US1307744A - Sheet - Google Patents

Description

C. T. MAGILL.

FURNACE FOR ANNEALING CONDENSER TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN 8, I919.

Patented I 11110 24, 191%).

4 SHEETSSHEET Iv NA MN.

... III III I II III ll III |.IIII I| ||1|l l I INVENTOR C, T. MAGILL.

FURNACE FOR ANNEALING cowmzwsm TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED SAN. 3. 1919v A Patvm'vd June 2 W12).

4 SHEEIS--SHEET 2' nvvavrog 57 ATTORNEYS Cl Tl FURNACE FOR ANNEALING CONDENSER TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-8.1919.

Patented J line 24, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Dn m M N I ATTORNEYS C. T. MAGILL.

- FURNACE FOR ANNEALING CONDENSER TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-8,1919.

1,307,744. j A Patented June 2- 1919,.

@SHEETS-SHEET 4..

[NJ/EN TOR A ITOR/VEYS emma.

UNITED STATES CHARLES 'rnomasmaarnn,

OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIG-NOR TO BETTE-IL HEM SHIPBUILDING- COBPORA'I'ION, L'IDi, F BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA, A.

COBZPORATION OF DELAWARE.

FURNACE FOR ANNEALING GONDENSER -TUBES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES THOMAS MA- GILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented a new and useful Furnace for Annealing Conlid the condenser tubes to be annealed are fed to the furnace in any desired manner, prefer; ably automatically, and pass continuously through the furnace so that ing operation has been completed.

By such an annealing furnace, thirty or more tubes may be annealed per minute with a consetill quent decrease in operation'ix I With the above in'view, y invention consists of a noveliwconstructign and arrangement of a furnace foi annealing'condenser tubes wherein provision is made to effect the continuous travel ofthe tubes through the annealing-furnace to the cost of the annealing tion.

For the purpose of illustrating my inven- Specification of Letters Patent.

when they are discharged therefrom the requisite anneal construction and arrangement of I simultaneously anneal both ends of the tubes. I also preferably through Patented June 24., 1919.

Applicationflled January 8,1919. Serial No. 270,120.

tion, I have shown in the accompanying drawing a typical embodiment of it which in practice will give satisfactory and reliable results. It is, however, to be understood that this embodiment is typical only and that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized, and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein set forth.

Figure 1 represents a to plan view of a furnace for annealing con enser tubes, em-

bodying my invention.

" Fig. 2 represents a furnace in side elevation,- certa n of the fuel pipesbeing insec' tion.

Fig. 3 represents a front elevation of the furnace. Fig.4 represents, on an enlarged scale, a side elevation of one unit of the furnace and certain of its adjuncts.

Similar" numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings. In accordance with my present invention, I employ two annealing furnace units, each of which is constructed in a similar manner so that a detailed description of one will suffice for both. Each unit consists of an annealing furnace 1 which is built up of plates and angles and consists of a flanged bottom and 4 and a top plate 5.

plate 2, side plates 3 A. flanged plate 6 is also employed at one side ,of the furnace, and a plate 7 is employed which forms a platform on which the ends of the tubes roll. 8 designates the end plates which are slotted or cut out as indicated at 9, in order to provide mouths for the ends of the tubes during their travel the furnace. Each oven is mounted on standards 10 which are preferably formed of angle iron and which are provided with wheels or rollers 11. The plates are secured together in any desired manner and are preferably braced internally by means of angles 12'. 13 designates the main fuel inlet pipe which communicates with a pi e 14 which, rnace unit extends longitudinally of a along its side and is provided with a desired number of upwardly ei ztending branches 15 the spaced from each other. Each of these branches 15 communicates with a burner 16 which has a steel pin 17 across its discharge end. The burner passes through an opening in the front plate 4' and discharges'into the annealing chamber 18'- above which an end of a condenser tube 19 is to be passed. The

ipe 14 is provided with laterally extending branches 20- and .21, and such branches of opposite furnace units are connected by a flexible metallic hose 22, see Fig. 1. Each furnace is provided at its ends with bearings 23 in which are journaled the shafts 24 on which are mounted sprocket wheels 253. Passing around the sprocket wheels 25 are the sprocket chains '26 which are provided with the upwardly extending lugs or pins 27. which contact with the condenser tubes 19 in order to effect their travel through the furnace.

