Claims
- 1. An apparatus for heat treating a casting with sand core, comprising sand bound by a combustible binder, attached thereto and for reclaiming sand from the sand core, said apparatus comprising:
- a furnace for receiving the casting therewithin;
- furnace heating means for heating said furnace to a temperature sufficient to loosen portions of sand core from the casting, while the casings is in said furnace; and
- means for reclaiming, within said furnace, sand of loosened portions of sand core, wherein said means for reclaiming includes, at least,
- a collection means for collecting loosened portions of sand core within said furnace to define a bed of loosened portions of sand core, and
- a fluidizer so positioned and so constructed to fluidize, within said furnace, the bed of loosened portions of sand core.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a supplemental sand reclamation assembly operatively upstream of said furnace and including, at least,
- a reclaimer hopper, located outside of said furnace and defining a hollow reclaimer interior, wherein said reclaimer hopper includes, at least,
- a reclaimer inlet, through which portions of sand core are deposited into the reclaimer interior, and
- a reclaimer outlet, from which partially reclaimed portions of sand core pass out of said reclaimer interior,
- means for partially reclaiming portions of sand core within the reclaimer interior, and
- discharge means, connected to said reclaimer outlet, for ejecting partially reclaimed portions of sand core into said furnace such that the partially reclaimed portions of sand core are subjected to said means for reclaiming within said furnace.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said fluidizer includes, at least,
- a source of pressurized gas, and
- a fluidizer conduit which defines a hollow conduit interior, wherein said fluidizer conduit extends from a first end that is in communication with said source of pressurized gas and terminates at a second end in a manner that causes the bed of loosened portions of sand core to be fluidized within said furnace.
- 4. Apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a fluidizing ring connected to said second end of said fluidizer conduit, wherein said fluidizing ring includes, at least, a ring frame at least partially bounding a central open area and defining,
- a hollow ring interior in communication with the conduit interior of said fluidizer conduit, and
- a plurality of fluidizing portals communicating between the central open area and the ring interior.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein,
- said fluidizer further includes, at least, a heater for heating loosened portions of sand core to a temperature above the combustion temperature of the binder of the loosened portions of sand core, and
- said source of pressurized air includes, at least, a source of oxygen, whereby binder of loosened portions of sand core is combusted.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein,
- said furnace heating means includes, at least, means for heating loosened portions of sand core that are within said furnace to above the combustion temperature of the binder of the loosened portions of sand core, and
- said source of pressurized air includes, at least, a source of oxygen, whereby binder of loosened portions of sand core is combusted.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said means for reclaiming further includes, at least, an abrasion disc within said furnace, wherein said fluidizer and said abrasion disk are constructed and oriented such that loosened portions of sand core are propelled by said fluidizer toward said abrasion disk such that loosened portions of sand core contact said abrasion disk in a manner that contributes to the reclaiming of sand.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein,
- said apparatus further comprises discharge means for discharging reclaimed sand from said furnace, and
- said means for reclaiming further includes, at least, means for selectively adjusting the distance between said abrasion disk and said fluidizer, whereby the impact force of loosened portions of sand core against said abrasion disk is selectively controlled, whereby the amount of fines and the amount of binder that is included with the reclaimed sand discharged from said furnace is selectively controlled.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said means for reclaiming further includes, at least, a guidance tube defining a guidance passage therethrough and oriented between said second end of said fluidizer conduit and said abrasion disk such that loosened portions of sand core are propelled by said fluidizer into the guidance passage where loosened portions of sand core are directed toward said abrasion disk.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said abrasion disc and said fluidizer cooperate such that there is a high probability that a particular portion of loosened sand core is likely to be propelled toward and contact said abrasion disk multiple times.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:
- discharge means for discharging reclaimed sand from said furnace, and
- regulating means for controlling the discharging operation of said discharge means such that the length of time that collected portions of sand core are subjected to said fluidizer is automatically controlled to control the amount of fines and the amount of binder that are included with the reclaimed sand discharged from said furnace.
