US2927488A

US2927488A - Rolling mill

Info

Publication number: US2927488A
Application number: US604825A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lothar H Petereit
Original assignee: Morgan Construction Co
Current assignee: Siemens Industry Inc
Priority date: 1956-08-17
Filing date: 1956-08-17
Publication date: 1960-03-08
Anticipated expiration: 1977-03-08

Description

L. H. PETEREIT ROLLING MILL March 8, 1960 3 SheetsSheet l Filed Aug. 17, 1956 INVENTOR. othar H. Pe t e'rei t BY oTney March 8, 1960 H. PETEREIT 2,927,488

ROLLING MILL Filed Aug. 17, 1956 3 Sheets-51.19MB

INVENTOR. .ZothaT H. Petereit 11am J 4 H o'rne ROLLING MILL Lothar H. Petereit, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Morgan Construction Company, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 17, 1956, Serial No. 604,825

4 Claims. (Cl. 80-311) This invention relates to a rolling mill and more particularly to apparatus having vertical rolls for the forming and attenuation of metal.

in a continuous rolling mill it is advantageous at certain points in the rolling schedule to make use of a roll stand having vertical rolls. Among other beneficial aspects of the use of such a mill is the fact that it does away with the necessity of twisting the material being rolled. However, certain problems arise in the construction and use of a vertical mill that are not encountered in the design of a horizontal mill. The driving connection between the fixed pinions and the adjustable vertical rolls is accomplished by use of drive spindles, each spindle being connected to its corresponding roll neck and pinion by couplings. Also, a splined connection is provided, either between the spindle and roll or between the spindle and pinion; this connection permits vertical adjustment of the rolls to align grooves, etc. A vertical rolling mill of this type is shown in the patent of OMalley No. 2,575,231. In the past, when the coupling joining the spindle to its roll neck was disconnected to change rolls, the splined connection made it possible for the coupling and spindle to fall downwardly a considerable distance with the attendant danger of damage to the elements; this was true whether the splined connection was at the top or at the bottom of the spindle. Furthermore, coupling connections with the roll have always been cumbersome and considerable time was required to make and break the connections. This time added to the costly, non-operating time consumed in making roll changes and was very undesirable. These and other difficulties experienced with the previouslyknown devices are obviated by the present invention in a novel manner.

It is therefore an outstanding object of the invention to provide a vertical rolling mill in which the roll drive means is retained in its operative position despite removal of the roll.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a vertical rolling mill having a connection between the spindle coupling and the roll neck, which connection is readily rendered inoperative or operative.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a vertical rolling mill having a connection between each roll and its spindle coupling that may be disengaged for a roll change from a position away from the mill.

With these and other objects in view, as may become apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of the parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood by reference to certain of its structural forms, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is an elevational view of a vertical rolling mill embodying the principles of the instant invention as viewed along the pass line from the approach side of the mill,

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the invention taken transversely of the pass line, and

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Figure 3 is a sectional view of a portion of the apparatus taken on the line III-III of Figure 1.

Referring first to Figures land 2, wherein are best shown the general features of the invention, the vertical rolling mill, designated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown as comprising a fixed main housing 11 of the open top type, including four upright posts 12 arranged in two pairs at opposite sides of the mill pass line. The tops of the posts 12 are connected by a horizontal housing cap 13 which is releasably secured to the posts. Each pair of posts 12 defines a main housing window 14. A roll cage 15 is slidable vertically within the windows 15. This housing comprises two verticallyspaced

hollow frames

18 and 19, these frames being integrally connected by vertical posts 21. The posts are engaged by clamping plates 22 bolted to the posts 12 of the main housing 11. Each of the

frames

18 and 19 is provided with a window, not shown, in which is slidably mounted two bearings 23 for the roll necks 24 of two grooved vertical rolls 25.

The bearings are arranged to be adjusted in a horizontal direction by any suitable and Well-known means including a screwdown apparatus 26 mounted on the main housing and actuated by an electric motor 27. The bearings include a provision for receiving .both radial and thrust loads and the vertical position of the upper bearings is determined by the setting of a parallelogram bearing adjusting apparatus 28 of the kind shown and described in the patent of Morgan No. 2,184,463. A motor 20 provides for the vertical movement of the roll cage 16 within the main housing through We11 known screw means 30.

