Continuous casting machine with controlled extractor movement

Claim 2

A continuous casting arrangement, comprising, in combination: A. a support structure, B. a casting wheel rotatably mounted on said support structure and having a groove of constant cross section formed continuously about its periphery, C. an endless belt mounted for movement on said support structure and entrained about a portion of said wheel to form therewith a moving casting chamber into the upstream end of which molten material may be supplied, and from the downstream end of which a continuous cast article will issue, D. a wedge member for extracting the continuously cast product from the groove of said wheel, E. a holder block carrying said wedge member and mounted on the support structure for movement about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the wheel with the point of minimum thickness of said wedge member positioned within said wheel groove to penetrate beneath a product emerging from said casting chamber, F. means for maintaining a continuous clearance between said wedge member and said groove during the rotation of said wheel and G. means for moving said wedge member about its pivotal axis in response to the radial expansions of said wheel for maintaining said clearance between said wedge member and said groove independently of said radial expansions.

Claim 3

The combination of claim 1, wherein said means defined in (F) aNd (G) include a mechanism mounted on said holder block and being in continuous contact with a track integral with said casting wheel for automatically adjusting the position of said holder block and said wedge member in response to radial changes in the course of said track.

Claim 4

The combination of claim 1 including nozzle means mounted on said holder block for directing lubricant means for cooling said wheel into said groove at a point downstream of the point at which said product is extracted from said mold by said wedge member.

Claim 5

The combination of claim 3 including a second nozzle means for directing lubricant into said groove, said second nozzle means being mounted on support means downstream of said first nozzle means.

Claim 6

A continuous casting arrangement, comprising, in combination: A. a support structure, B. a casting wheel rotatably mounted on said support structure and having a groove of constant cross section formed continuously about its periphery, C. an endless belt mounted for movement on said support structure and entrained about a portion of said wheel to form therewith a moving casting chamber into the upstream end of which molten material may be supplied, and from the downstream end of which a continuous cast article will issue, D. a wedge member for extracting the continuously cast product from the groove of said wheel, E. a holder block carrying said wedge member and mounted on the support structure for movement about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the wheel with the point of minimum thickness of said wedge member positioned within said wheel groove to penetrate beneath a product emerging from said casting chamber and F. a mechanism carried by said holder block and including a pair of rollers mounted to engage one of the rims formed by the portion of said wheel outwardly of said groove and rotating about an axis parallel to the casting wheel axis, one of said rollers being upstream of the pivotal axis of said holder block and the other being downstream of said axis.

Claim 7

A continuous casting arrangement, comprising, in combination: A. a support structure, B. a casting wheel rotatably mounted on said support structure and having a groove of constant cross section formed continuously about its periphery, C. an endless belt mounted for movement on said support structure and entrained about a portion of said wheel to form therewith a moving casting chamber into the upstream end of which molten material may be supplied, and from the downstream end of which a continuous cast article will issue, D. a wedge member for extracting the continuously cast product from the groove of said wheel, E. a holder block carrying said wedge member and mounted on the support structure for movement about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the wheel with the point of minimum thickness of said wedge member positioned within said wheel groove to penetrate beneath a product emerging from said casting chamber and F. a mechanism carried by said holder block and including a pair of rollers mounted to engage one of the rims formed by the portion of said wheel outwardly of said groove and rotating about an axis parallel to the casting wheel axis, one of said rollers being upstream of the pivotal axis of said holder block and the other being downstream of said axis.

Claim 8

The combination of claim 5, wherein the means for mounting each of said rollers on said holder block includes a rod mounted for movement on said holder block in a plane parallel to the plane containing the rim on which said rollers roll, one of said rollers is mounted for rotation.

Claim 9

The combination of claim 6, wherein said mounting means for each of said rollers includes an elongated slot formed in said holder block, each of said rollers being mounted for rotation on an axle mounted in one of said slots, and said slots being elongated in a direction parallel to said rods.

Claim 10

The combination of claim 6, wherein at least one of said rods includes an abutment extending from the side thereof, and resilient means acting between said holder block and said abutment.

Claim 11

The combination of claim 8, wherein said abutment means is adjustable in position to vary the force on said resilient means.

Claim 12

The combination of claim 8, wherein said rod on the downstream side of said axis is mounted in an opening on a boss which is integral with said holding block and projects therefrom, and engages one side of said resilient means, and the abutment on the other side of said resilient means is mounted for adjustment.

