GB1580590A - Machine for manufacturing lenghts of flat steel slivers from coiled steel strips - Google Patents

Description

(54) MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING LENGTHS OF FLAT STEEL SLIVERS FROM COILED STEEL STRIPS (71) We, HAFLA BRUKS AKTIEBOLAG, a Swedish Body Corporate of Hävla, S-610 14 Rejmyre, Sweden, 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 particu larly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a machine for the manufacture of lengths of flat steel slivers, especially lengths of flat steel slivers for floor gratings, from steel strips in coils.

In the manufacture of floor gratings, in which several parallel flat steel slivers placed on edge are fed into an automatic projection welding machine in which transverse woof pieces are welded fast to the flat steel slivers, up to now flat steel slivers have been used which were rolled one by one into long lengths with the desired width and thickness from a blank and then cut into shorter lengths. The production of flat steel slivers in this manner requires extensive handling as well as packeting and transportation, making it relatively expensive.

Manufacturing floor gratings in several different dimensions requires stocks of several different dimensions of flat steel slivers, which increases costs even further.

The purpose of the present invention is to achieve a machine for the manufacture of flat steel slivers from coiled steel strip, which is especially intended to be connected to an automatic projection welding machine to weld floor gratings, and which is easily adjusted for different sliver widths, thereby making possible the manufacture of less expensive flat slivers, and eliminating the need for stocking different dimensions of.

This is achieved according to the invention by means of a machine which has a cutting arrangement with sets of interacting cutting tools for longitudinal cutting of a horizontal strip unrolled from a coil into a plurality of horizontal slivers, a turning arrangement with a plurality of sets of profiled rollers working in pairs for tipping the slivers up into an edge-up position, a stretching and cutting arrangement with first and second spaced jaws displaceable relative to one another in the longitudinal direction of the slivers for clamping and stretching of the vertical slivers and with a cutting device, disposed between the jaws, for cutting off lengths of the stretched slivers, and a feeder means with feeder rollers for advancing the strip from the coil to the longitudinal cutting arrangement and feeding the slivers through the turning device and the stretched ing and cutting arrangement.

The invention is described in more detail here with reference to an example shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a schematic side view of an embodiment of a machine according to the invention, Fig. 2 a cross-section along the line II-II in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 a frontal view of a pair of rollers in the turning device, Fig. 4 a partially cut-away frontal view of one of the stretching jaws, Fig. 5, a partially cutaway frontal view of the cutting device, Fig.

6a a view along the line VI-VI in Fig. 1 illustrating a packeting means for receiving and depositing the cut flat steel slivers, with the means shown in the receiving position, Fig. 6b a view corresponding to Fig. 6a but in the depositing position, and Fig. 7 a detail view along the line VII-VII in Fig.

1 of a member interacting with the packeting means.

At the left-hand end of Fig. 1, 1 designates a steel strip which is unrolled from a strip coil (not shown). The coil can be journalled on double conical coiler, known per se, with an hydraulically driven feeder roller, which advances the strip 1 by pressure on the periphery of the strip coil.

The machine in the example is intended for strips with dimensions of about 300 x 300 mm, which are delivered in coils weighing about 3 tons and with an external diameter of about 1350 mm.

From the strip coil, the strip is fed through equipment for square-cutting and joint-welding to a first pair of hydraulically driven feeder rollers 2 and from these to a hydraulically driven longitudinal cutting means 3, which comprises cutting tools 4, mounted in pairs, which are mounted on removable sleeves to make quick replacement possible. The machine will be described in the following, adapted for the production of 50 mm wide slivers, with the longitudinal cutting device 3 having three cutting tools 4 on each sleeve. In readjusting the machine for the production of 25 mm wide slivers for example, the sleeves with three cutting tools are replaced by sleeves with six cutting tools per sleeve.

After the longitudinal cutting arrangement 3, there is an additional pair of hydraulically driven feeder rollers 5, which feed the strip cut into slivers 6 into a turning arrangement 7, which in the embodiment shown comprises four pairs of grooved turning rollers 8, but which can have more or less than four pairs of such rollers 8. A pair of rollers is shown in detail in Fig. 3. As can be seen, each roller 8 has V-shaped grooves 9 in its surface, so that six pairs of cooperating inclined surfaces 10 are formed. The slope of the surfaces 10 increases successively from the left-hand to the right-hand pair of rollers (as seen in Fig. 1), so that slivers 6 fed between the cooperating surfaces 10 are successively tipped up from a horizontal to a vertical position. After the rollers 8, there is a schematically indicated initial guide 11 to direct the ends of the slivers 6 into a stretching and cutting arrangement. The initial guide 11 can consist of a plurality of spaced, adjacent, vertical, rotatable shafts, or of a pair of horizontal, grooved rollers, between which the vertical slivers are fed.

