JPS5935294B2 - Accumulator for accumulating strip material - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Background of the Invention This invention relates to a strip accumulator for use in continuous process lines where minimal adjustment is required to use the accumulator for strip material of varying width.

More particularly, the present invention relates to an accumulator having an arbor installed at an angle, the angle being such that the centerline of the strip of all sizes as the strip exits the accumulator toward the process line. The method is adjustable to maintain the same position. Many industrial process lines utilize strip material, such as metallic strip material, as manual labor and require that the strip be continuously fed to the process line.

In practice, the strip is unwound from the coil until it is empty. Since it is highly undesirable to shut down the process line every time the coil is empty, a strip accumulator, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,210, receives the same amount of strip from the input coil and holds or Developments have been made to store the strip while simultaneously dispensing the so-retained strip into a process line. Such an accumulator may thus be fitted with a new man-power coil, such as by welding, to keep the process line active until the new man-power coil is just emptied. ing. During a normal working day or week,
It often happens that process lines use strips of different widths.

Significant alignment problems arise when using the prior art accumulators known to us when it is desired to vary the width of the strip. Essentially all stripping process lines are designed to receive strip material along the centerline of the width of the strip material. The strip that exits the accumulator in this manner must exit at a point such that the centerline of the width of the strip is aligned with the process equipment. To accomplish this requirement, prior art accumulators have positioned the centerline of the width of the coil so that the strip is fed into the accumulator from the coil and exits the process equipment in a straight line. This requires complex adjustments to the position of the coil each time the width of the coil is changed to ensure that the coil is properly centered with respect to the accumulator. Adjustable rewinders are available for this purpose, but unwinders are very expensive and are often difficult and time consuming to properly adjust. Many process lines utilize a decoupler with the end of the strip resting against a guide device to guide the strip into an accumulator.

In this case, utilizing the currently existing accumulator, when the strip leaves the accumulator it is not properly centered and certain centering adjustments must be made. Machines specifically designed to center the strip were available at some cost, or the process line could be separated some distance from the accumulator and de-energizer, allowing the strip to properly center the line. It was possible to form a twisted, loose ring before entering the ring.

These alternative methods of centering the strips are undesirable for a number of reasons. Because the first VC line is so spread out, expensive additional floor space is always required.
Next, centering and guiding devices are required. And finally, these alternative centering systems do not always operate efficiently. It does not operate efficiently, especially when high speed or increasing pitch feeding is involved, which is very often the case. US Patent No. 35
There are still other problems with the way strips are ejected from the accumulator in which they currently reside, as shown in the '06210 patent.

In these types of machines, these two sets of helices, the outer and the inner, are separated by a loop that turns between them.
A strip is accumulated by a set of spirals. The strip is conveyed from the inner loop around an arbor or payoff roller to the process line. However, because the strip is moving so fast, the strip does not advance properly around the payoff rollers, resulting in undesirable kinking or other deformation of the strip, and also because the strip does not lie precisely on the accumulator. be prevented from being placed in the SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is thus a primary object of the present invention that strips can be fed to process equipment such that the center of the strip can The point is to provide an accumulator that is aligned with the .

A related object of the present invention is to provide an accumulator as described above which receives a strip of varying width from a coil without requiring adjustment of the position of the coil when varying the width of the strip is desired.

Another object of the invention is to have an extraction arbor installed at an angle with respect to the path of the strip, the angle of installation being adjustable to properly align the center of the strip with the process equipment, as described above. This is because it provides a storage capacity.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an accumulator as described above in which the strip travels properly over and around the removal arbor as the strip travels out of the accumulator. Yet another object of the invention is to provide an accumulator as described above which can be used in high speed strip processing lines without the need for installing strip centering equipment and with a minimum of floor space.

Still another object of the invention is that the strips of all widths are
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for accumulating a strip of material that is fed into an acumulator aligned with a reference point and exits an accumulator aligned with a process line.

The above and other objects of the invention are achieved by the improvements described and claimed in Section 9, which will be apparent from the following description.

Typically, a strip accumulator used in a process line consists of a plurality of outer rollers that receive the strip material and form its outer spiral, and a plurality of outer rollers that receive the strip material and form its outer spiral. and a plurality of inner rollers for receiving the strip.

