Coal Charging Apparatus For A Battery Of Horizontal Coke Ovens

Abstract

A coal charging apparatus for a battery of coke ovens which is divided into groups of oven chambers such that a coal charging apparatus is provided for each group. The charging holes for the oven chambers define rows of charging holes extending in a direction along the length of the battery of coke ovens. The rows of charging holes within each group of coke ovens receive coal from separate feed pipes each connected to a coal charging hopper having a coal receiving opening at its upper end in constant communication with a closable outlet of a coal storage bin. The coal storage bin is supported by a frame above the coke ovens where it receives coal from a conveyor. The coal storage bin has an outlet pipe passing through a stationary duct to communicate with the underlying coal charging hopper. Openings in the floor of the duct are used to withdraw charging gases flowing into a charging hopper from an oven chamber while coal is charged therein. The duct at each side includes rails to support paris of wheels that are, in turn, connected by piston and cylinder assemblies to a coal charging hopper for vertical displacement thereof into a sealed relation with the duct.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a battery of horizontal coke ovens having an oven roof provided with charging holes and removable covers for loading coal into the oven chambers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a coal charging apparatus for loading coal through such charging holes into the oven chambers.

In the past, devices were employed for charging coal into coke oven chambers in the form of charging cars which were displaced along rails supported upon the oven roof. Each car was designed to carry a number of individual hoppers so that a separate hopper was provided to load coal into each charging hole for an oven chamber. Thus, for example, if four charging holes were provided for each oven chamber, then the charging car was equipped with four individual hoppers. The weight of the charging car, the quantity of the coal carried by the hoppers and the shock produced during the numerous operations of the charging car all contribute to subjecting the brickwork of the oven chambers to damaging vibration and shock. This causes cracks in the brick structure and the falling out of the mortar used between the bricks.

In the past, when charging cars were incorporated in a coke oven installation and the size or volume of the coke chambers was increased, it became necessary to increase both the coal carrying capacity of the hoppers and the weight of the charging car structure. The charging cars were usually operated at relatively high speeds so that each car can be used to load coal into the largest possible number of coke oven chambers. This increases the undesirable vibrations and shock transmitted to the oven structure during the starting and stopping of the cars.

There is an upper limit to the number of coke oven chambers which can be supplied with coal from a single charging car during a given time period. In this regard, the greatest part of the operational time between two successive coal charging operations by a coal charging car is spent by (1) the return run of the empty charging car to bins of a coal tower; (2) the actual time needed to charge coal into an oven chamber and (3) the time required for a coal-laden charge car to travel to an oven chamber which is to be emptied.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved coal charging apparatus to load coal through charging holes into oven chambers forming part of a battery of horizontal coke ovens.

It is a further object of the present invention to eliminate the use of coal charging cars movable upon the roof of coke ovens by providing an improved coal charging apparatus which avoids the transfer of appreciable jarring and vibrations to the brickwork of the oven chambers.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved coal charging apparatus for loading coal into oven chambers through charging holes located in a coke oven roof whereby movement of the apparatus for preparation of a charging operation occurs in an independent manner immediately after the apparatus has completed charging coal into another oven chamber.

More specifically, according to the present invention, there is provided a coal charging apparatus for loading coal through charging holes into oven chambers of the battery of horizontally-arranged coke ovens, the charging holes for one oven chamber being arranged with respect to the charging holes for another oven chamber to define rows of spaced-apart charging holes extending in the direction of the length of the coke ovens, the charging holes having removable covers supported by the roof of the coke oven, the charging apparatus comprising: transport means for conveying coal above the charging holes for the oven chambers, a plurality of storage bins including closable outlets for storing coal received from the transport means, frame means for supporting the storage bins at fixed locations above the coke ovens, a coal charging hopper including a coal receiving opening in constant communication with and disposed below the closable outlet of each of the storage bins for movement in a direction along a row of charging holes, and a feed pipe having a lower end adapted to form a dust-tight connection with a charging hole for conveying coal from a coal charging hopper through a charging hole into an oven chamber.

The present invention is further characterized by the use of stationary coal storage bins to supply a coal charge for a small group of oven chambers, for example, five oven chambers. The transport means conveys coal to a number of storage bins whereby groups of oven chambers are supplied with a coal charge. A feature of the coal charging apparatus is that it does not move directly upon the oven roof and, therefore, the required movement of the apparatus avoids jarring and vibrations to the brickwork of the oven chambers. For each row of charge holes extending along the battery of coke ovens, there is provided coal storage bins to supply coal charges for a small group of oven chambers. The coal charging hoppers are designed to charge coal through charging holes lying in the respective rows of each group.

