US3446269A

US3446269A - Apparatus for the transporting of the intermediate container of continuous casting machines

Info

Publication number: US3446269A
Application number: US570795A
Authority: US
Inventors: Horst Buschmann; Karl Heinz Golde
Original assignee: Schloemann AG
Current assignee: Schloemann AG
Priority date: 1966-08-08
Filing date: 1966-08-08
Publication date: 1969-05-27
Anticipated expiration: 1986-05-27

Description

May 27, 1969 BUSCHMANN ET AL 3,446,269

APPARATUS FOR THE TRANSPORTING OF THE INTERMEDIATE CONTAINER OF CONTINUOUS CASTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 8, 1966 Sheet of 3 FIG] INVENTORS HORST BUSCHMANN KARL HEINZ GOLDE ATTORNEYS M y 1969 H. BUSCHMANN ET AL 3,446,269

APPARATUS FOR THE TRANSPORTING OF THE INTERMEDIATE CONTAINER OF CONTINUOUS CASTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 8, 1966 Sheet 2 of 3 R lb JURS HORST auscumm KARL nsmz some BY JMM/MMAQ;

ATTORNEYS May 27, 1969 BUSCHMANN ET AL 3,446,269

APPARATUS FOR THE TRANSPORTING OF THE INTERMEDIATE CONTAINER OF CONTINUOUS CASTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 8, 1966 Sheet 3 of s INVENTORJ HORST BUSCHMANN KARL HEINZ GOLDE 1M4 MMvZZL ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,446,269 Patented May 27, 1969 U.S. Cl. 164281 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A casting car movable along a path above a mold carries a ladle of molten metal and has lifting mechanism for detachably engaging and supporting an intermediate container thereon. The casting car is movable selectively to one point on its path at which the lifting mechanism is operable to set the intermediate container in position to pour metal into the mold and to another point at which the lift mechanism is adapted either to deposit an intermediate container on, or pick one off, a transport car. The transport car is movable along a path across the path of the casting car and is adapted to carry an intermediate container to a heating station at which the intermediate container is preheated. With this arrangement one intermediate container can be in pouring position while another is being preheated, and two transport cars and two casting cars can be utilized to provide substantially continuous pouring.

This invention relates to continuous casting plants and, more particularly, relates to an improved pouring platform arrangement for a continuous casting plant.

In a continuous casting plant, the molten steel from a ladle is poured into an intermediate container or tundish and then run into the mold or molds from the intermediate container.

However, prior to use of the intermediate container, the container must be preheated. Thus, the intermediate container must be transported to a heating station. To move the intermediate container, a car is provided. Because of the size and weight of the intermediate container, its car must also be large and heavy.

In the plants known to the art, the intermediate container has been positioned over the mold when mounted in its car. With such construction, the massiveness of the elements involved have impaired accessibility and visibility in the region of the mold.

In addition, when using a casting car to carry the ladle, the car must be adapted to the shape of the intermediate container car in order that it can be moved over same. Since it is, furthermore, not possible to move the casting car with ladle inserted over the heating station, it is necessary to provide sulficient space between the region of the mold and the corresponding heating station for the casting car in order that the latter can be moved at any time out of the region of the mold. Such a parking place must be provided on both sides of the mold in the case of continuously operating continuous casting machines since in this case, two casting cars are used alternately.

The object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the pouring platform of the continuous casting machine and, in addition, to limit to a minimum the structural expense of the means required for the transportation of the intermediate container from the continuous mold to the heating station or back.

In order to limit the space taken up by the pouring platform, it is first necessary to be able to move the casting car over the operating heating stations with the ladle inserted. This result can be otbained in the manner that the heating burners are installed in correspondingly low position and that the intermediate container car or the intermediate container on the car, after it has been removed laterally from the mold, is lowered by the required amount. This, however, would require a high structural expense.

