US2962917A - Rolling mill guides - Google Patents

Description

1960 w. s. DRYSDALE ROLLING MILL GUIDES Filed Aug. 10, 1955 all,

INVE/VT'OR' WILL/AM S. DRYSDALE,

his Af/omey.

2,962,917 Patented Dec. 6, 1960 ROLLING MILL GUIDES William S. Drysdale, Gary, "Ind., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a,corporation of New Jersey l Ail .1 Q,.1 f- N 527,481

eni ma. or. {501-951) This inventionrelates to an improved guide for rolling mills in which the work travels between a -set of vertical rolls and a set of horizontal rolls.

My guide is especially suited for hot strip mills of the type which include spaced apart stands of vertical edging rolls and horizontal work rolls, although obviously it can have other application where similar problems are encountered. Hot strip mil-ls of this type require guides whose members are located on opposite sides of the work and confine the work rather closely as it travels between the vertical and horizontal roll stands. Any adjustment in the separation of the vertical rolls to accommodate work of a different width necessitates a corresponding adjustment in the spacing of the guide members. Previous guides with which I am familiar can be adjusted only as a separate operation during which the mill must be shut down. In many instances these guides are positioned with makeshiflt wedge blocks which cannot be adjusted accurately and are readily dislodged.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved guide which is adjusted automatically and accurately with each adjustment in roll separation of a vertical stand.

A further object is to provide an improved guide whose opposite members are fixed to the respective adjustable housings of a vertical roll stand and are adjustable therewith.

A further object is to provide an improved guide which has the foregoing characteristics and includes equalizers for assuring that the guide members are adjusted uniformly.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, I have provided improved details of structure, a preferred form of which is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

The single figure is a diagrammatic top plan view of a portion of a rolling mill equipped with my improved guide.

The drawing shows a portion of a conventional hot strip rolling mill, which includes spaced apart stands of vertical edging rolls l and a and horizontal work rolls 12. Mills of this type commonly include a multiplicity of both horizontal and vertical roll stands, but a showing of only two stands is sufficient to illustrate my invention. In the two stands illustrated, work W passes first through the edging rolls to square its edges and thence through the work rolls to reduce its thickness.

The edging rolls 1t) and 10a are journaled in housings 13 and 13a which are horizontally adjustable toward and away from each other to vary the roll separation for accommodating work W of different widths. in the illustration these housings are supported on transverse rails 14 and 15. Adjustment is effected by rotation of screws 16 and 16a, which are engaged with the respective housings and are powered by electric motors 17 and 17a through reduction gearing 18 and 18a. The horizontal work rolls 12 can be journaled in any suitable form of housings which are not shown since they are not involved in my invention. An apron plate 19 extends between the two roll stands for supporting the work as it travels therebetween.

In accordance with my invention, a guide which comprises a pair of transversely spaced elongated bars 20 and 20a is mounted on the apron plate 19 to guide the work between the two roll stands. The spacing between said guide bars corresponds approximately with the separation between the vertical rolls 1i) and 10g, and adjustment in the roll separation necessitates a corresponding adjustment in the guide bar spacing. For ,this purpose eaeh guide bar *isaQttached-adjacent it sentry end to the respective.roll housings. 13 and 13am move therewith, and e ach is equipped with an le qualizer to assure that it moves uniformly. "Sinceihe two equalizers are similarly constructed, a description of that for the guide bar 2i) suffices for both. This equalizer includes a horizontal shaft 21 journaled in bearings 22 and 23 mounted on the apron plate 19 and extending parallel to the guide bar. Pinions 24 and 25 are fixed to opposite ends of the shaft 21. Gear racks 26 and 27 are fixed respectively to the roll housing 13 and to the exit end portion of the guide bar 20 and mesh with the respective pinions 24 and 25. Consequently any adjustment of the housings to adjust the roll separation likewise automatically adjusts the guide bars, and the equalizers assure uniform adjustment of the latter. There is no separate adjustment required for the guide, and no need to shut down the mill to make the adjustment.

While I have shown and described only a single embodiment of my invention, it is apparent that modifications may arise. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the disclosure set forth but only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a rolling mill which includes a set of vertical rolls, a pair of transversely spaced housings in which the respective rolls are journaled, an apron plate extending from said rolls on the exit side thereof and adapted to support work leaving said rolls, and means for adjusting the position of at least one of said housings to vary the roll separation, the combination therewith of a guide for confining work at its vertical sides as it travels on said apron plate, said guide comprising a pair of transversely spaced elongated bars supported on said apron plate and terminating short of the bite of said rolls and having opposed vertical Work-engaging faces spaced apart approximately the same distance as the roll separation, means attaching one end of one of said bars to the adjustable housing for adjustment therewith, a shaft jour'naled to said apron plate and extending parallel to the adjustable bar, a first gear rack fixed to the adjustable housing and extending at right angles to the adjustable bar, a second gear rack attach-ed to and extending from adjacent the other end of the adjustable bar at right angles thereto and spaced from said first gear rack, and pinions fixed to said shaft and meshing with said gear racks, said shaft, gear racks and pinions moving the adjustable bar uniformly throughout its length when adjustments are made in the roll separation.

2. In a rolling mill which includes a set of vertical rolls, a pair of transversely spaced housings in which the respective rolls are journaled, an apron plate extending from said rolls on the exit side thereof and adapted to support work leaving said rolls, and means for adjusting the positions of said housings to vary the roll separation, the combination therewith of a guide for confining work at its vertical sides as it travels on said apron plate, said guide comprising a pair of transversely spaced elongated bars supported on said apron plate and terminating short of the bite of said rolls and having opposed vertical work-engaging faces spaced apart approximately the same distance as the roll separation, means attaching one end of each of said bars to the respective housings for adjustment therewith, a pair of shafts journaled to said apron plate and extending parallel to the respective bars, a first pair of gear racks fixed to the respective housings and extending at right angles to said bars, a second pair of gear racks attached to and extending from adjacent the other ends of the respective bars at right angles thereto and spaced from said first gear racks, and pinions fixed to said shafts and meshing with said gear racks, said shafts, gear racks and pinions moving said bars uniformly throughout their lengths when adjustments are made in the roll separation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 865,047 Kennedy Sept. 3, 1907 998,756 Dean July 25, 1911 1,061,676 Kennedy May 13, 1913 1,209,085 Watson Dec. 19, 1916 1,217,611 Leek Feb. 27, 1917 1,447,274 Benjamin Mar. 6, 1923 1,828,323 Kramer Oct. 20, 1931 2,026,459 Caretta Dec. 31, 1935 2,072,121 Montgomery Mar. 2, 1937 2,276,080 McCaslin Mar. 10, 1942 2,578,337 Coddington Dec. 11, 1951 2,816,467 Thoren Dec. 17, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 736,896 Great Britain Sept. 14, 1955 OTHER REFERENCES Websters New International Dictionary, second edition, page 863.

Knights New Mechanical Dictionary, Knight, page 20 316, Houghton Miffiin & C0., 1884.

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