the upper pairs of inner and

outer links

3 and 3a, and several rods 4b are pivotally connected at their upper ends to a rigid ring 16 which is fixed to the bottom ends of a plurality of elongated rods 18 which extend through suitable sealing glands to the exterior of the furnace where they are operatively connected with moving means corresponding to the moving means 7 and being any suitable hydraulic, pneumatic, or mechanical structure for raising and lowering the rods 18 so as to also raise and lower the ring 16. This ring 16 is guided by a guide means 17 fixedly carried by the outer furnace wall and having a structure similar to that of the guide means 8 described above in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, the guide means 17 prevents the ring 16 from turning so that the ring 16 can only move up and down in response to up and down movement of the rods 18, and this will result in a change in the elevation of the connections between the-inner and outer pairs of

links

3 and 3a so that in this way the series of plates 1 and lot can have their distance from the central axis of the furnace adjusted.

Thus, when the ring 16 is moved upwardly, for example, through the distance b shown in FIG 4, from the solid to the dotted line position, the plates 1 and 1a as well as the

links

3 and 3a and the rods 4a and 4b, as well as the supporting links 2, all move from the solid to the dotted line position, and thus the plates 1 and 1a of the wear plate means move through the radial distance a inwardly toward the axis of the furnace so that the diameter of the inner wall formed by the wear plate means 1, 1a diminishes from D to d. i

If either the upper pairs of

links

3 and 3a or the lower pairs of

links

3 and 3a are made smaller, then of course the plates will be given a certain inclination. According to a preferred construction of the invention each

link

3 and 3a includes a pair of rod portions having oppositely threaded ends received in a conventional turnbuckle so that by operation of the turnbuckle it is possible to adjust the length of the

links

3 and 3a.

The mounting means 19, 20 for mounting the plates 1a against the plates 1 for slidable movement relative thereto includes the pins 20 which are fixed to and project from the several plates 1 toward the wall 9 of the furnace, while .the elongated horizontal members 19 are fixed to the inner plates 1a and have downwardly directed horizontal edges capable of riding on the pins 20, so that in this way the'outer side edges-of the outer plates 1 are confined between the plates 1a and the members 19 so as to maintain the parts in sliding overlapping relationship even though the inner plates are not connected by any

links

3 or 3a to the wall 9. As is apparent from FIG. 9 the outer ends of the horizontal members 19 can have downwardly directed extensions limiting the extent to which the plates 1 and 1a can move in the direction which increases the diameter of the inner wall formed by the series of plates 1 and 1a.

The embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 is quite similar to that of FIGS. 1 and 2, particularly with respect to the outer plates 1. These outer plates 1 are connected in the same way as in FIGS. 1 and 2 by upper and lower pairs of links 3 to upper and lower rings 4 which are spaced from each other by rods 5 and which are moved up and down by the rods 6 which are connected to the upper rings 4 and which extend through suitable sealing glands to the moving means 7 capable of changing the elevation of the rings 4 which are in turn guided by a guide means 8 which is identical with that of FIGS. 1 and 2. Also, in this embodiment all of the plates '1 and 1a are supported by links 2 pivotally connected at their bottom ends of the uppercentral portions of the several plates and pivotally connected at their top ends to the top wall of the furnace. However, in the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 the inner plates 1a are not connected by links 3 to the rings 4. Instead these inner plates 1a also carry the horizontal members 19 of a mounting means 19, 20 which has the construction described above in connection with FIGS. 4 and 5. 'Thus, in this case also the outer plates 1 carry the pins 20 which cooperate with the horizontal members 19 to form therewith a mounting means maintaining the inner plates in slidable overlapping relationship with respect to the outer plates.

With the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, and also with the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, it is preferred to connect to each of the inner plates a pair of horizontal members 19 which cooperate with pins 20 in the manner described above. Thus, with the embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7 if the rings 4 should be raised through the distance b the parts will move to the dotted line position where the several plates 1 and 1a have been displaced inwardly toward the axis of the furnace by the distance a.

It is to be noted that the embodiments of FIGS. 4-7 can be changed, in accordance with the invention by omitting the supporting links 2 which are connected to the inner plates 1a, and instead these inner plates 1a can not only be guided by the mounting means 19, 20 for sliding overlapping movement with respect to the outer plates 1, but in addition they can be supported by this mounting means, and in this case the members 19 would transmit the weight of the plates 1a to the pins 20 so that in this way the inner plates 1a would also be carried by the outer plates 1. With such a construction it is preferred to provide the guide members 19 with the structure shown in FIG. 8 according to which these guide members 19a instead of simply having upper portions which rest with their lower edges on the pins 20 are formed with slots which receive the pins 20 so that in this way the inner plates are maintained at a given 4 elevation relative to the outer plates even if forces act upwardly on the inner plates tending to raise them upwardly with respect to the outer plates.

