Field
[0001] The present invention relates to an immersion
nozzle exchanging apparatus mounted on a lower portion of a
molten steel outlet of a tundish, and an upper nozzle fixed
to the immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus.
Background
[0002] In continuous casting, molten steel is conveyed
to a mold from a tundish through an upper nozzle inserted
into a molten steel outlet of the tundish and an immersion
nozzle connected to the upper nozzle.
As disclosed in Patent Document 1, the upper nozzle
includes a tubular portion and a plate in some cases. In
this upper nozzle, the plate is fixed by a flap of an
immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus.
Citation List
Patent Document
[0003] Patent Document 1: International Publication No.
WO01/81028
Summary
Technical Problem
[0004] In fixing the upper nozzle to the immersion
nozzle exchanging apparatus by the flap, a rotating cam may
be used for a fixing device as disclosed in Patent Document
1. In this case, the cam needs to be pushed by a mallet,
causing the fixing device pushed by the cam to make contact
with the upper nozzle to possibly damage the upper nozzle.
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide

an immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus and an upper
nozzle capable of preventing damage to the upper nozzle.
Solution to Problem
[0006] The present invention provides an immersion
nozzle exchanging apparatus and an upper nozzle as
described below.
1. An immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus mounted on a
lower portion of a molten steel outlet of a tundish, the
apparatus comprising
a support and a flap,
the support having a support surface to support a
lower surface of a plate of an upper nozzle inserted into
the molten steel outlet,
the flap being rotatable with respect to the support,
the apparatus further comprising a rotation stopper
for the flap,
the rotation stopper including a wedge to abut against
the flap by projecting to an upper side of the flap, and a
bolt connected to the wedge, and enabling adjustment of a
projection amount of the wedge by adjusting a fastening
amount of the bolt.
2. The immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus according to
the above item 1, in which
the flap has a parallel surface to become parallel to
the support surface of the support, and an abutting portion
to abut against an outer periphery of a tubular portion of
the upper nozzle, when the plate of the upper nozzle is
sandwiched between the parallel surface of the flap and the
support surface of the support.
3. The immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus according to
the above item 1 or 2, in which
the bolt is screwed with a bolt guide, and a lock for

the bolt is attached to the rotation stopper.
4. The immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus according to
the above item 3, in which
the wedge is inserted through a wedge guide,
the bolt guide and the wedge guide are fixed to a
frame, and
the frame is fixed to a bottom of the tundish.
5. The immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus according to
any one of the above items 1 to 4, in which
the parallel surface of the flap has a recess or a
projection to be fitted with a projection or a recess
provided on an upper surface of the plate of the upper
nozzle.
6. An upper nozzle fixed to the immersion nozzle
exchanging apparatus according to the above item 5,
comprising
a tubular portion and a plate,
an upper surface of the plate having a projection or a
recess to be fitted with the recess or the projection
provided on the parallel surface of the flap.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
[0007] The present invention can prevent damage to the
upper nozzle fixed to the immersion nozzle exchanging
apparatus.
Brief Description of Drawings
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an immersion
nozzle exchanging apparatus according to an embodiment of
the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view
along a direction A-A in FIG. 1) of main parts of the
immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus in FIG. 1 that are

attached to a tundish.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a
support, a flap, and a spring box.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of main parts
of the immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of main parts
of the immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a relation
between the flap and a rotation stopper.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view along a direction B-B
in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view along a direction C-C
in FIG. 6.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view along a direction D-D
in FIG. 1.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the flap,
the spring box, and an upper nozzle.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a
positioning bolt.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating another
embodiment of the present invention.
Description of Embodiments
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates an immersion nozzle exchanging
apparatus according to an embodiment of the present
invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along a
direction A-A in FIG. 1 illustrating main parts of the
immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus that are attached to
a tundish.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, an immersion nozzle
exchanging apparatus 1 is mounted on a lower portion of a
molten steel outlet 101 of a tundish 100. To be more
specific, a frame 2 of the immersion nozzle exchanging

