Drives for plunger closures in metallurgical vessels

Abstract

A drive device for a plunger closure at a metallurgical vessel comprises: a housing (12) removably arranged at the vessel (40); an adjustment device (15) supported in the housing in a highly movable manner, with a drive (14) that can be coupled thereto; and an upper coupling element (13) for holding a support arm for a refractory plunger. The adjustment device (15) for the plunger is supported in a highly movable manner at at least one bearing shaft (11) fixed in the housing (12). This configuration of the adjustment device (15) makes it possible to increase the rigidity of the drive device and thus the rigidity of the refractory plunger suspended at the support arm during casting together with the drive device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a drive device for a plunger closure in a metallurgical vessel according to the preamble of claim 1 . Background Art

[0002] According to the publication EP 1 426 126, a drive device (having a control unit for controlling a plunger to adjust the steel melt flowing out of a discharge port of a vessel of a continuous casting device) comprises a guide assembly, a drive shaft for driving the plunger, a motor and a device suitable for converting the rotational movement of the motor into a translational movement of the drive shaft. The motor is here detachably arranged at the lower side of the drive shaft, and at the upper side the drive shaft protrudes from a cylindrical housing of the guide assembly, and a support arm can be fixed to the guide assembly for holding the plunger. The disadvantage of this arrangement of the drive device is that its drive shaft protrudes from the housing at the top, and due to the bending moment caused by the plunger and the support arm connected to the plunger, inaccuracies in the position of the plunger can occur and therefore deviations can occur when controlling the amount of melt during casting. Summary of the invention

[0003] Based on this, the present invention aims to further develop a kind of driving device for plunger closure so that the stability or rigidity of raising and therefore more accurate metering when casting are obtained by utilizing this driving device. In addition, the operator-friendliness of driving device in its assembly and for the manipulation of plunger should be improved.

[0004] According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the adjustment device for the plunger is supported in a highly movable manner on at least one bearing shaft fixed in the housing. This configuration according to the invention of the adjustment device makes it possible to increase the rigidity of the drive device and thus the rigidity of the refractory or metal plunger suspended therewith on the support arm during casting.

[0005] In order to also maximize this, it is provided that the adjustment means comprises at least one upper bearing respectively guided on the bearing shaft and a lower bearing spaced apart from the upper bearing, and a sleeve element connecting them. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] The present invention and further advantages of the present invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings by means of exemplary embodiments.

[0007] Figure 1 A perspective longitudinal section through a drive device according to the invention is shown without a support arm and without a base plate that can be fastened to a vessel;

[0008] Figure 2Shown according to Figure 1 A perspective view of a drive device with a support arm and a base plate; and

[0009] Figure 3 Shown according to Figure 1 A perspective view of a drive device mounted on a vessel, the drive device having a support arm and a plunger on the support arm. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] Figure 1 A drive device 10 for plunger closure at a metallurgical vessel is shown, which is explained in more detail below. The drive device 10 comprises a housing 12 that can be mounted at the vessel, an adjustment device 15 that is supported in the housing in a highly movable manner and has a drive 14 that can be coupled thereto, and an upper coupling element 13 that serves to hold a support arm of a refractory or metallic plunger. Both the axis A of the adjustment direction of the drive device 10 and the plunger are usually oriented vertically.

[0011] According to the invention, the adjustment device 15 is supported in a highly movable manner on at least one bearing shaft 11 fixed in the housing 12. This enables the highly movable adjustment device 15 to be located in the housing 12 in any operating position and thus achieves extremely rigid retention of the plunger held via the support arm.

[0012] This desired increase in rigidity of the drive device 10 is additionally supported by the fact that the adjustment means 15 are each assigned an upper bearing 16 guided on the bearing shaft 11 and a lower bearing 17 spaced apart from the upper bearing, as well as a sleeve element 18 connecting the latter. The spacing between the upper bearing 16 and the lower bearing 17 is adapted to the possible length of the housing 12 based on the dimensions of the vessel height or maximizes the possible length of the housing 12. The bearings 16, 17 are advantageously designed as linear ball bearings, plain bearings and / or the like.

[0013] The upper bearing 16 is surrounded by a sleeve element 18 and the sleeve element is surrounded by a head part 19 of the adjustment device 15, which moves in the interior of the tubular housing 12. The housing 12 is provided with a sealable lateral opening 12' in the upper region, through which a coupling element 13 connected to the head part 19 protrudes, which is located outside the housing. The stroke of the adjustment device 15 and the height of the lateral opening 12' are designed to be slightly longer than the preset maximum stroke of the plunger closure. The opening 12' is also closed by a foldable seal 21 in order to protect the interior of the housing 12 and the bearings 16, 17 from contamination particles, such as dust. These bearings 16, 17 are additionally protected by a contamination scraper (Schmutzabstreifer) not shown in more detail.

