US1859381A - Rotary retort furnace - Google Patents

Description

F. J, CONDIT ET AL ROTARY RETORT FURNAGE May 24, A193,2.

Filed April 8, 1930 N I m -A TTORNEY May 24, 1932- F. J. coNDlT ET AL. 4 1,859,381

ROTARYRETORT FURNACE Filed April 8, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 .May 24, 1932. F. .1. coNDlT ET AL ROTARY RETORT FURNACE` Filed April s, 1930 5 sheetsheet 3 B a M dbf/A A'TTORNEY May 24, 1932. F. J. coNDlT ET AL 1,859,381

ROTARY RETORT FURNAGE Filed April 8, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 finA Vfurnace for termediate the ends thereof.

Patented May 24, 1932 Unirse srnras or MILWAUKEE, AND EDWIN L. SMALLEY, or wirrrnrrsir BAY,

ELECTRIC COMPANY, or MILWAUKEE, wisj HEVI DUTY CON SIN A CGEPORATIGN OF WSCONSIN PATENT einen ROTARYl RETORT FURNACE Application filed April 8,

Our invention relates broadly to rotary retort furnaces and more particularly to a con* struction of bearing support for a revolving retort in a rotary retort furnace.

One of the objects of our invention is to provide a construction of support for a rotatable retort in a rotary retort furnace; the retort may be at an extremely slow rate whileV wherein the movement of maintained preventing the warpage or distortion of the retort undei the load.

Another object of our invention is to provide a construction of support for a rotary retort within the furnace intermediate the end bearing for the retort for preventingdistortion of the retort under load conditions.

Still another object of provide a construction of intermediate port for a revolvable retort Where the supsupportinay be adjusted to reduce the tendency o" wai-page or distortion in the retort under the action of the load and to compensate for irregularities in the surface of theretort.

A further object of our invention "is to provide a construction port for a rotary retort in which a roller directly contacts with the exterior surface ofv the retort, with means for elevating or lowering the roller member for properly adjusting the intermediate support lwith respect to the rotary retort for relieving'the strain upon the retort intermediate the loaded conditions.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a construction of intermediate adjustable support arranged in a position between the end bearings of the retort and adjustable from the exterior of the retort properly engaging the retort in- S'till another object of our invention is to provide adjusting means for mounting' a rotating retort in which reciprocating supportf ing means are actuated laterally with respect for permit our invention isto of intermediate 'sup-- ends thereof underv 1930. serial No. l12,591. u

vfollowing by in the specification hereinafter drawings in reference to the accompanying which: Y

F "gure l is aside elevation partially broken away showing the interior of the rotary retort and the arrangement ofthe adjustable i bearing in the retort furnace inaccordance for the rotary retort illustrated in Figs. l

and 2.; Fig. 4L is an end elevation of the -iiitermediate support for the rotary retort furnace illustrated in Figs. l and 2; Fig. 5 isy a Alongitudinal cross-sectional view takenV through the intermediate support; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the bed plate which supports theadjustable bearing for properly centering the rotary retortl in accordance with our invention ;f Fig; -7 is a cross-sectional view through the bed plate shown in Fig. 6 on line 7 7 thereof ;"Fig;' 8` is a lateral cross-sectional View through Vthe'bed plate. illustrated in Fig. 6 takenoii line 8"-@8 thereof; Fig. 9 is a plan view'ofthe leverv which. is adjustably mounted with respect to 'the' bed plate 2 3; Fig/l0 is a cross-sectionalview through the lever online 10-10 of Fig. 9; Fig. ll is a lat# eral cross-sectional ofv F ig.l 10`on'line'1l-,ll thereof; Fig. l2 is a cross-sectional view through the adjustable lever on line 12-12 ofFig. 10'; Fig. 13 isa plan view of the yoke which carries the roller members and which engage the sides of the retort; Fig. 14 is a side elevation of the yoke illustratedin Fig. 13; and Fig. l5 illustrates an arrangement; of'multiple adjustable means forcentering the rotary retort.

