Circular trough casting apparatus

Claim 1

CONTINUOUS CASTING APPARATUS COMPRISING A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL ANNULAR TROUGH ROTATABLE ABOUT A GENERALLY VERTICAL AXIS AND FORMING AN ENDLESS MOLD OPEN AT THE TOP, A SUPPLY STATION INCLUDING A CONTAINER FOR MOLTEN METAL HAVING AN OUTLET OVERLYING THE TROUGH FOR DELIVERING MOLTEN METAL THERETO, MEANS FOR ROTATING THE TROUGH ABOUT SIDE AXIS IN ONE DIRECTION RELATIVE TO SAID OUTLET FOR MOVING THE DELIVERED MOLTEN METAL IN SAID OND DIRECTION FROM THE SUPPLY STATION, A DAM RELATIVE TO WHICH THE TROUGH IS MOVABLE BY SAID ROTATING MEANS, THE DAM BEING DISPOSED IN THE TROUGH ADJACENT THE REGION WHERE THE MOLTEN METAL IS DELIVERED FROM SAID OUTLET AND BEING OPERABLE TO LIMIT FLOW OF THE METAL IN THE TROUGH IN THE DIRECTION OPPOSITE TO SAID ONE DIRECTION, A COOLING STATION EXTENDING ALONG THE TROUGH IN SAID ONE DIRECTION FROM A POINT ADJACENT THE SUPPLY STATION AND RELATIVE TO WHICH THE TROUGH IS MOVABLE BY SAID ROTATING MEANS, THE COOLING STATION INCLUDING COOLING MEANS LOCATED BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE UPPER PART OF THE TROUGH FOR DIRECTLY COOLING THE LOWER PART OF THE TROUGH AND SAID MOLTEN METAL DELIVERED THERETO, A GAS-APPLYING STATION OVERLYING AT LEAST PART OF SAID COOLING STATION AND RELATIVE TO SHICH THE TROUGH IS MOVABLE BY SAID ROTATING MEANS, THE GAS-APPLYING STATION INCLUDING MEANS FOR MAINTAINING A NON-OXIDIZING ATMOSPHERE AT SAID OPEN TOP OF THE MOLD, AND A DISCHARGE STATION LOCATED ADJACENT THE TROUGH IN SAID ONE DIRECTION FROM THE COOLING STATION AND IN SAID OPPOSITE DIRECTION FROM THE SUPPLY STATION, SAID DISCHARGE STATION INCLUDING MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY REMOVING SOLIDIFIED METAL FROM THE TROUGH AS THE LATTER IS ROTATED ABOUT SAID AXIS.