Hardened steel members and method and apparatus for making the same

Claim 2

Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said quenching means includes a device having a face plate with a cross section conforming generally to the configuration of the lateral cross section of said heated longitudinal surface and having a plurality of closely spaced ports therein substantially uniformly spaced over a portion of said longitudinal surface, together with means for supplying air under pressure to said device, the air jetting from said ports and impinging upon said heated longitudinal surface at substantially right angles thereto.

Claim 3

Apparatus as in claim 1 together with means for further cooling said metal member after it has passed from the heating and quenching means.

Claim 4

In apparatus for the hardening of a longitudinal surface of an elongate metal member, a heating means including burners and a quenching means, means for advancing the metal member at a predetermined rate along a predetermined path and through the heating and quenching phases of said means, the heating assembly progressively heating a longitudinal surface portion of the metal member as it is advanced through the heating assembly to raise the longitudinal surface to or within the critical temperature range whereby the heated surface portion expands and causes a camber to be formed in the member, the quenching means progressively quenching the heated longitudinal surface portion of the metal member as the metal member is advanced, means including a pair of rollers one engageable with said longitudinal surface after said surface has been heated and quenched and the other engageable with the side of said elongate member opposite said surface and adjacent said heating assembly for applying opposite forces to the member while it is being heated to or within the critical temperature range in directions perpendicular to the camber so that the camber in the member is increased and the heated longitudinal surface expanded, means for simultaneously moving the axis of each of said rollers toward the longitudinal axis of said elongate member, said heating and quenching means including a source of liquid oxygen, a converter, a supply of water disposed in said converter, means for circulating the liquid oxygen through the water in said converter to convert the liquid oxygen to gaseous oxygen, means for supplying the gaseous oxygen to said burners, means for supplying fuel gas to said burners, means for supplying cooling water from said converter to said burners for cooling said burners, and means for returning the cooling water to said converter after it has been supplied to said burners.

Claim 5

In apparatus for the hardening of a longitudinal surface of a metal rail member having head and base portions, a heating assembly including burner means, a quenching assembly, means for advancing a plurality of metal rail members end to end along a predetermined path through said heating and quenching assemblies, said heating assembly serving to progressively heat a longitudinal surface of said rail member as it is advanced through said heating and quenching assemblies and serving to heat the surface to or within the critical temperature range, said quenching assembly serving to progressively quench said longitudinal surface after it has been heated by said heating assembly, the heating of said longitudinal surface of said metal rail member serving to place a camber in said rail member, and means for progressively applying a force to each rail member perpendicular to said longitudinal surface to increase the camber in said rail member and to cause elongation of the heated surface of said rail member while the heated surface is still hot whereby when said rail member has cooled to ambient temperature said metal rail member will have a predetermined shape, said burner means including first burners spaced from but disposed adjacent to the top longitudinal surface of said head portion to be heated, said burner means also including additional burners disposed on the bottom side of said base portion opposite said first burners.

Claim 6

In apparatus for the hardening of a longitudinal surface of a metal rail member, a heating assembly including a plurality of burners, each of said burners comprising a housing, means dividing said housing into two chambers, a portion of said housing forming a burner face conforming generally in cross section to the lateral cross section of the longitudInal surface of said rail member, a quenching assembly, means for advancing a plurality of metal rail members end to end along a predetermined path through said heating and quenching assemblies, said heating assembly serving to progressively heat a longitudinal surface of said metal rail member as it is advanced through the heating and quenching assemblies and serving to heat the surface to or within the critical temperature range, said quenching assembly serving to progressively quench said longitudinal surface after it has been heated by said heating assembly, the heating of said longitudinal surface of said metal rail member serving to place a camber in said metal rail member, means for progressively applying a force to each metal rail member perpendicular to the longitudinal surface to increase the camber in said rail member and to cause elongation of the heated surface of said rail member while the heated surface is still hot whereby when said metal rail member has cooled to ambient temperature said metal rail member will have a predetermined shape, a plurality of tubes in each of said burners extending from one of said two chambers through the other of said chambers and through said burner face, means for supplying a combustible mixture under pressure to said first chamber so that said mixture will pass through said tubes and burner face and be combusted, and means for supplying a cooling fluid to the other of said chambers to cool said burner face.

Claim 7

Apparatus as in claim 7 wherein said burners are formed with flat sides thereby permitting said burners to be placed in juxtaposition.

Claim 8

In apparatus for the hardening of the head of a plurality of rail sections in which each of said rail sections has a head and a base interconnected by a web, a heating means and a quenching means, a supply conveyor leading into the heating and quenching means, a discharge conveyor leading from the heating and quenching means, said conveyors forming a predetermined path through the heating and quenching means, means for loading rail sections onto the supply conveyor one by one, said supply conveyor including means for advancing the succeeding rail sections at a greater rate than the preceding rail sections so that said rail sections are continually pushed with their ends abutting and are advanced in line in a predetermined path through the heating and quenching means in end-to-end abutment, means for applying a force to a portion of said rails while said portion is under the influence of said heating and quenching means to cause elongation of the head of the rail while the head of the rail is at or within the critical temperature range, said last mentioned means comprising a framework, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on said framework, a first roller rotatably mounted by said arms for engaging the base portion of said rail while said portion of the rail is within the influence of the heating and quenching means, a pair of rollers engaging the heads of said rail sections, a pair of additional arms mounted on said framework, means rotatably mounting one of said additional rollers in said pair of arms, an actuator, means connecting the free end of said first named arms to the actuator, means connecting the free ends of the additional arms to said actuator, and means supplying fluid to said actuator to apply opposing forces to said first named and additional arms for simultaneously moving the axis of the first roller and said one of said additional rollers toward the longitudinal axis of said rail sections to cause said first roller to apply pressure to the bases of the rail sections as they are being advanced through the heating and quenching means while at the same time causing opposing forces to be applied by the other rollers, said first roller being mounted in the heating and quenching means so that it applies a pressure to the portion of the rail section that is being heated and wherein the additional rollers are mounted away from the portion of the rail section that is Being heated, and means for removing the quenched rail sections from the discharge conveyor at a temperature below said critical range.