It hasheretofore been the practice con-j structing'furnaces ofthe retort typeto have rolling supports located only beyond thev heads of the furnace, thusV leaving a consid-l era-ble length of the retort unsupported. Such structures have view through the lever Y required that the retort 'y Vbe continuously revolved Auntil a visible'tem perature *disappeared inorder to prevent distortio'n of the retort bywarpage. This causes 3 be connected by any temperature up to 1650O a waste'ofl time and power used after the actual performance of work has ceased. Furthermore, it has been found in practice that furnaces constructed in accordance with prior practice and having the retort filled or partially filled, four was the lowest number of revolutions per hour without resulting distortion to the retort. Four revolutions er hour, as a general rule, would cause such a tumbling action of parts in the retort as to cause damage to any sharp edges of iinished parts, such as threads of cap screws, bolts, set screws, etc.

In a rotary retort furnace the retort when loaded must be rotated at that rate of speed which will prevent injury to the load under heatv treatment within the retort and at the same time a suiiicientV rate of speed maintained which will avoid warping or distortion of the retort under conditions of high temperature.`

Within the rotary retort furnace of our invention we. provide intermediate adjustable supports along the length of the retort for relieving the strain upon the retort as it is rotated at high temperature and enabling the retort to be revolved at a relatively slow rate of speed to avoid injury to theload within the retort. Y Heretofore when revolving a retort through a relatively large number of revolutions per hour, the parts under' heat treatment tend to rub one with respect to another, and if this abrading or rubbing action becomes too great, damage to fine screw threads Vor sharp edged parts may result. In the rotary retort furnace of our invention having adjustable means intermediate ythe end bearings thereof for supporting the loaded retort, the rate at which the retort is revolved may be maintained very low and yet distortion and strain upon the walls of the retort substantially eliminated and injury ofthe parts abrading'eachV Y formed as part of an adjustable other practically prevented. Y

Referring to the drawings in detail, reference character 1 designates a furnace chamber surrounded Vby ceramic refractories 2 contained in theV furnace shell .3, having end heads 4. Y Furnace chamber 1 may be heated by any suitable means but is shown heated by electrical yelements 5. Reference character 6 designates a cylindrical retort having `outer end heads 7 to which is attached an inner headS. The inner and outer heads suitable means such as pipe 9 and tie rods 9a.k Pipe 9 affords Ya means for a gas connection when gas must beu sed for such purposes as preventing oxidization or causing carburization of parts in the retort. `For the latter use it is sometimes found advisable to carryk the retort F.V to 17500 F., at which temperatures the non-oxidizing cast metal, such as nickel-chromium composition,

-. j loses considerable of itsstability as tol original idler 16 constantly in character 10 indicates a form. Reference suitable clamping against the opposite end of retort 6. Reference character 11 indicates a motor driven train of gears enclosed in a suitable housing to impart a relatively low number of revolutions per minute to shaft 12 on which is a sprocket 13 connected to sprocket 14 or drum by means of sprocket chainlf15. Reference` character 16 denotes an idler sprocket on shaft 17 having hub 18 and lever V19. Lever 19 has a helical coil 20 under tension to keep engagement with the slack side of chain 15. At 21 we have shown a roller having trunnions 21a in a pivotal yoke 22 yand angularly movable on shaft 41 which is retained in position `by retaining pins 41a.

Yoke 22 has hub bearing 210 in close relationship to lugs 40, which are part of lever 38 mounted at one end on a rounded knife-edge bearing 37 which is supported as part of bed plate 23a.V The bed plate is aligned in one direction by means of depending flange 235 engaged in the brick work of thel furnace and laterally by means of the ceramic refractory walls as shown in Fig. 1. Lever 33 which is shown more-clearly in Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12, hastwo linger-like projections 38a one on each side of lever 33 to form an alignment means. On the opposite end of the lever 38 there are two angularly disposed limiting flanges 39 to hold lever 33 on knifeedge 37. 39a is a rib centrally connecting flanges .39 and lodged in a slot 37a in the knife edge 37 to prevent lateral dislodgement of lever 38.

In Fig. 3 reference a camv having trunnions 23 on the bed plate 23a. having an angularly projecting lever 33 eX- tending between the forks of clevis 34 and mounted therein by means of pin 35, the pins being retained by studs 35a. vThe clevis 34 is rod 36 adjustable byl nuts 36a engaging the bottom or external portion of furnace shell 3.

