US2796781A - Roll adjusting mechanism - Google Patents

Description

June 25, 1957 D. c. MILLS ROLL ADJUSTING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 9, 1953 INVENTOR. DONALD O. MILLS n mllflf/ll/l fl ln d wn ATTYS United States Patent ROLL ADJUSTING MECHANISM Donald C. Mills, Youngstown, Ohio, assignor to The Aetna-Standard Engineering Company, Pittsburgh, l'a., a corporation of Ohio Application November 9, 1953, Serial No. 390,889

2 Claims. (Cl. 819-43) This invention relates to a roll stand having means for.

urging one of the rolls toward the other, such as a pinch roll stand for handling fiat strip steel or other strip mate rial. Such roll stands ordinarily embody springs or like resilient means for urging one roll toward the other and means for adjusting the pressure exerted thereby.

In the handling and processing of steel strip and other strip materials it is frequently desirable to carry out operations with as few interruptions as possible. In order to maintain continuity of operations, the ends of succeeding lengths of strip are welded or otherwise joined together in a manner that often produces a seam or joint of increased thickness and with a rough or irregular surface. The result is that the roll stand must suddenly accommodate itself to a thickness different from that of the portions of the strip that precede and follow the weld. The impact of a seam or other obstruction or irregularity on the rolls tends to damage the rolls, particularly when the strip is moving at high speed.

A general object of the present invention is to provide a construction whereby upon the approach of a seam or other obstruction or irregularity to the roll stand, the rolls can be separated to the extent and for the period of time necessary to allow the weld to pass between them without damage and thereafter permit the rolls to reengage the strip, all without changing the adjustment of L the pressure exerted by the rolls.

Briefly, the foregoing and other objects of the invention are accomplished by providing motor means, such as hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders and pistons, for moving one of the rolls away from the other roll, preferably against the action of springs or other adjustable resilient means that are employed to urge the one roll toward the other. Thus, the one roll quickly can be separated from the other sufliciently to permit the seam or other obstruction to pass without damage, and then permitted to move toward the other roll and engage the strip, all without disturbing the adjustment of the resilient means, so that after the obstruction has passed the rolls engage the strip with the same pressure as before. In the form of the invention disclosed herein, the roll-separating mechanism is under manual control of the operator; however, it is to be understood that the mechanism may be operated automatically, as by the use of a photo-cell or other sensing device to detect the approach of an obstruction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description which follows and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a roll stand incorporating the invention, parts of the roll stand being shown in section and others being broken away to show details of the interior construction;

Figure 2 is an elevation with parts in section as seen generally from line 22 of Figure 1, the scale being larger than that of Figure 1;

2,796,781 Patented June 25, 1957 housings for the upper roll, the scale being the same as that of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a section with some of the parts in elevation showing on the samescale as in Figure 2 some of the details of the. mechanism for adjusting the springs.

As indicated in Figure 1, a roll stand of the kind to, which the invention relates may include, a Supper-ting structure or framework 10, made up of a top structure 11 that extends across the apparatus, and two rather shallow roll housings 12, one at each side of the roll stand. Each roll housing comprises a heavy vertical Web 13a having stiffening flanges 13b. The rolls 14 and 17 are supported by the roll housings 12, and more particularly, by the webs 13a.

As shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, the necks 14a at the ends of lower roll 14 extend into suitable bearings mounted in bearing housings 16 that are rigidly fastened to the webs 13a. Bearing housings 16 are provided with end plates 16a (Figures 1 and 2) which serve to retain the hearings in place. Cooperating with the lower roll and normally located in apposition to it, but of course out of actual contact with it when strip material is pass Figure 3 is an isometric view of one of the bearing ing between the rolls, is upper roll 17. The necks 17a at the ends of upper roll 17 are also mounted in suitable bearings supported in displaceable bearing housings 18.

Bearing housings 18 are so mounted in webs 13a that by displacing them the normal spacing between upper roll 17 and lower roll 14, which is determined by the thickness of the strip, may be increased. Thus when the operator watching the strip passing through the app-aratus sees a seam or other obstruction approaching, hernay act to increase the spacing between the two rolls for a period of time long enough to permit the obstruction to pass through the rolls without damage to the apparatus. This can be done as hereinafter described by retracting bearing housings 18, and correspondingly the upper roll 17, upwardly out of their normal positions.

