EP0648554A1

EP0648554A1 - A method and apparatus for inserting a paper strip in a metallic strip continuous processing line

Info

Publication number: EP0648554A1
Application number: EP93308223A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kazumitsu C/O Chiba Works Sanbonchiku; Tomoharu C/O Chiba Works Kanemaru; Eisuke C/O Chiba Works Kawazumi; Hajime C/O Chiba Works Nagai
Original assignee: Kawasaki Steel Corp
Current assignee: JFE Steel Corp
Priority date: 1993-10-15
Filing date: 1993-10-15
Publication date: 1995-04-19

Abstract

A method for inserting a paper strip (P) between the layers of a strip (m) wound around a winding reel (10) of a carrousel type winding apparatus (9) provided at the exit of metallic strip continuous processing line. The method includes the steps of advancing the paper (P) discharged from a paper strip coil (24) located above a carrousel type winding apparatus (9) in a downward direction; shifting a paper feeding direction to a horizontal plane; and inserting the paper strip (P) through an entrance of a winding reel (10). An apparatus for performing this method includes a continuous paper feeding apparatus (20) disposed near a winding carrousel type winding apparatus (9); a paper feeding direction changing apparatus (40) disposed at an entrance of the winding reel (10); and a paper shear (29). The continuous paper feeding apparatus (20) includes two or more paper unwinders (22a,b); a paper bonding device (28) which bonds a paper (P) discharged from one paper-discharging unwinder (22a,b) to a paper on another idle paper unwinder (22a,b); and a paper cutter (29) for cutting the discharged paper (P) when the papers (P) are bonded together.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a paper inserting method and system which are capable of inserting a paper strip between layers of cold-rolled stainless steel strip being wound and coiled on a metallic strip continuous processing line, such as a continuous tandem cold rolling line, without interrupting the line operation, to prevent occurrence of marring on the surface of the steel strip.

Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, a strip, such as cold rolled stainless steel, the surface quality and gloss of which are regarded as important has been produced by a reverse rolling method in which the material is reverse rolled many times using a Sendzmir mill equipped with multi-stage rolls or by a tandem rolling method in which the material is continuously rolled by multiple Sendzmir mills arranged in tandem. However, production is restricted because the roll overheats due to the roll diameter being as small as 50 - 120 mm resulting in frequent replacement of the roll.
For this reason, to improve the productivity of the strip, for example, Japanese Patent Examined Publication No.3-47928 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos.4-52005 and 52009 have disclosed a rolling method using a tandem rolling mill in which multiple units of large-diameter rolling mills for making normal steel are arranged.
According to the rolling method using the tandem rolling mill for carbon steel, large-diameter work rolls about 250 - 650 mm in diameter are used, thus the method (1) secures a great reduction rate because the strength is high, (2) realizes effective roll cooling because the roll surface area is large, (3) has a roll service life five or six times longer than when using small diameter rolls, and (4) ensures excellent feeding performance of the leading edge of the strip, thereby securing a high rolling speed. The continuous tandem cold rolling mill continuously rolls material without a stoppage, thus there is no off-gauging due to stopping operation of the rolling mill. Therefore, this rolling mill can be expected to improve productivity and yield a great rate. Further, as described in Japanese Patent Examined Publication No.3-47928, a large-diameter roll retards the unevenness of the raw material surface from being transferred to the finished strip during cold rolling, thereby obtaining a product with an excellent surface.
A typical example of a fully continuous tandem cold rolling mill will be described with reference to Fig. 25. After a strip is unwound from a coil on a pay-off reel, a strip m is continuously fed because the end of a preceding strip is welded together with the leading edge of a following strip by means of a welding machine 2. The strip m is fed through a first bridle roll 3, a looper 4 and a second bridle roll 5 up to a tandem rolling mill 6 which cold rolls the strip m to a specified thickness. After cold rolling, the strip m is wound by a carrousel type winding apparatus 9 in the form of a coil through a deflector roll 9.
