IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ROLLING STEEL AND IRON
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ROLLING STEEL AND
IRON." A communication from abroad by the Honourable Daniel
T
11
TI
T
P
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 22nd September 1873.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
ROLLING STEEL AND IRON," a communication, to be as follows:—
The first part of this Invention relates to feeding rollers driven by
frictional or other gearing on a movable table, which is raised and
lowered by hydraulic or other power, and which carries the metal to be
rolled. The said driven rollers feed the metal into the rolling mill on

page_text: one side, take it out on the other side, draw it clear from the mill rolls
and guides, and then return it in the same manner, thus passing the
metal back and forth as the tables are elevated and lowered until the
process of reduction is completed. The said feeding rollers are combined
with and moved by a shaft operating gear and friction wheels supported
by and attached to a yoke suspended in such manner that the friction
wheels connected with it may be brought in contact with or detached
from a friction wheel operating the feed rollers by a slight movement of
levers in front and rear of the machine.
The second part of the said Invention relates to the combination and
arrangement of turners and shifters of inclined or other suitable form,
connected with a carriage running beneath the movable feed tables in
such a way that when the said tables are lowered the turners and shifters
project between and above the feed rollers and turn over or partially
over the piece of metal being rolled.
In some cases I prefer to place and operate the turners and shifters
above instead of under the movable table. The said turners and shifters
are also moved by hydraulic or other power back and forth between the
feed rollers, and placed in any desired position with reference to the
piece of metal being rolled in such manner as to adjust it properly for
entering the mill rolls.
The steel points in the top of the said turners
and shifters and on their inclined sides, together with such motion as
may be communicated to them at will through the piston or other
suitable apparatus for moving the carriage, effect the purpose of turning
and adjusting the piece of metal as aforesaid.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
.
. filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st March 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, 3
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.

page_text: of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert
Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 STEEL AND IRON," a commu-
nication to me from abroad by the Honourable Daniel J. Morrell, of
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 Robert Lake, 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, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing forming a part of this Specification :-
The first part of this Invention relates to feeding rollers driven by
friction or otherwise on a movable table, which is raised and lowered by
hydraulic or other power, and which carries the metal to be rolled. The
said rollers feed the metal into the rolling mill on one side, take it out
on the other side, draw it clear from the mill rolls and guides, and' then
return it in the same manner, thus passing the metal back and forth as
the tables are elevated and lowered until the process of reduction is.
completed. The said feeding rollers are combined with and moved by a
shaft operating gear and friction wheels, which are supported by and
attached to a yoke suspended in such a manner that the friction wheels
connected with it may be brought in contact with or detached from a
friction wheel operating the feed rollers by a slight movement of levers
in front and rear of the machine.

page_text: The second part of the said Invention relates to the combination and
arrangement of turners and shifters of suitable form, connected with a
carriage moving beneath the movable feed tables in such a manner that
when the said tables are lowered the said turners and shifters project
between and above the feed rollers, and turn over or partially over the
piece of metal being rolled.
The said turners and shifters may also be moved by hydraulic or other
power back and forth between the feed rollers, and placed in any desired
position with reference to the piece of metal being rolled in such manner
as to adjust it properly for entering the mill rolls. The said turners and
shifters have in their top and on their inclined sides steel points, which
by the motion communicated to them at will through the piston or other
suitable apparatus for moving the carriage effect the required turning
and adjustment of the piece of metal.
The manner in which the said Invention is best carried into practice 1
Figure 5 is a side view of a part of one of the tables with elevations 2
of the gearing and friction wheels employed to drive the aforesaid feed
rollers.
Figure 6 is a front elevation of the yoke carrying the gear and friction
wheels for operating the said feeding rollers.
Similar letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
The housings a, a, carry the mill rolls 6, 61, and 63 in the usual
manner, and rest on the shoes or bed plates c. The top and bottom rolls
may be movable vertically in the housings, or they may be stationary
and the middle roll may be movable, or all of the said rolls may be
3

