JPS6261866B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a support member, an upright support assembled from the support member, and a crank (including a shelf, etc.) supported by the upright support for supporting an article during kiln firing. The present invention relates to a support structure comprising:

During the firing of dishes and similar articles, the articles are supported by refractory cranks, conventional cranks being formed as unitary structures and
It generally has three generally horizontal legs extending from a central portion toward respective vertically depending stackable feet. The cranks are stacked in rows on a refractory base with dishes or other items supported thereon, and the items are moved into a kiln for firing.

Firing larger objects, such as cups and bowls, has traditionally been accomplished by placing the objects on shelves or "bats" supported by upright posts or walls. . Generally, at least some shelves are secured by being captured between adjacent members of a support column or wall, although intermediate shelves may also slide on projecting shelf supports. It is.

Instead of firing for several hours, as was the case with older kilns, using any of the conventional devices mentioned above, we now have high-speed firing kilns in which objects are fired for typically less than an hour. Due to its introduction, various problems have arisen. The introduction of such high-speed firing kilns is becoming widespread due to the rising cost of fuel and the relative compactness of high-speed firing kilns.

Thus, the support structure of an article for kiln firing is now subjected to rapid heating and cooling that causes relatively rapid thermal expansion and contraction. The conventional types of support structures outlined above are susceptible to cracking damage as a result of the high stresses they are subjected to during high speed firing. This is because the foot of the crank is effectively clamped under the load of the support and the article it supports, or in the case of a shelf-based device. This is because the shelves are tightly clamped at their edges between upright support posts. This tight clamping under load prevents sufficient relief of thermal stresses.

Additionally, the large volume of material present in the supports of stacked crank legs or shelf-type support structures creates thermal inertia during heating and cooling. For example, during heating, kiln gas circulating near the surfaces of larger parts of this support structure heats those surfaces very quickly, while the deeper internal regions remain cool. This causes local stress to be generated in the material. Heat is stored in large quantities in thick-walled parts of support structures when they are heated, wasting otherwise useful heat; This creates a risk of cracking when cooling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved support structure for supporting articles during kiln firing that allows damage to be prevented during use within a high speed firing kiln.

To this end, the present invention provides, in a support structure with a fire-resistant crank (including a shelf), a support member having a perforation adapted to loosely receive a local portion of the crank, and a support member having a perforation adapted to loosely receive a local portion of the crank, the lowermost part of the perforation being in use. A feature is that a plurality of upwardly directed small protrusions are provided on the side edge on which the crank is placed, and a local part of the crank is supported on these small protrusions.

Preferably, said perforation has a pair of upright edges spaced apart slightly greater than the width of said localized portion and an upper edge spaced from the upper surface of said nub by a distance substantially greater than the thickness of said portion. A section will be established.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of an upright support consisting of a plurality of support members as described above stacked perpendicularly to one another.

The support members may have interfitting positioning portions on their respective upper and lower surfaces. For example, the upper surface may have a plurality of protrusions, preferably in the form of a truncated prism, and the lower surface may have a corresponding number of complementary shaped notches; The reverse is also possible.

In still other features, the invention comprises a plurality of upright supports as described above and a plurality of cranks for supporting the article to be fired, each crank having a respective perforation in the support member. It is characterized in that it has at least three local parts (tips) which are loosely received and supported on the protrusions thereof.

The shape and dimensions of the local portion are preferably such that the local portion can be inclined within a limited range within the upper perforation with respect to the shape and size of the perforation.

Further, the perforation and the local part are each formed to have a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape, and the inclination is limited by the local part reaching a position substantially diagonal to the perforation. You may also do so.

Viewed from the top, the support structure includes three upright supports located at the vertices of a triangle, the perforations in two of the upright supports being connected to one other upright support. may be arranged perpendicularly to the perforations of.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a plan view of a support structure generally designated by the reference numeral 10. The support structure 10 includes a plurality of cranks 11, each of which supports an article, such as a plate (not shown), to be fired in a high speed firing kiln. Each crank 11 has three arms 12, 13, 14 each having a local tip 15 by which it is supported on an upright support generally designated 16. Ru. In this way, each crank 11 is supported at three positions forming the vertices of the triangle. The spacing between one or two pairs of upright supports 16 is such that a dish or other article to be baked can be transferred into the support structure 10 without disassembling the support structure 10. The openings between the two upright supports 16 may be larger than the openings between the remaining upright supports 16.