In the carrousel type winding apparatus 9, an already wound coil 11 is automatically replaced with a new winding reel 10, thus enabling continuous winding of the strip m. The carrousel type winding apparatus 9 has two strip winding reels 10a, 10b disposed symmetrically relative to a rotation shaft and is structured to be able to rotate around the above mentioned rotation shaft while each reel itself is rotated. When coil winding around one reel 10b is completed, the strip m, which is fed from the rolling mill 6, is cut by means of a strip shear provided at the exit of the rolling mill. The winding apparatus 9 is rotated in the direction of the arrow A to replace one reel with another one. The next strip m is wound around a winding reel 10a on which a belt wrapper 12 is wound. The belt wrapper 12 is retracted after the strip m is wound two or three turns. The coil 11 is removed from the reel 10b by means of a coil car 13.
The looper 4 is a strip storage device for feeding the strip m without an interruption to the tandem rolling mill 6 even during welding by the welding machine 2. The bridle rolls 3, 5 apply a specified tension to the strip m.
Advantages of the carrousel type winding apparatus will be described below. The continuous tandem cold rolling mill needs at least two units of winding apparatuses to enable continuous rolling. If the conventional winding apparatuses are used, it is necessary to provide two units each of attached equipment such as a coil car, belt wrapper and electric measuring instrument, thereby increasing equipment cost. However, the carrousel type winding apparatus requires only one unit of attached equipment. Thus the equipment installation area is small and the equipment cost is low. When modifying an existing tandem cold rolling mill to a continuous tandem cold rolling mill, the carrousel type winding apparatus can be easily installed.
As described above, productivity and yield rate can be greatly improved by cold rolling stainless steel by using the tandem cold rolling mill for normal steel adapted to a continuous tandem cold rolling mill.
However, the following unresolved problems remain in production of stainless steel employing the tandem cold rolling mill for carbon steel.
When the strip m is wound, the strip layers of the coil, which is wound rapidly, rub against each other thereby subjecting the strip surfaces to rubbing marks, thus preventing the achievement of the desired gloss. Further, the following problems are present.

(1) When a wound coil is carried to the next process or to a coil storage area, the coil releases thereby causing the strip layers to rub against each other and resulting in rubbing marks.
(2) When the coil is unwound to be fed for specific treatment in the next step of the process, the strip layers rub against each other to produce rubbing marks on the surfaces.
(3) If rolling oil is used for cold rolling and the oil is not wiped off sufficiently, the strip layers may slide when the strip is wound around the reel.

Accordingly, to solve the foregoing problems, a paper strip may be inserted between the strip layers when winding the strip at the exit of the tandem cold rolling mill.
The conventional method for feeding a paper strip to the strip winding apparatus for the purpose described above as shown in Fig. 26 is well known. Fig. 26 schematically shows the winding apparatus at the exit of a metallic strip processing line. The strip m is wound around the strip winding reel 10 fed from a deflector roll 8 to obtain a coil 11. During the winding, a paper P is inserted between an already wound strip and a strip which is being wound therearound. That is, the paper P unwound from a paper coil 15 by a paper unwinder 14 is inserted between the strip layers of the coil 11 and wound together with the strip m. When the coil 11 reaches a specified diameter, the production line is temporarily stopped and the strip m is cut by means of a shear 7' and at the same time, the paper P is cut using a cutter knife (not shown). After the coil 11 which has been wound together with the inserted paper P, the coil is removed from the reel 10 by means of a coil car 13, and the production line is slowly restarted. At this time, the leading edge of the paper P must be wound while winding that of the following strip. Until the leading edge of the paper P has been inserted between the strip m and the strip winding reel 10, the paper coil 15 is rotated to match the speed of the strip m by controlling a driving unit of the paper unwinder 14. When the leading edge of the paper P is inserted and the paper P starts to be wound together with the strip m, the drive of the paper unwinder 14 is switched to applying tension to the paper P.
In the conventional apparatus described above, when the paper P is being wound around the strip winding reel 10, tension is applied to the paper P by controlling the torque applied to the paper unwinder 14. However, when the paper P is cut and the cut end droops, no tension is applied.
Thus, the leading edge of the paper P is wafted by the movement of environmental air when the paper P is fed to the winding reel 10, so that the leading edge fails to descend to a specified downward position. Also, the paper P is likely to be wrinkled in the width direction.
