JPS6132226B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for longitudinally moving and intermediately storing metal or other strips of varying lengths. This equipment is required at the feed end of a processing facility, such as a strip annealing line, which line requires uninterrupted speed while the strip is being fed to the final length of coil which has to be joined end-to-end.

My U.S. Patent No. 3310255 dated March 21, 1967
No. 1 describes a device of this kind in which two helical coils of strip material are superimposed about a vertical axis. Note that the welding machine that joins the strips and the processing equipment upstream and downstream thereof require the strip to be in a horizontal position, which means that the strip must be twisted from horizontal to vertical and then returned to the horizontal position. This means that the space and equipment are expensive.

This does not occur when the axis is horizontal, but when the strip is wound around a horizontal axis to form a coil, it begins with an outer turn of fixed diameter (i.e., as opposed to a normal coil winding). ), each successive turn must press its predecessor to a smaller diameter, its circumference becoming successively shorter;
That is, it becomes shorter by three times or more than the thickness of the strip material of each turn. This means that the inner wrap band must be uniformly offset by that distance from below the face of its outer neighbor, and then only in the opposite direction, just like wrapping a rope around a block. This means that we must overcome increasing friction. This is a well-known exponential function, where the friction coefficient and the wrap angle are in an exponential relationship.

In the storage device made according to said US Pat. No. 3,310,255, this relative sliding is present in exactly the same proportions, but does not impede the progress of storage since the individual windings do not actually touch each other. But if the same geometry is applied to an accumulator with a horizontal axis, the weight of the turns superimposed on each other will be faster if the coefficient is higher, and faster if the strip is smooth and lubricated. The structure (8-10 turns) creates friction for accumulation, and accumulation is stopped.

Once this condition is reached, any attempt to continue accumulation by adding more turns will only wrinkle the inner coil turns and no further progress can be made. At the same time, however, this tendency results from irresistible stresses on the contact surfaces between the individual layers of the strip within the coil, which stresses increase as the buildup progresses.

The applicant has been successful in developing ways to overcome this difficulty. He noted that the two coils are not pressed uniformly all around their periphery, that the top is under pressure of the inner support roller, that both lateral parts are free from virtually all pressure, while the bottom highlight the advantages of this being under pressure or not depending on whether it is supported by external rollers or not.

A section of the coil between two adjacent rollers will flex somewhat elastically under its own weight, with the flexure depending on the distance between the rollers, the thickness of the strip, the number of turns, and the coefficient of friction.

The applicant has determined that by making this distance between the support rollers large enough to be suitable for correct support and guidance of the strip, he has minimized the shear movement between the individual windings, which allows the windings themselves to move laterally. It has been found that the balance is maintained at the unwound portion of the coil and the required total offset is achieved at each turn of the coil.

In the case of thick strips or other conditions that cause the coil to deflect completely inappropriately, the forward tension applied to the inner turns of the coil will result in the required amount of shear.

Storage devices designed to form a coil around a horizontal axis are known. These things are
U.S. Patent No. 3506210 dated April 14, 1970;
No. 3868065 dated February 25, 1975 and No. 3885748 dated May 27, 1975, the storage method described in this specification is based on the ability of the storage device, ease of operation,
It represents a considerable technological advance over that of the prior art in terms of safety and price of the corresponding equipment.

The feeding of the strip is controlled by scissor rollers at the inlet and outlet ends of the accumulator, and the smooth feeding of the strip is facilitated by a circular series of support rollers around the inner circumference of the coil, whose trajectory changes as the coil changes. Controlled in harmony with thickness. The support rollers are circumferentially spaced to control the deflection of the plates therebetween, creating contact surface displacement between adjacent turns of the coil,
It therefore facilitates the movement of the strip from the inlet to the outlet. The effect of this shear is enhanced by applying tension on the support rollers to facilitate advancement of the strip without restraint.

Other objects will become apparent from the following description of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a cylindrical rotor 1.
The rotor is supported and driven by four flanged wheels 2 placed in the base B of the device.
The rotor 1 is surrounded by two circular rollers 3, 3', which are driven by known devices such as individual motors 4, 4', and which are driven by respective bearings 5, which are held in holders 8, 8'. , 6, 5', 6'. These holders can be slid axially in holes provided in radial projections 1' spaced equidistantly around the periphery of the rotor 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the rollers are spaced 30 degrees from each other to allow flexing of the strip between adjacent rollers, increasing the contact surface offset between adjacent turns.

