Improvements relating to Welding Furnaces.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 12th June, 1896
Complete Specification Left. 11th Mar.. 1897-4ccepted 24th Apr.. 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Welding Furnaces.
I, EDUARD BLASS, of No. 80 Bahnhofstrasse, Essen an der Ruhr, in the
Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:
This invention relates to apparatus for appropriately guiding plates while the
edges of the same are being heated preparatory to welding, and is applicable in
the manufacture of pipes and the like, the welded joint being formed by a process,
in which the parts to be brought into intimate contact, are raised to welding heat
by a hot blast of flame or gases in such a manner that during the process, the
surfaces simultaneously heated, will occupy an inclined or angular position with
respect to one another.
It is of the greatest importance that the edges be properly guided, and their
relative position during the welding process to remain unchanged. This end is
attained in the present invention, by means of appropriate guide pieces or rollers
and by guiding the blank or article the edges of which are to be welded, preferably
by means of rollers. In this process it is preferable to make the guiding medium
adjustable according to the extent the edges are required to overlap, the thickness
of the plate or plates and the angular position required in the working operation.
It is advisable to keep the surfaces of the two parts to be welded together, in
such an angular position relatively one to the other, that at the corner formed by
the surfaces a narrow opening remains, and the hot blast in entering said corner
produces a uniform heating of both the surfaces to be welded. As this blast meets
directly the advancing edges of the metal which are subsequently placed one upon
the other, and as these edges during the heating operation are traversing a space
resembling an oven, formed by a suitable covering, a comparatively high
temperature is communicated to them in a very short time with the smallest
possible expenditure of fuel, whereby the whole process is materially cheapened.
The guiding medium is applicable for welding longitudinal, as well as circular
seams.
The piece or article to be welded (a tube for example) is preferably supported
on rollers provided on a carriage This arrangement enables tubes of various
diameters to be always placed centrally on the carriage. Other rollers or guide
members serve to guide the edges laterally and to press them on to the rollers or
blocks, employed for guiding the edges to be jointed. The sides of the blank,
the general shape of which is made tubular, beforehand, are held in the required
angular position by means of appropriate jamming devices, and while in this
position, the blank is inserted between the guide rollers or equivalent members.
During the gradual forward movement of the carriage, which is preferably
moved mechanically, the upper edges of the blank, held in the proper angular
position relatively to each other by means of the aforesaid guide rollers, arrive in
the interior of the heating device, and are there surrounded by refractory walls.
The cooled tuyere for conveying the blast or heated gas is suitably enlarged, so
that the blast is forced against a considerable part of the surface of the sheet
metal blank. Thus only those sides, which are to be welded, receive the principal
heat. The welding itself is effected between a hammer and an anvil of
aupropriate shane and kind

page_text: It is preferable that the hammer-block be cooled by a current of water; it is
also advisable that the anvil be similarly cooled, for example by means of water
pipes inserted into perforations of the said anvil. It is further preferable to
establish a continuous current of cooling water flowing through the guide rollers,
or other equivalent devices.
The guide pieces or other equivalent means which may be employed as
substitutes for the said rollers, are internally cooled and so prevented from
becoming too hot.
In order to obtain a firm reliable bearing of the edges to be united against the
guide pieces or roller, other rollers are provided at suitable places adjustable by
the aid of screw spindles and hand wheels, bevel wheels and chain wheels with
endless chain. These latter rollers may be caused to press continuously against
the largest diameter of the tube and will always effect an exact centering of the
same, irrespective of the diameter which may be variable. For this purpose it is
necessary that the laterally acting rollers be adjusted in a straight line, in. order to
always press the greatest diameter of the tube. On being actuated by the working
mechanism, the last mentioned rollers advance while describing a straight line
inclined to the vertical.
In order that the same guide rollers may be used repeatedly in cases where the
width of overlap of the edges of the blanks to be welded varies; or where the
sides occupy a different angular position, the said rollers for guiding the sides of
the sheet metal blanks are preferably formed of several constituent parts.
In case circular seams are to be welded, another appropriately acting guiding
device co-operating with the carriage is substituted for the above-mentioned guiling
devices.
Dated this 10th day of Lune 1906
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
1, EDUARD BLASS, of No. 80 Bahnhofstrasse, Essen an der Ruhr, in the
Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to apparatus for appropriately guiding plates while the
edges of the same are being heated preparatory to welding, and is applicable in
the manufacture of pipes and the like, the welded joint being formed by a process,
in which the parts to be brought into intimate contact, are raised to welding heat
by a hot blast of flame or gases in such a manner that during the process, the
surfaces simultaneously heated, will occupy an inclined or angular position with
respect to one another.
It is of the greatest importance that the edges be properly guided, and their
relative position during the welding process to remain unchanged. This end is
attained in the present invention, by means of appropriate guide pieces or rollers,
and by guiding the blank or article the edges of which are to be weldel laterally'
by any known means, preferably by means of rollers. In this process it is
preferable to make the guiding medium adjustable according to the extent the
edges are required to overlap, the thickness of the plate or plates and the angular
position required in the working operation.
It is advisable to keep the surfaces of the two parts to be welded together, in

