Improvements in the Manufacture of Steel or Iron Plates, and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Feb., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Aug., 1894-Accepted, 8th Sept., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Steel or Iron Plates, and
Apparatus therefor.
I, JAMES MORGAN WHILE, of Barrow-in-Furness, in the County of Lancaster,
Manager of The Barrow Steel Works, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows :-
:-
In the manufacture of comparatively large steel and iron plates as for example
such as are used for shipbuilding, bridgebuilding, boilermaking and the like, it is
customary for the purpose of removing from the surface loose defects, scoria, and
scale, to resort to various expedients, such as the throwing upon the plate or slab of
birch or other besoms or twigs immediately before it enters the rolls; jets of steam
and water at high pressure are also directed upon it. But these expedients,
notwithstanding, all the care it is possible to bestow in their application, are not
effectual, inasmuch as the top sides of plates so treated frequently contain a lot of
loose scale or splinters which ought to be removed, and which are such as do not
appear on the bottom sides of the plates. Now my invention is designed to obviate
this evil for which purpose according thereto the plate or slab is turned over
between passages through the rolls in such a manner that loose scale or other loose
matters may be thrown off from opposite surfaces of the plate or slab either at the
time or as it passes through the rolls, thus producing a plate or slab having both its
sides equally clean, or practically so.
To this end I provide a mechanical appliance for turning over the plate or
slab at either side of the roughing or finishing roll of a plate mill such as is
known as breaking down, soft or roughing rolls, and the chilled, hard, or finishing
rolls.
Mills provided according to my invention with appliances such as referred to for
the purpose specified may be variously constructed.
One convenient construction is as follows:-A lever of the first order with its
arms at a suitable angle to one another is so mounted that its upper arm (which
may be bifurcated or three or more connected arms may be provided) will normally
occupy a horizontal or approximately horizontal position. The other arm is
connected to a hydraulic ram, so as to be operated thereby when needful in such a
manner as to raise the normally horizontal arm or arms to such an extent that a
plate or slab above the same will be raised into a vertical position and then caused
to fall over in the direction away from the arm or arms whereby it was raised, on to
a roller or rollers mounted on a suitable carriage, that serves as a stop to the lower
edge of the plate or slab during the raising of the said plate or slab and being
afterwards operated by a hydraulic ram recedes and serves to receive the falling
side of the plate and let it down more or less gradually on to the live rollers;
whereupon the side that was the uppermost will be the under side, and so on.
Another plan is to use a bar or bars normally horizontal and having at one end
an upward projection and at the other connected to a chain or equivalent whereby
the one end of the bar or bars can be raised so as to turn over a plate or slab that
may be above the same. When using a chain it may be worked by any suitable
means as for example a winch.
This 14th
L
1001

page_text: Improvements in the Manufacture of Steel or Iron Plates, and
Apparatus therefor.
I, JAMES MORGAN WHILE, of Barrow-in-Furness, in the County of Lancaster,
Manager of The Barrow Steel Works, 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:-
In the manufacture of comparatively large steel and iron plates as for example
such as are used for shipbuilding, bridgebuilding, boilermaking and the like, it is
customary for the purpose of removing from the surface loose defects, scoria, and
scale, to resort to various expedients, such as the throwing upon the plate or slab
of birch or other besoms or twigs immediately before it enters the rolls; jets of
steam and water at high pressure are also directed upon it on the top side.
But these expedients, notwithstanding all the care it is possible to bestow in
their application, are not wholly effectual, and the bottom side, which is not seen,
receives no attention. Now my invention is designed to obviate this evil for
which purpose according thereto the plate or slab is turned over between passages
through the rolls in such a manner that loose scale or other loose matters may
be thrown off from opposite surfaces of the plate or slab either at the time or
as it passes through the rolls, thus producing a plate or slab having both its sides
equally clean, or practically so.
To this end I provide a mechanical appliance for turning over the plate or
slab at either side of the roughing or finishing rolls of a plate mill and such as
are known respectively as breaking down, soft or roughing rolls, and chilled, hard,
or finishing rolls.
Mills provided according to my invention with appliances such as referred to
for the purpose specified may be variously constructed.
In the accompanying illustrative drawings,
Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section; and
Fig. 2 is a plan, showing one construction of apparatus according to my invention
applied to the feed-rollers of a plate or other mill.
A & A are two hydraulic cylinders fitted with double-action rams B & B¹
respectively, and arranged one above the other on one side of the feed-rollers F
of the mill. The lower ram B₁ is connected by a cross-head C and rods D with
the lower arms of a pair of levers E which are arranged with their other arms
normally in an approximately horizontal position, the said levers being jointed to
fixed guide-rails S placed between, and parallel to, the axes of the feed-rollers F.
The upper ram B is similarly connected by a cross-head C and rods D with a
movable carriage consisting of slide-blocks G, which are adapted to slide on the
aforesaid guide-rails S, and are provided with antifriction-rollers G¹. C* are
fixed guide-rods on which the crossheads C are adapted to slide. The double-
action rams B & B are provided with separate valve-mechanism, which may be of
well known kind, so that the carriage G and the levers E can be operated inde-
pendently of each other.
With this arrangement, in order to turn completely over a plate or slab I
situate on the feed-rollers F, the carriage G and the levers E are first simul-
taneously moved by their rams from the positions indicated in full lines to those
indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, so that the carriage G will push the plate or
slab 1 laterally across the feed-rollers F, and the levers E will raise the plate or
slab from: a flat into a vertical position and then push it over so that its previously
uppermost side or surface will rest against the rollers G¹ of the carriage G which
is then moved backwards by means of the ram B in order to gently lower the plate.

