US3019775A - Closure member or the like - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 6, 1962 G. 1.. ROBINSON CLOSURE MEMBER OR THE LIKE 2 SheetsSheet 1 Filed June 50. 1958 INVENTOR. George L. Robinson m 3 W fi a I. M m: 9 F

Feb. 6, 1962 G. ROBINSON CLOSURE MEMBER OR THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 30, 1958 XIO'I E IOB INVENTOR. George L. Robinson 3,019,775 CLOURE MEMBER R TIE LIKE George L. Robinson, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Blaw- Knox Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 30, 1958, Ser. No. 745,492 4 Claims. (Cl. 122-498) This invention relates to a fluid-cooled closure member of the like for furnace and other services. More particularly, it pertains to a water-cooled furnace door, valve, wall section, or the like closure member such as might be utilized in open hearth steel or other furnaces and auxiliary equipment therefor.

In herein illustrated practices of this invention, used,

33%,775 Patented Feb. 6, l62

across the top and along the vertical sides of door 10. The bottom portion 12a of plate 12 with an integral bottom flange portion 13a may be separately bent and Welded to plate 12 to complete the front member of door inclusive of a continuous rearwardly extending outer peripheral flange 13.

for example, as doors for open hearth steel making furnaces, relatively smooth plate or sheet front and back wall members are provided which may readily be formed from standard components of regular shape. Such furnace doors of this invention are secured against warping by elongated staying using members of arched cross section and available shape such as angles or tubing halves. In such staying the preferably vertical positioning thereof promotes cooling action provided by a fluid such as water, or other heat exchange medium. And, in the fabrication of a closure member of this invention, the stable edges of the stay element may readily be stitch welded to the inside of one of the plates and the other plate perforated, or slotted, adjacent the other extreme dimension of the stay at its bend-so that it may be aflixed to the other plate at that point through the perforations or slots, as by plug welds, which enable the finish fabrication to be performed from the outside and at the same time seal the interior space through which such coolant-preferably is passed. In this way, closure members of high quality can be provided at lower cost by means of this invention.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description, and the accompanying drawings, which are illustrative only, in which FIGURE 1 is a front view of one embodiment of this invention in the form of an open hearth furnace door, utilizing tubing halves as stay elements;

FIGURE 2 is a view in section taken along line IIII of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view in section taken along line IIIIII of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a front view of another embodiment of this invention in the form of a furnace door utilizing angles as stay elements;

FIGURE 5 is a view in section taken along line VV of FIGURE 4; 7

FIGURE 6 is a view in section taken along line VIVI of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a front view of a closure member of this A second plate or inner wall member 14 forms the rear of door 19 and is also made of metal plate or sheet stock. Wall member 14 is shaped to provide a rearwardly extending flange portion 15 connected thereto around the four edges thereof and a transversely outwardly extending flange portion 16 integrally connected to the flange portion 15. The plate 14 with its flange portion 15 defines a lining recess 17 suitable for a refractory lining which may be made of firebrick or of plastic castable refractory held in part, if desired, by anchors of the kind shown in my United States Reissue Patent No. Re. 24,606, or by other means.

The outer edges of the flanges 13 inclusive of flange portion 13a and of the flanges 16, respectively, may be joined as by welding to provide an interior space 18 between the plates 12 and 14 inclusive of the space in the main body which is in open'communication with the space in the peripheral portions formed by the respective flanges. A coolant such as water is preferably circulated through space 18 during the use of the door. Such coolant may be admitted to space 18 through an inlet fitting 19 having a pipe 20 connected thereto and extending downwardly into the interior of door 10. The cooling fluid may be discharged from space 18 through a second fitting 21 in communication with the interior of door 10. Pipes, flexible or otherwise, are normally connected to the respective fittings 19 and 21 during use.

. In the embodiment being described, an observation port 22 may be provided in the form of a pipe welded to the edges of correspondingly sized openings in the front and back plates 12 and 14 respectively, to enable, for example, the condition of the back of a refractory lining in recess 17 to be observed. In addition, a wicket liner pipe 23 may be secured'as by welding to the edges of correspondingly sized openings in the front and back plates 12 and 14, respectively. The wicket is aligned with a like opening through the refractory in recess 17 to enable the interior of the furnace with which door It) is to be used to be observed and for other purposes such as the making of small additions or the removal of samples by means of a sampling ladle. A wear plate 24 may be attached to the bottom of liner 23. Normally the port defined by pipe 22 and the wicket defined by liner 23 are covered by respective covers which may be connected to an arm (not shown) pivotally hinged on a stud 25 affixed 1 to front plate 12.

invention in the form of a slide valve such as might be used in a reversing valve mechanism for an air duct in an open hearth furnace;

FIGURE 8 is a view in section taken along line VIIIVIII of FIGURE 7; and

FIGURE 9 is a partial view in perspective showing an alternative shape for a bent member utilizable as a stay element in a practice of this invention.

