US3068992A - Apparatus for aligning elongated work pieces - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 18, 1962 H. scHoEN ETAL 3,068,992

APPARATUS FOR LIGNING ELONGATED WORK PIECES 4 shiets-sheet 1 Filed Oct. 18, 1960 Dec. 18, 1962 H. scHor-:N ETAL 3,068,992

APPARATUS FOR ALIGNING ELONGATED WORK PIECES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 18, 1960 Sww APPARATUS FOR ALIGNING ELONGATED woRx PIECES H. SCHOEN ETAL Dec. 18, 1962` 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 18,

NVENO'S flans 5cl/05N Heinz (ZA/15 lull Dec. 18, 1962 H. scvHoEN ETAL 3,068,992

APPARATUS FOR ALIGNING ELONGATED WORK PIECES Filed Oct. 18, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ma fa@ ff 99 United States Patent O 3,068,992 APPARATUS FOR ALIGNING ELONGATED WORK PIECES Hans Schoen, Dusseldorf, and Heinz Claas, Oberhausen,

Rhineland, Germany, assignors to Huttenwerk Oberhausen Aktiengesellschaft, Oberhausen, Rhineland, and Schloemann Aktiengesellschaft, Dusseldorf, German Filed Oct. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 63,377 Claims priority, application Germany Nov. 7, 1958 3 Claims. (Cl. 198-127) This invention relates to material handling and more particularly to an apparatus for aligning the leading ends of elongated Work pieces, such as rolled stock delivered from a rolling mill to a cooling bed. This application is a continuation in part of co-pending application Serial No. 847,938, tiled October 22, 1959, now abandoned.

lIn the making of rolled stock, such as elongated rods, it is common practice lto deliver such rods or work pieces in relatively long lengths from a rolling mill, the work pieces being conveyed axially by means of suitable conveyors and after leaving the :rolling mill the wo-rk piece is .transferred laterally Ito a cooling bed which normally comprises a plurality of spaced parallel troughs, there being one front piece disposed in each trough. Means is commonly provided for simultaneously shifting or transferring all of the work pieces from one :trough to the next with the `result that when a work piece reaches the end of the cooling bed, the same is sufficiently cooled for further operations thereon, such as cutting the same to the desired length. Prior to such cutting operation, it is desirable that the leading ends of all of the work pieces be aligned, in this manner the work pieces may be cut to the desired length with la of waste or scrap which would result if the leading ends of the work pieces were positioned in la -haphazard manner.

The apparatus of this invention may be utilized in connection with a single rolling mill delivering a single work piece or in conjunction with a rolling mill delivering two or more work pieces and in the case of .two Work pieces, the lateral shifting mechanism for moving the Work pieces on the cooling bed operate to transfer the work pieces a distance equal to 'two troughs, such movement being necessary to provide io-r proper openation of the aligning apparatus. Furthermore, lthe apparatus of this invention may be utilized in connection with work pieces of varying cross sections and will operate equally Well with work pieces of relatively lthin cross sections, since ,there is substantially no yaxial force exerted on the work piece during the aligning operation which would result in bending of the same with consequent misalignment.

Heretofore elongated work pieces delivered from a trolling mill have been aligned on a cooling bed by feeding the Work pieces axially and bringing the leading ends thereof into engagement with an abutment which serves to stop Iaxial movement of the Work piece at a predetermined point, the slippage between Ithe work piece and the conveying means serving to hold the'sarne in engagement with the abutment. Such an arrangement is disclosed in German Patent No. 710,744 and lthis is suitable for use with work pieces of relatively thick cross section, since the same bear on the -conveying rollers with -suliicient weight lto prevent -rebound of Ithe work piece when contacting the .abutment `and furthermore, such relatively thick work pieces are inherently sufficiently rigid to prevent bending lthereof due io the force with which the same is urged against the Aabutment `by the conveying means. However, in the case of work pieces of relatively thin cross section the, friction between |the work piece and the conveying rollers would not be sufficient ,to prevent undesirable rebound when contacting the abutment and 3,068,992 Patented Dec. 18, 1962 ICC furthermore, such relatively .thin work pieces tend to bend When contacting Ithe abutment thereby resulting in misalignment of the work pieces. Consequently, it appears advantageous to provide an aligning apparatus which will function equally well with work pieces of thin or thick cross section and which will prevent rebounding or bending of the work pieces thereby providing accurate alignment thereof.

