GB1568207A

GB1568207A - Method and apparatus for handling billets and the like

Info

Publication number: GB1568207A
Application number: GB4143076A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Wellman Mechanical Engineering Ltd
Current assignee: Wellman Mechanical Engineering Ltd
Priority date: 1977-10-04
Filing date: 1977-10-04
Publication date: 1980-05-29

Description

(54) METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING BILLETS AND THE LIKE (71) We, WELLMAN MECHANICAL ENG INHERING LIMED, of Willenhall Road, Darlaston, Wednesbury, West Midlands WSl0 8LG, a British Company, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the fol lowing statement: - This invention relates to a method and appaartus for handling elongate articles, such as billets of square or other polygonal section, having a plurality of generally planar longitudinally extending faces on which the article can rest in a position of stability on a flat surface. The invention is also applicable to articles, such as sections (e.g.I beams), which have longitudinal edge portions between pairs of which the article can rest in a position of stability on a flat surface, and possibly also generally planar faces as aforesaid. Such articles are hereinafter referred to as "of the kind described".

According to one aspect of the present invention we provide a method of angularly indexing a batch of articles of the kind described located in side by side relation on a supporting surface with one face thereof or one pair of longitudinal edges resting on said surface, said method comprising embracing the article (hereinafter called the leading article) at one end of the batch within a rotatable jaw comprising an articlereceiving recess which opens laterally of the rotational axis of the jaw and is arranged to receive a said article, mechanically rotating the jaw so that the article turns about the leading longitudinal edge of said one pair of edges or said one face, or an axis parallel thereto, until an adjacent pair of edges or face of the article is presented towards said supporting surface, mechanically withdrawing the jaw from the leading article and repeating the procedure for the next article and so on.

Preferably the articles are received within the jaw in scooplike manner without the jaw gripping the article.

Preferably the articles are supported on said surface with at least one end overhanging the surface and the jaw is arranged to embrace the overhanging end portions of the articles. Turning of each article may be effected with the longitudinal edge of the article in contact with said supporting surface; however, it is considered expedient if the jaw engaged end of the article is lifted out of contact with the supporting surface during turning.

One problem the invention is intended to solve arises in the angular indexing of square section billets for inspection of each face of the billet and rectification of any surface flaws therein. Hitherto it has been the practice to effect the indexing manually by means of a spanner tightened into gripping engagement with each billet and turning the spanner to roll the billet from one face to the next. Because of the ever increasing sizes and weights of billets being produced, manually effected indexing is becoming more dangerous and, as a result, is considered to be no longer acceptable. It will be seen from the foregoing that the method of the invention overcomes this problem.

According to a second aspect of the invention we provide apparatus for angularly indexing articles of the kind specified, comprising a rotatably mounted member provided with a jaw comprising an articlereceiving recess which opens laterally of the rotational axis of said member and is arranged to receive a said article, mechanical means for turning said member angularly about its rotational axis between first and second angular positions in which the jaw is presented in opposite directions and mechanical means for retracting and extending said jaw.

The retraction and extension of the jaw may take place in a plane perpendicular to the axis of turning. In practice, this axis will be generally horizontal and retraction and extension of the jaw is effected by raising and Iowering the jaw. Alternatively retraction and extension of the jaw may take place in a direction parallel to said axis.

Conveniently the jaw is provided with means for providing more positive engagement between each article and the jaw recess during turning and such means may be magnetic, e.g. one or more permanent magnets or electromagnets provided at or adjacent one or more sides of the jaw.