Referring to FIGURES l to 3, inclusive, of the drawings, there is illustrated therein one embodiment of this invention in the form of a furnace door 10 for an open hearth steel making furnace. An eye member 11 is provided afiixed to the top portion of door Ill to enable it to be raised and lowered. A front plate or wall member 12 is provided in the form of a plate or sheet of metal shaped as by stamping or bending into a box-like form having an integral peripheral flange 13 connected thereto Door 10 is stayed by stay members 26 in the form of tubing halves for strength andto inhibit buckling and distortion. Such tubing halves preferably are made of a strength metal such as steel and in the embodiment shown are placed vertically in spaced parallel relation one to the other within space 18, the radius of the tubing halves being about equal to the distance between front and back plates 12 and 14. In this way, when the longitudinal edges 27 of the arched stays 26- are fixed to the surface of plate 14facing forwardly toward space 18,

- at 29 by means of short slots, which may be formed therein by acetylene torch burning, in registry with the ridge or top element of stays 26 farthest from the edges 27. Thus, if the stays 26 are affixed to plate 14 and the perforations 29 are made before plates 12 or 14 are assembled and joined together, the affixation of the stay members 26 to front plate 12 may be readily performed by plug welding such stays to plate 12 from the front or outside of door it? and plate 12. Such plug welds 36 also seal oif any access to space 18 except through the fittings 1? and 21. Normally, wash-out plugs (not shown) will be provided in the end covers for the bottom peripheral flange portion to take care of cleaning out scale and dirt which settles in the space immediately above flange portion 13a.

in the embodiment of this invention shown in FIG- URTE 4 to 6, inclusive, parts corresponding generally in construction and functioning are provided with the same reference numerals as those shown in the embodiment described above with the addition of a prime accent thereto. The door 19' may be utilized, for example, as a door suitable for certain types of electric steel making or other etal refining furnaces. Therein, stays 26'are in the form-of angles having their respective laterally spaced toe edges 27' stitch welded to the front of back plate l4. Perforations 29' in front wall member 12: are in the form of continuous vertical slots into which the bends or corners 28 of stays 25 may extend slightly if desired prior to the affixation of the stays 2-26 to plate 12' by plug welding. Such plug welding fills the slots 2)" with weld metal 38 and seals off space 13 to provide the water-tight integrity of door 19. Wash-out plug fittings 31 opening through. the sides or vertical portions of flanges 13 are normally closed by plugs until a clean out is effected.

lthough the stays shown in the embodiments of FEGURES 1 and 4 respectively have their s aced edge portions affixed to the rear of the back plate, it will be understood that one or more, or all, of such stays may instead be affixed to the rear face of the front plate. Any stay so aflixed by its edges to a front plate would have its top or ridge portion adjacent the rear plate and the rear plate in those circumstances would preferably be slotted in registry with such top portions for plug welding or aflixation by other means to the door'structure. The provision herein of such stays in generally vertical position facilitates circulation of the cooling 'medium. Further, the new construction provides great resistance against buckling or distortion, utilizes components of standard shapes, minimizes forming operations, prevents shifting of the respective plate wall members one relative to the other and provides a realtively low cost fabrication and assembly construction. Additionally, the embodiment of smooth relatively uninterrupted plates as wall members inhibits the accretion of hot metal splatter deposits or other material accumulations upon the exterior surfaces of the wall members of the new doors or other closure members of this invention.

A still further embodiment of a closure member of this invention is illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 8 showing a valve 10% which may be utilized, for example, in a reversing valve mechanism in a regenerative combustion air system for an open hearth or other kind of furnace. Valve 1% is provided with a lifting clevis 161 affixed to the top thereof by means of which it may be moved up and down over, or across, a valve seat. A plate-like front wall ltlzand rear wall 133 are provided in spaced parallel relation and affixed to one another by stays res which in construction and functioning are like the bent stay members 26.

The stays 104 are alternately reversed so that the toe edges of the laterally outer stays are afiixed to plate 103,

while the toe edges of the middle stay 194 are aflixed to front plate 102. As a consequence, front plate 102 is provided with two slots 165, while back plate N3 is provided with one slot 105a. In the valve embodiment, the respective slots are utilized in connection with plug welding to fasten the respective tops of the respective stays to the respective plates in proximate relation thereto.

The space 1% between the plates 1% and 193 is enclosed by a peripheral member 1437 joined to the peripheral edges of the respective plates 102 and 163 in continuous uninterrupted fashion. As shown, the forward edge 168 and rearward edge 1d? of peripheral member 14)! extend beyond the plates 1% and 103 respectively in directions normal thereto. A cooling fluid may be introduced into the interior space 196 of closure member 1% through a fitting supplied by an inlet pipe 111, while exiting coolant may pass out through a fitting 112.

' Bracket guards 117 are provided for the fittings 110 and 112 and respective pipes are connected thereto which extend through openings in such guards.

