US888723A - Blast-furnace-charging apparatus. - Google Patents

Description

No. 888,723. V A PATENTED MAY 26, 1908. 1]. I. MILLER.

BLAST FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 30.1907.

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No. 888,723 PATENTEID MAY 26, 1908.

' 1). I. MILLER.

.BLAST FURNACE GHARGING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION I'ILED AUG. 30.1907.

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PATENTED MAY 26, 1908. v

n. I. MILLER.

BLAST PURNAQB CHARGING APPARATUS.

I APPLIGATIbN FILED AUG..30. 1907.

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DAVID I. MILLER, OF SHEFFIELD, ALABAMA.

BLAST-FURNACE-CHARGING- APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1908.

Application filed. August 30, 1907. Serial No. 390,796.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID I. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sheffield, in the county of Colbert and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Blast-Furnace- Charging Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the fOllOWlIlg. to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same.

My invention relates to that class of ap paratus commonly employed for transferring a charging bridge track and an elevator track section, much labor is required, time lost and difhcult-y experienced 1n securing such an 'alincment of the elevator track section and bridge track as will permit thetransfcr of the stock car from the one to the other. In order to overcome said diilicultics and to prevent loss of time and for the purpose of securing a substantially uninterrupted track between the elevator section and the bridge track, nothwithstanding any want of alinement between the two, I combine with the bridge track and elevator track section a movable or floating track section which is actuated by the elevator, and such a combination embodies the main feature of my invention.

' it is well understood by those skilled in blast furnace practice that in order to obtain the best results in charging blast furnaces the stock when dumped from the car into the hopper of the furnace should be so delivered over the apex of the bell as to be uniformly distributed around the hopper, and to accom lish this I combine with an elevated trac which is centrally disposed with relation to the top of the blast furnace and its hopper and bell, a hopper shaped charge distributor that is interposed between the track and the blast furnace hopper; and such a construction embodies a second feat ure of my invention.

There are other, minor, features of invention, embracing particular combinations and special features of elemental construction, all

as will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the drawings chosen for the purpose of illustrating my invention, the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of charging apparatus embodying my invention, the upper ortion of a blast furnace, the bridge or c arging floor leading from the hoist, the elevated track for the stock cars and the upper poralso illustrated Fig. 2 is a plan view of the blast furnace top, the hoists and the elevated track and bridge shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, partly in section, showing the hopper and bell of the blast furnace, means for raising and lowering the bell, the charge distributer, and the track, the stock car being illustrated in position for charging the furnace; Fig. 4 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of the upper portion of a blast furnace andportions of at right angles to the section shown in Fig. 3,- Fig. 5 is an-enlarged plan view of the top of the blast furnace illustrating the relation of the distributor to the stack, the track rails being omitted; Fig. 6 is an enlarged .view showing in plan oneof the elevators, a portion of the bridge track, and the intermediate movable or floating track section; and Fig. 7 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of the elevator track, a portion of the bridge track, and the interposed floating track section.

Like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur.

I will now proceed to describe my invention more fully so that others skilled inthe art to which it appertains may apply the same.

I In the drawings, A indicates the blast furnace top,B, B the hoists or elevator shafts, C the charging bridge which connects the hoists and blast furnace top, C the bridge track which leads from the elevator to the distributer and which has its furnace end arranged over the blast furnace top, D one of the elevators, and E a movable or floating track section which is interposed between the bridge track and elevator track.

T he to be providbd with the usual hopper 1 for recciving the charge and with a suitable bell 2 for closing the hopper. erably suspended by links or eyebars 2 om the bridge and track, the section being taken The bell 2 is ref.

tion or upward extension of the holst, being A of the blast furnace is or may sup orts the be of the usual character; but the "the" able framing, such as F, F.

' bars Swithsuitable levers whereby the hell 2 of the hqpfper may be raised or lowered at tion so supports the bell as to' leave the 'vertical axis of the furnace unobstructed.

The levers which supportand controlthe hell 2 may be pivotally mounted on any suit- Framing G G also erected on the top of the blast filrnace I-boams 6 on which are laid the trac rails C, and said I-bcams 6 also support the distributer 7 which latter is stayed and braced by the rods 6". Owing -.to the manner of suspending the hell 2, the track may be extended over, and disposed centrally with relation to, said bell and the hop per 1 of the blast furnace to 7 indicates the charge distributor the function of which is to receiv'ethe charge of stock when the car is dumped'andso direct it intothe hopper 1 that it shall be-uniformly dis tributed therein around the spear of the bell 2. This charge distributer 7 may be in the form of a truncated hollow cone; but is preferably in the form of 'a truncated hollow pyramid. It may stayed bymet'al braces 8 secured to the Lbcams 6 which'form a support for those portions of the trackrails C that extend over the equalizin beam. 3 and between the eye-bars 3. v By t is construction the center of the distributor 7 is brought directly under the centerof the car containing the charge and directly over theapex of the bell 2, thus facilitating the uniform distribution of the charge in the hopper lot the blast furnace;

The charging bridge C which connects the hoists B with the blast-furnace to A may, eight of the hoist above the bridge is increased so that the elevator may rise above said bridge 0 a distance equal to, or substantially equal to, the height above the furnace hopper 1 of lent,

. the distributor 7' and its supports.

