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(11) | EP 0 143 488 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Plant to form and for the heat treatment of rolled products in coils and compact wound bundles |
| (57) @ This invention is embodied with a plant (10) to form and for the heat treatment
of rolled products in coils and compact wound bundles, which comprises cooling conveyor
means (16), means (15) to form coils and means (14) to form wound bundles and which
includes at least an initial section of the cooling conveyor (16) in momentary cooperation,
which can be selected as required, with the means (15) to form coils and the means
(14) to form wound bundles respectively, and includes at least one switching station
(17). |
[0001] This invention concerns a plant to form and for the heat treatment of rolled products in coils or compact wound bundles. To be more exact, the plant of the invention has the purpose of providing a line for the controlled cooling of wire rod and long rolled products.
[0002] According to the invention such types of rolled products may be in the form of coils spread out along a'roller conveyor line or in the form of already formed compact wound bundles.
[0003] The cooling conveyor of the invention may perform the cooling to suit the required properties of the end product.
[0004] Thus it may be possible to have fast tooling or. cooling at a medium speed or even natural cooling in the air or else slow cooling by employing heat-insulating hoods possibly cooperating with heating means.
[0005] The cooling methods are already known in themselves and depend, as we said earlier, on the type and composition of the product and on the properties which the finished product is required to possess.
[0006] The known art envisages the separate treatment of formed wound bundles and of coils spread out along a conveyor line. In fact, according to the known art the rolled product undergoes controlled cooling only in the latter form, namely in the form of coils but not in the form of packages or wound bundles.
[0007] FR-A-1.383.950 discloses a station for the collection of loose coils and the formation of wound bundles downstream from a conveyor belt; such belt is not described in detail, nor is the possibility of a double use' for coils and wound bundles envisaged.
[0008] FR-A-2.010.428 discloses a cooling plant in which the coil-forming headstock can be moved on a carriage in the direction of the cooling belt. This patent includes embodiments to cool vertical coils or horizontal coils and dwells on conveyor chains in particular. It does not envisage the conveying and cooling of pre-formed bundles.
[0010] FR-A-2.344.636 discloses a cooling conveyor belt conformed with an inclined plane and able to rotate about its own centre, being intended to cool loose coils.
[0011] DE-A-1.652.999 discloses a tunnel conveyor for vertical coils with the formation of bundles at its end.
[0012] US-A-4,320,646 comprises a conveyor having two paths, long or short as required, for horizontal loose coils; with the formation of bundles at its end.
[0013] EP-A-0060227, EP-A-0069616 and WO-A-83/00646 concern essentially means to blow a cooling fluid (air and/or water), with coils being conveyed horizontally.
[0014] It is therefore a purpose of this invention to provide a cooling line which can carry out equally well the heat treatment of coils spread out along the cooling path itself or of already formed wound bundles.
[0015] According to one embodiment of the invention a coil-forming headstock fitted, together with a winding machine, to a movable carriage cooperates initially with a cooling conveyor, which may be curved or 'straight, downstream from a conveyor line. Such coil-forming headstock and such winding machine can be of any required known type.
[0016] The invention envisages that the carriage is moved crosswise to the cooling path in such a way as to bring the coil-forming headstock or alternatively the winding machine into a position to cooperate with the cooling path itself.
[0017] When the coil-forming headstock has been brought to coincide with the beginning of the cooling path, the latter can cooperate with the coils being formed by such headstock. The coils are taken along the cooling conveyor and undergo treatment on the same.
[0018] At the end of the cooling conveyor is positioned in a known manner a bundle-forming pit, within which the coils are made to drop so as to form wound bundles of wire. The bundles thus formed are withdrawn as soon as they are complete.
[0019] A second method for operation of such embodiment consists in putting the winding machine, fitted to the carriage together with the coil-forming headstock, so as to coincide with the beginning of the cooling conveyor.
[0020] In such a case the winding machine forms packages or wound bundles, which are deposited on the cooling conveyor and then undergo a controlled cooling treatment according to required methods.
[0021] As is known, such cooling can be performed by means of air jets or other fluids, or by controlled hoods positioned above the roller conveyor line and possibly capable of being raised, or merely with natural cooling in the air.
[0022] When wound bundles coming from the winding machine are employed, they will be switched to appropriate withdrawal means, instead of to the cited bundle-forming pit, at the end of the roller conveyor.
[0023] Bundles thus withdrawn and also bundles formed from spread coils can be sent as required to separate usage lines or to one and the same usage line.
[0024] In another embodiment of this invention a stationary coil-forming headstock is provided which is located so as to coincide with the inlet of the cooling conveyor.
