Apparatus for leveling coal in a coke oven chamber

A coal-leveling apparatus includes a leveling rod supported by a pressing machine for movement through a leveling opening into a mushroom-shaped gas-collecting space to level the coal charged in the coking chamber of a coke oven. The leveling rod includes a head element that carries two support members that can move on pivot levers between an operative position wherein the support members are extended from the head element for support by upwardly-inclined wall surfaces in the mushroom-shaped gas-collecting space. In the inoperative position, the support members are retracted toward both sides of the head element. An actuating rod extends through the leveling rod to the head element. In one embodiment, the actuating rod can be moved in opposite directions of its length. An end of each of the first pivot levers is connected to the actuating rod and the opposite ends of the first levers are connected to second pivot levers. The second pivot levers are connected at one end to the head element and carry the support members. The connection between the pivot levers and the actuating rod, in one embodiment, is by a pivot connection, and in another embodiment by rollers that can move along an inclined surface on an end of the actuating rod. In a third embodiment a nut is threadedly engaged with threads on the end portion of the actuating rod to move the levers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to apparatus for leveling the coal which is charged 
into a coking chamber of a coke oven and, more particularly, to such 
apparatus which includes a leveling rod which is introduced through the 
opening that is normally closed by a leveling door from a pressing machine 
into a gas-collecting space of the coking chamber where the leveling rod 
is reciprocated to level the coal charge and then withdrawn from the 
gas-collecting space after completion of the leveling operation. 
The development of high-performance coke ovens having coking chambers 
which, in some instances, are greater than 6 meters high have brought 
about limitations to the construction of these taller coking chambers. A 
variant for the high-perfomance coking ovens which can be satisfactorily 
developed is the so-called long ovens wherein the coking chambers are 
longer than coking chambers in conventional coke ovens. In the long coke 
oven chambers, a problem arises in connection with the leveling operation 
for the coal which is introduced into the coking chambers. These problems 
are due to the deflection or sagging of the leveling rod which is 
introduced conventionally from the coke machine side. The leveling rod 
must be adapted to the length of the coking chambers. One attempt to 
alleviate this disadvantage was to carry out the leveling operation from 
both sides of a coking chamber. However, this requires a substantial 
increase in costs since the leveling rod and the associated drive 
facilities must be provided at both the machine side and the coke side of 
an oven chamber. This has been found to be an unsatisfactory solution to 
the problem, particularly in the confined spaces of a coke oven plan. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a leveling apparatus 
wherein sag of a leveling rod used for leveling the coal charged into the 
oven chamber does not exceed a predetermined amount even when the length 
of the leveling rod is adapted to coke oven chambers having an extended 
length. 
According to the present invention, there is provided a coal-leveling 
apparatus including a leveling rod having a front or head element on the 
front end thereof which is constructed with substantially the same 
cross-sectional dimensions as the leveling rod. Two support members are 
carried by pivot levers on the head element for pivotal movement from a 
pressing machine by an actuating means between an inoperative position 
wherein the support members are disposed in the head element and an 
operative position wherein the support members extend from opposite sides 
of the head element immediately above wall portions which extend in an 
inclined manner upwardly and outwardly. The wall portions are extensions 
of two heating walls bounding the coking chamber and bound a 
mushroom-shaped gas-collecting space. 
According to a further feature of the present invention, the aforementioned 
actuating means includes an actuating rod extending inside the leveling 
rod and displaceable in opposite directions of its length and relative to 
the leveling rod. In the further embodiment, the actuating rod is 
rotatable in opposite directions about an axis extending along the length 
thereof relative to the leveling rod. The actuating rod is connected to 
pivot levers for extending and retracting the support members from the 
head element. The support members may take the form of shoes that can 
slide along the wall portions in the mushroom-shaped gas-collecting space 
or rollers that can move along such wall portions. It has been found 
convenient to provide that the pivot levers to which the support members 
are secured are displaced through an angle such that the support surfaces 
of the support members extend substantially parallel to the surfaces of 
the inclined wall portions. 