For this reason, it is necessary for operators to manually rectify such problem. However, it is not easy to avoid such a problem because to do so causes a safety problem and hinders improvement of productivity because it must be achieved by man power. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.1-133611, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.3-161118 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.3-52712 have disclosed various solutions for solving these problems.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.1-133611 has disclosed a method for preventing the surface quality of metallic strip m from being marred because wrinkles caused on a portion of the paper P between the paper coil 15 and the metallic strip coil 11 are imprinted on the metallic strip m. According to this disclosure, there are provided multiple guide rolls for the paper P running path between the paper coil 15 and the coil 11, shortening a paper P running distance without a contact with rolls as much as possible.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.3-161118 has disclosed a method for enabling the leading edge of the paper P which is fed through multiple guide rolls provided along the paper running path to be inserted without man power by providing multiple air jet holes on the roll surface of guide rolls near the paper coil. In this method, first, a negative pressure is applied to the guide roll in order to suck the leading edge of the paper P, and after the guide roll is moved just above a paper insertion position, a positive pressure is applied to the guide roll to jet air through the air jet holes in order to lower the leading edge of the paper while feeding the paper P and winding it around the coil 11 together with the strip P. After this, the guide roll is retracted to the action position. Thus, the paper P is automatically inserted.
Although a method for inserting the paper P which droops because of its own weight, as shown in Fig.26, is acceptable for the downward winding type of strip in which the strip is first wound from around the bottom of the winding reel, the upward winding type of strip in which the strip is first wound from around the top of the reel does not allow the paper P to be inserted between the strip layers. Thus, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.3-52712 has overcome this problem. That is, according to this invention, a drooping paper is inserted between a belt wrapper which remains wound on the circumference of the lower half of the winding reel and the winding reel, pinched by the belt wrapper and turned around the circumference of the lower half of the reel to be wound between the strip layers.
In the above described prior arts, when a diameter of a metallic strip coil wound together with the paper P reaches a specified size, the strip processing line must be stopped, thus causing off-gauging each time the rolling mill is stopped, thereby reducing product yield rate.
Further, when a carrousel type winding apparatus is used, if the paper guide unit is placed within the running area of the strip when the winding apparatus is rotated, the paper guide unit interferes with the strip, thus making it necessary to install the paper guide unit substantially apart from the winding reel. For this reason, when the leading edge of the paper P is inserted, it is often wrinkled, bent or meanders, so that it is very difficult to insert the leading edge of the paper properly.
Additionally, according to the above prior art, when there is no more paper on the paper coil 15 or the width of the paper P is changed in accordance with the changed width of the metallic strip m, it is necessary to remove the paper coil 15 from the paper unwinder 14, mount a new paper coil 15 to the paper unwinder 14 and then move the leading edge of the paper P up to the winding reel 10 of the winding apparatus. Since during this operation, no paper P can be fed, the production line must be stopped, thereby reducing production efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for inserting a paper strip which facilitates continuous paper insertion without a line stopping when the paper is inserted into a strip coil to be wound by a carrousel type winding machine located at the exit of a metallic strip continuous processing line.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method for inserting a paper for a metallic strip continuous processing line, which method advances a paper discharged from a paper coil located above a carrousel type winding apparatus in the downward direction, shifts the paper feeding direction to a horizontal plane and inserts the paper through the entrance of a winding reel, when the paper is inserted between layers of the metallic strip to be wound around the winding reel of the carrousel type winding apparatus which is placed at the exit of a metallic strip continuous processing line equipped with a welding machine and a looper at the entrance of the line.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper inserting apparatus in a metallic strip continuous processing line which inserts a paper between the layers of the metallic strip to be wound around the winding reel of the carrousel type winding apparatus installed at the exit of a metallic strip continuous processing line having a welding machine and a looper at the entrance of the line, the paper inserting apparatus having a continuous paper feeding apparatus which is provided near the carrousel type winding apparatus; a paper feeding direction changing apparatus which is provided at the entrance of the winding reel; and a paper shear.
Preferably, the continuous paper feeding apparatus has two or more paper unwinders located near the winding apparatus; a paper bonding device which bonds a paper discharged from one paper-discharging unwinder to paper on another idle paper unwinder, a paper cutter for cutting the discharged paper when the papers are bonded together, and a pinch roll which is disposed upstream of the paper feeding direction changing apparatus and is actuated to pinch the paper when it is cut.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a system for producing metallic strip m such as cold rolled stainless steel using a continuous tandem cold rolling mill.