- 12. Apparatus of claim 11, wherein said discharge means includes, at least, a double-dump valve.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein,
- said furnace includes, at least,
- a furnace upper portion, and
- a furnace lower portion, and
- said collection means includes, at least a hopper including, at least,
- a hopper inlet defining an opening in the furnace lower portion that is oriented such that loosened portions of sand core fall into said hopper inlet,
- a hopper outlet defining an opening below said hopper inlet, and
- a hopper wall connecting said hopper inlet to said hopper outlet such that a hopper interior is defined and a passage exists through the hopper interior from said hopper inlet to said hopper outlet, wherein said hopper wall is angled such that, under the force of gravity, the portions of sand core that fall into said hopper inlet are collected within the hopper interior and tend to accumulate toward said hopper outlet, and
- said discharge means is connected to said hopper outlet.
- 14. Apparatus of claim 12, wherein said discharge means includes, at least,
- a discharge duct having a duct first end, a duct second end, and a duct side-wall that defines a duct passage therethrough, wherein the duct passage first end is connected to said hopper outlet and said duct second end is located outside of said furnace such that reclaimed sand passes from the hopper interior, through said duct, and is discharged from said furnace,
- an operator means for selectively controlling the passage of portions of sand core through the duct passage, and
- means for maintaining a seal at said hopper outlet such that fluidization is not disrupted while reclaimed sand is discharged from said furnace.
- 15. Apparatus of claim 12, wherein said fluidizer conduit penetrates said hopper wall and said second end of said fluidizer conduit is located within the hopper interior near said hopper outlet such that collected portions of sand core are fluidized within the hopper interior.
- 16. Apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a fluidizing ring connected to said second end of said fluidizer conduit, wherein,
- said fluidizing ring includes, at least, a ring frame at least partially bounding a central open area and defining,
- a hollow ring interior in communication with the conduit interior of said fluidizer conduit, and
- a plurality of fluidizing portals communicating between the central open area and the ring interior, and
- said fluidizing ring fluidizes the portions of sand core that fall into said hopper inlet and tend to accumulate toward said hopper outlet.
- 17. Apparatus of claim 16, wherein,
- said fluidizing ring is disposed between said hopper outlet and said discharge means such that portions of sand core pass from said hopper outlet, through the central open area defined by said ring frame of said fluidizing ring, and into said discharge means, and
- said fluidizing portals are angled steeply enough so that portions of sand core which pass through the central open area cannot easily migrate up, through the fluidizing portals into the ring interior.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein,
- said regulating means includes, at least,
- measurement means for determining the amount of portions of sand core collected within the hopper interior, and
- signal means for generating a signal when said measurement means determines that a predetermined amount of portions of sand core is within the hopper interior, and
- said discharge means is responsive to said signal of said signal means to effect discharge of portions of sand core, wherein portions of sand core pass from the hopper interior and are discharged from said furnace.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein,
- said fluidizer interacts with the collected portions of sand core within the hopper interior to define a back-pressure in the conduit interior of said fluidizer conduit, wherein the back-pressure increases as the depth of the collected portions of sand core within the hopper interior increases,
- said measurement means includes, at least, a gauge in communication with the conduit interior for determining the back-pressure, and
- said signal means generates a signal when the back-pressure reaches a predetermined level,
- whereby a specified amount of portions of sand core is maintained within the hopper interior.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said signal means includes, at least, a signal adjustment means for selectively specifying the back-pressure at which said signal means generates said signal, whereby the amount of portions of sand core that collect within the hopper interior is selectively controlled, whereby the length of time that portions of sand core remain in the hopper interior and are subjected to said fluidizer is selectively controlled, whereby the amount of binder and fines contained with the reclaimed sand discharged from said furnace is selectively controlled.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said measurement means includes, at least, a sensor mounted to said hopper wall at a predetermined height above said hopper outlet, wherein said signal means generates a signal when the collected portions of sand core in the hopper interior define a level of portions of sand core that is at or above said height of said sensor.
