US2650091A - Sheet cutting and inspecting means - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 25, 1953 Filed Sept. 8, 1947 C. W. MARTIN EI'AL SHEET CUTTING AND INSPECTING MEANS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS.

Gimp; W

Aug. 25, 1953 c, w. MARTIN EI'AL SHEET cum-ms mo INSPECTING MEANS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 8, 1947 ac. mrrmr, Gama-mes Y t/QSEHV Mack,

IN VHV TORS- 0.

W ATTORNEYS i j .HQZ. l J

Aug. 25, 1953 c. w. MARTIN EIAL 2,650,091

SHEET CUTTING AND INSPECTING MEANS Filed Sept. 8, 194' 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mveu-roas.

C4 74 IKMWFrMG mmw ATTORN EYS Patented Aug. 25, 1953 SHEET CUTTING AND INSPECTING MEANS Carl W. Martin, Charles W. Beck, and Joseph W. Pick, Middletown, Ohio, assignors to Armco Steel Corporation, a corporation of Ohio Application September 8, 1947, Serial No. 772,728

7 Claims.

Since the advent of modern cold rolling mills and methods, most iron and steel sheet stock is made in strip form, of sheet width and'gauge, and is handled in coils.

Mechanism has been developed for handling these coils of finished sheet stock, cutting them into sheet lengths, and inspecting and sorting the sheets. These mechanisms comprise essentially a decoiler for the coils, a roller leveler for the sheet stock, a flying shear for cutting the stock into sheet lengths without interrupting its movement, an inspection table over which the sheets pass, and a suitable sheet sorting and stacking means wherein those sheets which pass inspection are separated from those which do not and wherein both classes of sheets are formed into stacks.

- and this could only be accomplished by hand labor at extraordinarily high costs.

The manufacturers of sheets would thus have to turn the sheets over by hand inorder to meet some kinds of inspection and stenciling requirements. The users of sheets are unwilling to absorb the cost or provide the labor for turning sheets, so that it sometimes became necessary It will be understood that these stacks are of great mass and weight. Furthermore, the individual sheets are usually of large size and heavy, though of relatively thin gauge. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that the iron or steel sheet stock as finished on the cold mills or temper mills is not the same as to both its surfaces, but has a prime side and a reverse side.

The requirements for sheets, especially deep drawing sheets for automobile body work and similar applications, are steadily becoming more strict. In drawing these sheets, 'various types of presses are used. In some presses the dies are arranged in such manner that the prime side of the sheets must be located upwardly. In other presses the position of the dies requires a reverse side up position. It is also the practice to stencil the sheets with the maker's name, and

there are various requirements as to the position of the stenciling.

Yet again, there are various requirements for inspection, some uses requiring inspection on the prime side, and some on the reverse side. A-few special uses require inspection of both sides.

These various requirements, changing as to different specific uses, form a large number of specific requirements. For example, one sheet user may require the sheets in a stack to be prime side up and stenciled on the upside. Another may require the prime side up but specify that the stencil shall be on thereverse side. For another use, it may be specified that the prime side of the sheets shall be down with the stenciling on the reverse side or the prime side as the case may be. The inspection requirements simply multiply these variations.

The prime side of the sheet stock is regularly located to the inside of the coil. In the currently available equipment, which has been broadly characterized above, it was only possible 'for the manufacturer, in order to meet stacking requirements, to turn the sheets not once but twice. The principal object of this invention is the provision of means and a method whereby any combination of the factors above may be met in practice.

It is an object of the invention to provide a means and method whereby both sides or either side of the sheet stock may be inspected or stamped and stenciled without the labor of turning sheets over.

, It is an object of the invention to provide a means and method whereby finished sheets may be stacked either side up as desired by the customer, without-the labor of turning the sheets over and irrespective of the requirements for inspection and stenciling.

These and other objects of the invention which will be set forth hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading these specifications, we accomplish bythat construe tion and arrangement of parts and in those procedures of which we shall now describe an exemplary embodiment. Reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figures 1 and 1a, taken together constitute a side elevation of our apparatus in one of its forms.

Figure 2 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale on the uncoiling end of this apparatus.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the looper table illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of another form of our apparatus.