As will be understood from the drawings the yoke 22 with rollers 21 may be elevated to near relationship to the outside of the retort. It will alsov be noted that if the radius of the retort opposite one roller` is greater than the radius of the retort opposite the second roller, the yoke 22 having rollers 21, will revolve about pin 41 to compensate for the difference in such radii or for irregularities on the outer surface of the retort.

While only one immediate support is shown in Fig. 1, we preferably use two intermediate supports character 42 shows 42a retained by lugs Camf42 is shown as located equidistant from the longitudinal vertical center line of the furnace, or we may use three or more supports.

The retort furnace is shown mounted on an underslung frame 24 supported by stands 25, permitting the tilting of the retortY for loading and discharging, On one stand25 there'VV the instance of the isa bracket 25a supporting a bearing for the shaft of hand wheel 30a. On such shaft 30 is mounted a bevel pinion 29 engaging bevel gear'28 which'is attached to screw 27 engaged in pivotally mounted nut 26. Movement of thread 27 draws nut 26 to or away from hand wheel 30a. Nut'26 is supported by bracket 26a, which in turn is attached to a roller quadrant behind guard plates 256, the guard plates being advisable on account of the quadrant rolling on a rack of frame 25. Two flanges 32 on the retort spanning one wheel 3l keep the retort from sliding when the furnace is tilted.

Instead of the cam lifting device of Fig. 3 causing an upward or rolling motion to yoke 22, a similar device might be us-ed to adjust a single roller such as might be mounted directly on shaft 4l as shown in Fig. l5. In such instance two such lifting' devices are used in the assembly shown in Fig. l5.

In the double lift arrangement we provide two lever members of identical construction shown at 50 mounted upon two bed plates 23a. similar to the bed plate construction illustrated more particularly in Figs. 6, and 8. The bed plates are mounted on either side of a center line passing through the axis of the retort 6 and the adjust-ing rods 36 thereof extend through the furnace wall 2 and are vadjustable by means of nuts 36a in amanner as has heretofore been described with respect to the single lift. The levers 50 differ from the construction of the lever 38, to the extent that lugs 52 project upwardly from levers 50 and provide bearings for shaftmember 54@ which are pinned in position with respect thereto by means ,of 'pins 54o. A roller 54 is carried upon each shaft member 54a and by virtue of the opposed relation of the two lifts, the rollers 54 support the retort'from opposite sides vof the center line thereof. By adjusting the position of one or the other rod members 86 either roller 54. may be brought into position to properly `@luide the retort in its rotary movement.

In order to observe the movement of the rotarv retort. we provide a peep-hole'in one end of the furnace through which the effect of adjustments of the several lifts may be checked. Adjustments must be made at the several points of support of the roller menibers with respect to the rotary retort, and in double lift construction, made on both of thelifts the operation of the readjustments must be to properly balance tort. Y

Rotary retort furnaces embodying the principles of our invention have been found to be highly successful and practical. in operation. In afurnace having a retort of la inches inside diameter and approximately l0 feet in length between the positions of the outer roller supports represented at 31 in lin said furnace we have operated the would be lost by the requirement of keeping the retort revolving until an invisible temperaturewas attained in the retort.

Furthermore, vclving the same described retort one or onehalf revolutions per hour with the retort heated to 1700O F. and containing acharge of set screws being case hardened,no damage was causedto thel threads of the screws. This brings the rotary retort furnace ina field for which has not heretofore-been successfully accomplished by any other furnace of the retort type. The rotation of the retort is main; tained at less than two revolutions per hour and yet strain and distortion upon the retort are substantially jurious abrasion of prevented, while Ythe inf parts one with respect we have ascertained that re-r Y carburizing sharp edged parts,y

to another is avoided during the rotative vention are intended other than those im- A posed by the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

l. In a rotary retort furnace, a furnace chamber, 'a rotaryretort, means supported by said furnace for journaling said rotary retort adjacent opposite ends thereof, and roller members mounted intermediate the ends of said retort and disposed wholly withchamber, said roller mem bers being vertically adjustable from the exterior of said furnacechamber for engaging said rotary retort'and supporting said retort when said retort is inoperative position.

