Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ROLLING MILL ROLLER GUIDE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to rolling mill roller guides, and is
concerned in
particular with an improved means for pre-spinning the guide rollers in
advance of the
arrival of a mill product therebetween.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 6,151,946 and 4,373,367, it is known to pre-
spin
the rollers of rolling mill entry guides by impinging a pressurized fluid,
typically cooling
water, on vanes formed on the exterior sides of the rollers. The vanes are
formed on both
sides of the rollers so as to permit reversal of the rollers after they have
operated for a
period of time in one direction of rotation. The drawbacks to such
arrangements include
the costs associated with forming the vanes on both exterior sides of the
rollers, the need
to divert cooling water from other locations for dedicated application to the
rollers, and
the danger that externally applied cooling water may contaminate the roller
bearings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWIN
Figure 1 is a plan view of a roller entry guide in accordance with the present
invention;
Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view on an enlarged scale taken through one
of
the guide rollers;
Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2;
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Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing an alternative embodiment of
the
invention; and
Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Figure 4.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objective of the present invention is to provide an improved means for
driving the guide rollers that avoids the aforementioned drawbacks of the
prior art.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a roller entry
guide
has mutually spaced annular rollers arranged to contact opposite sides of a
product, e.g.,
hot rolled steel rod, moving at high speed along a path. The rollers are
supported on
respective shafts by bearings defining axial gaps therebetween. The gaps are
surrounded
by vanes carried by the rollers. A pressurized fluid, typically an oil mist,
is delivered to
the axial gaps via passageways in the shafts. The oil mist impinges on the
vanes to
rotatably drive the rollers, and also serves as a lubricant for the roller
bearings.
These and other features and attendant advantages of the present invention
will
now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings,
wherein:
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference initially to Figure 1, a roller entry guide in accordance with
the
present invention is generally indicated at 10. The guide includes a housing
12
supporting a pair of arms 14 pivotally adjustable about axes 16. The
projecting distal
ends of the arms carry annular guide rollers 18 rotatably mounted on
respective shafts 20.
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The guide rollers are arranged to contact opposite sides of a product,
typically hot rolled
steel rod 22, moving at high speed along a path "P" into a roll stand (not
shown).
With reference additionally to Figures 2 and 3, it will be seen that each
guide
roller 18 is rotatably supported on its respective shaft 20 by bearings 24
defining an axial
gap 26 there between. The bearings preferably comprise roller bearings having
inner
races 24a fixed with respect to the shaft 20, and outer races 24b fixed with
respect to the
interior of the roller 18.
A spacer 28 is interposed between the inner bearings races 24a. The spacer is
surrounded by a series of vanes indicated typically at 30 and formed on an
interior
surface of the guide roller 18. An axially extending passageway 32 in shaft 20
is
arranged to direct a flow of pressurized fluid to radial passageways 34
communicating
with a circular passageway 36 formed by confronting grooves in the shaft 32
and spacer
28. Nozzles 38 in the spacer lead from the passageway 36 and are arranged to
direct the
pressurized fluid against the vanes 30 to thereby rotatably drive and pre-spin
the rollers
18. The pressurized fluid is advantageously an oil mist which serves the added
purpose
of lubricating the bearings 24.
The embodiment shown in Figures 4 and 5 is largely identical to that shown in
Figures 2 and 3, except that the vanes 30' are formed on the interior of a
bushing 40
pressed into the interior of the guide roller 18.
In light of the foregoing, it will now be understood that in accordance with
the
present invention, each roller need only be provided with one array of
internal vanes.
The rollers are rotatably driven by the same pressurized fluid that also
serves as the
lubricant for the roller bearings. No potentially troublesome external
application of
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cooling water is required, and the internal vanes can serve to rotate the
rollers in either
direction, thus enabling the rollers to be reversed.
While the internal pre-spinning and lubrication system of the present
invention
has been described with reference to roller entry guides, it should be
understood that the
same concept can be utilized to pre-spin and lubricate rollers in other
rolling mill
applications where rollers are used to guide the hot rolled product along
curved paths.
One non-limiting example of such an application would be to pre-spin and
lubricate the
rollers of a rollerized guide directing the hot rolled product into an
inclined laying head.
I claim:
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