IMPROVEMENTS IN DRIVING AND REVERSING GEAR CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR ROLLING MACHINERY
Year: 1885

page_text: CUMI LEIE DI ECIFICATIVA
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DRIVING AND REVERSING GEAR CHIEFLY
DESIGNED FOR ROLLING MACHINERY and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
"
This invention relates to driving and reversing gear especially devised for use
with rolling mills but also capable of other applications, especially where heavy
gearing and much power are involved.
The value of oppositely driving or reversing pairs of metal working rolls in
rolling mills has so long been recognized, that various forms of driving and
reversing gear have been devised and tried, but so far as the knowledge of the
communicator of this invention extends, such gear as heretofore organized has so
far proved impracticable, that reliance is now generally placed upon reversible
steam engines which are reversed for effecting a reversal of the rolls.
It is obvious that for rolling mill work, heavy coarse mechanism can only be
relied upon, as distinguished from such as is well known to be available and largely
used in latbes, hoisting engines &c. The severe strains to which metal working
rolls are subjected, especially during the initial work at each pass, is necessarily
communicated throughout the line of mechanism by which said rolls are connected
with the steam engine or other source of power and the failures heretofore
experienced with reversing gear have it is believed been due to an uneven balance
of strain at the points where the shifting connections and disconnections are made;
as, for instance, whether a friction clutch, or a positive clutch were employed in
connection with a pulley or a bevelled or other gear, the clutching engagement has
heretofore been limited to one side only of said pulley or gear, and as an inevitable
consequence destructive torsional or twisting strains supplemented the direct
strains, and therefore breakages of gearing and clutches were constantly liable. In
the improved driving and reversing gear friction clutches for light work can be
employed but a positive clutch is deemed preferable in all cases. As a novelty in

page_text: this connection double clutch faces are employed keyed to, but free to slide on,
each shaft which is to be alternately driven from the driving shaft; and between
each pair of clutch faces, and on each shaft a loose gear is employed having at each
side thereof an integral or properly secured clutch face with which a co-operating
coincident sliding clutch face engages. By thus clutching to its shaft the loose
gear which is continuously rotated by the embracing sliding clutch faces, all
torsional or twisting strain of said gear is obviated when relied upon for driving
the rolls. Although in its best form the improved driving and reversing gear
embodies clutches which embrace between them those pinions on which reliance is
had for reversing motion, I am aware that clutches which operate on one side only
of said pinions can be successfully employed in some cases in connection with
certain portions of my invention.
The two pairs of clutches are so organized that each pair is always oppositely
controlled thus rendering it impossible for either pair to be engaged as drivers,
until the other pair is disengaged, and although good results can be obtained by
shifting the clutches by hand they are so arranged that although the reversing
changes depend upon the movement of a hand lever, the actual labor of shifting
the clutches is performed automatically by power derived from the main driving
shaft and the means employed for performing this clutch shifting service are so
organized that under no circumstances can the clutches fail to properly mesh,
which is a matter of special value with positive clutches, although quite immaterial
if friction clutches be used.
I have also provided for locking the clutches in their operative positions, and
for obviating the shock incident to the reversal of heavy rolls.
The various ways of organizing the said improvements with metal working rolls
and the novel features are hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawings.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 illustrate respectively the driving and reversing gear in side
elevation, top, and end views, independent of a rolling mill.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of a pair of metal working rolls with the driving
and reversing gear attached in such a manner that power can be alternately applied
directly to either the upper or the lower roll according to the direction in which
said rolls are to be driven.
Figure 5 is a side elevation of a pair of rolls with said driving and reversing
gear so attached that power is applied directly to the lower roll only.
Figure 6 is a side elevation of a pair of rolls and said driving and reversing gear,
as when rolls of comparatively small diameter are desired, and each roll is to be
alternately the driven roll.
Figure 7 illustrates in side and end views a gear wheel having a clutch face
provided with a heavy spring to serve as a friction face for inducing slight initial
movement of the shaft to be driven, prior to the positive engagement of the clutch.
Figure 8 illustrates in two views a positive lock or catch for preventing the
accidental disengagement of the clutches while in service.
Figure 9 in several views illustrates a coupling bar, sockets, and a heavy cushion-
ing torsion spring encircling the bar.
Figure 10 illustrates means for wholly disengaging the several clutches.
Figures 11 and 12 illustrate the invention as when employed with a main
driving shaft located at one side of the vertical plane occupied by the clutch shafts.
