Preloaded triple roller entry guide

Abstract

A triple roll entry guide where the guide has two sets of operation, a first which operates as a standard triple roller entry guide. Here the guide functions as a standard guide wherein three levers are pivoted about a work product axis to guide the work product into the reduction rolls of the mill. The guide will accept a predetermined size range of work products. In this instance the rollers of the guide overcome the force holding the levers in their usual working position and force the levers to assume a new position which the work product is accepted in the guide. This is the second method of operation, and in it the levers of the guide are “preloaded” so that the guide functions as a standard guide under prescribed conditions.Under conditions which lead to the acceptance of a work product of a larger diameter in the predetermined size range the levers of the guide overcome the force which limits the maximum position of the levers of the guide and the work product is accepted by the guide.

Description

[0001]The subject matter of this patent application is closely related to that of U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,689 which issued Aug. 17th, 1999.[0002]The following description of this invention will describe an apparatus and method of rolling steel with a triple roller entry guide. It will be noted that the entry guide of this invention is used only when bar is being produced in the rolling process, not when the desired end product is in the form of sheet.[0003]The entry guide of this invention is of the triple roller type, as opposed to the double roller entry guide which was used almost exclusively before the triple roller entry guide was introduced. The triple roller guide is a good deal more robust, wears significantly longer and thus does not lose accuracy due to wear, and because of its longevity in the workplace, it has almost won universal acceptance in the rolling field for rolling steel bar.[0004]The triple jaw guide of the prior art is preset to some certain maximum previously pre...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0003]The entry guide of this invention is of the triple roller type, as opposed to the double roller entry guide which was used almost exclusively before the triple roller entry guide was introduced. The triple roller guide is a good deal more robust, wears significantly longer and thus does not lose accuracy due to wear, and because of its longevity in the workplace, it has almost won universal acceptance in the rolling field for rolling steel bar.

[0006]As long as the diameters of the work product stay within a preset value, the rolling process continues and the work product is reduced by the reducing rolls. The jaws of the guide are permitted to open slightly wider than do the jaws of prior art guides, permitting the work product to pass through the guide and be reduced by the reducing rolls of the mill. This saves the time required to change the set-up of the guide and the guide so equipped can now be operated in the previous range (smaller diameter) without any delay in setting the guide to the smaller diameter work product. This saves time when a rolling process is involved. Time, like everything else, counts when a steel mill is down and the management is judged by the number of hours that are lost due to malfunctions of the mill.

[0010]The guide of this invention has a funnel shaped admission device which leads the hot work product to a triple jawed guiding device. Here the opening of the jaws of the improved device are set and calibrated as in guides of the prior art, but the jaws may be resistibly “opened” past this position further to accept a work product of a larger size. This is accomplished by the use of a “Pre set spring loaded” member which “kicks in” and allows the jaws of the improved guide to move outwardly and temporarily accept the oversized work product.

Problems solved by technology

Although this is fine in theory, it can lead to stoppage in the rolling process when the guide refuses to feed material to the reducing rollers.

Furthermore the guide has to be reset for each individual size in the range of bar diameters, resulting in mill down time.

The triple guides of the prior art had little tolerance for the acceptance of work product whose diameter was slightly greater than a certain preset value of the guide.

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