[0025] Winding machines, preferably of a vertical type, are situated at a position near that of the coil-forming headstock and preferably alongside the cooling conveyor.
[0026] When coils spread out along the cooling line itself are to be employed, such stationary coil-forming headstock is used.
[0027] Rolled products coming from the rolling line are passed through the coil-forming headstock, which makes the coils thus formed drop onto the cooling conveyor.
[0028] Instead, when it is desired to employ wound bundles, the. coil-forming headstock is not used and the rolled product is sent to the neighbouring winding machines, which can be one or more in number.
[0029] When the wound bundles formed by the winding machines have been completed, they are withdrawn, by means of appropriate thrust means for instance, and are deposited on the cooling line.
[0030] At the end of the cooling line the wound bundles are directed by the system described earlier or by another equivalent system.
[0031] If wire in spread coils is to be employed, such coils are collected with the methods described earlier, for instance by means of a pit to form wound bundles.
[0032] This invention is therefore embodied with a plant to form and for the heat treatment of rolled products in coils and compact wound bundles, which comprises cooling conveyor means, means to form coils and means to form wound bundles, the plant being characterized by including at least an initial section of such cooling conveyor in momentary cooperation, which can be selected as required, with the means to form coils and with the means to form wound bundles respectively, and by including at least one switching station.
[0033] We shall describe hereinafter, as a non-restrictive example, a preferred embodiment of the invention with the help of the attached figures, in which: -
Fig.1 shows a first embodiment of the plant of the invention;
Fig.2 shows another embodiment of the invention.
[0034] In Fig.l a plant to cool wound bundles and coils bears the reference number 10. High up in the figure can be seen a line 11 to convey rolled products coming from a rolling train, which is not shown here but is located to the right of the figure.
[0035] The outlet of such line 11 coincides with a movable carriage 12, which can run crosswise to the movement of feed of the rolled products.
[0036] The carriage 12 can run on rails or guides 13 or other equivalent means and bears a winding machine 14 and also a headstock 15 to form coils.
[0037] In the example shown the winding machine 14 is of a type with a vertical axis, whereas the headstock 15 to form coils has a horizontal or tilted axis.
[0038] Such machines are of known types and there is therefore no need to dwell upon them since they do not in themselves form part of the invention.
[0039] A cooling roller conveyor 16 is located immediately downstream from the carriage 12 and in this case comprises a spiral section 116 and a subsequent straight section 216.
[0040] The spiral section 116 has the task of raising the bundles and coils for their successive separation with a fall at the end of the conveyor 16 itself and also enables space to be saved.
[0041] In any event the conveyor 16 can also be envisaged as being of a straight or curved type or as being formed possibly of several segments and as having a desired length. Such parameters depend on the specific features of the plant.
[0042] A switching station 17 is positioned at the end of the cooling conveyor 16. In this switching station 17 the wound bundles 25 already formed and cooled along the cooling conveyor 16 are switched or the coils spread out on the conveyor 16 are possibly collected into wound bundles.
[0043] When wound bundles 25 are employed, the carriage 12 is positioned in a position offset upwards and shown with lines of dashes in the figure; in this way the winding machine 14 is brought so as to coincide with the line 11 that feeds the rolled products. The winding machine 14 discharges the wound bundles 25 of rolled product still hot onto the cooling conveyor 16.
[0044] Thrust means 18, which in this case include jack means but could be of any type, at the end of the cooling conveyor 16 in correspondence with the switching station 17 thrust the wound bundles 25 sideways and cause them to be withdrawn on withdrawal means 19, which can be of any known type.
[0045] Such means 19 can include forks, jaws, levers, chutes or other means able to engage the bundles 25 and to withdraw them from the cooling conveyor 16.
[0046] The means 19 deliver the bundles 25 to manipulator means 20 which are able to arrange the bundles 25 with an orientation suitable for withdrawal. Such manipulator means 20 too are known in themselves.
[0047] The manipulator means 20 convey the bundles 25 towards a final collection station bearing the reference number 21 in the figure.
[0048] When coils spread out along the cooling., conveyor 16 are employed, they are formed by the coil-forming headstock 15, which is moved so as to coincide with the rolling line 11; the position of the carriage 12 is that shown with continuous lines in Fig.l.
[0049] In this case the coils formed by the coil-for-ming headstock 15 are arranged thereafter on the cooling conveyor 16 and thus conveyed and cooled up to the end of the conveyor 16.
[0050] At this point the coils drop into a coil collection pit 22, which is known in itself and in which the formation of wound bundles 25 takes place.
[0052] Of course, in this case the thrust means 18 are not actuated, the coils being switched by falling into the coil collection pit 22.
