US3779061A

US3779061A - Roll changing device

Info

Publication number: US3779061A
Application number: US00262811A
Authority: US
Inventors: C Shumaker
Original assignee: Wean United Inc
Current assignee: United Engineering Inc
Priority date: 1972-06-14
Filing date: 1972-06-14
Publication date: 1973-12-18
Anticipated expiration: 1990-12-18
Also published as: ES415937A1; JPS4952157A; FR2187428A1; GB1413906A; CA975589A; JPS5211653B2; FR2187428B1; DE2322791A1

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a roll changing device for a rolling mill including two side shifting platforms arranged in front of the mill, each having a pair of tracks for supporting a pair of rolls, one pair having been removed from the mill to be replaced by the second pair once the first pair is side shifted away from the front of the mill to position the second pair in front of the mill. Each platform also includes an opening for receiving a gear rack arranged to have its teeth projecting upwardly. On the side of the platforms remote from the mill a carriage is arranged having a motor driven pinion that engages an extension of one of the gear racks of the platforms when arranged in front of the mill, the carriage being employed to push and pull a pair of rolls to and from the mill. When not in use, the gear racks of the platforms are covered by plates selectively movable over the openings.

Description

United States Patent [191 Shumaker 1 1 ROLL CHANGING DEVICE [75] Inventor: Charles Storer Shumaker,

Glenshaw, Pa. [73] Assignee: Wean United, lnc., Pittsburgh, Pa. [22] Filed: June 14, 1972 [2]] Appl. No.: 262,811

Primary Examiner-Milton S. Mehr Attorney-Henry C. Westin [4 1 Dec. 18,1973

[57] ABSTRACT This disclosure relates to a roll changing device for a rolling mill including two side shifting platforms arranged in front of the mill, each having a pair of tracks for supporting a pair of rolls, one pair having been removed from the mill to be replaced by the second pair once the first pair is side shifted away from the front of the mill to position the second pair in front of the mill. Each platform also includes an opening for receiving a gear rack arranged to have its teeth projecting upwardly. On the side of the platforms remote from the mill a carriage is arranged having a motor driven pinion that engages an extension of one of the gear racks of the platforms when arranged in front of the mill, the carriage being employed to push and pull a pair of rolls to and from the mill. When not in use, the gear racks of the platforms are covered by plates selectively movable over the openings.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures I I 9 i l I l I" N \l 1 o 'l I -J I i I L. JJ \1 if:

PATENTEU 3.779.061

sum 2 or 5 FIG. 3

PAIENIEBUEM 81975 som anra n wI 1 ROLL CHANGING DEVICE Many attempts have been made in recent years to reduce the downtime involved in changing the rolls of a rolling mill, particularly the work rolls of a 4-high tandem mill. While a great measure of success has been realized by these efforts, the apparatuses, which vary substantially in operation and construction, have had the disadvantage of being very costlyboth from the standpoint of initial expense and maintenance.

It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide a roll changing device which will be, at least, equal in efficiency to present devices, but which will be much more economical to manufacture and operate, in addition to providing added safety for the workmen and components of the device.

More particularly, the present invention provides a roll changing device, including a support means, arranged in front of the mill for supporting a roll to be removed or inserted into the mill, means for transferring a roll to and from said support means relative to the mill, said means including a gear rack, at least a portion of which passes through an opening provided in the support means, and a cover means for selectively exposing and covering the gear rack so that in the exposed condition the gear rack can be engaged by the transfer means in order that a roll can be moved to and from the support means, and in the covered condition the opening is covered to prevent damage to the gear rack and avoid injury to workmen.

These objects as well as other novel features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood when the following description of a preferred form thereof is read along with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a roll changing device incorporating the features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a continuation of the right-hand side of FIG. 1; illustrating in plan a rolling mill.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on lines 4 4 of FIG. I; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 4.

In referring first to FIG, 2 a 4-high rolling mill is diagramatically shown by two windowed housings 11 and 12 and one of two backup rolls 13. FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are meant to depict the mill condition when a worn set of work rolls is still in the mill in readiness, to be removed therefrom while a set of new work rolls awaits transfer to the mill once the worn set is removed.

Referring to FIG. 2 on the operating side of the mill there is provided a removable platform 16 arranged at the same general elevation as the bottom of the lower work roll when in the mill and adapted to bridge an opening 17 in front of the mill 10. The opening is provided to facilitate the removal of the backup rolls of the mill, the removed position being shown in phantom in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The backup rolls are brought to this phantom position by operation of a piston cylinder assembly shown in FIG. 3. The platform 16 has a pair of parallel tracks 18 that extend over its entire length for cooperating with similar tracks arranged in the mill, not shown, on which the pair of work rolls are carried during their transport to and from the mill.