- 22. Apparatus of claim 18, wherein
- said measurement means includes, at least, a plurality of sensors mounted to said hopper wall, each sensor of said plurality of sensors being at a different one of a plurality of predetermined heights above said hopper outlet, wherein each of said plurality of predetermined heights corresponds to a desired amount of portions of sand core in the hopper interior, and
- said signal means further includes, at least, selector means for selectively specifying one sensor of said plurality of sensors as controlling, wherein, as the level of portions of sand core in the hopper interior increases and portions of sand core contact said sensor of said plurality of sensors that is controlling, said signal means generates said signal, whereby the amount of portions of sand core that collect within the hopper interior is selectively controlled, whereby the length of time that portions of sand core remain in the hopper interior and are subjected to said fluidizer is selectively controlled, whereby the amount of binder and fines contained with the reclaimed sand discharged from said furnace is selectively controlled.
- 23. An apparatus for heat treating a casting and reclaiming sand from portions of sand core, comprising sand bound by a combustible binder, said apparatus comprising:
- a furnace for receiving a casting therewithin;
- furnace heating means for heating said furnace;
- furnace reclaiming means for reclaiming portions of sand core within said furnace; and
- a supplemental sand reclamation assembly operatively upstream of said furnace reclaiming means and including, at least,
- a reclaimer hopper, located outside of said furnace, defining a reclaimer interior and including, at least,
- a reclaimer inlet, through which portions of sand core are deposited into the reclaimer interior, and
- a reclaimer outlet, from which partially reclaimed portions of sand core pass out of the reclaimer interior,
- means for partially reclaiming portions of sand core within the reclaimer interior, and
- discharge means, connected to said reclaimer outlet, for ejecting partially reclaimed portions of sand core into said furnace such that the partially reclaimed portions of sand core are subjected to said furnace reclaiming means within said furnace.
- 24. Apparatus of claim 23, wherein said means for partially reclaiming portions of sand core within the reclaimer interior of said supplemental sand reclamation assembly includes, at least,
- means for heating portions of sand core within the reclaimer interior to above the combustion temperature of the binder of the portions of sand core, and
- means for oxygenating the reclaimer interior,
- whereby binder of portions of sand core is combusted.
- 25. Apparatus of claim 23, wherein said furnace reclaiming means for reclaiming portions of sand core within said furnace includes, at least, a fluidizer.
- 26. Apparatus of claim 23, further comprising, at least,
- a screw auger disposed between said discharge means and said reclaimer outlet,
- a baghouse exhaust duct in communication with the reclaimer interior for eliminating airborne particles from the reclaimer interior, and
- a recycle exhaust duct in communication with the reclaimer interior for exhausting heat from said supplemental sand reclamation assembly to said furnace.
- 27. A method for heat treating a casting with sand core, comprising sand bound by a combustible binder, attached thereto and for reclaiming sand from the sand core, said method comprising the following steps:
- introducing the casting into a furnace;
- heating the furnace such that portions of sand core are loosened from the casting while the casting is in the furnace; and
- reclaiming, within the furnace, sand of loosened portions of sand core, wherein said step of reclaiming includes, at least,
- collecting loosened portions of sand core within the furnace to define a bed of loosened portions of sand core, and
- fluidizing within the furnace the bed of loosened portions of sand core.
- 28. Method of claim 27, wherein,
- said step of reclaiming further includes, at least,
- heating loosened portions of sand core to above the combustion temperature of the binder, and
- exposing loosened portions of sand core to an oxygenated atmosphere, whereby binder of loosened portions of sand core is combusted, and
- said step of fluidizing includes, at least, the step of abrading combustion by-products off of loosened portions of sand core, whereby binder of loosened portions of sand core is exposed to the oxygenated atmosphere, whereby binder of loosened portions of sand core is combusted.
