Improvements in Apparatus for Charging Furnaces with Rails or the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Feb., 1899- Accepted, 25th Mar.,
1899
[Communicated from abroad by EDWARD WILLIAM MCKENNA, of 402, Jefferson
Street, Milwaukee, in the County of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin,
United States of America, Manufacturer ]
Improvements in Apparatus for Charging Furnaces with Rails
or the like.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby déclare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be pérformed; to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: -
This invention relates to a charging machine, and more particularly to a
machine for charging railway rails or other objects of like character into a
furnace. Such a machine is required in a rolling-mill plant which re-rolls or
renews old steel rails; and I will describe my invention as applied to a machine
for this specific purpose
Rails which are brought to a mill for renewal are usually unloaded from the
cars and formed into piles, from which they are transferred to a charging machine,
which pushes them into a furnace to be heated in preparation for the re-rolling
process. Charging machines heretofore used have been defective in many ways,
since it has not been possible to handle a large number of rails with the requisite
speed; and since the rails were pushed into the furnace one at a time, frequent
opening of the furnace doors was necessitated, and much valuable heat thus
lost Again, it was difficult to charge the rails evenly-that is, at the requisite
distances apart, and further, no adequate means were provided for quickly
loading the table of the charging machine with a number of rails. It is the
object of this invention to overcome these difficulties and to provide a machine
of great efficiency, which will require little manual labor for its operation.
In accordance with my invention, the table of the charging machine is adapted
to be placed opposite that portion of the furnace into which the rails are to be
charged, and pushers are arranged to travel to and fro along this table and
charge the rails directly from the table into the furnace, without the necessity
of transferring them one by one to a special guide-way for this purpose, as
heretofore. The table is preferably divided into sections, say three, each of which
is adapted to receive a given number of rails, for instance, half a dozen, and the
machine may be provided with three pushers, one for each section, each of which
pushers is adapted to engage and charge at one time the entire number of rails
which may be accommodated in the section with which such pusher is associated
Means are provided whereby any one of the pushers may be actuated indepen-
dently of the rest
The whole machine may be mounted upon wheels and arranged to travel along
tracks across the front of the furnace, and motor mechanism may be connected
to such wheels, whereby the machine may be moved as desired and adjusted
opposite any particular part of the furnace into which the rails are to be charged.

page_text: An overhead travelling carrier is preferably provided in connection with the
charging machine, for loading rails upon the table of such machine This
travelling carrier may be in the nature of a travelling crane, and the grapple
which it carries for picking up rails pieferably consists of one or more powerful
electro-magnets, whose pole pieces may be formed to engage the same number
of rails which is accommodated by one of the sections of the charging-machine
table that is to say, in the special case assumed, the everhead travelling carrier
would have a capacity of six rails, which rails would be held by such carrier in
the same relation to one another that they would necessarily have when properly
arranged upon a section of the charging-machine table. This overhead carrier
may be arranged to travel transversely over the charging machine and out into
the yard of the mill, where it may pick up its load of the predetermined number
of rails and transport them all together to a point immediately above an empty
section of the charging-machine table, and then lower them until they come to
rest thereon Thereupon the electro-magnetic grapple may be de-energized and
the travelling carrier sent out agam for another load of rails.
It will be evident that the ideas above set forth may be taken advantage of
in various ways and embodied in machines differing widely as to their particular
construction. I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings a charging
machine which may be taken as typical of the class to which my invention may
be applied, and the features of such machine which embody my invention will
now be set forth by directly referring to the drawings
Fig. 1 is a plan view of the charging machine, one of the pushers being shown
as in the act of charging six rails into the furnace; the rails, however, being
broken away so that those parts of the machine lying underneath may not Le
obscured:
Fig 2 is a side elevation of the same;
Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, this view also
serving to indicate the manner in which the overhead travelling carrier, above
referied to, is employed to load rails upon the table of the charging machine.
Similar letters of reference are used to designate the same parts whenever
they are shown
The frame-work of the machine is constructed to form a table, and is divided.
into three sections or smaller tables a a a, each of which is provided with
tracks a al along its sides Each section has associated therewith a pusher b
mounted upon wheels 161 to travel to and fro along the tracks of that section.
