U.S. patent number 3,912,091 [Application Number 05/431,804] was granted by the patent office on 1975-10-14 for coke oven pushing and charging machine and method.
Invention is credited to Buster Ray Thompson.
United States Patent |
3,912,091 |
Thompson |
October 14, 1975 |
Coke oven pushing and charging machine and method
Abstract
A combined coke oven pushing and charging machine is supported
on tracks for movement along the front of a bank of coke ovens and
is operable to open an oven door, push the coke from the open oven,
and close the oven door, and to open the door of an adjacent empty
oven, charge the oven with a uniform, level, compact charge of
coal, and close the door. The machine is then moved along the track
a distance equal to the width of one oven, a second oven is pushed,
and the oven previously pushed is charged. The pusher head is
provided with roller supports adapted to roll along the oven floor
during the pushing operation, and the head is water cooled to
prevent warping and damage by the intense heat of the coke. The
coal is deposited into the empty ovens by a drag-type endless chain
conveyer having a width substantially equal to the width of the
coking chambers and which is telescoped into the oven from the
pusher door opening. The generally horizontal cantilevered conveyer
simultaneously fills, levels, and compacts the coal in the coking
chamber.
Inventors: |
Thompson; Buster Ray
(Louisville, TN) |
Family
ID: |
26933838 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/431,804 |
Filed: |
January 8, 1974 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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240937 |
Apr 4, 1972 |
3784034 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
414/196; 198/610;
414/180; 414/214; 414/684.3; 414/804; 198/547; 414/156; 414/187;
414/215 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C10B
37/04 (20130101); C10B 35/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
C10B
35/00 (20060101); C10B 031/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;214/21,23,26,152
;202/262,263 ;201/40 ;212/4 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Sheridan; Robert G.
Parent Case Text
This is a division, of application Ser. No. 240,937, filed Apr. 4,
1972 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,034.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A coke oven pushing and charging machine comprising, in
combination, a car supported for movement along tracks extending in
front of a bank of coke ovens, oven pushing means and oven charging
means supported on said car in side-by-side relation and spaced
from one another a distance corresponding to the spacing of
adjacent ovens in the bank, said pushing means including elongated
pusher arm means supporting a pusher head having a width
substantially as great as the width of a coking chamber in said
ovens and adapted to be pushed therethrough to push a charge of
coke therefrom, said charging means including an endless chain
dragtype conveyer having a width substantially as great as the
width of said coking chambers and adapted to be projected into said
coking chamber in a generally horizontal direction through an open
door in the oven, and motor means for driving said pusher arm means
into and out of said ovens to push a charge of coke therefrom and
for driving said endless chain conveyer into and out of an adjacent
oven in the bank of ovens while said car is in a stationary
position in front of said bank of ovens.
2. The machine defined in claim 1 further comprising means for
feeding coal to said conveyer means at a substantially uniform rate
across the width thereof.
3. The machine defined in claim 2 wherein said means for feeding
coal comprises hopper means mounted on said car above said
conveyer, said hopper means including coal discharge means adapted
to discharge coal onto said conveyer at a substantially uniform
rate across the transverse width thereof.
4. The machine defined in claim 1 wherein said conveyer comprises
elongated cantilever beam means supporting said endless chain on
said car for movement into and out of said coking chamber and for
movement around an endless path including a generally horizontal
conveying run extending along said beam means adjacent the lower
portion thereof, and drive means driving said endless chain
conveyer around said endless path.
5. The machine as defined in claim 4 further comprising means for
cooling said beam means when said beam means and said endless chain
conveyer supported thereon are in said coking chamber.
6. The machine as defined in claim 5 wherein said beam means
comprises a pair of elongated beam members supported in
side-by-side parallel relation to one another and spaced apart a
distance only slightly less than the transverse width of said
coking chamber, and wherein said means for cooling said beam means
comprises fluid conduit means extending longitudinally through said
beam members, and means circulating a cooling fluid through said
fluid conduit means.
7. The machine as defined in claim 4 wherein said cantilever beam
means comprises a pair of elongated beam members supported in
laterally spaced parallel relation to one another, elongated rack
means mounted on and extending along each of said beam members, and
pinion means engaging said rack means and driven by said motor
means for moving said cantilever beam means into and out of said
ovens.
8. The machine defined in claim 7 further comprising track means
mounted on and extending longitudinally along the opposed inner
surfaces of said beam members and cooperating to define a lower
conveying run and an upper, generally parallel return run for said
chain conveyer between said beam members, and wherein said chain
conveyer comprises a pair of parallel endless chains each extending
along said track means on one of said beam members, and a plurality
of elongated generally parallel drag bars extending between and
having their ends mounted on said chains for movement therewith
around said endless path.
9. The machine defined in claim 8 further comprising a coal hopper
mounted on said car above said conveyer, said hopper including coal
discharge means adapted to discharge coal onto said conveyer at a
substantially uniform rate across the transverse width thereof
between said beam members.
10. The machine defined in claim 9 further comprising a plurality
of support rollers, bearing means mounting said rollers for
rotation about spaced parallel axes extending beneath and
transverse to said beam members, said rollers engaging and
supporting said beam members for movement into and out of said
ovens, and hold-down roller means engaging an upwardly directed
surface on each of said beam members and providing a reaction force
resisting the turning moment of said cantilever beam members when
said beam members are moved into said ovens.
11. The machine defined in claim 9 wherein said support rollers and
said hold-down rollers support said beam members for movement into
said ovens at a slightly upwardly inclined angle to at leas
partially compensate for any bending of the cantilever beam mean
members when projected from said car and into said ovens to thereby
provide a more uniform depth of coal deposited in said ovens.
12. The machine defined in claim 1 further comprising a pair of
oven door lifters mounted on said car in spaced relation to one
another corresponding to the spacing of adjacent ovens in said
bank, with one of said lifters being in alignment with said
conveyer and the other of said lifters being in alignment with said
pushing means, and means independently actuating said door lifters
for selectively removing the pusher door from adjacent ovens when
said car is in position in front thereof.
13. The machine defined in claim 1 further comprising means for
cooling said pusher head while said pusher is in said coking
chambers and in use to push coke therefrom.
14. The machine as defined in claim 13 wherein said means for
cooling said pusher head comprises a plurality of fluid tight
channels formed in said pusher head, and means for circulating a
cooling fluid through said channels when said pusher head is in
said ovens.
15. The machine defined in claim 14 further comprising fluid
conduit means extending longitudinally of said pusher arms and
connected in fluid communication with said fluid-tight channels in
said pusher head for carrying a cooling liquid along said arms and
through said channels to thereby cool the pusher head.
16. The machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said pusher arm means
comprises a pair of elongated arms supported in laterally spaced
parallel relation to one another, elongated rack means mounted on
each of said arms, and pinion means engaging said rack means and
driven by said motor means for moving said pusher head into and out
of said ovens.
