Improvements in Apparatus for Straightening, Cooling, and Handling Metal Bars for Rolling Mills,
Year: 1899

page_text: uate of Application, 23rd May, 1899-Accepted, 7th Oct., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Straightening, Cooling, and Handling
Metal Bars for Rolling Mills,
We, VICTOR EVERETT EDWARDS and PAUL BEAGARY MORGAN, of 21, Lincoln
Street, Worcester, in the County of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts, United States of America, Mechanical Engineers, do hereby declare that
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:-
Our improvements relate to devices for the purpose of straightening a bar as
delivered from a rolling mill; holding it straight during the process of cooling;
distributing the cooled bar to one of a series of pockets; withdrawing the bar
from its pocket and cutting it into determined lengths and delivering the severed
pieces upon a car or truck, and these objects are attained by the apparatus herein-
after described and shown in the accompanying drawings, to which reference is
made, in which:-
Figure 1 represents a plan view of an apparatus embodying our improvements
and showing the manner of putting the same into practice.
Figure 2 represents an end elevation of the apparatus.
Figures 3 and 4 represent elevations showing respectively the opposite sides of
the apparatus, and
Figure represents a detailed view of a portion of the mechanism, by which
straightened bars are retained upon the cooling bed.
Like parts are indicated in the accompanying drawings by like letters and
figures of reference.
Referring to the accompanying drawings 1 represents an inclined trough lead-
ing from the last pair of rolls in a rolling mill (not shown in the drawings) and
provided with a series of positively-driven feed rolls 2 projecting through openings
into the trough 1 in order to convey the metal bar from the rolling mill to an
elevated horizontal trough 3 which is provided, like the trough 1, with a series
of positively driven feeding rolls 4.
When a metal bar has been delivered to the horizontal trough 3, one end is
seized by a gripping mechanism carried by a car 5 which is adjustable along the
rough 3 in a track 6 and is provided with a pawl 7 arranged to engage a series of
atchet teeth 8 in order to hold the car 5 from moving toward the inclined
rough 1. The opposite end of the bar is then seized by a gripping mechanism
arried by a block 9 suspended beneath the ends of the parallel links 10, 10, by
which it has a pivotal connection with a cross head 11 to which a reciprocating
notion is imparted by a steam cylinder 12. The gripping mechanisms carried
y the car 5 and block 9 are of any known type now employed in rolling mills.
Vhen the bar is seized by the gripping mechanism held by the links 10, 10,
laced obliquely to the line of motion of the cross head 11, as shown in Fig. 1;
he cross head 11 is then drawn back exerting a pulling strain upon the bar draw-
ng it taut and in a straight line between the car 5 and the cross head 11; the
[Price 8d.1