At some distance below the rolls there is provided a driving mechanism comprising a gear housing 29 which encloses a pair of meshing, vertical pinions 31. These I pinions are suitably driven through bevel gears, not shown, which are connected to a horizontal drive shaft 32 which is driven by an electric motor, not shown. Each pinion is provided with a hollow vertical bore 33 which is formed with a vertical internal gear surface having a cylindrical pitch surface. In each bore resides a head 34 of a spindle 35, the head being formed with gear teeth having a spherical pitch surface to engage the bore 33 in driving relation in the manner shown and described in the patent of Morgan No. 2,136,947. The spindles 35 are operatively connected to the respective rolls 25 and the connection between the spindles and the rolls is best seen in Figure 3. The upper end of each spindle 35 is provided with a head 36 having gear teeth of spherical pitch surface similar to'that carried on the lower end. The head resides in an internally geared surface of a bore 37 formed in one end of a generally-cylindrical coupling 38. The neck 24 of the roll 25 is formed with a non-circular end portion 39 which fits snugly and non-rotatably into a reduced portion 41 of the bore 37. A plate 42 separates the reduced portion of the bore from the geared portion. Next to the end portion 39 of the roll neck is an enlarged portion 43 which fits loosely into a counterbore 44 formed in the coupling. An annular groove 45 is formed on the portion 43. A, number of outwardly and downwardlyinclined bores 46 are formed in the coupling andhave their inner ends located adjacent the groove 45. Each bore 46 is provided with a hardened ball 47 which normally resides partly in the groove 45 and partly in its springs 52 equally spaced about the sleeve and joining it to the coupling. Adjacent each bore 47 in the coupling is a recess 53 on the inner surface of the sleeve. Each recess has an inclined upper surface 54, the intersection of which with the inner surface of the sleeve is normally slightly below the center of the'ball 47. The upper end of the sleeve 48 is provided with an outwardlyextending flange 55.

Referring to all figures of the drawings, a horizontal shaft 56 is mounted on the roll case 15 on one side of the rolls, while a similar shaft 57 is mounted on the other side. Keyed to the shafts adjacent the rolls are arms 58, each of which is provided with a hardened steel bar 59; the location and'sizes of these elements are such that, when the

shafts

56 and 57 are rotated, the bars 59 strike the flange 55 on the sleeve 48. The shaft 56 has an arm 61 keyed to it at one end and connected at its other end by an adjustable connecting rod 62 to one end of an arm 63, the other end of which is keyed to the shaft 57. The arm 61' is also connected by means of a link 64 to the outer end of an arm 65 the inner end of which is keyed to the output shaft of a motor-gear reduction unit 66. The unit 66 can be energized in the usual way, preferably by a switch on the mill control board, not shown. Y

The operation of the apparatus will now be readily understood in view of the above description. During normal operation, the elements of the mill occupy the positions shown in the drawings. The rolls are'driven through the shaft 32, the pinions 31, the spindles 35, and the couplings 38. The driving torque is transmitted from the coupling 38 to the neck 24 of the roll 25 through the medium of the interengagement of the non-circular reduced portion 39 of the neck with the reduced portion 41 of the bore 37 in the coupling.

When the rolls are in their lowest position a hardened button on the head 34 of the spindle 35 strikes and rests against the bottom of the bore 33 in the pinion, as shown in Figure 1. However, when the rolls have been moved to upper positions by the motor 20 operating through the screw means 30, the head 34 is clear of the bottom of the bore in the pinion; in this situation the coupling and spindle are suspended from the roll neck by virtue of the fact that each of the balls 47 resides partly in the groove 45 in the roll neck and partly in a bore 47 in the coupling. The balls are, therefore, subjected to vertical shear forces. The normal vertical and horizontal adjustments of the rolls take place without changing this situation. However, when it is. desired to change rolls, it is necessary, of course, to disconnect each roll neck and its coupling. To do this, the motor-gear reduction unit 66 is energized and it acts through the various arms and links to rotate the

shafts

56 and 57 so that the bars 59 move upwardly under the flange 55 of the sleeve 48, thus moving the sleeve upwardly. This movement of the sleeve takes place despite the biasing effect of the springs 52. The upward movement of the sleeve continues until recesses 53 arrive opposite their bores 46; when this happens the balls 47 roll downwardly into positions in which they reside partly within their bores 46 and partly within their recesses 53, but entirely out of the groove 45. The roll may then-be lifted ver tically from the coupling. In order to render a new roll operative, the roll case 15 is lowered until the lower head 34 of the spindle 35 resides closely adjacent the bottom of the bore in the pinion. Then, when the roll has been lowered into the coupling, the reduction unit 66 is reversed and the bars 59 move out from under the flange 55 of the sleeve. The springs 52 then draw the sleeve downwardly over the coupling. As the sleeve moves downwardly, the inclined upper surface 54 of each recess 53 presses its ball 47 in the manner of a cam out of the recess, through its bore 46 and into the groove 45 again. The mill isthen once more in condition for normal operation. l