By employing a charging apparatus according to the present invention, each storage bin receives coal well in advance of the time when one of the coke oven chambers within the group served thereby is to be charged with coal. The coal charging hoppers are positioned directly above the charging openings of the next-to-be-charged oven chamber and a dust-tight connection is established between the discharge opening of the storage bins and the coal receiving opening of the respective coal charging hoppers. When the doors of an oven chamber, after pushing, are closed and sealed, the covers on the charging holes are lifted and the closable outlets of the storage bins are opened to start the flow of coal into the oven chamber. The quantity of coal in the group of storage bins for the oven chamber is selected according to a designated total weight of a coal charge according to the longitudinal area of the oven chamber. During the charging of coal into a given oven chamber, the apparatus is actuated simultaneously and preferably by mechanical means. After the coal has been charged into the chamber, the covers are replaced on the charging holes and the storage bins are refilled to prepared for charging coal into another oven chamber within the group. After the feed pipes are lifted from the charge holes, the associated hoppers are moved while in communication with the storage bins to another oven chamber within the group so that when it is emptied, the charging apparatus will have already been positioned and readied for the loading of coal into that chamber. After such positioning, a dust-tight connection between the storage bins and the hoppers is established and the feed pipes move downwardly toward the oven roof. The storage bins are preferably located in fixed positions at spaced locations along the longitudinal length of the battery of coke ovens so that each bin overlies a centrally-located oven chamber within the group of chambers.

Extending above each row of charging holes are rails which are supported by the coal storage bins or by special structures. The coal charging hoppers are suspended from these rails. Above each row of charging holes, a stationary exhaust duct extends in the longitudinal direction of the battery of coke ovens for exhaust of gases during coal charging operations. These ducts include sealable openings in their bottom walls which are connected in a dust-tight manner to the coal charging hoppers, notwithstanding their travel to different positions above the group of oven chambers. The exhaust ducts are box-like structures with essentially rectangular cross sections. Vertical pipes from the storage bins extend through these ducts to underlying coal charging hoppers.

The side walls of the exhaust ducts preferably support the rails that, in turn, carry wheels of suspension structures for the charge hoppers. Two types of wheels are employed, one type being hopper suspension wheels having axles attached to the hopper via vertical lifting means, and the other type being guide wheels with axles attached through resilient means, such as compression springs, to the charge hopper. The force produced by the resilient means for these latter wheels maintains them in contact with the rails during horizontal movement of the charging hopper and when the hopper is displaced vertically, the springs position the wheels by carrying the weight thereof into engagement with recesses spaced along the bottom edge of the guide rails to locate the hoppers above the oven chamber within the group.

After a charging hopper is lowered to the down position by the lifting means, the hopper is displaced above the group of oven chambers and when it is in the up position, the upper edge of the hopper forms a dust-tight seal with the exhaust duct. The coal charging hopper preferably has a rectangularly-shaped upper edge so that some of the sides extend parallel to the horizontal axes of the oven chambers while other sides extend in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the battery of coke ovens. A packing strip on the upper edge of the coal charging hopper forms a gas-tight seal between the hopper and the bottom of the exhaust duct.

The coal charging apparatus further includes means for indicating the weight of the coal contained within the storage bins for controlling and/or automatically determining the quantity of coal delivered to a given oven chamber during each charging operation. The quantity of coal to be coked can be exactly controlled by releasing a selected quantity of coal from the storage bins during each charging operation. The means for indicating the weight of the coal in the bins provides useful status information as coal is released therefrom.

It is preferred that the coal storage bins are not completely emptied after each charging operation whereby a residual coal quantity remains in the bins, thus forming a gas-tight seal at the outlets of the bins in accordance with a known practice in regard to charge cars moving on top of the ovens.

The limits for the minimum and maximum amount of coal in the individual bins may be different according to the quantity of coal which is to be released from each bin for charging an oven chamber.

The exhaust ducts for the charging gases extend to the end of the battery of coke ovens where they are connected to separate or common gas purification equipment. Instead of providing separate exhaust ducts for each row of charging holes, a single duct can be used to exhaust the charging gases from all charging holes.

