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Patent 2509044 Summary

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Claims and Abstract availability

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(12) Patent: (11) CA 2509044
(54) English Title: HOT ROLLING METHOD AND EQUIPMENT
(54) French Title: PROCEDE ET EQUIPEMENT DE LAMINAGE A CHAUD
Status: Expired
Bibliographic Data
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC):
  • B21B 39/00 (2006.01)
(72) Inventors :
  • ISOYAMA, SHIGERU (Japan)
  • HIRABAYASHI, TAKESHI (Japan)
  • YAMASAKI, TAKAHIRO (Japan)
  • KAGAWA, TAKUSHI (Japan)
  • NAGAI, KAZUNORI (Japan)
  • ISHIBASHI, NAOHIKO (Japan)
  • OKAI, TAKASHI (Japan)
(73) Owners :
  • MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD. (Japan)
  • JFE STEEL CORPORATION (Japan)
(71) Applicants :
  • MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD. (Japan)
  • JFE STEEL CORPORATION (Japan)
(74) Agent: ROBIC
(74) Associate agent:
(45) Issued: 2006-11-14
(22) Filed Date: 1999-06-22
(41) Open to Public Inspection: 2000-12-28
Examination requested: 2005-06-27
Availability of licence: N/A
(25) Language of filing: English

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): No

(30) Application Priority Data: None

Abstracts

English Abstract

A hot rolling method comprising controlling a process, which includes the welding, rolling and take-up of materials, in such a manner that the processing of both a preceding material and a following material finishes at a preset speed, by predictively calculating on the assumption that this process is evaluated by a preset speed pattern used after the materials have been extracted from a heating furnace the time required to carry out the process with respect to both the preceding material and following material, and extracting the following material from the heating furnace at the time which permits the following material to overtake the preceding material in a target position on a hot rolling line; and controlling a transfer speed of the following material in accordance with a position of a tail end of the preceding material and a speed of the same material in a section just before overtaking so as to eliminate a space between the tail end of the receding material and a front end of the following material, whereby the welding of the materials in a traveling zone of a welding machine is normally completed by setting three parts, i.e. the tail end of the preceding material, front end of the following material and movable welding machine so that they have positional relation suitable for the welding of the materials in the target position on the hot rolling line.


French Abstract

Procédé de laminage à chaud comprenant un contrôle de processus qui consiste en un soudage, un laminage et un tirage de matériaux, de sorte que le traitement d'un matériau précédent et le traitement d'un matériau suivant se terminent à une vitesse prédéfinie, en effectuant un calcul prédictif fondé sur la supposition que ledit processus est évalué au moyen d'un modèle de vitesses préétabli utilisé après que les matériaux aient été extraits d'un four de réchauffage pendant un laps de temps suffisant pour mettre en ouvre le processus relativement à la fois au matériau précédent et au matériau suivant, et en extrayant le matériau suivant du four de réchauffage à un instant qui permet au matériau suivant de dépasser le matériau précédent dans une position cible sur une ligne de laminage à chaud ; et en une régulation de la vitesse de transfert du matériau suivant en fonction d'une position d'une extrémité arrière du matériau précédent et d'une vitesse dudit matériau dans une section située juste à l'avant de la zone de dépassement de manière à supprimer l'espace entre l'extrémité arrière du matériau précédent et une extrémité avant du matériau suivant, dans lequel le soudage des matériaux dans une zone mobile d'une machine de soudage est normalement terminé en définissant trois parties, à savoir l'extrémité arrière du matériau précédent, l'extrémité avant du matériau suivant et la machine de soudage mobile de sorte que les positions de ces parties soient en relation adaptée au soudage des matériaux dans la position cible sur la ligne de laminage à chaud.

Claims

Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.





WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. Hot rolling equipment which joins a tail edge of a preceding
material and a leading edge of a following material to each other during
traveling
by using a movable joining apparatus after hot rough rolling, and feeds the
materials to a finish rolling mill to roll the same, characterized in that~
an image pickup device, which images the tail edge of the preceding
material, the leading edge of the following material and a determined point in
the
joining apparatus on an image processing screen, is provided on the joining
apparatus, so that distance between the tail edge of the preceding material
and
the leading edge of the following material is controlled by using images
thereof.

50

Description

Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.


CA 02509044 2006-04-05
HOT ROLLING METHOD AND EQUIPMENT
The present application is a divisional application of application CA
2,337,168 filed June 22, 1999.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a hot rolling
method and equipment. More particularly, it relates to
a hot rolling method and equipment which are suitable
for being used when rolling is performed by joining the
tail edge of a preceding material and the leading edge
of a following material to each other during traveling
and supplying the materials to a rolling mill
continuously, and which are capable of stably joining
the preceding material and the following material to
each other during traveling.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventionally, on a hot rolling line, a plurality
of slabs to be rolled have been heated in advance, and
after thew.completion of heating, the slabs are rough
rolled and finish rolled one after another to give~a hot
rolled plates a desired thicknesses. With this method,
the line is sometimes stopped by poor biting of rolled
material in finish rolling. Also the yield greatly
decreases because of odd shapes of the leading edge and
tail edge of the rolled materials. For this reason, in
recent years, a rolling method has been used in which
1

' CA 02509044 1999-06-22
the tail edge of a preceding metal block and the leading
edge of a following metal block are joined to each other
during traveling and the joined material is supplied to
a finish rolling mill continuously.
For example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication
No. 7-1008 relating to a joining method of plates with
continuous rolling equipment has disclosed a joining
method: In this joining method, to start with, a
distance between the tail edge portion of a preceding
plate and the leading edge portion of a following plate
is made zero by'colliding the opposing faces with each
other so as to form a required distance accurately and
easily, to improve the heating performance of the
opposing faces and to obtain a fine joined portion, and
then either the preceding plate or the following plate
is moved to form the distance between the plate edge
faces. Subsequently, an alternating magnetic flux is
applied to the edge portion of those plates in the
thickness direction, an eddy current is induced in the
respective portions to heat them by Joule heat, and the
edge portion of those plates is pushed to each other by
pressurizing means to complete joining.
Also, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-
226320 has disclosed a technique in which when to
extract slabs from heating furnaces are controlled in
order that plates after rough rolling are joined
accurately at a predetermined position and rolled
2

CA 02509044 2006-04-05
continuously.
Further, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No.
7-188785 relating to a hot rolling method in which
plates are not joined has disclosed a method of
controlling extraction pitches from heating furnaces
properly. In this method, the extraction pitches are
controlled to appropriate values so that the temperature
of heated materials b-e kept the same in spite~of
unexpected change of the condition of rolling line and a
sudden change of furnace temperature is restrained:
However; the above-described conventional methods
are not sufficient for making a following metal block
catch up with a preceding metal block and for joining
each other during traveling by a movable joining
apparatus.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is, on a hot
rolling line, to make following metal block catch up
with preceding one and to obtain stable joining.
According to the present invention, there is provided a hot rolling
equipment which joins a tail edge of a preceding material and a leading edge
of
a following material to each other during traveling by using a movable joining
apparatus after hot rough rolling, and feeds the materials to a finish rolling
mill to
roll the same, characterized in that
an image pickup device, which images the tail edge of the preceding
material, the leading edge of the following material and
a determined point in the joining apparatus,
3

