IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ROLLING.. Hoops, STRIPS, ANGLE BARS, AND OTHER BARS OF IRON AND. STEEL
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Brown, of Smethwick, in the County of
Stafford, Ironmaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR ROLLING.. Hoops, STRIPS, ANGLE BARS, AND OTHER BARS OF IRON AND.
STEEL."
Sealed the 26th November 1867, and dated the 12th September 1867. 6
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Brown at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th September 1867.
I, WILLIAM BROWN, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Ironmaster,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR ROLLING HOOPS, STRIPS, ANGLE BARS, AND OTHER BARS OF IRON
AND STEEL," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in constructing and arranging- in the manner
herein-after described rolls for rolling hoops and strips of iron and steel as
well as angle bars and other iron and steel bars of various figures in cross
section:
I mount two sets of pinions and two sets of rolls three high, the said rolls
and pinions being connected in the usual way. In order to give different

page_text: speeds to the two sets of rolls I make the wheels which give motion to each
set of rolls of different diameters, and the driving wheel situated between
them consequently gives a different speed to each set of rolls. The first or
preparing rolls are thus driven at a slower speed than the second or receiving
rolls. The bar is thus kept continually on the stretch, and passes through
the second set of rolls with the greatest regularity. The same object may be
effected by driving the rolls at the same rate, but making the second set of
rolls of greater diameter than the first set. I first pass the pile or billet of
iron or steel through the middle and bottom rolls of each set, and return it
through the middle and top rolls of each set, but I prefer to pass it through
two pairs and return it through one pair. The rolls have each a collar on
the side of the groove to prevent the formation of a "fin" on the bar; or two
collars may be put on one roll of each pair, the collars being on the bottom
roll of the first pair and on the top roll of the second pair, or the reverse.
After the bar has been passed through the rolls described I pass it through
an edging groove, that is, through a groove one half of which is in one roll
and the other half in the other roll. In this way the angles of the bar are
blunted, and the formation of a fin in the following operation prevented.
In some cases I pass the bar through a flat groove instead of an edging groove.
After the bar has been treated as described it is passed forward to the strand
rolls, or the next set of roll. I pass the bar once forward through two pairs
of the said rolls, and back again through one pair of the said rolls. The bar
is now ready to pass through the hard or planishing rolls. In the ordinary
method of rolling hoops or strip iron one pair of hard or planishing is used.
In planishing according to my Invention I employ two pairs of planishing
rolls.
My Invention is applicable to the rolling of bars of iron and steel of various
feures in-cross section.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William "Brown in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th 8
March 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BROWN, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Ironmaster, send
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing, date the Twelfth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
ne, the said William Brown, Her special licence that I, the said William
Brown, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Williani Brown, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR ROLLING HOOPS, STRIPS, ANGLE BARS, AND OTHER BARS OF IRON
AND STEEL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Brown, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
'
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Brown, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in constructing and arranging in the manner herein-
after described rolls for rolling hoops, strips, and other sections of bar iron and
steel.
I mount two sets of pinions and two sets of rolls, one set of rolls consisting
of three high rolls and the other set of two high rolls. The said rolls and
pinions are connected in the usual way. In order to give different speeds to
the two sets of rolls, I make the wheels which give motion to each set of
rolls of different diameters, and the driving wheel situated between them
consequently gives a different speed to each set of rolls; the first or preparing
rolls are thus driven at a slower speed than the second or receiving rolls,
the bar is thus kept continually on the stretch, and passes through the second
set of rolls with the greatest regularity. The same object may be effected by
driving the rolls at the same speed and making the second set of rolls of
greater diameter than the first set; I first pass the billet ar pile of iron or steel
through the middle and top roll of one set and return it through the two pairs

page_text: I
of rolls of both sets. The rolls have each a collar on the side of the groove
to prevent the formation of a fin on the bar, or two collars may be put on one
roll of each pair, the collars being on the bottom roll of the first pair and on the
top roll of the second pair or the reverse. After the bar has been passed
through the roll described I pass it through an edging groove, one half of
the said groove being made in one roll, and the other half in the other roll,
in this way the angles of the bars are blunted and the formation of a fin in
the following operation is prevented. In some cases I pass the bar through
a flat groove instead of an edging groove; after the bars have been treated as
described they are passed forward to the strand rolls or the next set of rolls;
pass the bar once forward through two pairs of the rolls and back again
through one pair of the said rolls. The bar is now ready to pass through
the hard or planishing rolls as in the ordinary method of rolling hoop or strip.
iron. Instead of one pair of hard or planishing rolls, as is ordinarily used, two
or more pairs of hard rolls are required by my Invention; I sometimes use a
pile of double the ordinary weight to make two hoop bars or strips, or sometimes
three or four times the ordinary weight, and cut the same through after the
bar has been passed through the edging grooves and again after the bar has
been passed through the strand rolls, thus subdividing the bar in the process
of rolling down. Hence the necessity by my Invention of many separate
pairs of hard planishing rolls, several bars being made from the one pile
first operated upon. The cutting or dividing of the bars is effected by shears
either worked by hand or by motive power. In rolling hoops, strips, and flats
I sometimes use only the first series of rolls to prepare the pile or billet for
the ordinary finishing grooves in the finishing rolls'; I prefer however to use a
double series of rolls. Where large quantities of bars are required from one
mill I place one series of billetting rolls between two series of strand
rolls.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe,
with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, and Figure 2 in plan, a machine for
rolling hoops and strips of iron and steel constructed and arranged according
to my Invention; Figure 3 is an end elevation; and Figures 4 and 5 are
cross sections of the said machine as herein-after explained. The same letters
of reference indicate the same parts in each Figure of the Drawings.
The said rolling machine consists of two sets of rolls marked respectively
A and B; the set of rolls marked A consists of two high rolls, and the.set

