US641428A - Method of and apparatus for hot-rolling metal to thin gages. - Google Patents

Description

No. 64|,428. Patented Jan. l6, I900. T. V. ALLIS.

METHODDF AND APPARATUS FOR HOT ROLLING METALS T0 THIN GAGES.

(Application filed Mar. 7,

(No Model.) 3 Sh ets-Sheet IS g A Q IQ U3 v ix E E 4 g 2 E "O N if 5 N g b g u x k E i N l m w T j N g N- i Sag L 7 R INVENTDR.

Nb. 64l,428. Patented Jan. l6, I900. T. v. ALLIS.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR HUT ROLLING METALS T0 THIN GAGES. (Applicatiozi filed Mar. '7, 1396.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVENTUR WITNESSES.

m: NORRIS PETERS co. PHOTO-L\THO, 'ASNWGTON. n c.

No. 64l,428. Patented Jan. l6, |900.

T. V. ALLIS.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR HUT ROLLING METALS TD THIN GAGES.

(Application filed Mar. 7, 189 6.) (No Model 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

61 INVENTIJFL' YNE Mnims PETERS co. vuofmum'mwnsmmma. ma,

PATNT THOMAS V. ALLIS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y;

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR HOT-ROLLING METAL T THIN GAGES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 641,428, dated January 16, 1900.

Application filed March '7, 1896. $erial No. 582,169. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS V. ALLIS, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of and Apparatus for Hot-Rollin g Metal to Thin Gages,of which the following is a specification.

My invention provides for greater reduc- 1o tions in rolling metal to thin gages than is practicable in the present state of the art, as hereinafter described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is mainly a sectional and partlya side elevation of the greater portion of my improved apparatus, the section being taken in the plane of the feedway through the rolls. Fig. 2 is an elevation as seen looking from the right hand of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation in part as seen looking from the left hand of Fig. 1. Fig. l is a side elevation of the furnace separate from the rolls. Fig. 5 is a diagram of the side of the feedway for strips or bars passing from the main part of the furnace into the rolls, also broken outlines of the rolls on an enlarged scale. Fig. 6 is a plan view of said feedway. Fig. 7 is a side view of a pack of strips prepared for reduction together when it is desired to roll very thin material.

Fig. Sis a detail of the guide-shifting attach ment. Fig. 9 is an end view of the guide extension of the furnace without the edge-guides;

In front of a suitable rolling-mill a I arrange a comparatively long furnace Z) for 5 heating the strips or bars to be reduced as they pass throughit into the rolls, said furnace being adj ustably mounted on a track (1, that it may be moved to and from the mill to facilitate repairs, change of rolls, guides, 65c.

The track dis mounted on a truck e, placed on rails f, whereon the furnace may be moved laterally and parallel with the axes of the rolls to change the position of the guide from time to time that the rolls may become equally heated, expanded, and their surfaces evenly worn.

The furnace may be pushed forward and backward along the track C1 by hand 3 but any approved apparatus may be used for working it to better advantage. To facilitate the lateral movement of the truck 6, I have represented a hand-wheel g mounted on said truck e and geared with one of the axles h by a worm i and worm-wheel j.

I do not claim the employment of a furnace in suitable relation to a pair of rolls for receiving sheets of metal fromover the top of the rolls for reheating preparatory to being again returned to said rolls for further reduction. Such a furnace has been designed so that by the same month through which the sheets enter from the rolls they are again returned to the rolls, the furnace being adjustable up and down to receive the sheets from over the top roll and return them again between the two rolls, and has also been arranged so as to be removed from its working position in front of the rolls by lifting and carrying it away-an arrangement possibly feasible for handling comparatively short and broad sheets, which cannot be guided through the rolls and furnace by edge-guides. In practice the rolls for such sheets are constructed amply long to allow the material to spread and the sheets to diverge from the right line, as often happens both from accident and designedly. Such construction will in no way serve my purpose and is not such as I claim.

The apparatus of my invention is for reducing very long and comparatively narrow strips to thin gages by one and not several passes through the rolls. Such strips must be accurately guided by their edges in conse quence of their great length and to insure straightness. HenceitisthatIhavecontrived the furnace with trucks mounted on rails or guides for accurately controlling the delivery to and not the receiving of strips from the rolls, and also the adjustments of the furnace both forward and backward and laterally, so that once being adjusted for alinement of the strips the alinement will continue correct no matter how frequently the furnace may be shifted along its controlling-guides. The trucks may of course be fitted to slide on ways instead of rolling on wheels, if desired.

