JPH0468368B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a molten aluminum processing apparatus.

Molten aluminum before casting contains harmful gases such as hydrogen gas and nonmetallic inclusions such as oxides of aluminum and magnesium. The hydrogen gas and nonmetallic inclusions cause defects in the obtained ingot and products made from this ingot. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a treatment on the molten aluminum to remove hydrogen gas and nonmetallic inclusions. Conventionally, as a treatment method for removing these, a method has been adopted in which inert gas such as nitrogen gas or argon gas or chlorine gas is blown into molten aluminum in the form of bubbles. Injecting inert gas or chlorine gas into molten aluminum in the form of bubbles,
A rotating shaft for blowing processing gas is attached to the lid of the molten aluminum processing tank in a hanging manner, and while the rotating shaft is immersed in the molten aluminum and rotates, inert gas or chlorine is injected from the gas outlet at the lower end of the rotating shaft. This was done by blowing out gas. However, in such an apparatus, since the rotating shaft is attached to the lid, the rotating shaft is immersed in the molten metal even after the treatment is completed, and there is a problem in that the rotating shaft is subject to severe oxidative wear and tear. Furthermore, when the rotary shaft becomes worn out and needs to be replaced, the entire lid must be lifted with a crane or the like, which poses problems in terms of workability and safety.

An object of the present invention is to provide a molten aluminum processing apparatus that solves the above problems.

The molten aluminum processing apparatus according to this invention includes:
An aluminum molten metal processing tank with a rotary shaft insertion hole formed in the lid, a horizontal rail placed above the processing tank, a traveling body that moves along the horizontal rail, and a vertically movable lift provided on the traveling body. a rotating shaft for blowing processing gas which is provided in a hanging manner at the lower end of the elevating member and has a processing gas passage therein; and a processing gas blowing port which is provided at the lower end of the rotating shaft and is connected to the processing gas passage. It consists of a gas release member.

In such a configuration, in order to process the molten aluminum in the treatment tank, first move the traveling moving body along the rails so that the rotating shaft provided on the elevating body aligns with the rotating shaft insertion opening in the lid of the processing tank. Stop when it is directly above the . Then, lower the elevating body,
The rotating shaft is inserted into the processing tank through the rotating shaft insertion port and immersed in the molten aluminum. Thereafter, the processing gas is supplied to the processing gas passage within the rotating shaft, and the processing gas is released into the molten metal from the gas outlet of the gas release member while rotating the rotating shaft. Hydrogen gas and nonmetallic inclusions in the molten aluminum are removed by this processing gas. After the processing is completed, the supply of processing gas and the rotation of the rotating shaft are stopped, and the elevating body is raised to take the rotating shaft out of the processing tank, thereby preventing the rotating shaft from being worn out. In addition, when performing maintenance and inspection work on the processing tank, it is recommended that the processing axis be moved along the rail to a position offset from directly above the processing tank with the elevating unit raised. It does not get in the way.

Since the aluminum molten metal processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured as described above, by moving the elevating body up and down, only the processing gas blowing rotating shaft having the gas discharge member at the lower end can be taken in and out of the processing tank. . Therefore, the rotating shaft is immersed in the molten aluminum only while the molten aluminum is being treated to remove hydrogen gas and nonmetallic inclusions, and its wear is reduced. Moreover, when replacing the rotating shaft, only the rotating shaft can be moved up and down, eliminating the need to lift the lid to which the rotating shaft is attached using a crane, improving work efficiency and safety. . Furthermore, when performing maintenance and inspection work on the processing tank, if the traveling body is moved with the elevating body raised, the traveling body and the rotating shaft will not interfere with the work.

This invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

In the following description, left and right refer to those toward FIG. 1.

The molten aluminum processing equipment includes a molten aluminum processing tank 1, two vertically long horizontal rails 2 placed above the processing tank 1, and horizontal rails 2.
A traveling body 3 that runs left and right along the road, an elevating body 4 provided on the traveling body 3 that can freely move up and down, and two rotating shafts 5 for blowing processing gas provided in a hanging manner at the lower end of the elevating body 4. It consists of

The treatment tank 1 includes a tank body 7 lined with silicon-bonded silicon carbide ceramics;
It consists of a lid 8 that covers the upper end opening, and the lid 8 has two rotating shaft insertion holes 9 and a plurality of heaters.
A cover insertion opening 10 is formed. A seat 11 for a seal member made of silicon carbide is attached to the rotating shaft insertion port 9, and is integrally provided with an outward flange 11a at the upper end and an inward flange 11b at the lower end. Heat-resistant paper 14 is adhered to the upper surface of the inward flange 11b. The heater cover insertion port 10 has a tapered shape with a diameter decreasing toward the bottom.
A bottomed cylindrical heater cover 12 made of silicon carbide and having a tapered flange 12a at its upper end is inserted and supported. The lower end of the heater cover 12 extends to the vicinity of the bottom of the tank body 7, and an electric heater 13 having a non-metallic heating element is placed inside the heater cover 12. is being heated. Further, each of the four corners of the top surface of the lid 8 is provided with a hanging arm 15 extending upward, and two hooks 16 are mounted on the arm 15 at a predetermined interval vertically.
is provided.