3 passes next to a roller leveler indicated at B and thence to a flying shear 5 which cuts it into pieces of sheet length. These pieces pass individually over an inspection table in the form of a conveyor 6 and thence to pairs of feed rolls in a device indicated at i. These feed rolls constitute the first element of a sheet sorting and stacking mechanism. This mechanism is provided with a switch member 8, serving to deliver first grade sheets to an overhead conveyor 9 and to divert unsatisfactory sheets to a position beneath the conveyor where they are stacked upon a suitable platform in provided with stacking guides and stops. The first grade sheets are delivered by the conveyor 9 to a stacking means indicated generally at H, comprising suitable stock and guide means and a bed or base capable of being raised and lowered. Various types of sheet sorting and stacking means may be employed such as those set forth in United States Letters Patent No. 2,417,145 to Ward, or Letters Patent No. 2,315,003 to Martin et al.

The remainder of the elements thus far referred to in Figures 1 and 1a are conventional in form and need not be further described.

It will be understood that the sheet sorting and stacking means are under the control of an inspector or inspectors watching the sheets as delivered by the shear.

Hitherto, in apparatus of this type the sheet stock has been withdrawn from the coil in the overhead position. The coil l2 would turn in a clockwise fashion on the mandrel I and the sheet stock would move to the right in Figure 1 from the topmost part of the coil. It is obvious that the machine could deliver sheets to the stacking means with that surface uppermost only wh ch was outermost in the coil. It is equally obvious that the sheets would travel across the inspection table 6 in this same position and could be inspected only on the upper surface. If inspection, stenciling or stacking was reouired with the sheets in any other position, they would have to be laboriously turned by hand.

In one aspect of the practice of our invention, we arrange for the decoiling of the sheet stock in the opposite fashion. As shown in Figure 1, the coil I2 is placed on the mandrel l in such a way that the sheet stock may be withdrawn as at 12a from the underside of the coil and carried through a pair of driven pinch rolls l3. located in a proper position to receive 'it and move it toward the roller leveler 4. In moving to the roller leveler, the sheet stock passes over the table and guide mechanism H which will later be described. The pinch rolls l3 are, of course, driven.

We also make another addition to the apparatus, which is a platform or catwalk l5, preferably provided with a hand-railing structure l6, and located near the decoiling station. It may conveniently be located above the pinch rolls l3 and supported in part at least on the pinch roll frame. This device will hereinafter be referred to as the inspectors pulpit, and it will be occupied by one or more inspectors.

It will now be apparent that this arrangement permits inspection of either or both sides of the sheet stock as it is being uncoiled. By observing the outer surface of the material in the coil l2 at or near the top of the coil, the inspector will judge and pass upon what has been called the reverse side of the sheet stock, namely that side which was coiled outermost in the coil l2. By observing the surface of the material as it leaves the coil, either in a position adjacent the coil itself, or as the material passes across the table 14, the inspector will judge and pass upon the prime side of the material, namely that side which was wound innermost in the coil and which could not hitherto be inspected at all on the known apparatus.

Stenciling and marking of the individual sheet lengths may also be done at this point, either by the inspectors who may be provided with stamps and stencils on long handles, or by means of automatic apparatus which will print the desired indicia upon the surface of the sheet stock at the desired intervals. It will be understood that if the marking is done on the surface of the coil the reverse side of the sheet stock will be marked. If the marking is done on the material as it leaves the coil, as at Ma, or as it passes over the table M. the marking will appear on the prime side of the sheet.

The inspectors will be observing uncut lengths of material, as will be evident; but means to indicate to them what the actual sheet lengths will be is readily provided in various ways. For example, signalling means such as a flashin light may be correlated with the operation of the flying shear 5 in such a way as to indicate to the inspectors when the end points of unit sheet lengths pass a given point, either on the surface of the coil II or on the material as it is being decoiled and led away therefrom. In this way the inspector or inspectors can stamp any substandard sheet length with a mark which will signal to the operator of the sheet separating and stacking device that these sheets should be shunted to the rejects pile. It is also readily possible to provide controls for the sheet separating and stacking means in the inspectors 'pulpit l5, which controls are provided with a table, may be dispensed with. Otherwise an operator for the selecting and stacking mechanism may be stationed at or near the table 6. His duties will not include that of inspection,