In order to solve the task in view by the simplest means, it is proposed by the present invention to arrange a lifting mechanism provided with means for receiving the intermediate container on the casting car. In this way, an additional transport car for the intermediate container is saved and, furthermore, the desired result of lowering the intermediate container by the necessary amount after it has been removed laterally from the mold, and placing it on trestles below the heating station. For the receiving of the intermediate container, there are preferably provided on the casting car two lift mechanism which can be operated both synchronously or individually. In this way, there is obtained the possibility of simultaneously being able to effect in simple fashion a tilting movement of the intermediate container for the deslagging thereof or for the removal of the material which has not yet been poured, for example, in case of disturbances in operation. When using an intermediate container car, it was heretofore necessary to provide an additional means for tipping the intermediate container.

In order to effect an additional saving in space, in another embodiment of the invention, the lift mechanism provided on the casting car cooperates with transport cars movable transverse to the direction of movement of the casting car in order to receive and forward the intermediate container to the heating station. These transport cars can be made of low height since they are independent of the structural height of the mold. In this way, the possibility is afforded of aranging both heating stations on one side of the continuous casting machine and at equal lateral distance from same, in which connection the one heating station can be located between the tracks of the casting car while the other can be arranged outside of the one track of the casting car. Between the two heating stations, there can be set up an auxiliary ladle over which the ladle is moved in case of a leaky stopper. In such a case, and before the process, the lift chains are loosened from the engagement members on the intermediate container and the intermediate container is left over the continuous casting machine. This space-saving arrangement of heating stations and auxiliary ladle is particularly advantageous, especially in case of casting machines which are arranged side by side.

Having briefly described this invention, it will be described in greater detail along with other objects and advantages in the following portions of the specification, which may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a side view;

FIG. 2 is a view seen in direction A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a casting car with lift mechanism arranged as means for transporting the intermediate container car; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of two continuous casting machines arranged side by side having the means in accodance with the invention for the transverse transporting of the intermediate container by the casting car.

In the figures, there is shown the angular frames 1a, 1b of the casting car. On the vertically extending

frame parts

2a, 2b there are arranged the trucks 3a and 3b. The drive consists of the motor 4 and the intermediate gearing 5 which are mounted on the connecting girder 6. The drive acts via the shaft 7 and the bevel gearing 8 as well as the intermediate gearing 9 on both wheels 10 and 11 of the truck 3a. The

trucks

12a and 12b arranged on the opposite side are provided on the connecting girder 13. The trucks 3a and 3b travel on the rails 14 and the

trucks

12a and 12b on the rails 15 which are fastened to a girder 16. On a platform 17 fastened between the two frames 1a and 1b, there is arranged a lift mechanism consisting of the motor 18 and the two inter-mediate gears 19a and 19b, sprocket wheels 21a and 21b being fastened on the shafts a and 20b of said mechanism in order to raise and lower the lift chains 22a and 2217. So that the chains 22a and 22b do not spring out from the sprocket wheel 21a and 21b, supporting wheels 23a and 23b are provided. The chains travel over

guide sprocket wheels

24a and 24b. The shafts 25a and 25b of the guide sprocket wheels are supported in the frames 1a and 1b. Below the lift drive consisting of the parts 18 and 19a, 19b, there is arranged a second lift drive consisting of the same parts, on a platform 26 fastened below the frames 1a and 1b (FIG. 1). In FIG. 1, the sprocket wheel 27a is shown with supporting roller 28a to avoid the slipping out of the chain 29a. The lift chains 29a and 29b on the opposite are also guided over guide sprocket wheels 30a, 30b. If the height of lift of the lift chains is slight, their ends 31 can drop down freely. Otherwise, they are collected in a box, not shown. The chain ends 32 are provided with holding means 33 which cooperate with correspondingly developed engagement members 34 on the intermediate container 35. By raising or lowering the

lift chains

22a, 22b, 29a, 2912, the intermediate container 35 is raised from its supports 36a, 36b or placed on same. For the accurate aligning of the intermediate container with respect to the molds 37, the supports 36a, 361) are displaceable in the direction indicated by the double arrow 38 by the drive 39 and in the direction indicated by the double arrow 40 by drives 41a and 41b arranged on both supports. The intermediate container 35 is, furthermore, supported in the center by the spring device 42 (FIG. 2).