page_text: marked B cousists of three high rolls as will be seen by reference to the side
elevation, Figure 1, and the end elevation, Figure 3; the said sets of rolls A, B,
are coupled together by the speed or toothed wheels a, b, at one end of the
rolls, the said wheels a, b, being driven by the driver or middle toothed
wheel c. The toothed wheels a, b, are of different diameters so that the
driving wheel c gives a different speed to each set of rolls, the set of rolls A
being driven at a slower speed than the other set of rolls B; or the same
object may be effected by making the toothed wheels a, b, of the same
diameter and making the set of rolls B of greater diameter than that of the
set A.
The shafts of the toothed wheels a, b, are coupled to the shafts of
their respective set of rolls, and the said rolls are geared together by coupling
boxes and spindles 6 and pinions 6 of the ordinary kind as illustrated in the
Drawing. The pile billet or bar of iron or steel from the forge rolls to be
made into hoops or strips is first brought to the bolting down or billetting
rolls; these rolls are marked d, d, in each of the two sets of rolls A, B.
A cross section of the said rolls, d, d, is represented in Figure 4; the said
billetting rolls d, d, instead of being provided with grooves of the ordinary
shape are provided with flattening grooves in one part and edging grooves in
the other part as represented. If a large pile or billet is to be operated
upon
I pass it through the said rolls d, d, in the following order :-I first pass
the pile or billet through the groove e of the quick set of rolls B and return it
through the next groove in the slow set of rolls A, and through the groove f
in the quick set of rolls B opposite the said groove in the slow set of rolls..
The pile or billet is thus passed through one pair of rolls and returned through.
two pairs of rolls, the bar passing from the slow or preparing set of rolls into
the quick or receiving rolls; the said bar is thereby kept continually on the
stretch and passes through the second set of rolls with the greatest regularity...
The bar being rolled is guided between the grooves of the two sets of rolls by
trough or guide plates situated between the rolls; the construction of these.
guide plates between the two sets of rolls will be understood by an examination..
of Figure 8; the bar is passed through the flattening grooves of the billetting
rolls d, d, in the order described as many times as may be required to bring
it to the proper size. If a small pile is being rolled I pass it first through the
flattening grooves in the slow set A of the rolls d, d, and afterwards through
the quick set of rolls d, d, the bar being passed through two pairs of rolls and
returned through one pair of rolls. The rolls d, d, are furnished with collars
situated on each side of the grooves to prevent the formation of a fin on the
bar; these collars are marked d², or the collars may be put on one roll of

page_text: each pair. By the operation of the flattening grooves of both sets of the
rolls d, d, upon the pile or billet it is, reduced to a flattened bar; the flattened
bar is next passed edgeways through the edging grooves f2 of the fast set of
billetting rolls d, d. By the last described treatment of the bar its angles are
blunted or crushed inwards, and the formation of a fin in the subsequent
operation prevented, the pressure of the edging grooves upon the bar being in
a direction at right angles to that of the flattening grooves through which it
was previously passed; the edging grooves f2 are made from the two rolls
of each pair in the manner represented, that is one half of the groove is in one
roll and the other half in the other roll. The manner in which the bar is
passed through the flattening rolls and edging rolls will be readily understood
by an examination of Figure 4, where a bar f³ is represented being passed
through the flattening grooves of the slow and fast sets of rolls and also
edgeways through the edging rolls of the fast set. After the bar has been
passed through the edging grooves it is cut or divided. into: the required
lengths, and the said lengths or short bars are, next. passed. to the grooves of
the strand rolls 9, 9; the bar is first passed through the grooves of the slow
set A of the strand rolls g, and received in the grooves of the quick set B of the
said strand rolls,, it is afterwards returned through the plain part h of the quick
strand rolls B and a hoop or strip is thereby produced. The manner in which
the bar is passed through the strand rolls of the slow set, next through the
strand rolls of the quick set, and then through the plain part h of the said quick
set of strand rolls, will be understood by an examination of Figure 5, where a
bar i is represented being operated upon by the rolls in the order described. The
hoop or strip is finally passed to the hard or planishing rolls represented in
Figure 6, two or more pairs of which I employ in combination with the rolling
machinery described, I prefer to arrange the planishing rolls on one side of
and parallel to the strand rolls, but they may if required be geared with the
slow set of rolls. In place of the plain part h of the strand rolls separate
plain rolls may be used in front of the strand rolls g, g, and instead of arranging
the strand rolls on one side only of the billetting rolls d, d, as represented
in the Drawing, a set of strand rolls may be placed on each side of the
billetting rolls. The long bar produced when a large pile or billet is used by
the operation of the flattening and edging grooves of the billetting rolls may
be divided into short lengths or bars after it has passed through the said
billetting rolls, and the short bars thus formed may again be divided after they
have passed through the strand rolls g, g, but before they are passed through
the plain part h; or the bar may only be divided after it has passed through

