Apparatus for cooling hot slabs

In an apparatus for cooling hot slabs in a soaking pit divided into a plurality of slab-receiving compartments, wherein a railborne transporter includes a traverse spanning said pit, first and second guide means fixedly depending from said traverse at locations separated in the transport direction, vertically movable gripper means on said traverse disposed between said first and second guide means and defining therewith a first and a second carrying cage alignable with a pair of adjoining compartments, hoist means for raising and lowering said gripper means, and retractable slab-supporting means on said gripper means alternately extendable across the bottoms of said cages for depositing a hot slab from said first cage in a selected compartment and then lifting a cooled slab into said second cage from an adjoining compartment,

• the combination therewith of:
• first and second positioning means disposed in a loading zone between a pickup area and a receiving area adjoining said pit, the path of said transporter extending to a stop above said loading zone;
• first conveyor means for delivering hot slabs to said pickup area, said first positioning means being operable to engage a slab lying prone on said first conveyor means and to erect the engaged slab in line with said first cage upon a stationing of said transporter at said stop;
• and
• second conveyor means for removing cooled slabs from said receiving area, said second positioning means being alignable with said second cage upon a stationing of said transporter at said stop for engaging a slab lowered erect by said gripper means and depositing the engaged slab prone on said second conveyor means, said gripper means being thereupon operable to seize a slab erected by said first positioning means.