Apparatus to move and preheat metal material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10584394-B2
Application number	US-201515314816-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 29, 2015
Priority date	May 30, 2014
Publication date	Mar 10, 2020
Grant date	Mar 10, 2020

Abstract

An apparatus to move and preheat metal material (M) to be fed to a container comprises a containing structure, having an internal compartment and provided with a support wall, a conveyor for the material (M), a fume transit section whose volume reduces as it is distanced from said container along the longitudinal development of said containing structure, and a collector for hot fumes (F) whose volume increases in a manner correlated to said reduction in the fume transit section. The collector is located below said conveyor inside the internal compartment essentially along the entire longitudinal development of said containing structure. Moreover, one or more through apertures are made in said support wall to put the conveyor and the collector into fluidic connection.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus to move and preheat metal material to be fed to a container, the apparatus comprising:
a horizontal containing structure including:
an upper wall, a base wall, and lateral walls defining an internal compartment, the horizontal containing structure having a first end configured to be associated with said container and a second end opposite of the first end,
a support wall interposed between said upper wall and said base wall, the support wall including one or more through apertures,
a conveyor for said metal material, the conveyor defined by said support wall, said lateral walls, said upper wall, and said base wall,
a fume transit section defined between said upper wall and said metal material when conveyed by the conveyor, and
a collector for hot fumes, the collector located below said conveyor inside said internal compartment along an entire longitudinal development of said horizontal containing structure, the one or more through apertures fluidly connecting said conveyor and said collector, wherein said fume transit section has a volume that reduces as said fume transit section is distanced from said container along the longitudinal development of said horizontal containing structure, and said collector has a volume that increases in a manner correlated to said reduction in the volume of the fume transit section;

a dynamic sealing element in correspondence with the second end of said horizontal containing structure, a portion of the dynamic sealing element is located above a part of the upper wall of the horizontal containing structure to which the dynamic sealing element is attached, and the dynamic sealing element configured to prevent air from entering a zone of the internal compartment where said metal material is conveyed and to press and level said metal material entering the horizontal containing structure;
a suction unit connected to said collector and in a position below said conveyor at the second end of said containing structure, the suction unit configured to take in said hot fumes through said one or more through apertures and through said collector; and
a suction pipe at the second end of said containing structure for sucking up air that has entered due to interspaces between the metal material and said dynamic sealing element and the hot fumes from the container that reach a loading zone of the conveyor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said horizontal containing structure includes the loading zone for loading said metal material into said internal compartment and an unloading zone for unloading said metal material into said container, and
wherein said support wall has a development declining from said loading zone to said unloading zone, in order to define, from the unloading zone to the loading zone, said reduction in the volume of the fume transit section and said increase in the volume of the collector.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said support wall includes a plurality of segments following each other along the longitudinal development of the horizontal containing structure and lying on planes vertically offset with respect to each other, each of said one or more through apertures being interposed between two of the plurality of segments that are consecutive.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said support wall includes a plurality of segments following each other along the longitudinal development of the horizontal containing structure to define a continuous surface inclined downward and toward said container, each of said one or more through apertures being interposed between two of the plurality of segments that are consecutive.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein
the suction pipe is fluidly connected to said loading zone and cooperating with said dynamic sealing element to prevent the air from outside the horizontal containing structure from entering past the loading zone.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said dynamic sealing element is a roller with a circular, conical, or crescent shape.

7. A method to move and preheat metal material to be fed to a container using an apparatus that includes a containing structure provided with an internal compartment, the method comprising:
moving said metal material along a direction of feed on a support wall of a conveyor inside said internal compartment;
sucking in hot fumes from an end of said containing structure that is opposite to a position of said container with a suction unit so as to provide, along a longitudinal development of said containing structure, a stream of said hot fumes that flows in counterflow with respect to said direction of feed, the stream of said hot fumes flowing through said metal material on the conveyor, through apertures in said support wall to a collector inside said internal compartment located below said conveyor, and from the collector to the suction unit in a position below said conveyor at said end of said containing structure opposite to the position of said container, said apertures in said support wall fluidly connecting said conveyor and said collector, wherein the suction of said hot fumes is configured to put said metal material into contact with a decreasing stream of the hot fumes as a distance between said metal material and said container increases;
providing a dynamic sealing element in correspondence with said end of said containing structure opposite to the position of said container, a portion of the dynamic sealing element is located above a part of an upper wall of the containing structure to which the dynamic sealing element is attached, and the dynamic sealing element is configured to mechanically press on said metal material; and
providing a suction pipe at said end of said containing structure opposite to the position of said container, the suction pipe sucking up air that has entered due to interspaces between the metal material and said dynamic sealing element and hot fumes from the container that reach a loading zone of the conveyor.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the suction of said hot fumes is configured so as to maintain constant a speed of said hot fumes in transit inside said conveyor in contact with said metal material and in counterflow to said direction of feed.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the base wall extends parallel to a horizontal plane from the first end to the second end of the horizontal containing structure.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a longitudinal axis of the horizontal containing structure is parallel to a horizontal plane.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the containing structure includes the upper wall, a base wall, and lateral walls that define the internal compartment, the base wall extending parallel to a horizontal plane from said end of the containing structure opposite to the position of said container to a second end opposite said end.

Assignees

• Danieli Off Mecc

Inventors

• Ansoldi Marco
• Raffaglio Yuri
• Petrei Daniele

Classifications

• F27B5/12 Primary

  Arrangement of devices for charging · CPC title

• F27D13/002

  Preheating scrap · CPC title

• F27B2014/085

  Preheating of the charge · CPC title

• C21C5/565 Primary

  Preheating of scrap · CPC title

• F27B14/0806

  Charging or discharging devices · CPC title