It is accordingly an object of `the invention to provide an apparatus for 'aligning elongated work pieces which may be conveniently utilized in connection with conventional rolling mills and cooling beds.

A further object of the invention is the provision of apparatus for aligning elongated work pieces which will operate with work pieces of relatively thi-n cross section, as well as work pieces of relatively thick cross section to provide for proper alignment thereof on a cooling bed.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of apparatus for aligning elongated work pieces which will operate in conjunction with the means normally provided for delivering work pieces from a rolling mill -to a cooling bed and which will also operate to align a single work piece yin a predetermined location or simultarieously align la plurality of work piece-s.

Another object of the invention is the provision of apparams for :aligning elongated Work pieces in which feed rolls are provided for moving the work pieces axially, the frictional engagement between such feed rolls and the Work pieces providing for substantially positive idrive thereof, the feed being automatically disengaged from the Work pieces upon -the leading ends of the Work pieces reaching a predetermined point.

Another object of the invention lis the provision of apparatus for aligning elongated work pieces in which the Work pieces are engaged by continuously driven feed rolls,

pressure rolls disposed above -such troughs and movable downwardly into engagement with the Work pieces to provide for a frictional driving engagement between the Work pieces and the feed rolls, such pressurerolls being automatically moved out of engagement with the work pieces upon 'the leading ends thereof reaching a predetermined point.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of apparatus for aligning elongated work pieces in which feed rolls disposed :on a substantially vertical axis receive a work piece therebetween to move the same axially one or more of ythe rolls being driven and one or more of `the rolls being movable substantially horizontally to disengage the same from 4the work piece upon the leading end thereof reaching a predetermined point.

Another object of the invention is the provision of appanatus for aligning elongated Work pieces, including a plurality of substantially vertically disposed driven feed rolls arranged in pai-rs, one pair for each work piece and in which at least one roll of each pair is movable away from the other noll to disengage the same from a work piece, there being lluid pressure operated means for moving such roll, such fluid pressure means being automa-tically controlled in :response to the leading end of 'the work piece reaching a predetermined point.

A further object of the invention is the provision -of apparatus for aligning elongated wor-k pieces, including driven feed rolls for engaging one or more work pieces disposed in troughs of a cooling bed, there being means provided for transferring work pieces later/ally between the troughs of the cooling bed and control means loperative to disengage the feed rolls from the work pieces upon the leading ends of fthe work pieces reaching a predetermined point, such control means also being operative lto disengage the feed rolls from the work pieces upon actuation ofthe means for transferring work pieces from one trough to another of lthe cooling bed.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a transverse sectional View showing an apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention and also showing the conveying means for delivering work pieces from a rolling mill to a cooling bed;

FIG. 2 a sectional view taken substantially on the line .2-2 of FIG. 1 and showing the mounting arrangement for the pressure rolls above the driven feed rolls, as well as the location of a contact rail for controlling operation of the pressure rolls;

FIG. 3 a fragmentary diagrammatic view in cross section showing a modified form of the invention in which the feed rolls are disposed substantially vertically;

FIG. 4 an elevational view with parts in section and broken away for greater clarity and showing a further modified form of the invention in which two pairs of feed rolls are disposed substantially vertically and also showing the drive mechanism for such feed rolls, as well as the mechanism for moving one roll away from the other to disengage the same from a work piece;

FIG. 5 a top plan view of the form of the invention shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 a top plan view of a gear box for driving the feed roll of the form of the invention shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 a diagrammatic view in elevation showing a form of the invention corresponding to FIGS. 3 and 4 and also showing an electrical control circuit for controlling movement of one feed roll away from the other, such control circiut also being operable with the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

