IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR ROLLING IRON
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Bristow Hunt, of Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MILLS FOR ROLLING IRON." (A communication from abroad by Frederick
Nevegold, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, United States of America.)
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Bristow Hunt at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd January 1878.
BRISTOW HUNT, of Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR ROLLING IRON." (A communication
from abroad by Frederick Nevegold, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, United States of
America.)
The object of this Invention is to construct mills for rolling hoop and band iron
direct from a billet or pile at one pass, as herein-after described.
The main feature of the Invention is the use of a series of vertical grooved
edging rolls and horizontal tongued and grooved flattening rolls, the size of the
opening formed by the grooves in the rolls gradually diminishing from one end of
the machine to the other, so that the draft upon the bars shall be uniform and
continuous, a billet or pile introduced into the machine at one end being reduced
alternately on its flat sides and its edges until it is finally discharged in the
condition of a thin strip.
The grooves of the vertical rolls are in line with each other, but the grooves of
the upper horizontal roll are in line with the collars on the lower horizontal roll,
and said horizontal rolls are provided with collars and grooves of varying widths,
so that by sliding the housings of these rolls on the foundation plates the mill may
be adapted to the rolling of strips of different sizes.
The adaptation of the vertical rolls to the working of strips of different sizes is
effected by moving the said rolls from and towards each other by means of adjusting
bolts, which are used in connection with both the upper and lower bearings for the
necks of the rolls.

page_text: From each pair of rolls to the adjacent pair extends a box or guide which serves
to receive the strip from one pair of rolls and guide it to the groove in the next
pair, the guiding being effected by a top bar and side strips at the ends of the
boxes. The side strips are rendered adjustable by means of set screws, so that they
may be made to conform to the size of the groove or opening from which they
receive or to which they deliver the strip. The top bar is hung to a transverse rod
on the box and bears upon the strip at two points. By this means it is possible to
properly guide the strip in its passage from roll to roll and yet overcome that
excessive friction on the strip which results when the entire length of the sides or
top of the box are in contact with the strip.
The box is rigidly carried at either end by a rest bar on the housing adjacent to
that end; and in order to allow for the longitudinal expansion and contraction of
the box, owing to the varying degrees of heat to which it is subjected, the box is
made in two or more sections connected together in such a manner that they can
slide longitudinally on each other. By this means the truth of the guide is never
affected by that warping or twisting to which a rigid guide would be subject.
All the rolls are driven from one countershaft, a bevil wheel on which serves to
impart movement to a pair of vertical and a pair of horizontal rolls, or to a pair of
horizontal rolls and two pairs of vertical rolls, in the manner herein-after described.
This bevil wheel gears into a bevil pinion on a shaft which carries a clutch, the
latter engaging with a clutch on the shaft of one of the horizontal rolls, and which
shaft is geared to the shaft of the other horizontal roll by cog wheels.
The clutch on the bevil pinion shaft carries a cog wheel which gears into pinions
carried by shafts provided with bevil wheels which gear into bevil pinions carried
by the shafts of the pairs of vertical rolls on either side of the pair of horizontal
rolls, the hubs of the last-mentioned bevil wheels being made with slots adapted to
feathers on their shafts, so that they may be moved to and fro thereon as the rolls
are moved from and towards each other, for the purpose herein-before mentioned.
When but one pair of vertical rolls is to be driven from the said bevil pinion
shaft one of the said feathered shafts and its connections is dispensed with.
It should be observed that this Invention is distinct from that class of hoop or
band rolling mills in which plain-faced rolls or grooved rolls alone are used, as mills
of this class require the billet to be first rolled into a size of about the same width
as that of the finished strip, the reduction affected being merely in the thickness of
the strip, whereas in the present case the use of vertical grooved rolls and horizontal
tongued and grooved rolls allows of the billet being reduced both in width and
thickness at one pass, so that a strip of, say, one inch by one-sixteenth of an inch
may be produced from a billet or pile of, say, two and a half inches square.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Bristow Hunt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd July
1878.
BRISTOW HUNT, of Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILLS FOR ROLLING IRON." A communication
from abroad by Frederick Nevegold, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, United States of
America.
The object of this Invention is to construct mills for rolling hoop and band iron
direct from a billet or pile at one pass, as herein-after described, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a side view
partly in section of a train of rolls for carrying the Invention into effect; Figure 2,
a plan view of a portion of the same; and Figures 3 and 4, enlarged views of parts
of the apparatus.
