IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ROLLING RAILS, GIRDERS, BARS, AND PLATES OR SHEETS OF IRON AND STEEL AND OFFER METAL.S
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Brown, of Smethwick, in the County of
Stafford, Iron Master, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR ROLLING RAILS, GIRDERS, BARS, AND PLATES OR SHEETS OF
IRON AND STEEL AND OFFER METAL.S"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Brown at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd October 1874.
I, WILLIAM BROWN, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Iron
Master, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ROLLING RAILS, GIRDERS, BARS, AND PLATES
OR SHEETS OF IRON AND STEEL AND OTHER METALS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in constructing and arranging the parts of
machinery for rolling rails, girders, bars, and plates or sheets of iron and
steel and other metals in the manner hercin-after described, whereby the
rolling operation is expedited, the removal and replacement of the rolls
facilitated, and the length of the rolls reduced.

page_text: According to my Invention I use two pairs of grooved rolls, but
instead of arranging one pair of rolls in front of the other pair as usual,
I arrange the two pairs of rolls end to end or in the same or nearly the
same line; one pair of rolls having the motions necessary for carrying
the bloom or bar in one direction through them, and the other pair of
rolls having the motions necessary for carrying the bloom or bar in the
opposite direction through them or for giving it a return motion. The
two pairs of rolls are supported by three housings, two outer housings,
and a middle housing. The outer housings are of the ordinary kind and
support the outer ends of both pairs of rolls. The inner ends of the
lower rolls of each pair are supported by the middle housing, the top of
which is below the tops of the said lower rolls, and the inner ends of the
top rolls of each pair are supported in a hanging bracket or bearing
carried by an overhead support connected with the outer housings. By
this arrangement of the housings a gap or opening is left between the
inner ends of the two pairs of rolls, through which gap or opening the
bar under operation can by a lateral motion be transferred by hand or by
mechanical means from one pair of rolls to the other. The arrange-
ment described of the middle housing also permits the ready removal of
the rolls and their replacement by other rolls.
The two pairs of rolls are driven so as to move in the required
directions by the following arrangement of gearing:-The outer ends of
each pair of rolls are geared together by toothed wheels, one pair of rolls
being driven from the other pair by means of a horizontal shaft passing
under the lower rolls of the two pairs and parallel therewith, the said
shaft having at its ends toothed wheels which gear respectively with the
toothed wheels on the bottom rolls of the pairs of rolls. I make the
whole of the grooves in the two pairs of rolls working grooves. By this
means I am enabled to use rolls of about half the length of ordinary
rolls and obtain the same number of working grooves as ordinary
rolls.
In using my Invention the bar or bloom to be operated upon is passed
through a pair of grooves in the first pair of rolls, transferred by a
lateral motion to the second pair, and returned through a pair of grooves
in the said second pair to the side of the machine from whence it started,
حف أنيس
T7I
4.1.

page_text: Instead of using two pairs of rolls a set of three high rolls may be
combined with a pair of rolls in the manner herein-before described.
In this case the pair of rolls is driven from the bottom roll of the three
high rolls instead of by an independent shaft as before explained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Brown in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th April 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BROWN, of Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Iron Master, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Brown, Her special
license that I, the said William Brown, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William 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 RAILS, GIRDERS, BARS, AND PLATES OR SHEETS OF IRON
AND-STEEL AND OTHER METALS," 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.

page_text: 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 the parts of
machinery for rolling rails, girders, bars, and plates or sheets of iron and
steel and other metals in the manner herein-after described, whereby the
rolling operation is expedited, the removal and replacement of the rolls
facilitated, and the length of the rolls reduced.
According to my Invention I use two pairs of grooved rolls arranged
end to end or in the same or nearly the same lino; one pair of rolls
having the motions necessary for carrying the bloom or bar in onc
direction through them, and the other pair of rolls having the motions
necessary for carrying the bloom or bar in the opposite direction through
them or for giving it a return motion. The two pairs of rolls are supported
by three housings, two outer housings, and a middle housing or
pedestal. The outer housings are of the ordinary kind and support the
outer ends of both pairs of rolls. The inner ends of the lower rolls of each
pair are supported by the middle housing or pedestal, the top of which
is below the tops of the said lower rolls, and the inner ends of the top
rolls of each pair are supported in a hanging bracket or bars carried by
an overhead support connected with the outer housings. By this arrange-
ment of the housings a gap or opening is left between the inner ends of
the two pairs of rolls, through which gap or opening the bar under
operation can by a lateral motion be transferred by hand or by
mechanical means from one pair of rolls to the other. The arrangement
described of the middle housing also permits the ready removal of the
rolls and their replacement by other rolls.
The two pairs of rolls are driven so as to move in the required
directions by the following arrangement of gearing :-The outer ends of
each pair of rolls are geared together by toothed wheels, one pair of rolls
being driven from the other pair by means of a horizontal shaft passing
under the lower rolls of the two pairs and parallel therewith, the said
shaft having at its ends toothed wheels which gear respectively with the
toothed wheels on the bottom rolls of the pairs of rolls. I make the whole
of the grooves in the two pairs of rolls working grooves. By this means
I am enabled to use rolls of about half the length of ordinary rolls, and
obtain the same number of working grooves as ordinary rolls.
In using my Invention the bar or bloom to be operated upon is passed
through a groove in the first pair of rolls, transferred by a lateral

