US 5,314,169 A · Method and apparatus for heat treating elongate metallic products

Abstract

Spaced apart packs of closely spaced steel or other metallic rods, tubes or other elongate articles are annealed or otherwise heat treated by advancing them step by step by a walking beam mechanism through a chamber having a series of independently temperature controlled zones along the path of travel, the articles being disposed horizontally and transversely of the path of travel. The atmosphere within each zone is recirculated therein independently of the recirculation of atmosphere within adjacent zones and without substantial mixing of the atmosphere within adjacent zones. Packs are introduced into the chamber from a bed of powered rollers adjacent to the inlet end of the chamber partly by pivoting the free ends of extensions of the movable rails of the walking beam mechanism, to lift a pack above the level of the powered rollers so that it can translate with the other packs within the chamber, and partly by pusher heads which slidably engage the movable rail extensions and which are reciprocable with respect thereto. The chamber is preferably utilized to process articles which retain a significant degree of latent heat from a manufacturing or other processing operation to avoid the need for a significant degree of reheating of the articles within the chamber and without substantial intermixing of the atmosphere from adjacent zones.

Claims20

Dependent claims

Apparatus for heat treating elongate metallic articles, said apparatus comprising:

a chamber, said chamber having an inlet end with an opening therein and an outlet end spaced from said inlet end, said chamber being substantially enclosed and defining a substantially horizontal flow path for articles, the flow path extending from said inlet end to said outlet end, said chamber being divided into a series of zones extending along the flow path;
recirculating means associated with each of the zones for recirculating atmosphere within said each of the zones without substantial mixing of the atmosphere within said each of the zones with atmosphere from within adjacent zones;
temperature control means associated with each of the zones for maintaining a substantially uniform, predetermined temperature within said each of the zones;
means for forming a series of packs of the elongate metallic articles, the articles within each pack being spaced close to one another;
means for sequentially introducing packs into the chamber through the opening in the inlet end, each pack being positioned within the chamber with the articles extending generally horizontally and generally transversely of the flow path, the spacing between adjacent packs being greater than the spacing between adjacent articles in a pack;
and
means for advancing the packs within the chamber in unison in a step by step manner, without contact between adjacent packs, to sequentially remove packs from the chamber through the opening at the outlet end.

4 more elements

Apparatus for introducing at least one elongate article into a treatment chamber through an opening in an inlet end of the treatment chamber for conveying in steps through the treatment chamber along a generally horizontal path of travel by the movement of a plurality of spaced apart movable rail means, each of the plurality of movable rail means extending generally parallel to the path of travel, the at least one elongate article extending generally horizontally and generally transversely of the path of travel, said apparatus comprising:

a plurality of spaced apart supports positioned outside of and closely adjacent to the inlet end of the chamber for receiving the at least one elongate article and supporting it in a position to be introduced into the chamber through the opening in the inlet end;
a plurality of movable rail extensions, each of said movable rail extensions having an inner end pivotally attached to one of said movable rail means and an outer end positioned between an adjacent pair of said spaced apart supports;
vertically reciprocable means for pivoting said plurality of movable rail means to move said outer end thereof between a first position which is beneath the level of the at least one elongate article on the plurality of spaced apart supports and a second position where said plurality of movable rail extensions support the at least one elongate article at a level above said plurality of supports, whereby the at least one elongate article will move with the plurality of movable rail means when the plurality of movable rail means moves;
and
means for reciprocating the vertically reciprocable means.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and apparatus for heat treating elongate metallic products

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for heat treating elongate metallic products

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20