Apparatus for accreting copper
AssigneeColumbia Cable & Electric Corporation
InventorCharles M. Chodash
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to an improved apparatus for the formation by accretion of copper stock of substantially homogeneous composition intended to be subsequently formed by drawing, rolling, etc. into wire rods, sheets, tubes, strip or the like. The invention, in general, is directed to the combination with an essentially known fuel fired melting furnace and a known accreting crucible apparatus, of a launder or conduit for receiving copper from the furnace, which copper may contain an unacceptably high percentage of oxygen, and depositing said copper in the crucible with the oxygen content reduced to a degree rendering the same satisfactory for accretion onto a purified copper seed rod.
Claims6
In an apparatus for accreting copper including a fuel fired melting furnace means for melting copper stock and an accreting crucible within which a copper member is drawn through a pool of purified, molten copper, a deoxygenating launder apparatus inclined from said furnace toward said crucible for receiving molten, oxygen contaminated copper from said furnace and depositing said copper melt in purified condition in said crucible, comprising an enclosed, inclined conduit having an internal passage including bottom, top and side wall portions, a plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart baffle members extending transversely across said passage, the upper edge portions of said baffle members terminating in spaced relation to the top portion of said conduit, said baffle members including side portions conforming with side wall portions of said conduit, said baffle members including restricted flow passages, a stream of molten copper flowing from said furnace toward said crucible, the average cross sectional area of said stream taken transversely to the direction of flow being less than the cross sectional area of said baffles and greater than the area of said restricted passages, whereby the cross sectional area of said stream, upstream of said baffles, is substantially greater than the cross sectional area of said stream immediately downstream of said baffles, means for heating said conduit to maintain said copper in a molten condition and a charcoal bed floating on said stream, and including portions extending below the upper edge portions of said baffles, whereby said baffles prevent bodily movement of said bed in said downstream direction.
In an apparatus for accreting copper including a fuel fired melting furnace means for melting copper stock and an accreting crucible within which a copper member is drawn through a pool of purified, molten copper, a deoxygenating launder apparatus inclined from said furnace toward said crucible for receiving molten, oxygen contaminated copper from said furnace and depositing said copper melt in purified condition in said crucible, comprising an enclosed, inclined conduit having an internal passage, a plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart baffle members extending transversely across said passage, said baffles including adjacent the floor of said passage flow restricting apertures for the passage therethrough of molten copper, a bed of pulverulent reducing material disposed in said conduit and adapted to float on a stream of copper descending said passage at a level in which portions of said bed extend below said upper edge portions, whereby said baffles prevent downstream movement of said bed while permitting downstream movement of said molten copper through said apertures, the upper surface of said stream being above the level of said apertures and below the upper edge portions of said baffles, and means for heating said conduit to maintain a stream of copper in said passage in a molten condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.