These features and advantages of the present invention as well as others will be more fully understood when the following description is read in light of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view illustrating a portion of a battery of horizontal coke ovens and a coal charging apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II--II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged sectional view similar to FIG. 2 and illustrating the coal transport conveyor extending along the battery of coke ovens;

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of coal charging apparatus for a group of the oven chambers forming part of the battery of coke ovens;

FIG. 4A is an enlarged elevational view of the coal charging apparatus for a group of oven chambers;

FIG. 4B is a view similar to FIG. 4A but illustrating the position of the apparatus for charging coal into an oven chamber;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V--V of FIG. 4A; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI--VI of FIG. 4A.

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate the brickwork of the heating walls for a battery of horizontally-arranged coke ovens made up of side-by-side coke oven chambers which include chambers C20-C37. The framework posts 10 and 11 extend vertically at the machine side and the coke side of the oven chambers. In FIG. 2, coke chamber C23 typically illustrates the oven chambers which include an upper gas collecting space from where distillation gases are exhausted through a pipe 24 and elbow 25 that is, in turn, connected to an exhaust header 26. Four charge holes 12a-12d extend through the oven roof 14 and each is provided with a cover 13. While the drawings illustrate four charging holes for each oven chamber, there may be five charging holes or still a different number according to varying conditions. The charge holes 12a for each of the coke chambers C20-C37 form a row which extends in a direction along the entire length of the battery of coke ovens. Similarly, charge holes 12b, 12c and 12d of the coke chambers form three other rows of charge holes extending along the battery of coke ovens.

According to the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1, the oven chambers are divided into groups of five chambers, groups G5, G6 and G7 being shown in the drawings. Thus, within each group of oven chambers, there is a row of charging holes consisting of charging holes 12a, a row consisting of charging holes 12b, a row consisting of charging holes 12c and a row consisting of charging holes 12d. Coke chambers C23, C28 and C33 are the middle chambers within the groups G5, G6 and G7, respectively. Symmetrically arranged from the center plane of the middle chambers are pairs of frame posts 11 which extend in an upward direction beyond the top of the oven roof for the support of a portion of the coal charging apparatus according to the present invention. The frame posts 10 terminate at the upper edge of the oven roof.

As best shown in FIG. 3, crossbeams 15 interconnect the upper ends of the frame posts 11. Spacer beams 16 extend between the crossbeams 15 at a spaced location along each oven chamber. A pair of pressure gages, such as load cells 17, is supported by each beam 16. A plurality of coal storage bins 18 is employed and each has four brackets 27 that engage the load cells 17 associated with a pair of beams 16. Thus, it will be observed in regard to FIG. 2 that there is actually provided a plurality of storage bins 18 with one such bin provided above each row of charging holes within the group of oven chambers. Each bin 18 is constructed to form a vertically-extending box-like structure with a funnel-shaped hopper 19 at the bottom thereof.

An outlet pipe 20, at the lower end of each hopper 19, is provided with an arcuately-shaped closure plate 59 that closes the discharge end of the pipe 20 by operation of a piston and cylinder assembly 21. The coal storage bins store coal received at their upper ends from conduit pipes 22 which are, in turn, connected to coal transport means for conveying coal above each row of charging holes. The coal transport means, according to FIGS. 1, 2, 2A and 3, each includes a housing 28 that extends along the battery of oven chambers. A shutter 29 closes the opening between the housing 28 and the charge pipes 22. Within the housing 28 there is a double-chain scraper conveyor made up of a lower conveyor stringer 30 and an upper return stringer 31 which are separated from each other by a wall 32. As indicated in the drawings, the housing 28 is a box-like housing made up of individual sections connected together in an end-to-end relation to extend along the length of the coke ovens.

Stationary exhaust ducts 33 are defined by walls that form in cross section an essentially rectangularly-shaped passageway for charging gases. These ducts are supported in spaced-apart and parallel relation such that each one extends in a parallel relation above a row of charging holes. The vertical outlet pipes 20 of the storage bins pass through the walls forming the roof and the floor of an underlying exhaust duct. As shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5 and 6, each of the exhaust ducts has openings 34 in the floor wall located between the outlet pipe 20 and the side walls. The openings 34 are closed by pivotally-mounted flaps 35. The openings 34 and the flaps 35 are provided for each charging hole. The flaps 35 are raised to an open position by lifting rods 58 carried by coal charging hoppers 39 to extend above its upper edge 40. A packing strip 41 is attached to the upper edge 40. The packing strip 41 and edge 40 are rectangular in shape with the longer sides of the rectangular extending in the direction parallel with the rows of charging holes.

