US3805568A

US3805568A - Device for conveying the cooling and lubricating fluid in multi-stand rolling mills for the production of metal bars and wire

Info

Publication number: US3805568A
Application number: US00294406A
Authority: US
Inventors: I Properzi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-11-17
Filing date: 1972-10-02
Publication date: 1974-04-23
Anticipated expiration: 1991-04-23
Also published as: GB1412649A; FR2160377B1; IT941176B; JPS5147150B2; FR2160377A1; DE2249088A1; JPS4859065A

Abstract

A device for conveying the cooling and lubricating fluid in multi-stand rolling mills for the production of metal bars and wire, comprising support means formed with a groove extending along a cylindrical surface having its axis parallel to the direction of movement of the workpiece being rolled and with an aperture tangential to the groove for the introduction of a band element slidably arranged in the support means.

Description

United States Patent [191 Properzi 5] Apr. 23, 1974 DEVICE FOR CONVEYING THE COOLING AND LUBRICATING FLUID IN MULTI-STAND ROLLING MILLS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF METAL BARS AND WIRE [76] Inventor: Ilario Properzi, Via Pietro Cossa,

Milan, Italy 20122 [22] Filed: Oct. 2, 1972 [2]] Appl. No.: 294,406

[30l Foreign Application Priority Data Nov, 17, 1971 Italy ..312 36/71 [52] U.S. Cl 72/43, 72/201, 72/236 [51] Int. Cl B2lb 45/02, B21b 27/06 [58] Field of Search 72/41, 43, 44, 45, 200,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 583,738 6/1897 Fawell 72/236 499,431 6/1893 Judd ..'.Q 72/236 986,176 3/1911 Judd 72/236 2,033,046 3/1936 Montgomery. 72/201 3,192,757 7/ 1965 Diolot 72/236 3,389,590 6/1968 Diolot 72/201 3,552,164 1/1971 Properzi.. 72/45 3,646,790 3/1972 Properzi.. 72/43 3,668,911 6/1972 Properzi 72/43 Primary Examiner--Charles W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-E. M. Combs Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Guido Modiano, Dr.; Albert Josif, Dr.

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT A device for conveying the cooling and lubricating fluid in multi-stand rolling mills for the production of metal bars and wire, comprising support means formed with a groove extending along a cylindrical surface having its axis parallel to the direction of movement of the workpiece being rolled and with an aperture tangential to the groove for the introduction of a band element slidably arranged in the support means.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for conveying the cooling and lubricating fluid in multi-stand rolling mills for the production of metal bars and wire in general.

Metal bars and wire are produced by passing the bar or wire successively through rolls arranged in rolling stands disposed at a small distance apart, so that the element being rolled has to travel for at least a certain distance external to the stands. This fact negatively influences the product obtained in that contact with air could give rise to oxidation phenomena and deformation of the element rolled, because in this open zone the effect of the cooling fluid is practically absent.

Attempts have been made to resolve this problem, on the one hand reducing as far as possible the distance between one stand and the other (the stands are distinct and separated one from the other also for reasons of replacement, repair etc.) and on the other hand by surrounding the element being rolled in this zone with a jet of cooling fluid, so as to prevent its contact with the outside air. In neither manner is this problem resolved satisfactorily, and even with the jet of cooling fluid all around the element being rolled there is not sufficient guarantee of complete and lasting protection.

A further solution consists of arranging between one stand and another a removable tank, in which the cooling liquid is held, so that the bar or wire being rolled passes practically completely immersed in the liquid. This solution gives good results but does not completely eliminate the possibility of oxidation because it: is easy for turbulence to be created by the high temperature of the element being rolled in such a manner as to form passages for the outside air, which is thus able to reach the element being rolled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a device for conveying cooling and lubricating fluid in multi-stand rolling mills for metal bars or wire in general, which completely eliminates any possibility of oxidation of the element being rolled and keeps this element constantly in contact with the cooling and lubricating fluid at the required pressure conditions, so as to improve the quality of the product obtained.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device of the aforementioned type, which may be easily removed in such a manner as to be able to easily ex tract the various stands for the purposes of cleaning, repair, replacement of component parts etc.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of extremely convenient construction, and easy application even to existing rolling stands, without requiring complicated and costly fixing operations.

These objects are attained by a device of the aforementioned type, comprising support means fixable to the facing walls of two adjacent rolling stands and a band element slideable in said support means and defining a tank for containing the cooling and lubricating liquid, and characterised in that said support means each comprise at least one groove extending along a substantially cylindrical surface with its axis substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the element being rolled, and an aperture substantially tangential to said groove for the introduction of said band element, said band element being slideable in said groove to the extend of defining a closed space entirely about the element being rolled between one stand and the next, the radius of curvature of said grooves being substantially greater than one half the maximum transverse dimension of the element being rolled.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will better appear from the detailed description given hereinafter of a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the section between the two stands and the device fixed there;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of a detail of FIG. 1 of the device according to the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a partial lateral view of the support means for the band element of the device according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows two adjacent rolling stands 1, between which is disposed a device according to the invention, generally inidicated by the reference numeral 2. The two rolls are indicated by the reference numeral 3. The element to be rolled enters from 4 in the direction shown by the arrow and passes through an exit guide 5 fixed to the body of the stand 1 by screws 6. External to the guide 5 there is mounted an annular element 7 provided with internal channels for feeding a jet of cooling and lubricating fluid through the annular slot 8. The fluid arrives at the slot through a duct 9 formed in the body of stand I. The slot extends advantageously in such a manner as to create a jet approximately tangential to the direction of forward movement of the element being rolled.