Referring first to Figures 1 to 3 inclusive, it is to be understood that the bed A,
and housings or frame A¹ are to be variably constructed in form and arrangement
so as to be best suited to the character of the rolls to be driven. The housings,
however, must contain proper boxes for three parallel shafts, which for the best
results should occupy the same vertical plane, although the central shaft may be set
to the one side or the other of the other two without departure from my invention.
The central shaft B is the main driving shaft, and in some cases it may be an
extension of the crank shaft of a steam engine, or it may be separately geared to
the source of power. On this shaft B there is a pinion B¹ keyed or otherwise

page_text: secured thereto. Below the driving shaft there is a clutch shaft C and above is a
clutch shaft D, and each of these clutch shafts has a pinion which is loosely mounted
thereon, and meshes with the pinion B¹ as at C¹ and D'. Each of the said loose
pinions or idlers is provided on each side thereof with a clutch face a of a form
common in well known positive clutches, and each clutch face a cooperates with a
coincident clutch face b on a sliding hub c splined or feathered to the shaft in the
usual manner, each pair of faces constituting a clutch E, four of which are shown,
one pair for each loose pinion or idler, so that when the latter is rotatively coupled
or locked to its shaft, it is practically embraced by said clutches and is therefore not
exposed to torsional or twisting strains as it would be if it had a clutch at one
side only.
It is obviously of importance that the sliding hub c of either clutch be so
connected with the one above or below it on the same side, that neither can engage
with its clutch face a until the other has been wholly disengaged, inasmuch as the
pinions C and D are constantly in mesh with the driving pinion B₁, and therefore
said hubs c are coupled in vertical pairs to vertical levers d, each pivotted as at d²;
and each hub is grooved peripherally and provided with a band or saddle, and
studs or pivots d², having their bearings in said levers in a manner well known.
These two levers & are each composed of two parts connected at the top, and may
be separately operated as by hand, one at a time or simultaneously, but I deem it
of consequence that both of them be so coupled together as to respond to a single
movement of a lever, and therefore I connect each vertical lever d at its top by a
link e with a horizontal lever f pivotted on top of the housing as seen in Figure 2, .
so that the horizontal vibration of said lever f, as by the hand, applied to an
extension thereof indicated by dotted lines, will simultaneously cause either
horizontal pair of clutches to engage with the proper pinion and lock it to its shaft,
and the other pair to disengage from the pinion which is to run loose as an idler.
If said clutches be operated by hand considerable exertion would be involved,
and the outer ends of the abutting shoulders of the clutch faces would be liable to
injury while being thrown together, as is well known to be the case with positive
clutches of this class, and therefore I have provided means whereby the vibration
of the clutch levers is performed automatically and by mechanisin fully and easily
controlled by the operator, and which can only throw the several clutch faces
together when they are properly registered, and therefore no partial contact of the
shoulders of the clutches can ever occur.
Referring particularly to Figures 2 and 3, it will be seen that the horizontal
lever has coupled thereto at its ends, pivotted shipper bars g, g', and that these
bars have near their outer ends guide bearings h, each in the form of a rec-
tangular loop on the upper end of a vertically sliding rod a pivotted at its lower
end to a horizontal centrally pivotted lever k arranged to be rocked in a vertical
plane by a handle k¹. It will now be readily understood that by raising
and depressing said handle the two bars g, g', will be alternately raised
or depressed at their outer ends, their pivottal connections with the lever f
freely permitting that vibratory movement while being so pivotted that neither
bar can be moved longitudinally without imparting a corresponding rocking
movement to the lever fand also a corresponding rocking movement to the two
clutch levers d. These shipper bars g and g¹ alternately operate as push bars by
which the clutches are shifted, and it will be seen that if either be forced inwarly,
the other will be simultaneously moved outwardly. Upon the driving shaft B
there is keyed a wheel , having near its periphery and at its inner side a cam l¹,
so shaped and proportioned that during a portion of the revolution of the cam
wheel its working face will engage with the outer end of whichever push bar g, gl
may then be in a projected and depressed position, and by forcing it inwardly
cause a shifting of the clutches. At the same time said cam will also so project
the other push bar, that when that one is next depressed by ineans of the handle k¹,
said cam will in like manner operate to reversely shift the clutches and so on
indefinitely as often as the handle ¹ be thus manipulated.

