US1013377A - Hoist for crucible-furnaces. - Google Patents

Description

L. H. J. DB BATS.

HOIST FOR GRUGIBLE FURNACES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, 1911.

Patented Jan. 2, 1912.

COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPN cc., WASHINGTON, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS HUBERT JOHN DE BATS, OF ZELIENOPLE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- FOURTI-I T0 ALFRED G. ZEHNER, ONE-FOURTH TO F. EDWIN ZEHNER, AND ONE- FOURTH TO JACOB C. MILLEMAN, OF ZELIENOPLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

HOIST FOR CRUCIBLE-FURNACES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2, 1912.

Application fi1ed March 20, 1911. Serial No. 615,745.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LoUIs HUBERT JOHN DE BATS, a resident of Zelienople, in the county of Butler and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hoists for Crucible-Furnaces; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

'My invention relates to hoists for furnaces, and has special reference to that form of furnace in which crucibles are used for containing the molten metal.

The object of my invention is to provide a cheap, simple and efficient means for raising a crucible from a furnace, without gripping the same with tongs and without waiting for the coke to burn from around the same.

To these ends my'invention consists, generally stated, in the novel arrangement, construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter more specifically set forth and described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

To enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to construct and use my improved hoists for crucible furnaces, I will describe the same more fully referring to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the furnace showing my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the grate employed. Fig. 8 is another form of supporting block used under the crucible.

Like symbols of reference herein indicate like parts in each of the figures of the draw- 1ng.

As illustrated in the drawing, A represents the ordinary crucible furnace whose walls 1 are preferably formed of fire brick, and such furnace is usually circular in form and has a hollow center 2 extending through the same.

At the top of the furnace A is the cover 3 which is adapted to completely cover the opening 4 of the hollow center 2 and such cover is pivotally mounted in the platform 5 formed at the top of said furnace by the inclined portion 6 of the walls 1, while within said inclined portion the ordinary flue a is located.

Below the inclined portion 6 of the furnace A is the fuel chamber 7 having the fuel 8 therein, and such fuel rests upon the grates 9, which are pivotally mounted in the side walls 1 of said furnace by the pivotal projections 10 at each side of the same, and are supported in their proper position by means of the supporting rods 11 engaging with the lips 12 on said grates. The grates 9 are provided with the openings 13 within the same to provide for the falling of ashes from the fuel chamber 7 and such grates have a semi-circular flange 14: at the inner end of the same, as hereinafter described. The walls 1 of the furnace A are provided with the recess 15 at each side of the same to permit the grates 9 to be swung downward by their pivotal projections 10, when not in use, by disengaging the supporting rods 11 from the lips 12 and dropping the same by their pivotal connections 16 which are located in the recesses 15 of the walls 1 and such rods will drop into their seat-s 15 in said walls. Below the grates 9 is the ash pit 17, which is adapted to receive the ashes of the fuel 8 from the fuel chamber 7, and such ashes can be removed from said pit by the ordinary method.

WVithin the hollow center 2 of the furnace A and located centrally in the sameis the hoisting apparatus 18 which has the concrete base 19, and such base is provided with the recess 20 into which the cylinder 21 fits so that such cylinder extends substantially through the ash pit 17 and is provided at its upper end with the inclosing plates 22 and 23 and between which is located a flexible washer 24, while said plates and cylinder are firmly connected together by any suitable means, such as the rivets 24. Within the cylinder 21 is the piston or lunger 25, and such plunger is provided with the plunger rod 26 extending upward from the same and connecting by its threaded end 27 with the threaded hole 27 of the cast iron supporting block 28, and such supporting block has the hollow portion 29 at the lower end of the same for admitting the plates 22 and 23 when the plunger 25 is at its downward position. Fitting around the block 28 and extending downward therefrom is the protecting casing or pipe 30,

which is connected to said block by the screws 31, and such pipe is held in place by means of the steadying block 32 fitting around the cylinder 21,

The supporting block 28 is provided at its upper end with the pin 33, which is adapted to engage with the hole 34 on the graphite block 35 and upon this latter named block'the ordinary graphite cruci ble 36 is adapted to rest. Extending through the wall land opening into the bottom of the cylinder 21 through the concrete base 19 is the compressed airor fluid pipe 37, which has a cock 37 at the upper end of the same for regulating the admission of the air or fluid to such cylinder.