apparatus 1 is fixed to a shell 102 in a bottom of the
tundish 100 by a bolt or the like.
The immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus 1 includes a
support 3 to support an upper nozzle 200, and a flap 4 to
fix the upper nozzle 200 supported by the support 3. The
upper nozzle 200 includes a plate 201 and a tubular portion
202. The tubular portion 202 of the upper nozzle 200 is
inserted into the molten steel outlet 101 of the tundish
100. Additionally, the plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200
is connected to a plate 301 of an immersion nozzle 300.
Molten steel in the tundish 100 is thereby conveyed to a
mold through the upper nozzle 200 and the immersion nozzle
300.
[0010] The immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus 1
exchanges the immersion nozzle 300 for a new immersion
nozzle. To this end, the immersion nozzle exchanging
apparatus 1 includes a pair of guide rails 5 and 5 located
in parallel so as to face each other. The pair of guide
rails 5 and 5 include inlets 51 and 51 into which the new
immersion nozzle is inserted in the exchange of the
immersion nozzles, outlets 52 and 52 from which the worn
immersion nozzle 300 is discharged in the exchange of the
immersion nozzles, and intermediate portions 53 and 53 for
supporting the immersion nozzle 300 during operation,
respectively. The phrase "during operation" used herein
means a period of time during which molten steel is being
conveyed to the mold from the tundish.
In the present embodiment, the intermediate portions
53 and 53 are formed by a plurality of key-like pressing
members 54 to press the immersion nozzle 300 against the
upper nozzle 200. That is, the pressing members 54 support
a lower surface of the plate 301 of the immersion nozzle
300 during operation as illustrated in FIG. 2. The

pressing members 54 also press the immersion nozzle 300
against the upper nozzle 200 by an elastic force of a coil
spring 61 as an elastic body housed in a spring box 6.
[0011] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the immersion nozzle
exchanging apparatus 1 includes a hydraulic cylinder 7 as a
driving device for pushing the new immersion nozzle
inserted into the inlets 51 and 51 of the pair of guide
rails 5 and 5. The hydraulic cylinder 7 can rotate about a
rotating shaft 71 disposed near the inlet 51 of one of the
pair of guide rails 5 and 5. In inserting the new
immersion nozzle into the inlets 51 and 51 of the pair of
guide rails 5 and 5, the hydraulic cylinder 7 is rotated
about the rotating shaft 71 to move in an arrow direction E
from a position in FIG. 1. After inserting the new
immersion nozzle into the inlets 51 and 51 of the pair of
guide rails 5 and 5, the hydraulic cylinder 7 is returned
to the position in FIG. 1. The hydraulic cylinder 7 then
pushes the new immersion nozzle. This allows the new
immersion nozzle to move to the intermediate portions 53
and 53 from the inlets 51 and 51 while pushing the worn
immersion nozzle 300. The worn immersion nozzle 300
thereby moves to the outlets 52 and 52 from the
intermediate portions 53 and 53. The worn immersion nozzle
300 is exchanged for the new immersion nozzle in such a
manner.
[0012] Next, the support 3 and the flap 4 will be
described.
In the present embodiment, the support 3 is provided
continuously from the spring box 6. The flap 4 is also
mounted on an upper portion of the support 3. FIG. 3 is an
exploded perspective view illustrating a relation among the
support 3, the flap 4, and the spring box 6.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the support 3 has a

support surface 31 to support a lower surface of the plate
201 of the upper nozzle 200. The flap 4 is mounted so as
to be rotatable with respect to the support 3 via a
rotating pin 43. The flap 4 has a parallel surface 41 to
become parallel to the support surface 31 of the support 3
when the plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200 is sandwiched
between the support surfaces 31 of the support 3 and the
parallel surfaces 41 of the flap 4. The flap 4 further
includes an abutting portion 42 to abut against the outer
periphery of the tubular portion 202 of the upper nozzle
200 when the plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200 is
sandwiched as clearly illustrated in FIG. 4. That is, the
abutting portion 42 has a shape in conformity with the
outer periphery of the tubular portion 202 of the upper
nozzle 200. The flap 4 is provided at two positions so as
to sandwich the tubular portion 202 of the upper nozzle 200
as illustrated in FIG. 5.
[0013] The immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus 1
further includes a rotation stopper 8 to stop the rotation
of the flap 4.
FIG. 6 illustrates a relation between the flap 4 and
the rotation stopper 8. The frame 2 is not illustrated in
FIG. 6. Additionally, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view
along a direction B-B in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a cross-
sectional view along a direction C-C in FIG. 6.
Furthermore, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view along a
direction D-D in FIG. 1.
As understood from FIGS. 4 and 5, the rotation stopper
8 is provided on opposite sides of each of the two flaps 4.
Thus, a total of four rotation stoppers 8 are provided.
Each rotation stopper 8 includes a wedge 81 to abut against
the flap 4 by projecting to the upper side of the flap 4.
A distal end of each wedge 81 has an inclined surface 811