Figs. 2, 3 and 4 illustrate examples of a paper deflector.
Fig. 5 illustrates a metallic strip and a paper strip cutting device.
Fig. 6 illustrates a method for inserting the leading edges of strip m and paper P in a winding apparatus.
Fig. 7 schematically illustrates the operation of a winding apparatus for the metallic strip and paper P.
Figs. 8 - 13 schematically illustrate the procedure for bonding the paper.
Figs. 14 - 16 illustrate another embodiment of the paper winding apparatus.
Figs. 17 - 19 illustrate an embodiment of a continuous paper feeding apparatus in which a paper suction device which acts as a paper holding means is provided upstream of a paper cutter.
Fig. 20 illustrates an embodiment of a paper inserting apparatus in which a paper looper is provided between a continuous paper feeding apparatus and a pinch roll.
Figs. 21 - 24 illustrate an embodiment of the paper bonding device in which a paper unwinder is not rotated.
Figs. 25 illustrates a typical example of a continuous tandem cold rolling line.
Figs. 26 illustrate prior art of paper inserting apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Figs. 1 to 13 show an embodiment of the present invention and Fig. 1 schematically shows a system for producing metallic strip such as cold rolled stainless steel using a known continuous tandem cold rolling mill.
A continuous paper feeding apparatus 20 is disposed near a winding apparatus 9. It is provided with a paper unwinding device 21, a paper bonding device 28 and a paper cutter 29, and a movable carrying unit 27 is provided nearby.
The paper unwinding device 21 has two paper unwinders which are placed symmetrically relative to a rotation shaft 21a. Referring to Fig. 1, a paper unwinder 22a to the left is discharging paper and a paper unwinder 22b to the right is idle. Paper P wound on the paper-discharging unwinder 22a is introduced by means of guide rolls 23a, 23b and fed downward beyond a reserve paper coil 24b which is mounted on the idle paper unwinder 22b. The feeding direction of the paper is shifted to a horizontal plane by means of a paper deflector 40 which is a paper feeding direction changing apparatus disposed near the entrance of a winding apparatus 9 and then paper P is supplied to the winding apparatus 9. A pinch roll 30 is disposed at the entrance of the paper deflector 40 and a rotation-driven type paper shear 50 is disposed at the exit.
The paper bonding device 28 is disposed above the idle paper unwinder 22b. Paper P discharged from the paper-discharging unwinder 22a is pressed and bonded to paper on which double-sided adhesive tape or adhesive is preliminarily applied, on the unwinder 22b in waiting condition. Thus, the paper bonding device 28 is provided with a swing arm 28a, a tension roll 28b which is mounted at the end of the swing arm and presses discharged paper and a paper bonding roll 28c which is moved up and down separabely relative to the paper coil 24b in waiting condition.
A paper cutter 29 is disposed above the idle paper unwinder 22b and capable of moving back and forth for cutting paper fed from the discharging side when paper is bonded together.
The carrying unit 27 comprises a lifting device 27a and traveling wheels 27b provided under the lifting device 27a. The carrying unit 27 travels by means of the traveling wheels 27b between a paper storage area and the paper unwinding device 21 in order to mount the paper coil 24c loaded thereon onto the paper unwinder 22a or 22b by means of the lifting device 27a and to remove the paper coil mounted on the paper unwinder 22a or 22b.
Referring to Fig. 1, the paper P is discharged from a paper coil 24c mounted on the paper unwinder 21. The discharged paper P advances downward and the paper feeding direction is shifted to a horizontal plane by means of a paper feeding direction changing apparatus 40 disposed at the entrance of the winding apparatus 9. Then, the paper is continuously fed to the carrousel type winding apparatus so that it is inserted inbetween the strip layers of the strip and wound together with the strip.
By supplying the paper P horizontally to the entrance of the winding apparatus 9, when the leading edge of the paper is inserted, the paper is prevented from being wrinkled or bent or meandering due to the influence of air flow, even if the paper feeding direction changing apparatus 40 which acts as a paper guiding device is disposed far from the carrousel type winding apparatus. Thus, even when the diameter of a coil 11 of the metallic strip m becomes a specified length and the strip m is cut by means of a strip shear 7, it is not necessary to stop the production line and the leading edge of the paper P can be inserted stably, securely and easily.