CA 02509044 2006-04-05
on an image processing screen is provided on the joining apparatus, so
that distance between the tail edge of the preceding material and the leading
edge of the following material is controlled by using images thereof.
To achie e~the above object,~the present invention
provides a hot rolling method in which the tail edge of
a preceding material and the leading edge of a following
material are joined to each other during traveling by a
movable joining apparatus after hot rough rolling, and
the joined materials are fed to a finish rolling mill to
3a
be rolled, characterized in~that the speed of the

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
following material is controlled according to an actual position of the tail
edge of
the preceding material so that a distance between the tail edge of the
preceding
material and the leading edge of the following material becomes a desired
value,
whereby the tail edge of the preceding material and the leading edge of the
following material are joined to each other during traveling.
Also, in the hot rolling method, an (aiming)
distance between the tail edge of the preceding material
and the leading edge of the following material is
determined in advance as a function of at least the
moving tail edge position of the preceding material, the
actual tail edge-position of the preceding material is
measured~,~the (aiming) distance between the tail edge of
the preceding material and the leading edge of the-
following material is determined from the measured tail
edge position of the preceding material and the function,
and the (actual) position of the leading edge of the
following material.is controlled by the speed of the
following material so as to obtain the distance, whereby
the leading edge of the following material approaches
and joins the tail edge of the preceding material while
the preceding material is traveling.
Also, in the hot rolling method, the speed of the
following material is controlled according to the
position of the tail edge of the preceding material so
that a distance between the tail edge of the preceding
4

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
material and the leading edge of the following material
become a desired value, and the traveling speed of the
joining apparatus is controlled so that a determined
point in the moving joining apparatus coincide with the
tail edge of the preceding material, whereby the leading
edge of the following material approaches and joins the
tail edge of the preceding maternal while the preceding
material is traveling.
Also, in the hot rolling method, a distance between
the tail edge of the preceding material and the leading
edge of the following material is determined in advance
as a function of the moving tail edge position of the
preceding material, the actual tail edge position of the
preceding material is measured, the aiming distance
I5 between the tail edge of the preceding material and the
leading edge of the following material is determined
from the~measured tail edge position of the preceding
material and the function, and the actual position of
the leading edge of the following material is controlled
by the speed of the following material so as to obtain
the distance, and the traveling speed of the joining
apparatus is controlled so that determined point in the
moving joining apparatus coincide with the tail edge of
the preceding material, whereby the leading edge of the
following material approaches and joins the tail edge of
the preceding material while the preceding material is
traveling.
5

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
Further, when the determined point in the joining
apparatus coincides with the tail edge of the preceding
material, the tail edge of the preceding material is
restrained by restraint means, and after the restraint
of the preceding material is completed, the speed of the
following material is increased so that the following
material be brought into contact with the tail edge of
the preceding material.
Further, when the determined point in the joining
apparatus coincides with the tail edge of the preceding
material, the tail edge of the preceding materials
restrained by restraint means, and when the distance
between the tail edge of the preceding material and the
leading edge of the following material becomes a
predetermined value or less, the leading edge of the
following material is restrained by the restraint means.
Further, after the restraint of the tail edge of
the preceding material and the leading edge of the
following material is completed, the tail edge of the
preceding material and the leading edge of the following
material are closed and brought into contact with each
other until a predetermined load occurs.
Further, after the tail edge of the preceding
material and the leading edge of the following material
are closed and brought into contact with each other,
they are separated and a predetermined distance is given.
Further, after the restraint of the tail edge of
6


CA 02509044 1999-06-22
the preceding material is completed, the speed control
of the joining apparatus is changed over to the speed
control for making a tension of the preceding material a
desired value.
Further, an image pickup device is provided on the
joining apparatus so that the tail edge position of the
preceding material be detected by the image pickup
device.
Further, an image pickup device is provided on the
joining apparatus so that both of the tail edge position
of the preceding material and the leading edge position
of the following material be detected by the image
pickup device.
Also, the present invention provides hot rolling
equipment which joins the tail edge of a preceding
material.and the leading edge of a following material to
each other during traveling by using a movable joining
apparatus after hot rough rolling, and feeds the
materials to a finish rolling mill to roll the same,
characterized in that an image pickup device, which can
image both of the tail edge of. the preceding material
and the leading edge of the following material, is
provided on the joining apparatus.
It is preferable that a preparatory period of time
from when the tail edge of the preceding material is cut
to when the leading edge of the following material is
cut be taken so as to provide a distance between the
7

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
tail edge of the preceding material and the leading edge
of the following material.
Also, it is preferable that at the starting
position of the joining apparatus, the distance between
the tail edge of the preceding material and the leading
edge of the following material have a determined value
or less.
Also, the positions of the tail edge of the
preceding material and the leading edge of the following
material may be corrected according to the detection
result of the image pickup device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a process view showing a configuration of
a continuous hot rolling line to which a first
embodiment of the present invention is applied;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of a
movable joining apparatus used in the embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a construction of a
position/speed detector used in the embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the first half of
processing procedure in the first embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the second half of
processing procedure in the first embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the
8

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
leading edge of a following material catches up with the
tail edge of a preceding material in the first
embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a visual
field image of an image pickup device provided on an
upper portion of the joining apparatus in accordance
with the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a process view showing a configuration of
a continuous hot rolling line to which a second
embodiment of the present invention is applied;
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which the
leading edge of a following material catches up with the
tail edge of a preceding material in the second
embodiment;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing another example
of a movable joining apparatus used in the embodiment of
the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of
processing procedure in accordance with the present
invention;
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing positions on the line
and the limitation of speed variable range of each
section.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the
leading edge of a following material catches up with the
tail edge of a preceding material by catch-up control of
the present invention;
9

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
FIG. I4 is a diagram showing a change in
relationship between the tail edge of a preceding
material and the leading edge of a following material
with respect to the position of the tail edge of the
preceding material on the line in the catch-up control
of the present invention;
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a state of catch-up
control of the following material in a case where the
traveling speed level of the tail edge of the preceding
material is changed;
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state of catch-up
control of the leading edge of the following material in
a case where the traveling speed of the tail edge of the
preceding material is changed halfway;
FIG. 17 is a process view showing a state in which
a crop cutting apparatus is provided to form the tail
edge of a preceding material and the leading edge of a
following material in the catch-up control of the
present invention;
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a state in which the
leading edge of a following material catches up with the
tail edge of a preceding material in FIG. 17;
FIG. 19 is a diagram for illustrating a calculation
method in FIG. 17;
FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a modified example of
FIG. 19; and
FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a configuration

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
of a control unit for carrying out catch-up control of
the present invention.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE TNVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will now be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, a hot rolling line to which a
first embodiment of the present invention is applied
comprises a heating furnace 20 for heating metal blocks,
a rough rolling mill 22 of, for example, three stands of
R1 to R3 for rough rolling metal blocks heated by the
heating furnace 20, a movable joining apparatus 24 for
joining the tail edge of a preceding metal block (also
referred to as a preceding material) 10 to the leading
edge of a following metal block (also referred to as a
following material) 12 during traveling, a finish
rolling mill (hot strip mill) 26 of, for example, six
stands of FI to F6 for hot finish rolling a metal block
joined by the joining apparatus 24, a strip cutting
apparatus 28 for cutting a strip rolled by the finish
rolling mill 26 to a length suitable for coiling, and a
coiler 30 for coiling a strip cut by the strip cutting
apparatus 28.
The joining apparatus 24 reciprocates within the
traveling stroke S (denotes a traveling range of the
determined point in the joining apparatus) on rails 24R,
and is adapted to perform joining when it runs from the
11

