[0001] The present invention relates to a rolling mill provided with a roll-crossing device
as defined in the preamble of claim 1.
Description of the Prior Art:
[0002] Fig. 8 shows a general concept of one example of a cross-roll type rolling mill in
the prior art, in which upper and lower work rolls 11 and backup rolls 21 are made
to cross with each other by turning them in the opposite directions to each other
between the upper and lower rolls about their central portions in the axial direction
of the rolls, and a sheet crown of a rolled material S is controlled by adjusting
this cross angle.
[0003] In addition, Fig. 9 shows a backup roll in one example of a sleeve roll type rolling
mill in the prior art in cross-section, and this backup roll 10 is composed of a roll
support shaft 1 which is provided with a central eccentric portion 2, intermediate
eccentric portions 3 and opposite end eccentric portions 4 and is rotatable, outer
rings divided into 5 pieces along its axial direction and respectively fitted around
the respective eccentric portions 2, 3 and 4 via rolling bearings 5 in a freely rotatable
manner, that is, divided rolls 7, 8 and 9, and a sleeve 6 accommodating these respective
divided rolls 7, 8 and 9 and adapted to rotate jointly with the respective divided
rolls 7, 8 and 9 according to rotation of the work rolls 11.
[0004] Fig. 10 shows eccentric states of the centers C
2, C
3 and C
4 of the respective eccentric portions 2, 3 and 4 with respect to the axis C
1 of the roll support shaft 1 and rotation loci of the respective divided rolls 7,
8 and 9, and crown patterns of the work roll 11 at the respective rotation angles
are as shown in Fig. 11. And, a sheet configuration of a rolled material S is controlled
by depressing the work roll 11 with the roll support shaft 1 rotated to an appropriate
angle.
[0005] However, among the prior art as described above, the heretofore known cross-roll
type rolling mill shown in Fig. 8 has a shortcoming that while a sheet crown such
as simple center elongation, end elongation or the like of a rolled material can be
controlled by gap adjustment between the upper and lower work rolls which corresponds
to a V-shaped crown of a work roll caused by roll bending, complex elongation in which
center elongation, middle elongation, end elongation and the like coexist cannot be
controlled.
[0006] Also, in the rolling mill having the sleeve roll type backup rolls explained above
with reference to Figs. 9 to 11, there is a shortcoming that while it is possible
to control the above-described complex elongation by forming a V-, W-, A- or M-shaped
crown, if amounts of eccentricity of the respective divided rolls are made too large
in order to make a crown pattern large, then loads borne by the respective rolling
bearings would increase, and hence lives of the rolling bearing and the sleeve would
be lowered.
[0007] From JP-A 61-202 704 and JP-A 57 025 206 there is known a cross-roll type rolling
mill (CM) with a pair of upper and lower work rolls provided with upper and lower
backup rolls. The work rolls are provided with a bending device at their respective
ends and the backup rolls are variable crown rolls (VCR) which are formed by a sleeve
fitted over an arbor and a cylindrical chamber provided therebetween and supplyable
with hydraulic pressure to elastically deform the backup roll.
[0008] The general structure of a sleeve type backup roll (SBUR) is described in JP-A 2-284
711 and JP-A 3-138 006, however, only in connection with a regular (parallel) type
rolling mill.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
[0009] It is the object of the present invention to provide a rolling mill, wherein control
of extremely diversified crown patterns can be effected for the work rolls.
[0010] According to the present invention there is provided a rolling mill including a roll-crossing
device for making respective axes of upper and lower work rolls and upper and lower
backup rolls held in circumferential contact with said work rolls cross with each
other within a plane in parallel to a rolled sheet surface; wherein said upper and/or
said lower backup roll is/are constructed as a sleeve-roll type backup roll, in which
the backup roll is divided into three or more rolls along its axial direction, said
plurality of divided rolls are rotatably mounted as held eccentric on one roll support
shaft whose rotary angle is adjustable, and said plurality of divided rolls are all
accommodated with one sleeve.
[0011] In a preferred embodiment this rolling mill includes drive means for normally and
reversely rotating said work rolls and making a rolled metal sheet material reciprocate
between said work rolls.
[0012] According to the present invention, a reversible type rolling mill in which the work
rolls are rotated in the normal and reverse directions and a rolled metal sheet is
made to reciprocate between the work rolls, can be formed.
[0013] In addition, the rolling mill according to the present invention having the above-featured
construction can effectively reveal its configuration Control capability, when it
is disposed at the location where a rolled material forming a final product is to
be rolled, that is, as a rear stage rolling mill including at least the last stage
in a train of a reversible rolling mill and cold or hot steel belt rolling mills.
[0014] Furthermore, the rolling mill according to the present invention can be constructed
with the sleeve-roll type backup roll having the above-mentioned construction employed
as either one of the upper and lower backup rolls.
[0015] As described above, with the rolling mill according to the present invention, a sheet
crown of a rolled material and complex sheet configuration defects such as complex
elongations or the like can be simultaneously controlled by forming at least either
one of upper and lower backup rolls held in circumferential contact with work rolls
as a sleeve-roll type backup roll, forming a crown pattern on the work roll by depressing
that backup roll, further making at least the upper and lower work rolls cross with
each other, adjusting the cross angle, and forming an optimum crown pattern on the
work roll by adding a V-shaped crown to the above-described crown pattern.