page_text: such an angular position relatively one to the other, that at the corner formed by
the surfaces a narrow opening remains, and the hot blast in entering said corner
produces a uniform heating of both the surfaces to be welded. As this blast meets
directly the advancing edges of the metal which are subsequently placed one upon
the other, and as these edges during the heating operation are traversing a space
resembling an oven, formed by a suitable covering a comparatively high temperature
is communicated to them in a very short time with the smallest possible expenditure
of fuel, whereby the whole process is materially cheapened. The guiding medium
is applicable for welding longitudinal, as well as circular seams.
And in order that my said invention may be fully an lerstood I will now proceed
more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose will refer to the
several figures of the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 illustrates the media for guiding, heating and welding the piece to be
treated according to this invention in a side view, partly in section.
Figure 2 is a front view thereof partly in section.
Figure 3 represents the heating device in a cross section.
Figures 4 and 5 are sectional views taken through anvil and hammer.
Figure 6 shows a modification in the means for guiding the surfaces to be welde
in the requisite angle relative one to the other.
Figure 7 is a diagrammatical view, and
Figure 8 a section to an enlarged scale through the rollers for angularly guiding
the blank used in the arrangement of parts represented in Figures 1 and 2.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures
of the drawings.
As an example of the mode of carrying out this invention it is assumed that the
edges a a² of a tube a are to be welded. The latter, for this purpose, may be
supported on rollers bb on a carriage. This arrangement enables tubes of various
diameters to be always placed centrally on the carriage. Other rollers c, c or guide
members serve to guide the edges laterally and to press them on to the rollers e, e
or blocks 1, l, as shown in Figure 6, employed for guiding the edges to be jointed.
The sides of the blank, the general shape of which is made tubular, beforehand,
are held in the required angular position by means of appropriate jamming devices d,
and while in this position, the blank is inserted between the guide rollers e e or
equivalent members.
The pivot of the upper guide roller e is supported by a cross beam of the frame,
the pivot of the lower roller is held by a tube f (Figures 1 and 2) or by any other
suitable means.
During the gradual forward movement of the carriage, which is preferably
moved mechanically, the upper edges a', a² of the blank, held in the proper
angular position relatively to each other by means of the aforesaid guide rollers e, e,
arrive in the interior of the heating device, and are there surrounded by refractory
walls h, h, h (Figure 3). The cooled tuyere i¹, arranged at the end of pipe i for
conveying the blast of heated gas, is suitably enlarged, so that the blast is forced
against a considerable part of the surfaces of the sheet metal blank, and this,
with preference, in a direction, which divides the angle of the edges a' a' of the
blank. Thus only those sides, which are to he welded, receive the principal heat.
The welding itself is effected between a hammer and an anvil g of appropriate
shape and kind (see Figures 14 and 5).
It is preferable, that the hammer-block be cooled by a current of water as
represented in Figure 1; it is also advisable that the anvil be similarly cooled, for
example by means of water pipes inserted into perforations of the said anvil (see
Figure 4). It is further preferable to establish a continuous current of cooling
water flowing through the guide rollers e, or other equivalent devices, as shown in
Figure 8.
The guide pieces 1, 1, (Figure 6) or other equivalent means which may be
employed as substitutes for the said rollers e, are internally cooled and so prevented
from becoming too hot.

page_text: These
In order to obtain a firm reliable bearing of the edges al a² to be united against,
the guide pieces or rollers e, other rollers c, c are provided at suitable places (see
Figure 2) adjustable by the aid of screw spindles c', c² and hand wheels c³, screw
wheels s', s, bevel wheels m, m and chain wheels with endless chain n n'.
latter rollers thus may be caused to press continually against the largest diameter
of the tube and will always effect an exact centering of the same, irrespective of the
diameter, which may be variable. For this purpose it is only necessary that the
laterally acting rollers c be adjusted in a straight line, in order to always press
the greatest diameter of the tube. On being actuated by the working mechanism,
the last mentioned rollers advance while describing a straight line op (Figure 7)
inclined to the vertical.
In order that the same guide rollers may be used repeatedly in cases where the
width of overlap of the edges of the blanks to be welded varies; or where the
sides occupy a different aogular position, the said rollers e for guiding the sides of
the sheet metal blanks are preferably formed of several constituent parts (as
illustrated in Figure 8).
In case circular seams are to be welded, another appropriately acting guiling
device corresponding to the forms of the articles having circular seams and
co-operating with the carriage, is substituted for the above-mentioned guiding
devices.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. Improved guiding device for the edges of sheet metal and similar plates to be
welded by the overlap process, distinguished by rollers (e, e) guiding pieces (1, 1)
or other similar means for holding the edges (a², a¹) so as to cause them to advance
without changing their relative position and to enter a space formed by refractory
walls (h,, 2) there to be subjected to a direct heating applied to the surfaces to
be welded, essentially as and for the purpose described.
2. In combination with a guiding device for the edges of parts to be welded a
centering device for securing a firm bearing of said edges against the guide
pieces (e or ), consisting of adjustable rollers (c), which by means of suitable
mechanism, in cases of adjustment advance in a straight line o p (Figure 7) so as
to press always against the greatest diameter of the tube to be treated, substantially
as specified.
11 1
1 1007
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.