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
left to the right in FIG. 1. The starting position of
the joining apparatus 24 is preferably the aiming
position (point) T where the leading edge of a following
metal block 12 catches up with the tail edge of a
preceding metal block 10. Further, the configuration is
such that even if the point where the catching up is
actually completed is somewhat deviated from the: aiming
point, the deviation amount falls in a catch-up range Z
at most. The joining operation is performed in the
joint.zone C, which is a zone obtained by excluding a
traveling zone required from the start of catching up to
the completion thereof from the traveling stroke S of
the joining apparatus 24.
As shown in FIG. 2 in detail, for example, the
joining apparatus 24 is provided with clamps 64 and 66
for holding metal blocks vertically by being pushed by
clamp cylinders 60, 62, which are fluid pressure
cylinders of liquid pressure or air pressure, and an
upset cylinder 68, which is a fluid pressure cylinder
for moving the entrance-side clamp 66 on the side of the
following metal block 12 in the traveling direction.
In the present invention, there are further
provided, at a predetermined point, position/speed
detectors 40 and 42 for detecting the position and speed
of metal blocks, a metal detector 44 for optically
detecting the presence of a metal block by using, for
example, a laser beam, and a one -dimensional or two-
12

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
dimensional image pickup device (for example, a CCD
camera) for imaging a planar shape of metal blocks from
the upside of the metal block.
As shown in FIG. 3 in detail, for example, each of
the position/speed detectors 40, 42 comprises a
measurement roll 70 which is pushed on the surf ace of a
metal block 10 as shown by the arrow mark A and rotates
according to the traveling amount of the metal block 10,
an arm 72 for holding the measurement roll 70, a fluid
pressure cylinder (for example, an air cylinder) 74 for
pushing the measurement roll 70 on the surface of the
metal block 10 by pulling down the arm 72 to the lower
side in FIG. 3, and a base 76, and is adapted to output
pulse data according to the rotation of the measurement
roll 70 .
The metal detector 44 is disposed between the rough
rolling mill 22 and the joining apparatus 24, and the
position/speed detector 40 is disposed between the rough
rolling mill 22 and the joining apparatus 24 and on the
upstream side of the.metal detector 44. The
position/speed detector 42 is disposed between the
joining apparatus 24 and the finish rolling mill 26.
The image pickup device 46 is disposed on the joining
apparatus 24. The image pickup device 46, which moves
together with the joining apparatus 24, is disposed at a
point above on the joining apparatus 24, where the tail
edge portion of the preceding metal block 10 and the
13

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
leading edge of the following metal block 12 can be
imaged during joining.
More preferably, a metal detector 48 for optically
detecting the presence of a metal block by using, for
example, a laser beam is provided on the joining
apparatus 24. The metal detector 48 moves together with
the joining apparatus 24, and is disposed at a
predetermined point of the upstream side on the joining
apparatus 24 (for example, on the 1.2 meter upstream
side from the determined position).
As a metal detector 44, 48, for example, a hot
metal detector (HMD) which detects a metal block by
using heat or light emitted from hot metal blocks, or a
cold metal.detector (CMD) using a laser beam '
emission/reception is used. As the metal detector 44,
48, the CMD of a laser beam type is preferable in order
to increase the detection speed of the leading and tail
edges of metal blocks. The ordinary HMD has some spread
of visual field angle because it operates in the
principle that it detects infrared rays emitted from a
hot metal block. Contrarily, regarding the laser beam
type CMD, the detector itself emits a laser beam having
no spread of angle, and it detects the passage of the
leading and tail edges of metal blocks by the fact that
the beam is shut out and does not come to the receiver
side. Therefore, the detector of this type has high
detection accuracy.
14

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
Usable metal detector can be a back light type, an
emitting light detecting type such as a HMD, a light
cutting type, and other light detection types, or a
thermometer type etc. other than the laser beam type.
Also, the installation point is not limited on the truck
or on the ground.
The output of the image pickup device 46 is
inputted to an calculating and control unit 50 through
an image processing device 60 together with the outputs
of the position/speed detectors 40 and 42 and the metal
detectors 44 and 48.
When a following metal block catches up with and
joins a preceding metal block during traveling, the
rotational speed of motors for table rollers, the
traveling speed of the following material,.the
rotational speed of a motor for traveling the joining
apparatus 24, and the speed of the joining apparatus Z4
are controlled by the output of an calculating and
control unit, which is not shown in Fig. 1.
Also, as described. in detail later, the signals
from the metal detectors 44 and 48 and.the image pickup
device 46 disposed at determined points in the equipment
train shown in FIG. 1 are inputted in the image
processing device 60 and the calculating and control
unit 50, by which the rotational amount of the table
roller and the tracking of the preceding material and
the following material are corrected by the

,. CA 02509044 1999-06-22
position/speed detectors 40 and 42.
The following is a description of the timing of
extraction from the heating furnace 20.
It is assumed that the traveling speed, weight,
thickness schedule, etc. of the preceding metal block 10
have already been known, and the traveling speeds of the
preceding metal block 10 and the following~metal block
12 have been known in advance at the time long before
the traveling control is actually carried out, for
example, before both of the preceding metal block 10 and
the following metal block 12 are extracted from the
heating furnace 20. If not only the speed of the
following metal block 12 at the time when the following
metal block 12 catches up with the preceding metal block
10, but also the below listed data of the preceding
metal block 10 and the following metal block 12 about
i) traveling speed pattern from the extraction from
the heating furnace to the completion of catching up,
ii) thickness schedule in rough rolling,
iii) width schedule in rough rolling, and
iv) weight of metal block (in the case where at least
one of the rough rolling mills 22 is reversible)
have been known in advance, the time when the tail edge
of the preceding metal block 10 reaches the aiming
catch-up point T and the period of time required for the
following metal block 12 to catch up with the tail edge
of the preceding metal block 10 after it is extracted
16

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
from the heating furnace 20 become known.
For example, a required time difference tFceP
(second) at the time of extraction from the heating
furnace for the leading edge of the following metal
block to catch up with the tail edge of the preceding
metal block can be calculated by the following equation.
tFceP = tFceP(preceding) - tFceP(following) ... (1)
where, tFceP(preceding) is the time (second) required
for the tail edge of the preceding metal block to reach
the aiming catch-up point after it is extracted from the
heating furnace, and tFceP(following) is the time
(second) required for the leading edge of the following
metal block to reach the aiming catch-up point after it
is extracted from the heating furnace.
Therefore, the following metal block 12 is
extracted from the heating furnace 20 at the time
obtained by reverse calculation of period of time from
the extraction of the following metal block 12 to the
catch-up time. In the present invention, it is
preferable to extract metal blocks at the above-
described extraction pitch, but is might not be limited
this way.
In comparison with the result of predictive
calculation of each process executed before the
extraction from the heating furnace, the actual period
of time of traveling might be different within several
seconds at most when the joining operation is actually
17

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
performed. This error is caused by the f act that the
actual traveling speed has an error with respect to the
prediction of the traveling speed of metal blocks.
The factors causing the deviation of traveling
speed of the preceding metal block from the prediction
seem to include manual interventions by operators in the
successive in finish rolling, the difference between the
actual and the predicted values of rolling backward slip
at the first stand F1 of the finish rolling mill, and
the acceleration and deceleration of traveling speed
caused by thickness change during rolling.
Similarly, the factors causing the deviation of
traveling speed of the following metal block from the
prediction seem to include the difference between the
actual and the predicted values of rolling forward slip
in rough rolling, in the case where at least one of the
rough rolling mills is reversible, the difference
between the actual and the predicted values of metal
block length caused by thermal expansion or the
measurement error of weight, and the difference between
the actual and the predicted values of idle time between
passes.
Considering the degree of deviation of catch-up
position (catch-up range Z in FIG. 1) caused by these
factors, the traveling stroke S of the joining apparatus
24 should be designed to be long enough to allow the
error. If the resultant error is found during the
18

