US3150706A

US3150706A - Method and apparatus for handling coils of metal strip

Info

Publication number: US3150706A
Application number: US189011A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jeremiah W O'brien
Original assignee: United Engineering and Foundry Co
Current assignee: United Engineering and Foundry Co
Priority date: 1962-04-20
Filing date: 1962-04-20
Publication date: 1964-09-29
Anticipated expiration: 1981-09-29
Also published as: GB954770A; ES287033A1; FR1346088A; BE631046A

Description

Sept. 29, 1964 J. w. O'BRIEN 3,150,706

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING COILS OF METAL STRIP Filed April 20, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 2' Fl l O INVENTOR. T0240): BY

Sept. 29, 1964 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING COILS 0F METAL STRIP Filed April 20 1962 J. W. O'BRIEN 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 in m (\l 9' N L1. l0

r IO IIlVENTOR. 0%

Sept. 29, 1964 J. w. O'BRIEN 3,150,706

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING cons OF METAL STRIP Filed April 20, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent 3,150,705 METHGD AND APPARATUS FER HANDLING QUlLS Gil METAL STREP Jeremiah W. Oilrien, Pittsburgh, Pa, assiguor to United Engineering and Foundry Qompany, Pittsburgh, Pa, a

corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Apr. Zil, 1962, Ser. No. 189,011 7 Claims. ((31. 153-2) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for use in conjunction with strip processing lines and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus that will enable the leading ends of coils to be quickly prepared for successive feeding of the coils into the line.

in connection with continuous pickling lines, for example, as employed in conjunction with the manufacture of steel strip, it is necessary, for various reasons well known to the industry, to remove portions of the leading ends of the coils prior to the uncoiling thereof. Since such portions may extend a distance of 40 feet or even more in some instances, there has existed heretofore a serious problem of quickly and efficiently removing these portions. In view of the fact that strip must be continuously fed into the line, it is obviously imperative that any delay incident to the preparation of the coils for uncoiling must be kept at a very minimum.

Since there is only a very limited amount of time available to perform all of the essential operations prior to the uncoiling of the strip into the line, such as, the positioning of the coils and the shearing-welding-trimming opera tion, it is a decisive advantage to be able to remove the aforesaid leading end portions in a manner that will afford as much time as possible to perform these essential operations.

The present invention is addressed to a method and apparatus which will permit the undesirable leading end portions of coils to 'be severed in a manner that the coils can be madeready for uncoiling with very little delay.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide in conjunction with the usual entry end equipment of a processing line, an auxiliary strip uncoiling and shearing arrangement for uncoiling and shearing the leading ends of coils, after which the coils can be immediately transferred to the processing line and the sheared leading end portions cut up into shorter lengths at the convenience of the operator and while the coils are being further prepared for feeding into the line.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means for continuously running the shear as well as means for intermittently feeding the strip to the shear where the strip will be cut up into shorter lengths.

it is also a further object of this invention to provide, in conjunction with the entry end equipment of a processing line, an auxiliary uncoiling and shearing arrangement consisting of a pair of coil supporting driven rollers designed to uncoil and then recoil a portion of the leading end of coil supported thereby, a pair of pinch rolls, an adjacent leveler unit, a shear and a second pinch roll unit spaced from the leveler and followed by a runout table. In this arrangement the undesirable portion of the leading end of a coil is unwound from the coil and passed through the first pair of pinch rolls and the leveler, through the shear and onto the runout table, after which the shear is operated to shear the undesirable material from the coil. Following this, the coil can be rewound by the supporting rollers and immediately transferred to the processing line for uncoiling and processing therethrough. At the same time the sheared leading end portion can be returned through the shear and cut up into a number of shorter lengths at a time when such an operation will not delay the coil uncoiling operation.

These objects, as well as the other novel features and advantages of this invention, will be more fully described hereinafter in which connection reference will be made to the following drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the entry end equipment of a continuous metallic strip pickling line;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on lines IIII of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on lines Ill-III of FIGURE 1 of the auxiliary uncoiling and shearing arrangement herein disclosed.