page_text: a
the strand rolls. I divide the bar by means of shears worked by hand or by
power, or in any other convenient manner. I prefer to arrange the shears on
either side or on both sides of the billetting or strand rolls. By passing
large pile or billet through the two sets of rolls in the manner described, and
subdividing the long bar produced, there is furnished a sufficient quantity of
hoop bars to supply two sets of strand rolls, and also to supply two or more
pairs of hard or planishing rolls.
Instead of conducting the rolling operation in the manner already described.
it may be conducted in the following manner :-I dispense with the strand
rolls 9, and I make the billetting rolls d with grooves similar to those in the
said strand rolls, in addition to the flattening and edging grooves in the said
billetting rolls. After the bar has been passed through the edging grooves f³
in the manner herein-before described, instead of passing the bar through the
grooves of the separate strand rolls 9 I pass the said bar through the grooves'
of the strand portion of the compound rolls described, the said bar being
passed through the slow and fast sets of rolls as described with respect to the
said separate strand rolls. In this case the billetting rolls may also be pro-
vided with plain parts similar to those marked h.in the strand rolls, through
which the hoop or strip is passed; or separate plain rolls may be used. In
making wire rods or other small sections of iron and steel I reduce the pile
or billet by passing it several times through the two sets of billetting rolls and
returning it through one either flatways, or edgeways, or edgeways and flat-
ways until it is reduced to a small size; I then pass the bar to the ordinary
billetting rolls to be treated in the usual way: Or the pile or billet may be
reduced for small sections of iron by arranging the rolls in two sets according
to my Invention and providing the said rolls with ordinary grooves. Sets of
rolls having grooves of the kind last described. are represented in plan in
Figure 7 of the Drawings.
Instead of the arrangement of two sets of strand rolls consisting of two high
rolls and three high rolls as described and represented each set of strand rolls
may consist of two rolls only. This arrangement of my Invention is repré-
sented in end elevation in Figure 8, where the slow set of the strand rolls is
marked A, and the quick set of the strand rolls is marked B. The rolls of
each set are not situated opposite each other, but the upper roll of the slow
set is situated opposite the bottom roll of the quick set, as illustrated in the
Drawing. I employ with these rolls a curved guide spring k' supported by
the armı 7 for turning back the bar, so that one workman only is required at
the rolls, that is to say, the billet or bar is brought from the billetting rolls

page_text: and the bar m is first passed through the grooves of the slow set of rolls A,
and is received in the groove of the lower roll of the fast set B and between
the said groove and the curved spring k, by means of which curved spring k
the bar m is turned back and made to pass through the grooves of the fast set
of rolls B in the manner represented. The bar m is guided between the sets
of rolls A and B and from the fast set of rolls by guides or supports n, n.
Guides or supports similar to those marked. n are used between the sets of
rolls of the machinery herein first described.
I apply the billetting rolls herein-before described and represented in
Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings to ordinary three high rolls, that is, instead
of making the grooves of the ordinary three high rolls of an oval, square, or
diamond shape, as usual, I make them with flattening and edging grooves and
bring the bar to the proper width and thickness in the said flattening and
edging grooves before taking it to the strand rolls.
A set of ordinary three high rolls provided with flattening and edging
grooves according to my Invention is represented in elevation in Figure 9.
These rolls may be provided with two collars on one roll, or one on each roll.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein described and represented, as the
same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention; but
I claim as my Invention of improvements in machinery for rolling hoops, strips,
angle bars, and other bars of iron and steel,-
.
Firstly. The arrangement or combination substantially in the manner herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings of two sets of
rolls working at different speeds.
Secondly. The combination with the said rolling machinery of two sets of
strand rolls, one set on each side of the billetting or reducing rolls, substantially
as described.
Thirdly. The combination with the said rolling machinery of two or
more pairs of hard or planishing rolls, substantially as described and
illustrated.
Fourthly. Making in the billetting or reducing rolls of the said rolling
machinery flattening and edging grooves, or edging, flattening, and edging
grooves, substantially as described and illustrated. Also when bars of small
size are to be rolled making the billetting or reducing rolls of the said machinery
with elliptical and square grooves alternating with one another, substantially as
described and illustrated.

page_text: Lastly. Making the grooves of ordinary three high billetting or reducing
rolls with flattening and edging grooves, substantially as described and
illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Brown, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
WILLIAM BROWN.
(L.S.)