The running body 3 includes a frame 17, a driving wheel 18 attached to the frame 17 and running on the upper rail 2, a motor 19 attached to the frame 17 and driving the wheel 18, and a height corresponding to the upper and lower rails 2. The guide wheel 29 is provided at a horizontal position and rolls along both the front and rear sides of the rail 2. In addition, the running body 3
is equipped with a downward power cylinder 20 that moves the elevating body 4 up and down, and a pair of left and right vertical guide bars 21 that guide the elevating body 4. In addition, the running body 3
When it comes directly above the processing tank 1, it is stopped by a limit switch (not shown).

The elevating body 4 is a piston of a power cylinder 20.
It is attached to a rod 20a, and wheels 22 provided on the left and right sides of the rod 20a roll along a vertical guide bar 21 and move up and down along the guide bar 21. A rotary drive shaft 23 is provided inside the elevating body 4.
is located. The rotation drive shaft 23 is connected to the elevating body 4
By the motor 24 disposed within the motor 24
It is designed to be rotated via a belt pulley 25 attached to the driving shaft, a belt pulley 26 attached to the upper end of the rotary drive shaft 23, and a belt 27 hooked around both the belt pulleys 25 and 26. Furthermore, a processing gas passage 28 is provided inside the rotary drive shaft 23 . Although not shown, a processing gas supply pipe extending from a processing gas supply source is connected to the upper end of this passage 28 via a rotary joint. Engagement pawls 31 that can be engaged with the hooks 16 are provided at both left and right ends of the lower edge of the front surface of the elevating body 4 and at both left and right ends of the lower edge of the rear surface. Each of the engaging claws 31 is attached to a vertical shaft 32 so as to be able to swing freely in the horizontal direction, and is moved to an engaging position (see the solid line in FIG. 3) and a non-engaging position (see the solid line in FIG. 3) with the hook 16 by a claw driving device. (see chain line). The pawl driving device includes an air cylinder 33 with a piston rod 33a facing outward (leftward for the left engagement pawl, rightward for the right engagement pawl), and one end of which is the tip of the piston rod 33a. It consists of a link 34 which is pivotally connected to the vertical shaft 32 and whose other end is fixed to the vertical shaft 32. And air cylinder 33
When the piston rod 33a moves forward, the engagement claw 31 is swung by the operation of the piston rod 33a.
1 comes to the non-engaged position and comes to the engaged position when retracted. Also, inside the elevating body 4, there is an engagement position detection limit switch 35 and a non-engagement limit switch 35 that abut the link 34 to detect the state when the engagement claw 31 reaches the engagement position or the non-engagement position. A limit switch 36 for detecting the alignment position is provided.

The processing gas blowing rotary shaft 5 is connected to the lower end of the rotary drive shaft 23 by a connecting device 40 . Further, the rotating shaft 5 is made of carbon, and has a processing gas passage 4 therein which communicates with the passage 28 of the rotational drive shaft 23.
1 is provided, and a disk-shaped bubble processing gas release member 42 is provided at the lower end. A radial groove 42a is formed on the lower surface of the processing gas release member 42.
is formed. Furthermore, a processing gas outlet 42b connected to the passage 41 is provided on the lower surface of the discharge member 42. Around the upper end of the rotating shaft 5,
The inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the rotating shaft 5 and the rotating shaft 5
An annular sealing member 43 made of silicon nitride is arranged, which moves up and down. Annular seal member 43
is attached via four bars 45 to a mounting frame 44 provided between the lower edges of both the front and rear walls 4a of the elevating body 4. The bar 45 is vertically movable with respect to the frame 44, and a stopper 4 is attached to the upper end of the bar 45.
6 allows the lowering position to be determined. The annular seal member 43 is attached to the lower end of the bar 45 so as to be able to move up and down slightly relative to the bar 45. In addition, the annular seal member 43 and the mounting frame 4
A coil spring 47 is attached to the bar 45 between the bar 45 and the annular seal member 43, and constantly urges the annular seal member 43 downward. The annular seal member 43 is fitted with the upper end of a cylinder 48 made of silicon nitride that is fitted over the rotating shaft 5 and is shorter than the rotating shaft 5. A male thread is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the upper end of the cylindrical body 48, and by screwing this portion into a female thread formed on the inner peripheral surface of the annular seal member 43, the cylindrical member 48 is removably attached to the seal member 43. It is being