- 29. Method of claim 28, wherein said step of abrading includes, at least, the step of causing loosened portions of sand core to abrade against loosened portions of sand core.
- 30. Method of claim 28, wherein said step of abrading includes, at least, the step of causing loosened portions of sand core to abrade against an abrasion disk.
- 31. Method of claim 27, wherein said step of fluidizing includes, at least, causing loosened portions of sand core to be suspended and act like a turbulent fluid.
- 32. Method of claim 31, wherein
- said step of reclaiming further includes, at least,
- heating loosened portions of sand core to above the combustion temperature of the binder, and
- exposing heated portions of sand core to an oxygenated atmosphere,
- whereby binder of portions of sand core is combusted, and
- said step of causing portions of sand core to be suspended and act like a turbulent fluid includes, at least, abrading combustion by-products off of heated portions of sand core, whereby binder of heated portions of sand core is exposed to the oxygenated atmosphere, whereby binder of portions of sand core is combusted.
- 33. Method of claim 27, wherein said step of fluidizing includes, at least, heating loosened portions of sand core to above the combustion temperature of the binder.
- 34. Method of claim 33, wherein said step of reclaiming further includes, at least, exposing heated portions of sand core to an oxygenated atmosphere, whereby binder of portions of sand core is combusted.
- 35. Method of claim 27, wherein said step of fluidizing includes, at least, exposing loosened portions of sand core to an oxygenated atmosphere.
- 36. Method of claim 35, wherein said step of reclaiming further includes, at least, heating the loosened portions of sand core that are exposed to an oxygenated atmosphere to above the combustion temperature of the binder, whereby binder of portions of sand core is combusted.
- 37. Method of claim 27, wherein
- said step of reclaiming further includes, at least,
- heating loosened portions of sand core to above the combustion temperature of the binder, and
- exposing heated portions of sand core to an oxygenated atmosphere,
- whereby binder of portions of sand core is combusted, and
- said step of abrading portions of sand core includes, at least, the step of abrading combustion by-products off of heated portions of sand core, whereby binder of heated portions of sand core is exposed to the oxygenated atmosphere, whereby binder of portions of sand core is combusted.
- 38. Method of claim 27, further comprising the following steps:
- discharging reclaimed sand from the furnace; and
- selectively controlling the intensity of said reclaiming;
- whereby the amount of fines and the amount of binder that are included with the reclaimed sand discharged from the furnace are selectively controlled.
- 39. Method of claim 38, wherein,
- said step of reclaiming further includes, at least, abrading portions of sand core, and
- said step of selectively controlling the intensity of said reclaiming includes, at least, selectively controlling the intensity of abrading.
- 40. Method of claim 38, wherein,
- said step of reclaiming further includes, at least,
- propelling portions of sand core from a first location along a path, and
- providing an abrasion disk within the path at a distance from the first location,
- whereby the propelled portions of sand core abrade against the abrasion disk, and
- said step of selectively controlling the intensity of said reclaiming includes, at least, the step of varying the distance between the abrasion disk and the first location from which portions of sand core are propelled.
- 41. Method of claim 27, further comprising the following steps:
- discharging reclaimed sand from the furnace; and
- regulating the duration of said reclaiming,
- whereby the amount of fines and the amount of binder that are included with the reclaimed sand discharged from the furnace are selectively controlled.
- 42. Method of claim 41, wherein,
- said step of reclaiming further includes, at least,
- heating loosened portions of sand core to above the combustion temperature of the binder,
- exposing heated portions of sand core to an oxygenated atmosphere,
- whereby binder of portions of sand core is combusted, and
- abrading combustion by-products off of heated portions of sand core, whereby binder of heated portions of sand core is exposed to the oxygenated atmosphere, whereby binder of portions of sand core is combusted, and
- said step of regulating the duration of said reclaiming includes, at least, regulating said discharging to automatically control the amount of time that portions of sand core are contained in the furnace and therefor the amount of time that portions of sand core are subjected to said step of reclaiming,
- whereby the amount of fines and the amount of binder that are included with the reclaimed sand discharged from the furnace are selectively controlled.