17. The machine defined in claim 16 further comprising roller means
mounted on said pusher head in position to engage and roll along
the floor of an oven to thereby support a portion of the weight of
the pusher head and the pusher arms as the pusher head is moved
through an oven.
18. In the art of converting carbonaceous material into coke in
coking chambers arranged in a bank in side-by-side relation and
including elongated horizontal coking chambers having their opposed
open ends normally closed by removable doors, an improved coke oven
pushing and charging system comprising, in combination, a set of
tracks extending in front of the bank of ovens, a car supported on
said tracks for movement therealong in front of said ovens, oven
pushing means and oven charging means supported on said car in
side-by-side relation and spaced from one another a distance
corresponding to the spacing of adjacent ovens in the bank, said
pushing means including a pusher head having a width substantially
as great as the width of the coking chambers in said ovens,
elongated pusher arm means supporting said pusher head for movement
on said car through said coking chambers to push a charge of coke
therefrom, said charging means including an endless chain drag-type
conveyer having a width substantially as great as the width of said
coking chambers, elongated cantilever beam means supporting said
conveyer for movement on said car into and out of said ovens and
for movement around an endless path including a generally
horizontal conveying run extending along said beam means, means
driving said conveyer around said endless path, motor means for
driving said pusher arm means into and out of said ovens to push a
charge of coke therefrom and for driving said cantilever beam means
and the endless chain conveyer supported thereon into and out of an
adjacent oven in the bank of ovens while said car is in one
position in front of said bank of ovens, and means for feeding coal
to said conveyer means at a substantially uniform rate across the
width thereof.
19. The system as defined in claim 18 further comprising a pair of
oven door lifters mounted on said car in spaced relation to one
another corresponding to the spacing of adjacent ovens in the bank,
with one of said lifters beieng in alignment with said conveyer and
the other of said lifters being in alignment with said pushing
means, and means independently actuating said door lifters for
selectively removing the doors from adjacent ovens when said car is
in position in front thereof.
20. The system as defined in claim 19 further comprising a
plurality of fluid tight channels formed in said pusher head, and
means for circulating a cooling fluid through said channels to cool
said cooling head when in contact with hot coke in said ovens.
21. The system as defined in claim 20 wherein said pusher arm means
comprises a pair of elongated arms supported in laterally spaced
parallel relation to one another, elongated rack means mounted on
each of said arms, pinion means engaging said rack means and driven
by said motor means for moving said pusher head into and out of
said ovens, and conduit means extending longitudinally through said
arms and connected to said channels for supplying cooling water to
said pusher head.
22. The system as defined in claim 21 wherein said cantilever beam
means comprises a pair of elongated beam members supported in
spaced parallel relation to one another, rack means mounted on and
extending along each of said beam members, pinion means engaging
said rack means and driven by said motor means for moving said
cantilever beam means into and out of said ovens, conduit means
formed in and extending longitudinally of said beam members, and
means circulating cooling water through said conduit means to cook
said beam members.
23. The system as defined in claim 18 wherein said means for
feeding coal to said conveyer means comprises hopper means mounted
on said car above said conveyer, said hopper means including coal
feeding means adapted to discharge coal onto said conveyer at a
substantially uniform rate across the width of said conveyer, and
movable coal supply conveyer means for supplying coal to said
hopper means when said hopper is in any position in front of said
bank of ovens.
24. The system as defined in claim 23 wherein said movable coal
supply conveyer means comprises a driven endless belt conveyer
mounted on and extending along the top of said bank of ovens, track
means mounted on said bank of ovens and extending in spaced
parallel relation to said endless belt, and driven belt diverter
means mounted on said track means for movement therealong and
operably connected to said endless belt to divert coal therefrom
into said hopper means.
25. In process for producing coke from carbonaceous material in
individual coking ovens constructed and arranged in side-by-side
relation in a bank, with each oven having open front and rear ends
of its horizontal coking chamber normally closed by removable front
and rear doors, respectively, the improvement in the process of
pushing hot coke from the ovens and in charging the empty ovens
with a new charge of carbonaceous material comprising the steps of
positioning a pushing and charging machine in front of the bank of
ovens, said machine being of a width to span the width of two ovens
in the bank and having a pushing mechanism and a charging mechanism
thereon in side-by-side relation and spaced apart a distance
corresponding to the spacing of adjacent ovens in said bank,
opening both doors of one of the ovens in front of the pushing
mechanism of said machine, advancing the pushing mechanism of the
machine through said one oven to push the hot coke therefrom,
closing the doors of said one oven, advancing the machine along
said bank to position said pushing mechanism in front of the next
adjacent oven in the bank and the charging mechanism of said one
oven, opening the front door only of said one oven, charging the
coking chamber of said one oven through said open front door to a
substantially uniform depth across the entire width thereof
progressively from said front door to the rear door thereof,
closing said front door of said one oven, removing both doors of
said adjacent oven, and repeating the above steps to push and
charge successive ovens in said bank.
26. The process defined in claim 25 further comprising the steps of
compacting the charges of carbonaceous material as they are
deposited in said coking chambers.
27. The process defined in claim 25 wherein said step of charging
said coking chambers includes the step of progressively projecting
an endless drag-type conveyer having a width substantially as great
as the width of said coking chamber through said oven from said
open front door at the level of the top of the charge of
carbonaceous material to be deposited, and continuously driving
said conveyer to convey carbonaceous material into said coking
chamber across the entire width thereof while said conveyer is
being projected therethrough.
28. The process defined in claim 27 further comprising the step of
varying the elevation of said drag-type conveyer to thereby vary
the depth of the charge of coal deposited into an oven.
29. The process as defined in claim 27 further comprising the steps
of circulating cooling liquid through structural elements of said
drag-type conveyer to thereby cool and protect the conveyer when it
is in said coking chamber.
30. The process defined in claim 25 wherein the step of charging
said coking chamber includes the step of closing the bottom portion
only of said open front door of said coking chamber with a false
door having its top edge at substantially the same level as the
level of the charge of carbonaceous material to be deposited in the
coking chamber, charging and compacting the carbonaceous material
in the coking chamber while said false door is in position in said
front end, and then removing said false door and replacing said
front door to close the coking chamber.
31. The process defined in claim 30 wherein said pushing and
charging machine includes hopper means for containing a supply of
carbonaceous material to be deposited into the coking ovens, the
further improvement including the steps of depositing said
carbonaceous material from said hopper onto said conveyer at a
substantially uniform rate across substantially the full width of
said conveyer whereby carbonaceous material is conveyed into said
coking chamber across the entire width thereof at substantially the
same rate.