[0053] As we said before, the plant shown can serve not only to cool and convey wound bundles 25 already formed but also to cool and convey coils, which are formed into bundles 25 at the end of the conveyor 16.
[0054] The plant obtains in this way a great simplification of the path followed, a working economy and also a considerable versatility since cooling can be performed also on pre-formed bundles 25, a step which cannot be carried out in the known art.
[0055] Fig.2 shows a variant of the invention in which the rolling line 11 has two branches, 111 for delivery to a coil-forming headstock 15 and 211 for delivery to a winding unit 24.
[0056] This unit 24 in this case comprises two winding machines 14 of a vertical type and is located at the side of the cooling conveyor 16. Wound bundles 25 can be seen on the roller conveyor 16.
[0057] Functioning takes place as follows. In the cooling of coils the rolled product is delivered on the branch 111 of the rolling line to the coil-forming headstock 15.
[0058] The coils spread by the headstock 15 on the conveyor 16 are cooled on the cooling conveyor 16 and are sent lastly to a switching station which is not shown but is analogous to the station 17 of Fig.l.
[0059] When wound bundles 25 are being processed, the rolled product coming from the rolling line 11 is channelled with known means along the branch 211 and taken to the winding machine 14. In this case the machines 14 are of a type with vertical pins.
[0060] When the wound bundle 25 has been completed, a platform cooperating with such pins is raised and thus lifts the wound bundle 25. This enables the thrust means 18 to move the completed bundle 25 onto the conveyor 16, where the bundle 25 is cooled and then switched.
[0061] To ensure continuity of the process, when one of the two winding machines 14 is not functioning, the other winding machine 14 arranged in tandem is ready to work. In any event it is possible to arrange more than two winding machines 14 in the winding unit 24.
[0062] We have described here a preferred embodiment of the invention, but variants are possible for a person skilled in this field without departing thereby from the scope of the invention itself.
[0063] For instance, it is possible to envisage a displacement of the carriage 12 of any type or a lay-out of the coil-forming headstock 15 and of the winding machines 14 other than that shown.
[0064] There can be a different lay-out of the switch means 19-18-22-23 at the end of the cooling conveyor 16; likewise there can be another positioning of the winding unit 24, which may comprise any required number of winding machines 14.
INDEX
[0065]
10 - plant to cool coils and bundles
11 - line to convey rolled products
111 - conveyor for rolled products
211 - conveyor for rolled products
12 - carriage
13 - rails or guides
14 - winding machine
15 - headstock to form coils
16 - cooling roller conveyor
116 - spiral section
216 - straight section
17 - switching station
18 - thrust means
19 - withdrawal means
20 - manipulator means
21 - collection station
22 - pit to collect coils
23 - conveyor means
24 - winding unit
25 - wound bundles.
1 - Plant (10) to form and for the heat treatment of rolled products in coils and
compact wound bundles, which comprises cooling conveyor means (16), means (15) to
form coils and means (14) to form wound bundles, the plant being characterized by
including at least an initial section of such cooling conveyor (16) in momentary cooperation,
which can be selected as required, with the means (15) to form coils and with the
means (14) to form wound bundles respectively, and by including at least one switching
station (17).
2 - Plant (10) to form and for the heat treatment of rolled products in coils and
compact wound bundles as claimed in Claim 1, in which the means (15) to form coils
and the means (14) to form wound bundles are arranged at least partially movably and
alternatively positionably at least near the beginning of the cooling conveyor (16).
3 - Plant (10) to form and for the heat treatment of rolled products in coils and
compact wound bundles as claimed in Claims 1 and 2, in which the means (15) to form
coils and the means (14) to form wound bundles are fitted together to at least partially
movable means (12) (Fig.1).
4 - Plant (10) to form and for the heat treatment of rolled products in coils and
compact wound bundles as claimed in Claims 1 and 3, in which the at least partially
movable means (12) are carriage means.
5 - Plant (10) to form and for the heat treatment of rolled products in coils and
compact wound bundles as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, in which the means (14) to form
wound bundles and the means (15) to form coils are located separately from each other.
6 - Plant (10) to form and for the heat treatment of rolled products in coils and
compact wound bundles as claimed in Claim 1, in which the means (14) to form wound
bundles and the 7 means (15) to form coils are stationary (Fig.2).
7 - Plant (10) to form and for the heat treatment of rolled products in coils and
compact wound bundles as claimed in any claim hereinbefore, in which the switching
station (17) includes in a selectionable manner:
- means (18-19) to withdraw wound bundles (25), and
- means (22) to form wound bundles from spread coils.