Systematic method for counting rolled bars based on process information from the rolling mill.

Description

1 / 10 Systematic method for counting rolled bars based on process information from the rolling mill. 1. The present invention applies to the steel industry, more specifically to the production of hot-rolled bars from billets. The method is applicable to both continuous production lines (welded or infinite billets) and lines with billets cut piece by piece. The invention can be used in industrial hot rolling processes intended for the formation of bundles of bars for supply to the market, encompassing different shapes (reinforcing bars, round bars, flat bars, profiles, angle bars, etc.). 2. Currently, in the rebar and metal bar rolling industry, accurately counting bars in each bundle is a technical challenge. Although some operations still use estimation by total weight, this method is inaccurate and crude, making it inadequate to guarantee the necessary accuracy. Among the main methods currently employed are: Spindles with presence sensors – where a spindle rotates, separating bar by bar through its helix and making them pass in front of presence sensors. As it is a very slow counting process, it is mostly used to count bars in low-speed production flows, generally in secondary processes such as rebar bending. Therefore, they are not applicable in high-speed production lines.As an option for counting bars, we also have today the method using video cameras associated with image reading algorithms – used in the lateral transfer stages of bars already cut to commercial size, where a light is placed on one end of the bars that pass in front of the camera and the reflected image of the ends is analyzed by image reading algorithms to identify the points of light and count them. This method is applied in high-speed production lines, but it presents inaccuracies in counting when the bars are very close together, potentially confusing two bars as one. Furthermore, it involves high implementation costs due to the set of electronic, mechanical, and hydraulic equipment, the necessary maintenance, and extra personnel for its operation. Petition 870250090818, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 5 / 24 2 / 10 3. These approaches, therefore, either do not meet the speed of the process or do not guarantee sufficient reliability, and, as a main problem, they all involve the implementation of extra equipment on the production line, resulting in high acquisition costs, maintenance costs, extra operational teams to operate them, and an increased risk of safety since it requires, at some point, human intervention on the equipment. 4. The invention proposed here solves this problem by counting bars in the bundle through electronic tracking of the bars from their formation to their deposition in the bundle, using exclusively signals already available in the production process (motor currents, cutting times, existing sensors, etc.). In this way, precise, continuous counting is guaranteed, with low acquisition costs, since it does not require extra equipment on the production line, eliminating maintenance costs and safety risks, as it no longer requires human intervention in equipment. 5. The invention consists of a system for electronically tracking the flow of rolled bars, structured in memory positions in the PLC that monitor the physical advancement of the bars from their initial cut while still hot, passing through the Cooling Bed, Roller Path, where the set of bars is cut to commercial length, until these cuts are deposited in the Cradle where the bundle of bars is shaped and tied. 6. The system works because when the bars are shaped and cut for shipment to the Cooling Bed, they are in a state of complete control regarding length and quantity information. However, upon entering the bed, they enter a chaotic environment where information is lost, and current methods require additional equipment to try to recover the initial state of information control. The proposed invention eliminates this disruption by continuously maintaining the initial state of knowledge, tracking each bar and its original length up to the stage... Petition 870250090818, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 6 / 24 3 / 10 of the final cut at the commercial length, ensuring accuracy in counting the bars in the bundle. 7. It is important to note that rolling mills use various methods available on the market to measure the length of cut bars, but the invention proposed here is independent of which method the rolling mill uses. Regardless of the measurement method, the system will manage the information in order to monitor each length and each position of the bar throughout the production flow and thus accurately count the number of bars that have been deposited in the bundle until it is completed and tied. 8. Detailing in Figure 1 the steps followed in managing the number and length of bars throughout the process, we have step 1 (circled in yellow in Figure 1): Obtaining the length of the bars that are sent to the Cooling Bed and assembling the bar queue in the chute. Each rolled billet generates the following bars: First bar - generally set to be cut to the same length as the intermediate bars; Intermediate bars - are set to a length that is a multiple of the commercial length in production; Last bar - its length usually varies depending on the mass of each billet. In some cases, the mass of a billet is not sufficient to complete the last multiple of the commercial size in that bar, thus generating a short bar, smaller than the commercial size in the final cutting stage. This absence is identified by the counting system, which automatically excludes this short bar from the bar count. 