inclined upward. Opposite ends of each flap 4 also have
inclined surfaces 44 inclined downward so as to match the
inclined surfaces 811 of the wedges 81. The distal end of
the wedge 81 has the inclined surface 811 and the opposite
ends of the flap 4 have the inclined surfaces 44 as
described above. This allows the wedge 81 to easily ride
over the upper side of the flap 4.
[0014] The wedge 81 is inserted through a wedge guide 82
as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. The wedge 81 is also
connected to a wedge bolt 83 within the wedge guide 82.
The wedge bolt 83 is screwed with a bolt guide 84.
Additionally, the wedge guide 82 and the bolt guide 84 are
connected and fixed together by two connecting bolts 85 as
illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8.
The wedge guide 82 and the bolt guide 84 are fixed to
the frame 2. To be more specific, the wedge guide 82 and
the bolt guide 84 are fixed to the frame 2 so as to allow
the inclined surface 811 at the distal end of the wedge 81
inserted through the wedge guide 82 to ride over the
inclined surface 44 at each of the opposite ends of the
flap 4 as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8.
[0015] The rotation stopper 8 having such a
configuration enables adjustment of a projection amount of
the wedge 81 by adjusting a fastening amount of the wedge
bolt 83 with respect to the bolt guide 84. The wedge 81 is
caused to project until the inclined surface 811 at the
distal end of the wedge 81 rides over the inclined surface
44 at each of the opposite ends of the flap 4. The
rotation of the flap 4 can be thereby stopped.
Although not illustrated in the drawings, a lock for
the wedge bolt 83 may be attached to the rotation stopper
8. As the lock for the wedge bolt 83, a known lock such as
a nut and a washer including a disc spring and a coil

spring can be attached. The attachment of the lock enables
prevention of a chronological change in the projection
amount of the wedge 81 due to looseness of the wedge bolt
83. That is, the projection amount of the wedge 81 can be
prevented from being reduced due to the looseness of the
wedge bolt 83 after fastening the wedge bolt 83 to cause
the wedge 81 to project to the position where the wedge 81
can stop the rotation of the flap 4. The rotation of the
flap 4 can be thereby certainly stopped.
[0016] Next, a method for mounting and fixing the upper
nozzle 200 to the immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus 1
will be described.
To mount the upper nozzle 200 on the immersion nozzle
exchanging apparatus 1, the wedges 81 are retracted to
bring the flaps 4 into a rotatable state by operating the
wedge bolts 83. The flaps 4 are brought into a raised
state as illustrated in FIG. 10. The upper nozzle 200 is
then inserted from above. The support surfaces 31 of the
supports 3 support the lower surface of the plate 201 of
the upper nozzle 200 as illustrated in FIG. 2. After that,
positioning bolts 9 illustrated in FIG. 11 are used to
perform positioning of the plate 201 of the upper nozzle
200 in a mounting direction X of the immersion nozzle 300.
The frame 2, the flaps 4, the rotation stoppers 8, or the
like are not illustrated in FIG. 11.
After positioning, the flaps 4 are brought down. The
plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200 is thereby sandwiched
between the support surfaces 31 of the supports 3 and the
parallel surfaces 41 of the flaps 4. At this time, the
abutting portions 42 of the flaps 4 abut against the outer
periphery of the tubular portion 202 of the nozzle 200.
Positioning of the plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200 in a
direction Y perpendicular to the mounting direction X of