Conveniently said jaw is carried on a mobile carriage which can be traversed alongside a bed or table for supporting the articles generally horizontally with their ends overhanging that side of the bed or table. In one embodiment, said jaw is mounted for limited universal movement with respect to an axis which extends transversely of the designed direction of movement of the mobile carriage so that the jaw can move to accommodate any misalignment between the jaw and the articles to be engaged thereby.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, applicable to indexing square section billets through 90" increments, the jaw recess is defined by a pair of mutually perpendicular faces extending radially of the rotational axis of said jaw so that, in one angular position prior to turning of the billet, the first jaw face is located horizontally so as to support a billet and the second jaw face is vertical and in contact with the then leading face of the billet and, in a second angular position upon completion of the turning movement, the second jaw face is horizontal and beneath the lowermost face of the billet and the first jaw face is vertical and in contact with the then trailing face of the billet.It will be understood that in addition to indexing each billet by 90 , the effect of the turning movement is to separate the billet from the following billets so as to produce a space into which the jaw member can be inserted for cooperation with the next billet to be indexed.

In order to promote further understanding of the invention, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings showing apparatus for indexing of square section billets for the purpose of allowing inspection, and rectification, of any surface flaws in the longitudinal faces of the billet. In the drawings: Figure 1 is an end elevation of the apparatus in which parts thereof are shown in section; Figure 2 is a plan view; and Figure 3 is a rear elevation.

As shown, a batch of billets 10 of the same cross-sectional size is loaded onto a horizontal inspection table or bed 12 so that the billets are in side by side relation with their ends overhanging one side of the inspection table. Inspection of the upwardly presented faces of the billets can be readily made but to inspect their remaining faces, each billet has to be turned through three 90" turns to bring each face uppermost.

Alongside the table, there is provided indexing equipment which comprises a wheeled base 14 adapted to run along rails 16 parallel to said one side of the inspection bed. The base 12 includes a platform area 13 on which an operator can stand. The apparatus can be drawn along the rails 16 by a selectively operable drive motor 15 and associated drive transmission to the one pair of wheels. The motor 15 can be controlled by the operator from a control console 40. A handwheel 17 is also accessible to the operator which is drivingly coupled to the drive wheels so that fine adjustments of the position of the wheeled base can be made independently of the drive motor 15.

A rotary assembly 18 is mounted above the base in suitable bearings so that the axis of rotation of the assembly 18 is directed perpendicularly to said one side of the table and hence perpendicularly to the rails. The assembly 18 comprises a stub shaft 20 connected to an electrically powered indexing motor 22, and a stub shaft 24 coupled at one end to shaft 20 via a universal joint 26 and its other end to a part-spherical member 28 which is mounted within a complementary bearing 30 which allows the member 28 to rotate and also undergo limited universal movements in the manner of a ball joint. A jaw unit 32 extends in cantilever fashion from the member 28 and the jaw unit 32, the rotary assembly 18 and the drive motor 22 are collectively mounted on a platform 34 which is adjustable vertically relative to the base 14 by means of a fluid pressure operated ram 36.The arrangement of the member 28 allows the jaw unit 32 to tilt universally to a limited extent for reasons that will become apparent from the following description.

The jaw unit 32 is fabricated from a pack of mild steel plates each of which is of part circular section as viewed in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation with a segmental cut-out portion 38 of 90" angular extent (see Figure 3). Thus the jaw is defined by first and second mutually perpendicular faces 37, 39 which are radial with respect to the rotational axis and intersect at said axis. A series of electrical coils (not shown) are associated with the plates constituting the jaw unit 32 and can be energised by actuation of a pushbutton 43 located at the end of a handle 42 extending from a fixed housing 44 through which the stub shafts 20, 24 extend. In this way, the plates are magnetised and the jaw unit acts as an electromagnet to positively engage a billet.