It is to be noted that with all of the embodiments a relatively small extent of vertical movement of the rings will result in a relatively large extent of horizontal displacement of the several plates of the wear plate means toward or away from the central axis of the furnace.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of shaft furnaces differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in blast furnaces, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any Way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer furnace wall surrounding the axis of the furnace, wear plate means including a plurality of circumferentially spaced inner individual plates distributed about said axis inwardly of said outer wall, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced outer individual plates disposed intermediate said outer wall and said first plurality of circumferentially spaced inner individual plates, and being of a size adequate to cover the gaps existing between the circumferentially spaced inner plates of said first plurality and to partially overlap said plates thereof, said first and second plurality of individual plates thus together forming a substantially continuous inner wall forming an inner space surrounding said axis and surrounded by and spaced from said outer wall; charging means for charging from above said inner space formed by said wear plate means; and means operatively connected to said inner and outer plates so as to enable movement of said plates parallel to themselves toward and away from the center of said furnace while maintaining said plates in overlapping relationship,

and thereby adjusting the volume of said inner space with-.

in said inner wall, which inner space is charged by said charging means.

2. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer furnace wall surrounding a central axis of the furnace, a top wall connected to the top end of said outer wall, wear plate means located between said axis and outer wall and including a plurality of circumferentially spaced inner individual plates, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced outer individual plates disposed intermediate said outer wall and said first plurality of circumferentially spaced inner individual plates, and being of a size adequate to cover the gaps existing between the circumferentially spaced inner plates of said first plurality and to partially overlap said plates thereof, said first and second plurality of individual plates thus together form a substantially continuous inner wall forming an inner space surrounding said axis and surrounded by and spaced from said outer wall; charging means for charging from above said inner space formed by said wear plate means; and means operatively connected to said wear plate means, and at least said top wall so as to enable movement of said plates parallel to themselves toward and away from the center of said furnace 'while maintaining said plates in overlapping relationship, and thereby adjusting the volume of said inner space within said inner wall, which inner space is charged by said charging means.

3. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer wall surrounding a central axis of the furnace and a top wall connected to a top end of said outer wall; wear plate means surrounded by said outer wall and surrounding said axis, said wear plate means including a plurality of individual plates located closely adjacent to each other and distributed about said axis to form a substantially continuous inner wall forming an inner space surrounding said axis and surrounded by and spaced from said outer wall; charging means for charging from above said inner space formed by said wear plate means; an upper pair of links and a lower pair of links fixed to each of at least some of said plates of said wear plate means, said upper and lower pairs of links being connected to a plate of said wear plate means at different elevatrons and a supporting link pivotally connected to said top wall and an upper end of each of at least some of said plates of said wear plate means, said pairs of upper and lower links respectively having outer ends distant from said wear plate means and located adjacent said outer wall; and means operatively connected to said outer ends of said upper and lower pairs of links for adjusting the elevation thereof so as to control the distance between said wear plate means and outer wall and thereby the volume of said inner space which is formed by said wear plate means, and which is charged by said charging means.

4. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer wall surrounding a central axis of the furnace and a top wall connected to a top end of said outer wall; wear plate means surrounding said axis and located within and surrounded by said outer wall, said wear plate means including a plurality of individual plates distributed about said axis and overlapping each other to form a substantially continuous inner wall forming an inner space surrounded by and spaced from said outer wall; charging means for charging from above said inner space formed by said wear plate means; a pair of upper links pivotally connected to each one of at least every other plate of said wear plate means; a pair of lower links located beneath said upper links pivotally connected also to each one of at least every other plate of said wear plate means, said upper and lower pairs of links respectively having outer ends nearer to said outer wall means than said wear plate means; an upper ring pivotally connected to the outer ends of said upper pairs of links and surrounded by and located adjacent said outer wall; a lower ring pivotally connected to said outer ends of said lower links and located beneath said upper ring; a plurality of supporting links respectively connected to every other one of said plates of said wear plates means, said supporting links being pivotally connected to said top wall and to every other one of said wear plates so that the latter are suspended from said supporting links while a change in the elevation of said rings will displace said plates toward or away from said axis, so as to change the extent to which said plates overlap each'other in order to change the diameter of the inner continuous wall formed by said wear plate means and thereby the volume of said inner space which is formed by said wear plate means, and which is charged by said charging means; and means operatively connected to said rings for adjusting the elevation thereof.