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A vertical rolling mill having a pair of vertical rolls, a coupling connected to each roll, a drive spindle connected at one end to each coupling, a pinion connected to the other end of each spindle, comprising means permitting the rolls to be adjusted vertically without loss of driving connection between the rolls, couplings, spindles and pinions, the connection between each roll and its coupling permitting the coupling and spindle to be suspended downwardly from the roll, the roll being formed with an annular groove which lies within the coupling, the coupling being formed with radial bores which normally reside adjacent the groove, spherical detent members normally residing both in the groove and in the bores to provide a locking connection between the coupling and roll, and means extending out of the rolling mill operative to move the detent members out of the groove to disconnect the roll from the coupling.

2. A vertical rolling mill having a pair of vertical rolls,

,a coupling connected to each roll, a drive spindle connected at one end to each coupling, a pinion connected to theother end of each spindle, comprising means permitting the rolls to be adjusted vertically without loss of driving connection between the rolls, couplings, spindles and pinions, the connection between each roll and its coupling permitting the coupling and spindle to be suspended downwardly from the roll, the roll being formed with an annular groove which lies within the coupling, the coupling being formed with radial bores which normally reside adjacent the groove, spherical detent members normally residing both in the groove and in the bores to provide a locking connection between the coupling and roll, and means including a sleeve, slidably mounted on each coupling, and an actuating mechanism extending out of the rolling mill for moving said sleeve relative to the coupling quickly to disconnect the roll from the coupling.

3. A vertical rolling mill having a pair of vertical rolls, a coupling connected to each roll, a drive spindle connected at one end to each coupling, a pinion connected to the other end of each spindle, comprising means including a splined connection between each spindle and its pinion permitting the rolls to be adjusted vertically without loss of driving connection between the rolls, couplings, spindles and pinions, the connection between each roll and its coupling permitting the coupling and spindle to be suspended downwardly from the roll with little other vertical support, each roll being formed with an annular groove which lies within its coupling, each coupling being formed with radial bores which normally reside adjacent the groove of its roll, spherical detent members normally residing both in the grooves and in the bores to provide a locking connection between the couplings and rolls, a sleeve slidably mounted in each coupling, and an actuating mechanism'operative externally of the mill'for moving said sleeve relative to the coupling quickly to move the detent members out of the groove to disconnect the roll from thecoupling.

4. A vertical rolling mill having a pair of vertical rolls, a coupling connected to each roll, a drive spindle connected at one end to each coupling, a pinion connected to the other end of each spindle, comprising means including a splined connection between each spindle and its pinion permitting the rolls to be adjusted vertically without, loss of driving connection between the rolls, coupli'ngs,spindles and pinions theconnection between each roll and its coupling permitting the coupling and spindle to be suspended downwardly from the roll with little other vertical support, each roll being formed with an annular groove Which lies within its coupling, each coupling being formed with radial bores which normally reside adjacent the groove of its roll, spherical detent members normally residing both in the grooves and in} the bores to provide a locking connection between the couplings and rolls, a flanged sleeve slidably mounted on each coupling and having a recess located adjacent each coupling bore normally residing slightly below the sleeve bore, and an actuating mechanism operative externally of the mill for moving said sleeve relative to the coupling quickly to permit the detent members to drop out of the groove and into the sleeve recesses to disconnect the roll from the coupling, the said actuating mechanism including a motor and hinged lifting bars located on either side of References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 634,732. Villard Oct. 15, 1901 1,761,943 Summers et al. June 3, 1930 2,136,947 Morgan Nov. 15, 1938 2,195,502 Smitmans Apr. 2, 1940 2,395,534 Cook Feb. 26, 1946 2,521,791 Earle et al Sept. 12, 1950 2,575,231 OMalley Nov. 13, 1951 2,617,673 Sacks Nov. 11, 1952 2,769,323 OMalley Nov. 6, 1956