With continued reference to the drawings and particularly FIG. 1, there is shown an aligning apparatus in conjunction with a cooling bed and also shown in FIG. 1 is apparatus for feeding work pieces from a rolling mill to the cooling bed. The feeding apparatus includes spaced parallel feed channels 10 and 11 for receiving and guiding in an axial direction rolled work pieces 12 and 13. Projecting into the feed channels 10 and 11 in a manner to engage the work pieces 12 and 13 are continuously driven feed rolls 14 which are driven by a suitable motor or other drive means 15. The work pieces 12 and 13 may be of the same or different cross sectional sizes and the same are moved along the channels 10 and 11 until such time as they reach a position opposite a cooling bed 16, at which time plates 17 and 18 located in the bottom of the feed channels 10 and 11 are raised to engage the work pieces 12 and 13 to stop forward motion of the same and further movement of the plates 17 and 18 in conjunction with the holding arm 19 and movable rack 20 operate to transfer the work pieces 12 and 13 laterally onto the cooling bed 16.

The cooling bed 16 is substantially conventional in construction and comprises a plurality of spaced parallel troughs 21 adapted to receive a work piece in each trough and the movable racks or transferring mechanism 20 extends across the cooling bed 16 and operation of the same serves to transfer work pieces laterally from one trough 21 to another. In this manner the work pieces are eventually discharged at the end of the cooling bed 16, the work pieces at that time being sufficiently cooled to permit further operations thereon, such as cutting to the desired length by a cold shearing operation.

As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the aligning apparatus of this invention may well include feed rolls 22 and 23 4 driven by a suitable motor or other drive means 24 and the feed rolls 22 and 23 are disposed substantially horizontally and with the surfaces of the feed rolls projecting slightly above the bottom surfaces of adjacent troughs 25 and 26. As shown in FIG. 1, work pieces 12 and 13 are disposed in the troughs 25 and 26 and engage the rollers 22 and 23 to be conveyed axially thereby in the troughs 25 and 26 in a manner to be presently described.

In order that the work pieces 12 and 13 will engage the feed rolls 22 and 23 with suliicient friction to be conveyed thereby, there is provided above the cooling bed 16 and directly above the feedA rolls 22 and 23 a pair of pressure rolls 27 and 28.

Since both of the pressure rolls 27 and 28 are mounted in the same manner, a description of one will suffice for both and with particular reference to FIG. 2, the pressure roll 27 is shown as being rotatably mounted on the end of a lever arm 29 which is pivotally mounted at 30 on a frame 31 above the cooling bed 16. The lever arm 29 and the pressure roll 27 is movable from the full line position shown in FIG. 2 to the dotted line position in which the pressure rolls 27 engages the work piece 12 disposed in the trough 25 in engagement with the feed roll 22. The force of engagement between the pressure roll 27 and the work piece 12 may be controlled by a suitable adjustable yieldable means 32 mounted on the frame 31 and having a plunger 33 pivotally connected to the lever arm 29 at the opposite side of the pivot point 39 from the pressure roll 27. The adjustable yieldable means 32 may be provided with a hand engaging means 34 for conveniently adjusting the same to adjust the engaging pressure of the pressure roll 27. Movement of the lever arm 29` and pressure roll 27 thereby may be accomplished by means of a fluid pressure cylinder 35 pivotally mounted at 36 on the frame 31 and having a piston 37 pivotally connected at 38 to the lever arm 29. Consequently, it will be seen that upon operation of the fluid pressure cylinder 35 that the lever arm 29 and pressure roll 27 carried thereby will be moved upwardly away from the feed roll 22 or downwardly toward the same in order to engage a work piece 12 positioned in the trough 25 in engagement with the feed roll 22. A suitable Contact rail 39 may be positioned in each trough 25 and 26 in the path of movement of work pieces 12 and 13 therein and the purpose and operation of the contact rail 3.9 will be later described in connection with the description of the control mechanism for the apparatus of this invention.

