US1978876A - Floating bearing - Google Patents

Description

0 30,1934. I a R. B. ZUBER 1,978,876

FLOATING BEARING Filed Nov. 2, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet l 1\' -44 55 a 2 J i i 4 7 5| I I i '47 1 I 2/ i 15 1 5 11? Em w 5,6. INVENTOR w WM ATTORNEYS Oct. 30, 1934.

R B. ZUBER 1,978,876

FLOATING BEARING Filed Nov. 2, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 .QIZi3gxji INVENTOR E0559 7' 5 Z0559.

ATTORNEYS Oct. 30, 1934. R. B. ZUBER 1,978,876

FLOATING BEAR I NG Filed Nov. 2, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 h H u '&

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INVENTOR 605597 5 Zdaae.

ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 30, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to floating bearings for journals, shafts, necks of rolling mill rolls, etc., which are carried and moved by the, journals, rolls, necks or shafts and serve to guide the rel volving shafts or journals in their movements. The bearings may also be moved by power means to adjust the position of the rolls, shafts or journals.

Such floating bearings are used, for example,

1 in certain rolling mill rolls such as three-high mills which are generally used as roughing or breakdown mills for rolling steel strips or bars. These three-high mills generally consist of a large top roll and a large bottom roll and a smaller middle roll, the bottom and sometimes the top roll being power driven, and the middle roll being driven by friction from one of the other rolls.

In rolling, the steel after being taken from a heating furnace, is first passed between the bottom roll and the middle roll to bring about a reduction in thickness regulated by the movement of the middle roll. In this bottom pass the middle roll is raised by the steel and, after the 2 steel passes from between the rolls, the middle roll drops back to its low position. The steel is then passed in the opposite direction between the middle roll and the top roll for a further reduction in size, and this cycle is repeated until the desired gauge is obtained. The middle roll, therefore,- moves up and down during the interval of time between passes, and its bearings move with it and guide it in its vertical movements.

Heretofore the roll necks of the middle rolls have been mounted in bearings that are placed within bearing chucks, said chucks beingv designed to move with the middle roll and guide it in windows of mill housings. The bearing chucks-are of heavy steel machined castings in which are inserted top, bottom and side brasses or bearing blocks to form a complete bearing for the roll necks.

An object of my invention is to provide a floating bearing in which the parts that move with the roll neck are of a minimum weight, thereby reducing roll damage and in which there are fewer moving parts.

Other objects 'of the invention are to provide floating bearings in which an accurate alignment 60 of the bearing and bearing guides'may be easily made, and in which the cooling or lubricating parts are easily accessible, andin which adjustments for wear may be easily made.

other objects of the invention will appear from the following detailed description.

The various features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a portion of a three-high rolling mill showing a middle roll and floating bearing assembly embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the bearing taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the bearing taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a part sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a vertical elevation of guide members, 7 part of the guiding structure being removed to show the construction.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a bearing member, and

Figs. 8 and 9 are perspective views of elements of the bearing guides.

In my invention the bearing is formed of a pair of blocks having semi-cylindrical surfaces to enclose the roll neck or journal, and having fiat faces which move on vertical guide surfaces. W The bearing blocks are confined between opposite parallel guide surfaces and are retained against endwise thrusts by end plates. The guide surfaces are adjustable vertically and horizontally by certain wedging surfaces co-operating with complementary surfaces on the supporting structure. The guide plates are movable with great accuracy on the wedging surfaces by actuating wedges and are secured in position by securing means.

In the operation of the rolls, the bearing blocks slide upwardly and downwardly between the guide surfaces, being supported vertically by the neck of the roll. These bearing blocks may be hollowed in places to reduce their weight.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, the bearing is illustrated in connection with a middle roll 10 placed between an. upper roll 11 and a lower roll 12 of a three-high rolling mill. The roll 10 is provided with a projecting neck 13 which is enclosed on opposite sides by bearing blocks 14 and 15 which enclose the bearing neck except for small gaps 16 and 17 at the top and bottom'of the roll.

Each roll is for this purpose provided with a semi-cylindrical surface 18 as -indicated in Fig.

7. Each of the bearing members 14 and 15 also has a flat face 19 and 20, respectively, on the side opposite the semi-cylindrical surface 18. When the blocks are assembled about the bearabut parallel guide surfaces on hearing guides 21 and 22. The bearing formed of the members 14 and 15 is, therefore, free to move upwardly and downwardly between the guides 21 and 22 and to be guided accurately in such movement.

The guides 21 and 22 are so mounted that they may be adjusted accurately to position the bearing members 14 and 15 and to take up any wear in the bearing members. For this purpose the guides 21 and 22 are provided on the sides opposite the guide surfaces 19 and 20 with inclined surfaces such as indicated at 23 in Fig. 9. The guides are also provided with a vertically extending tongue 23a inclined in a direction parallel to that of the surface 23. The inclined surfaces of the bearing guides 21 and 22 rest against complementary inclined surfaces of supporting blocks or cheek members 24 and 25, respectively, these cheek members being provided with grooves 26, as indicated in Fig. 6, to'receive the tongues 23a of the guides.

, The cheek or supporting members 24, 25, are in turn secured to the rolling mill frame 27 by a dovetail and groove construction 28 and 29, respectively, and are tightened in position thereon by wedges 30 and 31 and by means of screws 32, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 6. It will be apparent that as the guide members 21 and 22 are moved vertically on the inclined surfaces of the supports 24 and 25, they will approach each other and force the bearing members 14 and 15 into closer contact with the neck of the roll; or, by moving either of the guide members separately, or by moving them in opposite directions, the horizontal position of the roll may be adjusted. A very accurate and easy adjustment of the vertical positions of the guides 21 and 22 may be obtained by means of wedges 33 and 34 which are confined between over-hanging lips 35 of the guides and shoulders formed on the upper surface of, the supporting or cheek plates 24 and 25,-see Figs. 4 and 8. The wedges 33 and 34 are provided with threaded rods '36 which pass through suitable openings in bearing retaining or side plates 37 and 38, and are provided with nuts 39 resting against the plates 37 and 38, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, whereby by threading the ends on the rod 36, the wedges 33 may be moved horizontally to raise or lower the guides 21 and 22.

Retaining bolts 40, two for each guide, are also provided which are screwed into threaded openings 41, Fig. 9, of the tongues 23a, and pass through slots 42 of the cheek plates 24 and 25 and are operated through openings 43 in the retaining side plates 37 and 38 respectively. When the guides 21 and 22 have been positioned vertically, they may be clamped in this position by means of the bolts 40. i

The side plates 37. and 38 are secured to the frame of the mill by means of bolts 44 extending into or through the frame and passing through horizontal slots 45 in the plates 3'7 and 38 which permit horizontal adjustments of the plates toward or from the axis of the roll necks.

Shims 46 are provided between the side plates 37 and 38 and the frame of the mill so that the plates may be adjusted inwardly to take up any wear between the projecting ends of the plates which retain the bearing members 14 and 15. As the bearings 14 and 15 and the plates 37 and 38 wear and become loose, they may be tightened by removing one or more shims and tightening on the bolts 44.

ing neck, the surfaces 19 and 20 are parallel and The bearings, or the moving parts thereof, are composed of the two pieces 14 and 15. The necessity for using chucks or other framework and ad-- justing means for the several separate .bearing parts is thereby avoided and the total weight of the bearing members may be very greatly reduced. The necessary adjustments are obtained by the adjustable features of the guides 21 and 22 and of the side plates 37 and 38. The weight of the bearings may, therefore, be reduced to a minimum. To still further economize on weight and material, the bearings may be hollowed out, as indicated at 47 and 48 in Fig. 7. The bearings may also be adjusted while in operation and may be easily and quickly replaced.

What I claim is:

1. A floating bearing assembly comprising a pair of bearing units to enclose a journal, a pair of bearing guides, one at each side of said bearing, and having surfaces thereon arranged parallel to guide said bearing and on the opposite sides surfaces at an inclination to said guide surfaces, independently supported fixed cheek plates having surfaces inclined complementary to and directly engaging those of said guides, a wedge between spaced faces of said guides and cheek plates to move said guides on said complementary inclined surfaces whereby to adjust the horizontal positions of said guides, said bearing units being mounted with freedom for vertical movement relatively to said bearing guides.

2. A floating bearing assembly comprising a pair of bearing units to enclose a journal, 2. pair of bearing guides, one at each side of said bearing, and having surfaces thereon assembled parallel to guide said bearing and on the opposite sides surfaces at an inclination to said guide surfaces, cheek plates having surfaces inclined complementary to and directly engaging those of said guides, a wedge between spaced faces of said guides and cheek plates to move said guides on said complementary inclined surfaces whereby to adjust the horizontal positions of said guides, bolts for holding said guides in positions of adjustment, and retaining plates on said guide supporting structures to enclose the ends of said bearing members, the parallel surfaces of said guides being of greater length measured vertically than the vertical length of the bearing units so as to provide for vertical freedom of movement of the bearing units relatively to said guides.

3. A floating bearing assembly comprising a pair-of complementary bearing units to enclose a journal and to provide parallel guide surfaces on opposite sides thereof, a pair of bearing guides. one on each side of said bearing, having surfaces thereon assembled parallel to guide said bearing and opposite surfaces at an inclination to said guide surfaces and having tongues projecting from said opposite inclined surfaces, cheek plates having surfaces inclined complementary to those of said guides and grooves to receive said tongues, said cheek plates having a shoulder and said guides having a lip overhanging said shoulder, a wedge between said shoulder and said lip to move said guides longitudinally of said cheek plates, a bolt threaded into said tongues and extending sidewise through slots in said check plates, and operated through slots in side plates overlapping the ends of said bearing members.

4. A bearing structure for rolling mill rolls which comprises a pair of floating bearing blocks having parallel side faces, guides having parallel vertical faces abutting said bearing block faces,

end plates overlapping and confining said bearing blocks, supporting members comprising cheek members, said cheek members having surfaces and a groove therein inclined to said parallel guide surfaces, said guides having a tongue and surfaces complementary to and resting on said cheek surfaces whereby said guide members are moved toward and from each other by a sliding movement on said inclined cheek surfaces, a wedge between said cheek plates and said guide plates to move the latter on said inclined surfaces, bolts passing through slots in said cheek members and threaded into said tongue, a supporting structure for said cheek members, said cheek members and supporting structure having a dovetail connection, and a wedge in said dovetail connection rigidly to secure said check plates to said supporting structure.

5. A floating bearing construction which comprises a pair of complementary freely movable bearing members, guides for said bearing members having parallel surfaces within and between which said bearing members move and having surfaces on the opposite side to said parallel sur-'

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