2. In a furnace structure, a furnace chamber and a longitudinally extending retort, means for journaling opposite endsv of said retort for rotaryv movement within said chamber, and a pluralityof means positioned wholly Within the furnace chamber andenlloo ics

the exterior walls of said retort for f ysupporting said retort for rotarymovement thereof under conditions of load, and means Y below said chamber for adjusting said means with-respect to said retort.

@A support vfor a rotatable retort com- Y the exterior wall'of said retort, a cam mountl ed 'upon VsaidV means and engageable with said lever member, and means for angularly shifting said cam for moving said lever member andY correspondingly adjusting the position of said roller with respect to said retort.

t. Supporting means for a rotatable retort comprising a supporting plate member, a fulcrum on said supporting plate member,

l a lever positioned upon said fulcrum, a roller all ' to said base plate,

upwardly protruding member carri-el by said lever and engaging said rotatable retort, and a cam journaled with respect to said supporting means, said cam being angularly shiftable for raising or lowering said lever for correspondingly adjusting the position of said roller member with respect to said rotatable retort.

, LA,V support for a rotatable retort comprising a supporting plate, a lev-er member fulcrumed with respect to said supporting plate, a roller member carried by said lever member and engageable with the exterior surface lof said retort, a cam journaled with respect to said support in a position between the ends of said lever member remote from the fulcrum thereof, and means for angularly shifting the position of said lever mem ber for correspondingly changing the position of said roller member with respect to the exterior surface of said rotatable retort. 6. Supporting means for a rotary retort comprising a supporting plate having an portion adjacent one end thereof, a lever member having a pair of downwardly projecting portions adjacent one end thereof, the downwardly projecting portions of said lever member embracing the upwardly protruding portion of said plate for providing a fulcrum for said lever member, a cam journaled in said supporting means adjacent the under surface of said lever member, means for angularly shifting said cam for adjustingftlie position of said lever member, and a roller journaled with.

respect to said lever member, said roller engaging said rotary` retort for supporting said retort in accordance with the corresponding angular movement of said cam.

7. Supporting means for a rotatable retort comprising a base plate, a lever fulcrumed with respect to said base plate, a cam beneath said lever and journaled with respect means for adjusting the angular position of Vsaid cam with respect to A said lever for shifting said lever about the fulcruni thereof, and a roller by said lever, said roller member engaging the exterior surface of a rotatable retort for supporting said retort in accordance with the adjustment in position of said cam.

8. Supporting means for a rotatable retort comprising a supporting plate, an upwardly Vprotruding member adjacent one end of said plate, a. lever fulcrumed adjacent one end thereof on said ber, a cam 'journaled withjrespect to said ksupporting plate member carried upwardly protruding inem- Y ina position substantially vbeneath the opposite end of said lever, a yolre pivotally mounted upon said lever, and a plurality of roller members journaled in said yoke and rotatably engaging said rotatable retort, said roller members being shiftable in position in accordance with changes in the angular position of said cam beneath said lever. Y

9. ln a support for a rotatable retort, a supporting plate, an upwardly protruding member adjacent one end of saidsupporting plate, an angularly shiftable cam journaled with respect to said supporting plate, a lever 'member having a pair of downwardly extending angular portions adjacent one end thereof embracing the upwardly protruding portion of said supporting plate for providing a fulcrumy for said lever member, the opposite end of said lever member substantially embracing said angularly shiftable cam, means for adjusting the angular relation of said cam with respect to said lever member for raising or lowering said lever member, and a multiplicity of yroller members supported with respect to said lever Vmember for engaging the exterior walls of a rotatable retort on oppositesides of the central axis` thereof.

l0. In a rotary retort furnace, a heat treatment chamber, a rotatable retort extending through said chamber and journaled adjacent opposite ends thereof, supporting means intermediate the j ournaled ends of said retort comprising supporting plate members located beneath said retort on opposite sides of the central axis thereof, lever members fulcrumed adjacent the ends of said supporting means remote from the central axisof said retort and extending laterally to-ward the central axis thereof, a roller member carried by each of said leverpmembers and engageable with the exterior of said'retOrt, andy adjustablel cam devices located between said supporting. means and each of said levermembers substantially beneath said roller members for angula-rly Vshifting the position ,of said lever members on either side of the central axis of said retort for relieving the strain upon said retort intermediate the ends thereof under conditions of load and high temperature. V

ln testimony whereof we affix our'signa-

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