FIG. 2 shows the tips 15 of each of the three cranks 11.
one upright support 16 with the
This figure shows the configuration of .

Each upright support 16 includes a plurality of support members 17 vertically stacked on top of each other.

Each support member 17 has a borehole 18 in which the crank tip 15 is loosely disposed. The lower edge of the borehole 18 is provided with a pair of small upwardly directed projections 19 in the form of a truncated prism. As is clear from FIG. 4, the distal end 15 of the crank 11 has a downwardly directed hooked end 20 in order to reduce the risk of the distal end 15 being accidentally dislodged from the bore 18 during use. are doing.

The perforation 18 of each support member 17 is formed in the tip portion 15 of the support member 17.
The tip part 1 except for the part of the protrusion 19 supporting the
It has a vertical height considerably greater than the thickness of the tip 15 so as to form a gap between the upper and lower sides of the tip 15 . The sides of the perforation 18 are also slightly spaced apart from the side edges of the tip 15 to form a small gap 21 for the circulation of kiln gas.

In use, the crank 11 is effectively "floated" on the upright support 16, as its tip 15 is only loosely placed within the bore 18. Therefore, during thermal expansion and contraction of the crank 11 and the upright supports 16, the parts of this support structure 10 undergo relative movement to relieve the stresses that would otherwise occur if they were not constructed as described above. Therefore, no large stress concentration occurs within the support structure 10.

In addition to the forces exerted by thermal expansion and contraction of the members of the support structure 10, vibrations are generated in the passageways in the kiln, and the entire support structure exerts forces tending to tilt the upright supports 16. It is expected that it will be received. With the support structure 10 illustrated above, large movements of the support structure 10 are highly unlikely to cause the support structure to collapse or collapse. The reason for this is illustrated in FIG. 3, which shows the support member 17 inclined at an angle relative to the crank 11 supporting it.

The sloped support member 17 could form part of the sloped upright support 16 over its entire length, or alternatively could form a single slope in the otherwise straight upright support 16. The support member 17 may be forced. In either case, the tip portion 15 is not forced to tilt simply because the support member 17 is tilted.

The above-mentioned perforation 18 and tip 15 are both rectangular as a whole, and the gap between them is as follows.
It is sufficient to tilt the bore 18 and the tip 15 until the tip 15 is substantially diagonal to the bore 18 as shown in FIG.

Also, as shown in Figure 1, 2 at the bottom of the figure
The three upright supports 16 are arranged parallel to each other, whereas the third upright support 16 is arranged at right angles to these in plan view.

This means that even if the support structure 10 as a whole is subjected to an angular movement from one direction to another, the crank 11 will not be forced into a sharply tilted condition, and the tip 15 will eventually
This means that such a tilting motion is resisted by being stuck in the diagonal state shown in the figure.

Thus, there is less tendency for objects to be thrown off the crank 11 or for the support structure 10 to tilt to the extent that it falls over as a whole. Therefore,
This support structure 10 has a self-stabilizing property.

The crank 11 and other parts of the support structure 10 are formed into relatively thin plates of ceramic material, preferably by press working. the result,
Each component of this support structure 10 will have a relatively uniform thickness, making it susceptible to cracking due to thermal inertia. The very thick parts are gone.

If the ceramic structure has a thick wall, sudden heating will tend to heat the outer surface while the inside of the thick wall remains relatively cool;
This results in non-uniform expansion. Conversely, if the thickened portion is heated to a high temperature and then cooled, the outer surface will cool faster than the interior, which can lead to cracking.

It is clear from the figures that the support structure 10 does not have thick parts that would create substantial thermal inertia. Furthermore, the kiln gas can freely reach almost the entire surface of the tip 15 via the enlarged borehole 18.