FIGS. 1 and 3 show the construction at the left of FIG. 2 with which the present invention is primarily concerned. Spaced from the front of the mill 10 at the elevation of the platform 16 is a side shifting mechanism 21. The side shifting mechanism comprises a series of platforms, FIG. 1 showing two complete ones at 22 and 23 and a portion of a third one at. 24; there being two platforms for a mill stand in which the platform 24 is provided to accommodate an adjacent interior mill stand, not shown, of a tandem mill arrangement.

Shown in FIG. 3 the platforms are supported by a common subframe 26 having at its lower surface a pair of slides that engage rails 27 arranged to allow the platforms to move parallel and in unison to the steel line of the mill so that one or the other of the platforms can be positioned in front of the windows of the housings 11 and 12.

This movement is accomplished by a single piston cylinder assembly 28, shown only in FIGS. 1 and 4 and having a stroke approximately equal to the width of one of the

platforms

22 or 23. Each

platform

22 and 23 is provided with a pair of

tracks

31 and 32 that are spaced at distances with respect to each platform equal to the spacing of the tracks 18 of the platform 16. Hence, the

tracks

31 and 32 of each

platform

22 and 23, when positioned in front of the mill 10, serve as continuations of the tracks 18.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 at the top of each

platform

22 and 23 openings 33 are provided which, as shown in FIG. I, extend over their entire lengths. In these openings are provided gear racks 34 arranged to have their teeth projecting upwardly towards the tops of the openings. The openings 33 are selectively covered, which condition is shown in the drawings, by cover plates 37 best shown in FIG. 5 where they are shown to have lower flat surfaces that rest upon the top surfaces of the gear racks 34.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cover plates 37 extend over the gear racks and at their left sides are each connected to a pair of upper arms 38 of a lever system 39 which are pivotally supported by stands 42, the lower ends of the lever systems being connected to separate piston cylinder assemblies 43. As shown in FIG. 4, the piston cylinder assemblies as well as the lever systems 39 are carried by and moved with the subframe 26 on operation of the piston cylinder'assembly 28.

In FIG. 5 it will be noted that the

platforms

22 and 23 at the adjacent left side of the openings 33 are chamfered at 44 to allow the cover plates 37 more case in moving to and from the gear racks. FIG. 5 also illustrates, in phantom, one of the cover plates 37 in its retracted condition where it is, supported by the upper surface of the platform, the platform having two slots 45 for receiving the arms 38 The main reason for providing the cover plates is to avoid foreign material falling into the gear racks that would interfere with their use and prevent a workman from inadvertently stepping into the openings 33. The gear racks are used to assist in motivating a roll transporting carriage 47.

As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 the carriage is supported by a subframe 48 arranged at the same elevation as the subframe 26, and has on its upper surface a pair of tracks 51 that line up with the

tracks

31 and 32 and tracks 18. The carriage is motivated by being provided with two pairs of wheels 52 that roll over the

tracks

31, 32 and 18 and by a pinion 53 that meshes with the gear racks 34 and an uncovered extension thereof 54 supported by the subframe 48; The pinion is driven by havi ing a sprocket 57 secured to its axle which, in turn, is

driven by a second sprocket 58 secured to a drive shaft of a motor gear reducing unit 59, carried by the carriage 47.

The carriage at its front is provided with a hook 61 pivotally operated by a piston cylinder assembly 62 and a pushing ram 63. The hook and ram cooperate with portions of the bearing chock assembly of one of the work rolls to effect movement in opposite directions, i.e., towards and away from the mill 10. FIGS. 1 and 3 show a set of new work rolls 64 arranged on the platform 22 in readiness for insertion into the mill after the worn set, not shown, has been removed from the mill. As shown, the new roll set is transferred as a unit in accordance with well-known practice over wheels 65 that engage the

tracks

31 and 32 and the tracks 18 as well as the tracts in the mill. Of course, the worn work roll set will be identical in construction to the new work roll set 64.

