US3310298A

US3310298A - Tiltable furnace mounts

Info

Publication number: US3310298A
Application number: US399272A
Authority: US
Inventors: Huwyler Ernst; Wenzel Heinrich
Original assignee: BBC Brown Boveri France SA
Current assignee: BBC Brown Boveri AG Germany; BBC Brown Boveri France SA
Priority date: 1963-09-30
Filing date: 1964-09-25
Publication date: 1967-03-21
Anticipated expiration: 1984-03-21
Also published as: CH408295A; GB1035145A; BE653640A

Description

March 21, 1967 E HUWYLER ET AL TILTABLE FURNACE MOUNTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 25, 1964 INVENTORS J JJLWQWMM March 21, 1967 E uw ET AL TILTABLE FURNACE MOUNTS Filed Sept. 25, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVENTORS Heinrich Wen eL BY w,JWw&/PM4M ATTORNEYS United tates Patent 3,310,298 TILTABLE FURNACE MUUNTS Ernst Huwyler, Baden, and Heinrich Wenzel, Fisiisbach, Switzerland, assignors to Aktiengesellschaft Brown, Boveri & Cie., Baden, Switzerland, a joint-stock compan Filed Sept. 25, 1964, Ser. No. 399,272 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Sept. 30, 1963, 11,992/63; Germany, ()ct. 4, 1963, A 44,214 2 Claims. (Cl. 266-36) When in connection with smelting furnaces it is necessary to recondition the furnace body or crucible, this requires several days in the case of large furnaces. The result is that the furnace has to be taken out of service during this period. In order to avoid this, most foundries provide a number of spare crucibles or furnace bodies which can be used as required.

With the conventional form of smelting furnaces, the furnace body is fixed in a tilting frame by means of bolts which in the case of large furnace units are large and heavy. It is therefore an arduous and lengthy operation when the furnace body has to be removed and replaced by a new one. Furthermore, before this operation can be undertaken, it is generally necessary to remove part of the furnace platform which is connected to the furnace crucible and tilting frame.

An object of the invention is therefore to provide an arrangement whereby it is possible to exchange the furnace body in a very simple manner without having to loosen any screw connections.

A further object of the invention is that the connection between the furnace body and the tilting frame should be such that the furnace crucible can be tilted for pouring purposes without the risk of the crucible slipping out of the tilting frame.

With the above and other objects of the invention in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and apparatus, one embodiment of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the specification.

FIG. 1 shows an elevational view of a smelting furnace.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the upper part of the furnace unit, partly in section.

FIG. 3 shows the furnace body in elevation when withdrawn from the supporting frame.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of part of the furnace unit.

The smelting furnace unit consists essentially of a tiltable frame 1 which supports the furnace body 2. The frame 1 comprises two lateral beams 5 and two transverse struts 6 which are welded together to form the frame structure. The frame 1 which is tiltable is provided at the front end of each lateral beam 5 with a pivot 7 located in the top of the furnace stand 8. Each lateral beam 5 is connected by way of a pivot bearing 9 to the piston rod of a hydraulically operated tilting cylinder 10 which can swivel about the axis 11.

The furnace body or crucible 2 is supported within the tilting frame 1. For this purpose each lateral frame beam 5 is provided with a pair of supporting pins 12, rigidly fixed to the beam for instance by welding, which engage with corresponding pockets 13 rigidly fixed to the outside of the furnace body 2. These pockets 13 are in the form of U-shaped slots so arranged that they are 3,319,298 iatented Mar. 21, 1967 lCC inclined to the vertical axis of the furnace and are open at the lower end.

In order to insert the furnace body 2 into the frame 1 it is suspended from a crane hook as shown in FIG. 3 and displaced slightly off centre with respect to its final position within the frame. The furnace body is lowered gradually, whereupon the pins 12 engage with the pockets 13 and the furnace body comes to rest on the pins as as shown in FIG. 2, that is to say it is now in the operational position. In order to remove the furnace body 2 (from the tilting frame 1) for the purpose of replacement or repair, it is merely necessary to hoist it out of the frame without having to loosen any bolts or fixtures.

When the furnace has to be tilted for the purpose of discharging the melt from the furnace crucible 2 by way of the spout 15, the furnace body is tilted together with the frame 1 about the pivots 7 by means of the tilting cylinder 10 until it reaches the position indicated in FIG. 1 by the chain lines. Despite the fact that the furnace body 2 is held in the frame 1 only by means of the supporting

elements

12, 13 without any rigid connections, the shape and arrangement of the bearing pockets 13 prevents the pins 12 from slipping out of the pockets even when the furnace body is in the pouring position.

It is of course to be noted that the invention is not restricted to the construction shown and described, because obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. For instance it is possible to reverse the position of the supporting

elements

12, 13 so that the pins 12 are then located on the furnace body 2 and the bearing pockets 13 on the frame. In this case the pockets have to be reversed so that the opening of the pocket is at the upper end. Furthermore in the case of small furnace units it is conceivable that it will be sufficient if only one pair of supporting

elements

12, 13 is provided at each side of the furnace instead of two pairs as shown in the drawing.

We claim:

1. A device for smelting metals, comprising a furnace body and a tiltable frame for supporting said furnace body, and cooperating means on said furnace body and said tiltable frame respectively, for holding the furnace body in the frame during the operation of the furnace, said cooperating means consisting of pins which engage with corresponding open slots which are inclined with respect to the vertical axis of the smelting device, whereby the furnace body when in the vertical position can be lifted freely out of the frame but is restrained when the furnace body is tilted.

2. A device as in claim 1, characterized in that at least two pins are rigidly fixed to the tilting frame which cooperate with inclined open slots located on the furnace body with the openings of said slots directed downwards.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,463,171 3/ 1949 Guggenheim 248 2,472,251 6/1949 Houghton 248-14-0 2,813,693 ll/ 1957 Puddicombe et al. 248-14l 3,149,959 9/ 1964 Nicholson 266-38 JOHN F. CAMPBELL, Primary Examiner.

M. L. FAIGUS, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A DEVICE FOR SMELTING METALS, COMPRISING A FURNACE BODY AND A TILTABLE FRAME FOR SUPPORTING SAID FURNACE BODY, AND COOPERATING MEANS ON SAID FURNACE BODY AND SAID TILTABLE FRAME RESPECTIVELY, FOR HOLDING THE FURNACE, BODY IN THE FRAME DURING THE OPERATION OF THE FURNACE, SAID COOPERATING MEANS CONSISTING OF PINS WHICH ENGAGE WITH CORRESPONDING OPEN SLOTS WHICH ARE INCLINED WITH RESPECT TO THE VERTICAL AXIS OF THE SMELTING DEVICE, WHEREBY THE FURNACE BODY WHEN IN THE VERTICAL POSITION CAN BE LIFTED FREELY OUT OF THE FRAME BUT IS RESTRAINED WHEN THE FURNACE BODY IS TILTED.