Arrangement for separating the starter bar from the hot strand in the strand guideway of a continuous casting plant

Claim 1

In an arrangement for separating a starter bar from a hot strand in a continuous casting plant strand guideway, including a starter bar head designed like a pair of tongs having a first tong cheek and a second tong cheek, said first and said second tong cheeks being lockable in a tong closing position, an opening mechanism being provided for releasing said first tong cheek from said second tong cheek, the improvement which is characterized in that a latch having a hook end is pivotably mounted on said first tong cheek and an extension is provided on said second tong cheek, said latch being movable between a holding position in which it overlaps said extension with its hook end and holds said first and said second tong cheeks in a closing position, and a release position in which it releases said extension of said second tong cheek, a bolt having a head end and a foot end is mounted in said second tong cheek so as to be displaceable in approximately the axial direction of said starter bar, said starter bar having a foot part and said starter bar head including a second tong cheek recess open towards a side face of said second tong cheek, said head end of said bolt contacting said hook end of said latch and said foot end of said bolt projecting into said second tong cheek recess in a direction towards the foot part of said starter bar, a switch member is stationarily mounted at the strand guideway and an adjustment device is provided to move said switch member into said second tong cheek recess of said starter bar head, to bring it into contact with said foot end of said bolt and to retract it out of said recess, a latch projection directed to a side face of said first tong cheek is provided, said first tong cheek including a first tong cheek recess, in said holding position of said latch said latch projection comes to lie within said first tong cheek recess, while in said release position of said latch, said latch projection comes to lie in a position projecting beyond the side face of said first tong cheek, and a counter stop coacting with said latch projection is provided at said strand guideway, said latch being movable into said holding position by the pivoting back of said latch projection into the first tong cheek recess by means of said counter stop.