US2525302A - Means for classifying rolled billets - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 10, 1950 M. LANGEN 2,525,302

MEANS FOR CLASSIFYING ROLLED BILLETS Filed March 31, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet i II-Il INVENTOR. MATT/HA5 A 7'TOQNEY5 Oct. 10, 1950 M, LANGEN 2,525,302

' MEANS FOR CLASSIFYING ROLLED BILLETS Filed March 51, 1945 4 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 p INVENTOR. MATTH/AS LANE/V Patented Oct. 10, 1950 MEANS FOR CLASSIFYING ROLLED BILLETS Matthias Langen. Parkstone, England, assignor to The Loewy London, Britain Engineering Company England, a corporation of Great Limited,

Application March 31, 1945, Serial No. 585,991 In Great Britain April 4, 1944 According to common practice, billets rolled from one and the same ingot are divided into first and second qualities. The latter comprises those billets rolled from the top portion of the ingot, the material of which is not as sound and free from foreign matter as the bottom portion. In those cases where the ingot is introduced into the rolling mill with its top first, the second quality billets will be those which leave the mill first, and, conversely, where the billet is introduced with its top last, the second quality billets will be those which leave the mill last.

Previously, it was customary to separate the two categories of billets by manual means. This method was not found to be satisfactory, especially for modern continuous mills which are operated at high speeds and where the output of billets is very large.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a means for separating and classifying rolled billetswhich is capable of dealing with a large output of billets without appreciably impeding the fiow of material through the rolling mill installation.

A rolling mill plant in which the classifying means according to the invention are incorporated will be described in detail below by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the delivery end of a billet rolling mill plant showing diagrammatically the runout and delivery tables and the cooling bed, with the billet selecting'means of the invention incorporated therein.

Fig. 2 is a. section,.along line 2 -7-2 of Fig. 1 showing on anenlarged scale one of a series of lifting elements which'form part of th billet selecting means of the invention. V

Fig. 3 shows the lifting elements of Fig. 2 in another working position.

Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 showing the means for simultaneously operating a series of the lifting elements illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. v I

Referring first to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the billets delivered from a train of rolling mill stands (not shown) are cut, while still hot, into suitable lengths by a flying shear I0, and are then passed on to a shear runout table I I. This table consists of a number of skewed rollers I2, so that the billets will be gradually shifted to one side of the table whilst travelling, and will thus form a close pack of billets alongside a series of guide rollers I4 arranged at one side of the table.

Arranged behind the runout table II and in 2 Claims. (CI. 80-42) alignment therewith is a cooling bed approach table I5 consisting of a number of rollers IS. As shown in Fig 1, the cooling bed may comprise two skid-beds I l and I 8 disposed side by side and practically identical with each other. The billets which lie on the rollers I6 may-be transferred from there to one of the skid-beds I! and 58 in the usual manner by means of chain or rope driven pusher dogs I9 (Figs. 3 and 4), the ropes or chains 20 being passed round sheaves 2! and driven from geared motors 22 through drums 23.

The admission of packs of billets from the shear runout table I I to the cooling bed approach table I5 is regulated by a movable stop 24, further movable stops I24 being arranged at the ends of the two sections of the cooling bed approach table which are adjacent and co-extensive with the two skid-beds I1 and I8;

According to the invention, means are provided adjacent the cooling bed for separating certain billets of one pack from the rest before the latter are transferred to one of the skid-beds I l or I8 for further treatment. One form which these means may take is shown more in detail in Figs. 2, 3 and 4; they include a series of lifting fingers 25 which can be raised from a position below the level of the table rollers I6 (Fig. 2) to a position above that level (Fig. 3). To this end, the fingers 25 are pivotally mounted by means of arms 26 on shafts 21 supported in bearings 28. Fixed to the shafts 21 are, furthermore, depending arms 29 which can be actuated in unison by a bar 39,

whereby the arms 25 and 29, and thereby also the fingers 25, are rocked about the shafts 2'5.

As shown in'Fig. 4, the sideguards and the V apron plates 36 of the roller table i5 are cut away so as to allow the lifting fingers 25 to pass therethrough during their rocking movement. It will be seen that the lifting fingers 25 are slightly inclined in order to facilitate the raising of the billets from the rollers It.