9. In this first step, as the bar lengths are recorded by the measuring system, we create a queue of lengths following the sequence of bars that are cut and sent to the Cooling Bed. In step 2 (circled in yellow in Figure 1), when the bar arrives at the braking chute, this is activated to perform the bar braking cycle and make it available to the bed; its length value is removed from the queue (F1) and transferred to position P0. Following this, the queue of... Petition 870250090818, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 7 / 24 4 / 10 values ​​move up in position (F2 -> F1, F3 -> F2, ...). If, during this process, a new cut bar is sent to the bed, its length is deposited in the first empty position in the queue (empty position = 0). 10. In step 3 (circled in yellow in Figure 1), the bar transfer cycle in the Cooling Bed occurs after the braking chute is activated. The bed cycle advances all bars to a position (P1 -> P2, P2 -> P3, ...) to empty position P1, leaving it empty to receive the value P0 at the end of this cycle. At the end of the bed cycle, the system transfers the value of P0 to P1 and resets the value of P0. Position P0 will only be filled again in the next chute cycle, as described in paragraph 9. If the Cooling Bed cycle is activated without a new bar arriving at the braking chute (a situation sometimes necessary for process reasons), position P1 will receive the value 0, meaning it contains no bar. Thus, these positions will not stack bars when they reach the Extractor Car, as they are empty positions. 11. With each bed cycle, the bar length values ​​stored in positions (P1, P2, ...P111) advance electronically along with the physical positions of the bars on the bed until they are stacked on the Extractor Car (position 112). This will transport all the bars accumulated on it to the Roller Path at once, as soon as the Cooling Bed cycle number reaches the standard defined number. 12. Still in step 3 (circled in yellow in figure 1), the calculation of bars per cut occurs. When the Extractor Car rises, transporting the bars to the Roller Path, the system already has information on how many bars have accumulated on the Extractor Car and the initial length of each bar, as it has tracked them from their formation to that point. In this way, the system already has information on how many bars will be at the commercial length and how many bars will be too short in each cut. Petition 870250090818, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 8 / 24 5 / 10 13. In step 4 (circled in yellow in figure 1), the Roller Path is activated and the ends of one side of the bars are aligned on the Shear Beater, thus initiating the cutting of the bars to the commercial size. With each cut, the system reduces the initial length of each bar by 1 commercial length and records the number of bars in that cut C1, C2,... If the residual length of any bar is already less than the commercial length, the system identifies that there is a short bar and does not count that bar in the number of bars for that cut, alerting the operational team to the presence of a short bar in that cut so that it can be removed. 14. Still in step 4 (circled in yellow in figure 1), we track the number of bars per cut, through the Cut C1, C2, etc. queue. The system identifies which cuts were deposited in the Cradle to form the bundle (left shift at the end of the Roller Path) and if there were any cuts discarded for scrap (right shift at the end of the Roller Path). These cuts discarded for scrap are eliminated from the accounting. 15. In step 5 (circled in yellow in Figure 1), the presence sensor identifies the drop of the cut in the beam formation cradle. The system removes the sequential number of bars from that cut from the queue and adds this number to the number of bars already contained in the cradle. Upon completion of beam formation, this sum is the final number of bars in the beam. 16. All the logic for moving the information from the bars described in Figure 1 is also summarized more precisely in the Bar Row of the Chute and in the Monitoring Panel where, in the latter, in the right column we have the sequence of bar lengths on the Cooling Bed preceded by P0 and in the left column, we have the number of bars per cut. In the Extractor Car it is possible to see 3 cuts, in the first cut we will have 114 bars with commercial length, in the second we will already have 3 short bars, that is, only 111 bars counted and in the Petition 870250090818, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 9 / 24 6 / 10 third cut again 3 short bars totaling only 108 bars of commercial size. 17. Summarizing the sequence of information progression throughout the process performed by the bar counting system, we have the table below (Table 1): Table 1 - Progression of information on length and number of bars. Step WHEN WHAT 1 When a new bar length value appears Receive the length of the cut bar sent to the Cooling Bed and record the received length in the form of a queue (Bar queue in the chute) since there may be 2, 3 or more lengths accumulated before being deposited in the Cooling Bed. This number depends on the production rate and the structure of the Rolling Mill. 2 When activating the Braking Chute cycle. Transfer the length value stored in the first position of the Bar queue in the chute (F1) to position P0 and move the remaining values ​​up the queue. 