32. The process defined in claim 31 further comprising the steps of
replenishing the supply of carbonaceous material in said hopper
means simultaneously with the depositing of carbonaceous material
from said hopper onto said conveyer.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for use in
the production of coke, and more particularly to an improved method
of an apparatus for handling coke oven doors, pushing coke from
ovens, and charging the ovens with a uniform, level, compact charge
of coal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the operation of banks of modern, nonregenerative coking ovens,
the conventional practice is to charge the individual ovens,
through charging holes in their tops, from cars which run along
rails on the top of the bank of ovens. These cars carry hoppers
which are normally filled with enough coal to completely charge an
oven. Since the charging holes are spaced along the length of the
ovens, the top surface of the charge of coal, as deposited, is
uneven and must be leveled within the hot ovens to prevent uneven
coking.
The coal charges are leveled in the coking chamber by an elongated,
substantially horizontal, cantilevered leveling bar which is
telescoped into the coking chamber through a leveling bar opening
in the oven door and moved back and forth over the top of the
charge until the charge is more or less level. The bar is then
withdrawn, the leveling bar opening is closed, and the coking
process continues.
In view of the size of modern coking ovens, which may be in excess
of 50 feet in length and up to 11 feet in width, it is readily seen
that the cars employed to charge such ovens would necessarily be
extremely heavy. The live weight of the cars, when loaded with a
charge of 25 to 40 tons of coal or more, would put substantial
stress on the bank of ovens.
The use of a leveling bar to level a charge of coke in an oven,
particularly the modern, large, nonregenerative ovens, has not been
entirely satisfactory for several reasons. In the first place, the
leveling operation is time consuming and permits substantial heat
loss from the oven as a result of the oven being open during the
leveling operation. Further, the very large, wide ovens in use
today are very difficult to level by passing a cantilevered bar
projecting from its mobile support in front of the bank of ovens,
back and forth over the surface of the charge in the oven. The
tendency of such long leveling bars to droop toward the back of the
oven tends to produce an uneven charge, and to compact the coal to
a greater extent toward the back of the oven. Also withdrawing the
pusher bar from the hot oven invariably drags a quantity of coal
out of the oven through the pusher opening. This coal may be
ignited from the intense heat of the oven, a fact which further
complicates the task of cleaning up or removing the coal.
Once the coking process is completed, a pushing machine which moves
along tracks in front of the bank of ovens (and which normally
supports the leveling bar) is positioned in front of the particular
oven, and the front (pusher) and rear (coke) doors of the oven are
removed. A large ram having a pusher head substantially the width
of the coking chamber is forced through the pusher door opening and
into contact with the cake of hot coke in the oven. Sufficient
force is applied to the ram to force the cake of coke through the
coking chamber and out the coke door into a hot car or other
suitable receptacle positioned adjacent the coke door. Immediately
upon receiving the charge of incandescent coke, the hot car is
transferred to a quenching shed where the coke is quenched with
water.
The intense heat of the coke, and of the oven walls, is extremely
damaging to the pusher head. Even though these heads are normally
constructed of heavy, heat-resistant alloy steels, the extreme
temperatures and heavy loads to which they are subjected results in
their quickly becoming warped and distorted, frequently to the
extent that they do not do a good job of pushing the coke from the
oven. In normal use, a pusher head of conventional construction may
have a life expectancy of 6 weeks or less.
Numerous attempts have been made in the past to overcome the
difficulties in charging and pushing coke ovens by the conventional
process. For example, numerous devices have been proposed for
side-loading the ovens, i.e., loading the ovens through the pusher
door, or through the leveler bar opening in the pusher door. For
example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,754,981 discloses a centrifugal blower
structure for blowing coal into an oven through the normal leveler
bar opening in the pusher door. While such a device may be useful
in charging the coking chamber of a narrow regenerative retort
(which may have a total width on the order of 18 inches), it can
not be employed to deposit a uniform, level charge of coal in a
large, nonrecovery oven which may have a width of from 6 to 11
feet, or more, and a length of from 30 to more than 50 feet.
Further, even if the discharge end of a centrifugal blower conduit
could be controlled accurately enough to deposit a level charge in
such a large oven, the time required to charge the oven would be
prohibitively long, and the intense heat of the oven, which may be
as high as 2,000 to 2,600.degree.F during the charging operation,
would soon destroy the conveyer structure. Also, such a device
would be totally ineffective in compacting the top surface of the
charge of coal.
Other side-loading devices, including screw-type conveyers,
centrifugal throwers, and endless chain conveyers, have also been
proposed to avoid the defects of the conventional top-loading
process; however, these devices generally have been unsuccessful,
with the result that the prevelant current practice is still to
charge the ovens through the top as described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing and other defects of the prior art methods and
apparatus for pushing and charging coking ovens are overcome in
accordance with the present invention by an integrated apparatus
for pushing, charging, leveling and compacting large
nonregenerative coking ovens. This is accomplished in an extremely
quick and efficient manner, leaving the ovens open for a minimum of
time to thereby conserve heat in the ovens during the pushing and
charging operations and to minimize the smoke and other pollutants
discharged into the atmosphere during these operations. The
apparatus is designed to move on tracks in front of and parallel to
the back of ovens in a manner similar to the conventional pushing
and leveling machines, and is adapted to either alternately push
one oven and charge the adjacent oven without moving the machine,
or to push and subsequently charge a single oven.
The pushing and charging machine of this invention includes a
large, self-propelled car structure having a width sufficient to
span the fronts of two adjacent ovens in a bank. A pair of door
handling mechanisms are positioned to engage and remove the pusher
doors from each of two adjacent ovens without requiring the
apparatus to be moved along its supporting track. The first door
handling mechanism is adapted to remove and support the door of an
oven in an elevated position to permit the pusher ram to move
therethrough and into the pusher end of the oven. The pusher head
is equipped with roller support means which engages and rolls along
the floor of the oven to maintain the lower edge of the pusher head
in slightly spaced relation above the floor to thereby avoid damage
to the oven floor while assuring that all of the coke is pushed
therefrom. To prevent damage to the pusher head from the extreme
heat of the incandescent coke in the oven as it is being pushed,
cooling water is circulated through a system of channels in the
pusher head. Water is supplied to these channels through conduits
extending along the hollow pusher arms employed to support and push
the head through the oven. As soon as the coke is pushed from the
oven, the pusher ram is withdrawn and the oven doors are closed to
preserve the heat in the oven.
The second door lifting mechanism is adapted to remove and support
the door of the adjacent oven in an elevated position to permit the
charging of the oven through the open door. Immediately upon
opening the door, a false door, having a height equal to the height
of the charge of coal to be deposited in the oven, is positioned in
the door opening to act as a barrier to prevent the charge of coal
from flowing out of the open door. The false door is mounted on the
forward edge of a movable, horizontal platform or bridge which
extends from the false door to a position beneath a coal hopper
mounted upon the movable car structure. The movable platform is
substantially the same width as the width of the coke chamber of
the oven to be filled.