' but will merely involve operating the sheet selector to shunt to the rejects stacker those sheet lengths which have been marked by the inspector or inspectors as unsatisfactory.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, we have shown at I! the stand for the driven pinch rolls l3. At the coil side of this stand there is a guide I8 which assists in leading the material between the pinch rolls. Between the pinch rolls and a table I! provided with adjustable side guide elements 20, we provide the table ll which has been referred to above. This table may take various forms. In one form we provide it with a pair of platforms If and 22 which are pivoted at their outer ends, and are operated by suitable means such as fluid cylinders 23 and 24. The platforms when in the upraised position assist in threading the machine and in conducting the sheet stock from the pinch rolls I; to the table l9 and thence to the first pair of rolls la of the roller leveler. It is desirable to-provide for some slack in the sheet material between the roller leveler and the pinch rolls, and after the threading of the device, the platforms 2| and 22 may be lowered. by their pressure cylinders so as to permit a looping of the material.

Decoiling cold rolled sheet stock from the bottom of the coil is also advantageous from an operating standpoint in another way. When it becomes necessary to stop the machine before a coil has been completely unwound, any overrunning of the mandrel I will, in the case of decoiling from beneath, simply tend to form a bight oi the sheet stock below the coil, while the weight of the sheet stock itself keeps the coil tightly wound. An opposite action occurs when decoiling from the top of the coil, under which circumstances the overrunning of the mandrel will tend to loosen one or more convolutions of the coil which may give rise to a marring of the polished surface of the sheet stock when the apparatus is started up again. i

' In-Figures 2 to 5 inclusive, the inspector's pulpit has not been illustrated for the sake of simplicity,'but will be understood to be present as described above. s

I With the apparatus thus far described, either or both sides of the sheet stock may be inspected,

' either or both sides of it may be stenciled with used selectively to decoil in either the upper orlower positions; We have illustrated such a mechanism in Figures 4 and 5. Here we have shown a pinch roll stand 25 in which pinch rells I 3 iordecoiling from the bottom'oi the coil are mounted in bearings in suitable ways. The bearings for theupperipinch roll are controlled through levers, one of which is indicated at 26 by a pair of fluid cylinders, one of which is indi- 6' bodiments, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination for the purpose described, a decoiling mandrel, a roll stand having two pairs of pinch rolls mounted therein, one pair being adapted to receive material withdrawn from the bottom of a coil of sheet stock mounted on said mandrel and the other pair being located to receive material withdrawn from the top of a coil of sheet stock so mounted.

2. The structure claimed in claim 1 including an inspection pulpit located at a point adjacent the said decoiling mandrel.

4. In a device for the purpose described, a-

decoiling mandrel, a roll stand having two sets of pinch rolls mounted therein, one set being adapted to receive material withdrawn from the bottom of a coil of sheet stock mounted on said mandrel and the other set being located to receive material withdrawn from the top ofa coil of sheet stock so mounted.

5. In a device for the purpose described, a decoiling mandrel, a roll stand having two sets of pinch rolls mounted therein, one set being adapted to receive material withdrawn from the bottom of a coil of sheet stock mounted on said mandrel and the other set being located to receive material withdrawn from the top of a coil of sheet stock so mounted, and a table 10- cated to receive material from said sets of pinch rolls, said table being movable to two positions, one to receive stock froinLthe lower of said sets or pinch rolls, and one to receive stock from table at'the same level regardless of the recated at 21. We also provide an upper pair of pinch rolls 28 suitably-located to receive the sheet stock from the top of the coil. The bearings of these rolls are also. mounted in ways, and the bearings 01 the upper roll are controlled through levers a by pressure cylinders 30. A table 3| is provided, which tableis adapted to be moved to positions for receiving the sheet stock either from the lower pair 0! pinch-rolls I3 or from the upper 0! pinch rolls 23; This can be accomplished .in various ways, one of them being to pivot the table to a suitable support as at 32 and provide a fluid cylinder 33 or other means whereby the table can be bodily-moved from an upp r position shown in solid lines. to a lower position shown in dotted lines. The table may-be provided with movable platforms, as described above.

ceiving position of said table.

7; The structure claimed in claim 5 wherein an inspection pulpit is located between the decoiling mandrel and the table and above sheet stock withdrawn from the coil and passed over the table, whereby the outer surface of the coil may be inspected prior to dec'oiling, and the inner surfaceof the coil may be inspected upon pas- JOSEPH w. PICK.

References Cited in the file" of this patent UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS Matthews. Jan. 16, 1945

Images