US2880778A - Apparatus for pulling the end from a coil of strip - Google Patents

Description

April 7, 1959 E. D. SPANGLER Y 2,

APPARATUS FOR PULLING THE END FROM A 0011. OR STRIVIP Filed Sept. 13, 1956 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 //v VENTOR.

@ EARL 0. .SPANGLER, By

his Af/amey.

April 7, 1959 E. D. SPANGLER 2,880,778

APPARATUS FOR PULLING THE END FROM A COIL OR STRIP Filed Sept. 15, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 34 Xmfim" 34 INVENTO/i. EARL 0. .SPANGLER,

his Af/omey.

APPARATUS FOR PULLING THE END FROM A COILOF STRIP Earl-- D.- Spangler,' Gary, Ind., assignor to United States This invention'rel'ates, as indicated, to an'apparatus for opening'coils ofmetal strip. More particularlyit relates to'an apparatus for opening a coil of metal strlp by 1mparting'a reversebend to the free end of its outer convolution for thepurposeof facilitating its being fed to the feed rollsof subsequent processing apparatus. I

The'manufactureof sheet metalcommonly involves a number of processing operations indifferent apparatus 1 according'to the characteristics of the finished'product.

Processing of the strip may require, for example, a further reduction in thickness in a rolling mill, pickling for removal of scale,-coating in tinning or galvanizlng lines,"- coiling in recoile'r's, and the like. To facilitate handling and s'torage,-the strip is wound in coil form as the final step of'each of'these and'similar operations and, in being'wound, "acquires a permanent curvature which'makes theproblem'of threading it through the feed rolls of subsequent processing apparatus rather diificult. In this respect the resiliency of the strip resists peeling of the outer coil convolution or at least the free end thereof and tends to return" it 'to its coiled position. To overcome this tendency,-workmen have attempted to flatten or straighten the free? end manually as "explained in Patent No. 2,387i38'0'to WQA. Zahutnik which discloses a form of apparatus:for.reversebending .thefree end of a coil. Otherrformsof'apparatus for the same purposehave been proposed-in conjunctionwith mandrels and coil boxes of special designbut such proposals have not been adaptable for,use:-with.existinguncoilers, and the practice of man:v

ually straighteningtheffree endof the outer convolution I continuesn-a Onetof-"the :principal objects of this invention is to pro". 1

vide animproved iorm' of apparatus for openinga coil of rnetalss trip whichincludes mechanism for pulling-itsfree .end .outwardlyzand'imparting a reverse bend thereto.. A further object is to provide an apparatus of this character-which is particularly adaptable for application to pres entlyexistinguncoiling boxes and vmandrels or other forms of coil: supports. .To these ends, the coil. opening apparatus of .this. invention provides in conjunction with a sup-.

portfona coiLtobe opened .a stationary'frameon which:

an .anchoringshoeis mounted for movement to and from...

a positio-niin clamping engagement withlthe outer convo lution ofthe .coil .ata point spaced from .its free.end.-.

Themountingior .the anchoring. shoe comprises .a slide which is actuatedbyv a fiuidpressure motor on the frame and .a gripping mechanism for pulling the free end of the coil outwardly is supported on the slide for movement 1 relative-thereto inza manner to be described such that its operation is effective tobendthe end ofithe'coil about.

Figure-1 illustratesv diagrammatically :the manner in.

which. the .coilopeningpapparatus of this invention is ape p Ice 2,880,778

plied to a conventionalarrangement of apparatus for processing and handling strip;

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the coil open.

ing apparatus shown in Figure .1;

Figure 3 is an end elevation. looking from the right of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along .9.

the line IVIVof Figure2;v

invention;

Figure, 6 is a sectional'view taken substantially ialong g;

the line Vl'--VI of Figure 5; and

Figure'7 is a plan view of themounting and operating. frame for the'igrippingdevice shown 'in Figures 5 and 6'.

Figure 1 illustrates diagrammatically thegmanner. in which metal strip'is fed'through pinch'rolls 1 to a rollingi f mill'2 from a coil C which'is 'rotatably supported on a coil box'S. Coils .C of metal strip are supplied by .anendless' conveyor 4 and are transported to the coil box. 3 through a station S at which they are opened rbyihavinga' reversebend formed in the free ends Xof their outer' convolutions in a manner to be described. The station S is comprised of a coil supporting cradle in the form "of a pair of motor driven'blocker rolls 5 and the coil opening 1 The blocker rolls 5 may have a fixed mounting relative to the coil openingapparatus 6 or may be part of a carriage for delivering coils C from the conveyor 4 to' the coil box 3. While the coil opening apparatus 6 of this invention is shown in conjunc tion with blocker rolls 5, it will be understood that the apparatus 6 may'be'provided as a permanent adjunct-of apparatus 6 of this invention.

a coil box 3 Gran uncoilingmandrel.