In the operation of the form of the invention shown in FIGS. l and 2, it is assumed that work pieces 12 and 13 are delivered from a rolling mill along the feed channels 10 and 11 and that such work pieces 12 and 13 arc at an appropriate time transferred laterally to the troughs 25 and 26 of the cooling bed 16, at which time, such work pieces 12 and 13 will engage the feed rolls 22 and 23. With the pressure rolls 27 and 28 lowered into engagement with the work pieces 12 and 13, the frictional engagement between feed rolls 22 and 23 and the work pieces 12 and 13 will result in movement of the work pieces axially along the troughs 25 and 26 until such time as the leading ends of the work pieces 12 and 13 engage the contact rail 39, which engagement will initiate operation of the control mechanism to stop axial movement of the work pieces 12 and 13 by operating the fluid pressure cylinders 35 to raise the pressure rolls 27 and 28 out of engagement with the work pieces 12 and 13, as a result of which there will be insufficient friction between the feed rolls 22 and 23 and the work pieces 12 and 13 to advance the same axially. The particular manner in which the control mechanism operates to control operation of the pressure rolls 27 and 28 will be later described.

With particular reference to FIG. 3, there is shown a somewhat modified form of the invention in which there is provided a conventional cooling bed 46 composed of a fixed section 41 providing troughs 42 for receiving work pieces to be cooled and there is also provided transfer mechanism 43 for moving work pieces laterally from one trough to another.

-In order Ito .align elongated work pieces in the troughs 42 of the cooling bed `40, there may be provided a feed roll 44 iixed 4to a shaft 45 rotatably mounted on a bracket 46 carried by the frame 47 of the apparatus and the shaft 45 may be driven through a Vuniversal joint 48 from a shaft 49 which in turn is driven through suitable gearing 50 from a motor or other suitable drive means 51. -It will vbe noted that the axis of the roller 44 is substantially vertical yand that -t-he same is positioned adjacent a trough 52 .of the cooling bed 40 in such a manner as to engage a work piece '53 disposed in the trough 52. Spaced laterally to one side ofthe feed roll 44 is a second feed roll 54 fixed to a shaft carried by a bearing 55 and driven through a universal joint 56 .from a shaft 57 which in turn is driven to suitable gearing 58 from the drive motor 5:1. A fluid pressure cylinder 59 is pivotally mounted at 60 on a bracket l61 carried by the .frame 47 and the piston 62 of the cylinder 59 is pivotally connected to the bearing 55 in such a manner that operation of the piston 62 4of the fluid pressure cylinder 59 serves to move the feed roll 154 toward and away from the feed roll 44. Movement of the feed roll 54 toward the feed roll 44 results in engaging the work p-iece 53 between the feed rolls 54 and 44 with the result that rotation of such feed rolls will move the work piece 53 axially along the trough 52 of the cooling bed 40. Actuation of the cylinder 59 to move the feed roll 54 out of engagement with the work piece 53 will result in stopping axial movement thereof along the Itrough 52. The `operation of. liuid pressure cylinder 59 is controlled by -a suitable electrical control circuit actuated by engagement of the leading end of work piece 53 with a contact rail disposed in the path of movement thereof and since this arrangement is the same as for the form of the invention shown in FIGS. l and 2 and in the form of the invention to be subsequently described, no further description at this time .appears necessary.

With particular reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, there is shown a still further modified form of the invention in which there is provided a frame 63 disposed below a cooling bed 64 and the cooling bed 64 is provided with a -iixed rack section 6'5 providing a series of spaced parallel troughs 66 and there is also provided ya movable section 67 which operates to transfer work pieces laterally from one trough to lanother of the cooling bed in the conventional manner `described above. In order to align the leading end of a work piece 67 in one of the troughs 66 of the cooling bed 64, there may be provided a feed roll 68 fixed Ito a vertical shaft 69 rotatably mounted in the frame 63 and the shaft 69 may be coupled through -a suitable coupling 70` with a drive shaft 71.

A second feed roll 72 .is fixed to a shaft 73 carried by a bearing 74 mounted for horizontal movement on the frame .63 and the shaft 73 m-ay be connected through a universal joint 75 with a drive shaft 76 which is driven in a manner .to be presently described. As clearly shown in FIG. 4, feed Iroll 72 is disposed opposite the feed roll 68 and serves to enga-ge a work piece 67 disposed therebetween in one of the troughs 66 at the cooling bed 64. Connected to the bearing 74 by a suitable pivotal connection 77 is an actuating rod 78 which is pivotally connected-at the opposite end 79 to la lever arm 80 which in turn is pivotally mounted `at 811 on the frame 63, the arm 80 being pivotally `connected at 82 to the piston 83 .of a fluid pressure cylinder 84. The fluid pressure cylinder 84 is in turn pivotally connected -at 85 to a bracket 86 depending from the frame 63.