In such a molten aluminum processing apparatus, when molten metal is processed, the traveling body 3 is first moved above the processing tank 1. Next, the power cylinder 20 is operated to lower the elevating body 4. Then, the rotating shaft 5 is lowered, and the annular seal member 43 and the cylinder 48 are also lowered, and the rotating shaft 5 and the cylinder 48 enter the processing tank 1 through the rotating shaft insertion port 9. When the rotating shaft 5, that is, the elevating body 4 descends to the lower limit position, the annular seal member 43 is received by the inward flange 11b of the seal member seat 11, and the lower end of the cylindrical body 48 is inserted into the molten aluminum in the tank 1. immersed in. At the lower limit position of the elevating body 4, the coil spring 47 is slightly compressed by the mounting frame 44, so that the annular seal member 43
is urged downward and brought into close contact with the inward flange 11b. Therefore, entry of the atmosphere from between the annular seal member 43 and the seat 11 is completely prevented. Furthermore, since the lower end of the cylinder 48 is immersed in the molten metal, the atmosphere entering through the opening at the upper end of the cylinder 48 also contacts only the part surrounded by the cylinder 48 of the entire surface of the molten metal. Therefore, it is less susceptible to atmospheric influences and processing efficiency is improved. In this state, processing gas is supplied from a processing gas supply source (not shown) to the discharge member 42 via the rotational drive shaft 23 and the processing gas passages 28, 41 of the rotational shaft 5, and the motor 24 supplies the processing gas to the rotational drive shaft 23 and the rotational shaft 5. When the shaft 5 is rotated, the release member 42 is released from the lower end opening of the rotating shaft 5.
The processing gas discharged to the lower surface through the outlet 42b is turned into fine bubbles by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the discharge member 42 and the action of the grooves 42a, and is dispersed throughout the tank 1 and discharged. be done. Hydrogen gas and nonmetallic inclusions in the molten aluminum are removed by this processing gas.

After removing hydrogen gas and nonmetallic inclusions in molten aluminum, or when replacing the rotating shaft 5,
Only the rotating shaft 5 needs to be raised. In this case, first operate the air cylinder 33 to advance the piston rod 33a so that the engaging pawl 31 comes to the non-engaging position. In this state, when the elevating body 4 is raised by the power cylinder 20, only the rotating shaft 5 is raised. Further, in order to remove dross floating on the surface of the molten aluminum after hydrogen gas and nonmetallic inclusions are removed, it is necessary to lift the lid 8 slightly. In this case, the rotating shaft 5
, the lifting body 4 is raised until it is at a position higher than the lower hook 16 with the engaging claw 31 in the non-engaging position, and then the engaging claw 31 is moved to the upper hook 16. Before reaching the height position, the air cylinder 33 is operated to retract the piston rod 33a so that the engagement pawl 31 comes to the engagement position. Then, when the elevating body 4 rises and the engagement pawl 31 reaches the height position of the upper hook 16, both 3
1 and 16 are engaged, the lid 8 is lifted, and at the same time as the rotating shaft 5 is raised, the lid 8 is slightly lifted. In this way, dross can be removed from the upper end opening of the tank body 7. When lowering the lid 8, the operation is reversed to that described above. Furthermore, when performing maintenance and inspection work in the processing tank 1, first raise the rotary shaft 5, and before raising the elevating body 4, operate the air cylinder 33 to move the piston rod 33a back and forth. so that the engaging claw 31 is at the engaging position. Next, elevating body 4
When the lid 8 is raised, the engaging claw 31 engages with the lower hook 16, and when the elevating body 4 reaches the upper limit position, the lid 8
is lifted high. Thereafter, the traveling body 3 is moved along the rail 2 to either the left or right. By doing so, the lid 8 and the rotating shaft 5 will not get in the way during maintenance and inspection work inside the processing tank 1, and workability and safety will be improved. When the lid 8 is placed on the processing tank 1, the operation is reversed to that described above.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view, and FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view.
The figure is an enlarged sectional view taken along the - line in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the - line in Fig. 1.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Aluminum molten metal processing tank, 2... Horizontal rail, 3... Traveling body, 4... Elevating body, 5... Rotating shaft for blowing processing gas, 8... Lid, 9... Rotating shaft insertion port, 41 ...Processing gas passage, 42...Processing gas discharge member, 42b...Processing gas outlet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A molten aluminum processing tank 1 having a rotating shaft insertion opening 9 formed in a lid 8, a horizontal rail 2 arranged above the processing tank 1, a traveling body 3 that moves along the horizontal rail 2, and a traveling body 3 a vertically movable elevating body 4 provided in the vertically movable body, a rotating shaft 5 for blowing processing gas which is provided in a hanging manner at the lower end of the elevating body 4 and has a processing gas passage 41 therein; and a processing gas outlet 4 connected to the processing gas passage 41
An aluminum molten metal processing apparatus comprising a gas release member 42 having a gas discharge member 2b.