US3092375A - Heat treating basket - Google Patents

Description

June 4, 1963 c. BlXBY HEAT TREATING BASKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 27, 1961 PYLIHWII K INVENTOR. LE ON C. BIA 6 Y wk; W7

June 4, 1963 c. BIXBY HEAT TREATING BASKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 27, 1961 INVENTOR.

LEON C. BIA BY BY z w HIS HTTOENE'YS 3,092,375 HEAT TREATDIG BASKET Leon C. Bixby, 234 Elm St., Wellington, Ohio Filed Jan. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 85,390 12 Claims. (Cl. 2453-47) This invention relates to improvements in baskets for use in heat treating operations and the like and more particularly to an improved floor construction for porous heat treating baskets although not necessarily so limited.

In heat treating small articles, it is frequently the practice to place the articles in a porous metallic basket, to expose the articles in the basket to the prescribed heat, and then to place the articles still in the basket in a suitable cooling both. The basket is made porous to enable a sufficient movement of the cooling liquid into and out of the basket. In this type of operation, the heat treating basket is repeatedly subjected to high and then relatively low temperatures, such that the metal of the basket undergoes repeated expansion and contraction. It follows that the basket construction must be such as to allow for substantially free expansion and contraction in all parts of the basket.

An object of this invention is to provide a porous metallic basket for use in heat treating processes having an improved floor construction which permits expansion and contraction of the parts of the floor substantially independently of one another.

Another object of this invention is to provide a metallic heat treating basket with an improved floor construction of simple and economic construction readily asembled from conventional stock.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof, the method of manufacture and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a heat treating basket made in accordance with this invention with portions broken away to reveal structural detail.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the portion of the improved floor enclosed within the arcuate line 2 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary front elevational View of the same portion of the floor shown in FIGURE '2.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a heat treating basket made in accordance with this invention. Again portions are broken away to reveal structural detail.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary front sectional view of a portion of, the floor taken along the lines 5-5 of FIG- URE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of a side frame structure for the heat treating basket taken along lines 6-6 of FIGURE 4.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the basket in FIGURE '1 includes a pair of outer frame members 10 and 12 and a pair of inner frame members14- and 16. Transverse to these frame members are spaced parallel tie rods 18. The outer frame members 10 and 12 include elongate base members 20 made from angle stock providing downwardly extending flanges 22 and inwardly horizontally extending flanges 24. The ends of the tie rods 18 are turned upwardly to project through apertures provided in the inwardly directed flanges 24. The opposite ends of the flanges 22 of the outer frame members .10 and 12 are turned upwardly as are the outer ends of the inner frame members 14 and 16. The upturned ends of each of these frame members are apertured to support a plurality of transverse end rods 26. These rods 26 cooperate with the upwardly turned ends of the frame members 10, 12, 14 and 16 to form ends of the basket. The ends 28 of each of the transverse rods 26 are upset to secure them against removal. In addition another transverse rod 30 is supported between the inner frame members 14 and 16 midway between the pair of transverse rods 26. As with the rods 26, the ends of the rods 30 are upset as designated at 32. The central portion of the uppermost rod 26 at each end of the basket is bent upwardly to provide a pair of handles 31. The rods 26 and 30 also support U-shaped brackets 34 mounted on the opposite ends of the basket, there being one U-shaped bracket 34 confined between the adjacent upwardly turned portions of each outer and inner frame member. That is, there is one U-shaped bracket 34 disposed at each corner of the basket. The purpose of the brackets 34 is to adapt the basket for engagement with conveyors used in conventional heat treating ovens.

As noted earlier, the base of the sides of the basket are provided by the frame members 10 and 12. Also, an upper side frame member 49 extends longitudinally of the basket on each side thereof. Each end 42 of both side. members 40 is folded and apertured so as to be held by the uppermost rods 26 between the upwardly turned portions of the flanges 22 and one side of a U-shaped bracket 34. As with the frame members 10 and 12, the side members 40 are made from angle stock, thereby providing an inwardly directed horizontal flange 44- having apertures (not shown) through which the upwardly turned ends of the tie rods 18 extend. The opposite ends of the tie rods are upset, as indicated at 46.

The brackets 34 serve to separate the outer frame member 10 from the inner frame member 14 and the outer frame member 12 from the inner frame member 16. Since the upper rods 26 pass through apertures in the folded flanges 42 and through apertures in the upturned ends of the frame members '10 and 12, the members 40 are thus spaced one from the other. The inner frame members 14- and 16 are held in spacedrelation due to the bent handle portion 31. Thus, the general outline of the basket is retained by the construction of parts as thus far described. It is apparent however, that the shape of the basket would not be retained upon prolonged use due to the difference in thermal expansion between the various parts as. the basket is repeatedly heated and cooled. To retain the shape of the basket during use, the vertical upturned portion of the rods 18, the rods 26 and the rods 30 are encircled with coiled wire elements 48, which serve as spacers for the sides and ends of the basket. The coiled wire elements 48 encircle all exposed vertical portions of most of the rods 18 and all of the exposed portions of the rods 26 but for the handle portions 31 and all exposed portions of the rods 30 with the result that all looseness inherent in the structure of the basket is taken up. The coils 48 are tightly wound so that there is little or no clearance for the compression of the coils, thus producing a basket structure which is substantially rigid. The structure and function of the coils 48 is more fully explained in my copending application for US. ,Letters Patent, Serial Number 764,965, filed October 2, 8, now US. Patent No. 3,012,766.