The roller 3 supports the first coil 10 of the strip material 21,
When propelled, the strip is stored within the device by engaging the inner turns of the helical coil 10. The strip material follows the helical path of the first coil 10, starting from the first winding at the outer winding (shown in the upper half of FIG. 2) and having a fixed diameter, and gradually decreasing in diameter along the spiral. Following the winding (shown in the lower half of Figure 2), the circle of the support roller 3 and its bearing support adjusts the diameter of the roller circle to adapt to the actual diameter of the inner winding as the accumulation progresses. A device is provided to do so. For this purpose an outer bearing 55 is provided near the bearing 5 and is mounted in a chock which rides on a series of circumferentially placed cam discs 11 and is able to slide along the slope of the cam. The cam is rotatably mounted on the rotor 1 over the projection 1'.

Similarly, a roller 3' arranged coaxially with roller 3 supports a first coil or winding of the strip 21;
Incoming material near one end of the rotor is guided through an opening 20 in the rotor, within which the strip is guided in an S-shape so as to pass through an outlet opening 20' in the rotor 1 near the other end of the rotor. The direction is reversed by passage G. The openings 20, 20' are diametrically opposed to each other but offset along the length of the rotor and bridged by an angularly transitioned passageway G, within which is a guide roller 22 as shown in FIG. is installed.

The roller 3' engages the inner turn of the second helical coil 10' as shown in the lower half of FIGS. Continuing into large rolls,
Finally, it is pulled out from the outer winding by a scissor roller 27.

As in the case of rollers 3, each roller 3' is provided with an outer bearing 55', the position of which is determined by a cam piece of a rotatable cam disk 11' mounted on the rotor 1 at the opposite end of the roller 3'. controlled.

Regarding one roller 3 mounted on the rotor 1, in order to synchronously rotate the two cam disks 11 by an arc equal to one cam surface of the disk 11, FIGS. A device for adjusting the radial position of the roller 3 with respect to the circumference of the rotor 1 is illustrated in FIG. The shaft 12 is mounted in a bearing mounted on the inner surface of the cylindrical rotor 1 parallel to its axis of rotation. Star-shaped ring 14 with five tips
(generable wheels) are keyed to each outer end of the shaft, the tips of which engage the chain sprocket 13. The short roller chain 16 has both ends 1
7, 17' are connected to the outer cam disk 11 and engage the sprocket 13 adjacent thereto. When the rotor 1 makes one revolution during the accumulation of strip material, one tip of the star ring 14 strikes a lug 18 mounted on the base 2'' of the machine, turning this sprocket by one tooth, thereby changing the cam circle. Bearing chock 55 on plate 11
Turn slightly under the inclination of said cam with a sliding motion to incrementally reduce the diameter of the circle of the support roller 3 by the thickness of one turn of the coil. Of course, different strip thicknesses require sprockets with different numbers of teeth.
The opposite occurs when the storage length of the strip is reduced.

The spacing of the rollers 3 is such that the length of the coil sector between two adjacent rollers 3 flexes slightly each time it passes through the rollers under its own weight, so that all strips in this area are slightly offset from each other. So, inside (downstream side)
The windings must be slightly advanced relative to the outer windings (upstream), since the speed of the strip is uniform as the inner windings become progressively smaller along the helical curve. .

If the contact friction between the windings is very high, a driving or pulling force is applied on the supporting rollers 3, 3', which creates a pulling force acting on the strip at each coil, so as to intensify this forward displacement. Work.

As mentioned above, the S-shaped transition guide G for the strip on its path from the inner turn of its first coil reverses the winding direction of the strip to the inner turn of the second coil 10'. This guide is housed inside the rotor 1 and is firmly attached to it. The guide consists of a rigid channel supporting pairs of spaced guide rollers 22 placed along an S curve, the rollers being parallel to each other but at the two ends of said curve, That is, the strip is slightly twisted to follow the angle at which it passes into the second coil, and is not parallel where it untwists again as it approaches the second coil.

In any case, it is preferable to apply a driving force to the guide roller 22, primarily for the contact friction of the strip material, and a solid roller similar to the roller 3 having an individual motor similar to the motor 4 shown in FIG. rather than using short guide rollers 22 mounted within the beam mount for this purpose as shown in FIG.

As previously mentioned, a second coil 10' starting with the inner turn exits tangentially at the end of the outer turn;
It is pulled under sufficient tension by the exit scissor rollers 27. In order to overcome the contact friction that tends to build up as the number of turns increases, the coil band is deflected uniformly as it passes from one side of the support roller 3' to the other, as described for the winding of the first coil. You can get away with this. The tension provided by the exit scissor rollers 27 then combines with this deflection effect to intensify the aforementioned slight contact slippage effect all along the helical curve.