The main feature of the Invention is the use of a series of vertical grooved
edging rolls and horizontal tongued and grooved flattening rolls, the size of the
opening formed by the grooves in the rolls gradually diminishing from one end of
the machine to the other, so that the draft upon the bar shall be uniform and
continuous, a billet or pile introduced into the machine at one end being reduced
alternately on its flat sides and its edges until it is finally discharged in the
condition of a thin strip.
On the accompanying Drawings are shown three pairs of vertical rolls A, B, and
C, and five pairs of horizontal rolls A¹, B¹, C1, C2, and C, three pairs of horizontal
rolls being arranged at the rear end of the machine, and the others alternating with
the vertical rolls. The number and arrangement of the rolls may, however, be
varied as circumstances may suggest.
The grooves of the vertical rolls are in line with each other, but the grooves of
the upper horizontal roll are in line with the collars on the lower horizontal roll,
and the said horizontal rolls are provided with collars and grooves of varying
widths, so that by sliding the housings of these rolls on the foundation plates I the
mill may be adapted to the rolling of strips of different sizes.
The adaptation of the vertical rolls to the working of strips of different sizes is
effected by moving the said rolls from and towards each other by means of adjusting
bolts, which are used in connection with both the upper and lower bearings for the
necks of the rolls, and are illustrated in Figure 2.
From each pair of rolls to the adjacent pair extends a box or guide F, which
serves to receive the strip from one pair of rolls and guide it to the groove in the
next pair, the guiding being effected by a top bar a and side strips a' at the ends of
the boxes. The strips a' are rendered adjustable by means of set screws b, so that
they may be made to conform to the size of the groove or opening from which they
receive or to which they deliver the strip. The bar a is hung to a transverse rod
on the box F, and bears upon the strip at two points x and x¹. By this means it is
possible to properly guide the strip in its passage from roll to roll and yet overcome
that excessive friction on the strip which results when the entire length of the sides
or top of the box are in contact with the strip.
The box F is rigidly carried at either end by a rest bar c on the housing adjacent
to that end, and in order to allow for the longitudinal expansion and contraction of
the box owing to the varying degrees of heat to which it is subjected the box is
made in two or more sections connected together in such a manner that they can
slide longitudinally on each other. By this means the truth of the guide is never
affected by that warping or twisting to which a rigid guide would be subject.
All the rolls are driven from one countershaft G, a bevil wheel d on which serves
to impart movement to both a pair of vertical and a pair of horizontal rolls, or to a
pair of horizontal rolls and two pairs of vertical rolls, in the manner herein-after
described. The bevil wheel d gears into a bevil pinion e on a shaft i which carries

page_text: a clutch engaging with a clutch f¹ on the shaft of one of the horizontal rolls,
and which shaft is geared to the shaft of the other horizontal roll by cog wheels g.
The clutch carries a cog wheel h which gears into pinions ; carried by shafts m
provided with bevil wheels n which gear into bevil pinions 8 carried by the shafts
of the pairs of vertical rolls on either side of the pair of horizontal rolls. The
shafts m are provided with feathers adapted to slots in the hubs of the wheels n, so
that the latter may be moved to and fro thereon as the rolls are moved from and
towards each other, for the purpose herein-before mentioned.
When but one pair of vertical rolls is to be driven from the shaft i one of the
shafts m and its connections is dispensed with.
It should be observed that this Invention is distinct from that class of hoop or
band rolling mills in which plain-faced rolls or grooved rolls alone are used, as mills
of this class require the billet to be first rolled into a size of about the same width
as that of the finished strip, the reduction effected being merely in the thickness of
the strip, whereas in the present case the use of vertical grooved rolls and horizontal
tongued and grooved rolls allows of the billet being reduced both in width and
thickness at one pass, so that a strip of, say, one inch by one-sixteenth of an inch
may be produced from a billet or pile of, say, two and a half inches square.
Having now described the nature and object of the said Invention, together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that I claim as the Invention
communicated to me by the above-named Frederick Nevegold,
First. A mill for rolling hoop or band iron in which vertical grooved edging rolls
are combined with horizontal tongued and grooved flattening rolls.
Second. The combination of two sets of rolls, with an intervening box or guide F,
having guiding strips a¹ at each end.
Third. The combination of the driving shaft G and its bevil wheel d, the shaft i,
its bevil pinion e, and cog wheel h, and the shaft or shafts m, each having a pinion j
and bevil wheels n.
Fourth. The combination of two pairs of rolls with the box F secured at its
opposite ends to the housings, but made in sections capable of longitudinal expansion
and contraction independently of each other.
And, Fifth. The combination of two sets of rolls with an intervening box or
guide having at one or both ends a bar a, all substantially as above described, and
as illustrated on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Bristow Hunt, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-second day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-eight.