When the paper P is cut by means of a paper shear 50 at the same time that the strip m is cut, the pinch roll 30 is actuated so that it catches the leading edge of following paper P. By applying a torque force to the paper unwinder 21 in the direction opposite to the feeding direction of the paper P, the portion of the paper P placed between the paper unwinder 21 and the pinch roll 30 is made tense.
Thus, by making the strip winding reel wind the leading edge of the following paper in this tense condition, the paper can be prevented from being wrinkled, loosened, rippled or bent together.
After the leading edge of the following paper P is wound by the strip winding reel, the paper P is released from the pinch roll 30 and then normally wound around the winding reel.
On the other hand, when there are no more papers on the paper unwinder 21 because they have all been discharged therefrom or the width of the paper is changed in accordance with a change in the width of the strip, the following paper changeover operation is performed. Namely, an idle paper coil 24b is disposed near a paper bonding device, adhesive being applied to the surface of the paper coil. The paper being currently discharged passes between the idle paper coil and the paper bonding device. In accordance with information about the remaining strip on the paper coil or tracked information about a strip partitioning point or a width changing point, the idle paper coil is rotated, and when the adhesive portion of the paper roll passes below the paper bonding device, the paper fed from the discharging paper unwinder is pressed to that portion so as to bond the paper to the paper on the idle paper unwinder. At the same time, the paper fed from the discharging unwinder is cut by means of a cutter. It is permissible to cut the paper before the paper is bonded.
Accordingly, it is possible to supply the paper without interruption even during partitioning of a metallic strip or paper coil changeover operation. Thus, it is no longer necessary to stop the production line to cut and replace the paper nor insert the leading edge of the paper to the strip winding apparatus, thereby making continuous cold rolling possible and preventing the surface of the metallic strip from being subjected to rubbing marks caused at the time of winding of the strip.
Fig. 2 shows an example of the above mentioned paper deflector 40. The deflector 40 comprises a deflector roll 40b mounted on the bottom end of a fixed casing 40a, a pinch roll 40e which is mounted on the front end of the swing arm 40d supported by the fixed casing 40a via a rotation shaft 40c so as to be driven separately relative to the deflector roll 40b and a driving cylinder 40f which swings a swing arm 40d. Paper P which is fed downward from the paper unwinding device 21 is nipped between and caught by the deflector roll 40b and the pinch roll 40e and then the paper feeding direction is changed to a horizontal plane as shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 3 shows another example of the paper deflector 40. Instead of the pinch roll 40e, the swing arm 40d and the driving cylinder 40f of the paper deflector 40d, this paper deflector 40 is provided with an air jet header 40g. The air jet header 40g functions to change the paper feeding direction to a horizontal plane by jetting air spouted from an air jet nozzle 40h of the air jet header 40g to paper P fed downward from the paper unwinding device 21.
Fig. 4 shows still another example of the paper deflector 40. This example is provided with air jet headers 40i, 40j which jet air along the tangent line connecting the deflector roll 40b and the winding reel 10, above and below the tangent line. The air jet hole of each header may be formed as a slit along the width of paper P or instead multiple jet holes may be arranged horizontally in line. The headers 40i, 40j are connected to an air source (pressure: 1 - 2 kg/cm²) not shown through air pipes 40k, 40l. On/off electromagnetic valves 40m, 40n are installed in the air pipes 40o, 40p. By on/off control of the electromagnetic valves 40m, 40n, the timing of the jet on/off can be controlled easily.
The pinch roll 30 is actuated at the same time that paper P is cut by means of the rotation-type paper shear 50 so as to catch the leading edge of the following sheet of paper P. After the leading edge of paper P is wound around the strip winding apparatus 9, the pinch roll releases paper P from being caught.
Supplying paper P to the winding apparatus 9 by means of the paper inserting apparatus having the aforementioned structure is described with reference to Figs. 1 and 5 or 13.
Referring to Fig. 1, after the feeding direction of strip m rolled by means of the completely continuous tandem cold rolling mill is changed by the deflector roll 8, the strip m is wound around one winding reel 10b mounted on the winding apparatus 9. At the same time, paper P which is supplied from the paper continuous feeding apparatus is inserted between the coils 11 of the strip m which is being wound around the winding reel 10b. Another winding reel 10a mounted on the winding apparatus 9 is in a waiting position as a reserve reel with a belt wrapper 12 wound around it. The reel 10a is rotated in the winding direction.