In order to lift the intermediate container 35 from its supports 36a, 36b, 42, the two lift mechanisms are placed synchronously in operation. Thereupon, the intermediate container is moved over one of the two slag thimbles 43 located on the right and left of the continuous casting machine. By further actuation of the lift mechanism 45 in vertical direction, the intermediate container carries out a tilting movement in the direction indicated by the arrow 46 and the slag which is contained in the intermediate container is poured into the slag container 43 (FIG. 4). Thereupon, by oppositely directed actuation of the lift mechanism 45, the intermediate container is .again brought into its normal position. In this position, the intermediate container is moved by actuation of the travel drive 5 of the casting car to the heating stations or the

transverse transport cars

47, 48 and deposited on one of the two by actuation of both

lift mechanisms

44, 45. After the lowering of the intermediate containers and the detaching of the receiving members 33- of the lift chains from the holding means 34 of the intermediate container, the latter is moved to either heating station 49 or heating station 50. As can be noted from FIG. 1, the transverse transport cars can be made particularly low so that the intermediate containers come to lie at a lower level than above the mold. The heating stations can, therefore, be made so low that the casting car with the ladle inserted therein can be moved over same. Due to the fact that the rails 15 for the

trucks

12a, 12b of the casting car are at a high level, the rails 51 for the trans- 'verse transport car do not have to cross any of the rails of the casting car. Between the two

heating stations

49, 50, there is arranged the auxiliary ladle 52. By this arrangement of the heating stations and of the auxiliary ladle on one side of the machine, it is possible, as can be noted from FIG. 4, to place several machines alongside of each other in a space-saving manner. In FIG. 4, for example, there is shown a sextuplicate casting machine 53 and a double casting machine 54 arranged side by side. Each of the two casting machines has two casting

cars

55, 55a and 56, 56a respectively, associated with them, which make completely continuous casting possible. Shortly before the ladle, for example 57, which is in casting position is emptied, a full ladle is inserted in the casting car 55a and then moved over the mold.

The device in accordance with the invention for the transverse transport of the intermediate container has at the same time the advantage that it can be used, for example, for replacing the mold and the work connected therewith. In this connection, the working and visibility conditions are substantially better than if the mill crane is used for such work. Furthermore, during the conversion time, the mill crane can be used for other jobs.

This invention may be variously modified and embodied within the scope of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A pouring platform for a continuous casting plant wherein molten metal from a ladle is received in an intermediate container from which the metal is poured into a mold, comprising: a casting car for carrying a ladle movable along a path above a mold, an intermediate container for molten metal, a transport car for carrying the intermediate container along a path to a heating station, and lifting mechanism on the casting car for detachably engaging the intermediate container and supporting the same thereon, said casting car being movable selectively to one point along its path at which the lifting mechanism is operable to set the intermediate container carried thereon in position to pour metal into the mold and to a second point at which the lifting mechanism is adapted to deposit the intermediate container on, and pick the intermediate container off, the transport car, and said casting car being adapted to support a ladle carried thereon in position for discharging metal from said ladle into the intermediate container which is in said pouring position.

2, The pouring platform of claim 1 in which said lifting mechanism is adapted to tilt the intermediate container thereon for pouring out material in the intermediate container and which includes a receptacle spaced from the mold along the path of the casting car in position for receiving material poured from the intermediate container on the casting car by said tilting.

3. The pouring platform of claim 1 which includes a second transport car on the same path with the first, and a second heating station along the path for the transport cars, said heating stations being spaced along the latter path a distance for one of the transport cars to be at either one of the heating stations while the other is in position for the intermediate container to be transferred between the casting car and the latter transport car by the lifting mechanism.

4. The pouring platform of claim 3 which includes a second casting car on the same path with the first.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 722,868 3/ 1903 Mitchell.

323,586 8/1885 McLaughlin. 3,273,208 9/1966 Greenberger 164-337 X 3,354,939 11/1967 Calderon 164--33 7 X J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT D. BALDWIN, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 164-337