US3842638A

US3842638A - Roll-piercing mills

Info

Publication number: US3842638A
Application number: US00371194A
Authority: US
Inventors: P Schmitt; G Bathge
Original assignee: Wean United Inc
Current assignee: Wean United Inc
Priority date: 1972-06-30
Filing date: 1973-06-18
Publication date: 1974-10-22
Anticipated expiration: 1991-10-22
Also published as: IT989119B; FR2190536B3; JPS4956866A; GB1433358A; DE2233078A1; FR2190536A1

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a three roll piercing mill made up of a roll stand for receiving the rolls in which the stand with the rolls is removed and carried from the mill to a roll removal and replacing station arranged normal to the direction of travel of the material rolled by the mill and adjacent to the mill. In the station there is provided a block having pins for supporting a used roll set and a new roll set, which block is rotated to position one or the other of these sets in registry with the removed roll stand.

Description

11] 3,842,638 [451 Oct. 22, 1974 1 1 ROLL-PIERCING MILLS [75] Inventors: Paul Schmitt, Saarbruecken;

Giinter Bathge, Merschweiler, both of Germany [73] Assignec: Wean United, 1nc., Pittsburgh, Pa. [22] Filed: June 18, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 371,194

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 30, 1972 Germany 2233078 [52] US. Cl. 72/239 [51] Int. Cl B211) 31/08 [58] Field of Search 72/239, 238

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,323,345 6/1967 Lyle ct a1 72/239 3,328,973 7/1967 Scherb 72/239 3,355,923 12/1967 Gillct .7 72/239 3,418,838 12/1968 Rotcrt et a1 72/239 3,566,653 3/1971 Unrath 72/238 Primary Examiner-Milton S. Mehr Attorney, Agent, or FirmHenry C. Wcstin; Daniel Patch 1 5 7 ABSTRACT The disclosure relates to a three roll piercing mill made up of a roll stand for receiving the rolls in which the stand with the rolls is removed and carried from the 'mill to a roll removal and replacing station arranged normal to the direction of travel of the mate rial rolled by the mill and adjacent to the millhln the station there is provided a block having pins for supporting a used roll set and a new roll set, which block is rotated to position one or the other of these sets in registry with the removed roll stand. 1

10 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures The present invention relates to roll-piercing mills. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, modern rolling mills are generally designed in such a manner that the roll mountings are guided in radial slots formed in two stand halves rotatable about the roll axis in relation to one another, and are coupled with one another at either side of the stand for purposes of common radial adjustment, one stand half being anchored to the bed and holding the moving half.

There has been no lack of proposals hitherto, directed to the improvement of the design of rolling mills of this kind, although the problem of roll change has been disregarded virtually without exception despite the fact that the consequent down times and investment costs for the various ancillary pieces of equipment used represent a considerable factor in assessing the economy of this kind of tube-manufacturing plant.

The object exists to reduce the time taken by the operations of dismantling the roll stand and changing the rolls in three roll roll-piercing mills of the kind introductorily described, at the expense of low outlay in terms of aids, so that the lost production does not exceed economically acceptable limits.

According to the present invention there is provided a roll-piercing mill provided with a device for dismantling roll stands and changing rolls, comprising a mechanism for uncoupling universal shafts, a device for effecting cross-transfer of a roll-stand into a location adjacent a rolling mill, and a dismantling and assembly device of turret design, arranged in front of said location effective to perform dismantling and assembly operations on the rolls.

A particular embodiment of the uncoupling mechanism is one in which the connection of the universal shafts to the rolls when the latter are in the assembled condition can be detached by axial displacement of a fixed mechanism commonly engaging all the universal shaft flanges. The mounting units for the rolls include bores which, when the roll stand is in the assembled condition, can be placed in engagement with supporting pins of a changeover mechanism rotatable about a fixed axis and capable of traversing in the roll axis direction.

The changeover mechanism can be equipped with the components which are to be newly installed, while the roll stand is operating.