5. In a shaft furnace as recited in claim 4, means carried by said outer wall and engaging said rings for preventing turning of the latter.

6. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer Wall surrounding a central axis of the furnace and a top wall fixed to a top end of said outer wall; wear plate means located within and surrounded by said outer wall, said wear plate means surrounding said axis and being constituted by a plurality of individual plates which are distributed about said axis and overlap each other to form a substantially continuous inner wall forming an inner space surrounding said axis; charging means for charging from above said inner space formed by said wear plate means; a plurality'of pairs of upper links respectively having inner ends pivotally connected to at least every other one of said plates of said wear plate means; a plurality of lower pairs of links also having inner ends respectively pivotally connected to the plates to which said upper pairs of links are pivotally connected, respectively, said lower pairs of links being respectively situated beneath said upper pairs of links; an upper ring surrounding and pivotally connected to outer ends of said upper pairs of links; a lower ring situated beneath said upper ring and surrounding and pivotally connected to outer ends of said lower pairs of links; spacing means maintaining said upper and lower rings at all times at a predetermined distance from each other; supporting links respectively having lower ends pivotally connected ot the same plates that said upper pairs of links are pivotally 'connected to, respectively, said supporting links respectively having upper ends pivotally connected to said top wall; and means operatively connected at least to one of said rings for raising and lowering both of said rings so as to act through said upper and lower pairs of links on said wear plate means for displacing the latter inwardly toward or outwardly way from said axis so as to control to the diameter of said continuous inner wall formed by said wear plate means and thereby the volume of said 'inner space which is formed by said wear plate means,

and which is charged by said charging means.

7. In a shaft furnace as recited in claim 6, means operatively connected to those plates of said wear plate means which are not connected to said links for guiding them for movement with the plates which are connected to said links toward and away from said axis in a manner which increases or decreases the extent to which all of said plates overlap each other.

8. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer furnace wall surrounding a central axis of the furnace; a top wall connected to a top end of said outer wall; wear plate means located within and surrounded by said outer wall, said wear plate means being constituted by a plurality of individual plates located closely adjacent to each other and distributed about said axis and overlapping each other to form a substantially continuous inner wall forming an inner space surrounding said axis; charging means for charging from above said inner space formed by said wear plate means; a plurality of pairs, of upper links respectively having inner ends pivotally connected to at least every other one of said plates, respectively, and outer ends pivotally connected directly to said outer wall; a plurality of lower pairs of links respectively situated beneath said upper pairs of links and also having inner ends pivotally connected to the plates to which said upper links are connected and outer ends pivotally connected to said outer wall; a plurality of supporting links respectively having lower ends pivotally connected to the same plates to which said links are connected, said supporting links respectively having upper ends distant from said wear plate means; a ring surrounding said axis and pivotally connected to said upper ends of said supporting links; and means operatively connected to said ring for adjusting the elevation thereof so as to adjust the distance between said wear plate means and outer wall and thus regulate the diameter of the continuous inner wall formed by said wear plate means and thereby the volume of said inner space which is formed by said wear plate means, and which is charged by said charging means.

9. In a shaft furnace as recited in claim 8, guide means guiding said ring for vertical movement and preventing rotary movement thereof.