In order to thread the band through the accumulator, in operation, the holders 7, 7' of the support roller bearings 5 are first moved to their outermost position to support the outer turns of the first coil by turning the cam disc 11 counterclockwise to its end. be placed in Next, pinch the tip of the strip material 21 with the roller 2.
6, through the space between either of the two support rollers 3, through the opening 20 in the wall of the rotor 1, through the S-shaped guide G, and then again into either of the two opposite support rollers 3'. Through this, it is passed around the circle of the roller 3' supporting the second coil 10', and finally through the exit scissor roller 27, by means of the tensioning action of this roller. To load the storage device, the exit scissor roller 27 is stopped while the inlet scissor roller 26 continues to feed more strips. The first coil 10 continues to rotate, but the second coil, together with the exit scissor roller 27, remains stationary.
The rotor 1 rotates together with the guide G, clockwise (first
For each rotation in Figure), place one turn inside each of both coils and continue the spiral curve. At the same time, both cam discs 11, 11' continue to rotate clockwise, gradually decreasing the diameter of the circular track of the support rollers 3, 3', so that the winding of the successive coils 10, 10' can follow its helical curve. .

When the outlet scissor rollers 27 are activated to feed downstream processing equipment, while the storage device is still full, if both inlet and output speeds are the same, both coils will rotate at the speed of their respective scissor rollers. However, the rotation of rotor 1 stops along with its guide G,
The number of turns within the spiral windings of both coils remains stable at the same number.

Conversely, when the inlet scissor roller 26 stops, such as joining the next coil, the first coil stops with the inlet scissor roller, and the second coil and outlet scissor roller 27 continue to provide uninterrupted supply to the downstream device. The rotor 1, together with its S-shaped guide G, rotates counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 1, and with each revolution it reduces one of the inner turns of each of the two coils.

The strip, whatever its width, is preferably kept centered on the support rollers 3, 3'; for this purpose a guide roller 29 with an adjustable edge adapted to the width of the strip 21 is provided at the entrance to the first coil 10. scissor roller 2
6, an edge guide roller 29' is placed where the strip enters the inner turn of the second coil 10'.

For coils that are built up large, I recommend using the embodiment shown in FIG. of the support roller 23, which is coaxial with the coil, and is surrounded by an arc of fixed radius corresponding to the outer diameter of said coil.

The frame 24 supporting the circular arc is preferably made so that its height can be adjusted using a wedge 24' or the like in order to distribute the weight of the coil between the outer support roller 23 and the inner roller 3a. In practice, if the coil of thin strip material is sufficiently soft, it can be hung loosely over the inner roller 3a to give it a slightly oval shape, and the height of the roll 23 is adjusted so that only the lower half of the coil is supported. is preferable.

The support roller 23 is driven to rotate the coil,
Particularly in the case of the second coil, it is preferable to apply tension to the outer windings to strengthen the above-mentioned contact deviation. Although the inner roller 3a does not need to be driven in this case,
It is preferable to provide this drive for heavy coils,
Preferably, a deceleration torque is exerted on the inner roller 3a, especially for the second coil, so that in conjunction with the tensile force provided by the exit scissor rollers the windings of said coil obtain a more uniform contact displacement.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 shows a simplified device for gradually increasing or decreasing the diameter of the circle of the inner support roller 3 to match the diameter of the inner turns of both coils. The handle 7a that holds the bearing 5a of the roller 3 is a mounting body 1a that extends inward of the rotor 1.
is slidably mounted in the hole of the A gear rack 31 is provided on the side of each handle, the rack meshing with a pinion 32 keyed on an axle 38 and journaled in both mountings 1a associated with each roller 3. This ensures parallelism between the roller 3 and the coil axis. Gear 34 with fine pitch V-shaped teeth
is keyed to one end of the shaft 38, the teeth of which engage a pawl 35 which pivots about the shaft 36 placed in a hole in the mount 1a. The opposite end of the pivot pawl 35 has a lever with a counterweight 37 at its end, which exerts a differential control on the roller 3 during the upper and lower parts of its trajectory. Each time roller 3 is in the lower half of its circle, counterweight 37 pulls pawl 35 out of engagement with gear 34, allowing handle 7a to slide freely, while roller 3 remains in contact with the inner turn of the coil. However, this position corresponds to the correct radius of the inner turn of the coil at that moment. As soon as the roller reaches the upper half of the circle, the counterweight 37 swings downwards (FIG. 5), causing the pawl 35 to engage the gear 3.
4, this causes both the handle 7a and its roller 3 to be fixed together in their radial position by the engagement of the rack 31 and pinion 32, so that the roller is able to carry the weight of its coil. I will bear the burden.