The drive motor 22 can be controlled by an operator via the control console 40 so as to turn the jaw unit 32 between a first angular position in which the first jaw face 37 is horizontal and the second jaw face 39 extends vertically upwards and a second angular position displaced through 90" in which the arrangement of the jaw faces is reversed, i.e. said first jaw face 37 extends vertically upwards and the second jaw face 39 is horizontal.By appropriate adjustment of the ram 36 which can be controlled from the control console 40, the height of the jaw unit 32 may be set at a position in which the horizontal face of the jaw (in either position) is generally co-planar with the horizontal supporting surface of the inspection table, i.e. the setting of the ram is such that the rotary axis of the jaw unit 32 lies in the same horizontal plane as the upper surface or surfaces of the inspection table 12. The radial extent of the jaw faces and hence the radius of the plates from which the jaw unit is fabricated is preferably (in the case of square section articles) substantially equal to, or slightly less than, the side dimension of the smallest section billet to be inspected in practice.

In use, the indexing equipment is initially located adjacent one end of the inspection table until the batch has been loaded onto the table. The equipment is then advanced along the rails towards the nearest billet (i.e. the leading billet) with the jaw opening towards the billet and at a suitable height to enable the jaw to embrace the overhanging end of the billet, i.e. so that the jaw contacts the underface and the leading face of the billet. If the billet is not exactly parallel to the turning axis of the jaw unit 32, the pushbutton 43 can be operated to draw the jaw unit and billet into contact. The provision of the ball joint-like arrangement 28, 30 allows for limited tilting of the jaw unit to accommodate misaligned billets.The jaw unit 32 is then indexed by operation of the motor 22 with consequent rotation of the jaw through 90" as aforesaid, thereby turning the leading billet through 90" about its bottom leading edge and moving it in the direction A (see Figure 3) away from the following billet by a distance corresponding to the side dimension of the billet. The effect of this turning movement is to bring another face of the billet into the uppermost position for inspection and to create a space between the leading billet and the next billet. During turning of the billet, the ram 36 may be operated to raise the overhanging end of the billet slightly so that the billet is clear of the table 12 over the major part of its length, thereby facilitating the indexing movement.After the indexing operation has been completed, the billet is lowered onto the bed again by retracting the ram 36 and the jaw unit 32 is rotated back to its initial position by the motor 22. The equipment is then advanced along the rails until the jaw is aligned with the next billet and the whole procedure is then repeated. In this way, the whole batch can be indexed through 900 for inspection of those faces of the billets which are uppermost as a result of the indexing operation. To enable inspection of the remaining faces of the billets, the equipment is returned to said one end of the table and the procedure is repeated twice more until each billet has been indexed a total of three times.

Instead of moving the equipment to align the jaw with each billet, it is conceivable that the equipment might be stationary and the billets advanced into position for cooperation with the jaw, e.g. by means of a walking beam feed arrangement for the billets. Although as described above, the jaw unit is of part-circular configuration, this is not essential; the important factor is that the jaw unit should be of such configuration that it can be turned through 90" whilst operating in the space between two billets.

In the illustrated embodiment, to provide a more positive engagement between the jaw and the billets, the jaw is formed as an electromagnet. However, other means for holding the billets in place may be employed, e.g. the jaw may be provided with one or more permanent magnets or pneumatic suction devices or some form of releasable locking or catch device.

In another embodiment (not shown) the jaw unit can be incorporated in a driver controlled mobile truck or vehicle, the jaw unit projecting from the truck or vehicle and being movable at least angularly. In this instance, the truck or vehicle may be freely mobile, i.e. unrestrained by tracks or the like, and engagement and disengagement of the jaw with each successive billet may be achieved by appropriate manoeuvring of the truck or vehicle and hence there may be no need to provide means for moving the jaw member upwardly and downwardly. For example, in the case of a freely mobile truck, after turning of a given billet, the jaw may be drawn clear of that billet by backing the truck away from the end of the billet. The truck can then be manoeuvred to bring the jaw member into position for indexing the next billet.

The invention is described above with particular reference to square section billets but it is to be understood that it is applicable not only to billets of other cross-sections but to other articles, e.g. I-beams.

In the latter case, the I-beam may be indexed through 90" turns so that, in one position, the beam is supported on the edges of its flanges with the central web of the beam presented uppermost and, in the next position, the beam rests on one of its flat faces with the other flat face uppermost.