The stretching and cutting arrangement has a first stationary member 13 which comprises an I-beam 15 supported by two frames 14; and a member 16 which is longitudinally displaceable relative to the stationary member. This displacable member 16 comprises two box girders 17,18 jointed to one another. The right-hand end of the girder 17 rests on a roller 20 journalled in a frame 19, while its left-hand end rests on a roller 21 which is journalled sin the right-hand end of the stationary I-beam 15. With the aid of a pair of powerful hydraulic cylinders 22 mounted on the I-beam 15, a displacement of the girders 17,18 is achieved relative to the beam 15.

At the left-hand end of the beam 15 there is a first stretching jaw 23 ridigly mounted.

The stretching jaw 23, which is shown in more detail in Fig. 4, has sixteen plates 25 displacably mounted on a shaft 24, with cup springs 26 disposed between said plates so as to form fifteen slots 27 between the plates. Thus a maximum of fifteen slivers 6 can be inserted from the initial guide 11 into the stretching jaw. When only six slivers are inserted, the nine superfluous slots are blocked by placing steel plates therein. The plates 25 are pressed together with the aid of a hydraulic piston-cylinder device 28 to tightly clamp the slivers.

The underside of the beam has a plurality of sets of sliver guides attached thereto.

Each set consists of spaced steel plates 30 placed on edge, between which the slivers are guided. The steel plates 30 are fastened to the beam 15 by means of end pieces 31, the left-hand ends of which in Fig. 1 being arrow-shaped. Under the guides there are a plurality of rollers 32 on which the undersides of the slivers rest while being conveyed.

A device 35 for cutting the slivers into lengths is mounted on the left-hand end of the movable girder 18 of the stretching and cutting arrangement 12. This cutting device 35, which is shown in more detail in Fig. 5, has a yoke 36 fastened to the girder 18, which yoke has a first cutter 37 which is in the embodiment shown has six cutting edges 38 for cutting six slivers into lengths. A second corresponding cutter 39 is fastened to a member 40 which is displacable relative to the yoke 36. The slivers are cut by displacing the cutter 39 with a hydraulic piston-cylinder arrangement 41 on the yoke. The cutters 37,39 are screwed onto the yoke and member 40 for easy and rapid replacement when the machine is to be reset for another dimension of sliver.

On the underside of the girder 18, approximately halfway between its two ends, there is a second stretching jaw 42, which is identical to the stretching jaw 23 described above. Furthermore there are a plurality of sets of guides, which are made of plates 43 and end pieces 44. Under the guides there are a number of rotatably journalled rollers 45, whose shafts are fixed to a shaft 46 running parallel to the girder 18. Said shaft 46 is rotatably journalled in a plurality of supporting arms 47 joined to the girder 18, and the rotation or turning is achieved by hydraulic cylinders (not shown), so that the rollers 45 can be tipped down from the horizontal poistion shown in Figs.

1 and 6zz to the position shown with dashdot lines in Fig. 6a, which will be described further on.

The working cycle of the machine begins as was described previously with the strip 1 being cut in the longitudinal cutting arrangement 3 into a number of horizontal slivers 6 which depends on the sliver dimension selected (six slivers in the example shown).

After passing the turning arrangement 7, when a new dimension is initiated, the ends of the vertical slivers are inserted into the first stretching jaw 23 and are fed through the cutting device 35 to the second stretching jaw 42 which clamps the ends of the slivers. At the same time, the slivers are also clamped by the first stretching jaw 23.

Starting from the position of the stretching and cutting arrangement 12 shown in Fig.

1, the piston-cylinder means 22 are now activated so that the girders 17,18 with the stretching jaw 42 and the other equipment are displaced to the right in Fig. 1. The length of the displacement is selected to be so long that the portion of the slivers lying between the jaws are stretched about 6-8%. Thus the slivers are straightened at the same time as the strain achieves a cold working which increases the yield point of the material. It should be observed that the jaws 23,42 work with a pressure of about 500 atmospheres, which is relatively low in this context, but which is entirely sufficient due to the fact that the tipping up and clamping of the slivers 6 in the vertical poistion causes each sliver to the subjected to the entire available force.

After stretching, the ends of the slivers 6 are advanced to the desired distance from the cutting device 35, and the slivers are cut off. This applies as above to the first work cycle, e.g. when a new dimension is begun. Before the jaws can release, however, the hydraulic cylinders 22 must be gradually released somewhat. Otherwise the tension of the slivers would subject the entire machine to a powerful shock if the jaws were to suddenly release their grip on the slivers or if the slivers were to be cut. The gradual release of the hydraulic cylinders is achieved by means of hydraulic valves in a manner which is known per se (not shown in detail here) to eliminate the shock effect which could damage the machine.