The strip is then conveyed from the inner rollers over and around a take-off arbor that is placed at an angle to the path of the strip material. The strip can be guided into the accumulator by means of a matching device which sets a reference point. However, depending on the angle of installation of the arbor, the strip
The centerline of its width exits the accumulator in proper alignment with the process equipment. When strips of different widths are used by a process line, they are also guided into the accumulator at the same reference point by a similar terminating device, but the angle of the arbor is adjusted so that The strip also leaves the accumulator properly centered. In addition, a set of discontinuous rollers is provided in a generally spiral path around the arbor to guide the strip over the arbor so that the strip of any width is properly progressed over and around the arbor. will be installed. Thus, according to the method of the invention, two spiral sets of strips are formed which are fed into the accumulator with the strips, whatever their width, in line with the reference point; From the helix, through the circumference of the take-off arbor in the helical path, and at other reference points, the process
It is transported to the line. The other reference point is a point that is aligned with the center line of the process line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS In accordance with the invention, an accumulator having novel features is schematically depicted in FIG.
Overall indicated by 0. In its preferred form, the accumulator 10 is of the type described in detail in U.S. Pat. It is stated in the specification.

However, the invention described herein may utilize many accumulator devices well known in the art. Accumulator 10 receives strip S from an unwinder (not shown) which supports the coil of strip S.

This strip S may be made of any material and of any size, but is generally a metallic material. Typically, the unwinder or other device includes a positioning device, such as the end guide device shown schematically in FIG. 1, for feeding the strip into the accumulator at a particular or reference point.
Although it is convenient for the accumulator 10 of the present invention to accept strips of any width with only one end of the strip aligned with the guide, if desired it is possible to center the strip S into the accumulator. It should be understood that it is also possible to supply Accumulator 10 includes a base or face member 11, which preferably stands substantially vertically.

However, the member 11 can be tilted or placed horizontally to support the remaining structure of the accumulator. A plurality of drive wheels 12, in operation, pull the strip S from the de-energizer to the accumulator. The strip is conveyed past the guiding device and the support roller 13, which is also driven by 1 or instead of the wheel 12 (V) 1fC to form an outer loop of the strip material. The outer ends of the loops are defined by a plurality of outer basket rollers 14. The strip material travels around the outer basket rollers 14 and forms a loose loop 15 when it faces a set of rollers 16. a set of rollers 1
6 together form an inner basket or loop of strip material. The speed of the strip S to the accumulator 10 to perform its storage function is generally faster than the speed of the strip from the accumulator to the process line. In this way, the outer helix 18 of the strip S is accumulated with strips constantly being fed to its outside, and the inner helix 19 of the strip S is replaced by the outer helix 18 by the orbital movement of the loop 15. It is accumulated by receiving the strip from the inside. Due to the demands of almost always continuous process lines, the inner strip of inner spiral 19 is conveyed around the removal arbor assembly, generally designated by the reference numeral 20; It is then guided to the process line by rollers 21. Regardless of how the strip is supplied to the storage unit 10? Depending on the construction of the arbor 20 described below, the strips may be centered or placed on an end guide. The strip exits the accumulator 10 at a different reference point than that set by the end guide, but is preferably centered so that it is received directly by the process line. Details of the arbor assembly 20 are best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The support bracket 23 has an upright flange 24 fixed to the face member 11 and a flange 25 extending behind it with an elongated strut 26 inserted therebetween. Flange 25 has a hole for receiving pivot pin 28. Arbor support member 29 is rotatably supported on pivot pin 28 and extends through a slot or other suitable hole 30 in face member 11. The arbor support member 29 terminates at its inner end as a tongue 31 to which is fixedly welded an arbor body, designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 32. Arbor body 32 is a generally hollow member having a cylindrical inner surface 33 (FIG. 4) that forms and engages a socket and is welded to tongue 31. The outer surface of the arbor 32 is the second
As best shown in the figure, it is generally polygonal in nature, having thirteen generally flat sides, labeled A through M in the figure. A circular support plate 35 is installed on the front side of the arbor body 32, and the circular support plate 35 is fitted inside and fixed to the circular surface 33 of the body 32. Adjustment support plate 36 is bolted or otherwise attached to support plate 3
5 and supporting an adjustment assembly indicated generally by the reference numeral 40. Frame 41 supports a pin 42 having a threaded radial hole therethrough. Hole 43 receives a threaded portion 44 of an adjusting bolt 45, which has a head 46 which rests on prong 48. Bolt 45 extends slidably through block 48, and the relative position of bolt 45 and block 48 is maintained by retaining ring 49.
The block 48 is the structural framework of the accumulator 30 (
(not shown) is rotatably supported by a square iron 50.