The elevated bridge track C having branches 0 ,0, leads 03 from the hoist tower at the point where the elevators land, as heightened, and extends to and over the top of the blast frunace. The several tracks are supported above the bridge C by suitable trestles C Opposite the end-of said track G is located a spring buflerc, or its equivastock car with. relation to the distributor 7 and hopper 1, when the movement of the stock car is arrested. This bridge track 0 which is supported above the bridge C on trestles C as before noted, may be a sin le straight track in case a single hoist and e evator are employed; but in case twin hoists are used, as commonly occurs, and as shown the operator; Such" a construc= in the drawings, then the main track 0 will connect by means of a suitable switch with l track section D on which thestock car, when loaded, is pushed from the stock floor. During the movementof the elevator the car is held in fixed positionthereon by any suitable or well known means.

,E indicates a section of movable orfloating track which is adapted to span the gap between the elevator D and the bridge-track C',.or its branches 0 ,13 as the case may be.'

This movable or floating track may be of any be constructed of plates raced by angle firons, andis preferably which insures the proper position of the suitable constructionand manner of suspen- $1011, but 1s picked up preferably devised so as tobe I and held by the elevator on its ascent, and released when the elevator descends.

In the application trated in the drawings, ing track section E is shown as supportedby a steel plate or plates- E hinged, as at E, to the margin of the platform P adjacent to the hoists B and B, said plate orplates projecting as at e, 6 into the path of the-elevator D of my invention illusand being reinforced byT iron stifieners e, e, f

but if desired the floating rail support may be of an other desired character.

It 1s to be noted that in conjunction with the hereinbeiore described ap aratus or ar 'rangement of tracks, hoists, *c., the stock cars employed will generally be of the sidedump pattern, asindicated by the dotted lines at 10, Fig.3 of the drawings, and in ase the curved branch tracks C, O are used vith a twin hoist, as indicated in Fig. 2, it will be desirable to employ cars having flexible running gear, in order to enable said cars to run around curves of short radius.

Where there are no curves sufficiently shar to necessitate the use of cars having a flexi le wheel base, the stock cars may be bottom dumping instead of side-dumping.

The construction of the'hoists, elevators,

tracks, floating track section, and distributer,

and their arrangement relative to each other and to the'top oi the blast furnace, bein substantially such as hereinbefore pointe ou, they will, in. charging theiurnace, be oper' tivo as follows:

A car or tram which has been loaded on the stock floor at the foot of the hoist or elevator shaft B is locked in place on the track D of one of the elevators D at the bottom of the elevator shaft, and the top-charger by the usual means of a hoiste'ngine raises the load to a oint above the bridge C and as near as possl le to the level of the bridge track C, or

its branches C C, as the case may be. As

the loaded elevator approaches the level of l the bridge track it picks up the section of i movable or floating track E by enga ing the i projections e, e of the plate E, which serves to make a joint between the bridge track and l the elevator track D The intervening space between the bridge track and the elevator track is thus effectually s anned, noti withstanding the elevator may 0 somewhat i above or eve below the level of the bridge track. N 0 time or labor is lost in alining the bridge track and elevator track, and the passage of the car from the elevator' to the bridge track is rendered eas The loaded car is then ushed from the e evator track to I one ot'the ranches of the bridge track from 1 which it may be switched to the main bridgetrack. The loaded car asses over the latter 1 until arrested above t e distributer 7 into I which the charge is dum ed, being uniformly l distributed thereby in t e hopper 1 around the apex of bell 2. Theem t-y car is then pushed back to the elevator E and In 0 erating twin elevators an empty car will escend on one elevator while a loaded Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a blast Furnace charging the combination of a blast furnace having a hopper and bell, a charging bridge, a horizontally disposed track charging bridge and projecting over the blast furnace hopper, a charge distributer interposed between the elevated t'rack and the blast furnace ho per, an elevator having a track sectiomani a movable or floating track 2. In a blast furnace charging apparatus, of a blast furnace having a hopper and bell, a charging bridge, a track elevated above the charging bridge and projecting over the blast furnace hop er, a charge distributer arranged between t e elevated track and the blast furnace hopper, and an elevator arranged adjacent to the said elevated track In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVID I. MILLER. Witnesses i Tnos. L. PATToN, JOHN McKENnRIoK.

apparatus,

elevated above the

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