The assembled condition of the roll stand can be determined by the use of two brackets which are essential for normal operation, and of two additional brackets so that because of the short transfer travel it is unnecessary to disconnect the roll stand power lines.

The invention also proposes a device with the help of which the assembly operations can be carried out withthe right the operating condition and at the left, in

chain-dotted line, the assembly condition with the changeover mechanism in engagement and drawn fully out the need for an overhead crane so that here again,

waiting times are reduced. This device is characterized by a carriage running on horizontal rails and carrying means, for example, four double-acting cylinders with vertical axes, a portion of which means is designed to engage the roll stand.

The present invention will now be described by way of example making reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevationalview facing the seamless tubular products coming from a rolling mill, showing at FIG. 2 illustrates plan views of the devices shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in the direction of the arrow a in FIG. 2, of the rolling mill and of the changeover mechanism which is in the initial position;

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to that of FIG. 3. with the changeover mechanism this time in the operating position;

FIG. 5 is a section on the line A-B of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a section on the line C-D of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a section in accordance with FIG. 6, but in the uncoupled condition;

FIG. 8 is a section on the line E-F of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, but with an additional lifting and transfer mechanism for the roll stand; and

FIG. 10 illustrates devices corresponding to FIG. 9, in plan.

The FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the device in accordance with the invention in the two principal views, the rolling mill having been illustrated, in the amount of detail required for an understanding thereof, in the operating condition in the right hand half of the drawing and in the assembly condition in'the left hand, chain-dotted illustration.

When the rolls,-complete with mounting units 1, are in the dismantled condition as illustrated,

a. the angle of rotation of the two standhalves 3 and 4 in relation to one another is zero so that the radial planes of intersection ofrolls 2 and material 5 being rolled are located in a single plane; and

b. all the mounting units 1 of the rolls 2, in both standhalves 3 and 4, have the same distance from the roll center so that the axes of the rolls 2 are disposed at a specific interval from and parallel to the roll center.

This dismantled condition, precisely determined by mechanical limiting arrangements which have not been shown, ensures accurate alignment of bores 6 formed in the mounting units 1 which are located one behind the other in the rolling direction.

The assembly condition of the part of the roll stand, as illustrated in chain-dotted line, determines the position which a changeover mechanism g must occupy. This mechanism consists of a block 12 which is assembled on a carriage l0 and which is rotatable by means which have not been illustrated, about a pin 11. In the illustrated example the block has four working faces 13 each of which is equipped with

fixed support pins

14, 15. The carriage 10 is guided on rails 16 and can be traversed by, means of a double-acting cylinder 17 whose rigid attachment 18 can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The rolls 2, as FIGS. 6 to 8 show, are attached to universal shafts 19 through couplings which comprise a coupling element 22 carried on a pin 21 and a coupling element 24 detachably fixed to a universal shaft flange 23, the coupling elements being connected through a centering device 46 and face-gearing 25, and being retained by a split two-piece ring 26.

Circumferential grooves 44 in the coupling elements 24 determine the shape of recesses 45 in aprons 27 which can be traversed by a cylinder 32, these aprons being provided with slides 31 for the purpose and being guided in a cantilever arm 30 which is pivotable about a bearing pin 29 by means of cylinders 28. To attach the cylinder 28 and the bearing pin 29, two pillars 20 and 20' are provided, while stops 47 and 47' define the open position of the aprons 27, illustrated in chaindotted fashion in FIG. 8 and enabling an arbitrary roll adjustment to be produced.

During normal rolling operation, the changeover mechanism g is made ready for subsequent roll change, a guide 34 for the material being rolled, on the one hand, and the three roll units on the other, being attached upon the

support pins

15 and 14 at the different working faces 13 of the block 12, each roll unit consisting of the roll 2' supported in two mounting units 1' and equipped with the coupling element 22', and being held by the cross members 35 (FIG. 5). FIG. 2 shows a guide 34 in its operating position in the mill.

