IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLING MILLS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
* IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLING MILLS."-A communication from abroad
by David Isaac Jones, of Newburg, Cuyahoga County, State of
Ohio, United States of America.
Scaled the 24th January 1871, and dated the 21st September 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 21st September 1870.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLING MILLS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a mill for rolling ingots into blooms by the
employment of a pair of rollers arranged one above the other, and
reversible in their rotating movement, and adjustable in their vertical
relation to each other, so that the ingot having been run through from
one side of the mill is returned through the same groove by a reverse
rotation of the rollers, as herein-after described.

page_text: In the annexed Drawing Figure 1 shows a front elevation, and
Figure 2 a plan of the rolling mill.
A, B, represent a pair of stays or frames secured to each other at the
top by brace bolts C, and at their base by a bed or framework D. In
the base of said frames is journaled a roller E in stationary seats, imme-
diately above which is journaled a corresponding roller F in movable
blocks, whereby said roller may be adjusted in its relation of distance to
the roller E by adjusting screws H for a purpose herein-after shown. To
each of the screws referred to is attached an arm I, whereby they are
connected to each other and operated simultaneously by a link J, said
link being connected to a vertical lever K by means of a link L, whereby
it is actuated for operating the screws for the purpose above mentioned.
Each of the rollers E, F, is alike divided into passes or grooves M by
means of collars N. The diameters of said grooves increase in regular
order from one to four, thereby producing a corresponding decrease in
the distance of the two rollers from each other. On each side of the
roller E (rear and front) is journaled a plain roller O, P. It will be
observed that the faces of said rollers are even horizontally with the face
of the roller E, and that in front of said rollers E, F, is a guide Q, imme-
diately above which is a corresponding guide R. On the opposite side
of said rollers are similar guides S, T. Said guides are denominated
upper and lower guides, and consist of short ribs equal in thickness to
the collars of the rollers, and are arranged in line therewith, but are not
of the same depth of the collars; hence, when the rollers or the collars
thereof are in contact the guides will not be. U and V are cog wheels,
secured to the shafts of the rollers E, F, whereby they are driven, the
wheels receiving motion from the spur wheels A¹, B¹, loosely fitted to the
shaft D', and made to revolve therewith by means of a sliding clutch E
operated by the lever F¹ projected through the vertical lever K. The
spur wheels A¹, B', receive motion from the intermediate spur wheel G¹,
connected to the driving power by the shaft H. To the outer end of
each of the plain rollers O, P, is secured a pulley I¹, whereby motion is
obtained to them by the belts J¹ from the pulley K' on the shaft D¹ by
the spur gearing and roller. By this arrangement of the pulleys and
belts the above said plain roller O has a common rotating movement
with the roller E, and in the same direction, whereas the roller P rotates
only on the reverse movement of the roller, but remains idle during the
direct or positive movement thereof.

page_text: The practical use and operation of this machine are as follows, viz. :—
As above said, this mill is for rolling ingots into bars or blooms. This is
ordinarily done by passing the ingot between a pair of rollers of a certain
distance between them. The ingot after being passed through the
rollers from the front is returned to the front over the upper roller to be
again run through the second pass or groove, and so on for each time
that the ingot is run through from the front. It is returned from the
rear to the front over the upper roller by an attendant for that purpose.
This matter of returning the ingot is a work requiring great exertion
and strength, and occupying much time, during which the ingot is
rapidly cooling, thereby requiring either increased pressure or more
repeated rollings to reduce it to the required sized bloom. To save this
labor and time or repeated rolling of the ingot is the purpose of this mill,
which, on being put in motion, the ingot is inserted between the rollers
at the pass or groove 1, from the side shown in Figure 1, by laying it
upon the roller O, which revolving in the same direction as the com-
pressing rollers, carries it towards them between the guides Q. The
distance between the rollers is supposed to be seven inches; hence the
ingot on passing through them will be of that thickness. Now instead
of returning the partially rolled ingot to the front of the machine over
the upper roller, as required in the ordinary mill, it is returned through
the rollers and through the same pass by reversing the revolution of the
rollers. This is done by the lever F¹, whereby the operator shifts the
clutch from its engagement with the spur wheel A¹ to the spur wheel B¹,
thereby reversing the movement of the rollers, and which at the same
time operates the adjusting screws H by the vertical lever K and links
above described. This simultaneous movement of the screws with the
reaction of the rollers will set the upper roller closer to the under some
three-eighths of an inch. With the now reversed movement of the
rollers the roller P will be actuated by a ratchet wheel and pawl P¹,
whereby the roller is made to engage the pulley I' on the rotating
reaction of the pressing rollers E, F, but which remains stationary on
the first or positive movement. The roller P carries the ingots to the
rollers, through which it repasses, and is reduced three-eighths of an
inch, equal to the distance the roller F was adjusted by the screws.
The ingot on being thus returned through the rollers to the front of the
mill is now turned one quarter round, and run through the second
groove or pass 2. The movement of the rollers is reversed for this.
purpose to the first or direct movement by shifting the clutch again