A pin 51, which is welded or otherwise attached to block 48, passes through square iron 50. The pin 51 has at its lower end a threaded nipple for receiving a nut 53, which is tightened against a collar 54 forming a bearing surface. As will be discussed in more detail below, rotation of bolt 45 pushes or pulls pin 42 along threaded portion 44 of the bolt, causing arbor body 32 to pivot about pin 28.

Of course, at the same time the lock 48 and the pin 51 rotate, preventing the bolt 45 from becoming undesirably stuck. In order to guide the strip material helically around the arbor member 20, a set of rollers, each indicated generally by the reference numeral 60, is provided, and this roller group is shown in FIG. It is installed on the arbor surface J surface from arbor surfaces 34A to 34L in a spiral shape.

Each roller group is identical and can be 9 in number. Its structure is best shown in FIG. 5, which shows a set of idler rollers 61A.
, 61B, 61C and 61D. Although the number and size of rollers in each group is not critical to this invention, wide strips should have a width of at least 2.
Inch (5,08c!RL)? Multiple rollers on top are required. and three or four rollers approximately 4 inches (10.16) in diameter and 2 inches wide;
It has been found that it may be suitable for inducing medium sized strips of material up to 2 inches (30.48C!TL)O wide.

Each roller 61 has a shaft 62, which shaft 62 or roller 61A is connected to the upright branch 63 of the corner end bracket 64.
The second branch 65 of the corner end bracket is attached to the arbor surface 34 by bolts 66 or the like. Intermediate corner brackets 68 are provided between rollers 61A and 61B, between 61B and 61C, and between 61C and 61D. Each bracket 68 includes an upright branch 69 and a second angular branch 70 which is connected to the arbor surface 3 by a bolt 71 or the like.
It is attached to 4. Each upright branch 69 is adapted to support two shafts 62 for rollers 61 adjacent to it. The corner end bracket 72 is connected to the roller 61
D includes an upright branch 74 that supports the axis 62 of the D and a second branch 74 that is attached to the arbor surface 34 by bolts 75 or the like. The thrust washers 76 can be provided between the respective brackets 64, 68, and 72 and the rollers 61A to 61D adjacent thereto, allowing the rollers to rotate easily around the shaft 62. The manner in which rollers 60 are placed on arbor surface 34 is important to the direction of strip material around arbor 32.

As shown in FIG. 5, bolts 66, 71 and 75 lie on a line 80 parallel to the axis of arbor 32. As shown in FIG. The plane passing through the axis of the arbor 32 and the line defined by the bolts 66, 71 and 75 will be perpendicular to the outer surface 34 on which the roller group 60 is mounted. However, the axis of roller 61 is at an angle to the line defined by bolts 66, 71 and 75, and also to the axis of arbor 32. This angle is indicated by α in Figure 5, and is 11
9 for 15 minutes, which is designed to apply a wide range of strip material, as will be explained below. As best shown in FIG. 3, the roller group 60 is mounted on the surface 34 of the arbor 32 so that the generally helical path of the strip material is contiguous.

Although there are 13 surfaces 34A to 34M, surface 34A supports two groups 60 as shown in the bottom view of FIG. 3, and the remaining nine surfaces 34B to 34M support one each.
14 roller groups 60 are required.