The described first work cycle up to and including the transverse cutting is monitored and controlled by a machine operator. The machine is, however, designed to be able to work automatically. After setting the desired sliver length on a length measuring instrument, the automatic system can be turned on, and subsequent work cycles will be carried out automatically. When the strip is used up, the operation is shut down, by a photocell for example, which senses the end of the strip.

The pieces cut off from the strip slivers 6 are dumped down onto a packeting arrangement disposed below, generally designated 50, by rotating the shaft 46 so that the rollers 45 on which the steel pieces rest assume the position shown in Fig. 6a with dash-dot lines. The packeting arrangement 50, shown in more detail in Figs. 6a and 6b, has inclined rails 51 rigidly joined to the supporting arms 47 and movable rails 52, which in the position shown in Fig. 6a form an extension of the rigidly connected rails 51. The movable rails 52 are rotatably journalled on arms 53, which are in turn rigidly joined to a shaft 54 rotatably journalled in the supporting arms 47. The turning of the shaft 54 is controlled by hydraulic cylinders (not shown). The rails 52 are connected to links 55,56,57 in such a way that turning the shaft 54, and thereby the arms 53, to the position shown in Fig.

6b causes the rails 52 to tip up into the vertical position for depositing the three indicated packets of slivers onto a conveyor (not shown).

In order to keep the slivers from falling over when the rollers 45 are tipped down and the slivers are placed on the inclined rails 51,52, a comb-like member 60 (see Fig.

7) is journalled on the shaft 46. The rails are divided at at least one location along the.r length so as to form a transverse opening, the comb-like member being disposed in the opening and being swingable out of the opening to a downwardly directed position when the rollers 45 are tipped to their downwardly directed position. The comblike member can be swung up again into the opening while the rollers remain in their downwardly directed position. This assures that the slivers, which when tipped down rest in the spaces 61 between the teeth 62 of the member 60, will not fall over but will be placed on edge on the inclined rails 51,52.

The right-hand portions (as seen in Fig. 1) of the slivers thus slide down on the rails 51,52 and lie in a stack against the outer stops 63 on the rails 52. When the member 60 is then tipped down under the rollers, all of the slivers will lie in an ordered stack against the stops 63. Only then are the rollers 45 and the member 60 tipped back up again, so that new slivers can be advanced.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A machine for the manufacture of lengths of flat steel slivers, especially lengths of flat steel slivers for floor gratings, from a coiled steel strip which machine comprises a cutting arrangement with sets of interacting cutting tools for longitudinal cutting of a horizontal strip unrolled from the coil into a plurality of horizontal slivers, a turning arrangement with a plurality of sets of profiled rollers working in pairs for tipping the slivers up into an edge-up position, a stretching and cutting arrangement with first and second spaced jaws displaceable relative to one another in the longitudinal direction of the slivers for clamping

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

Claims (1)

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

   6 which depends on the sliver dimension selected (six slivers in the example shown).

   After passing the turning arrangement 7, when a new dimension is initiated, the ends of the vertical slivers are inserted into the first stretching jaw 23 and are fed through the cutting device 35 to the second stretching jaw 42 which clamps the ends of the slivers. At the same time, the slivers are also clamped by the first stretching jaw 23.

   Starting from the position of the stretching and cutting arrangement 12 shown in Fig.

   1, the piston-cylinder means 22 are now activated so that the girders 17,18 with the stretching jaw 42 and the other equipment are displaced to the right in Fig. 1. The length of the displacement is selected to be so long that the portion of the slivers lying between the jaws are stretched about 6-8%. Thus the slivers are straightened at the same time as the strain achieves a cold working which increases the yield point of the material. It should be observed that the jaws 23,42 work with a pressure of about 500 atmospheres, which is relatively low in this context, but which is entirely sufficient due to the fact that the tipping up and clamping of the slivers 6 in the vertical poistion causes each sliver to the subjected to the entire available force.

   After stretching, the ends of the slivers 6 are advanced to the desired distance from the cutting device 35, and the slivers are cut off. This applies as above to the first work cycle, e.g. when a new dimension is begun. Before the jaws can release, however, the hydraulic cylinders 22 must be gradually released somewhat. Otherwise the tension of the slivers would subject the entire machine to a powerful shock if the jaws were to suddenly release their grip on the slivers or if the slivers were to be cut. The gradual release of the hydraulic cylinders is achieved by means of hydraulic valves in a manner which is known per se (not shown in detail here) to eliminate the shock effect which could damage the machine.