The furnace is to be heated with gas injected together with compressed air and distributed through numerous burners is along both sides, the gas and air respectively passing through flexible pipes Z and m, adapted to allow the furnace to be adjusted without disturbing their connections. The gas-hose Z connects with the metallic gas-pipe a, carried underneath the furnace, and the air-hose m connects with a tank 0, also carried beneath the furnace and used for a pressureregulator. The outlet-pipe h of the air-tank 0 connects with the gas-pipe n by the T q for mixing the air and gas preparatory to entering the furnace through the main pipe 8, branches tit, and the distributing-pipes o, the latter forming the connections with the various burners 7c.

The furnace is constructed with an extension 1) on the end fronting the rolls, by which heat is continuously applied to the strips or bars as they pass to and enter the rolls and while being reduced therein. Said extension is a tapered prolongation reaching to or as far into the gap between the rolls as is practicable and terminating in a contracted guide, the upper and lower sides of which are ribbed and grooved metallic pieces 0, controlling the upper and lower sides of the strips or bars. The edges of said guide are other tapered metallic pieces (1 for guiding the strips or bars edgewise and adapted to reach farther into said gap. These edge-guides d are formed with right-angle flanges e, constructed to bolt on the sides of the extension 6, respectively, to hold the guides in position, and with the intermediate liners f to gage them with proper relation to the width of the strips and to compensate for wear; but other means may be used for adjustment and compensation,if preferred. This guide extension of the furnace is also provided with burners it along the sides and supplied with fuel by the dis tributing-pipes 'v, suitably extended therefor to continue enveloping the strips or bars in hot gases and flame as they issue from said guide andinto the bite of the rolls, thereby exeluding air from the strips or bars while being reduced, the opening between the st rips or bars and the guide at the issuing end being large enough and of proper shape to prevent the strips or bars from choking off the flame while passing through and to insure the passage of a sufficient quantity of flame to impinge in the bite of the rolls and exclude air. For this purpose the metallic guides 0 may have grooves, as 0 Figs. 1 and 9. At the other end of the furnace is an opening g,(dotted in Fig.2,) through which the strips enter. It is closed by a door It, hinged at t" and having the slotsj,in which the strips are inserted when the door is closed for heating. Said slots form guides for the several strips of a pack and separate them for circulation of heat. Detachable wearingpieces are attached at one end of the slots, and an adjustable wearing-plate Z is applied to the other end to take the wear of the edges of the strips and being renewable as required.

At intervals along the furnace are spacingguides m to keep the several strips of a pack apart to facilitate even and rapid heating of each while passing through the furnace. These guides consist of short rods or tubes which are inserted through holes in the sides of the furnace and between the strips after the pack is wholly or partially entered, the strips being suitably separated therefor before the slotted door is closed.

A delivery-guide a is placed at the leaving side of the rolls coincidently with the enter ing guide. It is mounted on a bar 0', ar-' ranged to slide parallel with the axes of said rolls in supports 19' in unison with thelateral movements of the entering guide when the truck 6, carrying the furnace b, is shifted to change the position of the guide relatively to the rolls, as before stated. The bar 0' has a toothed rack q and is geared with a pinion s on a shaft 1., extending under the rolls to the opposite side, and there geared by a pinion u with a toothed bar 4), fixed to slide in supports 10', parallel with bar 0' and having a rigid arm 00', which is coupled by its slot 3 with a stud z, projecting from the bottom of the furnace,wherehy the bar 'vis moved with the furnace and causes like movement of the bar 0', carrying the guide 02'. The slot y of the arm 00 and the stud z are arranged to connect and disconnect automatically when the furnace is moved to or from the mill. Any other mode of gearing the guide n to traverse in unison with the lateral movements of the furnace may be employed.

As the rolls wear and are dressed from time to time the working plane between them will be lowered correspondingly. Therefore the support for the end of the furnace next to the rolls is made adjustable to vary the height of the guide extension accordingly. Any approved means for so adjusting it may be pro vided. In this example I have representeda screw a supported on the truck 6, on which the furnace rests, the other end of the furnace being carried on a rib 0 allowing such adjustment.