Claim 13

The combination of claim 8, wherein said resilient means is a compressed spring.

Claim 14

The combination of claim 8, wherein said holder block includes a pair of integral bosses projecting outwardly therefrom, each of said rods being mounted for movement within an opening in one of said bosses, and each of said rods having an abutment fixed at an end of said rod and wherein said resilient means act between one of said bosses and one of said abutments.

Claim 15

The combination of claim 12, wherein each of said rods has an abutment on each side of the boss mounting the said rod, and wherein resilient means are mounted between each abutment and the boss mounting the said rod.

Claim 16

A continuous casting arranGement, comprising, in combination: A. a support structure, B. a casting wheel rotatably mounted on said support structure and having a groove of constant cross section formed continuously about its periphery, C. an endless belt mounted for movement on said support structure and entrained about a portion of said wheel to form therewith a moving casting chamber into the upstream end of which molten material may be supplied, and from the downstream end of which a continuous cast article will issue, D. a wedge member for extracting the continuously cast product from the groove of said wheel, E. a holder block carrying said wedge member and mounted on the support structure for movement about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the wheel with the point of minimum thickness of said wedge member positioned within said wheel groove to penetrate beneath a product emerging from said casting chamber, F. nozzle means mounted on said holder block for directing a lubricant, for cooling said wheel, into said groove at a point downstream of the point at which said product is extracted from said mold by said wedge member and G. means for removing deposits due to liquid sprayed by said nozzle means from the exterior of said casting wheel.

Claim 17

A continuous casting arranGement, comprising, in combination: A. a support structure, B. a casting wheel rotatably mounted on said support structure and having a groove of constant cross section formed continuously about its periphery, C. an endless belt mounted for movement on said support structure and entrained about a portion of said wheel to form therewith a moving casting chamber into the upstream end of which molten material may be supplied, and from the downstream end of which a continuous cast article will issue, D. a wedge member for extracting the continuously cast product from the groove of said wheel, E. a holder block carrying said wedge member and mounted on the support structure for movement about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the wheel with the point of minimum thickness of said wedge member positioned within said wheel groove to penetrate beneath a product emerging from said casting chamber, F. nozzle means mounted on said holder block for directing a lubricant, for cooling said wheel, into said groove at a point downstream of the point at which said product is extracted from said mold by said wedge member and G. means for removing deposits due to liquid sprayed by said nozzle means from the exterior of said casting wheel.

Claim 18

The combination of claim 14, wherein said means for removing lubricant comprises a pair of members, one on each side of said casting wheel, each being mounted on the support means for rotation about an axis parallel to a radius of said casting wheel.

Claim 19

The combination of claim 15, wherein each of said revolving members has its outer periphery formed into a profile which is complementary in cross section to, and engages, the exterior of the flanges formed by the portion of said casting wheel which is outward of its circumferential groove, and which is mounted to engage said exterior.

Claim 20

The combination of claim 15, wherein each of said rotatable members has connected thereto an individual motor means for rotating it.

Claim 21

The combination of claim 15 including friction roller means connected for rotation with said rotatable members and engaging the side of said casting wheel to be rotated thereby.

Claim 22

The combination of claim 18 wherein: A. said deposit removing means are mounted on a holder block pivoted to said support means and said lubricant spray means and a second lubricant spray means are mounted on said holder block, B. said extractor wedge member is mounted on said holder block, C. a pair of elongated slots formed in said holder block, each being generally parallel to a radius of said casting wheel, one being upstream of the point of extraction of said cast structure and the other being downstream thereof, D. a pair of rollers, each being mounted for rotation about an axle positioned for sliding movement within said slots, E. a rod connected to each of said axles and mounted generally parallel to the slots in an opening in a boss projecting from said holder block, F. an adjustable nut threaded about each end of said rods, and G. spring means mounted on each rod between one of said nuts and said boss, the spring means on the downstream rod being on the side of the boss facing away from said casting wheel and the spring means on the upstream rod being on the side facing toward said casting wheel.

Claim 23

The combination of claim 14, wherein said means for removing deposits are brushes.

Claim 24

The combination of claim 14, wherein said means for removing deposits are shoes.

Claim 25

The combination of claim 14, wherein each of said means for removing deposits is mounted on an arm, and each of said arms is pivoted to said support means.

Claim 26

The combination of claim 22 including spring means engaging each of said arms to bias it against said casting wheel.

Claim 27

The combination of claim 23, wherein said spring means is a leaf spring.