Preferably, the actuating means for extending and retracting the support 
members from the head element includes a pivot secured to and movable with 
the actuating rod. A first pivot rod is connected at one end to the pivot 
and a second pivot rod has one end pivotally connected to the first pivot 
rod. The opposite end of the second pivot rod is pivotally connected to a 
pivot which is fixedly mounted or supported on the head element. An arm 
extending diagonally downward carries the support member at its one end 
while the opposite end is secured to the second pivot rod. The support 
members are moved into an extended or operative position from the head 
element when the actuating rod is moved to the rear, i.e., in a direction 
toward the leveling rod. In the operative position, the support members 
are disposed above the inclined wall portions in the gas-collecting space. 
When the actuating rod is moved forwardly, the support members are 
retracted into a position wherein the support members are closely adjacent 
the head element. 
According to a further feature of the present invention, the actuating 
means for extending and retracting the support members on the head element 
takes the form of two levers each having two arms that extend at an angle 
to one another. Each lever is pivotally supported by a horizontal shaft 
extending generally parallel to the actuating rod and disposed on the head 
element. A support member is carried at an end of one arm. A roller on the 
end of the other arm moves along a path formed by an inclined plane 
disposed near the head element on the underside of the actuating rod which 
is movable relative to the head element. Conveniently, in this embodiment, 
the actuating rod in a region near the head element takes the form of a 
forwardly-descending diagonal plane whereby the rollers on the ends of the 
arms are at a lower level than in the preceding position. The support 
members are in an extended or operative position when the rollers are at 
the front end of the actuating rod. The support members are retracted in a 
downward direction when the actuating rod is moved forwardly. 
According to a further feature of the present invention, the front end of 
the actuating rod takes the form of a spindle on which a spindle nut is 
threadedly engaged. Pivot rods for moving the support members between 
operative and inoperative positions are pivotally connected to the spindle 
nut. The support members are movable in a dependent relation upon the 
direction of rotation by the spindle which moves the spindle nut either 
into a first position where the support members are retracted into an 
inoperative position or when the nut is moved into a rear position, the 
support members are extended from the head element into an operative 
position. 
Thus, it can be seen that the present invention prevents dropping of the 
front end of the leveling rod by providing support members which can be 
extended and retracted from the head element on the rod to movably support 
the rod on the inclined surfaces in the gas-collecting space when the rod 
starts to sag. This position of the support members is retained throughout 
the leveling operation such that the rod can be used for very long ovens. 
It is to be understood, however, that the leveling rod can be provided 
with further appropriate support in a central region should this prove 
necessary or desirable.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 identifies a mushroom-shaped gas-collecting 
space in the top part of a coking chamber 2 which is bounded by heating 
walls 3. The heating walls 3 are extended by wall portions 4 that extend 
diagonally, in an upward and outward manner, and merge with an arch or 
vault forming the gas-collecting space 1. The arch has the form of a 
partial circle whose diameter is greater than the internal width of the 
coking chamber 2. In FIGS. 1-3, reference numeral 6 identifies a leveling 
rod which embodies a conventional construction known in the art. The 
leveling rod is introduced into the space 1 through a leveling opening 
that is normally closed by a leveling door which may be supported by a 
removable door forming an enclosure for the coke oven chamber. A front or 
head element 7 is secured by a plate 8 on the front end of the leveling 
rod. The head element includes pivots and levers for extending and 
retracting two support members 9 which, when extended, can engage surfaces 
on both sides of the wall portions 4 and slide therealong. The levers in 
the head element are actuated by means of an actuating rod 10 which can 
move relative to the leveling rod 6 and extends through the interior of 
the rod from the pressing machine into the head element. 
In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1-3, the 
actuating mechanism for extending and retracting the support members 9 
includes two pivots or articulations 11 and 12 that are movable with rod 
10. A pivot 13 is rigidly secured to the head element 7. The present 
invention provides horizontal pivot rods that are pivotal about vertical 
shafts. A first pivot rod 14 is connected at one end by pivot 12 to the 
actuating rod 10. The free end of pivot rod 14 can pivot around the pivot 
11 to which there is pivotally secured a second pivot rod 15. One end of 
pivot rod 15 is attached by the stationary pivot 13 to the head element as 
shown in FIG. 1 and extends in an inclined manner downwardly from the 
horizontal pivot rod 15 whereby the support members 9 are in an extended 
position and are disposed in a confronting, generally parallel relation 
with the surfaces of wall portions 4. It is to be understood, of course, 
that the pivots and pivot rods as described previously are provided at 
each side of the head element for carrying the two support members 9. 