page_text: At the outer end of each clutch shaft D, C, there is a keyed pinion as seen at O³
and D2 which two pinions or gears mesh together In some cases these pinions or
gears C and D2 are absolutely essential, and although they can sometimes be
dispensed with, as will be hereinafter shown, I deem it best to always employ them.
In applying my driving and reversing gear to various kinds and sizes of metal
working rolls, it will be obvious that more or less variation will be necessary but
without involving any departures from my invention For generally effective
service, I advise the use of pinions B', C and D¹, which are each about twenty-
four inches in diameter, and if rolls be directly coupled to the two clutch shafts,
and in the same plane, the metal working rolls would be about forty-eight inches
in diameter, and inasmuch as smaller rolls are more frequently desired, the modes
of coupling them to the driving and reversing gearing must be such as will admit
of the use of any sized roll.
In Figure 4 I illustrate a pair of rolls F F¹ each of which is coupled by a well
known form of bar and sockets, to its respective shaft m or m³, which in turn are
coupled respectively to and constitute extensions of the clutch shafts C and D, and
have thereon the pinions C2 and D². The driving shaft B, pinion B¹, loose
pinions C¹ and D¹, clutches levers and cam wheel are all as before described.
As thus organized it will be assumed that the rolls are at rest and are to be run
for service so as to deliver the metal toward the observer as viewed in Figure 4,
and that the handle ¹ is raised, the push bar g¹ depressed and projected, and the
clutches engaged with the lower clutch shaft C Now if the power be applied to
the driving shaft B and cam wheel so as to drive them in the direction indicated
by the arrows thereon, the rolls will first make a partial backward rotation until
the cam strikes the push bar g¹, whereupon the lower clutches will be released
and and the upper clutches be simultaneously thrown into action for driving the
upper clutch shaft D, pinion D2 and upper roll F¹ in a direction opposite to that of
the driving shaft, while the lower roll F will be driven in the same direction as the
driving shaft by way of the pinions D2 and C2, the lower clutch shaft C being free
to rotate because its pinion C is then a mere idler.
A bar of metal having been thus passed through the rolls, the latter are reversed,
while the driving shaft continues its rotation for making a rearward pass by first
lowering the handle ¹, which depresses the then projected push bar g, so that when
the cam wheel engages therewith (as before described in connection with the push
bar g¹) the upper clutches will be disengaged, and the lower clutches thrown into
action for driving the lower clutch shaft C, pinion C², and lower roll F in a direction
opposite to that of the driving shaft, while the upper roll F¹ will be driven in the
same direction as the driving shaft by way of said pinion C³ and D³ the upper
clutch shaft D being then free to rotate because its pinion D¹ is a mere idler. It
will be observed that if the handle ¹ be manipulated at a time when the outer
end of a push bar would overlie the cam that the latter will prevent further
depression of said bar until the rear end of the cam has passed, but that then said
bar can be properly depressed so as to occupy the plane traversed by the cam.
Care should be be taken not to shift the push bars vertically more than once
during any one rotation of the cam wheel, so as to avoid the possible release of a
push bar from the cam face during the rearward sliding movement of either bar,
and especially the push bar g, because in that event said bar may have been so far.
forced rearwardly by the cam as to force the bar g¹ so far outwardly that it would
be immediately thereafter engaged by said cam, and at a time when the upper cam
faces would be out of register and incapable of locking, thus involving a risk of
breakage to the levers or their pivotal connections. It will be obvious that if either
lever & be removed together with the clutches to which it is pivoted, the remaining
lever d will have its clutches properly operated by the push bars and cam wheel,
and for very light rolls this arrangement can be fairly relied upon, although the
embracing clutches should be employed for obtaining the best results.
When the rotation of the rolls is reversed, they will be performing no work, and.
will first be at rest so that they will be started each time from a full stop, and in

page_text: une case of large aud heavy TONIS, IS sometimes desirable wo moroduce some
cushioning medium to relieve shocks incident to suddenly imparting rotative force
to the rolls. Friction clutches may be employed in lieu of the positive clutches for
driving large rolls, in the performance of very light work, but for heavy or ordinary
service the positive clutches are the most reliable. In Figure 7 a clutch face a of
a pinion C or D' is shown to be provided with a heavy outwardly inclined flat
spring n, against which the end of a shoulder of a coincident clutch face b will
frictionally engage in advance of the contact of the two shoulders, and thus
cushion them more or less and impart to the clutch shafts at least a tendency to
rotation in advance of the actual contact of the shoulders. The tendency of the
spring to force the clutch faces apart can be corrected by recessing the coincident
surface of the face b, so that said spring can be freely housed therein, and thereby
render it practically or wholly free from compression. Whenever it is desirable to
absolutely lock the clutches in their closed or working positions, I organize the
push bars and their lifting rods as shown in Figure 8. In this case the push bar
is provided on its lower edge, near its outer end, with a rectangular lateral notch g³,.