As best shown in Figure'2, the blocker rolls 5 occupy: spacedparallelpositions and cradle a coil C for rotationthereon with its axis extending horizontally and arranged in a vertical plane-which-is positioned centrally of the blocker rolls 5. Since the blocker rolls 5 have a motor drive (not shown) theycan be operated to rotate thecoil-i" C to a position with its free end X arranged relatively to an anchoring shoe 7 as shown in Figure 2. The anchoring shoe 7 forms a part of the coil opening apparatus 6 andis adapted to have'clamping engagement-with the outer-convolution of the coil C along a line spaced -in- Wardly from its free end X and lying in the vertical diametral plane of the coil C. The shoe 7 is supported in a manner to be described for vertical movement from-its retracted position as shown in Figure 3 to a position in clamping engagement with the outer convolution of a'coil C as shown in Figure 2. In this respect, the solid lin'esin Figure 2 show the operative clamping position'of theshoe' 7 with respect to a coil of the maximum diameterrwhichfli can be. handled by the'apparatus and the brokenlines show the positionwhich it will occupy when moved to "'J' clamping engagementwith a coil of smaller diameter.

The shoe-7 is mounted for vertical movement by a carriage,-designated as a whole by the numeral 8, on a supporting framework 9 which extends axially ofand. is arrangedsymmetrically'with respect to'the rocker. rolls 5 I as best shown in-Fig'ures 2 and 3. Movement of the car-. riage 8 is guided by vertically extending slides 10 which are connected at their lower ends with opposite ends of the shoe7 and have their upper ends secured to the carriage sides 11. Theslides 10 have a guided support,in....

slotted trackways 12 projecting from opposite sidesof a cylinder 13 (see Figure 4) of a fluid pressuremotorld.-- The upperend of the. .motor14 is secured/to thetramew work 9 ina positionwiththeaxis of itsicylinder 131ex;,..

tending vertically andzcentrallypf the space betweenwthe blocker rollsv 5. A piston "IOdr-IS projectsv :fromthelower end of the cylinder-'13 and: has aconnectionxat116.:withthe Patented Apr. 7, 19.59

shoe'7 for imparting vertical movement to it and to the carriage 8.

A vacuum operated strip gripping and pulling device, designated as a whole by the numeral 20, is mounted on the carriage 8 both for movement therewith and for movement relative thereto. Its mounting on the carriage 8 comprises a U-shaped frame 21 which has side arms 22 with pivot connections 23 to the carriage 8 at opposite ends of the gripping shoe 7. A pivot 24 connects the gripping device 20 with a mounting part 25 secured to the underside of the frame 21. The pivotal position of the frame 21 and the gripping device 20 carried thereby relative to the carriage 8 is controlled by a fluid pressure motor 27 which completes the mounting of the device 20 on the frame 8. The motor 27 has trunnions 28 projecting from opposite sides thereof which are rotatably supported in arms 29 extending from the sides 11 of the carriage 8 as best shown in Figure 4 to provide a rocking suppolt for the motor 27 on the carriage 8. The motor 27 actuates a piston rod 31 which has its lower end connected by a pivot 32 to a pair of mounting lugs 34 on the frame 21. The rod 31 normally occupies an extended position shown in Figure 2 with the device 20 arranged relative to the shoe 7 for gripping engagement with the strip end X when the shoe 7 is moved into clamping engagement therewith.

The gripping device 20 is a vacuum or suction operated mechanism which has a preferred construction as shown in Figures and 6. It comprises a rectangular center plate 35 which is provided with a rubber flange 36 about its periphery and a clamp 37 for securing the flange 36 against the plate 35. The flange 36 has a downwardly turned lip 38 around its outer edge for sealing engagement with the surface of the strip to be pulled thereby. An opening 39 in the plate 35 is connected with a conduit 40 (see Figure 2) for applying vacuum to the gripping device 20. Mounting lugs 41 projecting upwardly from the plate 35 have openings 42 for the reception of the ends of the pivot pin 24 which connects the device 20 to the frame 21 and thereby to the carriage 8. While a vacuum operated gripping and pulling device 20 has been shown in the drawings, it will be understood that one which is electromagnetically operated may be substituted if desired.