page_text: l, m, and a short middle housing or pedestal n fixed in the bed plate of
the rolls, the said pedestal carrying bars or tie rods. The two outer
housings l, m, are connected together at top by the cross piccc p, q, of
great strength. The shape of this cross piece is best seen in Figure 2.
Made in one piece with the connecting piece p, q, is an overhead
support rat right angles to the parts p, p. The pedestal n, the upper
part of which reaches nearly to the level of the top of the bottom rolls
h, k, of the two pairs of rolls (see Figure 5) is connected with the cross
piece or overhead support by two pairs of strong bolts or tic bars s, 8,
and t, t, (sce Figure 5), the said bolts or tic bars being connected
respectively to the said pedestal n and support by the cotters u, u.
Besides serving to connect the middle short housing or pedestal n to the
cross piece of the outer housings l, m, the bolts or tic bars 8, 8, and t, t,
assist in supporting the upper rolls g, i, of the two pairs of rolls. The
outer housings l, m, support the outer necks of the pairs of rolls g, h,
and i, k, while the inner necks ³, k³, of the lower rolls h, k, are sup-
ported upon the pedestal 1 (see Figure 5), and the inner necks g², &², of
the top rolls.g, i, are supported by the tie bars s, s, t, t, in the manner
represented, that is, the bearings of the necks g², &, rest upon the cross
plates wo, and the latter are connected to the rods s, s, or t, t, by the
screw bolts and nuts at v, Figure 5, the top bearings being secured by
the screw bolts and nuts at v¹.
-
By an examination of Figure 5 it will be seen that by supporting the
inner ends of the two pairs of rolls g, h, and i, k, in the manner described
a gap or opening C, C, is left on each side of the inner ends of the said
pairs of rolls, through which gap or opening the bloom or bar under
operation can by a lateral motion be transferred by means of a hooker
from one pair of rolls to the other pair and at each side of the rolls. By
this arrangement the rolls may also be changed with ease. In changing
the rolls it is only necessary to remove the bolts or bars on one side.
The pairs of rolls g, h, i, k, are much shorter than the ordinary rolls, the
two pairs only having the same number of grooves as one ordinary pair.
The rolls being thus shorter than ordinary rolls are considerably stronger
and are hence of great value in rolling steel.
The guards or guides are arranged in the usual manner, but I prefer
in most cases to use a suspended guard or guide for one pair of the rolls,
whereby the necessity for turning the bar over to prevent the formation

page_text: The pair of rolls g, h, are driven in the directions indicated by the
arrows on the said rolls from the rolls a, b, of the three high rolls,
Figure 14, with which they are coupled in the usual manner by the
couplings D, D, D; and the other pair of rolls i, k, are driven in the
directions indicated by the arrows on them by means of the supple-
mentary shaft (which is driven from the lower roll c of the three high
rolls a b c and the toothed gearing v. v². z, z².
The pair of rolls g, h, are driven in the directions indicated by the
arrows on the said rolls from the rolls a, b, of the three high rolls,
Figure 14, with which they are coupled in the usual manner by the
couplings D, D, D; and the other pair of rolls i, k, are driven in the
directions indicated by the arrows on them by means of the supple-
mentary shaft (which is driven from the lower roll c of the three high
rolls a, b, c) and the toothed gearing y. y³, z, z².
In examining Figures 1 and 1ª it must be understood that Figure 1^
is a continuation of Figure 1, and must be regarded as being situated on
the right-hand side of the said Figure 1, the broken couplings marked
D, D, in Figure 1 being joined on to the broken couplings D, D,
Figure 1ª.
Instead of driving the rolls i, k, from the rolls g, h, each pair of rolls
may be driven by independent mechanism.
In using my Invention the bloom or bar from the last groove of the
roughing rolls a, b, c, is first passed through the groove 1 of the first
pair of rolls g, h, and transferred by a lateral motion effected by hand or
by a trolley E working on rails to the groove 2 in the second pair of
rolls i, k, by which the bar is returned to the side of the machine from
which it started; the bar is then passed in succession through the
groove 3 of the first pair of rolls g, h, is returned through the groove 4
of the second pair of rolls i, k, and finally passed through the groove 5
of the first pair of rolls g, h. By this means the mill or rolling
machinery may be worked so that the rails, bars, or other sections of
iron or steel may be rolled of a great length, and in consequence of the
facility with which the bar can be transferred from one pair of rolls to
the other pair the rolling operation is expedited.
.
A third roll may be fixed on the shaft x so as to convert the pair of
rolls g, h, into a set of three high rolls. In this case the set of three
high rolls may be used for roughing down the bar, and the pair of
rolls i, k, be used as the finishing rolls. When this arrangement is used
the shaft of the bottom roll of the three high rolls serves to drive the
pair of rolls i, k, by gearing of the kind shown in Figure 1.
Figure 6 represents in vertical section the arrangement of rolls which
I prefer to use for rolling plates or sheets. The said rolls consist, by
preference, of three high rolls 6, 7, 8, and a pair of rolls 10, 11, working

