US2696922A - Furnace pull-out apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 14, 1954 c, PALMER ETAL 2,696,922

FURNACE PULL-OUT APPARATUS Filed Feb. 15, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l I NV ENTORS CHARL-Es PALMER EDQAR G. WOODWARD k Y J BY XW ATTORNEY Dec. 14, 1954 c, P M ETAL 2,696,922

FURNACE PULL-OUT APPARATUS- Filed Feb. 15, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 TI9.Z

INVENTORS CHARLES PALMER y EDGAR G. WOODWARD ATTORNEY Dec. 14, 1954 c. PALMER ET AL 2,696,922

FURNACE PULL-OUT APPARATUS Filed Feb. 15, 1952 I: Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS CHARLES PALMER BY EDGAR G. WOODWARD ATTOR NEY United States PatentO FURNACE PULLOUT APPARATUS Charles Palmer and Edgar G. Woodward, Worcester, Mass, ass'ignors 'to Morgan Construction Company, Worcester, .Mass.,- a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 15, 1952,:SerialNo. 271,736

I 8 Claims. (Cl. 214- 18) This invention-relates to furnace pullout apparatus and'more particularly to a 'devi'ce for removing hot metal bail ls'from :a furnace and introducing them into a rolling nn- Int'he rolling of metalbillets and bars, it is customary to heatthem in a gas or ofl fired 'furnacetothe required rollingtemperatures before passing them into the rolling mill. "When the bar has reachedthe discharge end of the furnace, -it is pushed lengthwise through -a small doorway in the side of the furnace. The protruding end ofthebar is' grasped'betw'eentwopinch rolls. The pinch rolls pull the bar out of the furnace and introduce it into the rolling mill. In the ,pas'ttheserolls' have been mounted on the furnace structure over the discharge doorway.

In this position they weresubject to the expansion'and contraction movement of the furnace and to the high temperatures of the furnace gases emitted "through the doorway, whereby high maintenance costs were ex perienced. Now, it is often'desira'ble to be able to have clear access to the discharge door in order to clean out the furnace or to remove bars which, for one reason or another, cannotbe pushed out in the ordinary way. With the prior art devices it has been difficult, if not impossible, to cle'arthe discharge door for access thereto. Furthermore, it was not-possible to adjust the pinch roll gap or pressure to accommodate various sizes and types of bar under various conditions, The present invention obviates these d'i'fii'culties of the prior art in a novel manner.

it "is therefore an outstanding: object of the present invention to provide a pullout roll apparatus which can be easily removed from the discharge door of a furnace for access thereto.

It is another object of this invention to provide pinch rolls for moving bars longitudinally, wherein the spacing and pressure between the= rolls :isr'controllable and adjustable.

.A further object of this invention is the provision of a furnace pullout-apparatus in-which the rolls maybe easily and conveniently separated.

Still another object of. the invention is to provide a furnace .pullout apparatus having an upper roll portion which'may be moved horizontally or vertically away from the remainder'of'the apparatus and which can be securely locked in operative position..

With these andother objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

Referring to the drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus of the invention,

Figure 2 is an elevation view of the invention looking toward the furnace,

Figure 3 is a view of the invention taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1.

Like reference characters refer to similar parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring first to Figure 1, which best shows the general features of the invention, the pulloutapparatus, generally designated by the reference character 10, is shown mounted on the floor of a mill in front of a furnace 11. The furnace 11 is of a well-known type for heating bars prior to their passage through a rolling mill and it comprises a refractory wall 12 supported by vertical beams 13 and horizontal beams 14. A discharge door 15 passes through Aimotor *base=?18 ismounted on the: floor some distance fromrthe hese 116 and: hasa motor 19 fixed thereto and dniving aigear reductionapparatus' 20'. The apparatus 20 1s, Iin' turn, connected to a drive shaft 21 which is coupled to theapparatus in a manner to be described hereinafter.