With reference to FIGURES 1 and 2 there is illustrated a coil conveyor 16 consisting of a pair of parallel chains 11 designed to be intermittently driven by a drive not shown and having coil supporting members on which coils are placed with their axis extending in a vertical direction and their convolutions Wound in a clockwise direction. At the discharge end of the conveyor, there is provided an upender 12 having three coil engaging fingers 13, 14 and 15 which are designed to pass between the parallel coil-supponting chains of the conveyor 10 to a position immediately below the upper surfaces of coil supporting members thereof.

The upender 12 is rigidly secured to a rotatable shaft 16 which, in turn, is connected to and rotated by a piston cylinder assembly 17 FIGURE 1 illustrates the upender in its coil receiving position. With reference to FIG- URE 2, it will be observed that the upender 12 is designed to rotate a coil, supported by the fingers, degrees and lift it off of the conveyor 10. A pair of spaced apart adjustable rollers 18 are provided for engaging the one side of the coil and supporting its weight when the upender is rotated. As shown in FIGURE 1 the rollers 18 are individually connected to piston cylinder assemblies 19 and 22 by means of a pair of arms 23 and 24.

A first coil transfer car 27 is provided for receiving the coils from the upender 12 and, as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, consists of a frame 28 having a vertically movable column 29 which includes at its upper end a platen 31 and at its lower end a piston cylinder assembly 32 to which the platen is connected and by which means it is raised and lowered. To the frame 28 of the transfer car 27 there is provided two pairs of transversely spaced apart freely rotatable wheels 33 which roll over and are supported by a pair of parallelly arranged tracks 34. As seen on FIGURE 2, the tracks 34 extend from a position adjacent to the upender 12 to a position adjacent to an uncoiler 35. With reference to FIGURE 1, it will be noted that the width of the platen 31 of the car 27 is narrow enough to allow it to be advanced between the rollers 18 of the upender 12 when the rollers 18 are in their horizontal positions.

Spaced to the left of the upender 12 as one views FIG- URES 1, 2 and 3, there is provided a pair of cradle rolls 36 and 37 arranged to extend in the same direction as the tracks 34. The rolls are spaced apart a sufiicient distance to allow the platen 31 of the first transfer car 27 to be advanced between them and deposit a coil carried thereby upon the rolls 36 and 37, the platen being first raised by the operation of the cylinder 32, this relationship being best shown in FIGURE 3. The rolls 36 and 37 are motor driven by individual motors 38, as best shown in FIGURES 1 and 3. The driving of the rolls 36 and 37 when at the time they are supporting a coil will effect a winding or unwinding of the coil depending on the direction of rotation of the rolls. Hereinafter, on occasion, the cradle rolls will be referred to as a first uncoiler.

As best illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 3, adjacent to the roll 37, there is provided a strip peeling mechanism 41 consisting of a freely rotatable roller 42 and a knife and 37, as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, there is provided a second coil transfer car 48 which is designed to transfer a coil from the cradle rolls to the uncoiler 35. This second transfer car is made up of a frame 49 having a central vertically extending opening into which there is received a vertically movable column 52, the column at its upper end being provided with a pair of coil supporting rollers 53 and at its lower end with a piston cylinder assembly 54 which serves to raise and lower the column 52. The column is further provided with a tubular bushing 55 which is keyed to the column and received in a second frame 56. To the bushing there is secured a bracket 57 to which, in turn, there is secured a piston cylinder assembly 58 designed to rotate the column 52 90 degrees so that the coils may be presented to the uncoiler 35 with their leading ends extending in a counterclockwise direction and in the direction of the processing line. These elements are best shown in FIG- URE 2.

The second coil car 48 is provided with a pair of transversely spaced apart freely rotatable wheels 62 which roll over the tracks 34. As shown in FIGURE 2, the second coil car 48 is connected at its one end to the first coil car 27 by a clevis-pin arrangement 63 and at its other end to the rod of a piston cylinder assembly 64, the latter being the means provided for moving the two cars over the tracks 34. The uncoiler 35, which hereinafter, on occasion, will be referred to as a second uncoiler, is representative of a well-known commercial unit, and is not believed to require any specific description in order to understand the present invention.