3 When activating the Cooling Bed cycle Transport, moving all the bars that are on the Cooling Bed laterally, leaving position P1 empty and stacking the length value from position P111 on the Extractor Car (position P112) at the other end. Next, transfer the length value stored in P0 to P1 and reset the value of P0 to zero.Upon completion of the programmed number of Transport the lengths of the bars accumulated in the Extractor Car (position P112) to the Roller Path. Petition 870250090818, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 10 / 24 7 / 10 Cooling Bed Cycles 4 When activating the Final Shear cut. Reduce all lengths remaining before the Final Shear to a commercial length and record the number of bars in that cut (C1, C2,...). If any length of the cut bars is below the commercial length, it is identified as a short bar and will not be counted in the number of bars for that cut. The system will alert the operating team that there is a short bar in that cut so that the operation can physically remove it. When activating the cut to be sent to the bundle cradle. Accumulate the number of bars from each cut in the cut queue (C1, C2,...). This queue tracks the bar number information from the Final Shear to the bundle cradle. 5 When activating the bar drop sensor in the bundle cradle. Add the number of bars from that cut that activated the drop sensor to the number of bars already deposited in the cradle until the bundle is completed. 18. In the hot-rolled bar manufacturing process, random bar losses can occur due to inconsistencies in equipment, adjustments, procedures, etc. When these events happen, we say that a bar has been scrapped, and it is purged as process waste. The solution proposed here uses process signals to identify the emergence of bars and their length, recording this information and managing their tracking until they are deposited in the bundle. Therefore, if a bar is lost during tracking due to any event, this loss needs to be recorded in the system, observing the characteristics of the 3 regions where these events occur. Petition 870250090818, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 11 / 24 8 / 10 can alter the number of bars managed in the system. Recording the loss is not a difficult task for the team, as these loss events naturally cause the process to stop for the removal of the damaged bar. The record is made by the operational team through the Loss Interface (figure 2). 19. Region 1 (circled in orange in Figure 2) is the Cooling Bed region. In this region, it is necessary to indicate the position in the bed where the lost bar was deposited - P1, P2, P3, ... (as seen in step 3 of Figure 1) and the number of lost bars in that position, because in multi-slit manufacturing processes we can have 2, 3 or more bars that are produced simultaneously and deposited in the same position in the Cooling Bed. The multi-slit manufacturing process is when, during rolling, the bar is separated into 2, 3 or more bars to be formed simultaneously and proceed in parallel to the Cooling Bed. 20. Region 2 (circled in orange in Figure 2) is the Roller Path region, where the bars are transported by means of rotating rollers. In this region, we only record the number of damaged bars, and it is assumed that the lost bars would not result in a short bar when cut to commercial lengths. The possibility of recording the exact length of the lost bar remains open, but for the sake of simplifying the record, it is considered that the removed bar was complete and would not result in a short bar. 21. Region 3 (circled in orange in Figure 2) is the region immediately after the Final Shear cut, meaning the bars are already cut to commercial length. Therefore, we only record the number of bars lost, and this is sufficient for accurate accounting of the number of bars per cut. The loss recorded in each of these regions will be accounted for using a counting system, reducing the number of bars previously recorded to reflect the actual number of bars remaining. Petition 870250090818, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 12 / 24 9 / 10 22. Figure 2 also shows the system configuration information input. This includes the commercial length being produced (indicated by the 5 circled in orange) and the number of bars produced simultaneously - in the case of multi-slit, this number can be 2, 3 or more (indicated by the 4 circled in orange). 