In Fig. 7 I represent a pack of strips a prepared for reduction by a single pass between the rolls, and they are placed one upon another and temporarily fastened together by rivets or otherwise at the forward ends, so that they may not be displaced relatively to each other while handling or by the rolls in entering. They are arranged one a little in advance of the other, forming a tapered end, which the rolls engage more readily than if even and blunt. This arrangement also facilitates separating the strips after they are rolled by visibly locating the plane of cleavage between said strips, which, although prevented from welding together by refractory material distributed on their surfaces, adhere strongly to each other when being parted.

Stepping the ends of the strips and riveting them together, so that they can be passed between the rolls and reduced bya single pass, is one of the most important features of my invention. In order to reduce the plates by a single pass, it is absolutely necessary,where the rolls are setclo'se or very close together, to enter the pack into the bite of the rolls. For this purpose the end of the pack is set forward, as shown, the lower strip of the pack being just thin enough to enter the bite of the rolls, and when this takes .place the rest will follow as a matter of course.

While it is old to taper the end of a single bar so that it will enter the bite of the rolls, it is entirely new to step off a pack, fasten their ends together, and then make a heavy reduction by a single pass. In order to reduce the number of plates by a single pass in this manner, it is absolutely necessary not only to step their ends, but to fasten them together, so that the plates will not slip as they enter the rolls.

When the strips or bars are first entered in the furnace, they are allowed to rest a little short of the guide extension until sufficiently heated and then pushed forward between the rolls, which, to obtain excessive reductions, are revolved slowly, that the strips or bars may be given time to attain a mellow heat while passing through the furnace and to afford opportunity for the metal to flow under the squeezing action of the rolls, also to retard the issue on the delivery side of the mill, thereby cooling the product and decreasing oxidation. It will be seen that with the aid of hot gases and a non-oxidizing flame surrounding the strips or bars to exclude air and keep them hot and for heating the rolls the metal so protected will enter the rolls in a soft condition,and a thick quantity retaining high heat into the bite of the rolls may thus be greatly reduced with comparatively low power, ample time being given for the metal to flow, making excessive reductions possible without distortion and injury to the quality of material; but it is to be noted that owing to the slow movement of the bar or pack into the rolls it is of the greatest importance to exclude air until the reduction takes place, because oxidation would result in a large percentage of loss, the strips being very thin, be-

sides being greatly detrimental to the quality of theproduct. Myinventionisdistinguished in this respect from other apparatus in which the work is heated preparatory to entering the rolls, in all of which, so far as I know, there is exposure of the metal to the air after issuing from the furnace and before entering the rolls or another apparatus, the work being of such character as not to be materially injured by scale-as, forinstance, large sheets or nail-rods, which are subject to such treatment in forging the nails as removes the scale.

While this invention is alike applicable to rolling single bars or packs, it will be seen that it is especially advantageous for producing very thin strips in packs, as a pack of strips may be reduced together to about the same gage as is feasible to roll a single bar, because whether single or in multiple there is a limit in thickness to which hot rollingmay be economically carried before the metal becomes chilled and hardened, thereby losing its malleability and causing undue wear and breakage of the rolls.

I clain1 1. The combination with a rolling-mill, of a furnace adapted to heat strips or bars while being fed into the rolls, and edge-guides for directing the strips through the rolls, the furnace being adjustable back and forth at right angles to the rolls, and controlled in said adjustment by tracks or guides substantially as described.

2. The combination with a rolling-mill, of a furnace adapted to heat strips or bars while being fed into the rolls and edge-guides for directing the strips through the rolls, the furnace being adjustable laterally and parallel with the axes of the rolls and controlled in said adjustment by tracks or guides, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a rolling-mill, of a furnace adapted to heat strips or bars while being fed into the rolls and edge-guides for directing the strips through the rolls, the furnace being adjustable both at right angles to, and parallel with the axes of the rolls and controlled in said adjustments by tracks or guides, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a rollin'g-mill, a furnace for heating strips or bars while being fed into the rolls, and an air-excluding feedway for the strips extending from the body of the furhace to close proximity with the rolls and thereby adapted to continue the application of hot gases and flame to the point of reduction and between the rolls, also to exclude air from the passing strips or bars, also to keep them hot, and also to heat the rolls, substantially as described.