page_text: stationary or all movable. The feeding tables d and d, as shown, are
preferably raised and lowered by hydraulic cylinders operated by the
rods e, e¹, and are guided by arms f¹, f³, and the guides g, g¹. But these
tables may be arranged and operated in any other suitable manner.
a¹, a¹, are shafts driven by pulleys 63 or through any other suitable
medium by power derived from the engine that drives the mill rolls, or
from any conveniently arranged engine or line of shafting. The said
shafts a¹ are driven in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figures 2
and 5. Upon the said shafts are swiveled the yokes c¹. These yokes c¹
carry the gear wheels d, e, the idler wheels f, and the friction wheels g³, h,
as shown in Figures 1, 2, 5, and 6. The gear wheels i arc fast on the
shafts a¹, and by the arrangement of the wheels d, e, f, drive the friction
wheels g, h, o, in the directions indicated by the arrows in Figure 2.
The yokes c¹ are connected by the rod j with the rock shafts k, l, upon
which are keyed the levers m. The friction wheels n are fast on the
shafts o on the feed tables, upon which shafts are also fastened the feed_
rollers p, p, and the gear wheels q, q. The other rollers on the feed
tables are fast on the shafts s, as are also the gear wheels t, and these
gear wheels are connected with each other as well as with the gear
wheels q by the idler wheels u in such manner that when the shafts o
revolve in either direction all of the rollers on the fced tables will
revolve in the same direction. The revolution of these rollers is effected
by throwing the friction wheels n in contact with the friction wheels
attached to the yokes c¹, which may be done by moving the levers m, m,
on either side of the train. The feed rollers are mounted, as above
described and as shewn in Figures 2 and 3, on movable tables, which
alternately lift and let down the piece of metal to be rolled, that is to
say, they move from the position indicated by the line v, v, in Figure 2,
which line corresponds with the lower passes to the position where the
tables are represented in Figure 2, corresponding with the upper passes,
and vice versa. These upper and lower positions of the table are also
shown in Figure 5.
The above-described arrangement renders it easy by moving one of
the levers on either side of the train to feed the piece of metal on the
table into the rolls and to withdraw it far enough from the said rolls to
let the tables move up and down without hindrance. w, w, are plates
secured in front of the rollers to protect them from injury by the piece
of metal when it is leaving the said rolls.

page_text: The operation of this improved machine is as follows:-The ingot or
piece of metal to be rolled having been placed on the feed rollers p, r,
on the front table d', the table being in its lowest position, see Figures 2
and 5, and the feed rollers not being in motion the workman or
attendant moves the lever m in such manner that the constantly moving
lower friction wheel h comes in contact with the friction wheel n, thus
starting the friction wheel n and all the feed rollers connected with it.
The feed rollers thus carry the piece of metal between the lower and
middle mill rolls 61, 62, by which it is rolled and carried through to the
back table d, which is also in its lowest position. The feed rollers on
the table d are then set in motion in the same direction by means of the
lever m, and carry the piece of metal to its proper position on the table d.
The workman then moves the lever m into a central position and so
stops the feed rollers. The tables d, d¹, are then raised to the highest
position shown in Figure 2. The workman then moves the lever min
such manner, as to bring the constantly moving upper friction wheel g²
into contact with the friction wheel n, thus starting the feed rollers on
the table d in the opposite direction to that in which it previously
moved, and the piece of metal is carried between the upper and middle
mill rolls b, b¹. This operation is repeated as often as found desirable or
necessary.
In some cases it may not be necessary to operate the feed rollers by
power when they receive the piece of metal from the mill rolls, but may
be necessary only to operate them by power when they carry the piece
of metal into the mill rolls. In such cases the speed of the mill rolls
should be sufficient to throw the piece of metal out so far that the table
may be raised without difficulty. The motion of the feed rollers need
not in such cases be reversed by moving the lever m, but they may be
driven only at the time and in the direction necessary to feed the piece
toward the mill rolls.
I wish it understood that this Invention includes the combination of
the movable table with the driven rollers, whether the said driven
rollers are reversible or driven in one direction only.
The arrangement for turning and shifting the piece to be rolled is as
follows: A, Figures 1 and 3, shews pieces of metal with or without
inclined sides projecting upward, I term these pieces turners and
shifters; B is a carriage travelling beneath the feed tables, with which

page_text: carriage the said turners and shifters are connected, and by which they are
operated; C is a hydraulic cylinder connected by a piston rod with the
carriage B and furnishing its motive power. But, as herein-before
explained, other suitable means may be employed to move this carriage.
D, D, D, are the aforesaid steel points upon the turners and shifters.
The said turners and shifters may also be used without these steel
points.
.
· The operation of this part of the said Invention is as follows:-When
the piece of metal needs to be shifted or turned laterally the said turners
and shifters are moved into such a position under the table, which is
then in its upper position, that when the said table is let down the steel
points D engage the piece, causing it to turn over; this adjustment being
effected the said piece glides down the turners and shifters until it falls
on the table where it is required to be; or by moving the carriage the
said piece is moved laterally into its proper position to be fed into the
rolls again. The turners and shifters are then withdrawn and the feed
rollers again set in motion, as aforesaid..
In some instances. I prefer to arrange and operate the turners and
shifters above instead of under the moveable table.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,-
First. The combination in a rolling mill for rolling steel and iron
of movable tables for supporting and carrying the piece of metal to be
operated upon, with reversible or non-reversible driven feed rollers in
the said movable tables, as herein set forth and for the purposes
specified.
Second. The combination of rods and levers with the yokes in such
manner that the driven feed rollers in the said movable tables may be set
in motion by means of either of the said levers, for the purposes specified.
Third. The arrangement and combination of the yoke, the gear
wheels, and the friction wheels, supported by the said yoke, as herein
set forth and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. The combination of one or more upright turners and shifters
with a movable table or tables, whether they are operated by hydraulic
or other power, as herein set forth and for the purpose specified.

page_text: Fifth. The arrangement and combination in a rolling mill of the
aforesaid yokes with their attachments, the movable tables containing
driven rollers with their attachments, and the turners and shifters with
their attachments, substantially as herein set forth and for the purposes
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of March
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
Witness,
Henry JAMES NOONE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
WM. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)