With reference now to the auxiliary coil preparing arrangement herein disclosed, attention is directed particularly to FIGURES 1 and 3, the arrangement being best illustrated in the latter figure. With reference to FIGURE 1, it Will be noted that perpendicular to the line of travel of the coil transfer cars 27 and 4-3 and parallel to the conveyor 10, there is arranged an auxiliary strip uncoiling and shearing line designed to remove the undesirable leading end portions of the coils and permit the coils to be advanced to the second uncoiler 35 with a minimum loss of time.

It will be observed in FIGURE 3 that adjacent to the cradle rolls 36 and 57 which constitute the first uncoiler, and at right angles to the direction of travel of the first and

second transfer cars

27 and 48, there is provided a pinch roll unit consisting of a pair of motor driven pinch rolls 65, the upper one of which is connected to and vertically adjusted by a piston cylinder assembly 66. Adjacent to and on the far side of the pinch rolls 65, there is arranged a strip leveler 67 of a well known type. Following the leveler, there is provided a table 68 consisting of a series of freely rotating rollers 69. The table is pivotally mounted at its leveler end and adapted to he raised by a piston cylinder assembly 71 connected to its underside at the leveler end of the table. At the free end of the table 68 there is provided a shear 72 having a drive 73, the drive, shown only in FIGURE 1, is adapted to operate the shear either continuously or intermittently. At the exit side of the shear there is provided a second pinch roll unit consisting of a pair of rolls 7%, the upper one of which is connected to and vertically adjustable by a piston cylinder assembly 74-. The rolls 7% of this pinch roll unit are designed to be intermittently driven by a drive 75, shown only in FIG- URE l.

As previously mentioned, it is a feature of this invention to provide means for continuously driving the shear 72 thereby reducing considerably the torque requirements over a start-stop type of shear. According to the present invention the much lighter pinch rolls 7%) are either driven intermittently or in their place there may be provided means for feeding the strip in an intermittent fashion. This improvement not only results in a very economical arrangement since it requires a minimum amount of horsepower, but also reduces heat and wear of parts normally resulting from a number of successive intermittent operations.

To the exit side of the second pinch roll assembly 70 there is arranged a runout table 76, consisting of a series of freely rotatable rolls 77, the length of the table being made sufficient to handle the maximum expected length of the undesirable leading end portions desired to be trimmed from the coils. As indicated previously, this length may reach a length of 40 feet or more. In conjunction with the shear 72 there is provided an individual chute 78 designed to direct the sheared-up lengths from the shear into a disposal car 79.

The operation of the present invention may be briefly explained as follows:

A coil placed on the conveyor 10 and brought to a position over the fingers 13, 14 and 15 of the upender 12 is rotated degrees by the upender as the result of the operation of the piston cylinder assembly 17. After this takes place, the first transfer car 27 is brought into its coil receiving position by the operation of the piston cylinder assembly 64. Once this has occurred, the piston cylinder assembly 32 of the first transfer car and the piston cylinder assemblies 19 and 22 of the upender are raised and lowered respectively, thus placing the coil on the platen 31. Following this, the piston cylinder assembly 64 is again operated so as to bring the first transfer car 27 to a position between the cradle rolls 36 and 37 of the first uncoiler, the platen of the car 27 being elevated by the piston cylinder assembly 32 so that the coil carried thereby will clear the rolls 36 and 37. The platen is then lowered by a further operation of the cylinder assembly 32 to deposit the coil upon the cradle rolls 36 and 37 It will be noted in FIGURE 3 that when the coil is carried by the rolls 36 and 37, its leading portion will extend toward the pinch rolls 65. Once the coil is supported by the cradle rolls 36 and 37 the piston cylinder assembly 46 of the peeler mechanism 41 is operated to bring its roller 42 in against the periphery of the coil which is rotating by the cradle rolls whereby the peeler knife 43 will be engaged by the leading end of the strip and separated from the coil. Once a sufiicient length of strip has been peeled from the coil, the rotation of the coil is interrupted and the piston cylinder assembly 46 operated to bring the arm 44 into its retracted position. This action will cause the peeled leading end to be bent over the rod 47 whereby a permanent set will be placed in the strip.