[0014] Within the scope of the invention, the bearing shaft 11 is fixed at its ends in the tubular housing 12 by means of a cover 22, 23 in each case, and the bearing shaft extends here in a coaxial orientation with the housing 12 to the upper or lower end of the housing. The bearing shaft and together with it the upper bearing 16 and the support arm fixed to the coupling element 13 are supported so as to be pivotable about the shaft axis A. Thus, the plunger can be precisely centered on the outlet sleeve corresponding thereto before being put into operation. To increase stability, the coupling element 13 for the support arm is arranged at least close to the upper bearing 16.

[0015] A hand-operable brake 25 is contained in the cover 22 at the upper end of the housing 12, by means of which the bearing shaft 11 and thus the support arm can be released or blocked from pivoting about the shaft axis A. The connection between the adjustment device 15 and the coupling element 13 with the support arm 43 is not released here. This ensures operational safety and operator friendliness. A disk 27 rotatable in the cover 22 is rotatably connected to the bearing shaft 11 and is formed at the outer circumference as a surrounding track 27' that interacts with a rotatable lever 26. This lever 26 at the upper side of the housing 12 provides optimal access for the operator.

[0016] The sleeve member 18 is radially spaced apart from the bearing shaft 11 between the upper bearing 16 and the lower bearing 17, and forms an annular chamber 31 therein, in which the spring element 24 and the spacer ring 29 are contained one above the other. For the spring element 24, preferably a compression spring is used, which is compressed by the upper bearing 16 when the adjustment device 15 moves downward, and with which weight compensation is thus achieved, by which the plunger can be moved upward with less force in the operating state.

[0017] according to Figure 2 At the lower end of the housing 12, a drive 14 is provided for raising and lowering the adjustment means 15, in particular for automatically but also manually operating the plunger closure during casting. The drive 14 can be connected to the coupling element 32 by means of an operable locking lever 32' on the associated mounting plate 30 and is therefore easily accessible to the operator during casting. The drive 14 is advantageously operated electromechanically as a linear drive, but can also be designed as a hydraulic piston / cylinder unit. A corresponding switch button 14' is provided in the drive 14 for operation.

[0018] The lower end of the sleeve element 18 of the adjusting means 15 is assigned a connecting element 18' which projects through the lower cover 23 of the housing 12 and has a coupling element 33 located below the housing 12 for releasable coupling with a lifting rod of the drive 14. In addition, a lever linkage 20 (schematically indicated) is articulated on the coupling element 33 for manually raising and lowering the adjusting means 15 and thus the plunger.

[0019] The mounting plate 30, which is arranged laterally on the housing 12 in its longitudinal extension, can be suspended in a self-centering manner on a base plate 35 that can be fixed on the vessel. Preferably, two sliders 37 that protrude obliquely upward and are spaced apart from each other are arranged on the base plate 35, between which the mounting plate 30 is positioned with its lateral centering surface 34 and which can be supported in a bearing surface 36, so that the drive device 10 can be mounted on the vessel or removed from the vessel with the housing 12 in a simple manner. In addition, a lateral groove 38 in the mounting plate 30 and a bolt 38' that protrudes through the lateral groove on the base plate 35 on the vessel are arranged below the slider 37, by means of which additional positioning of the assembly on the base plate is achieved.

[0020] Figure 3 The drive device 10 is shown at a partially shown vessel 40, which is used as a so-called distributor in a continuous casting plant and in which the melt poured in is guided in a known manner through a refractory or partially metallic immersion tube 41 of a conversion device 42 into a mold (not shown in detail). The vessel can also be a ladle (Pfanne) or a container or a furnace containing any metal melt. The distributor will not be discussed in more detail below, because, as mentioned, it is known per se.

[0021] Relative to Figure 2 , a support arm 43 which is fastened to the coupling element 13 of the drive device 10 and a refractory plunger 44 which is held at the front in the support arm by means of a fastening means 46 are additionally shown.

[0022] In addition, the lever linkage 20 for manually raising and lowering the adjusting device 15 and thus the plunger 44 is shown. It consists of a reversing lever 47, which is hinged at the coupling element 33 of the adjusting device 15 and is rotatably connected to a longer manual lever 45, which can be removed when casting is carried out automatically controlled by the drive 14. These reversing levers 47 are also effectively connected to a locking brake 48 to keep the adjusting device (15) in any position. The manual lever 45 on the lower side of the vessel 40 has the advantage that the operator has visual contact with the casting mold (Kolille). In addition, a removable cover shell 52 is also arranged below the housing 12.

