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US 6,685,879 B2Granted
Process and apparatus for regenerating carbon monoxide and heating steel
AssigneeNone recorded
InventorOren V. Peterson
Life of this patent
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AssigneeNone recorded
InventorOren V. Peterson
Estimating the term…
A steel reheat furnace and method of use thereof are disclosed. The furnace includes a housing defining an interior furnace space that is substantially sealed from the environment. A carbon monoxide atmosphere is placed in the interior furnace space for enveloping the steel and protecting it from oxidation. Oxidation of the carbon monoxide generates heat that reheats the steel for later rolling into rolled steel. Flue gases are removed from the furnace by a furnace hood and flue system. The steel advances through the furnace by a roller system driven by frictional force.
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
A steel heating furnace, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Carbon; Compounds thereof: carbon monoxide
Non-metallic elements
Term ended 3 Jun 2021 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
Not Applicable.
The present invention relates generally to steel production, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to a steel heating furnace with particular use in reheating previously cast steel.
In the steel making industry, it is known to produce steel and store it in slabs in sizes required by the provider. This is often accomplished by (i) dispensing newly formed steel from a continuous caster in the form of slabs, during which the steel slabs unavoidably cool to a temperature below the desired working temperature of the steel, (ii) feeding the slabs of steel through a reheat furnace to thereby heat the steel slab to a working temperature, and then (iii) compressively rolling the steel slabs into a reduced thickness. This type of steelmaking system is thus summarized briefly as comprising a caster, reheat furnace, and roll line, utilized in sequence in that order.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the subsequent detailed description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a steel heating furnace according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows a perspective, break-away view of a portion of the furnace of FIG. 1 proximal to the entrance opening;
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in accordance with the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention claimed.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The steel heating furnace 10 comprises an elongate furnace housing 12 defining an interior space 13 into which steel slabs 15 to be reheated are received. The housing has an entrance opening 14 through which the steel slabs 15 enter the furnace 10, ranging from ambient temperature to about 815° C. (1500° F.), and an exit opening 16 through which the reheated steel slab 15 exits the furnace 10 at a temperature of 200-400° F. above the critical working temperature of 982° C. (1800° F.), and preferably at about 1204° C. (2200° F.). The housing comprises a top 18 and sides 20, 22 that assist in sealing the interior space of the furnace 10 from the exterior atmosphere. Preferably, the top and sides of the housing are removable at some points, such that waste materials from the interior of the furnace 10 can be removed easily, and also to facilitate maintenance of the furnace 10, when necessary. Preferably, the housing is well insulated to retain heat in the furnace 10, thereby assisting in making the reheating process more efficient. Insulation material 23 resides in the top 18 of the housing as illustrated in FIG. 3. Insulation material 23 is also placed in the sides 20, 22. Disposed in the top 18 is at least one furnace hood 24 for collecting gases and channeling them out of the furnace 10. A plurality of hoods 24 are preferably formed in the furnace 10 as shown. A flue 26 is disposed on each hood 24 for conducting these gases out of the furnace 10. This hood system reduces and preferably eliminates leakage of furnace gases into the environment. Also disposed in the top 18 is at least one carbon monoxide header 28 for conducting carbon monoxide into the interior space and at least one air header or oxygen header 30 for conducting preferably oxygen into the interior space. The header 30 may be referred to broadly in the claims as an air header, to signify that any suitable air mixture may be conveyed therethrough, although pure oxygen is preferred. These headers will be described in more detail below. Located below the entrance opening is a belt drum 32 for driving a continuous steel belt 34, for conducting the steel slabs 15 through the interior space 13. The belt drum is driven by a power drive, which can be of any conventional type. Located at the entrance opening 14 is a curtain 36, which hangs from the top 18 of the housing 12, to minimize exposure of the interior of the furnace 10 to atmosphere. A pair of sealing drums 38, 40 are also disposed at the entrance opening for working in cooperation with the curtain 36 for sealing the interior space of the furnace 10 from the exterior environment. The curtain 36 is flexible for permitting a steel slab to pass through the entrance opening 14. Once the steel slab 15 has entered the interior space of the furnace 10, the curtain hangs such that a bottom portion thereof contacts the sealing drum 38 for sealing the entrance opening. It will be apparent that the sealing drum 38 is disposed beneath the curtain 36 for this cooperative sealing of the entrance opening to occur. Sealing drums 38 and 40 are disposed such that their cylindrical axes are approximately horizontal, approximately parallel to each other, and generally vertically aligned. The steel belt 34 passes around the belt drum 32 and between sealing drums 38 and 40.
Additional details of the furnace 10 are shown in FIGS. 3-5. The floor of the interior space 13 is provided by a heat-shield hearth 42, which comprises a generally planar member having slots 44 formed therein. Beneath the hearth is disposed a plurality of support rollers 46 mounted on axles 47 disposed generally perpendicularly to the direction of travel of the steel slab. The axles 47 are disposed on side supports 49, such that the axles 47 and rollers 46 are removably disposed within the furnace housing 12 for supporting the slab 15 thereupon, such that said rollers 46 are interchangeable. The axles 47 are preferably rotatably disposed in support blocks 51 and the ends of the axles 47, and the support block 51 is removably placed in the side supports 49.