Improvements in Means and Appliances for Charging Open-hearth Furnaces.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means and Appliances for Charging Open-hearth
Furnaces.
We, HENRY TOMKINS, Contractor, CHARLES JOHN BAGLEY, General Manager,
LLEWELYN ROBERTS, Works Manager, and THE MOOR STEEL AND IRON COMPANY
LIMITED, all of the Moor Steel and Iron Works, Stockton-on-Tees, in the County
of Durham, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the operation of charging open-hearth furnaces, or
furnaces generally, into which heavy charges are made through an opening in
the furnace side.
Until recently this has usually been done by manual labour, the charge being
lifted on to a peel placed on the furnace fore-plate. The peel is then pushed
into the furnace and tilted, thereby depositing the charge on the hearth.
The weight of the charge varies and is sometimes very considerable, the opera-
tion of lifting and charging requiring the united effort of several men.
The object of this invention is to provide an apparatus worked mechanically
by any power conveniently available or by hand power and by which the time and
labour required in such operation is greatly reduced.
In carrying out our invention, we provide, in some cases, a standard or post,
or make use of one of the columns, or other structural part of the building in
which the furnace is placed, it being enly necessary that the standard, or post,
or other point of support is so placed relatively to the charging door of the fur-
nace, that a tension or transit chain secured at one end to a point above and
behind the charging door, and carried across to the post, or column, or other
point of support, will take a line directly over the charging door.
The connection of this transit chain or wire rope with the post or column, is
by means of a pulley slung from the column over which the burden chain is led
down to a winch secured in any suitable position at a lower level, so that by
means of the winch, the said chain can be slackened or drawn tight as required.
Another, tensile appliance, which for distinction we will call the lifting or
burden chain, is slung from the transit chain by means of a jockey pulley or
roller, so that when a weight is suspended from this tensile appliance or burden
chain, it can be made to travel along the transit chain or wire rope with a ten-
dency to run towards the furnace, the transit chain being suitable inclined for
the purpose when drawn tight. In order to attach a charge or heavy lump to
this lifting or burden chain, the transit chain is slackened and the charge secured
to the lifting chain by dogs or tongs. As the transit chain is drawn tight, the
lifting chain is drawn up and lifts the load, which then runs along by gravity
to the front of the furnace charging door. The transit chain is then slackened,
leaving the charge supported on the peel.
In order to run the charge into the furnace, we combine with the above
described apparatus another apparatus consisting of a winch mounted on the

page_text: column or post below the other or burden chain winch and preferably on a leve!
with the furnace fore plate so that a chain or rope secured to the outer end of
the peel and carried round a pulley fixed in position nearer to the furnace, and
back to the winch will enable the peel with its charge to be pulled into the fur-
nace in the manner required to deposit the charge on the furnace hearth.
Dated this 26th day of March 1898.
G. J. CLARKSON,
Chartered Patent Agent,
Stockton-on-Tees and Hull,
Agent for the Applicants.
Improvements in Means and Appliances for Charging Open-hearth
Furnaces.
We, HENRY TOMKINS Contractor, CHARLES JOHN BAGLEY, General Manager,
PHILLIP REES HOPKINS, Stocktaker, and HENRY TOMKINS, Contractor (the two
last-named persons being the legal representatives of the late Llewellyn Roberts),
and THE MOOR STEEL AND IRON CO. LIMITED, all of the Moor Steel and Iron
Works, Stockton-on-Tees, in the County of Durham, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:
This invention relates to the operation of charging open-hearth furnaces, or
furnaces generally, into which heavy charges are made through an opening in
the furnace side.
Until recently this has usually been done by manual labour or by a jib crane,
the charge being lifted on to a peel placed on the furnace fore plate. The peel
is then pushed into the furnace and tilted thereby depositing the charge on the
hearth. The weight of the charge varies and is sometimes very considerable, the
operation of lifting and charging requiring the united effort of say 6 to 8 men.
The object of this invention is to provide an apparatus worked automatically
by any power conveniently available or by hand power, and by which the time
and labour required in such operation is greatly reduced.
And in order that our invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect we will proceed to describe the same with reference to the annexed
drawing in which an open-hearth furnace is shown in transverse section taken
in line of a charging door together with a corresponding elevation of the charging
appliance and other structural accessories as hereinafter described.
a is the chamber or hearth of the furnace, and 6 the charging door. c is a
fixed point of support such as an H iron girder attached to the iron buckstaves
of the furnace, it being only necessary that this point of support is so placed
relatively to the charging door of the furnace that a tension or transit chain d
secured at one end to a point above the charging door and carried across 'to
another point of support will take a line directly over the charging door b. The
connection of this transit chain or wire rope d with the other point of support
is by means of a pulley e slung from an H iron girder extending along the roof
immediately above the truck /; or where no roof is provided the pulley e may
be mounted on posts or columns. This transit chain is led down to a winch; 9
secured in any suitable position at a lower level so that by means of the winch
the said chain can be slackened or drawn tight as s required.
Another tensile appliance h which for distinction we will term the lifting for

page_text: burden chain is slung from the transit chain d by means of a jockey pulley or
roller i so that when a weight is suspended from this tensile appliance or burden
chain it can be made to travel along the transit chain or wire rope d with a
tendency to run towards the furnace a, the transit chain being suitably inclined
for the purpose when drawn tight. In order to attach a charge or heavy lump
such as an ingot j or large scull serap to this lifting or burden chain the transit
chain d is slackened and the charge from the truck is secured to the lifting
chain by dogs, tongs or sling chain k. As the transit chain is drawn tight
the lifting chain is drawn up and lifts the load, which then runs along by
gravity to the front of the furnace charging door. The transit chain is then
slackened leaving the charge supported on the peel 1, which has its outer end
supported on a trestle z which is removed when the charge is run into the furnace.
In order to run the charge into the furnace we combine with the above
described apparatus another apparatus consisting of a winch m mounted to one
side of the other or burden chain winch g and preferably on a level with the
furnace fore plate so that a chain or rope secured to the outer end of the peel
and carried round a pulley o fixed in position nearer to the furnace and back to
the winch m will enable the peel with its charge to be pulled into the furnace
in the manner required to deposit the charge on the furnace hearth.
As shown by the dotted lines instead of employing hand or steam winches g and
m for actuating the tensile appliances we may use steam, hydraulic or pneu-
matic cylinders fixed to the post or column so that one stroke of each cylinder
actuates the ropes or chains d and n.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
In an apparatus or appliance for charging open-hearth steel melting furnaces,
the combination with a tension or transit chain such as d and a lifting or burden
chain such as h which by their position are adapted to carry the charging material
towards the furnace charging door by gravity, of another chain or rope such
as n secured to the end of the peel which enables the charge to be pulled into
the furnace by the aid of a winch and deposited on the furnace hearth, substan-
tially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 27th day of December 1898.
G. J. CLARKSON,
Chartered Patent Agent,
Stockton-on-Tees and Hull,
Agent for the Applicants.