Improvements in Rolling Black Plate or Sheets.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Mar., 1899--Accepted, 6th May, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by WILLIAM HENRY DONNER, of Monessen, in the
County of Westmoreland, State of Pennsylvania, one of the United States of
America, Manufacturer.]
Improvements in Rolling Black Plate or Sheets.
I, WILLIAM BURGELAND JOHNSON, of 4, Clayton Square, Liverpool, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this 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 accom-
panying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which:-
Figure 1 is a diagramatic plan view, partly in section, showing a plant for the
rolling of black sheets or plates, constructed in accordance with my invention,
and Fig. 2 is a detail view of a stop mechanism.
Heretofore in sheet rolling mills wherein bars are reduced to thin sheets, it
has been customary to feed the bars through a set of two-high rolls and then
return them over their tops for the next pass, the screws of the rolls being
successively adjusted to bring the rolls closer together for each pass. This opera-
tion is continued until the iron is too cold to roll, when the packs are returned
to the furnace, and being reheated are then given a second series of reductions
until they are rolled sumciently long for doubling, when they are doubled and
returned to the furnace, these operations being continued until the desired gauge
is obtained. In the usual operation, after the doubles are all rolled into fours,
one pack is taken out, rolled and doubled into eights, during which operation
the pack again cools and is again put back into the same furnace with the
remaining packs of fours, this cool pack tending to cool and harden the other
packs in the furnace. The remaining packs of fours are similarly rolled suc-
cessively into eights and replaced in the same furnace-chamber, and the packs of
eights are then successively taken out and rolled and finished. The placing of
the cooled packs of fours in with the doubles tends to harden and chill the doubles
and render them unfit for rolling and the cooled packs of eights have the same
action upon the packs of fours. This hardening of the packs being heated is
overcome to some extent by raising the temperature and making the heat more
intense; but this action is objectionable, as it tends to scale the iron and to pit its
surface. The heating of the packs demands a high degree of skill, as there are
several packs in the same chamber at the same time and each pack inserted must
be placed so that it will not interfere with the taking out of the other packs to
be worked.
The object of my invention is to provide a plant and method of working the
metal, whereby the time and labor consumed in passing the metal back over
the rolls is obviated and the iron reduced more rapidly, and without changing the
adjustments of the rolls; a further object is to provide a plant of this character
wherein the metal after each set of reductions is reheated in a furnace-chamber
at a point remote from the sets of packs which have been subjected to one less
FD
.

page_text: series of reductions; and to obtain a continuous plant wherein the various sets
of rolls are maintained at substantially the same temperature by reason of the
metal passing therethrough in a continuous or regular manner, thus giving more
accurate sheets and reducing the liability of breaking the. rolls.
In the drawings, A represents a heating furnace having chambers 2, 3 and 4,
in which the bars to be rolled are heated. This furnace may be provided with
one, or as many chambers as desired. When the bars are brought to the proper
heat in this furnace, they are taken to a continuous mill D consisting of several
sets of two-high rolls of which I have shown six sets arranged in tandem, numbered
respectively 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, each set of rolls being provided with a feed
table or conveyor 11 which is shown as consisting of a series of sprocket chains
passing over positively driven sprocket wheels at their ends, though other forms
of positively driven feed tables may be employed if desired. I have shown, the
sprocket-wheels at one end of the feed table chains as mounted upon a shaft having
bevel gear connection's' with a shaft 28 extending alongside the continuous mill,
though these chains may be driven by any other desired mechanism.
The metal being placed upon the first feed table passes through the set of
rolls 5 and being reduced therein, emerges upon the second feed table, which
carries it to the rolls 6 in which it receives a further reduction and thence passes
on in a similar manner through the sets of rolls 7 and 8.
The next set of rolls 9 is spaced a sufficient distance from the set 8 so that the
plates may be matched' at this point if désired, the feed table between rolls 8
and 9 being correspondingly lengthened for this purpose. To stop the plates
upon the table between the rolls 8 and 9; I show tilting fingers 29 arranged
between the chains near the end of this table, and arranged to be swung into upper
position to stop the metal,, or lowered into inoperative. position, by a lever 30.
From roll 9 the metal passes through set 10. and on emerging from the set of
rolls the metal, which has now been, reduced to a suitable gauge. for doubling,
emerges upon a feed table 12 by which it is carried to a doubler 13 upon which it
is suitably doubled and taken to the furnace. B having chambers 14 in which
the doubled pack is reheated.
The pack being, heated in one of the chambers of this furnace, is drawn-out
and reduced in the continuous train E it being first placed upon a conveyor. 15
and carried to a set of rolls 16 in which it is reduced and emerges upon a feed
table 17 by which it is carried to another set of rolls 18 in which it is further
reduced and drops upon the feed table 19 by, which, it is taken to the doubler 20.
After being doubled therein the pack is then taken to a reheating furnace. C
and being reheated in one of the chambers 21 thereof is taken to a third continuous
train F, consisting of three sets of rolls 22, 23, and 24, having feed tables or
conveyors 25 similar to those of the other trains. The metal passing through
these three sets of rolls is reduced therein to the proper gauge of sheets and
emerges upon a conveyor 26. The chain tables of the continuous mills E and F
may be driven from shafts 31 and 32 respectively, in a similar manner to the
feed tables of the mill D.
The arrows show the course of the metal.
In order to prevent twisting buckling or spreading of the pack between the sets
of rolls after it has been reduced in gauge to a point where this may occur,
preferably provide in front of and closely adjacent to the reducing rolls, small
rollers 27, which act upon the packs passing through these rolls, guiding them
and preventing twisting buckling and spreading, by their action upon the surface
of the sheets, in the same manner as a workman operating with tongs. When
the sheets in the pack become very thin they have a tendency to spread or
separate at the edges, and bend or buckle when unsupported. The small rollers
prevent the edges separating or bending keep them close together, and lead them
properly to the bite of the reducing rolls. The small rollers are carried in
bearings in any convenient way and are driven in any usual manner.
I have shown these rollers as used upon the last six sets of the reducing rolls,.

