An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Rolling Sheet Metal.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Apr., 1899-Accepted, 1st July, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Rolling Sheet Metal.
I, JOHN FRENCH GOLDING, of 860, Old Colony Buildings, Chicago, in the County of
Cook, in the State of Illinois, United States of America, Manufacturer, 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 :—
My invention relates to a method of and apparatus for rolling bars or slabs of
steel, iron or other metal into thin sheets.
Heretofore thin sheets of steel, iron or other metal have usually been manufactured
by first rolling the billet into a long slab, for example three-quarters of an inch in
thickness, which is cut into narrow bars, the latter being then reheated and rolled
first singly or in pairs and then arranged in packs by doubling or superimposing, the
said packs being reheated and rerolled again and again until the sheets are reduced
to the desired gauge.
The bars, sheets or packs of sheets are usually passed between the rolls, and then
passed back over the roll by hand and returned between the rolls. In this method
the metal is required to be repeatedly reheated in the furnace, and a great deal of
time and labor is necessarily consumed in the operation, and in handling the sheets
by hand to pass them back and forth through or over the rolls, and to arrange them
in pairs or packs by doubling or superimposing the sheets.
Now the object of my invention is to provide an efficient and simple method and
apparatus by which the slab of metal, after being once heated, can be quickly
and rapidly rolled and reduced to the required thinness of gauge, so that the
rolling may be done, or chiefly done, while the metal is at the proper or most
economical heat, and thus effect great saving in the power required as well as in
time and labor.
According to my invention I roll or reduce the heated flat slab of metal to a thin
gauge or sheet by continuous rolling; the front end of the heated slab, as it passes
between the rolls, being curved and passed back around one of the rolls and united
to the rear end thereof by pressing or welding it thereto. The slab or sheet thus
rolled forms a continuous belt or band, which is constantly extended in length as
it is reduced in thickness by the rolling. I employ in combination with the rolls, a
device, preferably a curved guide, for curving, bending or turning the heated flat slab
as it passes between the rolls back upon itself. I also employ, in connection with the
feed table, rolls and curved guide, a movable carriage upon which a section or seginent
of the guide is mounted, and means for causing the guide to withdraw from the rolls
as the heated band of metal increases in length under the rolling operation.
I further provide a cutter or shears for severing the band of metal when the rolling
is completed. Further features of my invention relating to the construction and
combination of parts and devices will be hereinafter described.

page_text: In order that my invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into
effect I will describe the same more fully with reference to the accompanying draw-
ings, in which:-
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section, taken on line B-B of Figure 3, of a
rolling mill or apparatus embodying by invention;
Figure 2 is a similar view drawn to a larger scale, showing the curved-guide
extended or withdrawn from the rolls;
Figure 3 is a plan of the mill; and
Figure 4 is a section on the line A-A of Figure 2.
a represents the frame of the mill or apparatus, b b are the rolls, c the feed table
upon which the heated slab x is placed as it comes from the furnace, and by which it
is fed between the rolls. d, e, is a device for bending or curving the front end of the
heated sheet or slab around the upper roll b and imposing or lapping the same
upon the rear end thereof, so that as the two lapped and heated ends pass between
the rolls they will be pressed, stuck, welded or connected together, thus forming a
continuous or endless band of metal, capable of being continuously rolled until the
same is reduced to the desired thinness or gauge. This curving or guiding device, d, e,
preferably consists of a curved guide extending around the upper roll, and which
operates to bend or curve the heated slab a into the continuous band form y by the
front end of said slab impinging against the curved guide as the slab is fed or forced
between the rolls, b, b, by the rotation thereof. The curved guide d, e, is made in two
sections or segments, the front section or segment e being fixed or stationary, and
the rear or other section or segment d, being movable or mounted upon a movable
carriage f, the wheels of which travel on a track or rails g. A weight h connected to
the carriage by a chain i, causes the carriage to automatically withdraw by gravity
from the rolls b, b, as the heated band of metal y increases in length and diminishes
in thickness. The movable curved guide d is preferably provided with a rotable guide
roller or drum j. In the drawings I have shown each section or member of the curved
guide d, e, as consisting of a curved sheet of metal; the free end of the section e
being preferably curved upward, as shown at k. In many cases however each of the
said sections preferably consists of a number of curved strips, ribs or fingers, which
are conveniently arranged alternately, or so that the fingers of one section may fit
between the fingers of the other section. The movable guide d is also preferably
furnished with an inner straight guide m to better insure the proper guiding of the
front end of the hot slab or sheet between the upper roll b and the fixed section or
segment e of the guide.
A movable knife or shear n co-operating with a fixed knife o serves to cut the
band y after the rolling is completed, and to deflect the cut end below the fixed knife,
so that as the rolls continue to revolve the finished sheet will be discharged from the
mili. This knife or shear n may be operated through the lever u.
The curved guide d, e, is preferably provided with flanges or side gauges p to
better insure the proper guiding of the heated bar or sheet around the upper roll.
As the rolling proceeds the rolls are set closer and closer together from time to
time as required, by the customary adjusting screws q 9, which are operated from
the worm shaft through the worms ss and worm gear wheels t t.
From the foregoing it will be readily understood that, by means of my invention,
the heated slab of steel, iron or other metal may be very rapidly and quickly rolled
or reduced to the required thickness or gauge, as the endless sheet or band into
which it is formed moves continuously between the rolls, so that the rolls may be
driven at a high speed thus enabling the sheet to be reduced to any extent desired
with a single heating operation. I also save a great deal of the time and labor
heretofore involved in handling the sheets, in cutting the slab into narrow bars, in
arranging the bars or sheets in pairs or packs by doubling or superimposing, and in
repeatedly putting them into the furnace for reheating, and taking them therefrom.
By my invention I also save a large amount of expense involved in the repeated
reheatings of the metal; and I effect a inaterial saving in the power required to

