US1584295A - Hopper construction - Google Patents

Description

May 11 1926.

1,584,295- 1.. P. HOFF HoPPER coNsTRuTIoN Filed March 21,v 1921 4 sheets-sheet 1 INVENToR LEIGH P. HOFF lNvENToR EIGH P. HOFF 4 L )eets-Sheet 2 May 11 1926.

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May 11 192s. Y1,584,2si5 V L. P. HOFF HOPPER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 2l, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

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1,584,295 l.. P. HOFF HOPPER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 2l, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 M' Mig/rms Patented May 11, 1926.

UNITED STATES LEIGH P. HOFF, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO,

ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO

FRANK H. DUNIBAR.

HOPIER CONSTRUCTION.

Application led March 21, 1921. Serial No. 454,820.

My invention relates to hoppers, more iartlcularly it relates to hoppers adapted or holding or discharging ashes or other hot abrasive, or corrosive material. My invention is shown in connection withan ash producing furnace. Up to the present time, the operators of large power plants have been seriously affected by defective ash controlling apparatus. The larger the plant the more serious and a gravated have the troubles arising from t is source of thel plant become.

Almost any mediocre means for handling the ash of a small plant will give reasonable satisfaction but as the size of the plant is increased, and with the coming of automatic stokers a'nd forced drafts, the matter of handling the large volume of ash in a superheated condition as a result of the forced draft, together with the necessity of using water for cooling the ashes, the matter has become more and more serious and the deficiency of the old type of equipment has become more and more noted and accentuated. The problem that confronts the installer and the manufacturer of this type of equipment is not only a question of effectiveness in mechanism but likewise a question of cost of construction, and up to the present time the combination of these two features has not been obtained as it has in the present invention.

Until very recently, a boiler containing five thousand square feet of heating surface, for example, was called a 500 H. P. boiler. Today the same boiler is operated to produce 1000 to 1500 or even 2000 boiler H. P. To obtain this result, resort has been had to forced draft. The type of ashesv produced under these circumstances are more difficult to handle than was formerly the case. This is further aggravated by the increasing tendency to use coals of lower grade, and is further aggravated by the fact that whereas formerly the size of a boiler seldom exceeded 500 H. P., now they are practically alwaysI between 1400 and 2500 H. P.

The net result of all of these new con-ditions, is that whereas formerly in a large installation about 3% tons of clean, disintegrated ashes had to be removed from a single boiler daily, today from 20 to 50 tons of clinkered ash, highly heated, mustbe handled from each boiler. When it is further considered that in a modern station there are provided from ten to twenty such boilers, the difficulty of handling the ash becomes apparent.

In meetlng these conditions and solving them, the inventor has produced the invention described herein, among the objects of which are the following To provide a gate for a hopper comprising a door and a frame and adapted to collect water assing through the hopper and discharge t e same to a drain located at one end of the door.

To provide a hopper door having waterv troughs located in substantially the same ff horizontal plane with the door and adapted to collect water passing through the hopper and discharge the same at one end of the door. To provide a gate for a hopper comprismg a door adapted to collect water passing through the hopper and discharge the same at one end thereof and a stationary trough located at the end of the door from which water is discharged and adapted to receive water from the said door while preventing the -entrance of substantial amounts of solid material from the hopper'thereinto.

To provide other Idetails of improvement tending to increase the efficiency and serviceability of a hopper and associated mechamsm.

To accomplish the foregoing and other useful ends, my invention lcomprises means hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, illustrating embodiments of my invention Figure 1 is a perspective View, partly in section, of a furnace having a hopper, gate, door and door-operating means, constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal, sectional View,

through the hopper wall, taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section, through a portion of the hopper wall, taken on line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Fig. 38L is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing a modified, and preferred, modification of hopper Wall members.

Fig. 4 is a side` elevation of the hopper gate frame.

Fig. 5 is an end view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of the gate frame and 15-15 of Fig. 14.

a door assembled therewith, the operating mechanism for the door being partly broken away.

Fig. 6 shows the door wheel adjusting means in side and end elevations.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the gate frame and door taken on line 7--7 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of a brick sup-` porting yoke.

Fig. 9 is a central cross section thereof.

Fig. 10 `is a cross sectional view of the yoke shown in Fig. 8, taken substantially at right angles .to the line on which Fig. 9 is taken.

Fig. 11 is a View similar to Fig. ,8, but showing the modified form of yoke.

Fig. 12 is a view, partly in section, of the yoke shown in Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a twin hopper similar to that shown in Fig. 1, but with the boiler and associated mechanism omitted.

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary top View of a door, showing its position with respect to a gate frame, portions of the gate frame being cut away and others shown in section.