   The described first work cycle up to and including the transverse cutting is monitored and controlled by a machine operator. The machine is, however, designed to be able to work automatically. After setting the desired sliver length on a length measuring instrument, the automatic system can be turned on, and subsequent work cycles will be carried out automatically. When the strip is used up, the operation is shut down, by a photocell for example, which senses the end of the strip.

   The pieces cut off from the strip slivers 6 are dumped down onto a packeting arrangement disposed below, generally designated 50, by rotating the shaft 46 so that the rollers 45 on which the steel pieces rest assume the position shown in Fig. 6a with dash-dot lines. The packeting arrangement 50, shown in more detail in Figs. 6a and 6b, has inclined rails 51 rigidly joined to the supporting arms 47 and movable rails 52, which in the position shown in Fig. 6a form an extension of the rigidly connected rails 51. The movable rails 52 are rotatably journalled on arms 53, which are in turn rigidly joined to a shaft 54 rotatably journalled in the supporting arms 47. The turning of the shaft 54 is controlled by hydraulic cylinders (not shown). The rails 52 are connected to links 55,56,57 in such a way that turning the shaft 54, and thereby the arms 53, to the position shown in Fig.

   6b causes the rails 52 to tip up into the vertical position for depositing the three indicated packets of slivers onto a conveyor (not shown).

   In order to keep the slivers from falling over when the rollers 45 are tipped down and the slivers are placed on the inclined rails 51,52, a comb-like member 60 (see Fig.

   7) is journalled on the shaft 46. The rails are divided at at least one location along the.r length so as to form a transverse opening, the comb-like member being disposed in the opening and being swingable out of the opening to a downwardly directed position when the rollers 45 are tipped to their downwardly directed position. The comblike member can be swung up again into the opening while the rollers remain in their downwardly directed position. This assures that the slivers, which when tipped down rest in the spaces 61 between the teeth 62 of the member 60, will not fall over but will be placed on edge on the inclined rails 51,52.

   The right-hand portions (as seen in Fig. 1) of the slivers thus slide down on the rails 51,52 and lie in a stack against the outer stops 63 on the rails 52. When the member 60 is then tipped down under the rollers, all of the slivers will lie in an ordered stack against the stops 63. Only then are the rollers 45 and the member 60 tipped back up again, so that new slivers can be advanced.

   WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A machine for the manufacture of lengths of flat steel slivers, especially lengths of flat steel slivers for floor gratings, from a coiled steel strip which machine comprises a cutting arrangement with sets of interacting cutting tools for longitudinal cutting of a horizontal strip unrolled from the coil into a plurality of horizontal slivers, a turning arrangement with a plurality of sets of profiled rollers working in pairs for tipping the slivers up into an edge-up position, a stretching and cutting arrangement with first and second spaced jaws displaceable relative to one another in the longitudinal direction of the slivers for clamping

   and stretching the vertical slivers and with a cutting device, disposed between the jaws, for cutting off lengths of the stretched slivers, and a feeder means with feeder rollers for advancing the strip from the coil to the longitudinal cutting arrangement and feeding the slivers through the turning device and the stretching and cutting arrangement.

   2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the stretching and cutting arrangement comprises a stationary beam construction and a girder construction disposed to be longitudinally movable relative to said stationary beam construction, said movable girder construction being displacable by means of a hydraulic piston-cylinder means acting between the beam and girder constructions, the first jaw being disposed on the underside of the stationary beam construction and the other jaws and the transverse cutting device being disposed on the underside of the movable girder construction.

   3. A machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein both the beam and the girder constructions have on their undersides guides for the slivers in the form of parallel longitudinal spaced rails, and that a plurality of transverse horizontal rollers are arranged immediately beneath the rails to carry the slivers.

   4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein the rollers on the movable girder construction are arranged to be tippable between a horizontal position and a downwardly directed position to release the slivers from the spaces between the rails.

   5. A machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein the movable girder construction has a packeting arrangement beneath the guiding rails which comprises an inclined plane for receiving the slivers when the rollers are tipped down to the downwardly directed position, said inclined plane being formed of a plurality of fixed rails and a plurality of movable rails, said movable rails being able to be tipped from an inclined position as an extension of the stationary rails into a vertical position.

   6. A machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein the guide rails are divided at at least one location along their length so as to form a transverse opening, and that a comb-like member with slots corresponding to the spaces between the guide rails is disposed in the opening and is swingable out of the opening to a downwardly directed position when the rollers are tipped to their downwardly directed position and can be swung up again into the opening while the rollers remain in their downwardly directed position.

   7. A machine for the manufacture of lengths of flat steel slivers substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.