The illustrated device comprises a crank 11 and an upright support 1.
6, the tendency to damage due to high speed firing is much less. The upright support 16 is itself assembled from support members 17 in the form of a plurality of small units stacked on top of each other. Each support member 17
The lower side has a pair of notches 22, and the upper side has a pair of protrusions 23 which allow the support members 17 to be stacked in a relatively stable manner. These protrusions 23 and notches 22
In the illustrated embodiment, each has a truncated prism shape.

The embodiment of the invention described above is suitable for baking dishes and therefore consists of a columnar upright support 16 carrying a crank 11;
The invention is equally well applicable to support structures for firing other types of articles.

The upright supports 16 may be in the form of posts or walls, and the cranks 11 may be mounted as shelves between opposing support members of adjacent upright supports 16, as shown, as well as in a conventional manner. The tip portion 1 is disposed within a relatively large bore hole 18 due to the
5, it may be replaced by another shape as long as it is loosely held by the shape.

The use of supports with perforations for receiving dowels (pegs) supporting shelves is described, for example, in British Patent No.
Already proposed in No. 1421504. However, such a connection means is significantly different from the very loose and free fitting connection in the support structure of the invention described above, and there is always a gap between the opening and the part or dowel inserted therein. They have a relatively tight fitting relationship.

Although the support structure of the present invention is particularly intended for use in high-speed firing kilns, it can be used in any type of kiln and is small in volume and stable in any environment. It has the advantage of good properties.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures show a support structure for supporting an article during kiln firing according to an embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1 being a plan view thereof, FIG. 2 being a partial elevational view of its upright support, and FIG. 3 is a partial elevational view illustrating the tilted state of the upright support in FIG. 2, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a detailed sectional view taken along line 4; 10...Support structure, 11...Crank, 12,
13, 14...Arm, 15...Tip as a local part of the crank, 16...Upright support, 17...
Supporting member, 18... Perforation, 19... Small projection, 20
... hooked end, 21 ... gap, 22 ... notch,
23... Protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A refractory crank 11 capable of supporting an article being fired in a kiln, and a support member 17 having a hole 18 that gently receives a local portion 15 of the crank 11, and a support member 17 provided below the hole 18. A plurality of small protrusions 19 are provided on the edge, projecting upward to support the local part 15 of the crank.
A support structure for supporting articles during kiln firing. 2 The perforation 18 is located in the local part 1 of the crank 11.
an upper edge spaced apart from the upper surface of the small protrusion 19 by a distance sufficiently greater than the thickness of the local portion 15 of the crank 11; A support structure for supporting an article during kiln firing according to claim 1, comprising: 3. The kiln firing according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the support members 17 are stacked vertically, and positioning portions are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of each support member 17 to fit in the stacked state. A support structure for supporting the items inside. 4. A plurality of upright supports 16 are provided, each consisting of a plurality of stacked support members 17, for supporting the crank 1.
1 connects at least three local parts 15 to the support member 1.
Claim 3, which is loosely received in the borehole 18 of 7 and is supported on the nub 19 thereof.
A support structure for supporting an article during kiln firing as described in paragraphs. 5. For supporting an article during kiln firing according to claim 4, wherein each local portion 15 of the crank 11 is formed so that it can be tilted to a predetermined limit within the perforation 18 of the support member 17. supporting structure. 6 The above-mentioned perforation 18 and the local part 15 are formed to have a substantially rectangular cross section, so that the above-mentioned local part 15
6. A support structure for supporting an article during kiln firing as claimed in claim 5, wherein the support structure is arranged such that it can be tilted within the perforation 18 substantially in a diagonal direction thereof. 7. The three upright supports 16 are arranged so as to be located at each vertex of a triangle when viewed from a plane, and the perforations 18 in two of the upright supports 16 are connected to one other upright support. 5. A support structure for supporting an article during kiln firing as claimed in claim 4, oriented at right angles to said perforations 18 at 16.