Metallurgical apparatus – Means treating a continuum of work – With heating means
Patent
1996-12-18
1999-02-02
Sheehan, John
Metallurgical apparatus
Means treating a continuum of work
With heating means
266103, 432242, 432250, C21D 174
Patent
active
058660640
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sealing apparatus disposed at a compartment inlet/outlet of an atmosphere facility, such as a bright annealing furnace, which performs heat treatment, such as annealing and strain relief annealing, for metal strips, such as stainless steel strips, other alloy steel strips, high-alloy strips, silicon steel strips, copper alloy strips and copper strips, without coloring or discoloring their surfaces or without generating oxide films on their surfaces.
2. Description of the Related Art
A combustible or flammable reducing atmospheric gas, such as an ammonia decomposition gas or a mixture gas of 75% of hydrogen gas and 25% of nitrogen gas, is supplied into a heat treatment furnace for annealing metal strips, such as stainless steel strips, or for strain relief annealing such metal strips to eliminate strain, without generating oxide films on their surfaces, and the pressure in the furnace is maintained about 10 to 50 mm H.sub.2 O higher than the outside air.
This kind of heat treatment furnace is provided with sealing apparatuses for shutting off a metal strip passing portion at the compartment inlet and the compartment outlet so as to prevent the above-mentioned combustible or flammable gas in the furnace from leaking.
FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional view showing a schematic representation of a bright annealing furnace 3 equipped with prior art sealing apparatuses 1, 2. A metal strip 4, such as a stainless steel strip, is heat treated so as to be annealed in a reducing atmosphere formed by a mixture gas of 75% of hydrogen gas and 25% of nitrogen gas, for example, in the furnace body 5 of the vertical bright annealing furnace 3, while the pressure in the furnace is maintained about 10 to 50 mm H.sub.2 O higher than the outside air. The metal strip 4 and the furnace body 5 are grounded electrically via a grounding line 6. The metal strip 4 is subjected to a surface cleaning treatment as a pretreatment before it is annealed by the bright annealing furnace 3. The direction of the metal strip 4 then changes due to a deflector roll 7 positioned at the furnace body entrance and the metal strip 4 enters the furnace body 5 from a compartment inlet 8. After the traveling direction of the metal strip 4 is reversed by a turn roll 9 in the furnace, the metal strip 4 is annealed and cooled, then delivered downward through compartment outlet 10. The direction of the metal strip 4 is changed by a deflector roll 11 at the exit and the metal strip 4 is taken up on a tension reel.
In this kind of bright annealing furnace 3, the metal strips 4, such as stainless steel strips, other alloy steel strips, high-alloy strips, copper alloy strips and copper strips, are annealed continuously while preventing oxidation. It is therefore very important to seal a furnace gas 5a at the compartment inlet 8 and the compartment outlet 10 while the metal strip 4 is passed through so as to ensure the quality of products and the safety of furnace operation. In order to provide the necessary sealing, the above-mentioned sealing apparatuses 1, 2 are provided.
FIG. 13 is a partial front view showing the structure of the sealing apparatus 2 disposed at the compartment outlet 10 shown in FIG. 12, and FIG. 14 is a side view of the sealing apparatus 2. This prior art is disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication JP(B2) 42-18893 (1967), for example. Since the structure of the sealing apparatus 1 disposed at the compartment inlet 8 is similar to that of the sealing apparatus 2 disposed at the compartment outlet 10, the structure of the sealing apparatus 1 is not described here to avoid overlaps. In the above-mentioned sealing apparatus 2, a pair of elastic rotation rolls 16, the outer peripheral portions of which are made of an elastic material such as rubber, are pushed against the metal strip 4 and a pair of elastic pads 17 by the action force of a roll open/close device 18 so as to seal the boundary between each elastic rotation roll 16 and the metal strip 4
REFERENCES:
patent: 1829684 (1931-10-01), Stansel
patent: 2367174 (1945-01-01), Renkin
patent: 3291468 (1966-12-01), Albertsen et al.
patent: 5658527 (1997-08-01), Nakamura
U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 08/592,345, filed Feb. 7, 1996, by Teruhisa Nakamura, entitled "Sealing Apparatus for Inlet/Outlet of Atmosphere Heat Treatment Furnace".
U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 08/592,346, filed Feb. 7, 1996, by Teruhisa Nakamura, entitled "Sealing Apparatus for Inlet/Outlet of Atmosphere Facility".
Nisshin Steel Co. Ltd.
Sheehan John
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