Referringnext to Figured, the base 16 is shown as an elongated rectangular member having ways 22 on which the upper member 17 :rests for sliding movement in a. direction'paraliel to theturnace wall. The base 16 and the upper member 17 are connected for movement relative to one another by a hydraulic jack 23, the cylinder 24 of whichis connected to abracket 25 on the base 16 and the piston rod 26 of which-is connected to a bracket 27 on the underside =ofs't h'e upper member 17.. A holddownblo'ck' 28.is atta'ohed'to the base 16-and a similar I block 29 is fastened tothe upper member 17; these blocks have mating inclined .fac eswhich engage and clamp the upper member-downwardly on the base 16 when it is in operative position before "the furnace door. The fixing of the upper member in operative position is further carried out by the provision of a wedge apparatus 30. This apparatus consists of alower projection 31 which is a part-of the upper member 17, an upper projection 32 which is apart of the base 16; and 'awedge 33; The two projections are'provided'with grooves for 'guiding the wedge and it can be seen that driving thewedge between the projections will draw the upper member. downwardly onto the baseId. The grooves for holding the wedge are inclined as 'shown in the drawing so thatdriving'the wedge serves the further purpose of :moving the upper member to the-right in Figure '2 along the base and causing the inclined facesofthe blocks'28' and 29 to slide along each gtherlan'd 'pull the upper member downwardly onto the ase Referring next to Figure 3, the base 16 isprovided with an upstanding pedestaI 34 along the side adjacent the furnace and "at the top of the pedestal is mounted an elongated bottom roll 35. The roll 35 is mounted horizontally in bearings 36 and is connected to and driven by' the drive shaft-21. The uppermost portion of the roll 35 *is' at the hearth line "of the *furnace or slightly there above. A top roll 37 is mounted-'over the bottom 35 on a horizontal axis parallel to that of the bottom roll; the top'roll islrotatably held at it's ends in bearings '33 atone end oif 'an arm 39. i The arm 39 is coextensive with the roll "and consists of a broad web 40 having vertical strengthening "flanges 41. The arm 39 is keyed to a shaft 42 which is spaced rearwardly and upwardly from the bottom roll 35 and is mounted in bearings 43 which are fixed "to "the upper member 17. The shaft 42'extends through and beyond the bearing on the motor 'side o'f the apparatus and 'tothis extension is keved a crank arm 44 which is pivotally attached near its other end to a piston rod 45 of a pneumatic motor 46. The motor 46 has pivot pins 47 extending from its sides in such a manner that their axes are aligned and pass through the center of gravity of the motor. The pins 47 are mounted in bearings 48 fastened to the upper member 17. so that the motor is free to rotate slightly about the axis of the pins. The extreme end of the crank arm 44 has a threaded bore 49 passing therethrough in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the bottom roll and through this bore is threaded a bolt 50 having its head positioned away from the furnace; a stop 51 is formed on the up er member 17 in a position to be engaged by the head of the bolt 50 in its rearward movement. A guide trough 52 is provided beneath the arm 39 and the shaft 42 and extending rearwardly of the rolls 35 and 37.

In the operation of the apparatus, a bar passes broadwise through the furnace 11 and finally arrives in heated condition opposite the door 15. It is pushed longitudinally through the door and passes between the rolls 35 and 37. The bottom roll 35 is driven by the motor 19, while the top roll 37 is an idler. Both rolls may have serrated surfaces in order that they may grasp the bar more securely. The top roll 37 is moved downwardly into engagement with the bar by the actuation of the pneumatic motor 46; the piston 45 is drawn into the motor, thus moving the lower end of the crank arm 44 rearwardly until the head of the bolt 50 strikes the stop 51. Generally speaking, the top roll 37 strikes the bar before its downward movement is stopped by the bolt 50 striking the stop 51 and the roll separating forces are absorbed by the pneumatic motor 46. In other words, the top roll 37 is pressed downwardly on the bar by the motor 46 and this causes the bar to be clamped between the rolls and moved therethrough by the driving of the bottom roll 35. The position of the top roll will vary with the thickness of the rod and, of course, this means that the roll pressure will be constant regardless of irregularities in the bar, etc. After the bar passes through the rolls, it slides along the trough 52 and from there enters the rolling mill, a switching means, or a runon table depending upon the particular mill arrangement. It is desired to clear the neighborhood of the furnace door so that the furnace can be cleaned or so that difficulties in the furnace can be cleared up, the upper member 17 along with the top roll 37 and associated apparatus may be moved along the base 16; this is done by removing the wedge 33 and then actuating the hydraulic jack 23. The base 16, with its pedestal 34 and the bottom roll 35 remain behind, but they are below the bottom edge of the furnace door and do not interfere with the use of cleaning rods and the like.