Fig. 15'is a sectional view taken on line Fig. 16 is a sectional View taken on line 16-16 of Fig. 14. v

Referring to the drawings more in detail, it will be seen that associated with the grate, 2, of an under feed type of furnace, Fig. 1, there is a hopper, 3, along the front of the grate into which hopper the ashes and cinders fall. At the bottom of the hopper, 3, there is a gate frame, 4, in which the gate, 5, is mounted on wheels, 6a, 6b, etc., Figs. 5 and 7, which wheels are all on the track, 9, on the inside of frame, 4.

Thewalls of the hopper are held in position by steel ribs, 11, Fig. 1, the upper ends of which ribs may be suitably secured to an overhead girder. The lower ends of these ribs are .secured to a yoke, 11, Fig. 1. To this yoke the gate frame, 4, may be securedthrough the medium of suitable bolts, 21, see Fig. 4. Within the frame formed by lthe steel ribs, 11, and the gate, I provide a wall made of cast iron L-shaped slabs, 24, 25, etc., which serve as a backing and supporting shelves for the bricks of refractory material. -Each ofthe cast iron slabs is provided with a shelf, 26, see Fig. 3, upon which a horizontal row of the bricks of refractory material are laid as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. It will be seen that the upper and lower edges of the back are chamfered so that adjoining. edges of two slabs overlap. It will be understood that on each of these shelves, 26, I mayl rovide one or more rows of refractory bric s. When two or more layers of these bricks are assembled, it will be seen that a vertical hollow channel, 27, etc., Fig. 2, is formed, inasmuch as each brick-is made with a hollow transy verse channel. When two or more such bricks are stacked on one another, the hollow channel is extended. rlhe object of this hollow channel is to enable the bricks to be secured to the cast iron frame by suitable bolts and braces or yokes and yet protect the bolts and yokes from the hot material.

I contemplate providing yokes of two characters, either one for each brick, see yoke 29, Fig. 8, or a long multi-sectioned yoke common to two or more, see yoke 29", Fig. 11. In either case the bolt of a particular brick passes through the common or single yoke as the case may be and extends through the cast iron wall pieces 24, 25, and steel rib, 11. The yokes are preferably made dish shaped, as shown in Figs. 8 and 10.

I also contemplate having a slot in thecentral section of the yoke, see Figs. 8 and 11, through which the bolt passes and in which the bolt may be adjusted. In the multi-sectioned yoke, I contemplate having a re-inforcing rib 29'J across the yoke dividing it into two sections with a bolt slot in each, see Fig. 11.

Although in Fig. 2, I show both of the bolts, 30 and 31,515 extending through the cast iron backing and through the steel rib,

11, there may be instances where the bolt.

pierces the cast iron frame at points not co-incident with the steel ribs, in which case the brick would be held in place by being secured to the cast iron plate only.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, it will be seen that the bearing section, 17, of shaft, 7, which carries the wheel, 6, is eccentric with respect to the rest of the shaft.

The object of this arrangement is that by rotating the shaft 7, in the bearing, 18, which bearing is suitably secured and mounted on the door itself, the wheel, 6, may be adjusted with respect to the door. This is true of each wheel and supporting shaft since they are all similar. 'Ihe set screw, 19, in the bearing, 18, is provided for clamping the shaft in position when once set, or for varying the adjustment whenever necessary. This adjustment is especially desirable and necessary when the door is provided with more than three wheels. In the shaft, 7, I provide a hole, 7, into which I can-insert a rod for turning the shaft, 7, in order to adjust the wheel. In connection with a hopper of the above character, it is quite important that draft leaks around the door should be prevented as much as possible when the door is'closed, and by means of the adjusting mechanism above described, I can insure always having a tight fit between the carriage and the frame, which frame constitutes, in fact, the rim of the hopper. It will be seen that if the space, 20, Fig 7,

between the door and the f rame is large, the leakage will interfere with the regulation ofthe draft, and the adjusting means described enables me to maintain the necessary dist-ance between the'door and the frame to insure a substantially tight fit when the door is closed.

It will be seen that Fig. 13 shows an arrangement of the structure when two hoppers are arranged adjacent to each other, each hopper provided with its own ash door. These ash doors, of course, may be .operated in any suitable manner. In-F1g. 1, the ash door is shown operated by hand, while in Fig. 13 the doors are operated by a multiple piston cylinder through the medium of the rods 48 and 49. In this figure, the left-hand door is shown partly open.

Associated with the lower part` of the hopper, 'I provide a draining device for catching the water used to 'cool the ashes therein. This draining device is connected. through a suitable conduit with a drain pipe which carries the water olf -to a sewer.