When the diameter of the coil 11 being wound around the winding reel 10b reaches a specified diameter, the strip m and paper P are automatically cut. When the partitioning point of the strip m reaches a specified area in the back and front of a strip shear 7, the paper shear 50 is driven to cut the paper P. The leading edge of following sheet of paper P is caught by the pinch roll 30 which is driven at this time. On the other hand, when the partitioning point of the strip m passes the strip shear 7, the strip shear 7 is driven to cut the strip m. After the paper P and the strip m are wound around the winding reel 10b so that they overlap each other, the coil 11 is discharged from the reel 10b by means of the coil car 13.
After cutting of the strip m and the paper P is completed, as shown in Fig. 6, winding of the strip m around the reserve winding reel 10a and insertion of the front end of the paper P are simultaneously performed without interrupting the completely continuous tandem cold rolling mill. Namely, the winding reel 10a is rotated counterclockwise while the belt wrapper 12 is attached on the circumference of the winding reel 10a, the paper unwinder 22a is driven clockwise so that the peripheral velocity of the paper coil 24a is equal to or higher by a specified rate, than the line speed of the strip m, thereby feeding the paper P. The leading edge of the paper P is fed by the paper deflector 40 to the entrance of the winding reel 10a, reaches the winding reel 10a together with the front end of the strip m and then is wound around the winding reel 10a altogether. When the leading edge of the paper P is wound around the winding reel 10a, the pinch roll 30 is released and a counterclockwise torque is applied to the paper P by the paper unwinding device 21 of the paper continuous feeding apparatus 20 to supply the paper P with a specified tension. When the pinch roll type shown in Fig. 2 is used as the paper deflector 40, the pinch roll is released by retracting the pinch roll 40e by means of the driving cylinder 40f to restart the regular operation. When the air jet type as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is used as the paper deflector 40, air jetting is stopped to restart the regular operation.
On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 7, the winding apparatus 9 is rotated 180° counterbackwise while the belt wrapper 12 is released and retracted downward. Consequently, the winding reel 10a which is in a winding mode moves to its specified winding position. The other winding reel 10b moves to its waiting position. The belt wrapper is wound around the winding reel 10b so as to prepare for winding the front ends of the strip m and the paper P which will be cut next (see Fig. 1).
When the remainder of the paper coil 24a mounted on the paper continuous feeding apparatus 20 diminishes or the width of the paper P is changed to correspond to a changed width of the strip m during the winding of the strip m or the paper P, bonding of the paper P onto the reserve paper coil 24b is performed in the steps shown in Figs. 8 to 13.

(1) Until the peripheral velocity of the reserve paper coil 24b is equal to the discharging velocity of the paper coil 24a, the unwinding velocity of the idle paper unwinder 22b is accelerated (Fig. 8).
(2) When the adhesive 25 preliminarily applied to the surface of the reserve paper coil 24b passes just below the paper bonding roll 28c of the paper bonding device 28, the paper bonding roll 28c is pressed to the surface of the reserve paper coil 24b. Consequently, the reverse side of the paper P being discharged is pressed to the aforementioned adhesive 25 so that the paper P is bonded to the reserve paper coil 24b (Fig. 9).
(3) Immediately thereafter, the paper cutter 29 advances to cut the paper P which is discharged from the discharging paper coil 24a. After that, new paper P discharged from the reserve paper coil 24b is supplied to the winding apparatus (Fig. 10).
(4) After that, the paper unwinder 22a which previously discharged the paper P is rotated in the opposite direction to that during discharge to wind up the remainder of the cut paper P. The paper bonding roll 28c and the paper cutter 29 of the paper bonding device 28 are retracted (Fig. 11).
(5) When there is no more paper, the paper coil 24a is removed from the paper unwinder 22a and a new paper coil 24c is mounted to serve as a reserve paper coil for the next cycle. The paper bonding device 28 is retracted by turning the swing arm 28a upward (Fig. 12). After that, by rotating the paper unwinding device 21 counterclockwise around the rotation shaft 21a as shown in Fig. 13, the paper coil 24b in the reserve position is replaced with the new mounted paper coil 24c, regaining the state shown in Fig. 1 (Fig. 13).

