MECHANISM FOR DIRECTING AND POSITIONING WORKING TOOL OF MACHINES FOR STOPPING SHAFT FURNACE TAPHOLE

An apparatus for guiding and positioning the tool of a machine for plugging or drilling blast furnace tapholes, the apparatus comprising an inclined main pivot, a support arm which is rotatably mounted at one end on the inclined main pivot and having a tool pivotally fitted by an auxiliary pivot to the free end of the support arm, a guide rod mounted to the working tool and mounted to a fixed point in the vicinity of the main pivot, and a driving mechanism serving to pivot the tool and the support arm about the main pivot from a retracted position to an operational position, the longitudinal axis of the auxiliary pivot being oblique with respect to the longitudinal axis of the main pivot to provide for a low profile trajectory of the working tool.