the immersion nozzle 300 is thereby performed.
Additionally, the parallel surfaces 41 of the flaps 4
become parallel to the support surfaces 31 of the supports
3 when the plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200 is sandwiched
therebetween. Moreover, the parallel surfaces 41 of the
flaps 4 and the support surfaces 31 of the supports 3 also
become parallel to an upper surface and the lower surface
of the plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200 when the plate 201
of the upper nozzle 200 is sandwiched between the parallel
surface 41 of the flap 4 and the support surface 31 of the
support 3.
After the plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200 is
sandwiched as described above, the wedges 81 are caused to
project by operating the wedge bolts 83. To be more
specific, the wedges 81 are caused to project until the
inclined surfaces 811 at the distal ends of the wedges 81
ride over the inclined surfaces 44 at the opposite ends of
the flaps 4. The upper nozzle 200 is thereby certainly
fixed to the immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus 1.
[0017] After fixing the upper nozzle 200, the immersion
nozzle exchanging apparatus 1 is mounted on the lower
portion of the molten steel outlet 101 of the tundish 100.
To be more specific, the tubular portion 202 of the upper
nozzle 200 is inserted into the molten steel outlet 101 of
the tundish 100. The frame 2 of the immersion nozzle
exchanging apparatus 1 is fixed to the shell 102 in the
bottom of the tundish 100 by a bolt or the like.
[0018] As described above, the immersion nozzle
exchanging apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment
fixes the plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200 by sandwiching
the plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200 between the support
surface 31 of the support 3 and the parallel surface 42 of
the flap 4 that are parallel to each other. Thus, fixing

the plate 201 causes little impact. Damage to the plate
201 of the upper nozzle 200 can be thereby prevented.
Additionally, since the flap 4 includes the abutting
portion 42 to abut against the outer periphery of the
tubular portion 202 of the upper nozzle 200 when the plate
201 of the upper nozzle 200 is sandwiched between the
support surface 31 of the support 3 and the parallel
surface 41 of the flap 4, the positioning of the upper
nozzle 200 can be performed in fixing the upper nozzle 200.
Moreover, the abutting portion 42 is shaped in conformity
with the outer periphery of the tubular portion 202 of the
upper nozzle 200. Thus, the positioning and fixation of
the upper nozzle 200 can be certainly performed.
[0019] Additionally, since the flap 4 can rotate with
respect to the support 3, the plate 201 of the upper nozzle
200 can be easily sandwiched therebetween. That is, the
parallel surface 41 of the flap 4 can be brought into
abutment against the upper surface of the plate 201 only by
rotating the flap 4. The plate 201 can be thereby
sandwiched between the parallel surface 41 of the flap 4
and the support surface 31 of the support 3.
Furthermore, the immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus
1 according to the present embodiment includes the rotation
stopper 8 to stop the rotation of the flap 4. Thus, the
plate 201 can be certainly maintained in a sandwiched and
fixed state. The rotation stopper 8 also enables
adjustment of the projection amount of the wedge 81 by
adjusting the fastening amount of the wedge bolt 83. Thus,
the rotation of the flap 4 can be easily and certainly
stopped. That is, Patent Document 1 described above
prevents the rotation of the flap by causing a cam to make
contact with a clamp slot. In this technique, the cam may
unintentionally rotate to release the fixation of the upper

nozzle. Additionally, the fixation is conducted by
striking with a hammer. This increases the operator's
burden. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the flap 4
is pressed by the wedge 81 from above. The wedge 81 is
connected to the wedge bolt 83, which is rotated to adjust
the projection amount of the wedge 81. Thus, the
possibility that the flap 4 unintentionally rotates to
release the fixation of the upper nozzle 200 can be
reduced. It is also unnecessary to fix the upper nozzle
200 by striking with a hammer or the like. This enhances
safety. By attaching the lock for the wedge bolt 83, the
possibility to release the fixation of the upper nozzle 200
can be further reduced.
[0020] Next, another embodiment of the present invention
will be described. FIG. 12 illustrates main parts of an
immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus according to another
embodiment of the present invention.
In the present embodiment, a projection 45 is provided
on the parallel surface 41 of each flap 4, and a recess 203
is provided on the upper surface of the plate 201 of the
upper nozzle 200. The projection 45 is provided at two
positions on opposite sides of each parallel surface 41.
Thus, a total of four projections 45 are provided. The
recess 203 is provided at four positions individually
corresponding to the four projections 45. The respective
projections 45 are fitted with the corresponding recesses
203 when the plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200 is
sandwiched between the support surfaces 31 of the support 3
and the parallel surfaces 41 of the flap 4.
[0021] Fitting the projections 45 with the recesses 203
when the plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200 is sandwiched as
described above allows the positioning of the plate 201 of
the upper nozzle 200 to be easily performed. Thus, the