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
actual process, the traveling speed of the following
metal block might be accelerated or decelerated so that
the error be made up for, by which the catch-up point on
the line can be controlled the same.
Also, by introducing the above-described control
before the line is constructed, how long the length of
the aiming catch-up range Z can be shortened is
estimated in advance. Thereby, the line length can be
designed to be short, and the construction cost can be
reduced.
Now, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a procedure for
joining metal blocks extracted at extraction pitches,
for example, determined by the above-described method
will be described in detail.
First, after the tracking of the following material
started (Step 1000),-the speed of the following material
12 is controlled (Step 1010) so that the distance
between the tail edge lOB of the preceding material and
the leading edge 12A of the following material become
the aiming distance g until both of the tail edge of the
preceding material (Step 1020) and the leading edge of
the following material (Step 1030) are cut by the crop
cutting apparatus described later.
After the leading edge 12A of the following
material is cut, the speed of the following material 12
is controlled so that the desired distance (gap) g or a
constant distance g1 be obtained until restraint of the
19

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
tail edge lOB of the preceding material is completed by
restraint means (clamp 64) of the joining apparatus 24
(Steps 1040, 1050 and 1060).
On the other hand, after the tail edge lOB of the
preceding material is cut and the tail edge passes
through a position at which the joining apparatus 24 is
to start (Step 1100), the joining apparatus 24 starts
(Step 1110), and the speed is raised to a predetermined
value (Steps 1120 and 1130).
The speed of the joining apparatus 24 is controlled
so that the determined point in the joining apparatus 24
coincide with the tail edge slob of the preceding
material (Step 1140). When the determined point in the
joining apparatus 24 coincides with the tail edge 10B of
the preceding material (Step 1150), the restraint means
(clamp 64) of the joining apparatus 24 starts to clamp
the tail edge lOB of the preceding material (Step 1160).
The tail edge positioning control of the joining
apparatus is continued until the clamping of the tail
edge lOB of the preceding material is completed. After
the clamping is completed (Step 1170), the speed control
of the joining apparatus 24 is changed over to the
control for making the tension of the preceding material
10 positioned between the joining apparatus 24 and the
finish rolling mill 26 a desired value (Step 1180).
Also, after the clamping of the tail edge lOB of
the preceding material is completed (Step 1170), the

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
speed of the following material I2 is made faster than
the speed of the preceding material 10 to decrease the
distance between the tail edge lOB of the preceding
material and the leading edge 12A of the following
material (Step 1200).
When the distance between the tail edge lOB of the
preceding material and the leading edge 12A of the
following material becomes g2 (< g1) or less (Step 1210),
the restraint means (clamp 66) of the joining apparatus
24 starts to clamp the leading edge 12A of the
following material (Step 1220).
After the clamping of the leading edge 12A of the
following material is completed (Step 1230), the speed
of the following material 12 is made the same as the
speed of the preceding material 10, and the two
materials travel (Step 1240).
While the following material 12 travels at the same
speed as that of the preceding material 10, the distance
is closed until a predetermined load occurs by the upset
cylinder 68 (Step 1250). Subsequently, the distance is
opened to a distance g3 suitable for heating and joining
(Step 1260).
After the heating and joining are completed (Step
1270), both of the clamps for the tail edge lOB of the
preceding material and the leading edge 12A of the
following material are released (Step 1280). The speed
control (speed control for making the tension of the
21

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
preceding material 10 positioned between the joining
apparatus 24 and the finish rolling mill 26 a desired
value) is finished, and the joining apparatus 24 returns
to the starting position from a position to which the
apparatus has. moved while the heating and joining are
performed (Step 1290).
By repeating the above procedure, rolled materials
are supplied to the finish rolling mill 26 continuously.
FIG. 6 schematically shows the positions on the
line and the time required for reaching each position,
and an example of catch-up traveling pattern. In FIG. 6,
the solid line B indicates the path of the tail edge lOB
of the preceding material, the broken line C indicates
the path of the leading edge 12A of the following
material, the reference character tRl on the ordinate
indicates the rolling time at the first stand R1 of the
rough rolling mill, tRlR2 indicates the time elapsing
from when the rolling at the R1 stand finishes to when
the rolling starts at the second stand R2 of the rough
rolling mill, tR2 indicates the rolling time at the
second stand R2 of the rough rolling mill, tR3R2
indicates the time elapsing from when the rolling
finishes at the second stand R2 of the rough rolling
mill to when the rolling at the R3 stand finishes, tR3F1
indicates the time elapsing from when the rolling at the
R3 stand finishes to when the rolling at the first stand
F1 of the finish rolling mill starts, and tFIP indicates
22

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
the time required for the leading edge of the following
material 12 to catch up with the tail edge of the
preceding material 10 after the F1 stand starts to roll
the leading edge of the preceding material 10. A state
can occur in which one metal block is rolled
simultaneously at the second stand R2 and the third
stand R3 of the rough rolling mill.
Normally, the tracking of traveling hot rolled
materials is performed by the rotational amount of the
table roller, the contact type measurement roll 70, or a
non-contact type speedometer (for example, using the
laser Doppler effect). However, these have an error, so
the material tracking is generally corrected by the
metal detector such as a HMD or a CMD disposed on the
line .
However, since the positional relationship between
the joining apparatus 24 and the material edges is
important, the material tracking requires a high
accuracy. The reason for this is that the poor tracking
causes poor adjustments of materials in the joining
apparatus and for example in the induction heating
system, the density of current flowing in the preceding
material and the following material does not become
equal, and also for example in laser welding, the
misalignment of laser beam position leads to poor
welding. Concerning the position accuracy, the relative
positional relationship between the tail edge of the
23

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
preceding material and the determined position of the
joining apparatus is especially important. If the tail
edge of the preceding material can be clamped exactly,
it is necessary that the following material is simply
pushed on the tail edge of the preceding material.
Even if the correction is made by the output of the
metal detector, the dispositions of the metal detectors
are regulated mechanically, and the correction cannot be
made always during the traveling of the joining
apparatus. Therefore, even during the adjustment of the
joining apparatus with the tail edge of the preceding
material performed while the joining apparatus 24 is
traveling, the tracking deviates little by little. For
this reason, the image pickup device 46, which has a
visual field covering front and rear side of.the
determined point T of the joining apparatus 24, is
disposed on the joining apparatus 24 so that the
relative position with respect to the determined point T
be detected by the image processing device 50, and the
correction control is carried out to make a
misadjustment zero. Thereby, the accuracy of adjustment
between the determined point T of the joining apparatus
24 and the tail edge position of the preceding material
is maintained. Needless to say, the error of relative
position can be controlled within an allowable range.
It is ideal that at the time when the joining
apparatus completes its acceleration the adjustment of
24