An endless drag-type conveyor is supported on the apparatus for
movement into and out of the open end of the oven to be charged.
The conveyor includes a pair of parallel, laterally spaced chains
each supported for movement about an endless path on a separate
side beam which, in turn, is supported as a movable cantilever beam
for projection above the lateral edges of the movable platform and
into the coking chamber of the oven along the sidewalls thereof. A
plurality of parallel bars have their opposed ends fixed to the
conveyor chains for movement therewith to drag a charge of coal
from the hopper over the movable platform and into the oven. By
driving the conveyer chains to convey coal into the oven as the
conveyor is being telescoped into the open oven, the oven is filled
from the pusher end thereof so that the charge of coal, engaging
the parallel drag bars, supports a substantial portion of the
weight of the cantilevered conveyer structure. At the same time,
the weight of the conveyer structure, acting through the parallel
bars, compacts the charge of coal throughout the length of the
oven. Further, since the conveyer structure is substantially the
same width as the coking chamber, the parallel, horizontally
extending bars moving over the top of the charge completely levels
the charge of coal in the oven throughout the full length and width
of the charge.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects and advantages of the method and apparatus according
to the present invention will become apparent from the detailed
description hereinbelow, taking in conjunction with the drawings,
in which:
FIG. 1 is an elevation view, partially in section, of a front
loading, nonregenerative coke oven with the pushing and charging
apparatus of the present invention positioned in front thereof;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view, in elevation, of a portion of the
apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the structure shown in FIG.
3;
FIG. 5 is a further enlarged, top plan view of the left door
lifting and the coke pushing portion of the apparatus;
FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 and showing the right door
lifting and the coal conveying portions of the apparatus;
FIG. 7 is an elevation view of the structure shown in FIG. 5, with
certain elements shown in an alternate position;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged elevation view of the pusher head, with
portions broken away to more clearly show other portions
thereof;
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 9-9 of FIG.
8;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on line 10-10 of FIG. 7.
FIG. 11 is an elevation view of the portion of the structure shown
in FIG. 6;
FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11, with certain of the elements
shown in an alternate position;
FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 13--13 of FIG.
12; and
FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 12, and illustrating the conveyor
mechanism being moved into the coking chamber.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings in detail, the pushing and charging
apparatus according to the present invention is indicated generally
in FIGS. 1 and 2 by the referenced numeral 10 and is illustrated in
position in front of a bank of nonregenerative coking ovens 12. The
machine 10 includes a generally rectangular frame assembly 14
including a plurality of transversely extending beams 16 having
their opposed ends rigidly welded to a pair of longitudinally
extending girder assemblies 18. As best seen in FIG. 4, the front
girder assembly 18, i.e., the one closest to the front of the
ovens, is supported on the cooperating track 26 by three flanged
wheels 20 mounted, as by axles, or shafts 22, supported by pillow
blocks 24. The wheels 20 are mounted one adjacent each end of the
girder assembly and one near the middle thereof. The rear girder
assembly 18 is supported by similar flanged wheels 20 each mounted
on a pinion shaft 27 supported on the bottom surface of the rear
girder assembly 18 by a pair of journal bearings 28. A sprocket 30
mounted on the end of one of the pinions 27 is driven by a suitable
drive chain 32 to propel the assembly along the track 26. To assure
adequate traction to move the heavy apparatus, a second sprocket 34
is mounted on the inner end of the driven pinion shaft 27, and a
second chain 36 extending therearound engages and drives a similar
sprocket on the rear center drive wheel pinion, not shown. Power to
propel the apparatus along the track is supplied by an electric
motor 38, acting through a suitable reduction gear mechanism 40 to
drive a sprocket 42 which, in turn, drives the chain 32. As
indicated in FIG. 3, the drive pinions 27 are coupled to the axles
24 through an elongated, flanged axle member 44. Preferably, the
reduction gear 40 is a variable speed, reversible mechanism
incorporating suitable clutching devices to facilitate accurate
positioning of the machine in front of the ovens 12.
Referring to FIGS. 1 through 7 of the drawings, it is seen that the
machine 10 includes two door handling and lifting assemblies
indicated generally by the reference numerals 50, 52, respectively.
Door handling assembly 50 is located on the left side of the
apparatus, as viewed from the operator's control cabin 54 at the
rear of machine 10, while door handling assembly 52 is located on
the right side of the apparatus. Door handling assemblies 50, 52
are positioned and adapted to engage and handle the pusher door on
adjacent coking ovens so that the two adjacent ovens may be opened
and closed without requiring the apparatus to be moved along its
supporting tracks in front of the bank of ovens. Since assemblies
50, 52 are substantially identical in construction and operation,
only the assembly 50 will be described in detail, with like
reference numerals being applied to designate corresponding
elements of the door handling assembly 52.
The door handling assembly 50 includes a pair of laterally spaced,
parallel beam members 54, 56 rigidly connected at their forward end
by a tubular structural member 58. A pair of vertically extending
post members 60, 61 are mounted on the forward end of beams 54, 56
and are reinforced by brace members 62. Post members 60, 61 support
a second cross beam 64 which cooperates with cross beam 58 to
define a generally rectangular structural frame normally having its
front surface disposed in a vertical plane. A pair of laterally
spaced, vertically extending structural members 65 are rigidly
welded on the forward face of the lifter frame in position for
their forward face to engage cooperating bearing surfaces on the
metal framework adjacent the side edges of an oven door 66.
A rigid, generally rectangular door clamping and support assembly
67 is mounted on the front face of the lifter frame between
structural members 65 and is supported for limited lateral sliding
movement therebetween by an elongated bar member 68 which, in turn,
is slideably supported by a plurality of guide brackets 69 rigidly
welded to the top member 58. A double-acting linear fluid motor 70
has one end connected to the bar 68 and its other end connected to
the top member 58, or through one of the brackets 69, to move the
support assembly 67.
As seen in FIG. 4, the door clamping and support assembly 67
includes three laterally spaced, vertically extending beam members
71 rigidly connected by suitable brace members 72. The spacing of
the beam members 71 corresponds to the spacing of structural steel
reinforcing members (not shown) on the outer surface of the oven
door, and the fluid motor 70 permits minor adjustments of the
position of the beams 71 to assure accurate alignment with the door
reinforcing members.
A pair of U-shaped hook members 73 (see FIG. 12) have their legs
pivotally mounted, as by pins 74 on the two outboard structural
beams 71, with the free hook-shaped ends of the two legs projecting
outwardly therefrom to engage a cooperating lifting bar 75 on the
oven door 66. Hook members 73 are pivoted about pin 74 to clamp and
release the bar 75 by a linear fluid motor 76 having its piston
pivotally connected, as by pin 78, to the hook member, and its
cylinder end connected, as by pin 80 and bracket 82, to the lifter
frame. Thus, actuation of the fluid motor 76 to rotate the hook
members 73 in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in FIG. 12,
will retract the hook portion of the member to a position rearward
of the forward face of the lifter frame to permit the forward face
of the frame to be positioned in contact with the pusher door when
the door is in its closed position on an oven. Actuation of the
fluid motor in the opposite direction will then rotate the clamp
members 73 clockwise to project the forward hook portion of the
members to partially encircle the lifting bars 75 and rigidly clamp
the door into engagement with the forward face of the lifter frame,
and will support the door in this position for removal and lifting
by the door handling assembly.