page_text: or slab onto the feed-rollers F and thus complete its turn over.
two or more levers E, a single bifurcated lever may be employed.
Fig. 3 is an elevation, partly in section, and
In lieu of having
Fig. 4 a plan, showing another construction of apparatus according to my
invention applied to the feed-rollers of a plate or other mill.
The-
The apparatus in this case comprises two bent levers P each furnished at one of
its ends with an upward projection or toe P' and with a roller P' that is adapted
to roll on slotted guide rails S' which are of channel shape in cross section and are.
placed between and parallel to the axes of the feed-rollers F of the mill. Each
of the levers P is connected to its rail S¹ by a pair of links Q and a bolt R.
downwardly bent ends P³ of the levers P are connected to a chain T which passes
over an overhead pulley U and thence to the barrel of an ordinary winch. To the
other end of each of the levers P there is connected a chain V which carries
weights W and passes over a pulley X.
With this arrangement when it is required to turn over a plate or slab I, the-
feed-rollers F are rotated so as to bring the plate or slab directly over the levers P
as shown in full lines in Fig. 3. The chain T is then pulled so as to raise the
levers P from their normal and horizontal positions, shown in full lines, into a
vertical or nearly vertical one, each of the said levers being constrained to move-
approximately in a vertical plane by its pair of links Q and the corresponding.
guide-rails Si
'
By this motion of the levers P, the plate or slab is drawn across the feed
rollers F by the toes Pl and ultimately raised by the levers first into a vertical
position and then into the inclined position on the other side of the vertical, shown.
in dotted lines so that upon then being lifted clear of the said rollers by the said
toes, it will fall over onto the feed-rollers F with its previously uppermost side.
downwards; it will then be found to be in almost the same position on the rollers
as that occupied by it initially. The feed-rollers F are now rotated so as to return
the plate or slab to the rolls and the levers P are allowed to be drawn back into.
their normal position by the weights W.
In lieu of attaching the chain T to a winch as above stated, it may be arranged
to be operated by means of hydraulic or steam cylinders, or in any other suitable.
manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In the manufacture of steel or iron plates, removing loose scale or other loose.
matter from the upper surface of the plate or slab from which a finished plate is
to be rolled, by turning over the said plate or slab between passages through the
rolls by means of a mechanical appliance in such a manner that loose scale or
other loose matters will be thrown off from the plate or slab either at the time or
as it passes through the rolls, thus producing a plate or slab having both its sides
equally clean or practically so as set forth.
2. For carrying out the method referred to in the preceding claim, the com-
bination with the feed-rollers of a plate mill, of apparatus comprising a lever or
levers arranged to work between the feed-rollers, a carriage arranged to move
transversely over the said feed-rollers, and means for independently operating the
said lever or levers and carriage, the arrangement being such that upon operating
the lever or levers in one direction a plate or slab situated above the rising arm or
arms of the lever or levers will be raised thereby into a vertical position and then.
caused to fall over onto the said carriage, which is arranged to serve as a stop to
the lower edge of the plate or slab whilst the same is being raised, and upon
afterwards causing the said carriage to recede, it will gradually lower the
plate or slab onto the said feed-rollers so that the side of the plate or 'slab
that was originally the uppermost will then be the underside substantially as
described.

page_text: 3. For carrying out the method referred to in Claim 1, the combination with
the feed-rollers of a plate mill, of one or more bars normally horizontal and having
at one end an upward projection and at the other end connected to a chain or
equivalent whereby the one end of the bar or bars can be raised so as to turn over
a plate or slab located above the same and supported by the feed-rollers,
substantially as described.
4. For turning over plates or slabs situate on the feed-rollers of a plate mill,
apparatus constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference. respectively to and shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and in
Figs. 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this one day of August 1994.
For the Applicant,
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.