The next step will be to rewind the coil to free its leading end from the peeler, after which the coil is again unwound whereby its peeled outer convolution will be urged into the pinch rolls 65, through the leveler 67, over the table 68, through the open shear 72, and thus through the pinch rolls 70. The leveling imparted to the strip will cause the strip to lie fiat as it is advanced over the tables 68 and 77. Once the total length of the undesirable leading end portion has passed through the shear 72, the rotation of the cradle rolls 36 and 37 is momentarily interrupted and the shear 72 is operated to sever the undesirable leading end portion from the coil. After this occurs, the cradle rolls 36 and 37 will again be rotated to rewind the extended portion of the coil.

Previous to this taking place, the piston cylinder assembly 64 will have been operated to bring the second transfer car 48 into a position between the cradle rolls 36 and 37, the first car 27 at the same time being shifted to a position adjacent to the upender 12 for receiving a second coil from the conveyor 10. Once the first coil is in readiness to be transferred to the second uncoiler 35, the piston cylinder assembly 54 is operated to bring the rollers 53 of the second transfer car 48 into engagement with the bottom surface of the coil and lift it off the cradle rolls 36 and 37.

After this occurs, the piston cylinder assembly 64 is again operated to shift both of the

transfer cars

27 and 48 whereby the first transfer car 27 with a second coil carried thereby will be brought into a position between the cradle rolls 36 and 37 of the first uncoiler and the second transfer car 48 will be brought into a position intermediate the cradle rolls 36 and 37 and the second uncoiler 35. It is to be pointed out that in this phase of the operation the leading end of the first coil will project in a direction at right angles to the travel of the strip as coiled by the uncoiler 35 so that it is necessary to rotate this coil 90 degrees. This is accomplished by operating the piston cylinder assembly 58 of the second transfer car 48 which will rotate the column 52 thereof and the coil carried thereby into the proper position, as shown in FIGURE 2. Once this occurs, the cylinder 64 can again be operated to bring the coil into the uncoiler 35, the piston cylinder assembly 54 of the second car 48 being operated to position the axis of the first coil in the proper elevation to be received by the uncoiler 35. As to the first car 27, since the second coil will have been transferred to the cradle rolls 36 and 37, this car is free to move with the second car 48.

It will be appreciated that once the cradle rolls 36 and 37 of the first uncoiler begin the operation of recoiling the coil after the first shearing operation has taken place, the operator may commence to shear up the undesirable leading end portion. To accomplish this,

'the table 68 is raised by operation of the piston cylinder assembly 71 and the shear 72 and the pinch rolls 70 operated as previously discussed whereby the pinch rolls 70 by operating intermittently will feed a predetermined length of strip through the shear where it is sheared by the continuous cutting shear 72, the sheared portions falling down the chute 78 and eventually into the disposal car 79. Hence, while this shearing operation is taking place, the coil can be transferred to the second uncoiler 35 and this transfer operation can take place almost immediately and without substantial delay pending cutting up of the long sheared leading end portion.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains that this auxiliary uncoiling and shearing arrangement as disclosed herein need not necessarily be located as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but may be located in a number of other positions with equal effect. For example, the auxiliary arrangement could be located as an extension to the conveyor and thus receive the coil immediately from the conveyor.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A method of preparing coils of strip for feeding them successively into a continuous processing line within which there are included a first and a second uncoiler, a shear, a coil transfer means and a strip feeding means, the steps comprising:

positioning a coil in said first uncoiler,

uncoiling a portion of the leading end of said coil, shearing a portion of the said uncoiled leading end,

recoiling said unsheared leading end by said first uncoiler,

transferring the coil to said second uncoiler,

and at the same time refeeding the sheared leading end portion to said shear and cutting it up into shorter lengths.