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
the tail edge of the preceding material with the
determined point in the joining apparatus 24 coincides
for shortening the running zone of the joining apparatus
24. Thereupon, the material tracking before the
starting of the joining apparatus 24 is also important.
However, the visual field of the image pickup device 46
cannot be made wider than its resolution allows, so when
to start the joining apparatus 24 can be before the tail
edge of the preceding material enters the visual field
of the image pickup device 46. Therefore, the metal
detector 48 can be disposed on the entrance side of the
position where the joining apparatus 24 starts so that
the tail edge position of the preceding material be
corrected by the passage of the metal detector 48, and
the start command for the joining apparatus 24 is given.
Needless to say, the metal detector 44 fixed on the
ground also can correct the tracking.
The metal detector 48 is preferably provided on the
joining apparatus 24 in the vicinity of the image pickup
device 46, but it can also be provided on the ground.
Also, the metal detector 48 can correct the tracking of
the leading edge of the following material.
In making the tracking correction, using the image
taken by image pickup device 46, the presence of a metal
block is detected by the light emitted from the metal
block (light is emitted because of hot steel) through
each finely divided fine pixels as shown in FIG. 7. If

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
the determined point in the joining apparatus 24 on the
line, the determined point in the joining apparatus 24,
and the determined point of the visual field image of
the image pickup device 46 have been determined in
advance, by judging the number of pixels that detect
light in the traveling direction from the right end of
the image processing screen, for example, as shown in
FIG. 7, the tail edge position of the preceding material
can be found. Also, by summing up the length of one
10 pixel in the traveling direction for all pixels that
does not detect light, the leading edge position of the
following material 12 and the distance g between both
materials can be calculated.
In running control of the joining apparatus 24, the
tail edge position of the preceding.metal block 10 is
detected by the visual field image taken by the image
pickup device 46, and the joining apparatus 24 is
controlled so that the determined point of the visual
field image (for example, the determined point of the
visual field image caused to coincide with the
determined point in the joining apparatus 24) coincide
with the tail edge position of the preceding metal block
10. For example, in the case of the induction heating
system, the determined point in the joining apparatus 24
should be set at the center of the inductor, and in the
case of the laser joining system, it should be set at
the center of the laser beam. At the time of heating
26

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
and joining, when the distance is opened to g3, the tail
edge of the preceding material and the determined point
in the joining apparatus 24 are preferably shifted by
1/2 of g3.
While the running control of the joining apparatus
24 is carried out, the speed of the following metal
block 12 is controlled every moment so that the distance
g between the preceding metal block and the following
metal block be kept constant at a position just before
(for example, about 100 mm) the leading edge of the
following metal block 12 arrives at the tail edge of the
preceding metal block 10. This eliminates the
possibility that while the joining apparatus 24 be
controlled so that the determined point in the joining
apparatus 24 coincide with the tail edge position of the
preceding metal block 10, the leading edge of the
following metal block 12 comes into contact with the
tail edge of the preceding metal block 10 to obstruct
the visual field, so that the tail edge position of the
preceding metal block cannot be detected by the image,
and the control for causing the determined point in the
joining apparatus 24 to coincide with the tail edge
position of the preceding metal block 10 cannot be
continued.
The time when the joining apparatus 24 begins to
run is preferably the time before the tail edge 10B of
the preceding metal block passes through the determined
27

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
point and after the fact that the leading edge 12A of
the following metal block transfers onto the joining
apparatus 24 be detected. This is because there is a
time lag from the joining apparatus 24 starts to it
reaches a constant speed. Also, since the following
metal block has a higher speed than the preceding metal
block, and the joining apparatus 24 pursues the
preceding metal block 10, if the joining apparatus 24
starts after the leading edge of the following metal
block rides on the joining apparatus 24, the following
metal block 12 can be conveyed with its leading edge 12
on board the joining apparatus 24 until the joining
operation is finished, so that there be no possibility
that the following metal block 12 is left behind.
Although the bars after being rough rolled are
joined directly in the first embodiment, the present
invention can be applied to an equipment train provided
with a coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80 for adjusting the
timing between the rough rolling mill 22 and the finish
rolling mill 26 as in a second embodiment shown in FIG.
8. In the case of the second embodiment, if the speed
pattern of the following metal block after it is
uncoiled from the coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80 and
before the catching up is completed is known, the
required time from uncoiling to catching up becomes
known.
For example, the required time tP (second) from
28

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
when the tail edge of the preceding metal block begins
to be uncoiled from the coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80
to when the leading edge of the following metal block
catches up with the tail edge of the preceding metal
block can be calculated by the following equation.
tP = tCBl + tCB2 + tCB3 ... ( 2 )
where tCBl to tCB3 are required time (second) for each
of sections LCB1 to LCB3 between the coiling/uncoiling
apparatus 80 and the aiming catch-up position T.
Therefore, as in the case where the
coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80 is not provided as well,
when to extract the following metal block from the
heating furnace is determined by reverse calculation,
and when it comes, it is necessary only that the
following metal block is extracted from the heating
furnace 20. This example is shown in FIG. 9. The
reference characters vCBl to vCB3 in FIG. 9 denote the
traveling speed corresponding to the sections LCB1 to
LCB3.
In the catch-up control as described above, in the
above embodiments, a force for pushing the following
metal block on the preceding metal block is given, and
when the pushing force reaches a predetermined value, it
is judged that the closing is completed. Therefore,
even if the corner portion is not at right angles, or
even if the longitudinal cross section is not
rectangular, it can be judged that both metal blocks
29

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
surely come into contact with each other. Also, since
the cross section after the crop cutting by using a
shear has burrs and protrusions created at the time of
cutting, this method is effective. Further, even if the
cross section is at right angles, when the distance
between both metal blocks is several millimeters or less,
there arises a problem in that the distance cannot be
recognized because of the limitation of resolution of
the image pickup device 46, so that this method is still
effective.
As means for pushing the following metal block 12
toward the preceding metal block 10, the upset cylinder
68 for moving the entrance-side clamp 66 in the
traveling direction is used as shown in FIG. 2.
Alternatively, a device as shown in FIG. 10 can be used,
in which the metal blocks are.held vertically by pinch
rolls 82 and 84 which are pushed down by clamp cylinders
60 and 62, and the entrance-side pinch roll 84 for the
following metal block is rotated by a motor 86.
In the configuration shown i:n FIG. 10, it is
preferable that the preceding metal block 10 be held by
the delivery-side pinch roll 82 just after the tail edge
of the preceding metal block 10 passes through a
position just under the entrance-side pinch roll 82, and
the following metal block 12 be held by the entrance-
side pinch roll 84 when the leading edge 12A of the
following metal block passes through a position just

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
under the entrance-side pinch roll 84.
As the method for detecting the pushing force, in
the configuration in which the following metal block is
pushed in the traveling direction by the upset cylinder
68 as shown in FIG. 2, the fluid pressure of the upset
cylinder 68 can be measured to obtain the pushing force,
or a load cell (not shown) can be provided on the back
of the delivery-side clamp 64 to detect the pushing
force. Also, in the configuration in which the pinch
rolls are used as shown in FIG. 10, a method can be used
in which the torque of the motor 86 for rotating the
entrance-side pinch roll 84 is measured.
Although the metal blocks are restrained by the
restraint means (the clamps 64 and 66, or the pinch
rolls 82 and 84) provided on the joining apparatus 24 in
the above description, the restraint means may not be
provided on the joining apparatus, but may be adapted to
move independently out of the joining apparatus. The
movable restraint means may be of a self-propelled type
or a follow-up type that follows up the rolled material.
Also, the restraint means need not be movable. In
this case, the restraint means can be at least a pair of
pinch rolls which is disposed on each of the downstream
and upstream sides of the joining apparatus to rotatably
hold the preceding material and the following material
therebetween. With this means, the speed of the
following material is controlled by the pinch rolls
31