page_text: but they may of course be placed wherever necessity demands, between the
rolls. The rollers are of especial advantage when employed in connection with
the conveying chains as shown, and may be driven by connections with the
shafts 31 and 32 as shown in the drawings:
The number of continuous trains or mills as well as the number of sets of rolls
in each train, may be varied as desired, without departing from my invention,
according to the number of reductions and the gauge of sheet which are desired.
The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art,
since the labor and time of reducing the metal is greatly decreased, a greater
number of reductions can be given before reheating the pack, and the number of
workmen is materially reduced.. Since I use one pair of rolls for each reduction
instead of making several reductions on one mill, the reductions are more uniform
and accurate than where the adjustments are being continually changed. The
adjustments of the tension of the roll's which regulates these reductions are made
easy for an unskilled workman, whereas the adjustment by the ordinary method
heretofore used requires the close attention of a skilled roller. The packs being
fed to the rolls in a continuous and regular manner, the rolls are kept at a
substantially uniform temperature, and hence at about the same contour or
shape, giving more accurate sheets than formerly and avoiding breakage of the
rolls by reason of contracting and expanding thereof.
Many variations may be made in the form and arrangement of the rolls, the
conveyors, and the furnaces without departing 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:
1. In the manufacture of black plate or sheets, a heating furnace, a continuous
train made up of several sets of rolls arranged adjacent thereto in tandem, a
doubler arranged to act upon the metal after passing through the continuous
train, a heating furnace to which the pack is taken, and another continuous train
to which the metal is taken from the latter furnace substantially as described.
2. The method of making black sheets, which consists in heating a series of
packs, rolling each pack successively by passing it through the several sets of rolls
of a continuous mill, doubling each pack, reheating the doubled packs in series,
rolling each pack successively by passing it through the several sets of rolls of
a second continuous train, and continuously supplying the packs to the furnaces
and to the continuous trains; substantially as described.
3. The method of making blacks sheets, which consists in heating a series of
packs, rolling the packs successively by passing them through a continuous train
made up of separate sets of rolls, doubling the rolled packs, placing the doubled
packs in a series in a furnace chamber at a point remote from those being rolled,
rolling each pack successively by passing it through a second continuous train
of rolls and supplying the packs in series to the furnaces and to the rolls, so as
to keep the latter at a substantially uniform temperature; substantially as
described.
4. In a plant for rolling black plate, a continuous train in which two of the
sets of rolls are sufficiently removed from each other to allow the bars or sheets
to be matched between said sets of rolls; substantially as described.
5. In the manufacture of black plate or sheets, the combination of several sets
of rolls arranged in tandem in a continuous manner, and driven rollers arranged
between them, said rollers being arranged to prevent buckling; substantially as
described.
6. In the manufacture of black plate or sheets, the combination with a set of
rolls, of driven chains arranged to carry the plates or sheets to said rolls, and rollers
in front of the rolls and arranged to prevent twisting or spreading of the metal ;
substantially as described.
7. In a plant for the manufacture of black plate, the combination with several

page_text: continuous trains, each made up of two or more sets of rolls arranged in tandem,
of furnaces arranged between the trains and arranged to heat the metal coming
from each train; substantially as described.
8. In the manufacture of black plate or sheets, a heating furnace, a continuous
train made up of several sets of rolls arranged in tandem, a doubler arranged to
act upon the metal after passing through the continuous train, a heating furnace
to which the doubled pack is taken, another continuous train to which the metal
is taken from the latter furnace, and positively-driven feed-mechanism between
the sets of rolls of each continuous train, substantially as described.
Dated this Spound of Marah 1900