Figs. 14 to 16 show another embodiment.
According to the present embodiment, during the regular operation, the paper deflector is retracted upward by means of a retraction mechanism (not shown) and when the paper P is inserted, the deflector 40 approaches the idle winding reel 10a. During the rotation of the carrousel type winding apparatus 9 as shown in Fig. 16, the paper deflector 40 is retracted not to interfere with the strip m.
According to the present embodiment, interference between the paper P and the strip m during the rotation of the winding apparatus 9 can be prevented and it is possible to bring the paper deflector 40 extremely near the winding reel 10a when the leading edge of the paper P is inserted. Thus, the leading edge of the paper P can be stably, securely and easily inserted without interference by the paper deflector 40.
Figs. 17 to 19 show still another embodiment.
In Fig. 10, after the paper P is cut, the discharging paper unwinder 22a is stopped quickly and reversed. When the discharging paper unwinder 22a decelerates to stop it, the leading edge of surplus paper P which is discharged subsequently may be wound into the paper coil 24b which has been switched to the discharging side. Thus, as shown in Fig. 17, a suction 60 device which acts as a holding means is provided upstream in the vicinity of the paper cutter 29. The suction device 60 of the present embodiment has a suction hole formed on a vacuum box, which is as wide as the width of the paper P, and is connected to a vacuum exhaust device (not shown). When the paper P which is being fed from the paper coil 24a is cut by means of the paper cutter 29, the suction device 60 sucks the leading edge of the cut paper P to hold the front end.
Further, as a means to hold the surplus paper P, which is still being fed from the paper coil 24a even after the leading edge of the paper P is held by the suction device, so that the slack of the paper P forms upwardly, an air nozzle 61 is provided downward of the paper P midway between the tension roll 28b and the guide roll 23a provided upstream of the suction device 60. The air nozzle 61 functions to blow air on the reverse side of the paper P, keeping the surplus paper P blown up in the form of a loop by the air flow.
According to the structure described above, when the paper P is cut, the suction device 60 is actuated to suck and hold the leading edge of the paper P fed from the paper coil 24a.
Then, the clockwise rotation of the paper unwinder 22a which discharged the paper up to now is stopped. However, because the rotation is not stopped immediately, surplus paper P is still fed. If this phenomenon is left as it is, the surplus paper P droops between the guide roll 23a and the suction device 60, so that the drooping portion may be pulled and caught by the paper coil 24b which is discharging the paper P. For this reason, the air nozzle 61 jets air upward thereby keeping the surplus paper P blown up in the form of a loop (Fig. 18).
After that, the air nozzle 61 is turned off and the paper unwinder 22a which has discharged the paper P is reversed to wind back the surplus paper P (Fig. 19). Subsequent to this action, the same operation as shown in Fig. 12 or 13 is carried out.
Fig. 20 shows a further embodiment having a paper looper 70 provided between the continuous paper feeding apparatus 20 and the pinch roll 30. The looper 70 enhances continuous feeding of the paper P without a time lag when it takes a relatively long time to bond the paper P to the paper coil.
Figs. 21 to 24 show still further embodiments.
In the continuous paper feeding apparatus 20, the paper unwinding device 21 is not rotated. Namely, the paper-discharging unwinder 22a and the idle paper unwinding device 22b are fixed and the positions are not changed. The paper bonding device 28 is provided with the paper bonding roll 28c which is driven to advance or retreat by means of an air cylinder 28d. The paper cutter 29 is driven to advance or retreat by an air cylinder 29a. Pinch rolls 26a, 26b act as a paper holding device to hold and guide the discharged paper P. The paper bonding roll 28c, the paper cutter 29 and the pinch rolls 26a, 26b are structured so that they can be moved horizontally. The method for bonding the paper is as follows.