The coal charging hoppers are built so that they are relatively flat having a minimal height. Each hopper 39 is supported by a suspension structure from opposite sides of an associated exhaust duct 33 by providing at both side walls, horizontal plates 36 with support surfaces 36a and guide plates 37 spaced vertically above the surfaces 36a. The lower edges of the guide plates 37 include indexing notches 38 for locating a coal charging hopper at spaced locations with respect to the charging holes for the group of coke ovens. The surfaces 36a are engaged by support wheels 42 and guide wheels 43 at each side of the duct 33. The support wheels 42 have axles 44 joined with connecting rods 53 which are, in turn, connected to piston and cylinder assemblies 46 forming part of the suspension structure for the hoppers 39. The rod ends 45 of the piston and cylinder assemblies 46 are joined by brackets 47 to the side walls of the hopper 39. The guide wheels 43 are resiliently supported by springs 48 that are, in turn, carried by brackets extending from the hoppers 39. The springs 48 support the wheels 43 so that when the hoppers 39 are raised, these wheels are urged into indexing notches 38 for horizontally locating the hoppers. It should now be apparent that there is provided a hopper 39 for each row of charging holes within the group of oven chambers. Telescoping feed pipes 49 are secured to the discharge end of the hoppers 39 and are raised and lowered by means of a piston and cylinder assembly 50 to form a dust-tight connection with a charging hole while conveying coal into an oven chamber. The feed pipes include an upper and a lower part that telescope together and are connected by means of a leather sleeve 54 to isolate vibrations and jarring movement by the charge hoppers from the oven brickwork.

As best shown in FIG. 5, a centrally-arranged housing structure 51 is secured by braces 57 to the inside walls of the charging hoppers. Within the housing 51 a lifting device 52 is provided such as a pulley having a magnetic head which can be lowered through the telescoping pipe 49 into engagement with a charge cover 13 and lift it into a protected area within the housing during the charging of coal. An unbalanced motor 55 is connected by a console structure 56 to one of two upwardly-diverging floor walls of the charging hopper. The unbalanced motor 55 produces vibrations to insure that coal will flow continuously from the outlet pipe 20 along the floor of the charge hopper and into the telescoping feed pipe.

After one oven chamber within the group of five oven chambers has been charged with coal, the associated coal storage bins 18 can be refilled with coal by opening the shutters 29 of the transport means 28. When the load cells 17 indicate that the required weight or quantity of coal has been loaded into the storage bins, the shutters 29 are again closed. When an oven chamber within the group of chambers is to be charged with coal, the charge hoppers 39, one for each charge hole 12a-12d, are moved so that the telescoping feed pipes 49 are located above the charge openings in the oven roof. These operations are performed in a simultaneous manner and controlled through suitably linked control devices for the bins 18 and hoppers 39.

When the oven doors are again replaced on an emptied oven chamber, the charge hoppers 39 are raised by actuating the piston and cylinder assemblies 46 so that the packing strips at the upper edges of the charge hoppers form a gas-tight seal with the underside of the exhaust duct 33. As this occurs, the flaps 35 for the openings 34 are lifted by the pins 58. The shutters 59 are open by the piston and cylinder assemblies 21 and the charge covers 13 are lifted by the device 52 and withdrawn into the space within the housing 51. Coal now flows into the hoppers 39 which undergo vibrations due to the unbalanced motor 55. The charging gases developed during the charging process are exhausted through the charging holes 12a-12d and pass through the feed pipes into the coal charging hoppers and thence through the openings 34 where these gases are withdrawn by the exhaust duct 33. Upon completion of the coal charging operation, the covers 13 are replaced upon the charging holes and the telescoping feed pipes 49 are lifted from the oven roof. The piston and cylinder assemblies 46 are actuated to lower the charge hopper from the gas-tight relation with the exhaust duct 33 to a position as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 where the charge hoppers can be moved along the row of charging holes within the group of coke chambers. As the charging hoppers are lowered, the flaps 35 are lowered to close the openings 34. The circular shutter 59 is also closed and the charge bins 18 and hoppers 39 are now in readiness for the next coal charging operation for an oven chamber.

The openings 34 at both sides of the outlet pipe 20 may be located, if desired, in front and behind the outlet pipes 20 when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the battery of coke ovens. The flaps 35 may be actuated to close these openings by downward extensions projecting from the flaps for engagement by lifting plates on the hoppers so that when the hoppers are raised, the flap extensions are engaged to lift the flaps to their open position as indicated in FIG. 4B. The charging of coal from the bins 18 may be carried out so that at the end of the charging process, a residual quantity of coal remains in the bins and thereby a gas-tight seal is provided at the lower end of the bin to eliminate the danger that charge gases can escape through the outlet 20 into the bin at the end of the charging process. The piston and cylinder assemblies employed for raising and lowering the hoppers 39 and the piston and cylinder assemblies for raising and lowering the telescoping pipes 49 may be replaced by electrically-operated means. In a similar manner, piston and cylinder assemblies or electrically-operated means may be employed for moving the hoppers 39 into their various positions with respect to the charging holes for the group of oven chambers which they serve.