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
provided on the upstream side of the joining apparatus,
by which the distance between the tail edge of the
preceding material and the leading edge of the following
material can be controlled with high accuracy.
Heating and joining are performed after the tail
edge of the preceding material and the leading edge of
the following material are closed until a predetermined
load occurs, or when a predetermined gap is opened after
the closure.
The procedure for control in this case is shown in
FIG. 11 so as to correspond with FIGS. 4 and 5.
The control goes to Step 2000 through Steps 1000 to
1040, which are the same as the steps shown in FIGS. 4
and '5. In Step 2000, the catch-up control of the
joining apparatus 24 is carried out to cause the
determined point in the joining apparatus 24 to coincide
with the tail edge lOB of the preceding material. If
the coincidence is verified in Step 1150, the distance
between the tail edge lOB of the preceding material and
the leading edge 12A of the following material is made a
predetermined value of g3 which is suitable for joining
in Step 2100. After the heating and joining are
completed in Step 1270, the speed control of the
following material l2 and the catch-up control of the
joining apparatus 24 are stopped in Step 2200, and the
joining apparatus 24 returns to its starting position.
On the other hand, although the above description
32

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
is such that the tail edge of the preceding material and
the leading edge of the following material are cut
before being clamped, they may be cut after being
clamped. In this case, because the joining apparatus
has a cutting function, the joining apparatus becomes
heavy in weight and the capacity of motor for traveling
the joining apparatus increases, and also a contrivance
is needed to decrease the reduction in material
temperature during cutting.
The following is a description of a method for
determining the distance between the tail edge of the
preceding material and the following material in the
case where a crop cutting apparatus is not provided.
For example, an equipment train is considered in
which the coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80, a leveler 90
for straightening curled materials, the movable joining
apparatus 24, and the finish rolling mill 26 are
arranged in the named order from the upstream side as
shown in FIG. I2, and a case where a metal detector 92
for detecting the completion of uncoiling of the leading
edge of metal blocks is provided between the
coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80 and the leveler 90 is
explained.
The speed between the pieces of the equipment has,
for example, the following limitations.
i) Between the coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80 and
the metal detector 92 (section E in FIG. 12), since the
33

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
driving torque at the time of uncoiling is great, the
speed is lower than the speed of the preceding material
conveyed at the entrance-side speed of the finish
rolling mill 26, and the maximum speed is limited to,
for example, 0.5 m/second.
u) Between the metal detector 92 and the leveler 90
(section F in FIG. 12), the maximum speed at the time
when the material enters the leveler 90 is limited to,
for example, I.0 m/second.
iu) Between the leveler 90 and the joining apparatus
24 (section G in FIG. 12), the speed is limited to, for
example, 2.5 m/second (the maximum speed) for the reason
of equipment specification.
Therefore, the catch-up speed pattern of the
following material is not a constant speed, but
inevitably a stepwise speed. Specifically, under such
limiting conditions, the catch-up speed pattern of the
following material with respect to the maximum speed of
the preceding material, i.e., the speed setting for each
section must be not higher than the speed limiting value
for that section. Also, the timing for the following
material to be uncoiled must be the optimum.
Let it be assumed that the maximum value of
traveling speed of the preceding material is 1
meter/second, and the catch-up speed pattern of the
following material that catches up with the preceding
material is 0.5 meter/second in the section E, 1.0
34

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
meter/second in the section F, and 2.5 meter/second in
the section G. Also, it is assumed that the leading
edge of the following material catches up with the tail
edge of the preceding material at the center of the
joining apparatus 24 as shown in FIG. 13. Then, in this
standard case where the leading edge of the following
material catches up with the tail edge of the preceding
material at the center of the joining apparatus 24, the
change in the distance with time between the tail edge
of the preceding material and the leading edge of the
following material is indicated by the solid line H in
FIG. 14.
In the above-described method, it is preferable
that the traveling speed of the preceding material be
substituted by the maximum value of the assumable speed
of the metal block, or the speed may be substituted by
the upper limit value of the speed of equipment, for
example, the maximum speed of the joining apparatus. If
the speed is set in this way, even if the speed of the
preceding material becomes low as~shown in FIG. 15, or
even if, for example, there is a thickness change .during
rolling, the distance is determined by the higher
predicted speed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, even
if the traveling speed of the preceding material changes
to a lower speed during the catch-up traveling control
of the following material, the catching up can be
performed surely. Moreover, even if the position on the

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
line of the tail edge of the preceding material at the
time when the thickness change during rolling begins,
deviates from the predicted position by an error, the
catching up can be performed surely.
The following is a description of a method for
determining the distance between the tail edge of the
preceding material and the leading edge of the following
material in the case where the crop of the end face to
be joined is cut before joining by using a crop cutting
apparatus (for example, a crop shear) 94 provided in
front of the joining apparatus 24 as shown in FIG. 17.
In this case, the tail edge of the preceding
material may be cut at the timing at which the cutting
point comes. However, about 2 to 3 seconds are needed
including the blade waiting position reset time for
cutting the following material after the preceding
material is cut, so that the entrance of the following
material must be delayed for this time or more.
Because it is difficult to carry out the control of
the delay for the above-described time, the distance
corresponding to this time is predicted in advance, and
the traveling control of the following material is
carried out so as to separate this distance or more.
Specifically, when the tail edge of the preceding
material is cut by the crop cutting apparatus 94, a
distance is provided between the tail edge of the
preceding material and the leading edge of the following
36

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
material so that a preparatory period of time can be
taken to cut the leading edge of the following material
after the tail edge of the preceding material is cut.
In order to cut the leading edge of the following
material by the crop cutting apparatus 94, it is
necessary only that the above-described distance or more
is provided. However, after the following material is
cut, it is necessary for the following material to catch
up with the tail edge of the preceding material as soon
as possible. There is little problem if the traveling
speed after cutting can be made high. However, the
acceleration time is necessary, and when the following
material approaches the preceding material, the
deceleration time is also necessary. It should be
preferably avoided that the motor power for acceleration
and deceleration increase wastefully. Although it is
possible that the starting position of the joining
apparatus is located farther to increase the catch-up
distance, the line is lengthened, resulting in not only
wasteful investment but also decrease in temperature.
For this reason, the distance cannot be increased
unnecessarily. Thus, the following control is carried
out.
For example, as shown in FIG. 18, let the distance
between two coiling/uncoiling apparatuses 80A and 80B be
L01, the distance between the delivery-side
coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80B and the metal detector
37

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
92 be L02, the distance between the metal detector 92
and the leveler 90 be L03, the distance between the
leveler 90 and the crop cutting apparatus 94 be L04, the
distance between the crop cutting apparatus 94 and the
start position of the joining apparatus 24 be L05, the
speeding of the preceding material for a period of time
from when the tail edge of the preceding material leaves
the coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80B to when it passes
through the joining apparatus 24 be V1, the predicted
speed of the following material between the
coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80A and the metal detector
92 be V21, the predicted speed between the metal
detector 92 and the leveler 90 be V22, and the speed
between the leveler 90 to a position where the speed of
the following material becomes the same as the speed~of
the preceding material be V23. Then, the theoretical
distance L2 corresponding to the crop cutting time tc
excluding the crop cut amount, deviation, poor response,
etc. is expressed as follows.
L2 - v2 3 x tc ... ( 3 )
(L05 - ~L)/vl = (L05 - dL + L2)/v23 ... (4)
Thereby,-the distance 0L from the time when the
speed of the following material becomes the same as the
speed of the preceding material to the time when the
following material reaches the joining apparatus 24 can
be obtained by the following equation.
DL = L05 - L2 x vl/(v23 -vl)
38