and on the upper surface of the frame or housing below said bar I provide a
stud g, which can freely enter said notch when the bar is thrown downwardly
and inwardly. A flat spring is rivetted to the upper portion of a guide bearing h
or to the push bar as shown, so as to bear downwardly upon the upper surface of
the push bar, and the loop or guide bearing is made of sufficient height to enable a
slight vertical play of the push bar in said bearing, say equal to the height of the
stud g. When thus organized it will be seen that if the handle be manipulated
in the proper direction, the push bar to be next acted upon by the cam will be
depressed until it rests upon the stud g³, and that when said bar is pushed rear-
wardly by the cam, the notch and stud will be engaged and thus lock or confine
the bar against longitudinal movement until it is next raised.
For rotatively cushioning as between the rolls and the clutch shafts, whenever
the saine is required, I make the sockets and coupling bars so that each is capable
of more or less rotation independently of the other; as, for instance, as shewn in
Figure 9, wherein the sockets p have say two engaging shoulders pl and the
coupling bar q has tapered tenons ql, and said bar is enclosed in a heavy spiral
torsion spring r having its ends or tips housed in tubular seats on one side of
each socket and secured therein by clamp screws >. The normal set of this
torsional spring for each roll may be varied, but usually so that its tendency will
be to slightly force the roll in a direction opposite to that in which its particular
clutch shaft is to be driven, and therefore it will exercise more or less cushioning
effect as between said shaft and roll, whenever power is directly applied to said
roll, and without any possibility of unduly, straining the spring. It will not be
always necessary that a torsion spring should extend from one socket to the
other, but it may be in one or more coils, secured at one end to either socket
(preferably the one next to the roll) and at the other end to the coupling bar.
Öther obvious modes of cushioning may be employed.
In Figure 5 I show how rolls of any diameter for light service can be coupled to
the driving and reversing gear. In this case only the lower clutch shaft C is
directly coupled to the rolls, it being already understood that this clutch shaft can
be revolved oppositely to the driving shaft B when the pinion C' is clutched for
service, and that said clutch shaft can also be rotated in the same direction as the
driving shaft, by way of the upper clutch shaft D and the pinion D2 and C. In
this case extra pinions F are employed at the outer ends of the axes of the rolls so
that the upper roll F may be directly coupled, or the lower roll F', as shewn, or the
extra pinions F may be set in separate housings.
In Figure 6 I shew how comparatively small rolls F F may each be coupled to
their respective clutch shafts. In this case the coupling bars q are respectively
inclined, to compensate for the difference between the horizontal planes occupied
by the axis of each roll and its respective clutch shaft, these latter not being
directly coupled by gearing, although indirectly coupled by way of pinions at the.

page_text: outer ends of the axes of the rolls. Other varieties or methods of coupling would
naturally be suggested to persons skilled in rolling-mill work, in view of each
particular line of service for which the rolls were adapted. Variations as to the
diameter of rolls each directly coupled to its respective clutch shaft, can obviously
be provided for by setting the driving shaft to one side or the other of the vertical
plane occupied by the clutch shafts, but this arrangement, as a rule, should he
avoided in favor of the arrangement thereof as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. It
will be understood that for promptly stopping the rolls the usual clutching
mechanism may be employed between the cam wheel on the driving shaft and the
source of power, but I prefer to provide means whereby both push bars may be
lifted above the can wheel thus enabling the several clutches to be wholly
disengaged whenever it is desired to stop the rolls. In Figure 10 I illustrate a
convenient and effective arrangement for thus lifting both push bars The hand
lever is mounted upon a vertically sliding plate 2, which at its lower end is
pivotted to a weighted treadle lever ³ so that by depressing said treadle and forcing
it laterally into a keeper notch, the outer ends of both of the push bars will be
lifted above the path of the cam wheel and held there, during which the several
clutches can be wholly disengaged leaving both loose pinions free to revolve as
idlers on their clutch shafts.