In FIG. 2, the support members are shown in an extended position from the 
head element wherein the support members are situated near the inclined 
wall portions 4. The phantom-line position of the pivots and pivot rods in 
FIG. 2 illustrates the position of these parts when the support members 
are in a retracted or an inoperative position. This position is shown in 
FIG. 3 wherein the leveling rod with the head element can be moved through 
the leveling opening at the end of the gas-collecting space. 
A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 4-6. In this 
embodiment, the actuating mechanism includes a diagonal or inclined plane 
from the front portion of actuating rod 10. The inclined plane descends 
forwardly, i.e., toward the end of the rod 10, and serves as a path or 
guide surface for a roller 17 that is provided on the ends of lever arms 
19. The lever arms 19 are part of two pivot levers each having two lever 
arms that are bent downwardly as shown in FIG. 4. The support member 9 is 
disposed on the end of an outer lever arm 18 and the roller 17 is disposed 
on the end of lever arm 19. A horizontal shaft 20 which extends parallel 
to the actuating rod 10 forms a fulcrum about which the levers having 
lever arms 18 and 19 can pivot. The support members 9 are moved into the 
extended or operative position, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the rollers 
17 are at the lowest end position 21 formed by the inclined surface on 
actuating rod 10. As shown in FIG. 6 and by the phantom-line position in 
FIG. 4, the support members 9 are moved into a retracted or inoperative 
position by a downward pivotal movement which occurs by moving the 
actuating rod 10 forwardly such that the rollers 17 move along the 
inclined position to the highestelevation. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 4, 
the inclined plane on the underside of end portion 21 of the rod 10 takes 
the formof a slot or an elongated aperture to form positive guiding such 
that the support members can be retracted even though coal may be 
deposited in the region of the various pivots. 
The embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 differs from 
the embodiments described hereinbefore by the provision that the actuating 
rod 10 is mounted for rotation about an axis extending along the length of 
the rod rather than for longitudinal movement. The pivots and pivot levers 
are secured and arranged in the same manner shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and 
described previously. However, pivots 12, instead of being secured in a 
fixed manner to the actuating rod 10, are connected to a spindle nut 22 
which is engaged with threads of a spindle 23 formed on the front end of 
the actuating rod 10. The spindle nut moves forwardly or backwardly, i.e., 
in opposite directions, according to the direction of rotation of the 
spindle. Rotation of the spindle in one direction moves the support 
members 9 into a retracted or inoperative position shown in FIG. 8. 
Rotation of the spindle in the opposite direction moves the support 
members 9 into an extended or operative position shown in FIG. 7. 
The coal-leveling apparatus of the present invention operates by providing 
that at the start of the leveling operation, the head portion of the 
leveling rod is introduced from the pressing machine side through the 
leveling opening into the oven chamber with the support members 9 in a 
retracted position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6. After passing through the 
leveling opening, the actuating rod 10 is pushed rearwardly toward the 
pressing machine or, according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, 
the actuating rod is rotated such that the arms to which the support 
members are secured extend from the head element 7 and move into an 
operative position shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5. In the operative 
position, the support members are disposed, in a confronting relation, a 
short distance above the inclined surfaces of wall portions 4. The 
actuating rod is moved in the direction of its length by either stopping 
advancing movement of the leveling rod for a brief time during which the 
actuating rod is drawn in a rearward direction or the actuating rod can be 
stopped briefly while the leveling rod advances to penetrate further into 
the coking chamber until the pivot arms move into an extended position, 
thereby moving the support members into an operative position. In the 
event the leveling rod sags or deflects while moving further into the 
coking chamber or during reciprocating movement therein, the support 
members engage with the inclined wall portions 4 and slide thereon, thus 
preventing any further sag or deflecion of the leveling rod. When the 
leveling rod is retracted, the support members are retracted into an 
inoperative position. This is carried out by a forward movement of the 
actuating rod or by rotation of the actuating rod in the direction which 
is opposite the direction which the rod was rotated to extend the support 
members. In the inoperative position of the support members, the leveling 
rod can be moved into an inoperative position on the pressing machine. 
Although the invention has been shown in connection with certain specific 
embodiments, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that 
various changes in form and arrangement of parts may be made to suit 
requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.