Tool driving or impacting – With means to adjust position of axis of tool advance – Plural adjustments
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-18
2001-08-07
Smith, Scott A. (Department: 3721)
Tool driving or impacting
With means to adjust position of axis of tool advance
Plural adjustments
C266S271000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06269890
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a taphole drilling machine, in particular a taphole drilling machine to serve several tapholes on a shaft furnace.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Modern blast furnaces usually have several tapholes. Each of these taholes is served by its own drilling machine. As an efficient taphole drilling machine is relatively expensive, it would, of course, be interesting for cost reasons to develop a machine which can be used for several adjacent tapholes at the same time.
A taphole drilling machine of this type was already described in DE-A-19 62 953 in 1967. This machine comprises a fixed bracket and an arm, the first end of which can be swivelled about a first axis and is mounted in the fixed bracket. The arm, which can be swivelled by a drive from a first operating position in front of the first taphole into a second operating position in front of the second taphole, carries at its free end a vertical pivot on which a mount is mounted. A control rod is connected by swivel joints to a fixed lever arm on the bracket and to a crank firmly seated on the pivot. These form a four-link swivel joint mechanism, in which a swivelling movement of the arm about the first axis produces a swivelling movement of the mount about the second axis. To allow adaptation of the angle of inclination of the drilling axis to the respective taphole, the mount is connected by a horizontal swivelling joint to vertical pivots, and a tilting cylinder is arranged between the mount and a flange secured rigidly to the vertical pivot. To adapt the height of the drilling axis to the respective taphole on the other hand it is proposed that the mount be brought to different points of proximity to the taphole, i.e. to limit the swivelling movement of the arm. However, the result is that only very small differences in height can be compensated, because firstly the swivelling movement of the arm determines the final position of the mount and, secondly, the distance between the mount end and the taphole should preferably be identical.
A rock drilling machine, as used in mines, for example, is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,975. This rock drilling machine has a parallelogram mechanism with a frame, three links and four joints, which permits parallel displacement of a drill mount by means of a first pressure cylinder. A second pressure cylinder is connected between the parallelogram mechanism and the drill mount and permits tilting of the drill mount. An additional rotary motor permits 360° rotation of the parallelogram mechanism about a horizontal axis. The aim of the device is to permit universal alignment of the drill mount via a hydraulic control system in relation to a horizontal axis, so that the rock drilling machine can drill several holes without having to be repositioned.
A taphole plugging machine, in which a mud gun is suspended by two articulated supporting links from a supporting structure, is known from FR-A-2 604 511. A pressure cylinder permits swivelling of the mud gun in a vertical plane and thus firm contact with its nozzle against the taphole. One of the two supporting links is longitudinally adjustable, so that the inclination of the mud gun can be adapted to the inclination of a taphole.
There is a need for a taphole drilling machine which permits variation in the height and inclination of the drilling machine to serve two tapholes, which can approach two tapholes with a different height and inclination in an optimum manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the taphole drilling machine according to the invention the suspension device has a mechanism with a frame, a first drive and two connection points. The mechanism is designed in such a way that a positively guided translation of the two connection points in relation to the frame can be produced by a drive pulse of the first drive in such a way that a connecting line through the two connection points remains parallel with itself during this movement. A tilting device is provided with a connection joint, a supporting joint and a second drive and is designed in such a way that the distance between the connection joint and the supporting joint is adjustable by a drive pulse of the second drive. It is mounted via the connection joint on a first of the two connection points of the mechanism. In a first embodiment of the taphole drilling machine according to the invention the tilting device is connected via its supporting joint to the mount, the second connection point of the mechanism by a supporting joint to the mount and the frame to the supporting structure. In a second embodiment of the taphole drilling machine according to the invention the tilting device is connected via its supporting joint to the supporting structure, the second connection point of the mechanism by a supporting joint to the supporting structure and the mount to the frame. In both forms of construction the height of the mount can be adjusted via a single drive without changing the inclination of the mount.
According to the invention the mechanism is driven by a first pressure cylinder, which has a stroke limiting device with two independently adjustable strokes. The drill mount, which is raised into a rest position when approaching a taphole, can thus be lowered to the level of two tapholes at different heights in the operating position. The tilting device is driven by a second pressure cylinder, which likewise has a stroke limiting device with two independently adjustable strokes, so that the drill mount, which is advantageously in a horizontal rest position when approaching a taphole, can be adapted to the inclination of two tapholes with different inclination in the operating position.
In a preferred simple and space-saving embodiment the mechanism comprises a frame and three links connected by four swivel joints A, B, C and D. In this mechanism the distance between joint A and joint D corresponds to the distance between joint B and joint C, the distance between joint A and joint B to the distance between joint D and joint C and the distance between joint A and the supporting joint E of the mechanism to the distance between joint B and the supporting joint F of the tilting device.
Alternatively the mechanism could also have two links arranged in an X-shape, which are connected in their centre by an additional swivel joint. The frame and a third link are then each connected by a simple swivel joint and a combined turning and sliding joint to the ends of the two links in an X-shaped arrangement, the geometrical arrangement of these swivel joints advantageously corresponding to the geometrical arrangement of the corner points of a rectangle. This form of construction has the advantage that a pure vertical displacement of the mount can be achieved without horizontal movement components. However, it is far more complicated in its construction as a result of the turning and sliding joint and requires substantially more space.
The mechanism is advantageously driven by a pressure cylinder but could, of course, also comprise a rotary drive of one of the links. The pressure cylinder advantageously has a stroke limiting device with two independently adjustable strokes, so that the mount, which is advantageously raised to a rest position when approaching a taphole, can be lowered to the level of two tapholes of different height in the operating position.
The tilting device is advantageously designed as a pantograph. The second pressure cylinder can be mounted particularly easily on this pantograph. By opening and closing the pantograph the second pressure cylinder enables the distance between the connection joint and the supporting joint of the tilting device to be adjusted. The pressure cylinder of the tilting device also advantageously has a stroke limiting device with two independently adjustable strokes, so that the mount, which is advantageously in a horizontal rest position when approaching a taphole, can be adapted to the inclination of two tapholes of different inclination in the operating position.
The foregoing and additional objects and features of the invention w
Kremer Victor
Lonardi Emile
Malivior Philippe
Paul Wurth S.A.
Smith Scott A.
Smith , Gambrell & Russell, LLP
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