The tie rods :18 are passed through aligned apertures 49 in the innerframe members 14 and 16 to provide a frame for the basket floor. The floor is completed by a plurality of wire elements 50, which are formed with equispaced loops 52 throughout their entire length through which the tie rods 18 are passed. Thus, the wire elements 50, along with the tie rods =18 form a mesh or lattice work upon which the articles to be treated are placed. Note that, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the tie rods 18 are considerably thicker than the wire elements 50 No attempt has been made to show the dis- I the wire elements on the tie rods 18. In the past, Wire 7 elements, such as those designated at 50, have been spaced by comparatively expensive and heavy sleeves or the like located between each loop 52. With this invention, however, the spacingof the wire elements 50' is greatly simplified. As most clearlyindicatcd in FIG- URES 2 and 3, the tie rods 18 in addition to being inserted through the loops 52 are also coursed through a pair of washers or discs 54 on each side of each loop 52. After the assembly of the basket has been completed, an abutment or bead 56 is welded onto each rod 1 8 on the sides of the washers 54 opposite each loop 52, thus confining each of the loops 52 between a pair of washers or discs 54 and a pair of abutments or beads 56. A similar construction is placed adjacent the sides of the frame members 14 and 16.

In practice, thewashers 54 are initially welded to the rods 18 so as to be rigidly afllxed thereto. It would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that an ordinary weld between the washers 54 and the rods 18 would fail during use due to the constant expansion and contraction of the various elements upon heating and cooling. However, it has been found that by utilizing a weld material made from the same material, as the tie rods 18, the abutments may be permanently fused to the tie rods 18 in the welding operation. Thus, even though the weld is destroyed between the washers 54' and the beads 56 as illustrated in FIGURE 3, the beads 56 will remain fused to the tie rods 18. That the weld connection between the beads 56 and the washers 54 fails is not deleterious. In fact, this is beneficial. While it is necessary to confine the loops 52 within a comparatively small portion of each of the rods 18, it is desirable to permit room for expansion for the loops. As is clear from FIGURE 3, with this construction, each of the parts may undergo expansion during heating and contraction during cooling without harmful effects since each of the parts may expand independently. If the parts could not expand independently, there would be a great danger that localized stress would occur at the points where the loops 52 are connected to the rods 18.

It is to be understood that all of the various parts of ,7

the basket illustrated in FIGURE 1 are made from metal. While any one of numerous metals may be used to make the tie rods 18 and the beads 56, it has been found satisfactory to use Inconel, an alloy of approximately 6.5% iron, 13% chromium, and 79.5% nickel, for the rods 18 and accordingly an Inconel weld material is used in forming the beads or abutments 56. It should be apparent that, since the weld connection between the discs or washers 54 and the beads 56 is destroyed during the use of the basket without any deleterious effects, the washers 54 are not necessary. In fact, the primary purpose of the washers 54 is to insure that a direct weld is not made between the loops 52 and the tie rods 18. If such a weld were made, the loops, which are much thinner than the rods, might be broken or otherwise harmed if afiixed to the rods 18 during repeated heating and cooling. The washers 54, accordingly, are placed on opposite sides of the loops 52 since it is difficult to place a small welded bead closely adjacentthe loops 52 without actually touching the loops 52 during the welding operation.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 through 6 which disclose another embodiment of the instant invention, the basket structure is much the same as that shown in FIG- URES 1 through 3 and the parts are accordingly identified by identical reference characters. In the case of the basket of FIGURE 4, two changes are, made which considerably reduce the weight of the basket and additionally, the time and expense required to make the basket. One change that is made is that the coiled wire elements 48 which insure rigidity of the basket construction are not used. Instead, the shape of the basket is retained by placing washers 60 adjacent both internal sides of each of the brackets 34 surrounding the rods 26. These washers are then welded to the rods 18. Similarly, washers 62. are welded at the opposite ends of, the transverse rods 30 and 26 on the opposed .facesof the frame members 14 and 16 so as to insure proper spacing therebetween. Further, as shown most clearly in FIGURE 6, washers 66 are provided adjacent the outer frame members 10 and .12 and the upper frame members 40 associated therewith on the opposed faces of the flanges 24 and 44 respectively. The washers 66 are then welded as indicated at 68- to separate the members 10 and 12 form the members 40'. Again the weld material is preferably made from the. same material as the material of the tie rods 18 and transverse rods 26 and 30 so that even if the weld to the washers should fail, the washers could not slip over the remaining weld abutment. This has been found to be much cheaper and, of course, produces a lighter basket than the basket employing the coil wire elements 48 in FIGURE 1.

