Patents by Inventor Leopold W. Kepplinger

Leopold W. Kepplinger has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5567379
    Abstract: A plant is provided for producing molten pig iron or molten steel pre-products from lumpy, iron-ore-containing charging substances. The plant comprises a reduction shaft furnace for receiving lumpy, iron-ore-containing charging substances, the plant including a melter gasifier for receiving the reduction product formed in the reduction shaft furnace. The plant also includes a first charging device for at least one of iron ore and ore dust and a second charging device for solid carbon carriers, the melter gasifier being provided with a device for flow-connecting the first charging device for at least one of iron ore and ore dust and the second charging device for charging carbon carriers to at least one dust burner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 22, 1996
    Assignees: Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau GmbH, Pohang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology, Incorporated Foundation
    Inventors: Leopold W. Kepplinger, Panajiotis Matzawrakos, Johannes Schenk, Dieter Siuka
  • Patent number: 5480070
    Abstract: A conveying arrangement for the dosed conveyance of bulk material from one metallurgical vessel into another through a conveying channel. The conveying channel has an entry opening and a discharge opening. A conveyor worm is rotatably located in the conveying channel, extending at least from the entry opening to the discharge opening and including a first flight formed by a plurality of paddles. In order to be able to configure the conveyor worm as short as possible and to minimize gas streaming through the conveying channel, the conveyor worm, on its end associated with the discharge opening, has a second flight that is formed by a continuous helix extending at least over half a convolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 2, 1996
    Assignee: Deutsche Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau GmbH
    Inventors: Felix Wallner, Leopold W. Kepplinger, Christian Bohm
  • Patent number: 5445668
    Abstract: In a method of producing molten pig iron from lumpy, iron-ore-containing charging substances, the latter are reduced in a reduction shaft furnace by means of a reducing gas, wherein the iron sponge particles obtained are melted in a melter gasifier under supply of coal and oxygen-containing gas under simultaneous formation of the reducing gas, and the reducing gas is returned to the reduction zone of the shaft furnace.To enable charging of larger amounts of fine ore and/or ore particles, such as oxidic iron fine dust incurred in a metallurgical plant, in addition to the charging substances, the fine ore and/or the ore dust is supplied with solid carbon carriers to at least one dust burner working into the melter gasifier and is reacted in a substoichiometric cumbustion reaction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 29, 1995
    Assignees: Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau G.m.H, Pohang Iron & Steel Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Leopold W. Kepplinger, Panajiotis Matzawrakos, Johannes Schenk, Dieter Siuka
  • Patent number: 5435832
    Abstract: In order to utilise wastes or residues containing iron in the oxide form and/or iron in the metallic form and/or containing carbon (38,25,34), a process is used with which molten pig iron (16) or steel preliminary products can be produced, iron ore (4) being reduced to sponge iron in a direct reduction zone (2), the sponge iron being melted in a melting-gasification zone (15) with the supply of carbon-containing material (29) with gasification of the carbon-containing material (29) to reducing gas, and the reducing gas is fed into the direct reduction zone (2), reacted there and drawn off as top gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 25, 1995
    Assignee: Deutsche Voest-Alpine
    Inventors: Leopold W. Kepplinger, Gunter Schrey, Gero Tessmer
  • Patent number: 5271609
    Abstract: In a plant including a shaft, which, in its upper end region, includes a gas exhaust device and a charging arrangement for continuously charging bulk material, a temperature measuring device for measuring the temperature of the gas emerging from the bulk material is provided. In order to ensure the uniform treatment of the bulk material, i.e., a uniform gas passage through the same over the entire cross section of the shaft at little structural expenditures, several temperature measuring devices are provided in the upper end region of the shaft, distributed in a cross sectional plane, and the charging arrangement includes several tubular mouth pieces for forming at least one conical pile within the shaft, which are adjustable relative to the shaft cross section in the radial direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 21, 1993
    Assignee: Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau GmbH
    Inventors: Leopold W. Kepplinger, Wilhelm Schiffer, Wilhelm Stastny, Bernhard Rinner
  • Patent number: 5009397
    Abstract: A plant for metallurgical treatments, in particular for melting or melt-reducing metals, metal compounds and/or metal alloys, or for producing calcium carbide, comprises a shaft receiving a burden, a melt collecting space disposed laterally of, and below, the shaft, as well as at least one burner arranged laterally of the shaft. In order to enable the accurate process control of the metal melt and the controlled smelting of the burden, the burner is arranged in a combustion space connecting the lower shaft end with the melt collecting space and designed as a plasma burner. The combustion space is located at a level above the melt collecting space and including a combustion space bottom, which is plane, or preferably rises, relative to the shaft and enters into the melt collecting space by an overflow edge that separates the metal melt from the burden.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1991
    Assignee: Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau GmbH
    Inventors: Gerhard Glockler, Heinz Muller, Leopold W. Kepplinger, Panajiotis Matzawrakos, Erwin Koch, Heinrich Auberger