RU2644088C9 - Horizontal accumulator of strip with thin carriages for supporting strips and passive central trailer system - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: metallurgy.

SUBSTANCE: horizontal accumulator of strip contains a loop-forming carriage and a plurality of carriages for supporting strips (2). The loop-forming carriage is movable along the pair of outer rails (5). The carriage (2) for supporting the strip comprises a vertical frame (3) arranged on two wheels (4) capable of moving along the same outer rails (5). The vertical frame (3) is connected to each side of the strip with inclined shelves (8). The inclined shelves (8) are provided with guide cam rollers (12) movable in respective guide profiles or beams (9). The beams (9) are located under the rails (5) for guiding the carriage (2) for supporting the strip on the outer rails (5) in anti-tipping fashion.

EFFECT: decrease of calculated volume of the accumulator in the least possible way.

15 cl, 4 dwg

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The present invention relates to the field of horizontal strip drives with strip-supporting carriages that can be mounted on a flat horizontal platform.

[002] The invention further relates to a strip support carriage having a small size and provided with a rollover preventing system, as well as a passive central clutch / uncouple system for hitching and uncoupling a strip support carriage located at designated locations and provided with a holding system at these locations when uncoupling.

[003] The present invention is intended for use in continuous strip processing lines, for example, pickling lines, continuous milling, cold rolling tandem mills with a two-phase pickling line (PLTCM), continuous heat treatment lines for rolled products, plating, tin coating, coating pigmentation, anodizing, polishing and other metal processing lines. There is also the potential use of the present invention in continuous processing lines in the manufacture of plastics or fabrics.

State of the art

[004] There is an increasing demand for horizontal strip drives with strip support carriages, because they are more reliable than drives with roller pass, and also because they do not adversely affect the strip even under adverse conditions.

[005] Drives, for example, those used in the context of the present invention, contain several parts: on the one hand, fixed rollers, feeding and removing strips from the drive, on the other hand, the drive carriage, made with the possibility of movement on rails. The carriage of the drive forms loops for the accumulation of the strip. The forward direction usually corresponds to such a movement when the carriage increases the loop of the strip. Backward movement is carried out with the reduction of loops. The force required to increase the loop of the strip is usually transmitted by means of a winch, rope and a system of blocks attached to the drive carriage. The backward movement is due to the tension force of the strip, compensated by means of a winch.

[006] The strip storage carriage is accompanied by several strip supporting carriages, which should limit the strip deflection in order to avoid friction between the stripes. The carriage supporting the strip is attached to the drive carriage and to each other when the drive is in a state of minimal filling of the strip. These carriage-supporting strips should be distributed along the length of the drive with the necessary distance between them so that they can carry out the functions required of them in the process of filling the drive with the strip. The carriage supporting the strip are assembled by the loop forming carriage and are attached to it or to the supporting carriage already attached to it when the loop is reduced.

[007] In conventional solutions known in the art, a drive carriage and a system are used to accommodate variously supporting a strip of carriages:

- separate electric drives for each carriage, requiring a significant number of cable chains (EP 388708 A1), or an electric rail and a retraction or ski current collector (DE 10104093 A1), or a linear motor (DE 3925193 A1);

- a drive with a rope (EP 110864 A1) or a toothed belt (CN 1158765 A) to ensure always the same distance between the carriages, requiring a very long rope / toothed belt and a special block / gear system;

- a passive trapping and fixing system with buffer elements for stopping the carriages when they arrive at their respective designated locations (FR 2698803 A1).

[008] In most such systems, four-wheel support carriages are used to overcome the danger of rolling over. This requires the presence of a certain space, which, in turn, requires a decrease in the same amount of storage. Several attempts have been made to overcome this shortcoming as follows:

- provide for the presence of an elastic system (for example, springs) that ensures that one axis of the carriage is pulled very close to the next when the carriage supporting the strip is collided with each other (JP H0391118 U);

- provide for the presence of two pairs of rails that provide the possibility of telescopic folding of the carriages when they collide with each other (DE 102004042595 A1, DE 3925193 A1), but it is not provided that the supporting carriages can enter the drive carriage;

- provide for a central I-shaped profile that allows telescopic folding of the open triangular base of the carriages (Chinese patent for industrial design ZL 201120051403.0).

[009] The possible risk of carriage overturning is sometimes taken into account in prior art solutions:

- use rails in which there are hooks extending from the lower side of the rail and to avoid disconnecting the wheels. But this simple system creates a braking effect when the carriage makes an inclined movement (CN 201665446 U);

- place the rails at half height, which reduces the overturning moment, but does not provide the possibility of lifting on a flat horizontal platform without a special supporting structure for the rails and does not eliminate the danger of overturning (FR 2698803 A1);

- use cam rollers made with the possibility of movement inside a central open H-shaped or I-shaped profile connected to the carriage (Chinese patent for industrial design ZL 201120051403.0). This solution has the disadvantage that due to the presence of connecting elements between the carriage and the cam rollers, the twisting of the lower strip is high.

[0010] An attachment / release system is most important for a system in which there is no proper drive to support the carriage strip:

- the most common hitching system is used when driving on rails, but for it the hitching, as well as the uncoupling, must be done manually. It has the great advantage that the towing action is applied to the axis of the carriage;

- there are several trailing systems that require, at least during one operation, either coupling or uncoupling the active system (electric, hydraulic / pneumatic or manually applied force or a combination thereof) (DE 2425181 A1, US 791445 A);

- an automatic coupling system (detachable by cam or manual action), disclosed in DE 2425181 A1, provided with horizontal hooks and return springs.

[0011] The horizontal strip stacker (FR 2698803 A1) employs a fully passive system in which a hook and cam system with complex locking / unlocking is provided, but it is not applied to the center of the carriage, which requires special precautions, especially for guiding the carriage along the rail and for fixing the rail.

[0012] EP 2468428 A1 discloses a horizontal strip accumulator used in a continuous strip processing line, comprising a loop forming carriage adapted to move along a pair of outer rails and a plurality of adjacent roller support carriages supporting the strip that are movable along the same external rails and designed to maintain the strip between the loop-forming carriage and the location of the feed strip, and supporting the strip carriage have a horizontal triangular lower part l and a vertical frame structure, while the triangular lower part has an open transverse base opposite the top, which ensures telescopic folding of the support strip of carriages into the inner triangular space between the open base and two other sides of the triangle adjacent to the opposite top.

Object of the invention

[0013] The present invention is intended to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, the invention solves the following problems:

- creating a carriage supporting the strip, reducing the estimated volume of the drive in the minimum possible way;

- providing lifting on a flat horizontal platform, while maintaining the twisting of the lower strip as low as possible without a negative effect;

- the use of a passive coupling / uncoupling system at predetermined locations located in the center of the carriages, which avoids undesirable effects on the rails.

Disclosure of invention

[0014] The present invention relates to the installation of a horizontal strip drive in a continuous strip processing line comprising a loop forming carriage adapted to move along a pair of outer rails that increases or decreases the strip loops to maintain a constant strip speed in the processing section while moving the adjacent processing section in over a certain period of time at a different speed, as well as many supporting the strip of carriages, each of which contains a vertical frame located on on wheels made to move along the same external rails, and having cross members and supporting rollers located transversely relative to the vertical frame and designed to maintain the strip between the loop forming carriage and the strip feed location, characterized in that the vertical frame is connected on each side of the strip , with inclined shelves provided with cam cam rollers movable in respective guide profiles or beams located under the rails so as to guide the carriage support strip on the outer rails in a tipping-preventive manner.

[0015] According to preferred embodiments of the invention, the installation according to the invention also has one or more of the following features:

- guide profiles or beams are C-, H-, I- or U-shaped profiles;

- the lower cross member of the frame is provided in the center with a fixed hook located on the rear side and an eye of the hook made with the ability to rise and lower due to the articulated joint located on the front side, or vice versa, for automatically coupling the support strip of the carriage to an adjacent or loop forming carriage, when she comes close enough to her;

- a fixed hook from the inside is equipped with a clearance of the hook, made with the possibility of accommodating the eye of the hook of the subsequent supporting strip of the carriage;

- the hook is equipped externally with an inclined part configured to lift the eye of the hook until it falls into the gap of the hook for the implementation of the hitch;

- the eye of the hook is installed in such a way that it cannot be lowered below the lower edge of the inclined part;

- the installation further comprises a fixed uncoupling cam system, wherein the centrally located hook eye is provided with a hook eye cross member that is wider than the strip and narrower than the inside of the frame, with each end of the hook ear cross member provided with a cam roller, so that the stationary uncoupling cam system is configured to automatically uncoupling the carriage supporting the strip from an adjacent carriage or from the loop-forming carriage by lifting the cam roller;

- the stationary uncoupling cam system is provided with an inclined portion adapted to uncouple the carriage support strip from the next or from the loop forming carriage when the cam roller is attached to the hook eye cross member over an inclined portion of the stationary uncoupling cam system provided with a return stop cooperating with a corresponding spacing on a cross member to prevent any backward movement of the exclusively indicated uncoupled support strip carriage;

- the height of each of the cross members of the eye of the carriage hook with the cam roller and the span, as well as its corresponding uncoupling cam system with its return stopper, is provided in such a way that the release and return stopper act only on a certain support strip of the carriage, while on the other, still attached supporting carriage no effect;

- each carriage supporting the strip is made to stop smoothly by means of one or more shock absorbers when it moves forward at the moment of uncoupling at its specific location, which is determined by one or more buffer stops interacting with corresponding shock absorbers;

- the shock absorbers are located either on the supporting carriage or on a fixed rack, and the stoppers are located respectively on a fixed rack or on a supporting carriage, and they are arranged in such a way that only the recently uncoupled supporting strip of the carriage stops;

- shock absorbers and corresponding stoppers for various supporting carriages are located at various corresponding heights;

- at least on the crosspiece from the front or rear side, respectively, of each of the carriage-supporting strips and the rear side of the loop-forming carriage, additional shock absorbers are fixed to soften the contact and accelerate the backward movement of the train formed from the drive carriage and / or attached stripe-supporting carriages moving back in order to assemble and attach the lane support carriages that have stopped at their intended locations;

- the rollers supporting the strip are attached directly to the vertical frame or on certain cross members;

- on a vertical frame, at least close to one wheel, cam rollers are also provided for guiding each carriage supporting strip in a lateral direction on one side of the rail.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016] FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a strip supporting carriage according to the present invention.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view of a strip supporting carriage according to the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a detailed vertical sectional view of an attachment / release system according to the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a plan view of a trailing / uncoupling system according to the present invention.

The implementation of the invention

[0020] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention (FIGS. 1 and 2), the horizontal drive 1 comprises a support strip of a carriage 2, essentially comprising a vertical frame 3 located on two wheels 4, arranged to move on the same rails 5 that and a loop forming drive carriage (not shown). These frames 3 are equipped with the necessary rollers supporting the strip 6. The cross members 7 of the frame 3 are arranged so that they do not interfere with the loop 10 of the strip.

[0021] The forward movement of the loop forming carriage corresponding to the increase in the loop of the strip defines the sides of the carriages. The front side of the carriage corresponds to the side facing in the forward direction or loop increase. The back of the carriage corresponds to the side facing in the direction of rearward movement or reduction of the loop.

[0022] Shelves 8 are attached at a predetermined angle to the vertical frame 3 on one side. These shelves 8 are provided with cam rollers 12 that are movable in an open profile 9, having, for example, a C-shaped, H-shaped, I- or U-shaped, and located under the rails 5 so as to provide a guide and preventing tipping system 11 of the frame 3. These shelves 8 can be located either on the inside or on the outside of the frame 3 according to the design requirements.

[0023] The guide cam rollers 12 are also provided on the vertical frame 3 and are designed to guide each supporting strip of the carriage 2 laterally on one side of the rail 5 near the wheel 4.

[0024] Additionally, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention (FIGS. 3 and 4), the lower cross member 7 of the frame 3 has a fixed hook 13 on one side and a hook eye 14 on the other side, said eye being able to be raised and lowered by the presence of a swivel. The specified hook ear 14 cannot be lowered below the lower edge of the outer inclined portion 15 of the adjacent hook 13, which provides automatic hooking to the next support strip carriage 2 or to the drive carriage when it comes close to it. The hook ear 14 is then lifted by sliding along the inclined portion 15 of the hook 13 until it falls into the gap 16 of the hook.

[0025] The hook eye 14 is provided with a cross member 17, which is wider than the strip 10, but narrower than the inside of the frame 3 (FIG. 2). In specially designed fixed locations, the uncoupling cam system 18, located under the bottom cross member 7 of the carriage, raises the cam roller 20 of the hook eye cross member under the influence of the inclined portion 19 when the said cam roller 20 moves over this portion, which leads to the necessary uncoupling of the carriage 2 (Fig. 3 ) The hook ear 14 and its cross member 17, when moving backward after uncoupling, are in a lower position than in the attached state. This effect is used to ensure the presence, by means of an interacting spacing 24 and a rear stopper 21, supporting the latch carriage, preventing it from moving further backward. When the hook ear 14 is raised for the hitch as described above, the spike 24 on the cross member 17 is located above the return stop 21, and a backward movement is possible.

[0026] The height of the cam roller 20 located on the cross member 17 and the uncoupling system 18 and the rear stopper system 21 should be selected so that they only work for a given support strip of the carriage 2, while other, still attached, support of the carriage does not turn out. This can also be achieved by varying the width of the various cross members.

[0027] Also, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a shock absorber 22 is provided for stopping the forward movement of each support strip of the carriage 2 at the moment when it is detached at its specific location. Shock absorbers 22 and their respective buffer stops 23 are arranged in such a way that only the right uncoupled support strip carriage 2, that is, located at different heights, stops. Other shock absorbers 22, located in turn on the cross member of the carriage support strip, soften the contact and accelerated backward movement of the composition formed from the drive carriage and / or the attached carriage support carriage, moving backward to pick up and fasten the carriage support carriage stopped at its predetermined location .

[0028] The strip-supporting rollers 6 are attached to the frame 3 either on its vertical part or on the defined cross-members of the rollers if separate widthwise rollers are used.

Benefits

[0029] The present invention has the following advantages.

[0030] A first advantage of said strip supporting system is that it requires a minimum of space to accommodate a strip supporting carriage, and at the same time they realize their necessary functions. They do not require any additional drive or transmission system. Another advantage is that the use of a rail attached to an open profile is advantageous for a rail attachment system and does not affect the overall height of the drive.

[0031] In the case where the drive is to be erected on a steel structure, the beams under the rails can be used for the guide system and the tipping system.

[0032] The simple uncoupling, locking and trapping system according to the present invention is fully mechanical and automatic, requiring no external power source, which means that it is passive. It has the great advantage that, being located in the center of the carriage, it prevents undesirable forces or moments in the system requiring special devices to overcome or prevent mechanical problems. This allows the use of an open U-shaped or similar profile to support the frame structure of the carriage, which leads to the fact that the supporting strip of the carriage are lighter.

[0033] However, the following disadvantages should be noted.

[0034] The first drawback is that two additional open profiles are required under the rails, but there is also a useful balancing effect, consisting in a reduced number of surface mounts compared to a conventional rail.

[0035] The shelves with their cam roller system replace in a useful manner a second pair of wheels, the presence of which is necessary in prior art solutions, but this makes the system somewhat wider.

List of item numbers

1. horizontal drive

2. strip support carriage

3. vertical frame

4. wheel

5. rail

6. support roller

7. cross member

8. shelf

9. guide profile

10. loop strip

11. rollover preventing system

12. cam cam

13. hook

14. hook ear

15. inclined hook section

16. hook clearance

17. hook cross member

18. uncoupling cam system

19. inclined portion of the uncoupling cam system

20. cam hook eye

21. rear stopper

22. shock absorber

23. buffer stop

24. spacing of the hook eye cross member

25. lower strip supporting roller

Claims (15)

1. A horizontal strip drive used in a continuous strip processing line, comprising a loop forming carriage adapted to move along a pair of outer rails (5), providing an increase or decrease in the strip loop to maintain a constant strip speed in the processing section while moving the adjacent processing section for a certain time at a different speed, as well as containing a plurality of carriage-supporting strips (2), each of which contains a vertical frame (3) located on two wheels (4), made with the possibility of movement along the outer rails (5), and having cross members (7) and supporting rollers (6) located transversely relative to the vertical frame (3) and designed to maintain the strip (10) between the loop forming carriage and a strip feed location, characterized in that a vertical frame (3) is connected on each side of the strip with inclined shelves (8) provided with cam cam rollers (12) that are movable in respective guide profiles or beams (9) located under the rails (5) so as to guide the support strip to the carriage (2) on the outer rails (5) in a tipping preventive manner. 2. The horizontal drive according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide profiles or beams (9) are C-, H-, I- or U-shaped profiles. 3. The horizontal drive according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower cross member (7) of the frame (3) is provided in its center with a fixed hook (13) located on the rear side and an eye of the hook (14) made to raise and lower due to the swivel located on the front side, or vice versa, providing automatic coupling of the carriage supporting the strip (2) to the next one or to the loop-forming carriage, when approaching it is quite close. 4. A horizontal storage device according to claim 3, characterized in that the fixed hook (13) is provided with a gap (16) from inside with the possibility of accommodating the eyelet (14) of the subsequent carriage supporting the strip (2). 5. A horizontal storage device according to claim 3, characterized in that the hook (13) is provided externally with an inclined part (15) configured to lift the eyelet (14) until it drops into the gap (16) for coupling. 6. A horizontal storage device according to claim 5, characterized in that the eye (14) is installed in such a way that it cannot be lowered below the lower edge of the inclined part (15). 7. The horizontal drive according to claim 3, characterized in that it further comprises a fixed uncoupling cam system (18), the centrally located eyelet (14) provided with a cross member (17), which is wider than the strip and narrower than the inside of the frame (3), each end of the cross-member (17) is equipped with a cam roller (20), while the stationary uncoupling cam system (18) is configured to automatically unfasten the support strip of the carriage (2) from the next or from the loop-forming carriage by lifting the cam roller (20). 8. The horizontal drive according to claim 7, characterized in that the stationary uncoupling cam system (18) is provided with an inclined section (19) configured to detach the support strip of the carriage (2) from the next or from the loop-forming carriage when the cam roller (20) moves attached to the cross member (17), above the inclined portion (19) of the stationary uncoupling cam system (18), provided with a return stopper (21) configured to interact with the corresponding spacing (24) on the cross member (17) and prevent any of a backward movement of said disengaged solely supporting a carriage bar (2). 9. The horizontal drive according to claim 8, characterized in that the height of each of the cross members (17) with the cam roller (20) and the span (24), as well as its corresponding uncoupling cam system (18) with its return stopper (21), is selected so that the uncoupling and returning stoppers act only on a certain support strip carriage (2), while others that are still attached, supporting carriages do not have an effect. 10. A horizontal storage device according to claim 1, characterized in that each carriage supporting the strip (2) is made to stop smoothly by one or more shock absorbers (22) when it moves forward at the moment of uncoupling at a location that is determined by one or more buffer a stopper (23) interacting with respective shock absorbers (22). 11. A horizontal storage device according to claim 10, characterized in that the shock absorbers (22) are located either on the supporting carriage or on a fixed rack, and the stops (23) are located respectively on a fixed rack or on a supporting carriage, and they are located in such a way that only the recently uncoupled lane support carriage (2) is stopped. 12. The horizontal drive according to claim 11, characterized in that the shock absorbers (22) and the corresponding stoppers (23) for the various supporting carriages are located at different respective heights. 13. The horizontal drive according to claim 1, characterized in that at least on the cross member (7) on the front or rear side, respectively, of each of the carriage supporting the strip (2) and on the back side of the loop forming carriage, additional shock absorbers (22) are fixed for softening the contact and accelerating the backward movement of the composition formed from the drive carriage and / or the attached strip supporting carriages (2) moving backwards in order to assemble and attach the supporting strip carriages (2), stopped in them locations. 14. The horizontal drive according to claim 1, characterized in that the rollers supporting the strip (6) are attached directly to the vertical frame (3) or on certain crossbars (7). 15. The horizontal drive according to claim 1, characterized in that in the vertical frame (3) there are guide cam rollers (12) at least near one wheel (4), designed to guide each support strip of the carriage (2) in the lateral direction one of the sides of the rail (5).

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