page_text: swinging movement of the links 10, 10, causing the straightened bar to be moved
sidewise and carried out of the horizontal trough 3 upon a cooling bed comprising
a series of inclined skids 13.
Between the skids 13 are journalled rocking shafts 14 having a series of short
projecting arms 15 and lying in the same plane and at right angles thereto are
a second series of projecting arms 16, each series being arranged in horizontal
rows lengthwise the cooling bed. The shafts 14 are oscillated a quarter of a
revolution, bringing the arms 15 and 16 alternately into a vertical plane, by means
of a steam cylinder 17, and reciprocating piston rod 18 which is pivotally con-
nected to arms 19 projecting from the rocking shafts 14. The straightened bar,
when placed upon the cooling bed is held from sliding down the inclined skids 13
by the first upright row of arms on the rocking shafts 14 which project above the
plane of the skids.
-
When the shafts are rocked a quarter of a revolution these arms are carried
below the plane of the skids and the next row of arms raised into a vertical posi-
tion to catch the bar as it slides down the skids. Each bar delivered upon the
inclined skids 13 is therefore intermittently moved from one row of arms to the
next succeeding row by the rocking of the shafts 14 and is thereby retained upon
the skids until it is sufficiently cool to maintain a straight position. From the
inclined skids 13 the bar falls upon an inclined shelf 20, from which it slides over
a series of hinged gates 21 upon a series of moveable conveyors, by which the bars
are carried and delivered upon succeeding series of moveable conveyors, which
extend over pockets 22 into which the bars are delivered by lifting one series of
conveyors out of action so the bars will fall into the corresponding pocket, thereby
varying the distance the bars are carried and distributing the bars in the several
pockets, as desired.
The pockets 22 are formed between upright standards 23 which support hori-
zontál shafts 24 to which sprocket wheels 25 are attached. Pivoted upon the
shafts 24 upon the side of each sprocket wheel are arms 26 carrying upon their
free ends rolls 27 upon which and the sprocket wheels 25, endless chains 28 are
placed. The arms 26 span the space between the upright standards 23 and the
free ends of the arms 26 are supported upon the upper end of the standards 23,
so as to bring the upper sides of the chains 28 in a horizontal position, thereby
forming a bridge across each of the pockets 22. The shafts 24 which support
endless chains 28 are provided with ratchet wheels 29, by which the shafts are
intermittently rotated by pawls 30 carried by levers 31, which are pivotally con-
nected with the reciprocating rod 32 and are actuated by a piston in a steam
cylinder 33. Each of the arms 26 is provided with a horizontal flange 34 which
supports the upper portion of the endless chain and sustains the weight of the
bars. Beneath the shelf 20 and hinged gates 21 is a supplemental pocket 35 into
which defective bars are delivered by lifting the gates 21 into the position shown
by broken lines 36. The intermittent motion of the first series of conveyors
carries the bars across the first pocket and delivers them upon the next series of
conveyors spanning the second pocket, and so on until the bars are delivered into
one of the pockets, which is accomplished by raising one series of arms and
conveyors, as shown at the extreme right of Figs. 3 and 4.
At one end of the series of pockets 22 and transversely thereto is a track 37
having a truck 38 provided with a shear feed-rolls 40, by which the bars are fed
to the shear, a capstan 41 and an actuating motor 42 with intermediate mechanism,
by which the operating parts are connected with the motor by means of a lever
handle 43. At the rear of the truck 38 are a series of endless chains 44 which
are supported upon horizontal, parallel shafts 45, 46, and are positively rotated
to carry the chains in the direction of the arrow 47 and deliver the severed pieces
of the bar upon inclined tracks 48, from which they slide by gravity upon a
car 49 running upon a track 50. An arm 51 projects from the shear frame and
supports an adjustable stop 52 in order to determine the length of the severed
pieces.

page_text: 5
are drawn by the capstan 41 from one of the pockets and fed by the
rolls 40 to the shear, which is of any suitable known type.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
First. In an apparatus of the class described, an
mechanism; an inclined cooling bed, a series of pockets and a series of conveyors
elevated straightening
leading to said pockets and in a lower plane than said inclined cooling bed, where
by the bars are delivered from the cooling bed and conveyed by a broadside move.
ment to said pockets, as and for the purpose set forth.
Second. In an apparatus of the class described, an inclined cooling bed, rocking
shafts provided with radial arms arranged in horizontal rows and in two planes,
whereby said arms in each plane are alternately brought into position by the
rocking of the shafts in order to check the sliding movement of the bars over
said cooling bed, as and for the purpose set forth.
Third. An apparatus of the class described having two sections, the first section
consisting of a series of fixed inclined skids and the second section consisting of a
series of moveable conveyors arranged in successive series each capable of being
thrown out of action, whereby the bars are moved varying distances, as and for
the purpose set forth.
Fourth. In an apparatus of the class described, a cooling bed, a series of move-
able conveyors extending from the cooling bed across a series of pockets, a shear,
and a feeding mechanism, said shear and feeding mechanism having a transverse
traveling movement by the ends of said pockets and a conveyor running parallel
with the traveling movement of said shear, by which bars can be withdrawn
from any of the pockets in the series, cut and the sewered pieces delivered to a
common place of deposit, as and for the purpose set forth.
Fifth. In an apparatus of the class described, an inclined conveyor, by which a
bar is conveyed to a higher plane, a straightening mechanism, an elevated cooling
bed, a series of conveyors on a lower plane, by which a bar is successively trans-
ferred from one conveyor to the other in the series, a series of pockets correspond-
ing to said conveyors, a shear and mechanism for feeding bars to said shear,
said shear and feeding mechanism being capable of a traveling movement by the
ends of said pockets and conveyor, by which the severed pieces are carried to a
lace of common deposit, as and for the purpose set forth."
Sixth. In an apparatus of the class described, the supplemental pocket between
he cooling bed and the series of pockets and a hinged gate, by which the entrance
o said supplemental pocket is closed, as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this Sixth day of May 1899.
VICTOR EVERETT EDWARDS,
PAUL BEAGARY MORGAN.