The rearward ends of the door lifter beams 54, 56 are pivotally
supported, as by pins 84, 86 respectively, on rigid brackets 88,
90. The brackets 88, 90 are rigidly welded to and project upwardly
from base plates 92, 94, respectively, which, in turn, are
slideably supported on the top flange of a spaced pair of the
transverse beams 16 of the frame assembly 14. A pair of guide posts
96, 98 are rigidly welded to the frame 14 and project upwardly
along each side of the base plate 92 and the beam 54 to maintain
the assembly in alignment along the top of the supporting frame
beam members. The base plates 92, 94 each have a support post 100
rigidly welded on and projecting upwardly from their forward ends
in position to engage a downwardly extending post member 102 on the
beams 54, 56 to support the pivoted lifter assembly when the lifter
frame is in its lowered position.
The lifter frame is moved between a lowered position shown in FIGS.
3 and 4 and a raised position shown in FIG. 7 by a linear fluid
motor 104 having its piston end connected by pin 106 and bracket
108 to the beam 54 and its cylinder end connected by pin 110 and
bracket 112 to the base plate 92. A similar fluid motor, not shown,
extends between base plate 94 and beam 56 and cooperates with the
motor 104 to raise and lower the lifter frame.
A second pair of fluid motors 114, 116 are employed to slide the
base plates 92, 94 along their supporting frame members 16 toward
and away from the bank of ovens. Motors 114, 116 have their
cylinder ends pivotally connected to the frame cross members 16 by
brackets 118, 120, respectively, and their piston ends connected to
the brackets 88, 90, respectively, by pins 122, 124.
The door handling assembly is employed to remove an oven door by
initially positioning the machine 10 in front of the bank of ovens
with the lifting hooks 73 in alignment with and outwardly spaced
from the lifting bars 75 on the oven door. Fluid motors 114, 116
are then actuated to slide the assembly along the top flanges of
the supporting beams 16 to engage the front surface of the lifting
frame members 65, 71 with the oven door, and the fluid motor 76 is
actuated to pivot the clamping hooks 73 in a clockwise direction to
firmly engage the lifting bars 75 and clamp the oven door onto the
lifting frame. The oven door lock is then released, and motors 114,
116 are actuated to withdraw the door 66 in a horizontal direction
a distance sufficient to clear the oven door opening. Fluid motors
104 are then actuated to pivot the lifting frame, with the door
clamped thereon, upwardly about the pivot pins 84 to support the
door clear of the door opening to permit coke to be pushed from the
oven, in the case of the door handling assembly 50, or in the case
of assembly 52, to permit a charge of coal to be placed in the oven
through the pusher door opening.
Referring now to FIGS. 1-5 and 7-10, it is seen that the coke
pushing assembly is supported for reciprocable movement toward and
away from the bank of ovens through the left door handling assembly
50, when the lifting frame is in the elevated position. The pusher
mechanism includes a pusher head 130 rigidly mounted on the forward
ends of a pair of horizontal, laterally spaced pusher arms 132,
134. The arms 132, 134 are identical in construction and
accordingly only the left arm 132 will be described in detail, with
identical reference numerals being employed to indicate
corresponding parts of the right arm 134. As best seen in FIG. 10,
arm 132 is a composite structure made up of a heavy, wide-flange
beam having a central web 136 and top and bottom flanges of 138,
140, respectively. A first vertical side plate 142 is welded to the
lateral edges of flanges 138, 140 at one side of the beam and
cooperates with the flanges and web 136 to define a first fluid
tight chamber 144 extending the length of the arm. A second side
plate 146 is rigidly welded to the edges of flanges 138, 140 on the
opposite side of the beam to define a second fluid tight channel
148. Thus, the flanges 138, 140 and the plates 142, 146 cooperate
to define a generally rectangular closed beam structure having two
parallel channels 144, 148 extending therethrough.
The arms 132, 134 are supported for reciprocable movement
transversely of the machine 10 and toward and away from the bank of
ovens 12 by a plurality of support rollers 150 mounted on shafts
151 which, in turn, are journaled for rotation about their
respective axes by a pair of bearings 152 mounted on transverse
beams 16 of the machine frame 14. The rollers 150 each have
radially extending flanges 154 (FIG. 10) on their opposed ends
which project upwardly along the edges of flange 140 to act as a
lateral guide for the arms 132, 134 during their movement into and
out of the ovens 12.
An elongated rack 156 is mounted on the top of arms 132, 134, with
gear teeth formed on the top face of the racks being adapted to
mate with corresponding gear teeth on drive pinions 158. pinions
158 are mounted on a pinion shaft 160 which, in turn, is supported
on the beams 16 by journal blocks 162 mounted on upwardly
projecting, rigid brackets 164. Pinion shaft 160 is driven, through
a sprocket 166 mounted on one end thereof, by a chain 168 which, in
turn, is driven by pusher driver motor 170 acting through a
suitable reduction gear mechanism 172 and sprocket 174. The
reduction gear mechanism 172 is preferably reversible and includes
suitable clutching mechanisms to permit the pusher head to be
driven in either direction.
Due to the length of travel of the pusher head 130, the pusher arms
132, 134 must necessarily be quite long. For example, a machine
employed to push an oven having a coking chamber 50 feet in length
requires a total length of the pusher arms of approximately 69
feet. The additional length is required both by the fact that the
arms must be supported at some distance from the front of the oven
and by the fact that the pusher head must be employed to push the
coke completely through and beyond the oven into a hot car
supported on tracks extending along the back of the bank of
ovens.
When the pusher head 130 is extended into an oven, a substantial
portion of the cantilevered weight of the pusher head and arms is
supported by the floor of the oven through an elongated roller 176
supported, as by mounting brackets 178 on the pusher head 130. When
the pusher head 130 is in the retracted position illustrated in
FIGS. 1 through 7, the pusher arms extend in cantilevered relation
rearwardly a substantial distance beyond the rearmost support
roller 150, and their weight may tend to raise the pusher head
about this rearmost roller as a pivot point. To aovid this, a pair
of hold-down rollers 180, each supported by a pair of jouranl
bearings 182 rigidly mounted on support blocks 184, engage the top
surface of the pusher arms 132, 134. The hold-down rollers 180 have
a recessed central portion 186 spanning the racks 156, and a pair
of flanges 188 on their respective ends extend along the side of
and act as a guide for the top flange 138.