When the remainder of the paper on the paper-discharging unwinder 22a diminishes, the pinch rolls 26a, 26b stop and at the same time, the paper cutter 29 is actuated to cut the paper P (Fig. 21). Then, the pinch rolls 26a, 26b are moved to the reserve paper coil 24b mounted on the idle paper unwinder 22b while holding the rear end of the partitioned paper P (Fig. 22). When the adhesive 25 on the reserve paper coil 24b passes just below the paper bonding roll 28c, the paper P is pressed to the adhesive to bond it to the reserve paper coil 24b (Fig. 23). Consequently, the paper P discharged from the idle paper unwinder 22b is supplied to the winding apparatus 9 so that feeding of the paper is not interrupted. Next, the paper bonding device 28, the paper cutter 29, and the pinch rolls 26a, 26b are returned to their original positions. They all move back horizontally except for the pinch roll 26b. The downward pinch roll 26b turns around the circumference of the paper coil 24b which has already started discharging paper and returns to the original position. A new paper coil 24c is loaded onto the paper-discharging unwinder 22a (Fig. 24).
In the present embodiment, it is necessary to install the paper looper as shown in Fig. 20.
Although the above embodiments describe a state in which the coil 11 winds paper and strip which are fed from upper-side, the present invention is not restricted to this but also applies when the coil 11 winds them which are fed from lower-side.
Although the above embodiments indicate that the paper shear 50 is rotatable, a reciprocating type shear can also achieved the same effect.
As described above, according to the present invention, the paper inserting apparatus comprising the continuous paper feeding apparatus, the paper feeding direction changing apparatus and the paper cutter is provided near the carrousel winding apparatus so as to insert the leading edge of the paper into the entrance of the strip winding reel. Thus, it is possible to perform cutting, replacement of the paper rolls and initial winding of the leading edge without stopping the strip processing line, thereby improving operability.
Additionally, according to the present invention, cold rolled strip m by a tandem rolling mill is wound with paper P inserted inbetween the strip layers. This enables high-speed rolling using a large-diameter roll and prevents the wound coil from being subjected to rubbing marks, thereby remarkably improving the productivity of metallic strip such as cold rolled stainless steel which requires a beautiful finished surface.

Claims

A method for inserting a paper between layers of metalic strip in a metallic strip continuous processing line, comprising the steps of advancing and placing a paper strip discharged from a paper coil located above a carrousel type winding apparatus in the downward direction, shifting the paper feeding direction to a horizontal plane and inserting said paper through an entrance of a winding reel, when said paper is inserted between layers of the metallic strip to be wound around said winding reel and placing said carrousel type winding apparatus at the exit of a metallic strip continuous processing line equipped with a welding machine and a looper at the entrance of the line.
A paper inserting apparatus in a metallic strip continuous processing line which inserts a paper strip between the layers of the metallic strip to be wound around a winding reel of a carrousel type winding apparatus installed at the exit of said metallic strip continuous processing line having a welding machine and a looper at the entrance of the line, said paper strip inserting apparatus comprising; a continuous paper strip feeding apparatus which is provided near said carrousel type winding apparatus; a paper strip feeding direction changing apparatus which is provided at the entrance of said winding reel; and a paper shear.
A paper inserting apparatus in said metallic strip continuous processing line according to claim 2, wherein said continuous paper feeding apparatus comprises; two or more paper strip unwinders located near said winding apparatus; a paper strip bonding device which bonds a paper strip discharged from one paper-discharging unwinder to paper strip on another idle paper strip unwinder; and a paper strip cutter for cutting the discharged paper strip when the paper strips are bonded together.
A paper inserting apparatus in said metallic strip continuous processing line according to claim 2, including a pinch roll located upstream of said paper strip feeding direction changing apparatus and means for actuating said pinch roll to pinch paper strip when said paper strip is cut.
A paper inserting apparatus in said metallic strip continuous processing line according to claim 2, wherein said paper feeding direction changing apparatus has an gas jet nozzle.
A paper inserting apparatus in said metallic strip continuous processing line according to claim 2, wherein said paper feeding direction changing apparatus has a retraction mechanism.
A paper inserting apparatus wherein a continuous paper feeding apparatus according to claim 3 comprises; a holding means for holding the leading edge of paper strip fed from a paper strip-discharging unwinder when said paper strip is cut; and a keeping means for keeping a surplus paper strip which continues to be fed after said leading edge is held by said holding means so that the slack of said paper strip forms upwardly.
A paper inserting apparatus in said metallic strip continuous processing line according to claim 2, wherein a paper looper is disposed between said continuous paper strip feeding apparatus and said paper strip feeding direction changing apparatus.