New or improved apparatus for the treatment of rails manufactured of steel or steel alloys to improve their qualities

摘要

288,369. Rowlandson, C. W. St. J., and Grist, C. J. Jan. 7, 1927. Electrode furnaces. -In an apparatus for heat-treating railway or tramway rails made of steel or alloy steels, the rails are supported in a furnace in such a way that they are insulated from each other and from the lining of the furnace and when heated are subjected to the action of an electric current. The furnace 1 is provided with a lining 2 of iron or steel and with a muffle wall 3 of finebrick &c. having dampers 5 to regulate the temperature of the furnace, the latter being heated by hot gases from a conduit 6. At each end the furnace is provided with a door 7 to which is fixed a baffle 7a the door being held in position by bolts hinged to lugs on the lining 2 of the furnace and wing- nuts 8. The door may be provided with rollers 9, 9a running on brackets 10, 10a so that the door may be slid forward prior to being lifted clear so that the charge may be introduced into the furnace or removed after treatment. The rails are supported by rollers 11 carried by short spindles 12 mounted on block 13 carried by bars 14 secured to the lining 2 of the furnace, the blocks 13 also carrying supporting insulating material 15 which insulate the rollers from each other and from the bars 14. To supply current to each rail, a bar 17 provided with a flange 19 is inserted through the baffle door 7a being insulated therefrom by washers 21 and held in position by a washer 20 and nut 18. Suspended from the bar 17 and passing through an aperture 22 therein is a contact member 23 provided with a brush 25 to which current is supplied by a wire 26 which passes through an aperture 28 in the bar 17 and is connected to a switchboard so constructed that current can be supplied to any individual rail or to any group of rails or to all the rails simultaneously. The aperture 22 allows the member 23 to swing backwards to contact with the rail. In a modification for treating tramway rails, Fig. 13, the flanges 29 of the rails are supported on rollers 30 carried by longitudinal arms 31 extending the length of the furnace 1, the arms 31 being secured to transverse plates resting on insulating material. Specification 23939/01 and 27914/06, [both in Class 72, Iron &c.], are referred to.