Abstract: A furnace has a filling inlet normally closed by a removable cover. An arrangement is disclosed which opens the filling inlet, then fills the interior of the furnace, and then recloses the inlet all in gas-tight and dust-tight manner in order to prevent the free escape of dust and gases to the ambient atmosphere when the cover is removed from the filling inlet. The arrangement includes a housing surrounding the filling inlet and having a discharging port and a first opening separate from the discharging port, and a filling arrangement which is operative for conveying a charge from the discharging port through the interior of the housing and into the filling inlet when the latter is opened. A cover-extracting arrangement is operative for removing and subsequently repositioning the cover.

Abstract: A furnace has a normally closed filling inlet. There is provided an arrangement for opening the filling inlet, then filling the interior of the furnace with a charge, and then reclosing the inlet, all in gas-tight and dust-tight manner, in order to prevent the free escape of dust and gases into the ambient atmosphere during the filling of the furnace. The arrangement includes a housing having an opening positioned in proximity to the normally closed filling inlet. A sealing arrangement is activatable for establishing a gas-tight and dust-tight seal between the portion of the housing surrounding the housing opening and the portion of the furnace surrounding the normally closed filling inlet, so as to confine within the interior of the housing any dust and gas entering the filling inlet or escaping from the filling inlet during the filling of the interior of the furnace. Inside the housing there is provided an arrangement activatable for opening and closing the normally closed filling inlet of the furnace.