page_text: reduce the slab of metal to the required thickness of gauge in the rolling operation,
as in my invention, the rolling may be so quickly and expeditiously done that it is
chiefly effected at the most economical heat of the metal. I further effect a material
saving in material, the scale or oxidation involved in the repeated heatings of the
metal being largely prevented by my improved method.
It will be understood that the total length of the curved guide which extends
around the upper roll, is such, in respect to the length of the flat heated slab being
operated upon and the amount of its increase in length on its first passage between
the rolls, that the front end of the slab will slightly overlap and be superimposed on
the rear end thereof; so that the lapped ends of the slab, as they pass between the
rolls, will be welded, pressed or otherwise connected together by the rolls. As the
front end of the heated slab enters between the rolls, the rolls will give it a tapering
form, so that the lapped ends will be in better shape for welding or compressing
together.
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. The method of rolling heated slabs of metal into sheets, consisting in returning
the front end of the heated slab to the rear end thereof around one of the rolls and
connecting said ends together as they pass between the rolls, and reducing the
endless band thus formed to the required thickness by a continuous rolling operation,
substantially as described.
2. In a sheet metal rolling mill, the combination with the rolls, of a device for
curving and returning the front end of the heated bar or sheet to the rear end
thereof around one of the rolls, substantially as described.
3. In a sheet metal rolling mill, the combination with rolls, of a movable or
travelling curved guide, substantially as described.
4. In a sheet metal rolling mill, the combination with the rolls, of a curved guide
having a fixed section and a movable or travelling section or segment adapted to be
withdrawn from the rolls as the heated band increases in length and diminishes in
thickness, substantially as described.
5. The combination with the movable section or segment of the guide referred
to in the preceding claim, of a guide roller or drum within said segment, substantially
as described.
6. In a sheet metal rolling mill, the combination with a device for curving
and returning the heated slab to the rolls around one of the rolls, of a shear or
cutter for cutting the endless sheet or band after the rolling is completed,
substantially as described.
7. In a sheet metal rolling mill, the combination with the feed table and rolls, of a
curved guide for curving and returning the front end of the heated slab upon the
rear end thereof around one of the rolls, said guide having a movable segment
or section, a guide roller or drum within said segment, and a wheel carriage
upon which said movable segment and guide roller are mounted, substantially as
described.
8. In a sheet metal rolling inill, the combination with the rolls, of a movable
curved segmental guide, and a wheeled carriage upon which it is mounted, adapted
to withdraw from the rolls by gravity as the heated slab or band increases in length
by rolling, substantially as described.
9. The combination with a feed table, rolls and adjusting screws for setting the
rolls closer together, of means for curving and returning the heated slab upon itself
around one of the rolls, as it passes between the rolls, and causing the meeting ends
of the heated slab to be connected together to form an endless sheet or band for
continuous rolling, and a shear for cutting the band when the rolling is completed,
substantially as described.
10. The sheet metal rolling mill having its parts constructed, arranged and

page_text: combined to operate substantially as described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 14th day of April 1899.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.