The fingers 25, apart from their rocking movement, are further adapted to be shifted laterally for the adjustment of their throw. To this end, means are provided for moving the pivotal mountings 31 of the arms 26 along the shafts 21.

It will be understood that the means for rocking the lifting fingers 25, and also those for shifting them laterally, can be modified and need not necessarily be of the type described in the preceding paragraphs.

In operation. billets rolled from-one ingot, after having beencut to length on shear I 0, are transported on to the shear runout table I l where they are arrested by stop 24 and accumulate in one In those cases where the ingots are rolled with their heads first, the first billets of a batch are likely to be of somewhat inferiorquality as com- I pared With-the rest, for reasons'set out before,

and itis therefore desirable to separate. them from the rest of the batch. This isachieved by means of the lifting fingers-25which first are. so positioned underneath the pack of billets by. the afore-described lateral adjusting, means 3'! to 44 that they will just extend underneath the billets to be separated, butnot further.

The fingers 25 are now actuatedby the mecha. nism consisting of parts 25* to 32, whereby the second grade billets are raised from the rollers I6 and moved out of. the way of. the pusher dogs [9. Whilst these billetsare in their elevated' position, the remaining billets will be engaged bythe pusher dogs lflrandtransferred to one of'the adjacent skid-beds H -or l8. The-lifting fingers are now lowered and'the separated=billets depositedagain on the table. ito be conveyed to a discharge table 45 and from there by means-of a pusher beam 46 to a'collectinggrid 4! after the stop |24 bywhich the billets have been previousl arrested has been withdrawn; Thus, the secondgrade billets wi1l=bediverted fromthe path taken by'the rest of the billets.

It willbe evident that the movement of thelift. ing fingers 25- has to be sotimed'withrespect to that of the pusher dogs I9 that the secondgrade billets are raisedfrom-the'rollers lfibefore aset of pusher dogs l9- enters the spaces between the rollers l6, and that the billets have tobe: discharged from thetable 15, after having been depositedthereon again, before the arrival of another set of pusher dogs I92 This timing can be achieved by suitably inter-connecting thecon- :2:

trol means for the lifting fingers'and the pushe dogs.

The separation of the secondgrade billets takes 'place in the afore-described manner regardless of 4 whether the pack of billets has been previously arrested by the first of the stops I24 and thus come to rest at that section of the cooling bed approach table l5 which is adjacent the first skid bed IT, or whether the pack of billets has been previously. arrested by the second of the stops I24 and thus come to-rest on the section of the cooling bed approach table [5 which is adjacent the'second skid bed l8. The only difference is that in the first instance the second grade billets on their way'to the delivery table have to pass first thesection of the cooling bed approach table which is adjacent the second skid bed l8. whereasinthe second instance the entire batch of blHEtSZZWi'lI pass along the section of the cooling bedapproach table l5 which is adjacent the skid bed 11, without the fingers 25 becoming active.

As a further alternative, a separate collecting grid 41 can be dispensed with, and the second grade billets: transported either direct-to the sec- 0nd skid-bed I8, in-which case the" first grade billets will be conveyedtothe first skid-bed: H only, or a separate third skid-bed of a design similar to that-of the two skid-beds I'l and lean be provided for collection of thesecondgrade billets.

The mechanism for operating the'lifting fingers and the stops canbe of any suitable design, and the invention is notlimited-to the special form shown in the drawings.

Iclaim: I

1. Apparatus for classifying'roll'ed billetsi prior to their transfer to a cooling bed; comprising means for forming a closes-packof: allthe billets rolled from one batch conveyor: means 'for transporting the pack of billets to a point adjacent the cooling bed, means for transferring; the billets from the said conveyormeans to the cooling bed, means" for temporarily lifting a predetermined number of'billets situated on and near the edge of the pack so that they are out Of reach of the said billet transferrmeans and means for transporting the previously withdrawn-billets to a separate collecting station.

2. Apparatus. for classifying rolled billets according to claim' 1 in which the billet lifting means are adjustablein a directionacross'the pack of billets.

MATTH'IAS LAN GEN.

REFERENCES. CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Fors a June 10; 1930

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