5. The method of rolling metal which consists in heating strips or bars while being fed into the rolls and protecting said strips or bars from air while issuing from the furnace and entering the rolls by an envelop of hot gases and flame, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a rolling-mill, of a furnace adapted to heat strips or bars while being fed into the rolls, the feedway prolongation of said furnace extending to or into the gap between the rolls, and the edge-guides for controlling the alinement of the strips, said furnace and feedway being mounted on a truck or guides and thereon movable up to and away from the rolls substantially as described.

7. The combination with a rolling-mill, of a furnace adapted to heat strips or bars While being fed into the rolls, and the feedway prolongation of said furnace extending to or into the gapbetween the rolls, the furnace being adjustable laterally and parallel with the axes of the rolls on trucks or guides substantially as described.

8. The combination with a rolling-mill, of a furnace adapted to heat strips or bars while being fed into the rolls, and the feedway pro longation of said furnace extending to or into the gap between therolls, the furnace being mounted on a truck or guides and thereon movable up to and away from the rolls, and

also back and forth laterally to the rolls substantially as described.

9. The combination with a rolling-mill, of a furnace adapted to heat strips or bars while being fed into the rolls, of the feedway prolongation of said furnace extending to or into the gap between the rolls, and guide attachments to the mouth of said feedway, substantially as described.

10. The combination with the mouth extremity of the feedway prolongation of the furnace, and with the rolls, of the tapered edge-guides for the strips or bars detachably connected with the sides of said feed way, and intermediate means of adjustment, substantially as described.

11. The combination with the inlet-opening in one end of the furnace for the strips or bars, of the horizontally-moving door for access to the furnace having the separating and guiding slots in the opening and closing edge, substantially as described.

12. The combination with the inlet-opening in one end of the furnace for the strips or bars, of the door having the separating and guiding slots, and the detachable and adjustable edge-guides, located relatively to said slots forguiding the strips and sustaining the wear of the strips substantially as described.

13. The combination with a furnace adapted to heat strips or bars while being fed into the rolls, of the crossguides for separating the strips or bars, removablyinserted in holes in the sides of the furnace substantially as described.

14. The combination with a rolling-mill, of a furnace adapted to heat strips or bars While being fed into the rolls and being movable laterally to the rolls, and a discharging-guide for the rolled product coupled with the fur nace coincidently with the feeding-guide and movable laterally in unison therewith, substantially as described.

15. The combination with a rolling-mill, of a furnace adapted to heat strips or bars while being fed into the rolls and being movable laterally to said rolls, the discharging-guide for the rolled product, the laterally-sliding support for said guide, the laterally-sliding bar coupled to said furnace, and the gear connecting said bars for synchronous action, substantially as described.

16. The combination with a rolling-mill, of a furnace adapted to heat strips or bars while being fed into the rolls and being movable laterally to said rolls, and also forward and backward thereto, the discharge-guide for the rolled product, the laterally-sliding support for said guide, the laterally-sliding bar coupled to said furnace, and the gear connecting said bars for synchronous action, the connecting devices of said bar with the furnace being adapted for automatic connection and disconnection through moving the furnace up to and away from the rolls, substantially as described.

17. The combination with the rollsand the guide extension of the furnace, of the metallic guide-pieces in the mouth of said extension having grooves for gases, substantially as described.

18. In the art of reducing metallic strips in packs, the method of graduating the entering end of the pack to insure its entry between the rolls, and the reduction of the pack by a single pass between the rolls by arranging the ends of the plates or strips onein advance of the other, and fastening them together so that the plates cannot slip one upon the other, substantially as described.

19. The herein-described improvement in rolling packs of metal strips which consists in shingling the end of the pack to insure its entry intothe bite of the reduction-rolls of a rolling-mill, and fastening said shingled ends to prevent any movement or disarrangement of said strips in passing into the bite between said rolls, substan tially as described.

Signed at New York city, in the county and State of New York, this 6th day of March, A. D. 1896.

THOMAS V. ALLIS.

Witnesses:

W. .1. Montana, ERNST AUNDGREN.

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