The operation of my improved hoist for crucible furnaces is as follows :The air or fluid is admitted to the cylinder 21 through the pipe 37 and the plunger 25 is thus raised, so that it carries with it the supporting block 28 and the pipe 30, and with the cover 3 atthe opening 4 raised to uncover said opening. the block 28 is carried to the level of the platform 5, at which time the graphite block 35 is placed on the supporting block 28 and held thereon by means of the pin 33, after which the crucible 36 is placed upon the block 35 and such crucible is filled with molten metal. The crucible protector or casing 38 is now placed over the crucible 36 and graphite block 35, and such protector or casing is of ordinary sheet metal, which has the handle 39 thereon for handling the same, and is provided with the lips 40 for resting against the crucible, while such protector is supported by its lower end resting upon the pipe 30. The crucible is now lowered into the furnace by exhausting the air from the cylinder 21, and as the plunger 25 is lowered in such cylinder the pipe 30 is guided by means of the flanges 14 of the grates 9, as well as by the metal shield 41 in the ash pit 17 and the steadying block 32 fitting around the'cylinder 21. When the crucible 36 is thus lowered into the fuel chamber 9 of the furnace A, the pr0tector'38 is then removed from the same by means of the handle 39 on such cover, which will allow the coke or other fuel 8 to fall around such crucible for heating the same to the desired temperature. In cases where crucibles are made for this particular class of furnaces, the bottom of the same may be made to conform with the present style of crucible and have the graphite block attached thereto.

When the'metal in the crucible 36 has been heated to the desired temperature said crucible may be hoisted from the furnace in the before described manner, and the fuel which has become lodged around such crucible will fall away and settle between the pipe 30 and the walls 1, so that such furnace will always be supplied with a burning charge of fuel. When heavy crucibles are used it is often inconvenient to handle the same when taken out of the furnace, and to overcome this difficulty I use the form of block shown in Fig. 2 which consists of the upper and lower portions 42 and 42 and such portions are connected by the hinged joint 43 to allow the crucible to be turned to one side when at the top of the furnace and the molten metal to be poured therefrom, while the pin 33 on said upper portion together with the lugs 44 thereon prevent the crucible from falling from such block during such operation. 7

It will thus be seen that with the use of my improved hoists for furnaces larger crucibles may be used, as there is no lifting from the furnace from above with the use of my improved method, while in cases where very wide crucibles are used in the ordinary furnace when the tongs are placed around the crucible, there is a tendency to crush the same, so that when the crucible has been brought in contact with the atmosphere at the topof the furnace, a reaction takes place, and when the crucible is again lowered into the furnace it will crack, and it is thus rendered useless, while with my improved method of hoisting the crucible from the furnace there is no pressure of any kind upon the same, which will eliminate this very bad feature of the present construction, and thus very greatly prolong the life of the crucible.

It is necessary in the ordinary form of crucible furnaces to partly fill the fuel chamber with fuel in order to protect the crucible from the cold air from the ash pit, before placing the same within-the furnace, then filling fuel in around such crucible to fuse the metal within the same. Before the crucible can be removed from the furnace the fuel must burn down from around the same in order that the tongs may be applied to the same for hoisting it from the furnace.

In my method the crucible may be removed from the furnace at any time desired and the fuel will be pushed aside by the supporting block .28 and held in this position by the pipe 30 and protector 38 until the crucible has been lowered into the furnace and the protector removed, which is a very great advantage in that the tempera ture of the crucible may be kept constant and uniform by having fuel equally around all parts of the same, and also that the crucible may be removed at any time and the desired temperature is attained, without waiting for the fuel to burn down from around the same.

In the ordinary form of crucible furnace at present employed it is necessary to employ skilled labor for hoisting the crucibles from the furnace, while with the use of my furnace ordinary laborers will suffice.

Bythis method, cast iron or other molten metal maybe placed in the crucible direct from the cupola or other furnace, on account of the rapidity of placing the crucibles in the furnace, which is impracticable in the present furnace by reason of the metal cooling in the ladles before it can be lowered. into the furnace.

Various modifications and changes in the design and construction of my improved furnace may be made Without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. A hoist for a crucible furnace comprising means for supporting the crucible Within the furnace and for raising the same from such furnace, and a protective casing around said means and crucible.

2. A hoist for a crucible furnace comprising a block for fitting under the crucible to support the same, means connected to said block for raising the crucible from the furnace, and a protective casing around said block, means and crucible.

3. A hoist for a crucible furnace comprising a block for fitting under the crucible to support the same, means connected to said block for raising the crucible from the furnace, and a protective casing around said block, means and crucible and supported by said block and crucible.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for 4. A hoist for a crucible furnace comprising a block for fitting under the crucible to support the same, means connected to said block for raising the crucible from the furnace, a protective casing around said means and hung from said block, and a protective casing around said crucible and supported by the same.

5. A hoist for a crucible furnace comprising a block for fitting under the crucible to support the same, means connected to said block for raising the crucible from the furnace, a protective casing around said means and hung from said block, and a protective casing around said crucible and supported by the same, said last named casing having a handle extending up from the same. 6. In combination, a crucible furnace, a crucible, means for inserting and removing such crucible from such furnace, a casing surrounding the crucible during the insertion of the latter into the furnace, and means for thereafter removing such casing from about such crucible.

In testimony whereof, I, the said LoUIs HUBERT- JOHN DE BATS, have hereunto set my hand.

LOUIS HUBERT JOHN DE BATS.

Witnesses:

'I. B. HUMPHRIES, A. D. P. MILLER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

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