The jaw unit will, of course, be modified according to the shape of the articles to be handled and, in each instance, the jaw will, in effect, act as a scoop as it indexes the article angularly from one position to the other.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: - 1. A method of angular indexing a batch or articles of the kind described located in side by side relation on a supporting surface with one face thereof or one pair of longitudinal edges resting on said surface, said method comprising embracing the article (hereinafter called the leading article) at the one end of the batch within a rotatable jaw comprising an articlereceiving recess which opens laterally of the rotational axis of the jaw and is arranged to receive a said article, mechanically rotating the jaw so that the article turns about the leading longitudinal edge of said one pair of edges or said one face, or an axis parallel thereto, until an adjacent pair of edges or face of the article is presented towards said supporting surface, mechanically withdrawing the jaw from the leading article and repeating the procedure for the next article and so on.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1, in which the articles are supported on said surface with at least one end overhanging the surface and the jaw is arranged to embrace the overhanging end portions of the articles.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, in which the jaw engaged end of the article is lifted out of contact with the supporting surface during turning.

4. A method as claimed in Claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5. Apparatus for angularly indexing articles of the kind specified comprising a rotatably mounted member provided with a jaw comprising an article-receiving recess which opens laterally of the rotational axis of said member and is arranged to receive a said article, mechanical means for turning said member angular about its rotational axis between first and second angular positions in which the jaw recess is presented in opposite directions and mechanical means for retracting said jaw member.

6. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 5, in which extension and retraction of the jaw takes place in a plane perpendicular to the axis of turning.

7. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 5, in which extension and retraction of the jaw takes place in a direction parallel to the axis of turning.

8. Apparatus as claimed in Claims 5, 6 or 7, in which said jaw is carried on a mobile carriage.

9. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, in which said carriage is arranged to be traversed alongside a bed or table for supporting the articles generally horizontally with their ends overhanging that side of the bed or table.

10. Apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 5-9, in which the jaw recess is defined by a pair of mutually perpendicular faces extending radially of the rotational axis of said jaw so that, in one angular position prior to turning of the billet, the first jaw face is located horizontally so as to support a billet and the second jaw face is vertical and in contact with the then leading face of the billet and, in a second angular position upon completion of the turning movement, the second jaw face is horizontal and beneath the lowermost face of the billet and the first jaw face is vertical and in contact with the then trailing face of the billet.

11. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, or Claim 9 or 10 as appendant to Claim 8 in which said jaw is mounted for limited universal movement with respect to an axis which extends transversely of the designed direction of movement of the mobile carriage so that the jaw can move to accommodate any misalignment betwen the jaw and the articles to be engaged thereby.

I2. Apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 5-11, in which the jaw is provided with means for providing more positive engagement between each article and the jaw recess during turning.

13. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 12 in which the jaw is formed as a selectively operable electromagnet.

14. Apparatus for handling articles of the kind specified, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawing.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. beam presented uppermost and, in the next position, the beam rests on one of its flat faces with the other flat face uppermost. The jaw unit will, of course, be modified according to the shape of the articles to be handled and, in each instance, the jaw will, in effect, act as a scoop as it indexes the article angularly from one position to the other. WHAT WE CLAIM IS: -

1. A method of angular indexing a batch or articles of the kind described located in side by side relation on a supporting surface with one face thereof or one pair of longitudinal edges resting on said surface, said method comprising embracing the article (hereinafter called the leading article) at the one end of the batch within a rotatable jaw comprising an articlereceiving recess which opens laterally of the rotational axis of the jaw and is arranged to receive a said article, mechanically rotating the jaw so that the article turns about the leading longitudinal edge of said one pair of edges or said one face, or an axis parallel thereto, until an adjacent pair of edges or face of the article is presented towards said supporting surface, mechanically withdrawing the jaw from the leading article and repeating the procedure for the next article and so on.