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
- L05 - tc x v1~V23/(v23 - v1) ... (5)
However, the lower limit is provided because when
the speed v1 of the preceding material becomes very low,
the distance L2 corresponding to the crop cutting time
tc becomes excessively small.
In the embodiment,
v2lmax 0.5 m/s (the section E in FIG. 12)
=


v22max 1.0 m/s (the section F in FIG. 12)
=


v23max 2.5 m/s (the section G in FIG. 12)
=


LO1 = 2350 mm
L02 - 1300 mm
L03 = 5000 mm
L04 = 5000 mm
L05 - 8350 mm
the maximum speed of the preceding material Vlmax = 1
m/s
Therefore, when the speed of the preceding material
v1 = 1 m/s, and the crop cutting time tc - 3 seconds,
~L = 8350 - 3 x 1000 x 2500/(2500 - 1000)
- 3350 mm
On the other hand, L2 - 2500 x 2.5 - 6250 mm and
when the tail edge of the preceding material is cut, it
corresponds to the timing when the leading edge of the
preceding material is somewhat before the leveler. If
the crop cutting time tc or the crop cutting amount
varies, or if the speed v1 of the preceding material
varies, the leading edge position of the following
39

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
material with respect to the tail edge cutting timing of
the preceding material changes.
Also, 0L = 3350 mm, having a positive value.
Therefore, the preceding material can be ensured the
time tc for crop cutting, and also the distance between
both materials can be made zero on the upstream side of
the starting position of the joining apparatus 24.
It should be avoided that the following material
collide with the preceding material at v23 before the
catch-up point A. For this reason as well, ~L functions
effectively as a distance for deceleration for the
following material from v23 to v1. Needless to say, in
order for the following material to catch up with the
preceding material even if the speed of the preceding
material becomes faster than the predicted speed, v21,
v22 and v23 may be set with a margin with respect to the
capacity of the traveling system.
As an example of providing a margin with respect to
the maximum capacity of v21, v22 and v23, these speeds
may be set as follows:
V21 = VZlmax x 0.8
V22 - V22max x 0.8
V23 = V23max x 0.8
For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the aiming
distance g is obtained as described below, taking the
traveling speed of the preceding material as V1, the
tail edge position of the preceding material as X1, the

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
aiming position of the leading edge of the following
material as X2a, and the actual position of the leading
edge of the following material as X2.
As for determining X2a, because the position of the
following material is indicated by a polygonal line, the
position X1 of the preceding material corresponding each
bend point on the polygonal line has been determined in
advance, then the function of the corresponding X2a is
determined before and after each point.
An example of the bend point and the function of
the aiming position X2a of the following material will
be shown below. Since both of the speed of the
preceding material and the speed of the following
material are made constant in each section, the function
X2a is expressed as an equation of the first degree of
the tail edge position X1 of the preceding material.
Taking the starting position of the joining
apparatus 24 as zero on the X-coordinate, the X-
coordinate of each bend point is as follows:
For preceding material
Point A X1A = -OL (as described before)
Point B X1B = X1A - (L04 + L05 - ~L)/v23 x v1
Point C X1C = X1B - L03/v22 x v1
For following material
Point B X2B = -(L05 + L04)
Point C X2C = X2B - L03
The aiming position X2a of the following material is
41

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
expressed as follows:
When X1 < X1C
X2a = X2C + (X1 - X1C) x v21/vl
When X1C s X1 < X1B
X2a = X2C + (X1 - X1C) x v22/vl
When X1B s X1
X2a = X2B + (X1 - X1B) x v23/vl
Thereupon, the aiming distance g between the tail
edge of the preceding material and the leading edge of
the following material is expressed by the following
equations.
When X1 < X1C
g = X1 - X2a
- {l - (v21/vl)} X1 + (v21/vl) X1C - X2C
When X1C s X1 < X1B
g = X1 - x2a
- {1 - (v22/vl)} X1 + (v22/vl) X1C - X2C
When X1B s X1
g = X1 - X2a
- {1 - (v23/vl)} X1 + (v23/vl) X1B - X2B
In FIG. 19, the explanation has been given assuming
that the distance (gap) becomes zero at point A on the
upstream side of the starting point of the joining
apparatus 24. However, as shown in FIG. 20, the
distance should be made the aiming value g1 after the
leading edge of the following material is cut.
Subsequently, the aiming distance is narrowed in
42

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
accordance with the advance of the clamp, as shown in
Fig. 4. Needless to say, after the crop cutting, the
distance control using this function may be continued.
In this case, the lower limit is g1.
As described above, the aiming distance g is a
function of the tail edge position X1 of the preceding
material. Therefore, in the catch-up control of the
following material, as shown in FIG. 21, the output of
(X1 - g) - X2 is multiplied by a gain so that the
difference between the actual position X1 of the tail
edge of the preceding material and the aiming distance g
coincide with the actual position X2 of the leading edge
of the following material, and the sum of the above-
described value and the actual speed of the preceding
material can be made a speed command for the following
material. When the tail edge of the preceding material
and the leading edge of the following material are
closed until a predetermined load occurs, the sum of the
value obtained by multiplying the speed of the preceding
material by K plus the speed of the preceding material
is made a speed command for the following material.
The limiter is the maximum speed in each section,
and K is preferably about 0.15. Instead of the value in
this example obtained by multiplying the speed of the
preceding material by K, a fixed value of the maximum
value (1 m/s) x K(0.15) - 0.15 m/s of the speed of the
preceding material may be added.
43

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
The starting of the following material may be the
time when the tail edge of the preceding material
advances to a position such that the aiming position X2a
of the following material become the position of the
entrance-side coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80A, i.e., the
following equation holds.
X2a z -(LO1 + L02 + L03 + L04 + L05)
The following is a description of an experimental
example.
On the hot rolling line shown in FIG. 8, a
preceding metal block and a following metal block, both
of which have a thickness of 260 mm, a width of 1000 mm,
and a length of 9 meter, were heated at 1200°c in the
heating furnace 20. The following metal block was
extracted from the heating furnace 20 sixty-five seconds
after the preceding metal block was extracted from the
heating furnace 20. Rough rolling was performed by the
rough rolling mill 22, and then the preceding and the
following metal blocks were coiled by the
coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80. Subsequently, the
preceding metal block was uncoiled, and then the
following metal block was uncoiled after 1.5 seconds in
accordance with the result of prediction calculation of
the required time tP from when the tail edge of the
preceding metal block was uncoiled from the
coiling/uncoiling apparatus 80B to when the leading edge
of the following metal block caught up with the tail
44

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
edge of the preceding material, which was performed by
Equation (2).
The traveling speed of the preceding metal block
was v = 1.0 m/s, and the traveling speed of the
following metal block followed, as shown in FIG. 12, the
standard pattern of 0.5 m/s from when the following
metal block was uncoiled from the coiling/uncoiling
apparatus 80A to when the leading edge thereof entered
the metal detector 92, 1.0 m/s to when the metal block
entered the leveler 90, and 2.5 m/s to when the
following metal block caught up with the preceding metal
block. During the catch-up control, the positions of
the tail edge of the preceding metal block and the
leading edge of the following metal block were detected
by the position/speed detectors 40 and 42 in real time,
and the traveling of the following metal block was
controlled so that the leading edge of the following
metal block come to the aiming position of the following
metal block, which was determined by the function of the
position of the preceding metal block at the time of the
standard pattern. Specifically, the distances between
the tail edge of the preceding metal block and the
leading edge of the following metal block were g1 - 150
mm, g2 - 50 mm, and g3 = 5 mm.
Further, between the leveler 90 and the aiming
catch-up position T, the tail edge of the preceding
metal block and the leading edge of the following metal