In order to provide for movement of the bearing housings 18 in vertical direction, ways 19 therefor are provided in slots 20 in the webs 13a of the roll housing 12. As shown in Figure 2, the slots 20 in each web extend from the tops of the webs downwardly and are narrowed slightly to provide the ways or guides 19. Immediately below the ways 19, the slots 20 open into enlarged generally circular openings 21 through which the rolls 14 and 17 may be placed in and removed from the roll stands. In the left-hand roll stand in Figure 1, a shaft 23 projecting through the opening 21 may be provided in order to couple the lower roll 14 to a motor M or other suitable drive mechanism. i

The construction of the slideable bearing housings 1.8 is shown particularly in Figure 3. As there indicated,

each bearing housing is of generally rectangular shape thus to adjust the positions of the roll 17, the upper surface of each of the bearing blocks is provided with a U- shaped coupling element 25 preferably formed integrally therewith or welded thereto. The coupling element has an opening 25a therein and a recess 26 between the legs of the inverted U. In order to raise the bearing block '18 a connecting rod 28 extends downwardly through the opening 25a and is secured to the coupling element by nut 27 (Figures 1 and 2). At its upper end, the connecting rod is secured to a piston 30 disposed within a cylinder 31 supported on the transverse top structure 11. The mechanism just described is duplicated on both sides of the apparatus as shown in Figure 1. Both cylinders may be operated by air or other fluid admitted to and exhausted from the space below the pistons 30 through fluid connections 32, the space above the pistons being vented through fittings 33. By admitting fluid under pressure beneath the pistons 30 the pistons can be raised and with them the connecting rods 27, hearing blocks 18 and roll 17. Thus, by suitable controls, the operator can quickly raise the roll 17, and by releasing the pressure beneath the piston 30 can permit the roll to move downwardly again toward the roll 14 and into engagement with the material passing through the apparatus.

The cylinders 30 are supported from the top structure 11 by gear housings 34 shown in Figures 1 and 2, each gear housing being made up of :a top member 34a, four vertically extending side members 34b and a bottom plate 340 that is securedto the top plate 11 of the roll stand.

In order to urge the roll 17 toward the roll 14, a coil spring 40 surrounds each connecting rod 28. The lower end of each spring engages a spring seat 41 and the lower surface 'of the spring seat engages the upper surface of the element 25. The upper end of each spring is seated on an upper spring seat 42 which is slidable on the connecting rod 28. A boot 43 of the bellows type employed as a lubricant seal is secured to the upper spring seat 42 as at 44 and is affixed to the lower face of the top structure 11 as at 45.

In order to provide for adjustment of each of the upper spring seats 42 and thus adjustment of the pressures exerted by the spring 40, each upper spring seat has an upwardly extending, externally threaded sleeve 46 formed integrally therewith. The threaded portion 49 of the sleeve is engaged by a correspondingly in-temally threaded worm wheel 50 which is supported by bushings 51 and 52. Bushing 51 is welded to the top plate 11 and is concentric with an opening 53 through which the sleeve 46 extends. Bushing 52 is secured to the top plate 34a of the gear housing 34. The sleeve is prevented from rotating by means of a key 48 which engages a longitudinally extending key way 47 in the sleeve. Thus, rotation of the worm wheel 50, which acts as a nut on the threads 49 of the sleeve, functions to move the sleeve and the upper spring seat up or down and thereby to adjust the force exerted by the spring 40 and the pressure exerted by the roll 17 on the work. It will be understood that the parts just described are incorporated on both sides of the apparatus, although the worm wheel 50 and certain other parts have been omitted from the left-hand side of Figure 1 for convenience in illustration.

In order to adjust the pressure of the rolls, the worm wheel 50 on the right-hand side of the roll stand, as shown in Figure l, is engaged by a worm 55 (see Figures 2 and 4) which is secured to a hollow shaft 56 mounted in suitable bearings 58 and 59 in the vertical walls 34b of the right-hand gear housing 34. Shaft 56 extends outwardly of the gear housing 34 and has an adjusting wheel 66 keyed thereto, rotation of the adjusting wheel 66 thus results in varying the compression of the spring 40 at the righbhand side of the apparatus and the pressure exerted thereby.

