Improved vertical coil winder for winding up hot rolled products

Abstract: A vertical coil winder, for winding hot rolled products, comprises a reel (10) which has a structure formed by a substantially cylindrical container (11), and a plurality of vertical rods (13) is provided within said container, whereby a gap is defined between said container (11) and said rods (13) wherein a hot rolled product (38) is placed and wound thanks to the rotation of said reel. According to the invention, said plurality of rods (13) can move in the radial direction between an expanded position for winding said product (38) and a withdrawn position for extracting the finished coil (39).

Description: The present invention refers to a vertical coil winder suitable to wind a hot rolled material, as for instance metallic wires. A coil winder for said use is, for instance, described in the Italian patent no. 673654. The skilled in the art know very well coil winders comprising a reel which has a structure formed by a cylindrical container, the so called "basket", inside which a plurality of vertical rods, positioned along a circumference, is provided. A gap is therefore formed between the outer wall of the cylindrical container and said rods, wherein the metallic wire (or other hot rolled products), coming from the upstream roll mill, is placed and wound thanks to the rotation of the reel. For obvious productivity reasons, the need to provide heavier coils, and, as a consequence, taller coils is more and more felt. However, such a need increases the already existing problems in extracting easily and without problems the coil from the reel. The problems in extracting the coil from the reel are mostly related to the progressive cooling of the hot material during the winding operation, said cooling causes a decrease in the length of said material, thus causing the tight olocking of said material on the rods of the reel. This is the fact that causes the problems in extracting the coil, additionally, said extracting operation has to be done right after the completion of the winding operation in order not to worsen the problems created by the progressive cooling of the material. In order to overcome this problem, it has already been proposed to manufacture coil winders, provided with rods converging towards the upper portion of the reel, i.e. towards the inlet side of the hot rolled material, said side is also the side wherefrom the finished coil is extracted. However, this proposal has not produced fully satisfactory results, since the slant of the rods cannot go beyond a certain angle, to avoid to obtain internally conical coils (i.e. with coils having a decreasing diameter going from the bottom to the top) not always acceptable on the market. As a consequence, even the use of converging rods has not satisfactorily solved said problem, since said use did neither eliminate the significant forces needed to separate the coil from the rods nor the internally conical coils. In addition, even in this case, if for production or accidental reasons, the coil extracting operation cannot be performed immediately after the completion of the winding operation of the hot product, the. coil undergoes a further cooling thus.developing such forces that unusual means (as for instance a crane) shall be required to extract the coil from the reel. In EP-A-0 074 760, which forms the basis for the preamble of claim 1, a pouring reel has a rotatable tube with a bottom and an upstanding cylindrical side wall open at the top. Pin members are arranged in a circular row concentrically within the side wall. The pin members are pivotally adjustable between vertical positions co-operating with the tub side wall to define an annular coil forming chamber, and inoperative positions inclined inwardly from the side wall. Pivotal adjustment of the pin members from their inoperative to their operative positions is achieved by inserting a carrier into the tub. The carrier has a base which extends across and forms the bottom of the coil forming chamber, and a central core which carries contact members arranged to urge the pin members into their operative positions. A purpose of the invention is then to overcome the problems of the known art by manufacturing an improved coil winder provided with a reel structured in such a way that the finished coil can be easily extracted from said reel. Said purpose is achieved by a coil winder having the features indicated in claim 1. The structural and functional features of the invention, as well as its advantages in comparison with the known art, will be more clearly understood from an analysis of the following description, referred to the accompanying schematic drawings, wherein two examples of embodiment are shown. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a first possible embodiment of a coil winder according to the invention with the reel vertical rods in the radially expanded working position during the coil formation; Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the plane II-II of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view as in Figure 1, but showing the reel rods in the withdrawn position to allow the extracting operation of the finished coil; Figure 4 is a sectional view, as in Figure 3, showing the extracting phase of the finished coil; and Figure 5 is a sectional view as in Figure 3, but showing a second possible embodiment of the invention. Referring to figures 1-4 of the drawings, the vertical coil winder according to the invention comprises a reel, indicated by numeral 10, which has a structure formed by a cylindrical container 11, the so called "basket", with a closed bottom base 12 and an open top. A plurality of vertical rods 13 extends from the base 12 of the container 11, said rods being within said container, and each rod is pivoted in 14 to said base 12, so as to rotate between the expanded position of Figure 1 and the withdrawn position of Figure 3. As is clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, in the shown example, there are six rods 13, but there could be less or more. Substantially, the rods 13 extend up to the top of the container 11 and are connected by articulated links 15. Each one of said links 15 is pivoted in 16 to the top end of a corresponding rod 13 and is pivoted in 17 to a central driving plate 18. A control stem 19 co-operates with said plate 18, said stem having at its free end a tip 20 which engages a corresponding cavity 21 formed on the lower surface of the plate 18. Said control stem 19 can be driven to move along an axial direction indicated by arrow 22, for instance by means of a control hydraulic circuit 23 connected to said stem through a lever system 24. As is clearly shown in the drawings , the stem 19 passes, with a clearance, through a sleeve 25 of an extractor device 26 mounted on the bottom of the cylindrical container 11. The reel 10 is driven for rotation by a motor (not shown) connected to a reduction unit 27 mounted on a structure 28. The motion, having the inlet direction of arrow 29, is transmitted through a bevel gear pair 30, 31 and through a pair of geared wheels 32, 33 to a sleeve 34 which is rigid with the bottom 12 of the cylindrical container 11. Said sleeve 34 can rotate on the bearings 35, 36. A feeding duct, schematically indicated by 37, for a hot rolled product, as for instance a metallic wire 38, coming from an upstream roll mill, wherein said metallic wire has to be wound on the reel 10, so as to form a commercial coil 39. According to the invention, the way the coil winder works is clear from the above description with reference to the figures, and is briefly explained hereinafter. The wire 38 is wound inside the container 11, according to a known technique, through continuous rotation of the reel 10, which has the articulated rods 13 in the radially expanded working position shown in Figure 1. During the rotation of the reel 10, the control stem 19 is stationary. Once the coil 39, with the required weight and height, is finished, as shown in Figure 3, the rods 13 are radially withdrawn through an upward movement of the stem 19 which pushes the plate 18, thus causing a rotation of the rods 13 around 14 in the direction of the arrows 40, i.e. towards the axis of the container 11. In this way, the rods 13 are detached from the coil 39 during the cooling phase, thus allowing the easy extraction of said coil, as shown in Figure 4, by moving upwards the extractor device 26. The control system of said extractor device 26 can be of any type suitable to the purpose and well-known to the skilled in the art, said device being not shown in order to simplify the drawing and simply indicated by arrow 42. By moving back the stem 19 to the position of Figure 1 through force of gravity, also the plate 18 and the links 15 will go back to the same position. According to the embodiment shown in Figure 5, the control stem 19 can also be engaged to the plate 18, which rotates by means of the bearings 41 thereon. Therefore, the purpose mentioned in the description preamble has been achieved, i.e. to provide a coil winder suitable to produce coils having weights and heights in excess of the usual standards, without jeopardising the extraction operation of said coils, said operation being improved by the expanding structure of the rods 13 which form the reel core.