The storage device according to the invention can be sized to specific needs. In that case, the device is several cm (2 cm)
-3 inches) are made in rather small dimensions for strips that are only wide. If this band is made of a sufficiently elastic material, the inner wrap will support itself and
No inner roller circle is required. For intermediate dimensions, I recommend the economical embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in which the inner rotor carries support rollers 3b and a central S-shaped guide G'. The rotor can be thought of as a floating forked frame body with forks 40 articulated about points 41. The outer articulation points also carry the bearings 5a for the rollers 3b, and for each circle of the rollers there are two such circular forked frames, with appropriate transverse ties to ensure their parallelism. . Fluid cylinders 42, two on each roller 3b, serve to spread the structure, thereby pressing the rollers 3b against the inner turns of the coil. The crosslink also extends to connect the rotor frame of coil 10 to that of coil 10';
This is because the diameter of the inner winding of both coils is always the same.

Roll the strip material from the inner winding of coil 10 to coil 1.
An S-shaped guide G' leading to the inner turn of 0' is attached to this structure. This guide consists of 4 longitudinal beams 4
5, 45', 46, 46', each beam being rotatably linked to one of two diametrically opposed articulation points 41' of said rotor frame. , are rotatably connected laterally by several parallel connecting link beams 47,
The two pairs of beams are provided with bearings 48 for placing the axes of the two guide pulleys 49, 49'. Preferably, at least a second (downstream) of said pulleys is provided with a torque motor to provide some tension to the strip.

The beams 45, 45' are further horizontally connected by tethers (not shown) to ensure the rigidity of the structure. Moreover, one of each pair of articulation points 41' is also plugged in, since due to the reduction in the internal diameter of both coils the angle between the beams 45, 45', 46, 46' and the rotor axis also changes. I will be able to do it.

In the case of large-capacity storage devices, the outer circle of the support roller 23 has its bearing on the crossbeam 5 of the circular frame 51.
This frame is preferably mounted on the floor like the frame 24 shown in FIG.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional front view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, with the left side of the drawing showing the parts of the accumulator at the beginning of operation, and the right side of the drawing showing the position of the parts when material accumulation is substantially complete. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view along the central portion of FIG. 1, with the article in side view, the upper part of the drawing showing the position of the part at the beginning of the storage operation, and the lower part of the drawing showing the part at its completion. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of what is shown in FIG. 1 in order to control the trajectory of the support roller, and FIG. 4 is an additional roller support cage provided around the outer periphery of the coil shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 5 is a front view of another embodiment of the mounting for the support roller 3 on the inner periphery of the coil; FIG. 6 is the line 6-- of FIG. 6, a part of which is a side view, FIG. 7 is a front view of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the horizontal center line of FIG. 7, and a part of which is a side view. It is. 1...Rotor, 1'...Protrusion, 1a...Mounting body, 2...
Wheels, 3, 3', 3a, 3b...Rollers, 4, 4'...
Motor, 5, 5', 5a, 6, 6'...Bearing,
7, 7'...Holder, 7a...Handle, 8,8'...Holder,
10, 10'... Coil, 11, 11'... Cam disc,
12...Axle, 13...Sprocket, 14...Star-shaped ring,
16... Chain, 17, 17'... End, 18... Lug, 20, 20'... Groove, 21... Band material, 22, 2
3'...roller, 24...frame, 24'...wedge,
26, 27, 29, 29'...Roller, 31...Rack, 32...Pinion, 34...Gear, 35...Claw, 3
6...shaft, 37...weight, 38...shaft, 40...bifurcated, 4
1, 41'... point, 42... cylinder, 45, 45',
46, 47...beam, 48...bearing, 49,4
9'...Pulley, 50...Horizontal beam, 55...Bearing.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for temporarily storing strips of varying length on two adjacent helical coils rotating on a common horizontal axis such that the helices of the coils are wound in opposite directions. (a) winding said incoming strip into one coil and withdrawing said strip from the other coil, while said coil increases or decreases its diameter by increasing or decreasing the connection between the inner portions of said two coils; (b) moving the inner circumference of each of said helical coils in a plurality of circumferentially spaced directions, sometimes in opposite directions depending on the relative predominance of the rate of accumulation of said strip material and discharge from said coil; In the step of supporting with support rollers, the support rollers are capable of deflecting the strip between adjacent rollers in its trajectory in its raised position, freeing movement and displacement between the juxtaposed strips. (c) adjusting the circular trajectory of said support roller in unison with a change in diameter of the inner circumference of said helical coil to provide support for the innermost turn of said coil; and maintaining the resulting deflection for all thicknesses of said helical coil. 2. In a device for storing advancing strips of varying lengths placed in two adjacent helical coils rotatable on a common horizontal axis, the windings being on approximately the same circumference but proceeding in opposite directions. (a) a transition device between and inside the coils for reversing the direction of said winding; and (b) a plurality of circumferentially distributed rollers in contact with the inner helix of each said helical coil. and (c) a device for changing the radial trajectory of the roller in response to a change in the inner diameter of the coil.