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
block were cut at right angles to the traveling
direction by the crop cutting apparatus 94. At the
timing at which the tail edge of the preceding metal
block turned off the metal detector 44, the tracking of
the tail edge of the preceding metal block was corrected
by the position/speed detector 42. At the timing at
which the leading edge of the following metal block
turned on the metal detector 44, the tracking of the
leading edge of the following metal block was corrected
by the position/speed detector 40. Further, at the
timing at which the metal detector 48 for detecting tail
edge of the preceding metal block coming onto the
joining apparatus 24 was turned off, the position
recognition of the tail edge of the preceding metal
block was corrected, and as calculated by the following
equation, the joining apparatus 24 started to run when
the tail edge of the preceding metal block came to a
position on the 1.0 meter upstream side of the entrance
side of the joining apparatus 24.
x = v2/2/a + v~t
- 1.02/2/1 + 1.0 x 0.5
- 1.0 meter
where, a is the acceleration of the joining apparatus
(1.0 meter/second2), and t is a start delay of the
joining apparatus (0.5 second).
At the timing at which the tail edge of the
preceding metal block entered the visual field (the
46

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
visual field was made ~250 mm so that both of the
leading edge of the following material which become 150
mm on the entrance side when the alignment of the
preceding material with the joining apparatus was
completed and the tail edge of the preceding material
entered the visual field) of the image pickup device 46
disposed on the joining apparatus 24, the position
recognition of the tail edge of the preceding metal
block was changed over to the position recognition value
obtained by the image pickup device 46. At the timing
at which the leading edge of the following metal block
turned on the metal detector 48, the position
recognition of the leading edge of the following metal
block was corrected, and also the control was carried
out so that the tail edge of the preceding metal block
obtained by the image pickup device 46 coincides with
the determined position of the joining apparatus 24.
During this control, the control of the following metal
block was continued to determine the aiming leading edge
position of the following metal block by the function of
two values of the traveling speed predicted value of the
preceding metal block (1.0 m/s) and the actual value of
the tail edge position of the preceding metal block.
When the distance between the leading edge of the
following metal block and the tail edge of the preceding
metal block became 150 mm, the following metal block
traveled at the same speed as that of the preceding
47

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
metal block.
At the timing at which the tail edge of the
preceding metal block was held by the delivery-side
clamp 64, and the leading edge of the following metal
block entered the visual field of the image pickup
device 46, the position recognition of the leading edge
of the following metal block was corrected, and the
control was carried out so that the distance between
both the metal blocks be closed.
Since the following metal block moved at a higher
speed than the preceding metal block, when the distance
g between both,the metal blocks, which was detected by
the image pickup device 46, became 50 mm or less, the
clamping operation for the following metal blocks
started. When the clamping operation was completed, the
distance between both the metal blocks was made zero.
Next, the following metal block 12 was pushed
toward the preceding metal block 10 with a force of 100
kN by using the upset cylinder 68, and the completion of
closure was judged.
After this series of operations, the metal blocks
were joined by the joining means in the joining
apparatus 24, and then fed to the finish rolling mill 26.
When continuous rolling was performed, the metal block
could be rolled properly without breakage.
Although the present invention has been applied to
a metal block in the above description, the application
48

CA 02509044 1999-06-22
of the present invention is not limited to a block. It
is apparent that the present invention can be applied in
the same way to other metal pieces.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
According to the present invention, on the hot
rolling line, three of the tail edge of the preceding
material, the leading edge of the following material,
and the movable joining apparatus can be controlled at
the aiming position on the line so as to be in a
positional relationship suitable for joining. Therefore,
the joining can be completed properly in the travel zone
of the joining apparatus, and the subsequent continuous
finish rolling can be performed properly.
49

Representative Drawing
A single figure which represents the drawing illustrating the invention.
Administrative Status

For a clearer understanding of the status of the application/patent presented on this page, the site Disclaimer , as well as the definitions for Patent , Administrative Status , Maintenance Fee  and Payment History  should be consulted.

Administrative Status

Title Date
Forecasted Issue Date 2006-11-14
(22) Filed 1999-06-22
(41) Open to Public Inspection 2000-12-28
Examination Requested 2005-06-27
(45) Issued 2006-11-14
Expired 2019-06-25

Abandonment History

There is no abandonment history.

Payment History

Fee Type Anniversary Year Due Date Amount Paid Paid Date
Request for Examination $800.00 2005-06-27
Registration of a document - section 124 $100.00 2005-06-27
Registration of a document - section 124 $100.00 2005-06-27
Application Fee $400.00 2005-06-27
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 2 2001-06-22 $100.00 2005-06-27
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 3 2002-06-25 $100.00 2005-06-27
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 4 2003-06-23 $100.00 2005-06-27
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 5 2004-06-22 $200.00 2005-06-27
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 6 2005-06-22 $200.00 2005-06-27
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 7 2006-06-22 $200.00 2006-06-06
Final Fee $300.00 2006-08-31
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 8 2007-06-22 $200.00 2007-04-24
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 9 2008-06-23 $200.00 2008-05-12
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 10 2009-06-22 $250.00 2009-05-14
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 11 2010-06-22 $250.00 2010-05-11
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 12 2011-06-22 $250.00 2011-05-11
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 13 2012-06-22 $250.00 2012-05-10
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 14 2013-06-25 $250.00 2013-05-08
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 15 2014-06-23 $450.00 2014-05-15
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 16 2015-06-22 $450.00 2015-05-29
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 17 2016-06-22 $450.00 2016-06-01
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 18 2017-06-22 $450.00 2017-05-31
Maintenance Fee - Patent - New Act 19 2018-06-22 $450.00 2018-05-31
Owners on Record

Note: Records showing the ownership history in alphabetical order.

Current Owners on Record
MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
JFE STEEL CORPORATION
Past Owners on Record
HIRABAYASHI, TAKESHI
ISHIBASHI, NAOHIKO
ISOYAMA, SHIGERU
KAGAWA, TAKUSHI
KAWASAKI STEEL CORPORATION
NAGAI, KAZUNORI
OKAI, TAKASHI
YAMASAKI, TAKAHIRO
Past Owners that do not appear in the "Owners on Record" listing will appear in other documentation within the application.
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Document
Description 
Date
(yyyy-mm-dd) 
Number of pages   Size of Image (KB) 
Description 2006-04-05 50 1,855
Claims 2006-04-05 1 19
Abstract 1999-06-22 1 34
Description 1999-06-22 49 1,830
Claims 1999-06-22 1 13
Drawings 1999-06-22 19 351
Representative Drawing 2005-08-15 1 11
Cover Page 2005-08-16 1 52
Cover Page 2006-10-19 1 53
Correspondence 2005-07-15 1 38
Assignment 1999-06-22 4 124
Correspondence 2005-09-12 1 17
Prosecution-Amendment 2005-12-01 2 46
Prosecution-Amendment 2006-04-05 7 195
Fees 2006-06-06 1 34
Correspondence 2006-08-31 1 29
Fees 2007-04-24 1 42
Correspondence 2010-08-10 1 45