For convenience, a group 6 such as a bracket and its kind
Details of 0 are shown only for the group on surface 34A;
It should be understood that all groups are the same as those shown in FIG. In this way, as the strip S approaches the arbor 32 (from the left side of FIG. 3), it first contacts the group 60A on the surface 34A and then the group 60A on the surface 34B.
It contacts the upper group 60B and exits the accumulator 10 by passing through groups 60C to 60M and a second group, 60'A, on surface 34A. As already mentioned, the arbor 32 is usually placed at an angle with respect to the face 11 of the accumulator 10. This allows the strip to move in a generally helical path on the arbor 32. This angle B is shown in Figures 3 and 4, and the pitch of the spiral is determined by this angle.
If a larger angle B were provided, the pitch of the helix would be greater 9 and the strip S would move further axially along the arbor 32. If a strip with a constant edge is fed into the accumulator 10 and the arbor 32, then by adjusting the angle B the strip can be fed into the arbor with its centerline constant, regardless of its width. It is said that it is possible to leave 32.

For example, as shown by the solid line in Figure 4, if angle B is approximately 10 degrees (9 degrees 55 minutes 43 seconds to be exact), a 10 inch (25.4 CT!L) wide strip will cut the arbor. It will be centered upon exit. The effective diameter of the arbor, ie, the diameter of the arbor body 32 and roller group 60, is 24 inches (60.96 CTIL)9, and is a function of the size of the strip. If 4 inches (10.160ffL) is shown in the dashed line in Figure 4,
) if the same arbor is used for the strips of
It will be increased to seconds. This enlarges the pitch of the spiral so that the center of the 4 inch strip is 1
An additional 3 inches (7.6 inches) from the center of the 0 inch strip.
2CI! L) Can be moved down 9, the strip will be centered. This is necessary to maintain good centerline alignment. The axis of the roller 61 is approximately perpendicular to the path of the strip, i.e.
Since it is desirable that 1 be approximately in line with the strip, the angle α should be designed and selected according to the range of strips that may be used in a particular accumulator and within the range of angle B. It is. Thus, in the situation presented here, the angle α is 11 degrees 15
selected in minutes.

This would be acceptable for the 4 inch to 10 inch wide strip shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the strip is perfectly aligned with the roller 61 only when the angle α is equal to the angle B, and as long as the roller is approximately aligned with the next strip, several degrees of the roller 61. can be tolerated. As shown in FIG. 3, when the strip S approaches any of the roller groups 60, it first contacts roller 61A, followed by rollers 61B, 61C and 61 of the respective groups.
Due to the precisely positioned rollers in contact with D and the angle B of the arbor 32, the strip S travels further in a helical path and finally exits into the process equipment. Because of the adjustment of angle B, the strip is guided at its end into arbor 32.
Although the arbor assembly 20 already described is particularly useful in situations where the arbor assembly 20 is centered by The device described above will also work satisfactorily if the position is determined by means of .

The accumulator made in accordance with the present invention allows the use of strips of various widths with only minimal adjustment in accordance with the objectives of the present invention, and this accumulator represents a sufficient inventive step. It's obvious.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a schematic front view of a strip accumulator according to the concept of the invention; FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the end of the take-off arbor as schematically shown in FIG. 1 in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the take-off arbor; FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the extraction arbor substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of the extraction arbor depicting the use of two strips of different widths; FIG. 4 is a detailed plan view of one group of rollers on the arbor shown in FIGS. 2 and 3; 10...Accumulator, 16--set of rollers 18
...Outer spiral, 19...Inner spiral, 20...
Extraction arbor assembly, 28... Pivot pin, 32
...Arbor body, 34...Outer surface of arbor body 32...Adjustment support plate, 40...Adjustment assembly, 42
... Pin, 44 ... Threaded portion of adjustment bolt 45, 45 ... Adjustment bolt, 60 ... A set of roller groups, 61 ... A set of idle rollers, 62 ... shaft.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 An accumulator for accumulating strip material in a process line, comprising: means for receiving said strip and forming an outer set of spirals of said strip; and means for receiving said strip from said outer set of spirals; , means for forming an inner set of helices in the strip: arbor means for receiving the strip from said inner set of helices and spiraling it around before the strip is transferred to the process line; arbor means having an axis at an angle to the path of the strip when receiving the strip from the inner set of helices; attached to the outer surface of the arbor means; roller group means for forming a path and means for adjusting said angle of the axis of the arbor means relative to the path of the strip to maintain the exit path of the strip in alignment with said process line; An accumulator characterized by: