US2333937A - Guide for rail mills - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 9, 1943.

R. F. KINTER ErAL 2,333,937

GUIDE FOR RAIL MILLS y l Filed Aug. 13, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l 'Nov- 9, 1943- R. F. KINTER ETAL 2,333,937

GUIDE FOR RAIL MILLSv l Filed Aug. 13, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov., 9, i943 GUIDE FOR RAIL MILLS Ralph F. Kinter, North Braddock, and Robert G. Stewart, Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application August 13, 1941,r Serial No. 406,707

f 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in rail mill stripper guides adapted to prevent scratching the head of a rail as it comes from the mill.

The improved guide includes upper and lower members jointly defining a passageway which corresponds approximately with the active pass dened by the coacting grooved rolls of the mill except that the passageway is slightly larg-er than the finished rail size.

Each stripper guide member carries one or more guide rollers whose peripheries extend into the passageway to thus keep the iinished rail spaced away from the inner surfaces of such passageway. In other words, the stripper guide rollers insure clearance between the iinished rail and the inner surface of the guideway passage for the express purpose of holding the rail clear of the surface of the passageway so as to prevent scratching or scoring of the rail.

The above and more detailed features of the invention will be fully apparent from the following detailed disclosure when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a iinishing stand of rolls of a rail mill showing the improved stripper guide of the present invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary detail view on an enlarged scale illustrating the construction of the improved stripper guide;

Figure 3 is a detached detail view of an insert unit carrying stripper guide rollers constituting an important feature of the invention;

Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a section on line V-V of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is a section on line VI-VI of Figure 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral I0 represents a housing or roll stand supporting the finishing rolls I2 and I4 of a conventional type of rail mill. These rolls are of conventional form and are grooved so that they jointly define an active pass corresponding to the cross sectional contour of a T-rail such as used in conventional railway track installations.

Heretofore rails leaving the mill have been passed through various types of guides, but the guides heretofore used have been open to the objection that the rails rubbing thereon become scratched or otherwise defaced. The trade de; mands high standards of quality and scratching or scoring of the rail frequently results in the customer not accepting the rail. To overcome this shortcoming of conventional prior practice we provide, in combination with the nishing rolls of the rail mill, the improved stripper guide now to be described.

The guide members serve as strippers for directing the outwardly traveling rail in a straight path to a suitable cooling bed I6 which consists of a plurality of rolls I8 driven in a. conventional manner for carrying away the nished rail. Our improved stripper guide includes upper and lower members 20 and 22 whose inner extremities 24 and 26 are shaped to provide arcuate portions 28 and 30 of approximately the same radius as that portion of the roll with which they coact.

The outer end of the lower member 22 is provided with a notched portion 32 which ts over a stationary support or rest bar 34. The notched construction holds the stripper guide bar against longitudinal movement but yet permits the inner end 26 to swing downwardly so that the arcuate portion 30 makes a rubbing contact with the surface of the lower roll I4, Ordinarily the weight of the stripper guide member 22 is suflicient to maintain proper contact with the roll. However, if desired, a weight 36 may be provided fastened to a suitable bar 38 whose upper end carries a pin which extends through an opening 40 formed in the guide member.

The upper stripper guide member 20 is provided with a notched portion 42 which makes a fulcruming engagement with a stationary bar 44. A lever 46 pivoted at 48 is connected by a link 50 and a pin 52 with the upper guide member 20, and a counterweight 54 carried by a rod 56 is suspended from a pin 58 secured to the free end of the lever 46. As thus arranged, the counterweight tends to rock the stripper guide member 20 about the rest bar 44 as a fulcrum to yieldingly hold the arcuate portion 28 of the upper guide member in rubbing contact with the upper roll I2 of the mill.

The stripped guide members 20 and 22 as thus arranged jointly form a, grooved passageway indicated generally at 60. The passageway serves to confine the rail as it leaves the active pass dened by the rolls I2 and I4. 'I'he inner extremities of. the stripper guide members 20 and 22 extend close to the nip of the coacting rollers, Thus as the rail leaves the mill the guide members function as strippers and guide the rail in a straight path toward the cooling bed. 'I'he size and shape of the passageway 60 will correspond approximately to the active pass of the rolls as shown in Figure 6. However, the passageway will be slightly in excess of the dimensions of the rail which it guides, and to prevent scratching or otherwise defacing the finished rail in accordance with the present invention, we provide an improved antifrlction rail guiding means.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, this improved guiding means takes the form of respective pairs of upper and lower antifriction rollers i2 and 64. 'Ihese rollers are desirably mounted in quick detachable units or subassembiies. 'I'he upper and lower sub-assemblies or units are substantial duplicates; therefore, a description of one will suii'ice for both.

As best shown in Figures 3 to 5, each subassembly or unit consists of a block 60 notched as at il to provide a recess to receive ,the rollers. The notch 68 is bridged by a plate 10 which is secured to the block by through-bolts 12. Studs 14 are jointly supported by the block 0I and the plate 1I, as shown in Figure 5, and each stud 14 carries a bali bearing 'i6 fitted to the interior of the roll as shown in Figure 5. A suitable fitting 18 is provided to facilitate the introduction of grease or other lubricant into the bearing roller.

The upper and lower stripper guide members 20 and 22 are provided with dove-tail or undercut cavities 80 and 82 of a size and shape to make a neat fit with the oblique ends of blocks t6. If desired, wedges or keyways 84 may be employed to removably lock the blocks 86 to the respective guide members. The size of the rollg ers 62 and i4 is such that the'perlpheries thereof extend into the passageway jointly formed by the upper and lower guide members 2li and 22. 'I'hus there is always maintained a clearance between the rail and the inner surfaces of the stripper guide way.

From the drawings it will be apparent that the upper guide rollers 62 are positioned in the guide member 2l for coaction with a side face Il of the head H of the rail. Similarly, the guide rollers Il are positioned in the lower guide member 22 for coaction with the guide edge 90 of the base flange F of the rail. As thus arranged, the rollers Il hold the side face 92 of the rail head clear of the inner surface 94 of the portion of the guide eway formed by the lower guide member 22. 'I'he upper rollers 62 hold the face 4 Il of the rail head H clear of the surface 9 8 of the guide geway formed by the upper guide member 2l. It is apparent that there is always provided a running clearance through the outcoming rail and the guideway surfaces of the upper and lower guides 20 and 22. Since the guide rollers 02 and M are mounted on antifriction bearings, it will be apparent that the oncoming rail is supported with a minimum amount of` .We claim:

1. Arolling mill of the charactes-described comprising upper and lower stripper members 'extending inwardly beyond the inner guide faces oi' the respective members which mount the blocks. l

2. A rolling mill of the character described, comprising coacting mill rolls, upper and lower stripper members movable relative to one another,

the inner faces thereof defining a guide passageway, xed members on which said strippers are fuicrumed, respective means operatively connected with the stripper members and tending to press their inner extremities into stripping coaction with the mili rolls, and respective upper and lower umts detachably mounted in recesses formed in said stripper members, each of said units carrying bearing studs supporting guide rollers whose peripheries project beyond the respective inner guide faces of said guide members.

3. A rolling mill of the character described, comprising upper and lowerI stripper members whose inner faces define a guide passageway, each of said members having a recess formed in an upright edge thereof and respective demountable units comprising blocks shaped to iit in each recess, each unit including an antifriction roller whose periphery extends beyond the inner guide face of the respective member, and quickly detachable means for securing said blocks in said recesses.

4. The combination with the rolls of a rolling mill, of means for stripping the work fed therefrom comprising upper and lower stripper members defining a passageway terminating in the region of the nip of the rolls, an independent fixed iulcrum for each stripper member, respective means operatively connected with each stripper member tending to urge the inner extremity thereof into stripping engagement with one of said mill rolls, each stripper member having an undercut recess formed therein intermediate the fulcrum point thereof and its inner extremity, and quickly detachable blocks having oblique ends ntted in said recesses, each block having a respective pair of guide rollers journaled therein. the rollers of the upper insert being so positioned that the lower parts of their peripheries extend below the inner lower guide face of said upper gripper member, and the rollers of the lower block being so positioned that the @Per parts of their peripheries extend above the inne upper rguide face of said lower member.

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