Each section is of a size to accommodate six rails resting in an upright position,
which rails may be maintained parallel, in proper alignment and at suitable
distances apart by guiding blocks having lugs which project upward
between the rails as they lie upon the table Each section is provided with a
numbers of rollers d d located at intervals along its top, said rollers being adapted
directly to sustain the weight of the rails which may be placed upon that section,
so as to reduce the friction when the rails are charged, and permit them to be
easily moved along the table. Each of the pushers bb is preferably provided
with a number of notches at its forward end, corresponding to the number of
rails which is accommodated by the section along which such pusher travels;
that is to say, in the machine illustrated, each pusher is provided with six notches
adapted to engage the six rails of its section.
To effect the travel of the pushers to and fro along their respective sections,
I provide a pair of endless chains e e, one of which chains may be stretched
along each side of a section, passing over sprocket wheels at the ends thereof.
This arrangement will be understood at a glance by reference to Figs 1 and 2.
At the forward end of the charging machine, that is, at the end next the
furnace, a driving shaft f is illustrated, having gear wheels f¹ fi f' looselv
mounted thereon, which gear wheels mesh with corresponding gear wheels f° få få
associated one with each section Each of the gears 2 f is rigidly mounted
upon a shaft f3, at the ends of which are provided sprocket wheels f f
These

page_text: sprocket wheels engage and drive the pair of endless chains which is associated
with the same section and to which the pusher is fastened.
There are, therefore, three shafts f f f at the forward end of the machine,
one associated with each section of the table, and each so connected with the
pusher of its section that a rotation of the shaft in either direction will cause
the pusher to travel forward or backward according to the direction of such
rotation. Clutch mechanism g may be associated with each of the gear wheels fl
upon the driving shaft f, and either of the clutches may be actuated at will by
the operator, who stands upon a platform h; three levers g g g being provided
upon the platform for this purpose, connected one with each of said clutches.
An electric motor i furnishes power for the charging machine, such motor deriving
its current from an overhead trolley wire, by means of the well known trolley-
contact device k. Power is transmitted from the motor to the driving shaft f
geared thereto through intermeshing bevel gear wheels m m.
The means for controlling the motor may consist of the well known series
parallel controller ¹, such as that illustrated, mounted upon the platform h
conveniently near the three levers q¹ g¹ g' The operator, therefore, may stop,
start or reverse the direction of rotation of the motor, so that it will be clear
that he can, by manipulating the controller and the three levers, cause either
of the pushers to perform its excursion to and fro along its section to charge
the rails lying in such section, into the furnace. In Figs. 1 and 2, one of the
pushers is shown in the act of charging six rails, as described.
The machine is mounted upon wheels n arranged to travel along tracks o o,
which extend transversely across the front of the furnace, in juxtaposition with
the end of the charging machine. A portion of the furnace is indicated in
Fig 1 at the extreme right of the sheet. The wheels # nare mounted upon
shafts which are connected by intermediate shafting and bevel gearing
with the main driving shaft 7, and a clutch is provided for throwing the
shafts in or out of gear with such main diving shaft, the clutch being
connected with and operated by a lever at the operator's platform.
The operator, therefore, by manipulation of the contioiler and the lever 2,
may cause the whole machine to travel in either direction along the tracks o O
for the purpose of adjusting the machine with relation to the furnace, in order
to bring any section of the table opposite any desired part of the furnace opening
The device for loading rails upon the table of the charging machine is indicated
in Figs 2 and 3, wherein powerful electro-magnets p p are shown suspended
from the travelling carrier q. The pole pieces of the magnets are of a width
sufficient to accommodate six rails, and are preferably notched, as illustrated
more clearly in Fig. 3, to hold the rails more securely in the desired positions.
In Fig. 3 a source of electric current is shown diagrammatically, connected
with the magnet p through a switch, and also connected with the trolley wire
and ground.
I have found it convenient to provide a loading table s at a point accessible
to the travelling carrier, upon which loading table the rails, which are brought
to the mill for renewal, may be placed and arranged in positions from which
they may easily be picked up by the travelling carrier.