positioning bolts 9 illustrated in FIG. 11 can be omitted.
Additionally, fitting the projections 45 with the
recesses 203 allows position misalignment between the flap
4 and the plate 201 to hardly occur.
[0022] In the present embodiment, the projections 45 are
provided on the parallel surface 41 of the flap 4, and the
recesses 203 are provided on the upper surface of the plate
201 of the upper nozzle 200. Conversely, the recesses may
be provided on the parallel surface 41 of the flap 4, and
the projections may be provided on the upper surface of the
plate 201 of the upper nozzle 200. When the projections
are provided on the upper surface of the plate 201 of the
upper nozzle 200, the plate 201, which is normally covered
with a metal case, can be provided with the projections by,
for example, welding the projections to the metal case.
[0023] While the above embodiments have been described
by using the example in which the plate 201 of the upper
nozzle 200 has a flat surface, the immersion nozzle
exchanging apparatus of the present invention can be also
used for an example in which the plate 201 is inclined. In
this case, the surface of the flap 4 may be designed to be
parallel to the plate.
Reference Signs List
[0024] 1 IMMERSION NOZZLE EXCHANGING APPARATUS
2 FRAME
3 SUPPORT
31 SUPPORT SURFACE
4 FLAP
41 PARALLEL SURFACE
42 ABUTTING PORTION
43 ROTATING PIN
44 INCLINED SURFACE

45 PROJECTION
5 GUIDE RAIL
51 INLET
52 OUTLET
53 INTERMEDIATE PORTION
54 PRESSING MEMBER
6 SPRING BOX
61 COIL SPRING (ELASTIC BODY)
7 HYDRAULIC CYLINDER (DRIVING DEVICE)
71 ROTATING SHAFT
8 ROTATION STOPPER
81 WEDGE
811 INCLINED SURFACE
82 WEDGE GUIDE
83 WEDGE BOLT
9 POSITIONING BOLT
100 TUNDISH
101 MOLTEN STEEL OUTLET
102 SHELL (BOTTOM OF TUNDISH)

200 UPPER NOZZLE
201 PLATE
202 TUBULAR PORTION
203 RECESS

300 IMMERSION NOZZLE
301 PLATE
302 TUBULAR PORTION

We Claim :
1. An immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus mounted on a
lower portion of a molten steel outlet of a tundish, the
apparatus comprising
a support and a flap,
the support having a support surface to support a
lower surface of a plate of an upper nozzle inserted into
the molten steel outlet,
the flap being rotatable with respect to the support,
the apparatus further comprising a rotation stopper
for the flap,
the rotation stopper including a wedge to abut against
the flap by projecting to an upper side of the flap, and a
bolt connected to the wedge, and enabling adjustment of a
projection amount of the wedge by adjusting a fastening
amount of the bolt.
2. The immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus as claimed
in claim 1, wherein
the flap has a parallel surface to become parallel to
the support surface of the support, and an abutting portion
to abut against an outer periphery of a tubular portion of
the upper nozzle, when the plate of the upper nozzle is
sandwiched between the parallel surface of the flap and the
support surface of the support.
3. The immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus as claimed
in claim 1 or 2, wherein
the bolt is screwed with a bolt guide, and a lock for
the bolt is attached to the rotation stopper.
4. The immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus as claimed
in claim 3, wherein

the wedge is inserted through a wedge guide,
the bolt guide and the wedge guide are fixed to a
frame, and
the frame is fixed to a bottom of the tundish.
5. The immersion nozzle exchanging apparatus as claimed
in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
the surface of the flap has a recess or a projection
to be fitted with a projection or a recess provided on an
upper surface of the plate of the upper nozzle.
6. An upper nozzle fixed to the immersion nozzle
exchanging apparatus as claimed in claim 5, comprising
a tubular portion and a plate,
an upper surface of the plate having a projection or a
recess to be fitted with the recess or the projection
provided on the surface of the flap.