The Vactuating rod 78 is slidably received in a yoke 87, the -arms -88 of which are pivotally connected at 89 to the fra-me 63. Disposed around the actua-ting rod 78 within a tubular member 90 is a compression spring 91 one end of which engages an abutment 92 on the rod 78 and the opposite end engages an adjustable sleeve 93 6 threadedly received in the yoke 87 and adjustable by means of a wrench engaging portion 94 to vary the -force exerted by the spring 91.

The spring 9.1 disposed between the yoke 87 and the abutment 92 on the rod 78 operates to yieldingly urge the feed roll 7.2 toward the right as viewed in FIG. 4, and into engagement with the work piece 67 whereby upon rotation of the feed rolls 68 and 72, the work piece 67 will be moved axially in the trough 66 of the cooling bed 64. When it is desired to stop forward movement of the work piece `67, it is only necessary to actuate the fluid pressure cylinder 84 to move the piston 83, lever :arm 80 and rod 78 toward the left as viewed in FIG. 4 lagainst the action of spring 91 which will result in moving the .feed roll 72 out of engagement with t-he work piece 67 to stop forward movement of the same.

' The operation of the flu-id pressure cylinder 84 is controlled in .a manner to be presently described.

The arrangement just described may be duplicated if desired, in order to provide `for the simultaneous feeding of two work pieces yand for this purpose, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, there may be provided a feed roll 95 mounted vertically in the frame 63 and driven from a shaft 96. A second feed roll 97 is carried by a bearing similar to the bearing 73 and is driven through a universal joint from a shaft 98. Pivotally connected to the bearing at 99, carrying the feed roll 97 is an actuating rod ,100 and such rod is pivotally connected at 101 to the end of a lever arm `102 pivotally mounted at 103 on the frame 63. The opposite end of the arm 1012 is connected to :a piston received in the fluid pressure cylinder 104 and .operates in the same manner as the cylinder 84 above described. The actuating rod 100 is slidably received in a yoke 105, the `arms 106 of which are pivotally connected -at 107 to the frame 63. Received in a cylindrical member 108 and surrounding the actuating rod 100` is a compression spring 109 which at one end engages an abutment 110 on the rod 100 and at the opposite end engages an adjustable sleeve 111 threadedly received in the yoke 105 and vadjustable by means of a wrench engaging portion 112.

It is, of course, understood that the duplicate roll arrangement just described is disposed adjacent a different trough 66 in `the cooling bed 64 from the trough receiving the work piece `67 previously described and the feed rolls 95 and 97 are adapted to eng-age a work piece 113` disposed in a trough in alignment with such feed roll. The oper-ation of the iluid pressure cylinder 104 to move the feed roll 97 into and out of engagement with the work piece 113 is the same as that described above in `connection with the fluid pressure cylinder 84 and feed rolls 78 and 82.

The feed rolls 68, 72, and 97 may be driven from a common drive motor or other suitable drive means 114 which is connected to a gear box 115 having intermeshing gears 116 and 117 connected to the drive shafts 76 land 71 and intermeshing gears 118 and 119 connected to the drive shafts 96 and 98. In this manner, simultaneous `driving movement of the feed rolls is accomplished from a single drive moto-r.

With particu-lar reference to FIG. 7, there is shown an electrical control circuit and associated mechanism and while this circuit and mechanism is shown particularly in connection with the form of the invention shown in FIG. 3 and in FIGS. 4 to 6, nevertheless, it is to be understood that this same type of control system may be utilized in connection with the form of the invention .shown in FIGS. l and 2. As shown in FIG. 7, the transfer mechanism 120 ofthe cooling bed 121 which is utilized for transferring work pieces from one trough to another of the cooling bed 121 is actuated by means of cams 122 and -123 fixed to a cam shaft 124, the cams 122 and 123 engaging a cam follower 125 connected to the transfer mechansim 120. Also mounted on the cam shaft 124 is a cam 126 which engages yand moves a movable contact 127 into `and out of engagement with a fixed contact 128 of a switch incorporated in the electrical cont-rol system.