The shafts 24 are mounted in 23 in such a manner that the furnace units may be adjusted relatively to each other as desired. The sprocket wheels are driven in any desired manner so that the shafts 24 are simultaneously rotated. In order to illustrate conventionally one manner of effecting the feed of the sprocketor conveyer chains 26, I have shown one of the shafts 24 as having secured thereto a pulley 25 around which passes a belt 26 which passes around a pulley 27 on the drive shaft of a motor 28, see Fig. 3.

'In order to effect a revolution of the tubes during their travel through the furnace, I provide means for varying the height at different places of partial or complete I the upper stretch of the conveyor and this is preferably accomplished by positioning rolls 29, see Fig. 2, beneath the platform forming the travel of the conveyor chains the ends ofithe condenser tubes are free to roll on said platform while at other times they are raised above the platform and are carried by the conveyer chains above and out of contact with said platform.

The pipes 15 which communicate with the pipes 1a are provided with gate valves 30 so that any desired branch fuel pipe can be properly controlled in accordance with the requirements met with in practice.

The operation of my novel furnace for annealing condenser tubes will now be readily apparent to those skilled in this art and is as follows:

The sprocket chains are driven in any desired or conventional manner, and as illustrated, one of the shafts 24 is driven by the motor 28. The condenser tubes 19 are fed in any desired manner to the conveyor chains 26. Assuming now that the burners 16 are operative and the annealing chamber 18 is being heated thereby, the condenser tubes are fed progressively through the bearingsplate 7 so that during a portion of the annealing chamber so that a large number -of tubes are being anealed at the same time. The rollers 29 are located in such position that at predetermined intervals the upper stretch of the conveyor chains at predetermined points will be permitted to sag so that the ends of the condenser tubes 19 will rest on the platforms 7 and be permitted to revolve. By such construction the ends of the tubes are uniformly annealed on all sides. As the condenser tubes pass from the annealing furnace they are automatically discharged from the conveyor formed by the sprocket chains as will be apparent.

The annealing furnace can be readily adjusted to receive tubes of different lengths since all that it is necessary to do is to vary the spacing between the furnace units by moving them toward or away from each other and it is unnecessary to disconnect the flexible metallic hose 22 or to vary the adjustment of the sprocket wheels.

By the employment of my present invention a large number of condenser tubes may be properly annealed at a minimum cost, and my invention is especially applicable to shipyards, and boiler and condenser plants, where it is desired to anneal uniformly and expeditiously the ends of tubes, rods or the like, which can be simultaneously effected by my invention.

It will be understood by those skilled in that art, that it is desirable in an annealing furnace of this character, that the ends of the articles to be annealed should be subjected to a continuous and somewhat prolonged heat for the desired period of the annealing operation and that not only should the heat be positively directed upon the part to be annealed, but it is further desirable that the heating medium employed should be pro-heated to a certain extent, prior to ignition, in order to promote combustion.

Therefore, in accordance with my present invention, I provide longitudinally extending annealing chambers into which discharge a plurality of burners disposed in spaced relationship along the length of such chambers, and valve controlled branch pipes communicate with said burners, so that the amount of fuel led to the burners may be regulated in accordance with the requirements met with in practice.

, It will be apparent from the foregoing, that by arranging the annealing furnaces with their annealing chambers having their mouths wherein the ends of the articles to be annealed are received, juxtaposed or oppositely located to each other, as will be understood from Fig.2, and by arranging continuous longitudinally extending heating chambers below the platforms 7 which are provided with a plurality of burners burner pipes-16, as described within the furnace as will be understood from Figs. 3 and 4, the outside of the furnace is not encumbered or obstructed with piping or holes for the inlet of the heating medium, as has been the practice with annealing furnaces with which I am familiar.

