Tundish cover

Abstract

A thermal insulation cover for covering an opening in a tundish and forming a sealed closure thereabout according to this invention comprises a pair of cover members adapted to be positioned in covering relation over the opening, and means for locking the cover members together and ensuring that respective abutment faces of the covers are spaced apart by a predetermined amount. The locking means comprises first and second brackets mounted respectively on the cover members, an elongated lock bar mounted for movement relative to the brackets, the lock bar having a stop member at its rearward end to abut the first bracket to limit movement of the bar and position a recess at its forward end relative to the second bracket, and a lock member mountable in the recess to abut the second bracket to prevent retrograde movement of the bar. Complete thermal sealing is ensured by a first thermal seal member being compressed between the lower surfaces of the respective cover members and the top of the tundish, and a second thermal seal member being compressed between the abutment faces of the cover members.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A thermal insulation cover for covering an opening in a tundish and forming a sealed closure thereabout comprising: 
 a first and a second cover member, each said cover member including a pair of opposed upper and lower surfaces and an outer periphery, said outer periphery comprising a sidewall and an abutment face, said lower surfaces being adapted to be positioned in covering relation over said opening and said abutment faces being adapted to be positioned in juxtaposition with one another when said surfaces are covering said opening, and    interlocking means associated with and extending outwardly from said sidewalls for locking the cover members together.    
     
     
         2 . The thermal insulation cover as claimed in  claim 1  wherein said interlocking means comprises: 
 a first bracket fixedly secured to one of said sidewalls,  
 a second bracket fixedly secured to the other of said sidewalls,  
 a lock bar having a rearward end portion in the form of a stop member and a forward end portion, said lock bar associated with said first bracket for movement from a first position disconnected from said second bracket and to a second position whereby said stop member is engaging the first bracket to prevent further movement of the lock bar, and  
 a lock member removably mounted to the forward end portion of the lock bar, the lock member engaging the second bracket to prevent retrograde movement of the lock bar.  
 
     
     
         3 . The thermal insulation cover as claimed in  claim 2  wherein the cover members comprise a first and a second sidewall, each respective pair of first and second sidewalls being provided with a like interlocking means.  
     
     
         4 . The thermal insulation cover as claimed in  claim 2  wherein the forward end portion of the lock bar is cut-out to form a recess for receiving the lock member.  
     
     
         5 . The thermal insulation cover as claimed in  claim 4  wherein the lock member comprises a rectangular block  
     
     
         6 . The thermal insulation cover as claimed in  claim 5  wherein a threaded bolt is utilized to fixedly secure the lock member to the lock bar.  
     
     
         7 . The thermal insulation cover as claimed in  claim 6  wherein the stop member comprises a leg which extends perpendicularly from the lock member to engage the first channel.  
     
     
         8 . The thermal insulation cover as claimed in  claim 1  further comprising sealing means for ensuring a thermal seal between the cover members and the tundish, the sealing means comprising 
 a first thermal seal member compressed between the lower surface of the cover members and the walls of the tundish, and  
 a second thermal seal member compressed between the abutment faces of the cover members.  
 
     
     
         9 . The thermal insulation cover as claimed in  claim 2  wherein 
 said first bracket comprises an elongated plate having first and second ends,  
 said second bracket comprises a generally U-shaped channel having first and second ends and a passageway extending between its ends, the first ends of said brackets being disposed in juxtaposition with one another,  
 said lock bar comprises an elongated plate having a rearward end portion in the form of a stop member and a forward end portion, said stop member engaging the second end of said first bracket and said forward end portion being in juxtaposition with the second end of said second bracket when said lock bar is in said second position, and  
 said lock member comprises a block having an endface abutting the second end of said second bracket when the lock bar is in said second position.  
 
     
     
         10 . The thermal insulation cover as claimed in  claim 9  wherein 
 the forward end portion of said lock bar includes a rectangularly shaped recess, and  
 said stop member comprises a rectangularly shaped block fittable within said recess to prevent retrograde movement of the lock bar.  
 
     
     
         11 . The thermal insulation cover as claimed in  claim 1  wherein each said cover member having a metallic upper sheet forming an outer shell exposed to the air, a non-metallic lower sheet, and a middle sheet interposed between the upper and lower sheets, the non-metallic lower sheet comprising a fused woven blend of ceramic fiber and silica sand.  
     
     
         12 . A sealed tundish for use in a continuous steel casting, comprising: 
 an upwardly open molten metal receiving vessel having substantially vertically standing walls and a bottom wall,    a two part cover sized to cover the vessel opening, and    means for locking the two cover parts together in sealed relation.