After rolling has ended, the rolls are traversed into the dismantling position above described so that the cut-outs 45 in the aprons 27 engage in the grooves 44 in the coupling elements 24, thus enabling the couplings to be uncoupled after the removal of the split rings 26, by pivoting the cantilever arm 30.

After bearingplates 7 shown in FIG. 1 have been removed, the complete roll stand is lifted out of the brackets 8 anchored to the bed, and, using two additional brackets 8, placed in the assembly position. To this end, the auxiliary mechanism shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, can be used, this comprising a carriage 40 with four double-acting cylinders 41, wheels 39 of which carriage, when a cylinder 38 is actuated, roll over rails 37 attached to the pillars 36. The piston rods 42 are connected to the roll stand in order to effect the transfer of the roll stand.

When the roll stand is positioned in front of the changeover mechanism g, the cylinder 17 is operated to first bring the pins 14 into position to receive and support a guide 34. The changeover mechanism is then retracted, if necessary, to allow the block 12 to be rotated 90 to position the pins in front of the rolls, in which the pins will line up with the bores 6 of the mounting units 1 of the rolls. The cylinder 17 is again operated to cause the pins to enter into the bores 6 to thereby support the rolls. By four wedges 35 shown in FIG. 5, the rolls and their mounting means are axially secured. The cylinder 17 is operated a third time to retract the block after which the block can be-rotated l80 to bring a new roll set into alignment with the roll stand and the procedure just explained is repeated, the last operation being to reassemble a new guide 34 into the roll stand.

The roll stand re-equipped in this way, is placed in the operating position, attached in the brackets 8, coupled up by actuating the cylinder 28, secured by means of the rings 26 and is then ready for renewed rolling op erations after the aprons 27 have traversed apart.

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

We claim:

1. In combination with a rolling mill or like device having at least one material working roll means received in a roll stand,

an apparatus for removing said roll stand from said mill and returning it to said mill and for removing said roll means from said roll stand and replacing said roll means in said roll stand, comprising means for transferring said roll stand together with said roll means to and from said mill in a direction 5 normal to the direction of travel of the material being rolled and a roll means removing and replacing station arranged adjacent said mill, and a roll means removing and replacing device arranged in said station for removing a used roll means from said stand and replacing it with a new rollmeans,

wherein each said roll includes roll mounting means,

openings formed in said roll mounting means for resaid roll means to and from said mill in a direction normal to the direction of travel of the material being rolled and a roll means removing and replacing station arranged adjacent said mill, and

a roll means removing and replacing device arranged in said station for removing a used roll means from said stand and replacing it with a new roll means,

and said device including a rotatable member and having separate roll supporting means for a set of new rolls and a set of used rolls.

3. In a combination according to claim 1, including means for facilitating rotation of said rotatable member about a fixed axis and other means for traversing said roll removing and replacing device in the direction of the axes of said rolls.

4. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said rotatable member includes a rotatable block,

a carriage for supporting said block,

said block having at least two working faces each having supporting members for receiving and supporting a set of rolls.

5. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said roll stand when in said mill is supported by two brackets,

two additional brackets arranged in said station for supporting said roll stand when transferred to said station.

6. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said transfer means include a carriage,

rails extending between said mill and said station for supporting said carriage,

said carriage including lifting means for lifting and carrying said roll stand, and

means for moving said carriage between said mill and station.

7. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said rolling mill includes a driving means for each roll,

coupling means for each roll for connecting said driving means to said rolls. and

said apparatus further comprises means for disengaging and engaging said coupling means from their associated rolls.

8. ln a combination according to claim 7, wherein each said coupling means includes a first part secured to a roll and a second part detachably connected to a said driving means,

said first part having a circumferential groove and being connected to said second part by a centering device and gear,

said second part including a driving pin for engagement with a roll, and

a split ring for retaining said parts in a driving relationship.