- 43. Method of claim 42, wherein said step of regulating said discharging includes, at least, the step of automatically controlling the quantity of portions of sand core contained in the furnace.
- 44. Method of claim 42, wherein said step of regulating the discharging includes, at least, the steps of,
- determining the quantity portions of sand core collected in the furnace, and
- initiating said step of discharging when a predetermined quantity of portions of sand core is collected in the furnace,
- discontinuing said step of discharging when less than the predetermined quantity of portions of sand core is collected in the furnace.
- 45. A method for heat treating a casting with sand core attached thereto and for reclaiming sand from portions of and core, comprising sand bound by a combustible binder, said method comprising the following steps:
- introducing the casting into a furnace;
- heating the furnace including, at least, the step of loosening portions of sand core from the casting while the casting is in the furnace;
- introducing unattached portions of sand core into the furnace, wherein the unattached portions of sand core are not attached to the casting; and
- reclaiming, within the furnace, sand of loosened portions of sand core and sand of unattached portions of sand core, wherein said step of reclaiming includes, at least
- collecting the portions of sand core within the furnace to define a bed of portions of sand core, and
- fluidizing within the furnace the bed of portions of sand core.
- 46. Method of claim 45, further comprising the following steps, prior to said step of introducing unattached portions:
- heating the unattached portions of sand core to above the combustion temperature of the binder; and
- exposing the heated unattached portions of sand core to an oxygenated atmosphere;
- whereby binder of the unattached portions of sand core is combusted.
- 47. Ana apparatus for heat treating a casting with sand core, comprising sand bound by a combustible binder, attached thereto and for reclaiming sand from the sand core, said apparatus comprising:
- a furnace for receiving the casting therewithin;
- a furnace heating means for heating said furnace such that portions of sand core are loosened and fall from the casting while the casting is in said furnace;
- a reclaiming means for reclaiming, within said furnace, sand of loosened portions of sand core, wherein said means for reclaiming includes, at least, a means for agitating, within said furnace, the loosened portions of sand core;
- collection means disposed within said furnace for collecting the loosened portions of sand core such that collected portions of sand core have a high probability of being recurrently acted on by said means for agitating;
- discharge means for discharging reclaimed sand from said furnace; and
- regulating means for controlling the discharging operation of said discharge means such that the length of time that collected portions of sand core are subjected to said means for agitating is automatically controlled to sufficiently reclaim sand within said furnace to a state reusable for cores.
- 48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein,
- said furnace includes, at least,
- a furnace upper portion, and
- a furnace lower portion,
- said collection means includes, at least, a hopper including, at least,
- a hopper inlet defining an opening in the furnace lower portion that is oriented such that the loosened portions of sand core fall into said hopper inlet,
- a hopper outlet defining an opening below said hopper inlet, and
- a hopper wall connecting said hopper inlet to said hopper outlet such that a hopper interior is defined and a passage exists through said hopper interior from said hopper inlet to said hopper outlet, wherein said hopper wall is angled such that, under the force of gravity, the collected portions of sand core tend to accumulate toward said hopper outlet,
- said discharge means is connected to said hopper outlet,
- said regulating means includes, at least,
- measurement means for determining the amount of collected portions of sand core within said hopper interior, and
- signal means for generating a signal when said measurement means determines that a predetermined amount of collected portions of sand core are within said hopper interior, and
- said discharge means is responsive to said signal of said signal means to effect discharge of the reclaimed sand, wherein the reclaimed sand passes from said hopper interior and is discharged from said furnace.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/390,193 filed on Aug. 13, 1992, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/705,626 filed on May 24, 1991, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/415,135 filed on Sep. 29, 1989, all of which are now abandoned.
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Continuations (1)
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Date |
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930193 |
Aug 1992 |
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Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
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705626 |
May 1991 |
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Parent |
415135 |
Sep 1989 |
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