The operation of the whole arrangement may be briefly described as follows:
Six of the rails which are intended to be renewed are arranged upon the
loading table in the proper positions, whereupon the travelling carrier is brought
to a point above such loading table, the magnetic grapples are let down until
the pole pieces of the magnets rest upon the heads of the six rails, and the
magnets are energized by closing the switch r¹. The grapples, carrying with
them the six rails, may now be raised, through the agency of the cables by which
they are suspended, and the travelling carrier then may be caused to move along
its overhead tracks until the six rails are brought into position immediately
above one of the sections of the charging machine. The grapples and rails may
now be lowered until the latter rest upon the rollers d d in the required positions;

page_text: that is, separated from one another by the lugs c¹ c¹ of the guides_c, whereupon
the magnets may be de-energized and the travelling carrier moved away.
The operator, standing upon the platform h, may now manipulate the controller
and the lever g until the charging machine is moved into the proper position
with relation to the opening in the furnace, that is, until the section, whereon
the rails have been placed, is opposite a clear space in the furnace. Thereupon,
by manipulating that one of the levers g which is associated with that section,
the pusher thereof may be caused to move forward, engaging the six rails and
pushing them longitudinally off the table and into the furnace.
The pusher
then may be retracted until it occupies a position at the extreme rear of the
charging machine, after which this section may once more receive its load of
rails to be charged and the operation above described may be repeated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is:-
1 In a charging machine, the combination with a table adapted to support
a number of rails and to permit a number of such rails to be moved off from
it together, of pushing mechanism adapted to travel along said table in the
direction of its length and simultaneously to charge a number of the rails
accommodated upon said table, and means for causing said pushing mechanism
to perform its excursion along said table, substantially as described
2. In a charging machine, the combination with a table adapted to support
a number of rails, of a series of guiding blocks located at intervals along said
table in the line of the rails, to maintain said rails parallel to one another and
at given distances apart, pushing mechanism adapted to travel along said table
in the direction of its length, said pushing mechanism being adapted to engage
a number of rails, and means for causing said pushing mechanism to perform
its excursion along said table, whereby a number of rails may be charged by
one excursion of said pushing mechanism, substantially as described
3. In a charging machine, the combination with frame-work forming a table
and adapted to support a number of rails, said table being adapted to permit
all of such rails to be moved off from it longitudinally, of pushing mechanism
adapted to engage all of said rails at one time and to travel longitudinally along
Sand table, means for causing said pushing mechanism to perform its excursion
along said table, whereby all of the aforesaid rails upon said table may be
charged by one excursion of said pushing mechanism, a travelling carrier adapted
to support and carry at one time a number of rails, and means for causing said
travelling carrier to deposit such number of rails all together upon said table,
substantially as described
4 In a charging machine, the combination with frame-work forming a number
of sections or tables, each of said sections being adapted to support a number
of rails, of pushing mechanism associated with each of said sections and adapted
to engage and charge a number of rails there, and means for causing said
pushing mechanism to perform its excursion, substantially as described.
5. In a charging machine, the combination with a table, said table consisting
of a number of sections or smaller tables, each of said sections or smaller tables
being adapted to support a number of rails, of pushers associated one with each
of said sections, each of said pushers being adapted to engage all of the rails
upon its section, means for causing any one of said pushers to perform its excur-
sion along the section with which it is associated, a travelling carrier associated
with said charging machine adapted to support and carry a number of rails at
one time, and means for causing said travelling carrier to deposit such number
of rails upon either of said sections, substantially as described
6. In a charging machine, the combination with frame-work forming a number
of sections or tables, each of said sections being adapted to support a number
of rails, a pusher associated with each of said sections and adapted when actuated

page_text: to charge a number of the rails upon its section, a driving shaft, and motor
mechanism associated therewith for rotating the same in either direction, and
means for connecting said driving shaft with either of said pushers, whereby
either of the latter may be caused to travel backward and forward along the
section with which it is associated, according to the direction of rotation of said
driving shaft, substantially as described.
7. The combination with a charging machine having a table adapted to support
a number of rails and to permit a number of such rails to be charged by one
operation, of pushing mechanism adapted to engage and charge a number of
rails at one time, a travelling carrier associated with said charging machine for
transporting rails thereto, an electro-magnet associated with said travelling
carrier, said electro-magnet having pole-pieces adapted simultaneously to engage
a number of rails, thereby constituting an electro-magnetic grapple; a source
of electric current, and means for connecting the same with said electro-magnet
and disconnecting the same therefrom, substantially as described
Data 1 041
1.
с
1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, WC,
Agents for the Applicant