page_text: from the wheel B¹ to the wheel A¹. By this shifting of the clutch from
the wheel B' to the wheel A¹ the adjusting screws are turned back, thereby
allowing the upper roller to recede from the lower one by means of the
counterbalance weights O¹ attached to the roller for that purpose. The
ingot on being run through the second pass is returned therein by
again reversing the rotating movement of the rollers by means of the
clutch, which in so doing will operate the adjusting screws in the same
way and to the same extent as before described. The now actuated
roller P will carry the ingot to the rollers, through which it runs, and is.
reduced thereby in thickness three-eighths of an inch, as in the first
instance, and so on through the whole number of the passes. Thus,
each time that the ingot is run through from the front to the rear of the
mill it is reduced in thickness by the increased diameters of the rollers,
which, as a consequence, lessen the depths of the passes or the vertical
distance between the grooves, and so on, the return of the ingot from the
rear to the front side, the vertical distance between the grooves or passes
is shortened three-eighths of an inch by the adjustment of the upper
roller in the manner above described, the adjustment of the roller being
made simultaneously with the shifting of the clutch for the reaction of
the rollers, to cause the return of the ingot. It will be obvious that in
rerolling the ingot by repassing it through the same groove the labor of
lifting it over the upper roller is avoided, and that it is being rolled
during the time required to pass it over the roller in the ordinary way;
hence there can be no loss of time and a consequent loss of heat while
rolling the ingot, or while the ingot is from between the rollers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 10th March 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give

page_text: and grant unto me, the said Alexander Melville Clark, Her special
licence that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Melville
Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLING MILLS," a communication to me from abroad
by David Isaac Jones, of Newburg, Cuyahoga County, State of Ohio,
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Alexander Melville Clark, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say)
This Invention relates to a mill for rolling ingots into blooms by the
employment of a pair of rollers arranged one above the other, and
reversible in their rotating movement, and adjustable in ther vertical
relation to each other, so that the ingot having been run through from
one side of the mill is returned through the same groove by a reverse
rotation of the rollers, as herein-after described..
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the mill: Figure 2. a view of the

page_text: means of collars N.
in stationary seats, immediately above which is journaled a corre-
sponding roller F in movable blocks G, Figure 3, whereby said roller
may be adjusted in its relation of distance to the roller E by adjusting
screws H, for a purpose herein-after shown. To each of the screws
referred to is attached an arm I, Figures 3 and 4, whereby they are
.connected to each other, and operated simultaneously by a link J, said
link being connected to a vertical lever K by means of a link L, whereby
it is actuated for operating the screws for the purpose above mentioned.
Each of the rollers E, F, is alike divided into passes or grooves M by
The diameters of said grooves increase in regular
order from one to four, thereby producing a corresponding decrease in
the distance of the two rollers from each other. On each side of the
roller E (rear and front) is journaled a plain roller O, P, Figure 4. It
will be observed that the faces of said rollers are even horizontally with
the face of the roller E, and that in front of said rollers E, F, is a
guidé Q, immediately above which is a corresponding guide R. On the
opposite side of said rollers are similar guides S, T; said guides are
denominated upper and lower guides, and consist of short ribs equal in
thickness to the collars of the rollers, and are arranged in line therewith,
but are not of the same depth of the collars, hence when the rollers or
the collars thereof arc in contact the guides will not be. U and V are
cog wheels secured to the shafts of the rollers E, F, whereby they are
driven, the wheels receiving motion from the spur wheels A', B³, loosely
fitted to the shaft D¹, and made to revolve therewith by means of a
sliding clutch E¹ operated by the lever F¹ projected through the vertical
lever K. The spur wheels A¹, B¹, receive motion from the intermediate
spur wheel G¹ connected to the driving power by the shaft H¹. To the
outer end of each of the plain rollers O, P, is secured a pulley I',
whereby motion is imparted to them by the belts J' from the pulley K¹
on the shaft D' by the spur gearing and roller. By this arrangement of
the pulleys and belts the above said plain roller O has a common rotating
movement with the roller E, and in the same direction, whereas the
roller P rotates only on the reverse movement of the roller, but remains
idle during the direct or positive movement thereof.
The practical use and operation of this machine are as follows, viz. :-
As above said, this mill is for rolling ingots into bars or blooms. This is
ordinarily done by passing the ingot between a pair of rollers of a certain
distance between them. The ingot after being passed through the rollers
from the front is returned to the front over the upper roller to be again