Another distinction between the basket shown in FIG- URES 4 through 6 and that shown in FIGURES 1 through 3 relates to spacing of the loops 52. As shown in FIG URE 5, the loops 52 on the tie rods 18 are spaced by providing elongate welded abutments 70 between adjacent loops. It has been found just as easy to provide the elongate abutments 70 as it is to provide a pair of heads adjacent the loops 52 as in the previously described embodiment. Furthermore, in practice it is possible to provide an elongate welded abutment 70 between the loops 52 without engaging the loops during the welding operation. Thus, there is no necessity in this case for the use of washers 54. While the welded abutments 70 are illustrated as being on the bottom of the floor or lattice work provided by the wires 54} and the tie rods 18, it would, of course, be possible to provide. the welded abutments 70 on top of the tie rods 18.

In fabricating the heat treating baskets made in accordance with this invention, it has been found preferable to .pre-form the wire elements 50 from a suitable alloy such as Inconel. Also, as noted above, the tie rods 18 are preferably made from Inconel along with the welded abutments and transverse rods 26, 30. Thus, the abutments when fused by welding with the rods, become integral therewith. The remaining elements making up the basket may be made from iron or steel or any other suitable material.

It is recognized that in the past welding has been used to. secure .together the various parts of heat treating baskets. in fact, muct elfort has been made to dispense with welding in heat treating baskets, because of the danger of weld failure during repeated heating and cooling. Also, the welded parts could not expand and contract with freedom, whereupon undesired stresses were produced. at the welded joints. .Accordingly, it is to be emphasized that, aside from the joints formed between the washers and the rods, which are destroyed in use, no parts of the baskets described above are secured together by welding. Thus, the objections to ordinary welds do not apply to the present invention. Also, it is to be emphasized that the weld material is added to the rods 18. This is preferable to drawing abutments from the rods by heating or staking them. If the abutments were drawn from the rods, repeated heating and cooling would produce localized stresses in the rods due to the uneven thermal response resulting from their disfigurement. By adding weld material to the rods made from the same metal or alloy as the rods, the variations in thermal response are minimized.

Although the presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a heat treating basket, a support structure including a plurality of spaced, substantially parallel support rods, a plurality of substantially parallel wire elements extending normal to said support rods, each of said wire elements having spaced loops therein encircling successive support rods, and spacing means adjacent each of said wire elements including abutment means integrally added to said support rods which limit movement of the wires along the length of the rods.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said abutment means comprises an elongate weld fused to each rod between each pair of wires.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein the welds are made from the same material as the rods.

4. The combination of claim 1, wherein said abutment means comprises a plurality of beads of weld material and said spacing means further comprises a plurality of washers which encircle the support rods, there being one washer confined adjacent each side of each loop by said beads.

'5. The combination of claim 4, wherein the beads are made from the same material as the rods.

6. In a heat treating basket, 2. support structure in cluding a plurality of spaced substantially parallel support rods, a plurality of substantially parallel Wire elements extending normal to said support rods, a plurality of connecting means on said wire elements encircling each of said support rods for fixing the rods thereto and spacing means adjacent each of said connecting means including abutment means integrally added to said support rods which limit movement of the wires along the length of the rods.

7. The combination of claim 6, wherein said abutment means comprises an elongate weld fused to each rod be tween each pair of wires.

8. The combination of claim 7, wherein the welds are made from the same material as the rods.

9. The combination of claim 6, wherein said abutment means comprises a plurality of beads of Weld material and said spacing means further comprises a plurality of washers which encircle the support rods, there being one washer confined adjacent each side of each loop by said beads.

10. The combination of claim 9, wherein the beads are made from the same material as the rods.

11. In a heat treating basket of the type employing spaced tie rods, a side wall structure comprising a pair of vertically spaced frame members having a plurality of aligned apertures therein, vertical supporting posts extending through each pair of aligned apertures, said posts being formed from upturned ends of said tie rods, each of said posts having enlarged ends cooperating to secure the posts to the frame members and means sepa rating the frame members including abutment means integrally added to each of said posts.

12. The combination of claim 11, wherein said abut ment means comprises a pair of welded beads between said frame members, there being one bead near each end of each post, and said means separating the frame member further includes a washer confined between each weld and its adjacent frame member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 557,706 Riviere Apr. 7, 1896 985,113 Conrad Feb. 21, 1911 1,231,022, Headley June 26, 1917 1,646,716 Wheeler Oct. 25, 192.7 2,176,072 Harris Oct. 17, 1939 2,249,219 Narn et a1 July 15, 1941 2,420,428 Hill et a1 May 13, 1947 2,430,521 McCormick Nov. 11, 1947

Claims (1)

1. 6. IN A HEAT TREATING BASKET, A SUPPORT STRUCTURE INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SUPPORT RODS, A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WIRE ELEMENTS EXTENDING NORMAL TO SAID SUPPORT RODS, A PLURALITY OF CONNECTING MEANS ON SAID WIRE ELEMENTS ENCIRCLING EACH OF SAID SUPPORT RODS FOR FIXING THE RODS THERETO AND SPACING MEANS ADJACENT EACH OF SAID CONNECTING MEANS INCLUDING ABUTMENT MEANS INTEGRALLY ADDED TO SAID SUP-

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