WIhe arrangement for accomplishing this is shownJ in Figs. 14, 15 andl.-

Referring to these figures the gate frameis indicated by 54 and carries a door which may be a casting, 50, along the rear end and sides of which door are formed troughs 52 and 52, the rear end of the door being that ywhich is located nearest to the cylinder 40. Troughs 52 and 52a do not extend across the front end of the door as will be noted V from Fig. 14. The rear end and left side troughs 52 and 52a are connected with each other by a duct 58 which is cored out in the casting when it is made. In other words, this duct 53 is Yan opening through a part of the casting or door and iscovered over on the top; substantially the same construction is employed on the right hand. side of the door which part has however been broken away in this ligure.

Acrossthe fro-nt end of the door and secured to the gate frame 54 is a trough 55 having its -upper rear side 56 extended for a part of the width of the door 50 as will be noted in Fig. 14. This rear side 56 of 0 trough 55 is inclined upwardly and rearwardly to such an extent that when lthe door is closed the forward extension or drip flange 57 of door 50 projects over side 56 so that water which drips. off the extension 5 o-r flange 57 will fall into the trough 55.

Each side troughv 52 extends toward, lthe front end of door 50 and communicates` with` enclosed passages -or ducts 59 formed through a solid portion of the door which in turn are extendedv somewhat beyondthe front edge of the door as `shown at GOand project over the rea-r wall 61 of trough 55.' By this arrangement water passing olf the top of door 50along the rear end or o posite sides thereof will be caught 1n troughs 52 and 52'L and discharged into troughv when -..the door is in closed tion with yrespect to the gate frame and opper discharge opening. Water passing off the fourth side of the gate, namely the forward end, may drip into trough 55 due to the location of the side extension 56 of the trough and the overhanging drip flange 57. Suitable drain connections may be used to conduct the water from trough 55 to'A a sewer or other place of disposal.

It will be seen that I have thus provided a hopper gate comprisingga door in which integrally formed waterfcollecting troughs along a plurality of sidesthereof, and a stationary trough secured to the gate frame so located as tocollect the water discharged from the trough of the door as well as from the top thereof.

Fig. 15 which shows the rear-end of the' door indicates the bottom wall of trough 52 as slopino downwardly from approxi-l mately the middle of the rea-r end to a point adjacent to-each side trough 52.

It will further appear that I have provided a water-collecting trough arranged. on the gate and in substantially the plane of the gate. troughs 52 and 52a neither extend above the door 50 nor roject down below the door to a marked egree. Such structure is thus compact and adapted to occupy the miniosi- That is, from end `to end the v mum amount of space vertically which, it

Having thus described my invention as embodied in certain practical devices, what I desire tosecure byLetters Patent is defined in the claims, it being -understood however, that various changes, not involving invention, may occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

lVhat I claim as my invention is 1. door, for a hopper having a bottom opening,` provided with open top liquid collecting and carrying troughs formed integrally along its rear end and opposite sides,

and in substantially tho same horizontal plane therewith, covered passages extending at angles from the said end trough to the said side troughs for conducting liquid from the end trough to the side troughs, covered passages extending inwardly at angles to the said troughs at the front end of side troughs, axle carrying bosses at either end of the door 1n substantial alignment with the said side troughs, and door supporting rollers on the said axles.

2. In combination with a frame for a hopper having a bottom opening, a door having a forwardly extending front edge, communicating troughs formed in the door and along the sides and rear end thereof, the said side troughs terminating in eovere'd liquid discharging outlets at the front end of the said door, the said outlets extending at angles to the said side troughs, axle carrying bosses in line withthe said side troughs and located at each end .of the said door, rollers on the axles, and a stationary trough adapted to receive liquid on the said side trough outlets and from the said forwardly extending front end of the door.

3. A substantially rectangular door, for a hopper having a bottom opening, having axle carrying bosses at either end ot' the 0pposite longitudinal sides and in substantial alignment therewith, rollers mounted on the said axles, the door having a trough along its rear end between the rear end bosses, and side troughs between and aligned with the said front and rear bosses on either side 0f the door, covered liquid carrying passages connecting the end and side troughs and extending at angles thereto across the door and past the said bosses, and a covered liquid discharging passage at the front end of each side trough inclined at an angle thereto and extending inwardly of the door past the said front bosses.

4. A substantially rectangular door having an axle carrying boss at each corner thereof, the bosses at the rear and front ends on' either side of the door being in substantial alignment, open topped rear and side troughs aligned with and located between the respective bosses, covered liquid carrying passages extending past the said rear bosses and connecting the said end and side troughs, covered liquid carrying passages or the discharge end of each side trough extending past the said front bosses, the said bosses, troughs and passages being integral with the door and lying in substantially the same horizontal plane therewith. In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 17th day of March,

LEIGI-I P. HOFF.

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