Patent ID: 7779661

Claim:
A cooling apparatus for a hot rolled steel strip having a top surface and a bottom surface, the cooling apparatus comprising: a top surface cooling means provided above the hot rolled steel strip which is transferred with transfer rollers after a hot rolling to cool the top surface of the hot rolled steel strip; and a bottom surface cooling means provided below the hot rolled steel strip to cool the bottom surface of the hot rolled steel strip, each of the top surface cooling means and the bottom surface cooling means comprising: a protective member disposed close to the top surface and the bottom surface of the hot rolled steel strip, the protective member having at least one cooling water passage hole; at least one cooling water header opposing the hot rolled steel strip separated by the protective member; and a plurality of cooling water jetting nozzles protruding from the at least one cooling water header for jetting cooling water approximately vertically toward the top surface and the bottom surface of the hot rolled steel strip through the at least one cooling water passage hole and for draining the cooling water through the at least one cooling water passage hole, said cooling water jetting nozzles having tips, wherein the tips of the cooling water jetting nozzles are disposed farther from the hot rolled steel strip than a surface of the protective member, opposing the hot rolled steel strip, of the protective member and the tips of the cooling water jetting nozzles are disposed inside the at least one cooling water passage hole of the protective member.