A Process and Rolling Mill for the Manufacture of Chains from Bars of Cruciform Cross Section and without Welding.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Jan., 1392-Accepted, 27th Feb., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Process and Rolling Mill for the Manufacture of Chains from
Bars of Cruciform Cross Section and without Welding.
IOTTO KLATTE of Neuwied on the Rhine, German Empire, Director of the
firm Walzwerk Germania," 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 :-
The process forming the object of this invention relates to the manufacture of
chains and consists in passing a heated bar of cruciform cross section through a
rolling mill formed of four rollers arranged in pairs and provided with pro-
tuberances in such a manner as to produce the depressions required to form the
The bar is
links, while each link receives a quadrangular inner and outer form.
passed through the rolling mill in such a position that its flanges or ribs are
arranged diagonally to the axes of the rollers."
After the bar has been passed through the rolling mill and has been converted
into a row of connected chain links having a quadrangular inner and outer form,
the central piece left between the links is knocked off by means of a spike, punch
or die and the links still adhering together in two points throughout the whole
thickness of the metal are separated in an unpolished crude state by means of
shears. To effect this shearing it is absolutely indispensable that the links should
when rolled receive inwardly the form of a rectangle with rounded edges. After
the shearing off the various links are made into round form either by pressure or
by forging them by hand.
To carry this process into practice the rolling mill illustrated in Figures 1 and 2
of Sheet 1 of the accompanying drawings is made use of.
In Figure 1 the centrally co-working parts of the four rollers A. B. C. D. are
shown in section on line A*, B*, of Figure 2, the four rollers being shown in plan
around this central part.
Figure 2 illustrates the mode of working of the rollers arranged as shown at
Figure 1, vertically one above the other, upon the cruciform bar, while
Figure
3 is a view of the bar after its passage through the mill, showing the bar
of Figure 2 turned at an angle of 45°.
112, is
The mill consists of four rollers A. B. C. D. arranged in pairs one above or
opposite the other, one pair of which is turned relatively to the other at an angle
of 90°. The centres of the axes of the four rollers, are all in the same vertical
plane and all the four rollers turn at the same speed in the direction indicated by
the arrow in Figure 1. Each roller consists of four (more or less) discs a¹, b', c¹, dễ,
mounted adjacently upon a shaft and secured thereto by keys. These discs are
firmly clamped between two tie bars m and m', one of which, the tie bar
fixed to the shaft, while the other bar m' is removable therefrom this clamping
being effected by means of a screw bolt passing through the tie bars and the discs.
Each disc a, b, c and d is furnished upon its periphery with teeth or pro-
tuberances which are arranged or set in the required manner relatively to one
another. As shown in the central part of Figure 1 the diagonal protuberances of
the discs extending from the left at the top to the right hand side below produce
in the position of the rollers shown and in the ribs of the cruciform bar formed
along the same diagonals, the recesses shown at a in Figure 3, while at the same
time these protuberances of the discs which run along diagonals extending from
the left below to the right hand side at the top produce in the ribs of the cruciform
bar formed along these diagonals the recesses or depressions shown at & in Figure 3.

page_text: As the four rollers continue to rotate the ribs formed along the first mentioned
diagonals are provided with the recesses and those formed along the other
diagonals receive the recesses a. In this manner the four rollers alternate their
action so that the cruciform bar passed through the rolling mill is made to assume
the form shown in Figure 3 and has the cross section illustrated in Figure 3. To
remove the burr which may have remained between the links, it is sufficient to
allow the bar to pass once more through the said mill after having turned it at an
angle of 90°. The central pieces, a joining the opposite ends of the links is now
knocked off by means of a spike die or punch out of the cruciform bar which has
been thus converted into a row of connected chain links (Figure 3).
It is preferable, but not absolutely indispensable to use for this purpose two
different punches or dies one after the other. One of these dies is shown in side
view and underside view in Figures 4 and 5, Sheet 2, and its mode of operation
is illustrated in Figures 6 and 7.
The other punch or die is also shown in side view and underside view in Figures 8
and 9 Sheet 2 while its action is illustrated at Y Figures 6 and 7.
After having been acted upon by the punches or dies the cruciform bar assumes
the form shown in side view and in plan in Figures 10 and 11; the parts removed
by rolling and by knocking off with the punches or dies are represented by section
lines. After the above described operation the chain links are still in contact at
the parts d, d, Figure 6 on the right and throughout the whole thickness of the
metal. The separation of the links in these parts is effected by shearing with the
aid of a third die or tool Z (shown in two side views in Figures 12 and 13) and of
a flat piece of iron e (Figures 12, 13 and 14) which is pushed below this die over
the link requiring to be sheared. The action of this die Z is illustrated in
Figures 6, 7 and 13, the latter of which is a section on line f, g, of Figure 6.
To permit of this shearing being effected the links must receive internally
the form shown in Figure 6, i.e. that of a rectangular shape with rounded
edges.
There only remains now to impart the necessary round form to the links, this
being effected by pressure or by hand forging.
The cruciform iron used may have the sectional form shown on the left hand side
of Figures 6 and 7 instead of that shown on the left hand side of Figure 2, that
is to say it may be provided with depressions or recesses in the ribs or flanges
whereby the formation is facilitated by the rolling mill of Figure 1. By means
of the process above described chains may likewise be made with stays in which
case a special roller must be used the discs of which are formed with corresponding
teeth.
It may yet be mentioned that it is possible to combine two of the chains manu-
factured by the above process by forming a coupling link of the shape shown in
Figure 15 Sheet 1 which after having been passed through the links requiring to
be connected is welded and then twisted as shown in Figure 16.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A process for the manufacture of chains made in one piece i.e. without
welding, from a bar of cruciform cross section, consisting in simultaneously passing
the said cruciform bar between four rollers arranged in superposed pairs and pro-
vided with suitable projections or protuberances, this being effected in such a
position that the ribs or flanges of this bar are placed diagonally to the axes of
the rollers, the bar being converted into a row of connected chain links from
which the central pieces connecting the opposite ends of the links are knocked out
while the contacts still existing throughout the thickness of the metal in two parts
of the links are severed by pressure or shearing, as described.
2. To carry out the process described in Claim 1, a rolling mill in which each

page_text: of the four rollers consists of several removable toothed dises mounted on their
shaft, these teeth being displaced relatively to one another.
Dated this 22nd day of January 1800
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said O. Klatte.