In order to adjust the corresponding worm wheel (not shown) at the left-hand side of the roll stand, a shaft 57 extends through the hollow shaft 56 and drives a surrounding hollow shaft 60 carrying a worm 61 (see Figure 1) that engages the worm wheel at the left-hand side of the apparatus. Shaft 60, like shaft 56, is supported in appropriate bearings 62 and 63 in the vertical walls 34b of the left-hand gear housing. Shaft 60 is pinned to pulled out of engagement with wheel 66 by means of the shaft 57 as at 64 and shaft 57 has a hand wheel 67 seknob 72, whereupon either hand wheel 66 or 67 can be adjusted independently of the other.

In operation the springs 40 are manually adjusted to give the desired pressure on the material passing through the roll stand. Thereafter, when the operator sees a seam or other obstruction approaching the roll stand he opens a valve to admit fluid under pressure to the under sides of pistons 30 and cylinders 31 thus raising the pistons and, through the connecting rods 28, raising the hearing housings 18 and the roll 17 against gravity and the forces exerted by the springs 40, the springs simply being compressed when the roll is raised. After the obstruction is passed, the pressure in the cylinders is released and as the fluid flows out the roll 17 resumes its normal position and engages the work with the same pressure as before, the movement of the roll 17 away from the roll 14 having taken place without any change in the adjustment of the pressure exerted by the rolls. The pressure exerted by the springs can be adjusted readilyby means of the hand wheels. By reason of the construction wherein the connecting rods for the pistons pass through the centers of the springs, the roll adjusting and lifting mechanism is compact and can be manufactured at reasonable cost.

It is intended that the patent shall cover, by summarization in the appended claims, all features of patentable novelty that reside in the invention.

I claim:

1. A roll stand comprising a framework and a pair of co-operating rolls, said framework including a roll housing at each end of said rolls, one of said rolls being supported in a fixed position in said roll housings, the other of said rolls being supported in said roll housings for movement toward and away from said fixed roll, each of said roll housings having a fixed bearing for supporting said fixed roll and a vertically displaceable bearingslidably mounted in said roll housing for supporting said movable roll, first and second coil springs acting on said displaceable bearings respectively for urging said movable roll toward said fixed roll, means for adjusting the force exerted by each of said springs, each adjusting means comprising a spring sea-t for the end of the spring remote from said displaceable bearing and means for moving said spring seat toward and away from said displaceable hearin comprising a threaded sleeve secured to said spring seat, a nut engaging said threaded sleeve and supported for rotatable movement thereon and held against axial movement by said framework and gear means to rotate said nut, a fluid pressure cylinder and piston associated with each of said displaceable bearings respectively and supported by the framework, each said piston having a piston rod extending through said threaded sleeve, spring seat, and spring and engaging said displaceable bearing, means for substantially simultaneously admitting fluid pressure into each of said fluid pressure cylinders on the corresponding sides of said pistons, and the admission of said fluid pressure into said cylinders moving said movable roll away from said fixed roll against the action of said springs without affecting the adjustment of said springs and without moving said adjusting means.

2. A roll stand comprising a framework and a pair of co-operating rolls, said framework including a roll housing at each end of said rolls, one of said rolls being supported in a fixed position in said roll housings, the other of said rolls being supported in said roll housings for movement toward and away from said fixed roll, each of said roll housings having a fixed bearing for supporting said fixed roll and a vertically displaceable bearing slidably mounted in said roll. housing for supporting said movable roll, coil springs acting on each of said displaceable bearings for urging said movable roll toward said fixed roll, means associated with each spring for adjusting the force exerted thereby comprising a spring seat for the end of the spring remote from said displaceable bearing, and means for moving said spring seat toward and away from said displaceable bearing comprising a threaded sleeve secured to said spring seat and a nut comprising an internally threaded worm wheel engaging said threaded sleeve and supported for rotatable movement thereon and held against axial movement by said framework, and worms for rotating said nuts, means for rotating said worms and means for coupling together said rotating means to rotate said worms in synchronisrn, a fluid pressure cylinder and piston associated with each of said displaceable bearings and supported by the framework, each said piston having a piston rod engaging said displaceable bearing, and means for substantially simultaneously admitting fluid under pressure into each of said fluid pressure cylinders on the corresponding sides of said pistons, the admission of said fluid into said cylinders moving said movable roll away from said fixed roll against the action of said springs without aifecting the adjustment of said springsand without moving said means for adjusting the force of said springs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 595,572 Kennedy Dec. 14, 1897 695,181 Swindle Mar. 11, 1902 1,263,419 James Apr. 23, 1918 2,072,122 Montgomery Mar. 2, 1937 2,078,711 Hudson Apr. 27, 1937

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