While certain novel features of the invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it must be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essence of the invention.

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A furnace pullout apparatus, comprising: a base, a horizontal bottom roll rotatably mounted on said base, a motor connected to the bottom roll for the driving thereof, an upper member mounted on said base for sliding motion parallel to the axis of said bottom roll, a top roll rotatably mounted parallel to the bottom roll on said upper member and overlying said bottom roll, said top roll being capable of movement toward-and away from the bottom roll, and means mounted on said upper member for moving the top roll toward and away from the bottom roll.

2. A furnace pullout apparatus, comprising: a base,

a horizontal bottom roll rotatably mounted on said base,

a motor connected to the bottom roll for the driving thereof, an upper member mounted on said base and capable of sliding motion relative to the base parallel to the axis of said bottom roll, means for locking the upper member and the base together, a top roll rotatably mounted on said upper member parallel to the bottom roll and overlying said roll, said top roll being capable of movement toward and away from the bottom roll, means mounted on said upper member for moving the top roll toward and away from the bottom roll, and means limiting the movement of the top roll toward the bottom roll.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein: the means for locking the upper member and the base together comprises projections on the member and base having inclined mating surfaces.

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein: the means for locking the upper member and the base together comprises projections on the member and base and a wedge extending therebetween.

5. An apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein: the means mounted on said upper member for moving the top roll toward and away from the bottom roll comprises a pneumatic motor.

6. A pullout apparatus for use in drawing bars and the like from the discharge door of a furnace, comprising: a base fixedly mounted in front of the said door, a horizontal bottom roll rotatably mounted on said base on a level with the bottom edge of the door, a motor connected to the bottom roll for the driving thereof, an upper member mounted on said base for sliding motion relative to the base parallel to the plane of the furnace door, means for actuating said motion between the upper member and the base, means for locking the upper member in position on the base in front of the door, a top roll rotatably mounted on said upper member parallel to the bottom roll and overlying said bottom roll, said top roll being capable of movement toward and away from the bottom roll, means mounted on said upper member for moving the top roll toward and away from the bottom roll, and means limiting the movement of the top roll toward the bottom roll.

7. A furnace pullout apparatus, comprising: a driven horizontal bottom roll having a fixed position relative to the furnace, an idler top roll mounted parallel to the bottom roll, an arm mounted for pivotal motion about one end, said top roll being journaled in the other end of the arm on an axis parallel to the axis of the top roll and overlying the bottom roll, and a pneumatic motor for actuating said pivotal motion of the arm to carry the top roll toward andaway from the bottom roll.

8. A furnace pullout apparatus, comprising: a driven horizontal bottom roll, an idler top roll mounted parallel to the bottom roll, an arm, a shaft rotatably mounted on an axis parallel to the axis of said bottom roll, said arm being pivotally mounted at oneend on said shaft, the top roll being journaled in the other end of said arm so as to overlie the bottom roll, a crank arm attached at one end to said shaft, a pneumatic rotor attached to the other end of said crank arm for the actuation thereof,

- and means attached to said crank arm for limiting movement thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,097,303 Costello May 19, 1914 2,351,962 Harrison June 20, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 473,996 Germany Mar. 28, 1929

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