23. Examples of embodiments of the invention. Practical scenario: A steel billet measuring 3.9 m in length and a square cross-section of 130 mm x 130 mm, after being rolled into a 16 mm diameter bar, generates a single bar of ~327.9 meters; In a 50-meter-long Cooling Bed (for example), we normally cut 36.3 m bars to be sent to the Cooling Bed, which would generate 9 bars of 36.3 m, with the last bar being 37.5 m. They are cut for the Bed to a length close to 36 m because these bars will be cut in the Final Shear into 3 cuts of 12 m, which is one of the commercial lengths; In the scenario above, if the billet length were to fluctuate to 3.85m, 9 bars would also be produced for the Cooling Bed, with the first and intermediate bars having a length of 36.3m and the last bar having a length of 33.3m.This last bar, when cut to commercial length, will generate 2 good 12m bars and the third will be a short bar of ~9.4m which is identified by the counting system proposed here and is not counted in the number of bars in that cut. The system will alert the operating team to the presence of the short bar so that it can be physically removed. The system tracks each cut, automatically excludes bars shorter than 12m, adjusts the count, and alerts the team to remove the short bar. In the end, the exact number of bars is known in each bundle, even with recorded accidental losses. 24. In the schematic scenario of Figure 3, it is possible to have another visualization of the behavior of the production process in relation to the number of bars generated per billet that produce short bars, that is, absences of complete bars in the commercial length cut. The explanation of each point numbered in the figure follows: 1 - Production of bars and Petition 870250090818, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, p. 13 / 24 1. 10 / 10 sent for cutting at the Initial Shear in lengths that are multiples of the commercial length; 2. Accumulation of bars on the Extractor Car to be transferred to the Roller Path. This number of bars is known because, with each cycle of the Cooling Bed, the length information that was in position P111 is added to the stacking of the Extractor Car. It is possible to see that the last bar of each billet is not completing the third 12-meter cut, therefore this third cut will have missing bars with commercial length (short bars); 3. The bars on the Roller Path are aligned on the beater and cut at the Final Shear; 4. Several cuts of bars already at the commercial size are gathered to form the bundle.Each cut has a known number of bars, as they are equal to the cycles of the Cooling Bed in the accumulation at point 2 before transfer to the Roller Path, excluding the short bars from the third cut (we consider here to be a single-bar-per-position product and not multi-slit). The sum of the number of bars from the cuts equals the total number of bars in the bundle. Description of the drawings Figure 1 - Diagram of the bar counting logic: Describes the shift in length value of each bar throughout the production cycle, from its shaping to its placement in the bundle. Figure 2 - System Adjustment Interface (Record of declared losses and Settings): Screen available for the operational team to report any losses of bars, the commercial length in production and the number of simultaneous bars (Multi-slit or not). Figure 3 - Schematic scenario of production and cutting of rolled bars: Demonstrates the sequential steps of the rolled bar production flow that are monitored by the electronic bar counting system. Petition 870250090818, dated 06 / 10 / 2025, page 14 / 24

Claims

1 / 2 CLAIMS 1. A method for counting bars in a bundle of rolled bars, characterized by using production process data to identify the bars and their respective lengths, processing this information without the need for additional equipment, automatically identifying short bars during commercial length cutting, excluding them from the count and alerting the team to remove them, and allowing manual insertion of accidental bar losses during the process; 2. Method for counting bars in a bundle of rolled bars according to claim 1, characterized by employing a specific algorithm in the PLC to process data and identify bars and lengths; 3. Method for counting bars in a bundle of rolled bars according to claim 1, characterized by complete and uninterrupted tracking of the bars from their forming to their inclusion in the bundle; 4. Method for counting bars in a bundle of rolled bars according to claim 1, characterized by operating independently of the type of bar measuring system used by the rolling mill; 5. Method for counting bars in a bundle of rolled bars according to claim 1, characterized by the inclusion of an interface for the operator to record accidental losses; Petition 870250108616, dated 11 / 27 / 2025, page 4 / 10 2 / 2 6. Method for counting bars in a bundle of rolled bars according to claim 1, characterized by continuous monitoring of the length and position of the bars at all stages, without loss of control or uncertainty; 7. Method for counting bars in a bundle of rolled bars according to claim 1, characterized by the ability to count the bars in the bundle without the need to insert extra equipment for this purpose. Petition 870250108616, dated 11 / 27 / 2025, page 5 / 10

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