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.

Claims

I claim as my invention:

1. A coal charging apparatus to load coal through charging holes into oven chambers of a battery of horizontally-arranged coke ovens, the charging holes for one oven chamber being arranged with respect to charging holes for another oven chamber to define rows of spaced-apart charging holes extending in a direction along the length of said coke ovens, said charging holes having removable covers supported by the roof of the oven chambers, said charging apparatus comprising:

transport means for conveying coal above the charging holes of said coke ovens,

a plurality of storage bins each including a closable outlet for storing coal received from said transport means,

frame means for supporting said storage bins at fixed and stationary locations above said coke ovens,

coal charging hoppers including coal receiving openings, said openings being in constant, coal feeding communication with and disposed below the closable outlet of each of said storage bins, said hoppers being movable in a direction defined by said row of spaced-apart charging holes, and

a feed pipe having a lower end adapted to form a dust-tight connection with a charging hole for conveying coal from a coal charging hopper through a charging hole into an oven chamber.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of storage bins is supported by said frame means at a fixed and stationary locations, each location overlying a preselected number of side-by-side coke oven chambers designated to receive coal at different times from a given coal charging hopper.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each one of said plurality of storage bins is centrally arranged above said preselected number of side-by-side coke oven chambers.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising rails including support surfaces extending along said coke oven in a direction parallel to each of said rows of charging holes, support means for carrying said rails spaced above said rows of charging holes, and suspension means carried by the support surfaces of said rails for supporting a coal charging hopper for movement relative to the closable outlet of one of said storage bins.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising stationary duct means above said coke ovens for receiving charging gases passing from an oven chamber through a feed pipe while delivering coal from a coal charging hopper, and exhaust control means carried by said duct means for selective communication with a coal charging hopper to withdraw charging gases therefrom.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said stationary duct means overlies said coal charging hopper, said apparatus further comprising means for displacing said coal charging hopper into an adjoined relation with said stationary duct means to withdraw charging gases through said control means.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising stationary duct means including walls defining a passageway for charging gases received by a coal charging hopper from an oven chamber which charging coal through a feed pipe, said storage bins including conduit means extending through said stationary duct means for transfer of coal into said coal charging hopper, said conduit means supporting said closable outlet, rails carried by the side walls of said duct means, and suspension means supported by said rails for carrying said coal charging hopper whereby the coal receiving opening thereof underlies said duct means.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said walls of said stationary duct means form in cross section an essentially rectangularly-shaped passageway for charging gases.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said suspension means are further defined to include a plurality of wheels for engaging the rails at each side wall of said duct means, lifting means connecting said coal charging hopper with at least one wheel at each side wall of said duct means for vertically displacing said coal charging hopper into a dust-tight connection with said duct means from a lowered position at which the coal storage hopper is displaced in the direction of said row of charging holes.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said suspension means are further defined to include resilient means connecting said coal charging hopper with another wheel of said plurality of wheels at each side wall of said duct means, said resilient means including a compression spring constructed and arranged to support the weight of an associated wheel when lifted from said rail by vertical displacement of said coal charging hopper.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 further comprising an indexing rail including surfaces spaced from said rails carried by the side walls of said duct means for engagement with the wheel connected by said resilient means to said coal charging hopper to locate a feed pipe of said coal charging hopper for duct-tight connection with a charging hole for an oven chamber.

12. The apparatus according to claim 6 further comprising a packing strip extending above said coal receiving opening of said coal charging hopper for establishing a gas-tight seal with said stationary duct means upon displacement of said coal charging hopper into an adjoined relation therewith.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising load measuring means carried by said frame means for indicating the weight of coal contained within at least one of said plurality of storage bins whereby the quantity of coal charged into each oven chamber is controllable.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13 wherein said load measuring means includes a load cell for each of said plurality of storage bins to produce an electrical signal representative of the weight of coal contained within each storage bin.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said coal charging hopper includes floor plates diverging in the direction of said coal receiving opening for receiving coal from one of said storage bins.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15 wherein the charging holes for one oven chamber are separately connected in a smoke-tight relation with a feed pipe to convey coal from individually connected coal charging hoppers.