page_text: and mounted as before described with respect to the grooved rolls g, h, i, k.
In rolling sheet iron the pile is brought from the furnace and passed
backwards and forwards through the grooves 12, 13, 14, and 15 in the
three high rolls to bring it to the required thickness. The bar thus
rolled having been divided by shears it is passed through the grooves
16, 17, the said bar being operated upon by the said grooves 16, 17, in a
contrary direction or at right angles to that by which it was operated
upon by the grooves 12, 13, 14, and 15. In putting the partly rolled
sheet through the grooves 16 and 17 the screws of the rolls need not be
adjusted for regulating the draft upon the iron, as the rolls are arranged
that each pair of grooves has its proper draft.
'
After the last described operations the partly made plate is moved
laterally through the opening or gap in the pedestal n to the pair of rolls
10, 11, working in opposite directions, by which the plate is finished in
the usual way of rolling sheet iron, that is, by working the screws 18, 19,
and pulling the sheet over the top of the rolls and passing it between
the rolls as many times as required.
Instead of employing a short middle housing or pedestal and tie rods
or bolts, as described and illustrated, a narrow middle housing of the
ordinary height may be used in place thereof with the same or nearly
the same effect; or a housing of the ordinary width and height but with
gaps or openings in its sides in front of the inner necks of the rolls may
bc used, the object of the said narrow housing or housing with gaps
being to prevent any obstruction to the transfer of the bar under
operation from one pair or set of rolls to the other pair.
•
I also make gaps or openings similar to those represented in the
middle housing, Figure 5, in the housings of ordinary rolls for facilitating
the changing and replacing of the rolls, the said housing with gaps
being made in one piece. The gaps or openings described in the
housings may either be filled up during the use of the rolls or be left
open.
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
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature
of my Invention, but I claim as my Invention of improvements in

page_text: machinery for rolling rails, girders, bars, and plates or sheets of iron and
steel and other metals,―
First. The combination with two pairs of rolls (or a set of three high
rolls and a pair of rolls) arranged end to end and rotating as described
of a middle short housing or pedestal and tic bars and overhead support
connected with the outer housings for supporting the inner ends or necks
of the said pairs of rolls, or a set of rolls and a pair of rolls, whereby a
gap or opening is left at the said inner ends of the rolls, and the bar can
be transferred from one pair of rolls to the other pair with great facility,
and the rolling operation expedited, the several parts being arranged and
working substantially as hercin-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings; also supporting the inner ends or necks of the
rolls by a narrow housing in place of the pedestal and tie bars and over-
head support described, or by a housing made in a piece having gaps or
openings in it of the kind described.
Secondly. Making gaps or openings in the housings of ordinary rolls
for the purpose of facilitating the removal and replacement of the rolls,
as herein-before described.
Thirdly. The construction and arrangement of the parts of the rolls
for rolling plates or sheets hcrcin described and illustrated in Figure 6
of the accompanying Drawings, the said rolls being worked and being
supported as described with respect to grooved rolls.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Brown, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
Secondly. Making gaps or openings in the housings of ordinary rolls.
for the purpose of facilitating the removal and replacement of the rolls,
as herein-before described.
Thirdly. The construction and arrangement of the parts of the rolls
for rolling plates or sheets licrcin described and illustrated in Figure 6
of the accompanying Drawings, the said rolls being worked and being
supported as described with respect to grooved rolls.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Brown, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
WILLIAM BROWN. (L.S.)