9. In a combination according to claim 7, wherein 6 said means for disengaging and engaging said coupling means includes means movable in a direction of the axes of the rolls when in a said mill in order in one axial direction to effect a disengagement of said coupling means from its roll and in an opposite axial direction to effect an engagement of said coupling means with its roll.

10. In a combination according to claim 9, wherein said movable means includes two aprons,

recesses formed in each coupling means, and means for causing said aprons to be received in said recesses for effecting engagement and disengagement of said coupling means from an associated roll.

Patent No. 3,842,638

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE" Inventor(s) Paul hmitt et a1.

(SEAL) attest:

Arresting Officer F ORM PO-105O (IO-69) Column a, l e 37, "according to accordingrto claim 2 Column l, line #2, "according to according to claim 2 Column line +9, "according to according "to claim 2 Column T, line 55, "according to according" to claim 2 Column 4, line 65, "according to according to claim 2 z-mcoy M. (313803 JR.

claim 1" claim 1" claim 1" claim 1" Commissioner claim 1''- It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent I and that said- Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:'

should read should read shomld read should reads hould read signed and sealed this 31st day of December 1974.

c. MARSHALL DAI'ZN of'Patents USCOMM-DC 60316-969 u s aovnuuzu-r rmunuc ornct- 930

Claims

1. In combination with a rolling mill or like device having at least one material working roll means received in a roll stand, an apparatus for removing said roll stand from said mill and returning it to said mill and for removing said roll means from said roll stand and replacing said roll means in said roll stand, comprising means for transferring said roll stand together with said roll means to and from said mill in a direction normal to the direction of travel of the material being rolled and a roll means removing and replacing station arranged adjacent said mill, and a roll means removing and replacing device arranged in said station for removing a used roll means from said stand and replacing it with a new roll means, wherein each said roll includes roll mounting means, openings formed in said roll mounting means for receiving pins carried by said roll means removing and replacing device.

2. In combination with a rolling mill or like device having at least one material working roll means received in a roll stand, an apparatus for removing said roll stand from said mill and returning it to said mill and for remOving said roll means from said roll stand and replacing said roll means in said roll stand, comprising means for transferring said roll stand together with said roll means to and from said mill in a direction normal to the direction of travel of the material being rolled and a roll means removing and replacing station arranged adjacent said mill, and a roll means removing and replacing device arranged in said station for removing a used roll means from said stand and replacing it with a new roll means, and said device including a rotatable member and having separate roll supporting means for a set of new rolls and a set of used rolls.

4. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said rotatable member includes a rotatable block, a carriage for supporting said block, said block having at least two working faces each having supporting members for receiving and supporting a set of rolls.

5. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said roll stand when in said mill is supported by two brackets, two additional brackets arranged in said station for supporting said roll stand when transferred to said station.

6. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said transfer means include a carriage, rails extending between said mill and said station for supporting said carriage, said carriage including lifting means for lifting and carrying said roll stand, and means for moving said carriage between said mill and station.

7. In a combination according to claim 1, wherein said rolling mill includes a driving means for each roll, coupling means for each roll for connecting said driving means to said rolls, and said apparatus further comprises means for disengaging and engaging said coupling means from their associated rolls.

8. In a combination according to claim 7, wherein each said coupling means includes a first part secured to a roll and a second part detachably connected to a said driving means, said first part having a circumferential groove and being connected to said second part by a centering device and gear, said second part including a driving pin for engagement with a roll, and a split ring for retaining said parts in a driving relationship.

9. In a combination according to claim 7, wherein said means for disengaging and engaging said coupling means includes means movable in a direction of the axes of the rolls when in a said mill in order in one axial direction to effect a disengagement of said coupling means from its roll and in an opposite axial direction to effect an engagement of said coupling means with its roll.

10. In a combination according to claim 9, wherein said movable means includes two aprons, recesses formed in each coupling means, and means for causing said aprons to be received in said recesses for effecting engagement and disengagement of said coupling means from an associated roll.