The operation of the apparatus is controlled by the motors 14 and 27 which are conventional double acting fluid pressure motors of the expansible chamber type and have the usual reversing control valves for effecting actuation of their piston rods between retracted and extended positions. In the normal condition of the apparatus 6, the motor 14 holds its piston rod 15 and the shoe 7 in the retracted position shown in Figure 3, and the motor 27 holds its rod 31 and the gripping device 20 in the extended position relative to the shoe 7 as shown in Figure 2. After emplacement of a coil C in the cradle rocker rolls 5 with its free end X located as shown in Figure 2, the motor 14 is operated to lower the carriage 8. This move ment of the carriage 8 moves the shoe 7 into clamping engagement with the outer coil convolution which is thus held tightly against the body of the coil C. At the same time, the device 20 moves into engagement with the free end X of the strip and grips it when vacuum is applied through the conduit 40 under the control of suitable valve mechanism (not shown). While the shoe 7 is held clamped against the outer convolution of the coil C, the gripping device 20 is moved outwardly to bend the end X about the shoe 7. This is effected by operating the motor 27 to move its rod 31 to retracted position and pull the device 20 outwardly by pivoting the frame 21 relative to the carriage 8. This results in movement of the parts of the apparatus 6 to the relative positions shown in Figure 1 and pulls the free end X of the strip outwardly from the body of the coil C. The vacuum connection to the device 20 through the conduit 40 is then interrupted to loosen its gripping engagement with the strip end X and the motors 14 and 27 are then operated to return the parts of the apparatus 6 to the relative positions shown in Figure 2 for another coil opening operation. Since the end X is bent about the shoe 7 upon movement of the gripping device relative thereto to the position shown in Figure 1, a reverse bend is formed in the end X at its point of engagement with the shoe 7 which is effective to hold the end X outwardly from the coil after it is released from engagement by the parts 7 and 20. This of course facilitates threading the end X through the pinch or feed rolls 1 for a rolling mill 2 or other strip processing apparatus.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for opening a coil of metal strip comprising a support, a carriage having a slide mounting on said support for movement relative thereto, an anchoring shoe secured to said carriage for movement therewith to a position in which it has clamping engagement with the outer convolution of said coil at a point spaced from its free end, a fluid pressure motor mounted on said support for moving said carriage to said position and holding it against movement therefrom, a frame, a pivot connecting said frame to said carriage for movement relative thereto, means mounted on said frame at a point spaced from said pivot for gripping engagement with said coil free end, and a fluid pressure motor having a pivotal support on said carriage and a connection With said frame for pivoting said frame to pull the free end of said coil engaged by said gripping means outwardly to bend it about said shoe.

2. An apparatus for opening coils of sheet metal strip comprising a cradle for supporting a coil to be opened in a position with its axis extending horizontally, a supporting framework arranged over said cradle and the coil thereon, a fluid pressure motor having a cylinder secured to said framework with its axis extending vertically and normal to the axis of said cylinder, slide trackways secured to opposite sides of said cylinder, a carriage including verticaly extending slides arranged in said trackways for guiding its movement relative to said cylinder, an anchoring shoe on said carriage for clamping engagement with the outer convolution of said coil along a line extending axially thereof and spaced inwardly from its free end, a piston rod actuated by said motor and connected with said carriage for moving it to and from a position in which said shoe has clamping engagement with said coil, a U- shaped frame having arms with pivotal connections at their outer ends to said carriage, a gripping means on said frame at a point spaced from said pivotal connections for gripping engagement with the outer convolution of said coil at a point between its free end and the said line of clamping engagement by said shoe, and means for pivoting said frame relative to said shoe comprising a piston rod having a pivotal connection with the outer end of said frame, and a fluid pressure motor for actuating said last-named rod including a cylinder having a trunnion support on said carriage for rocking movement about an axis parallel to the axis of said frame pivotal connections.

3. An apparatus for opening a coil of metal strip comprising a support, a carriage mounted on said support for movement relative thereto, an anchoring shoe secured to said carriage for movement therewith to a position in which it has clamping engagement with the outer convolution of said coil at a point spaced from its free end, motor means mounted on said support for moving said carriage to and holding it in said position, a frame, means connecting said frame to said carriage for movement relative thereto, means mounted on said frame at a point spaced from said connecting means for gripping engagement with said coil free end, and motor means mounted on said carriage for movement relative thereto and hav- 5 ing a connection with said frame for moving said frame 2,266,067 to pull the free end of said coil engaged by said gripping 2,494,399 means outwardly to bend it about said shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 878,03 5

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,872,045 Smitmans Aug. 16, 1932 6 Nyberg Dec. 16, 1941. McCleary Jan. 10, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany May 28, 1953

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