Referring now to FIGS. 8-10, it is seen that the pusher head 130 is
of a hollow core construction, made up of a plurality of individual
structural beams and plates rigidly welded together to provide six
parallel, horizontally extending channels 190, 191, 192, 193, 194,
and 195 extending therethrough. The main body of the pusher head
130 is made up of five H-beams stacked on top of one another and
having their flanges rigidly weded together and cooperating to
form, in effect, two parallel, spaced vertical plates joined by the
webs 196 of the beams to define four of the channels. The top and
bottom channels 190, 195, respectively, are defined by welded plate
sections joined to the upper and lower H-beam flanges. A continuous
plate 197 is welded to the forward face of the pusher head to
provide a continuous, smooth surface for engaging and pushing the
incandescent cake of coke from an oven, and a pair of end plates
198 close the opposed ends of the assembly.
An opening 200 is provided in the web 196 of the topmost H-beam,
adjacent one end thereof, to provide communication between channels
190 and 191, and a similar opening 202 is formed in the web of the
adjacent H-beam 196 at the opposite end of the pusher head to
provide fluid communication between channels 191 and 192. A pipe
204 is rigidly welded within the pusher head 130 and has one end in
fluid communication with the channel 144 of the pusher arm 132 and
its other end in fluid communication with the channel 190 at the
end thereof opposite the opening 200. A second pipe 206 is rigidly
welded within the head 130 and has its open ends communicating with
the channel 148 in the pusher arm 134 and the channel 192 at the
end thereof opposite the opening 202.
Similarly, an opening 208 in one end of the H-beam web between
channels 193 and 194 provides fluid communication there-between,
and an opening 210 in the lowermost H-beam web provides fluid
communication between channels 194 and 195. Also, pipes 212 and 214
are rigidly welded within the pusher head assembly, with pipe 212
having its open ends providing fluid communication between the
channel 144 of pusher arm 134 and the channel 195, while pipe 212
provides fluid communication between the channel 148 of pusher arm
132 and the fluid channel 193.
A pair of flexible hoses 214, 216 are connected to the ends of the
pusher arms 132, 134 remote from the pusher head, and cooling
water, under pressure, is directed therethrough into the channels
144 of the respective pusher arms. This cooling water flows through
the pipe 204 into the top channel 190 of the pusher head, down
through the opening 200 into the channel 191, thence through
opening 202 to the channel 192, and out the pipe 206 and the
channel 148 in pusher arm 134 to cool the top half of the pusher
head. At the same time, water flows from channel 144 through the
pipe 212 into the bottom channel 195 and out of the channel 193
through pipe 214 and channel 148 of the pusher arm 132. Thus, the
cooling water serves not only to cool the pusher head 130 but also
to cool the structural elements of the pusher arms. Suitable
flexible conduits, not shown, are provided on the rear end of the
pusher arms for conveying the heated water to a cooling tower or
other appropriate point of disposal. By cooling the pusher head,
the expense of frequent replacements of this structural element is
avoided. More important, however, are the advantages derived from
the more efficient pushing of the coke from the oven due to the
fact that the cooled head does not warp. Further, substantial
savings are realized by the fact that the pushing and charging
machine does not have to be taken out of operation for the
customary frequent pusher head changes.
Referring to FIG. 2, it is seen that when the machine 10 is
positioned in front of the bank of ovens 12 so that the pusher head
130 is in axial alignment with the coking chamber of one oven in
the bank, such as oven 12b, the right door handling assembly 52 is
positioned in front of an adjacent oven 12a, with a movable oven
charging conveyer assembly 220 in axial alignment with the coking
chamber in the oven 12a. Coal to be deposited into the oven 12a
(after the pusher door thereof has been removed) is fed from a
large hopper 222. The hopper 222 has vertically extending end walls
224, 226 spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width
of the coking chamber of the oven, and inclined side walls 228, 230
(FIG. 6) which terminate at their lower edge in spaced relation to
one another to define an elongated open feed slot 232 extending the
full width of the hopper. Opening 232 may be closed by a suitable
valve member such as the sliding plate 234 (see FIG. 12) actuated
by a double acting linear fluid motor 236. Hopper 222 and the oven
charging conveyer 220 are supported on the frame assembly 14 by a
separate, vertically movable frame assembly 238 described more
fully hereinbelow.
Conveyer 220 is made up of an elongated generally rectangular frame
structure defined by a pair of identical, laterally spaced parallel
side beams 240, 242 joined at their respective ends by transversely
extending shafts 244, 246, and at spaced points intermediate their
ends by a plurality of elongated, rigid spacer members 248. The
individual side beams 240, 242 are substantially identical in
construction and accordingly only beam 240 will be described in
detail, with identical reference numerals being employed to
designate similar elements of the two beams. Thus, beam 240 is made
up of a pair of structural channels 250, 252 supported in
vertically aligned, spaced relation to one another by a plurality
of rigid gusset members 254. A pair of side plates 256, 258 are
welded to the edges of the flanges of the respective channels and
cooperate therewith to define a pair of rectangular fluid conduits
260, 262 extending the full length of the conveyor frame. The fluid
conduits 260, 262 are connected at the forward end of the conveyer
by a rigidly welded semicircular conduit section 264. Cooling
water, under pressure, is supplied to the conduit 262 by a flexible
hose 265 connected to the end of the side beam farthest from the
ovens. The cooling water circulates through the conduit 262, the
arcuate section 264 and the conduit 260 to be discharged through a
second flexible hose 266 connected in fluid communication with the
conduit 260.
Mounted on the upper surface of each of the side beams 240, 242 is
an elongated, channel-shaped rack 268 having recessed gear teeth
270 in the central portion thereof for engaging mating gear teeth
on a drive pinion 272 mounted on a transversely extending shaft
274. The shaft 274 is journaled for rotation by bearings 276 and is
driven, through sprocket 278 and chain 280, by a suitable electric
motor 282 acting through a reversible reduction gear mechanism
284.
The side beams 240, 242 are supported for longitudinal movement
toward and away from the bank of ovens 12 by a plurality of
conveyer support rollers 286 mounted on shafts 287 which, in turn,
are supported for rotation by bearing members 288 mounted at spaced
points along transverse frame members 16. Rollers 286 each have a
recessed central portion 290 which engages and supports the bottom
surface of the channel 252, and a radially extending flange portion
292 which projects upwardly along the outer surface of the beam to
maintain the beam in alignment parallel with the longitudinal axis
of the coking oven. A pair of hold-down rollers 294, similar in
construction to the conveyer support rollers 286, engage the top
surface of the rack members 268 to hold the conveyer assembly
against pivotal movement about the rearmost conveyer support roller
286 upon movement of the conveyer assembly to its fully retracted
position shown in FIG. 11. Rollers 294 are mounted of suitable
idler shafts 296 supported for rotation about their longitudinal
axes by bearings 298.