10. In a shaft furnace, in combination, an outer wall surrounding a central axis of the furnace and a top wall connected to a top end of said outer wall; wear plate means located within and surrounded by said outer wall and constituted by a plurality of individual plates distributed about said axis and located closely adjacent to each other in overlapping relationship for forming a substantially continuous inner wall forming an inner space which surrounds said axis, said inner wall being surrounded by said outer wall; charging means for charging from above said inner space formed by said wear plate means; a plurality of upper pairs of inner links respectively having inner ends pivotally connected respectively to at least every other one of said plates of said wear plate means at surfaces thereof which are directed toward said outer wall, said upper pairs of inner links having outer ends situated between said wear plate means and said outer wall; a plurality of outer pairs of upper links respectively having inner ends pivotally connected to said outer ends of said upper pairs of inner links, said upper pairs of outer links having outer ends pivotally connected directly to said outer wall; a plurality of lower pairs of inner links respectively situated beneath said upper pairs of inner links and respectively having inner ends pivotally connected to the same plates that said upper pairs of inner links are pivotally connected to, said lower pairs of inner links ha-ving outer ends situated between said wear plate means and said outer furnace wall; a plurality of lower pairs of outer links respectively having inner ends pivotally connected to said outer ends of said lower pairs I l of inner links and outer ends pivotally connected directly to said furnace wall, said lower pairs of outer links being respectively situated beneath said upper pairs of outer links; a plurality of supporting links respectively having lower ends pivotally connected to upper ends of the plates to which said pairs of links are connected, said supporting links respectively having upper ends pivotally connected to said top wall of said furnace; and means operatively connected to the connections between said outer ends of said inner links and said inner ends of said outer links for regulating the elevations of said connections so as to regulate the distance between said wear plate means and said outer wall while controlling the diameter of the continuous inner wall formed by the overlapping plates of said wear plate means and thereby the volume of said inner space which is formed by said wear plate means,

and also spaced from each other, said inner plates covering the gaps between said outer plates and engaging and overlapping said outer plates so that said outer and inner plates form a substantially continuous inner wall forming an inner space surrounding said axis, said inner wall being surrounded by and spaced from said outer. wall; charging means for charging from above said inner space formed by said wear plate means; linkage means operatively connected only to said outer plates and to said outer wall for supporting said outer plates for movement toward and away from said axis so as to adjust the diameter of the continuous inner wall formed by said inner and outer plates of said wear plate means and thereby the volume of said inner space which is formed by said wear plate means, and which is charged by said charging means; and means mounting said inner plates on said outer plates While maintaining said inner plates in overlapping engagement with said outer plates during movement of the latter toward or away from said axis when the extent of overlap between said inner and outer plates changes.

12. In a shaft furnace as recited in claim 11, said mounting means including a plurality of pins fixed to said outer plates at surfaces thereof which are directed toward said outer wall of said furnace and a plurality of elongated horizontal members fixed to the surfaces of said inner plates which are directed toward said outer wall, said horizontal members having downwardly directed edge portions resting on said pins for supporting said inner plates on said outer plates while providing free sliding movement of said pins along said downwardly directed edges of said horizontal members during movement of said outer plates toward and away from said axis.

13. In a shaft furnace as recited in claim 12, said horizontal members being formed with horizontal slots receiving said pins and the downwardly directed edges which engage said pins being the upper edges of said slots, respectively.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,835,225 12/1931 Knoringer et a1. 21418 3,009,691 11/1961 Tsujihata et al. 263-31 FOREIGN PATENTS 864,880 1/1953 Germany.

WILLIAM F. ODEA, Primary Examiner. JOHN J. CAMBY, Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A SHAFT FURNACE, IN COMBINATION, AN OUTER FURNACE WALL SURROUNDING THE AXIS OF THE FURNACE, WEAR PLATE MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED INNER INDIVIDUAL PLATES DISTRIBUTED ABOUT SAID AXIS INWARDLY OF SAID OUTER WALL, AND A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED OUTER INDIVIDUAL PLATES DISPOSED INTERMEDIATE SAID OUTER WALL AND SAID FIRST PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED INNER INDIVIDUAL PLATES, AND BEING OF A SIZE ADEQUATE TO COVER THE GAPS EXISTING BETWEEN THE CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED INNER PLATE OF SAID FIRST PLURALITY AND TO PARTIALLY OVERLAP SAID PLATES THEREOF, SAID FIRST AND SECOND PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL PLATES THUS TOGETHER FORMING A SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS INNER WALL FORMING AN INNER SPACE SURROUNDING SAID AXIS AND SURROUNDED BY LAND SPACED FROM SAID OUTER WALL; CHARGING MEANS FOR CHARGING FROM ABOVE SAID INNER SPACE FORMED BY SAID WEAR PLATE MEANS; AND MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID INNER AND OUTER PLATES SO AS TO ENABLE MOVEMENT OF SAID PLATES PARALLEL TO THEMSELVES TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE CENTER OF SAID FURNANCE WHILE MAINTAINING SAID PLATES IN OVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIP, AND THEREBY ADJUSTING THE VOLUME OF SAID INNER SPACE WITHIN SAID INNER WALL, WHICH INNER SPACE IN CHARGED BY SAID CHARGING MEANS.