As shown in FIG. 7, there is a fixed rotatable feed roll 129 driven through a shaft 130 and a horizontally movable feed roll 131 driven through a shaft 132 from a suitable gear box 133 which in turn is driven from a motor 134. The feed roll 13 is moved horizontally through a suitable linkage means 135 connected to a iluid pressure cylinder 136. The fluid pressure cylinder is actuated from a fluid pressure pump 137 which is driven by a suitable motor 138.

Conductors 139 and 140 are connected to a suitable source of electrical power and a main switch 141 is connected to the conductors 139 and 140 and in turn to the motor 134 for driving the feed rolls 129 and 131. A relay 142 is provided with contacts `143 and 144 and operation of the relay 142 is controlled by the contacts 127 and 128 actuated by the cam 126 on the shaft 124. Upon closing of the contacts 127 and 128 the relay 142 is energized to close the contact 143, which through the conductors 145, 146 and 147 energize the motor 138 to drive the pump 137 and operate the fluid pressure cylinder v136 to move the feed roll 131 away from the feed roll 129. During this interval, the transfer mechanism 120 is operated to move work pieces from one trough of the cooling bed 121 to another. A second relay 148 is provided with contacts 149 and 150, the contact 149 being connected through a conductor 151 with the contact 144 of the relay 142 and also through a conductor 152 with a pair of normally closed contacts 153 disposed adjacent the trough which receives the Work piece between the feed rolls 129 and 131. The normally closed contacts 153 are connected through a conductor 154 with the main line conductor 139. The contact 150 of the relay 14S is connected through a conductor 155 with the main line conductor 139 and through a conductor 156 with the conductor 146 leading to the motor 133 having the pump 137. The contacts of the contact rail 39 which is disposed in the path of movement of work pieces in the trough of the cooling bed 121 are connected through a conductor 157 with the main supply conductor 139 and through `a conductor 158 with the conductor 146 leading to the motor 138 for driving the pump 137.

As stated above, during the operation of the transferring mechanism 1120 the relay 142 is energized to close the contacts 143 tand open the contacts 144 which results in operation of the fluid pressure cylinder 136 to move the feed roll 131 away from the feed roll 129. Upon completion of the operation of the transferring mechanism 1Z0, the contacts 127 and 12S open thereby (le-energizing the relay 142 to open the contacts 143 and close the contacts 144. Closing of the contacts 144 results in energizing the relay 148 which closes the contacts 149` and since such contacts are connected through the normally closed contacts 153 with the supply conductor 139, this renders the relay 148 self-holding and the same will remain energized until such time as a work piece is deposited in the trough between the feed rolls 129 and 131 and in engagement with the normally closed contacts 153 to open the same. Opening of the contacts 153 will result in de-energizing the relay 148 which will cause the contacts `150 to open thereby de-energizing the motor 136 and permitting the feed roll 131 to move into engagement with the work piece and advance the same along the trough of the cooling bed 131. Upon the leading end of the work piece engaging the contact rail 39, this will result in closing the contacts thereon which will again energize the motor 138 to drive the pump 137 and `actuate the cylinder 136 to move the feed roll 1131 out of engagement with the work piece thereby stopping forward movement of the same at a location determined by the location of the contact rail 39.

As will be seen from the above description of the control mechanism, the feed rolls cannot operate to advance work pieces during operation of the transfer mechanism and furthermore, such feed rolls yare rendered inoperative upon the leading ends of the work piece contacting the contact rail disposed in the path of movement thereof and obviously, this control mechanism as above described, is operative with all forms of the invention, it being obvious that the control mechanism would be utilized to actuate the -tluid pressure cylinder 35 of the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the same manner that the motor 138 driving the pump 137 is controlled in the form of the invention of FIGS. 3 to 6. Since the contact rail 39 does not provide a positive stop, there is no question of rebound of the work pieces and furthermore, the pressure required to actuate the contact carried by the contact rail 39 is relatively small and will not result in bending or distortion of the Work pieces.