Referring to FIG. 13, it is seen that a first pair of angle members
300, 302 are mounted on the inner surfaces of beams 240, 242
adjacent the top edge thereof and in opposed relation to one
another, and a second pair of angle members 304, 306 are rigidly
welded to the inner surface of the beams adjacent the lower edge
thereof. The angles 300, 302 cooperate to define a support track
for the top, return run of an endless driven chain conveyor 308,
while angles 304, 306 cooperate to define the support track for the
lower, conveying run of the conveyer chain assembly. The conveyer
chain assembly 308 is made up of a pair of endless chains 309, 310,
with the chain of 309 extending along the inner surface of side
beam 240 and supported by the angle tracks 302 and 306, while chan
310 extends along the side beam 242 and is supported by the tracks
300 and 304. The chains 309, 310 extend over sprockets 312 (only
one of which is shown in FIG. 14) mounted on the ends of shafts
244, 246, and are held in their spaced parallel relation by a
plurality of elongated, rigid conveyer flight members, or drag bars
314. The drag bars 314 are generally L-shaped in cross section, and
have their opposed ends connected, as by mounting brackets 316, to
the individual links of the chains 309, 310.
The conveyer chain assembly is driven about its endless path by an
electric motor 320, acting through a suitable reduction gear
mechanism 322, sprocket 324, and drive chain 326. The drive chain
326 extends over a sprocket 328 mounted on a drive shaft 330
extending transversely across the conveyer assembly and mounted for
rotation about its longitudinal axis by a pair of bearing blocks
332. A pair of conveyer drive sprockets 334 are mounted on the
shaft 330 in position to engage and drive the chains 309, 310 upon
rotation of the shaft 330 by the drive chain 326. To assure
adequate driving engagement between the conveyer chains 309, 310
and the driving sprockets 334, the chains are trained upwardly
around the sprockets 334 and over idler sprockets 336 mounted on a
shaft 338 which, in turn, is journaled for rotation about its axis
by a pair of bearings 340. From the idler sprockets 336, the chains
are trained downwardly and beneath a second pair of idler sprockets
342 mounted on a shaft 344 extending transversely of the conveyer
assembly and journaled for rotation about its axis by a pair of
bearing blocks 346. Since the shafts 330, 338 and 344, as well as
motor 320 and reduction gear 22, are mounted on the movable frame
structure 238, operation of the drive sprocket 328 will move the
conveyer chain assembly about its endless path along the
rectangular conveyer frame structure independently of the position
of the machine frame 14, or of its movement of the conveyer drive
pinion 272.
A false door and bridge assembly 350 is slidably mounted on the
movable frame structure 238 beneath the movable conveyer structure
220 in the area of the coal hopper 222. The false door and bridge
assembly includes a generally rectangular frame structure 352
supported on a plurality of support members 354 of frame 238, and
is moved between its retracted position shown in FIG. 11 and an
extended position shown in FIG. 12 by a pair of identical double
acting linear fluid motors 356. Frame 352 has a smooth horizontal
top surface 358 which extends between the side beams 240, 242 and
acts as a floor surface bridging the space from the hopper 222 and
the ovens 12 and over which coal discharged from hopper 222 is
dragged by the conveyer drag bars 314.
Mounted on the forward end of the frame 352 is a generally
rectangular false door 360 adapted to be projected into and
substantially fill the pusher door opening throughout its width and
to a height substantially equal to the depth of the charge of coal
to be deposited into the oven when the assembly is in its extended
position shown in FIGS. 12 and 14. The forward conveyer support
roller 286 also acts as a guide for the false door and bridge
assembly in its reciprocal movement to assure that the floor 358
remains in position between the side beams 240, 242 to thereby
assure that no coal is spilled as it is being conveyed from the
hopper to the oven between the side beams.
Referring to FIG. 14, it is seen that the depth of the charge of
coal to be deposited in an oven may be varied by the simple
expedient of elevating the charging conveyer and the false door and
bridge assemblies. This is accomplished by supporting the conveyer
structure, including the door handling assembly 52, the hopper 222,
the conveyer assembly 220, and the false door and bridge assembly
350 on the movable frame assembly 238, which, in turn, is supported
on girders 18 by four large, single-acting fluid cylinders 362. In
the drawings, the false door 360 is illustrated as having a height
equal to the minimum depth of a charge of coal to be deposited in
the oven. When it is desired to deposit a deeper charge in the
oven, cylinders 362 elevate the frame 238 to raise the bottom
surface of the false door above the floor of the oven. When the
bottom edge of the false door is only slightly above the oven
floor, a small amount of coal may tend to flow beneath the false
door and into the door opening, but this amount will not be enough
to interfere with replacement of the oven door after completion of
the oven charging operation. However, when a substantially deeper
charge is to be deposited in the oven, it may be desirable to
employ an extension 364 (illustrated in phantom) in the form of a
structural channel or the like bolted to the bottom surface or
front face of the false door assembly. Also, if desired, once the
false door and conveyer assembly is adjusted to the desired height
by the fluid motors 362, the subframe assembly 238 may be blocked
up on the cross members 16 of the frame 14 to thereby relieve the
load on the fluid motors and assure a constant, uniform elevation
of the assembly.
While the hopper assembly may be of sufficient size to hold a
complete charge of coal to be deposited into an oven, this would
require an extremely large hopper for some modern coking ovens
which may take a charge of from 25 to 40 tons of coal. To avoid the
necessity of such a large hopper, conveyer means is provided to
supply coal to the hopper during the filling operation, with the
hopper acting as an accumulator to assure a uniform, even
distribution of coal across the entire width of the conveyer
assembly 220. Also, by commencing the charging operation with a
full hopper, the size of the conveyer required to supply the coal
to the machine may be reduced. As indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the
coal supply conveyer, indicated generally by the reference numeral
366, may be in the form of a driven endless belt 368 extending
along and supported on the front of the bank of ovens 12. A driven
belt diverter conveyer 370 is mounted on tracks 372 and is
connected to hopper 222, as by arm 374, for movement therewith
along its path in front of the bank of ovens. The diverter conveyer
370 is of conventional construction and cooperates with the endless
belt 368 to deliver the coal from the conveyer to the hopper.
A pushing and charging apparatus of the type described above has
been constructed for use in pushing and charging a bank of ovens
having coking chambers 11 feet in width and slightly over 50 feet
in length. Such an oven may require a charge of approximately 26
tons of crushed coal, when the oven is operated on a 24 hour cycle,
or approximately 40 tons of coal when operated on a 48 hour cycle.