It will therefore be seen in my invention, owing to the construction of the overhanging portions of the furnace and the posi-' tioning of the platforms 7 with respect to the burner pipes, that a maximum degree of heat can be continuously applied to the ends of the articles to be annealed, while the latter travel through the furnace, so that when said articles have completed their 7 travel through the furnace, they will uponv their exit therefrom "beexpeditiously and effectively annealed to theidesired extent.

I am aware that it has been heretofore proposed to heat the ends of metal spokes by the application of a heating medlum thereto at two opposite holes in the sides of the heating furnace wherein said heating medium is injected from the outside of the furnace. Such constructlon, however, is not" capable of attaining results I have obtained by pre-heating the heating medium prior to its discharge into the furnace and by employing a plurality of burners arranged in succession below the platform upon which the articles to be annealed are adapted at intervals to contact with for the purpose described.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction of a furnace for annealing condenser tubes which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description, and while I have, in the present instance, shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof which will give in practice satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that such embodiment thereof is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is;

1. An annealing furnace, comprising furnace units, each unit having a longitudinally extending annealing chamber, and an open side to receive an end of a tube, means to heat said chambers, a tube conveyer, and means cooperating with'said tubes during nace units relatively adjustable with respect to each other, each unit having an annealing chamber, a platform along said chamber and an open side to permit an end of a tube to ex tend into an annealing chamber, means to heat said chambers, sprocket chains along the open side of said units and having lugs to engage the tubes, means to drive said sprocket chain's,and means cooperating with the upper stretch of said sprocket chains to cause the tubes to be at times out of engagement with said platform and at other times to contact with said platform to effect the turning of. said tubes during their travel through said annealing chamber.

3. An annealing furnace, comprising furnace units spaced apart, each unit having a longitudinally disposed annealing chamber and an open side, a fuel pipe extending along each unit, branch pipes extending from said fuel pip'e,'burners-for said anneal-" 7 brackets carried by said units, shafts jour naled in said brackets, sprocket wheels fixed to said shafts, and sprocket chains passing ,around said sprocket wheel and having means to engage a tube to effect its feed through the annealing furnace.

4. An annealing furnace of fabricated construction, comprising furnace units spaced'apart, each unit having top, bottom, side and end plates connected together, standards of angle formation supporting each unit, wheels on said standards, each unit having an annealing chamber extending longitudinally through it and an open side to receive an end of a tube, a plurality of burners spaced alongthe inside of the furnace to heat said annealing chamber, means to feed fuel to said burner, and means to move a number of tubes through said fur nace to effect the simultaneous annealing of both ends of the tubes.

5. An annealing furnace of fabricated construction, comprising furnace units spaced apart, each unit consistingof top,bottom, side and end plates connected together and suitably supported, said end plates having an opening through which the ends of the tubes pass, each unit having an annealing chamber extending longitudinally thereof, and means to feed tubes to cause theirends' to pass through the annealing chambers of said furnaces and effect the simultaneous annealing of both ends of the tubes.

6. In an annealing furnace, means for simultaneously annealing the outer ends of a tube, rod or the like, and means for automatically rotating said ends at intervals during the annealing operation,

- 7. In a device of the character stated, two annealing furnaces having overhanging tops, and open longitudinally extending mouths juxtaposed to each other for the reception of the ends of the articles to be annealed, platforms extending'inwardly from the annealing chamber of each furnace, means for-propelling the ends of the articles to be annealed through said annealing chambers, and means for causing the endsof said articles to contact with said platforms at intervals, so as to be automaticallyrotated during the annealing operation.

h 8. In a device of the character stated, two annealing furnaces having overhanging tops, and annealingchanrbers having open inwardly extending longitudinal V mouths, juxtaposed to each other for the reception of the ends of the articles to be annealed, platv forms, inwardly extending from said annealing chambers forming the bottom of said mouths, passages below said mouths leading to said annealing chambers, and inlet pipes for the heating medium having upright members located within the furnaces during the annealing operation.

CHAS. THOMAS MAGILL.

' -Witnesses MAURICE ASHER, A. W. STIDSTON.

Images