1t will be seen that by the above described invention there has been provided a relatively simple, yet highly efficient apparatus for accurately aligning elongated work pieces on a cooling bed and furthermore, there has been provided a control system for automatic control of the apparatus which will result in accurate positioning of the work pieces without attention from an operator.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown inthe drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for aligning the leading ends of elongated Work pieces on a cooling bed, said cooling bed having a plurality of spaced parallel troughs for receiving a work piece in each trough and means for transferring said work pieces laterally from one trough to another, said apparatus comprising a pair of opposed feed rolls for engaging and axially feeding a work piece disposed in one of said troughs, the axes of said feed rolls being approximately vertical, shafts for driving said rolls, one of said rolls being movable in a substantially horizontal direction toward and away from the other roll to engage and disengage said work piece, the shaft for driving said one roll having `a universal joint to permit simultaneous rotary and swinging movement, said last named shaft being mounted in a horizontally movable bearing, a contact rail disposed in the path of axial movement of said work piece, a rod connected to said bearing, a iixed yoke slidably receiving said rod, an abutment on said rod, a compression spring disposed between said abutment and said yoke, means to vary the force exerted lby said spring, said spring serving to move said one roll into engagement with said Work piece, fluid pressure means connected to said rod and electrical control means connected between said contact rail and said iluid pressure means, whereby upon movement of the leading end of said work piece into engagement with said contact rail by operation of said feed rolls, said control means will cause operation of said fluid pressure means to move said one roll against the action of said spring away from said work piece to stop axial movement thereof at a point determined by the location of said contact rail.

2. Apparatus for aligning the leading ends of elongated work pieces on a cooling bed, said cooling bed having a plurality of spaced parallel troughs for receiving a Work piece in each trough and means for transferring said Work pieces laterally from one trough to another, said apparatus comprising a pair of opposed feed rolls for engaging and axially feeding a work piece disposed in one of said troughs, the axes of said feed rolls being approximately vertical, shafts for driving said rolls, one of said rolls being movable in a substantially horizontal direction toward and away from the other roll to engage and disengage said work piece, the shaft for driving said one roll having a universal joint to permit simultaneous rotary and swinging movement, said last named shaft being mounted in a horizontally movable bearing, a contact rail disposed in the path of axial movement of said work piece, a rod connected to said bearing, a fixed yoke slidably receiving said rod, an abutment on said rod, a compression spring disposed between said abutment and said yoke, said spring serving to move said one roll into engagement with said work piece, fluid pressure means connected to said rod and electrical control means connected between said contact rail and said fluid pressure means, whereby upon movement of the leading end of said work piece into engagement with said contact rail by operation of said feed rolls, said control means will cause operation of said fluid pressure means to move said one roll against the action of said spring away from said work piece to stop axial movement thereof at a point determined by the location of said contact rail.

3. Apparatus for aligning the leading ends of elongated Work pieces on a cooling bed, said cooling bed having a plurality of spaced parallel troughs for receiving a work piece in each trough and means for transferringsaid work pieces laterally from one trough to another, said apparatus comprising a pair of opposed feed rolls for engaging and axially feeding a work piece disposed in one of said troughs, the axes of said feed rolls being approximately vertical, shafts for driving said rolls, one of said rolls being movable in a substantially horizontal direction toward and away from the other roll to engage and disengage said work piece, the shaft for driving said one roll having a universal joint to permit simultaneous rotary and swinging movement, said last named shaft being mounted in a horizontally movable bearing, a contact rail disposed in the path of axial movement of said work piece, a rod connected to said bearing, spring means for moving said one roll into engagement with said work piece, fluid pressure means connected to said rod and electrical control means connected between said contact rail and said iluid pressure means, whereby upon movement of the leading end of said work piece into engagement with said contact rail by operation of said feed rolls, said control means will cause operation of said fluid pressure means to move said one roll against the action of said spring away from said work piece to stop axial movement thereof at a point determined by the location of said contact rail.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,613,798 McPhee Oct. 14, 1952 2,903,253 Malloy Sept. 8, 1959 2,923,333 -Nicholson Feb. 2, 1960 2,924,132 Morgan et al Feb. 9, 1960

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