Claims: Vertical coil winder, for winding hot rolled products, of the type comprising a reel (10) which has a structure formed by a substantially cylindrical container (11), and a plurality of vertical rods (13) being provided within said container, whereby a gap is defined between said container (11) and said rods (13) wherein a hot rolled product (38) is placed and wound thanks to the rotation of said reel, said plurality of rods (13) can move in the radial direction between an expanded position, wherein in use said product (38) is wound,and a withdrawn position, wherein in use the finished coil (39) is extracted, characterised in that said vertical rods (13) are pivoted at one end (14) to the bottom (12) of said container (11), while, at the opposite end, said rods are connected through a lever system (15, 16, 17, 18) driven by a drive means (19). Coil winder as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said lever system comprises a central plate (18) connected through articulated joints to the rods (13) by means of links (15) which, at one end (16), are pivoted to the top of a rod (13) and, at the other end (17), are pivoted to the central plate (18), and that said control means is formed by a stem (19) which can be moved forth and back so as to drive said plate (18). Coil winder as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that said control stem (19) engages, through a tip (20), a corresponding cavity (21) of the plate (18). Coil winder as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that said plate (18) is connected to said control stem (19) since it rotates thereon by means of bearings (41). Coil winder as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said rods (13) pass through an extractor device (26) whereon in use the coils to be wound of the hot rolled material (38) are placed, and in that said extractor device (26) can be moved between a lowered non working position and a lifted working position, wherein the coil (39) can be extracted.

Inventors: FERRARIO GIUSEPPE, ROSSINI MARCO, FERRARIO, GIUSEPPE, ROSSINI, MARCO
Applicants: VAI POMINI SRL, VAI POMINI S.R.L.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B21C47
IPC codes: B21C47