Workpiece charger for heating furnace

In a walking beam furnace which has a generally tunnel-shaped refractory structure having a hearth opening and having at its opposite end entry and extractor end openings to be selectively closed and opened by doors, respectively, and a walking beam type conveyor operatively disposed within the refractory structure so as to extend lengthwise of the refractory structure, said walking beam type conveyor having a fixed beam means and a movable beam means capable of undergoing a movement along a generally rectangular path including being shifted upwardly to a upwardly shifted position, a workpiece charging unit which comprises:

• a plurality of charging beams operatively disposed within the refractory structure adjacent to the entry end opening;
• a frame structure having a plurality of support posts extending upright therefrom into the interior of the refractory structure through said hearth opening, said charging beams being rigidly mounted atop said support posts;
• an entry table disposed exteriorly of and adjacent to the entry end opening for the temporary support of at least one workpiece to be charged into the interior of the refractory structure for heat-treatment;
• and
• horizontal and vertical drive mechanisms coupled with the frame structure for causing the charging beams to undergo a movement along a generally rectangular path, independently of the movement of the movable beam means, including being shifted upwardly to an upwardly shifted position, for receiving the workpiece from the entry table through the entry end opening and charging it onto the walking beam type conveyor, the upwardly shifted position of said charging beams being located below the upwardly shifted position of said movable beam means, and the stroke of horizontal movement of said charging beams being greater than the stroke of horizontal movement of said movable beam means.