# US 12,215,425 B2 · Apparatus for cooling metal material > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,215,425 B2 - Document ID: US12215425B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/414,731 - Filed: 2019-12-17 - Published: 2022-03-03 - Granted: 2025-02-04 - Earliest claimed: 2018-12-17 - Assignees: Posco - Applicants: Posco - Inventors: Jung-Kuk Kim - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12215425B2 ## CPC - C23C 2/06: Zinc or cadmium or alloys based thereon - C23C 2/29: {Cooling or quenching} - B05B 1/005: {Nozzles or other outlets specially adapted for discharging one or more gases} - B05B 1/044: {Slits, e.g. narrow openings defined by two straight and parallel lips; Elongated outlets for producing very wide discharges, e.g. fluid curtains (B05B1/046 takes precedence)} - B05B 1/14: with multiple outlet openings (B05B1/02, B05B1/26 take precedence); with strainers in or outside the outlet opening - B05B 1/326: {Gate valves; Sliding valves; Cocks} - B05B 12/34: movable relative to the spray area - B05B 13/0207: {the work being an elongated body, e.g. wire or pipe (B05B13/0436, B05B13/0463 take precedence)} - C23C 2/003: {Apparatus} - C23C 2/16: using fluids under pressure, e.g. air knives - C23C 2/18: Removing excess of molten coatings from elongated material - C23C 2/20: Strips; Plates - C23C 2/26: After-treatment (C23C2/14 takes precedence) - C23C 2/40: Plates; Strips - C23C 2/50: {Controlling or regulating the coating processes (C23C2/14 takes precedence)} - C23C: COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL (making metal-coated products by extrusion B21C23/22; covering with metal by connecting pre-existing layers to articles, see the relevant places, e.g. B21D39/00, B23K; metallising of glass C03C; metallising mortars, concrete, artificial stone, ceramics or natural stone C04B41/00; enamelling of, or applying a vitreous layer to, metals C23D; treating metal surfaces or coating of metals by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25D; single-crystal film growth C30B; by metallising textiles D06M11/83; decorating textiles by locally metallising D06Q1/04) - B05B: SPRAYING APPARATUS; ATOMISING APPARATUS; NOZZLES (spray-mixers with nozzles B01F25/72; processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces by spraying B05D) ## Abstract Provided is an apparatus for cooling a metal material, the apparatus comprising: a spray cooling unit for spraying a cooling medium onto the surface of a metal material; and a spray amount control unit which regulates the rate of passage of the cooling medium sprayed from the spray cooling unit onto the edge region of the metal material, and controls the spray amount of the cooling medium. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An apparatus for cooling a metal material, comprising: a spray cooling unit for spraying a cooling medium to a surface of a metal material; and a spraying amount control unit for adjusting a spraying amount of a cooling medium by adjusting a rate of passage of the cooling medium sprayed from the spray cooling unit to an edge region of the metal material, wherein the spray cooling unit includes: a main chamber connected to a fluid supply line through which a cooling medium is supplied; and a spraying chamber installed on a front surface of the main chamber in multiple stages along a metal material, and including a spraying line through which a cooling medium is sprayed to the metal material, and wherein the spraying amount control unit is formed of a breathable material to reduce the flow rate of the sprayed cooling medium by covering the both edge regions of the spraying chamber while rotating along the front surface of the spraying chamber. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a plurality of spraying chambers are installed in the spray cooling unit in multiple stages in a transport direction of the metal material, and wherein a plurality of spraying amount control units are installed to correspond to the plurality of spraying chambers. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spraying amount control unit includes: an upper control means for adjusting a flow rate of the cooling medium by covering the spraying line of the edge region of the spraying chamber while rotating from an upper side to a lower side of the spraying chamber; and a lower control means installed to rotate from the lower side to the upper side of the spraying chamber, and adjusting a flow rate of the cooling medium by covering the spraying line of the edge region of the spraying chamber. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the spraying amount control unit includes only one of the upper control means and the lower control means. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The apparatus of claim 3, wherein each of the upper control means and the lower control means includes: a cover plate body extending in a width direction of the spraying chamber; and a pair of cover members extending in a direction of the spraying line of the spraying chamber from both edge regions of the cover plate body, respectively, and covering the edge region of the spraying line. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The apparatus of claim 5, wherein at least the cover member, among the cover plate body and the cover member, is formed of a mesh material through which the cooling medium passes, and has an arc-shaped cross-section to rotate along the front surface of the spraying chamber. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the cover member of the upper control means and the cover member of the lower control means have different lengths extending from the cover plate body. ### Claim 8 (depends on 3) The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising: an overall spraying mode in which the cooling medium is sprayed through the entire spraying line of the spraying chamber; a first control spraying mode in which a flow rate of the cooling medium is adjusted as the edge region of the spraying line is covered by one side of the upper control means and the lower control means; and a second control spraying mode in which a flow rate of the cooling medium is adjusted as the edge region of the spraying line is covered in an overlapping manner by the upper control means and the lower control means. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a control driving unit for driving the spraying amount control unit to cover or open the edge region of the spray cooling unit. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control driving unit includes: an upper rotating plate installed on both side surfaces of the upper control means of the spraying amount control unit; a lower rotating plate installed on both side surfaces of the lower control means of the spraying amount control unit and hinge-coupled to the upper rotating plate; and a multi-axis control arm for rotating each of the upper rotating plate and the lower rotating plate while moving forwards or backwards by the driving member. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the multi-axis control arm includes: a control frame moving forwards or backwards by the driving member; an upper control arm having one side hinge-coupled to the control frame and the other side hinge-coupled to the upper rotating plate; and a lower control arm having one side hinge-coupled to the control frame and the other side hinge-coupled to the lower rotating plate. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the driving member includes: a rotation driving motor installed in the spray cooling unit; a central gearbox connected to a motor shaft of the rotation driving motor; a pair of gear bars connected to the central gearbox in left and right directions; a pair of end gearboxes connected to the pair of gear bars, respectively; and a pair of forward and backward frames connected to the pair of end gearboxes, respectively, and moving the multi-axis control arm forwards or backwards. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the forward and backward frame includes: a screw bolt member driven to rotate by the end gearbox; and an arm coupling member moving forward and backward by the screw bolt member, and connected to the plurality of multi-axis control arms in a height direction. ### Claim 14 An apparatus for cooling a metal material, comprising: a spray cooling unit for spraying a cooling medium to a surface of a metal material; and a spraying amount control unit for adjusting a spraying amount of a cooling medium by adjusting a rate of passage of the cooling medium sprayed from the spray cooling unit to an edge region of the metal material, wherein the spray cooling unit includes: a main chamber connected to a fluid supply line through which a cooling medium is supplied; and a spraying chamber installed on a front surface of the main chamber in multiple stages along a metal material, and including a spraying line through which a cooling medium is sprayed to the metal material, and wherein the spraying amount control unit includes: an upper control means for adjusting a flow rate of the cooling medium by covering the spraying line of the edge region of the spraying chamber while rotating from an upper side to a lower side of the spraying chamber; and a lower control means installed to rotate from the lower side to the upper side of the spraying chamber, and adjusting a flow rate of the cooling medium by covering the spraying line of the edge region of the spraying chamber. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the spraying amount control unit includes only one of the upper control means and the lower control means. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The apparatus of claim 14, wherein each of the upper control means and the lower control means includes: a cover plate body extending in a width direction of the spraying chamber; and a pair of cover members extending in a direction of the spraying line of the spraying chamber from both edge regions of the cover plate body, respectively, and covering the edge region of the spraying line. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The apparatus of claim 16, wherein at least the cover member, among the cover plate body and the cover member, is formed of a mesh material through which the cooling medium passes, and has an arc-shaped cross-section to rotate along the front surface of the spraying chamber. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the cover member of the upper control means and the cover member of the lower control means have different lengths extending from the cover plate body. ### Claim 19 An apparatus for cooling a metal material, comprising: a spray cooling unit for spraying a cooling medium to a surface of a metal material; a spraying amount control unit for adjusting a spraying amount of a cooling medium by adjusting a rate of passage of the cooling medium sprayed from the spray cooling unit to an edge region of the metal material; and a control driving unit for driving the spraying amount control unit to cover or open the edge region of the spray cooling unit, wherein the control driving unit includes: an upper rotating plate installed on both side surfaces of the upper control means of the spraying amount control unit; a lower rotating plate installed on both side surfaces of the lower control means of the spraying amount control unit and hinge-coupled to the upper rotating plate; and a multi-axis control arm for rotating each of the upper rotating plate and the lower rotating plate while moving forwards or backwards by the driving member. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the multi-axis control arm includes: a control frame moving forwards or backwards by the driving member; an upper control arm having one side hinge-coupled to the control frame and the other side hinge-coupled to the upper rotating plate; and a lower control arm having one side hinge-coupled to the control frame and the other side hinge-coupled to the lower rotating plate.