The several pinions and gears may be provided with ordinary straight teeth or
with the well known angular or V-shaped teeth, both varieties being illustrated in
the drawings.
I have herein before referred to locating the driving shaft out of the vertical
plane occupied by the clutch shafts, and should this arrangement be desired an
automatic push bar can be readily employed by organizing the cam therewith, as
illustrated in Figures 11 and 12. As seen in Figure 11 the driving shaft B is
located at the rear of the vertical plane occupied by the clutch shafts C and D, the
cam wheel, being mounted on the driving shaft. In Figure 12 the cam wheel is
shown in vertical section. The sliding push bar g is provided with two vertically
sliding pins or studs 94, and also with a hand lever 96 mounted upon top of said
bar, by means of a fulcrum gº located between the pins 9' so that by raising or
lowering said lever, either of the pins 94 can be placed into or out of the path of its
proper cam face, and if desired it is obvious that the lever, its fulcrum and the pins
can be readily so proportioned that both of said pins 94 can be so set as to be free
from contact with the cam wheel. In this arrangement it will be obvious that but
one push bar will be required because the cam wheel is capable of forcing a bar in
both directions, according to which of the pins g¹ may be so depressed as to occupy
the path of either of the cam faces , this wheel having two cam faces instead of
but one as shown in Figures 1 and 2. It is obvious that said two cam faces,
operating with the single push bar are equivalent to the two push bars and the
single cam face before described, while the hand lever for lifting and lowering the
pins g serves the same purpose with one push bar as the lever k¹ with the two push
bars, in enabling the cam wheel to throw either the upper or the lower set of
clutches into engagement.
It will be readily understood that any other means than those herein described
and illustrated, such as steam, air, or hydraulic power may be employed, (as is most
convenient,) for the purpose of operating the push bars g and g₁, or the clutch
levers d, d, without departure from my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First. The combination of a driving shaft having a tight pinion, a pair of clutch
shafts each having a loose pinion, a clutch on each clutch shaft for rotatively
connecting said clutch shaft to the driving shaft, and a lever controlling both
clutches, substantially as described, whereby said clutches are simultaneously
operated for the respective engagement and disengagement of said clutch shafts
from the driving shaft, as set forth.

page_text: Second. The combination of a driving shaft having a tight pinion, two clutch
shafts each having a loose pinion, and a clutch, and pinion or gears on said clutch
shaft which mesh directly with each other, substantially as described, whereby
either clutch shaft when not driven directly from the driving shaft will be
oppositely rotated by its connection with the directly driven clutch shaft.
Third. The combination of a driving shaft having a tight pinion, two clutch
shafts having loose piuions meshing with said tight pinion, a clutch at each side of
and embracing each loose pinion, and levers for operating said clutches, substantially
as described, whereby either loose pinion may be rotatively locked at each end to
its respective clutch shaft.
Fourth. The combination of a driving shaft having a tight pinion, two clutch
shafts having loose pinions meshing with said tight pinion, a pair of clutches on
each clutch shaft for locking its loose pinion thereto, and levers connecting all of
said clutches, substantially as described, whereby either pair of said clutches on
either clutch shaft may be thrown into service simultaneously with the dis-
engagement of the pair of clutches on the other clutch shaft.
Fifth. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore described, of the driving
shaft, its pinions or gears, the cam wheel, the clutch shafts, their loose pinions and
clutches, the levers connected to said clutches, and one or more sliding push bars
coupled to the clutch lever and moved by the cam wheel.
Sixth. The combination with the driving shaft and its pinion, the clutch shafts
and their loose pinions, the clutches and their controlling levers, of the sliding push
bars coupled to said levers, the hand lever for alternately raising and lowering the
outer ends of said push bars, and the cam wheel, substantially as described,
whereby either pair of clutches can be engaged or disengaged by the cam wheel
according to the particular manipulation of the hand lever.
Seventh. The combination of the driving shaft, the two clutch shafts, the tight
and loose pinions and the clutches, and a cushioning spring for relieving the shock
incident to the locking of either loose pinion to its clutch shaft, substantially as
described.
Eighth. The combination of the driving and reversing gear, embodying the
driving shaft, its tight pinion, the clutch shafts, their loose pinions and connecting
pinions, clutches for locking said loose pinions to the clutch shafts, and metal
working rolls coupled to said driving and reversing gear, substantially as described,
whereby said rolls may be driven in either direction without reversal of the
driving shaft.