page_text: run through the second pass or groove, and so on for each time that
the ingot is run through from the front. It is returned from the rear to
the front over the upper roller by an attendant for that purpose. This
matter of returning the ingot is a work requiring great exertion and
strength, and occupying much time, during which the ingot is rapidly
cooling, thereby requiring either increased pressure or more repeated
rollings to reduce it to the required sized bloom. To save this labor and
time or repeated rolling of the ingot is the purpose of this mill. On
the mill being put in motion the ingot is inserted between the rollers at
the pass or groove 1, from the side shown in Figure 1, by laying it upon
the roller O, which revolving in the same direction as the compressing
rollers, carries it toward them between the guides Q. The distance
between the rollers is supposed to be seven inches, hence the ingot on
passing through them will be of that thickness. Now instead of
returning the partially rolled ingot to the front of the machine over
the upper roller, as required in the ordinary mill, it is returned through
the rollers and through the same pass by reversing the revolution of the
rollers; this is done by the lever F¹, whereby the operator shifts the
clutch from its engagement with the spur wheel A¹ to the spur wheel B',
thereby reversing the movement of the rollers, and which at the same
time operates the adjusting screws H by the vertical lever K. and links
above described. This simultaneous movement of the screws with the
reaction of the rollers will set the upper roller closer to the under some
three-eighths of an inch. With the now reversed movement of the rollers-
the roller P will be actuated by a ratchet wheel and pawl P¹, Figure 4,
whereby the roller is made to engage the pulley I¹ on the rotating
reaction of the pressing rollers E, F, but which remains stationary on
the first or positive movement. The roller P carries the ingot to the
rollers, through which it repasses, and is reduced three-eighths of an
inch, equal to the distance that the roller F was adjusted by the screws.
The ingot on being thus returned through the rollers to the front of the
mill is now turned one-quarter around, and run through the second
groove or pass 2. The movement of the rollers is reversed for this
purpose to the first or direct movement by shifting the clutch again
from the wheel B₁ to the wheel A¹; by this shifting of the clutch from
the wheel B¹ to the wheel A¹ the adjusting screws are turned back,
thereby allowing the upper roller to recede from the lower one by
means of the counterbalance weights O¹, Figures 1 and 2, attached to
the roller for that purpose. The ingot on being run through the second

page_text: pass is returned therein by again reversing the rotating movement of
the rollers by means of the clutch, which in so doing will operate the
adjusting screws in the same way and to the same extent as before
described. The now actuated roller P will carry the ingot to the rollers,
through which it runs, and is reduced thereby in thickness three-eighths
of an inch, as in the first instance, and so on through the whole number
of the passes; thus each time that the ingot is run through from the
front to the rear of the mill it is reduced in thickness by the increased
diameters of the rollers, which, as a consequence, lessens the depths of
the passes, or the vertical distance between the grooves, and so on; the
return of the ingot from the rear to the front side, the vertical distance
between the grooves or passes is shortened three-eighths of an inch by
the adjustment of the upper roller in the manner above described, the
adjustment of the roller being made simultaneously with the shifting of
the clutch for the reaction of the rollers to cause the return of the ingot.
It will be obvious that in rerolling the ingot by repassing it through the
same groove the labor of lifting it over the upper roller is avoided, and
that it is being rolled during the time required to pass it over the roller
in the ordinary way, hence there can be no loss of time and a consequent
loss of heat while rolling the ingot, or while the ingot is from between
the rollers.
Mills in ordinary use are provided with guides, some three-fourths as
high as the ingot on the front or positive side only, to prevent the ingot
from entering the groove crosswise, but have more guides at the top or
either side. Owing to the great height of the guides in proportion to
the thickness of the ingot they would offer an obstruction to the re-
passing of the ingot, as the pins, or sprawls on the side of the ingot
would strike against them, and either prevent the ingot from entering
the groove or divert it from a direct passage through, hence the guides
are made much lower than the thickness of the ingot, and placing one
above and one below the ingot is guided straightly into the pass, while
the pins, should there be any, will pass between the guides without
interfering therewith.
Having described the nature of the Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to
be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,--
1st. The combination of the reversible adjustable roller F and adjusting
device, consisting of the screws H,. arms I, links J, L, and lever K, all

page_text: arranged to operate simultaneously and in combination with the reversing
lever F¹ for operating the clutch for reversing the rollers, in the manner
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2ndly. The guides R, Q, and S, T, arranged in relation to the rollers E, F,
in the manner as described and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
Witness,
JAS. O. DEWEY,
53, Chancery Lane.
A. M. CLARK. (L.S.)