2. Apparatus for uncoiling coils of strip for feeding them successively into a continuous processing line comprising:

.a second uncoiler arranged adjacent to the processing a first uncoiler spaced from said second uncoiler,

a transfer means for transferring a coil from said first uncoiler to said second uncoiler from where it is fed into the line,

means causing said first uncoiler to wind and unwind a coil positioned therein,

a shearing means associated with said first uncoiler,

means for operating said shear to sever a portion of the leading end of a coil unwound by said first uncoiler, and

means for feeding the sheared leading end portion into the shear to be divided into a plurality of shorter lengths during the interval the coil is being rewound by the first uncoiler and transferred to said second uncoiler by said transfer means.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said first uncoiler includes a pair of coil supporting cradle rolls,

means for driving said rolls,

a first and second strip feeding means located on either side of said shear, said first feeding means operatively arranged to feed the leading end of the coil to said shear and said second feeding means operatively arranged to refeed the sheared portion of the leading end into said shear to be divided into a plurality of shorter lengths.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein means are arranged adjacent to said first feeding means for levelling the uncoiled strip, and

means is provided for freeing the leading end of the strip from the coil when the coil is uncoiled by said first uncoiler means.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3, including means for driving said shear continuously,

means for driving said second feeding means intermittently to cause a predetermined length of the sheared leading end to be refed into the shear to be divided thereby into a plurality of shorter lengths.

6. Apparatus according to claim 4, including a first table arranged between said first feeding means and said shear, and

a second table arranged adjacent to said second feeding means on the side opposite the shear.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein at least the end of said first table adjacent said shear is vertically movable to permit the refed sheared leading end to pass thereunder, and

means for so moving said table.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,496,056 Johnson June 3, 1924 2,087,010 Wardle et al. July 13, 1937 2,188,782 Thomas Jan. 30, 1940 2,266,067 Nyberg Dec. 16, 1941 3,042,334 Erskine July 3, 1962

Claims

1. A METHOD OF PREPARING COILS OF STRIP FOR FEEDING THEM SUCCESSIVELY INTO A CONTINUOUS PROCESSING LINE WITHIN WHICH THERE ARE INCLUDED A FIRST AND A SECOND UNCOILER, A SHEAR, A COIL TRANSFER MEANS AND A STRIP FEEDING MEANS, THE STEPS COMPRISING: POSITIONING A COIL IN SAID FIRST UNCOILER, UNCOILING A PORTION OF THE LEADING END OF SAID COIL, SHEARING A PORTION OF THE SAID UNCOILED LEADING END, RECOILING AND UNSHEARED LEADING END BY SAID FIRST UNCOILER, TRANSFERRING THE COIL TO SAID SECOND UNCOILER, AND AT THE SAME TIME REFEEDING THE SHEARED LEADING END PORTION TO SAID SHEAR AND CUTTING IT UP INTO SHORTER LENGTHS.

2. APPARATUS FOR UNCOILING COILS OF STRIP FOR FEEDING THEM SUCCESSIVELY INTO A CONTINUOUS PROCESSING LINE COMPRISING: A SECOND UNCOILER ARRANGED ADJACENT TO THE PROCESSING LINE, A FIRST UNCOILER SPACED FROM SAID SECOND UNCOILER, A TRANSFER MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING A COIL FROM SAID FIRST UNCOILER TO SAID SECOND UNCOILER FROM WHERE IT IS FED INTO THE LINE, MEANS CAUSING SAID FIRST UNCOILER TO WIND AND UNWIND A COIL POSITIONED THEREIN, A SHEARING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID FIRST UNCOILER, MEANS FOR OPERATING SAID SHEAR TO SEVER A PORTION OF THE LEADING END OF A COIL UNWOUND BY SAID FIRST UNCOILER, AND MEANS FOR FEEDING THE SHEARED LEADING END PORTION INTO THE SHEAR TO BE DIVIDED INTO A PLURALITY OF SHORTER LENGTHS DURING THE INTERVAL THE COIL IS BEING REWOUND BY THE FIRST UNCOILER AND TRANSFERRED TO SAID SECOND UNCOILER BY SAID TRANSFER MEANS.