In this initial embodiment of the machine, the hopper 222 has a
capacity of 13.5 tons, which has been found to be adequate, when
supplemented with the conventional belt conveyor system illustrated
in FIGS. 1 and 2, to maintain a uniform supply of coal through
hopper 222 to the charging conveyer 220. The charging conveyer, per
se, in this initial embodiment of the apparatus has an overall
length of approximately 69 feet and a totall width of approximately
10 feet, 10 inches. The charging conveyer positioning rack has a
total length of 58 feet, with the total travel of the conveyer from
its fully retracted position to its extended position being
slightly less than 58 feet.
The coke pusher head similarly has a width of approximately 10
feet, 10 inches, with the pusher arms being 67 feet in length. The
positioning racks on the pusher arms have a total length of 63
feet, with a pusher head having a total travel slightly less than
63 feet. This travel is sufficient to project the pusher head
completely through the oven to push a charge of coke across the
catwalk and into a hot car positioned at the coke end of the
oven.
In use of the apparatus described above, the pushing and charging
machine is positioned at the right hand end of the bank of ovens,
as viewed from the operator's station, with the pusher ram centered
in front of the front oven in the bank and with the charging
conveyer extending beyond (to the right as viewed by the operator)
the end of the bank of ovens. In this position, the left door
handling assembly 50 moves forward and clamps the oven door. The
oven door locking mechanism is then released, and the door is
withdrawn from the oven and lifted upwardly to permit the pusher
head to be telescoped therebeneath. At the same time, a
conventional door lifting mechanism 375 has been actuated to remove
the coke door from the opposite end of the oven, and to position
the conventional coke apron, or ramp 376, in front of the open coke
door to provide a chute for the coke across the rear catwalk 378
and into the hot car 380.
With cooling water being pumped through the supply hoses 216, 218
and circulated through the pusher head 130, the pusher arms 132,
134 are then telescoped into the oven to push the cake of coke
through the oven into the waiting hot car. As soon as the coke is
pushed through the oven, the reduction gear mechanism 172 is
reversed to withdraw the pusher head through the oven, and the two
oven doors are quickly replaced to converse heat in the oven. Motor
38 is then energized to move the pushing and charging machine along
the bank of ovens to position the pusher in front of the second
oven and the charging conveyer in front of the first oven which has
just been pushed.
The second door handling assembly 52 is then actuated as described
above to again remove the pusher door from the first oven, and
fluid motor 356 actuated to move the false door and bridge assembly
350 forward to position the false door 360 in the open oven door.
The charging conveyer 320 is then energized to drive the endless
chain conveyer about its path, and motor 282 is energized to start
telescoping the conveyer into the coking chamber. At the same time,
valve 234 is opened to permit coal to flow from hopper 222 onto the
conveyer, and the coal delivery conveyer is energized to deliver
additional coal to the hopper. Coal dropping through hopper 222
will pass down through the top flight of the chain conveyer and be
deposited on the surface 358 to be dragged therealong by the drag
bars 314 into the open oven. By driving the conveyer chain at a
rate to fill the coking chamber to the desired level substantially
as fast as the conveyer is telescoped into the oven, the charge of
coal deposited on the oven floor, acting through the conveyer drag
bars and the bottom surfaces of the side beams 240, 242, supports a
substantial portion of the cantilevered weight of the conveyer
assembly. This weight of the conveyer assembly, in combination with
the live action of the conveyer drag bars moving over the charge,
compacts the crushed coal throughout the length of the coking
chamber.
The tendency of the conveyer assembly to sag under its own
cantilevered weight toward the back of the coking oven places a
slightly greater compacting load on the charge in this area.
However, this effect is compensated for by the increased compaction
of the live load effect of the conveyer on the charge toward the
front of the oven, with the result that substantially uniform
compaction is obtained throughout the oven. Also, in order to
obtain a more uniform depth of charge throughout the length of the
oven, the charging conveyer mechanism is telescoped into the oven
at a slightly upwardly inclined angle to compensate for the sagging
of the conveyer toward the back of the coking chamber.
Since the charging conveyer assembly is substantially the same
width as the coking chamber, and since coal is delivered to the
conveyer uniformly across its entire width, the charge of coal
deposited in the chamber is of uniform depth and density throughout
the width of the chamber. Since the drag bars and the conveyer
chain structure are in contact with the relatively cool coal
throughout the bottom run of the conveyer path, they are exposed to
the intense oven heat only for the relatively short period of time
of the upper return run of the path. Further, the water cooled side
beams shield the conveyer chains against the intense heat radiated
from the hot oven walls even during the return run so that the
chain life is greatly increased. The relatively large volume of
cooling water contained in and circulated through the side beam
240, 242 maintain these structures at a safe operating temperature
despite the fact that they are in extremely close proximity to and
sometimes may even be in contact with the sidewalls of the coking
chamber throughout the charging operation.
By closing the hopper valve plate 234 slightly before the oven is
completely charged, the last coal delivered to the conveyer will be
conveyed to the back of the oven to complete the charge, leaving
the top of the charge in a smooth, level, compact condition. As
soon as the complete charge of coal is deposited in the oven, the
reduction gear mechanism 284 is reversed to retract the charging
conveyer. During this retracting process, the conveyer chains are
continuously driven at a rate substantially equal to the rate at
which the assembly is being withdrawn so that the bottom flight of
the conveyer chain remains substantially stationary with respect to
the charge of coal rather than being dragged back over the oven
charge, thereby avoiding any tendency to drag coal from the oven or
to disturb the top surface of the charge.
As soon as the conveyer assembly is withdrawn from the oven, the
false door and bridge assembly is withdrawn, and the door handling
assembly is actuated to replace the oven door. It has been found
that a 40 ton charge of coal can be deposited, in a level, compact
condition, into the large oven described above by this mechanism in
less than four minutes. This extremely fast charging procedure not
only conserves vast amounts of heat in the oven, but also virtually
eliminates the usual discharge of smoke and gases into the
atmosphere during the conventional charging and leveling
process.
If the pushing and leveling machine is operated by a single
operator, then the next step in the procedure will normally be to
push the second oven in the manner described above with regard to
the first oven. Upon completion of this second pushing operation,
the entire pushing and charging machine is then advanced along the
bank of ovens to place the pusher in front of the third oven, and
the procedure repeated to push and charge the entire bank of ovens.
If desired, two operators can be employed so that one may be pushed
while the adjacent oven is being charged, thereby substantially
decreasing the total amount of time required to push and charge a
bank of ovens. However, this generally is not considered necessary
since the apparatus can push and charge a large bank of ovens
within a relatively short period of time. Further, such a fast
pushing operation may overload the quenching sheds and require
additional equipment and personnel to maintain the supply of hot
cars in position to receive the coke.
While I have disclosed and described a preferred embodiment of my
invention, I wish it understood that I do not intend to be
restricted solely thereto, but rather that I intend to include all
embodiments thereof which would be apparent to one skilled in the
art and which come within the spirit and scope of my invention.
* * * * *