[0023] In addition, a fixed or removable adjustment mechanism 50 with a retaining portion 51 and at least one manual lever 49 is provided on the upper side in the housing 12, which adjustment mechanism can be connected to the support arm 43 of the connecting element 13 or the adjustment device 15 and with the aid of which an operator standing on the upper side of the vessel 40 or on its side can raise and lower the support arm 43 and therefore the plunger 44 along the vertical axis A.

[0024] Likewise preferably, fixed or removable retaining elements, such as straps, can be used on the upper side of the housing 12 for transporting the drive 10. Thus, no forces or bending moments occur on the bearings or on the adjustment means when the drive is transported.

[0025] Of course, the invention can also be explained by other embodiments. Thus, instead of a bearing shaft, two or more shafts can also be arranged side by side and can be provided with correspondingly designed bearings. The bearing shaft can also be provided with a cross section other than a circle, for example a square, rectangular, polygonal, multi-angled, etc. In addition, the sleeve element can be designed as a cage, a strut and / or the like, or the coupling element can be designed in two or more pieces or in a different configuration than shown.

Claims

1. A drive device for a plunger closure on a metallurgical vessel, comprising: a housing (12) removably arranged on the vessel (40); an adjustment device (15) supported in the housing in a highly movable manner, with a drive (14) that can be coupled thereto, wherein: The adjusting device (15) for the plunger (44) is supported in a highly movable manner on at least one bearing shaft (11) fixed in the housing (12), wherein the adjusting device (15) is provided with an upper coupling element (13) for holding a support arm (43) of the refractory plunger (44), and the adjusting device (15) is associated with at least one bearing (16, 17) guided on the bearing shaft (11), The adjustment device (15) comprises at least one upper bearing (16) guided on the bearing shaft (11) and a lower bearing (17) spaced apart from the upper bearing, and a sleeve element (18) connecting them. The sleeve element (18) connecting the upper bearing (16) to the lower bearing (17) is radially spaced apart from the bearing shaft (11) and forms an annular chamber therein, wherein a spring element (24) for weight compensation is contained in the annular chamber, by means of which the plunger (44) can be moved upward with little force in the operating state.

2. The driving device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper bearing (16) of the adjustment device (15) is formed with a head part (19) or is surrounded by the head part, which is additionally guided in the interior of the housing (12), wherein, in order to increase stability, the coupling element (13) for the support arm is arranged at least close to the upper bearing (16).

3. The driving device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The housing (12) is tubular and is provided with a sealable lateral opening (12'), through which the coupling element (13) connected to the upper bearing (16) projects, the coupling element being located outside the housing (12).

4. The driving device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The bearing shaft (11) is fixed at its ends in the housing (12) by means of a respective cover (22, 23), and the bearing shaft extends in a coaxial orientation to the upper end of the housing (12).

5. The driving device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The drive (14) for raising and lowering the adjustment device (15) and thus the plunger (44) drivingly connected to the adjustment device via the support arm (43) can be coupled at the lower end of the housing (12) and thus be easily accessible to an operator.

6. The driving device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The adjusting device (15) has a coupling element (32) protruding from the housing (12) for detachable connection to the drive (14) and is articulated on a lever rod (20) for manual actuation of the adjusting device.

7. The driving device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The bearing shaft (11) and together with it the upper bearing (16) and therefore the support arm (43) fixed to the connecting element (13) can swing around the axis (A) of the housing (12), wherein a brake (25) is provided at the upper end of the housing (12), by which the swinging of the bearing shaft (11) and therefore the support arm (43) around the axis (A) of the housing (12) can be released or locked.

8. The driving device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A base plate (35) that can be fixed to the vessel (40) and a mounting plate (30) that extends laterally on the housing (12) in its longitudinal extension are provided, which are designed in such a way that the mounting plate (30) and the housing (12) can be suspended in a self-centering manner on the base plate (35) that can be fixed to the vessel (40).

9. The driving device according to claim 8, characterized in that: Two sliders (36, 37) protruding obliquely upward and spaced apart from each other are arranged on the base plate (35), on which or between which the mounting plate (30) can be supported with its bearing or centering surface, so that the housing (12) can be mounted on the vessel (40) or can be removed from the vessel.

10. The driving device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: A fixed or removable adjustment mechanism (50) with a retaining portion (51) and at least one manual lever (49) is arranged on the upper side in the housing (12), which adjustment mechanism can be connected to the support arm (43) of the coupling element (13) or the adjustment device (15) and by means of which an operator can raise and lower the support arm (43) and therefore the plunger (44) along the axis (A) of the housing (12).

11. The driving device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: In the housing (12) on the upper side, fixed or removable retaining elements can be used for transporting the drive device.

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