The stand 1 successive to that considered is provided with an entry guide 10, preceded by a pair of rollers 11 of horizontal axes, which help the-movement of the element being rolled from one stand to the other. The rollers are rotatably mounted in a support body 12, comprising channels 13 for a cooling and lubricating fluid, and fixed to the body of the frame 1 by screws 14. The fluid reaches the pair of rollers 11 through the channels 13.

The guides 5 and 10 are suitably connected at their initial and end sections to facilitate entry and exit of the element to be rolled. Gaskets 15 are provided for the seal between the element 7 and the body of the frame 1.

The device 2 according to the invention is applied between the facing walls of the two adjacent stands considered, and comprises a band element 16 consisting of an element of sufficiently flexible sheet metal, which is insertable into a groove 17 defined by two support flanges 18 fixable to the facing walls of the two stands 1. In particular the two flanges are formed from two

elements

19 and 20, respectively, of approximately equal cross-section, each composed of an annular flat section 21 and a projecting rim 22. The two flanges are of different diameter and the two rims 22 are disposed on the radially internal and radially external sides of the flanges respectively. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the flanges are mounted with their flat annular sections 21 in mating engagement and the rims 22 extending opposite to one another. ln the example shown the flat section 21 of flange 19 has a radial extent which is smaller than that of the flat section 21 of flange 20, thus defining with the rim 22 of flange the annular groove 17 entirely about the element being rolled passing between the stands. The two flange elements are fixed to gether and to the stands 1 by screws 23 provided at a number of points along their circumference.

At its upper section the external flange 20 has a notch 24 in its part 22 which extends substantially tangential to the groove 17, said notch having a height a" slightly greater than that of the groove 17. This notch 24 serves for the introduction of the band element 16 into the groove 17.

Advantageously the notch is provided slightly below the line of tangency with the groove by a distance b, on the one hand for constructional reasons and on the other in order to facilitate the introduction of the band element and ensure a good seal after the band element has been completely inserted, and its initial end, having made a complete turn, is disposed under the already inserted section and follows its path for a certain distance.

The thickness of the band element 16 is slightly less than that of the groove 17, whereas its width is practically equal to the distance between the bases of the grooves 17 formed by the flange elements 18 once they are mounted on the stands.

The diameter of the flanges is advantageously greater than the maximum transverse dimension of the rolled element and also depends on the degree of flexibility of the band element 16, in addition to other factors listed below.

With the device according to the invention a completely closed chamber is formed between one stand and another for the cooling and lubricating liquid, so that any possibility of contact with the external air and danger of oxidation of the element being rolled is eliminated. It is advantageous to choose the diameters of the flanges such that above the element being rolled there is a considerable quantity of cooling and lubricating fluid, so that it exerts a certain pressure on the element being rolled. Moreover this pressure may be considerably increased precisely by the presence of a closed chamber, and may thus practically equal that inside the stands for the entire rolling train ifa device such as that described is disposed between all stands present. The greater pressure, which is constant along the entire path. enables a better product to be obtained from all aspects, and mainly with regard to its surface appearance, which is known to depend mainly on the cooling conditions to which it is subjected during its formation.

The device according to the invention is moreover easily assembled, it being necessary only to fix the flanges l8 and introduce the band element 16 into the groove 17 until it makes one complete turn. To facilitate extraction, gripping means may be disposed on the end of the band element 16, for example a ring may be welded to it in a plane orthogonal to that of the element. This ease of assembly and disassembly hence enables the rapid removal of the stands for the reasons initially mentioned.

The structure of the device is such as to make its application possible also to already existing rolling stands.

The movement of the element being rolled and the presence of the cooling and lubricating fluid flowing out from the slot 8 lead to the continuous movement and exchange of the fluid present in the chamber enclosed by the band element 16.

The invention is susceptible to modifications all of which fall within the scope of the inventive idea. For example the support flanges 18 may consist of a single element provided with a corresponding groove for the band element 16.

I claim:

1. In a device for conveying the cooling and lubricating fluid in a multi-stand rolling mill for the production of metal bars and wire in general, comprising support means fixable to the facing walls of two adjacent rolling stands and a band element slideable in said support means and defining a tank for containing the cooling and lubricating liquid, the improvement wherein the said support means each comprises at least one groove extending along a substantially cylindrical surface with its axis substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the element being rolled, and an aperture substantially tangential to said groove for the introduction of said band element into said support means, said band element being slideable in said groove to the extent of defining a closed space entirely about the element being rolled between one stand and the next, the radius of curvature of said grooves being substantially greater than one half the maximum transverse dimension of the element being rolled.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support means consist of two flange elements each having a substantially flat annular section and a rim projecting from said substantially flat annular section, said flange elements having different diameters and being mounted with their flat annular sections in mating engagement and the rims extending opposite to one another, the radial extent of said flat annular section of one of said flange elements being smaller than the radial extent of the flat annular section of the other of said flange elements, thereby to define said band receiving groove between said flat annular section having the smaller radial extent and the rim of the other flange element.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said projecting rim of the flange element having the greater diameter has a notch having a height at least equal to that of said groove and extending tangentially to said groove for the introduction of said band element into said groove.