In operating the carriage 47 to first remove a worn work roll set from the mill 1 0 the cover plate 37 of the platform 23 is retracted to expose its gear rack 34. This allows the carriage to be brought from its inoperative position shown in FIG. 1 to a position where its hook 61 can be caused to engage one of the adjacent chocks of the worn work roll set. After this is accomplished, the carriage is retracted to position the worn set of work rolls on the platform 23, disengage from the chock and move to its inoperative position so that the piston cylinder assembly 28 of the side shifting mechanism 21 can be operated to remove the worn work roll set from in front of the mill and at the same time position the new work roll set 64 into a position in front of the mill, the new work roll set being supported at this time by the platform 22. The carriage 47 is then operated from its inoperative position to push by contact with its ram 63 the new work roll set into the mill, in

which the set will pass over the tracks of the platform 22 and platform 16.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiment of the present invention can be modified without departing from the scope of the invention. By way of example only, the gear racks 34 can be extended into the platform 16, and provided with cover plates thereby allowing a shorter carriage to be employed and the cover plates can be constructed in the form of a hinged gate.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, l have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. In a roll changing device for a rolling mill or the like having a plurality of rolls received in a window thereof,

a support means arranged in front of said window of said mill for receiving a roll to be inserted into and removed from said window,

means for transferring a roll from said window to said support means and from said support means to said window,

said means including a gear rack, at least a portion of which passes through said support means,

said support means having an opening at its upper surface for receiving said gear rack,

21 cover means for selectively opening and closing said opening so that in said open condition said gear rack is exposed for engagement by said transfer means and in the closed condition said gear rack is covered,

said cover means including a plate having a surface adapted to be supportable by said gear rack when in its closed condition,

a lever system connected to said plate, and

a piston cylinder assembly connected to said lever system for moving said plate into and out of said closed condition.

2. In a roll changing device according to claim 1 wherein said support means includes a surface for supporting said plate when in said open condition,

said support means adjacent said surface and said opening havin a chamfer edge engageable by said plate when said plate is moved to and from said closed condition.

3. In a roll changing device for a rolling mill or the like having a plurality of rolls received in a window thereof,

a cover means for selectively opening and closing said opening so that in said open condition said gear rack is exposed for engagement by said transfer means and in the closed condition said gear rack is covered,

said support means comprising a side shifting mechanism with respect to said mill and having at least two interconnected supporting platforms, each for supporting a roll,

first and second portions of said gear rack arranged in a different one of said platforms and side shiftable therewith,

a third portion of said gear rack being arranged on the side of said support means opposite said mill,

means for moving said platforms in unison to alternately position the platforms in front of said window where the gear rack portions thereof line up with said third portion of said gear rack,

one of said openings being provided in each platform, for receiving a different one of said first and second portions of said gear racks,

one of said cover means being provided for each opening, and

independent means secured to a different one of said platforms and movable therewith for moving said cover means into said selective positions.

Claims

1. In a roll changing device for a rolling mill or the like having a plurality of rolls received in a window thereof, a support means arranged in front of said window of said mill for receiving a roll to be inserted into and removed from said window, means for transferring a roll from said window to said support means and from said support means to said window, said means including a gear rack, at least a portion of which passes through said support means, said support means having an opening at its upper surface for receiving said gear rack, a cover means for selectively opening and closing said opening so that in said open condition said gear rack is exposed for engagement by said transfer means and in the closed condition said gear rack is covered, said cover means including a plate having a surface adapted to be supportable by said gear rack when in its closed condition, a lever system connected to said plate, and a piston cylinder assembly connected to said lever system for moving said plate into and out of said closed condition.

2. In a roll changing device accOrding to claim 1 wherein said support means includes a surface for supporting said plate when in said open condition, said support means adjacent said surface and said opening havin a chamfer edge engageable by said plate when said plate is moved to and from said closed condition.

3. In a roll changing device for a rolling mill or the like having a plurality of rolls received in a window thereof, a support means arranged in front of said window of said mill for receiving a roll to be inserted into and removed from said window, means for transferring a roll from said window to said support means and from said support means to said window, said means including a gear rack, at least a portion of which passes through said support means, said support means having an opening at its upper surface for receiving said gear rack, a cover means for selectively opening and closing said opening so that in said open condition said gear rack is exposed for engagement by said transfer means and in the closed condition said gear rack is covered, said support means comprising a side shifting mechanism with respect to said mill and having at least two interconnected supporting platforms, each for supporting a roll, first and second portions of said gear rack arranged in a different one of said platforms and side shiftable therewith, a third portion of said gear rack being arranged on the side of said support means opposite said mill, means for moving said platforms in unison to alternately position the platforms in front of said window where the gear rack portions thereof line up with said third portion of said gear rack, one of said openings being provided in each platform, for receiving a different one of said first and second portions of said gear racks, one of said cover means being provided for each opening, and independent means secured to a different one of said platforms and movable therewith for moving said cover means into said selective positions.