A coolant pipe 113 extends downwardly in the embodiment being described from fitting 11% to a manifold $14 which has branch discharge openings 115 along the length thereof within space 106. Wash-out plugs 116 are provided in the bottom of member bill) for clean-out purposes. The assembly of the respective component parts is such that the space 1% is fluid-tight, save for the intended communication therewith through the fittings lit) and 112. Advantages discussed in connection with the embodiments respectively shown in FIGURES l and 4 inure to the construction of closure member 1% shown in FIGURE 7.

in the partial embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 9, a stay element modification is illustrated which may be used if desired. As shown therein, a stay 12.0 for a closure member of this invention may be provided with a bent or arched cross section which is angular in the FIGURE 9 illustration. The edges of the arched stay member 120 may be notched at 121 in a stamping or other operation leaving projections 122 at intervals along the respective edges for attachment to a wall member 123 by stitch welding 124 or other securing means. The top 125 may be secured to the other wall member 126 as by plug welding 127 filling a perforation 128 in registry with top 125 and sealing, if desired, the space between the plates 123 and 126. Indeed, another advantage of all embodiments is that the shaping, cutting and fitting of the respective parts may be readily quickly done without need for undue care or precision requiring too skilled labor. 7

The terms vertical, top, bottom, sides, front, back and the like used herein are relative rather than absolute terms. Further, various changes in details of the illustrated embodiments may be provided and various other embodiments and uses, e.g., as a furnace fixed wall section, may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a water-cooled furnace door or the like for metallurgical furnaces or the like, apparatus comprising, in combination, a substantially flat front plate having a rearwardly extending peripheral flange, a substantially flat imperforate back plate having a rearwardly and transversely outwardly extending peripheral flange, said plates being behind one another in parallel spaced relation, means for joining the edges of said respective flanges to enclose the space within said plates, the rear face of said back plate with the rearwardly extending portion of its flange forming a refractory lining recess, a plurality of generally vertical lengths of arched stays having laterally spaced toe edges and a bend in front of said toe edges in generally triangularly spaced relation thereto endwise, said respective toe edges being each welded to the front face of the back plate over a major portion of the height thereof, a plurality of generally vertical slots extending through said front plate in registry with the bend of each of said stays respectively, said bends being welded through said slots to said front plate from the outside thereof, said last-named welds sealing said slots to seal the space between said plates, said stays terminating short of said peripheral flanges and having at least the end and intermediate portions of each stay weld afiixed to said plates respectively, and means communieating with said space for the circulation of water therethrough.

2. In a fluid-cooled closure member or the like for metallurgical furnaces or the like, apparatus comprising, in combination, a pair of substantially flat spaced plates each having a peripheral edge, means for joining said peripheral edges of said respective plates to enclose the space therebetween and define a cooling chamber, a plurality of generally elongated stays having a bent cross section with laterally spaced edges lying generally in one plane and a bend portion farthest from said edges and lying generally in a second plane, said bend portion and edges in a stay being in generally triangularly spaced relation when viewed endwise, each of said stays having said transversely spaced edges fixed by welds inside said chamber to an imperforate portion of one of said plates and its bend portion adjacent to a portion of the other of said plates respectively, said last-named plate portion having at least one opening in registry respectively with said bend portion of each stay respectively, and means for afiixing said bend portion of each stay to its adjacent last-named plate portion through said opening by welds which also close said opening respectively, said stays terminating short of said peripheral edges and having at least the end portions of each stay weld affixed to said plates respectively.

3. A closure member or the like as set forth in claim 2 having at least one of said stays with its edges faced in a direction opposite to the edges of another of said stays, with said edges of said stay faced in said opposite direction fixed by welds inside said chamber to an imperforate portion of said other of said plates and its bent portion adjacent to a portion of said one of said plates having at least one opening in registry with said bent portion and afiixing the same through said opening by a weld which also closes said opening.

4. In a fluid-cooled closure member for furnaces or the like, apparatus comprising, in combination, a pair of spaced generally parallel plates having peripheral edges connected together to enclose and define a fluid cooling chamber between said plates, a plurality of inclined stays of bent cross section within said chamber having a bend and laterally spaced longitudinal edges to provide respective weld connection portions, said respective portions being in generally triangularly arranged opposed relation when viewed endwise, each stay having one of its Weld connection portions weld connected to one of said plates inside said chamber and the other of its Weld connection portion plug welded to the other of said plates, said other of said plates having at least one plug welding opening therethrough in juxtaposition to and in alignment with said other of its weld connection portions, said plug weld being eifected from the outside of said other of said plates through said opening to complete the afiixation of said stay and seal said chamber, said stays terminating short of said peripheral edges and having at least the end portions weld connected to said plates respectively.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,168,647 Knox Ian. 18, 1916 1,775,819 Fischer et al. Sept. 16, 1930 1,836,784 Williams Dec. 15, 1931 2,211,544 McDonnell Aug. 13, 1940 2,396,976 Whitehurst Mar. 19, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,019,775

February 6 1962 George L. Robinson It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below Column 5, line 15, for "transversely" read laterally Signed and sealed this (SEAL) Attest:

7th day of August 1962.

DAVID L. LADD Commissioner of Patents

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