[0016] The above-mentioned and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention
will become more apparent by reference to the following description of one preferred
embodiment of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
[0017] In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 is a side view partly cut away showing an essential part of a rolling mill
according to the present invention, which comprises a roll-crossing device and sleeve-roll
type backup rolls;
Fig. 2 is a front view partly cut away of the rolling mill shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a diagram showing crown patterns realized in a rolling mill according to
one preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-section view showing a sheet crown in a rolled sheet;
Fig. 5 is an illustration showing dimensions of rolling mills used in numerical calculation
of a controllable range of a sheet crown by means of three kinds of rolling mills;
Fig. 6 is a diagram showing results of calculation of a controllable range of a sheet
crown by means of three kinds of rolling mills;
Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a crown of a rolled sheet when various crown control functions
were used in a rolling mill according to the present invention;
Fig. 8 is a schematic side view showing a general concept of one example of a cross-roll
type rolling mill in the prior art;
Fig. 9 is a side view partly in cross-section of a backup roll in one example of a
sleeve roll type rolling mill in the prior art;
Fig. 10 is a schematic view showing displacement of axes of respective divided eccentric
rolls with respect to an axis of a roll support shaft as well as rotation loci of
the respective divided eccentric rolls within a sleeve roll; and
Fig. 11 shows different crown patterns formed by the sleeve roll type backup roll
at its different rotary angle position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:
[0018] Now the present invention will be described in greater detail in connection to one
preferred embodiment thereof with reference to Figs. 1 to 7. It is to be noted that
in these figures, members and parts equivalent to those of the prior art apparatus
shown in Figs. 8 to 11 are given like reference numerals and further explanation thereof
will be omitted here.
[0019] In Figs. 1 and 2, reference numeral 12 designates upper and lower work roll chocks,
which respectively support upper and lower work rolls. The axes of the upper and lower
work rolls 11 are disposed so as to cross with each other within a plane in parallel
to a sheet surface of the rolled sheet material. Reference numeral 13 designates upper
and lower backup roll chocks, which respectively support roll support shafts 1 of
upper and lower backup rolls 10 held in circumferential contact with the work rolls
11.
[0020] In the case of the illustrated embodiment, the backup rolls 10 also have their axes
arranged so as to cross with each other.
[0021] The work roll chocks 12 and the backup roll chocks 13 are mounted as fitted slidably
in the vertical direction in respective cross-heads 14 embedded slidably in the direction
of a line within the both inside portions of a housing 20.
[0022] Reference numeral 15 designates hydraulic cylinders, which are fixedly disposed respectively
on the both outside portions of the housing 20, and whose rod portions 16 penetrate
through the housing 20 and are connected to the respective cross-heads 14.
[0023] Reference numeral 17 designates worm wheels respectively fitted and secured to the
upper and lower roll support shafts 1, and numeral 18 designates worms rotated by
drive units not shown.
[0024] The backup roll 10 is, similarly to the heretofore known apparatus shown in Fig.
9, composed of a roll support shaft 1 provided with a central eccentric portion 2,
intermediate eccentric portions 3 and opposite end eccentric portions 4 and rotating,
outer rings divided into five pieces along the axial direction and respectively rotatably
fitted around the respective eccentric portions 2, 3 and 4 via rolling bearings 5,
that is, divided rolls 7, 8 and 9, and a sleeve 6 accommodating these respective divided
rolls 7, 8 and 9 and rotating jointly with the respective divided rolls 7, 8 and 9
accompanying rotation of the work roll 11. Reference numeral 7 designates a central
divided roll, numeral 8 designates intermediate divided rolls, and numeral 9 designates
opposite end divided rolls.
[0025] Next, description will be made on the operation of the illustrated apparatus.
[0026] Upon rolling a material S to be rolled, the upper and lower work rolls 11 disposed
with their axes crossed with each other are driven to rotate, and by rotating the
roll support shafts 1 of the upper and lower backup rolls 10 via the worms 18 and
the worm wheels 17, crown patterns are formed respectively on the upper and lower
work rolls 11.
[0027] If the V-shaped crown in this crown pattern is insufficient, then the upper and lower
work rolls 11 and backup rolls 10 are further turned about their central portion in
the axial direction by means of the hydraulic cylinders 15 to make the upper and lower
rolls cross with each other, and defective sheet shape such as a sheet crown and complex
elongation of the rolled material S is controlled by adjusting this cross angle.
[0028] As a modified embodiment of the present invention, a sleeve-roll type backup roll
could be disposed only on either one side of the upper and lower sides.
[0029] In addition as another preferred embodiment, only the upper and lower work rolls
could be made to cross with each other without making the backup rolls cross with
each other.
[0030] Furthermore, as yet another preferred embodiment, the present invention could be
applied to a reversible type rolling mill, in which there are provided a drive unit
for normally and reversely rotating the work rolls and reversible traveling equipments
in the front and the rear of the mill, and in which rolling is effected by making
a rolled sheet material reciprocate through the mill.
[0031] The rolling mill according to the present invention has a sheet shape control capability
adaptable to every type of defective sheet shape of a rolled material. Accordingly,
it is preferable to equip the rolling mill according to the present invention at the
place where a rolled material used as a final product is rolled, and more specifically,
it is preferable to be equipped in later stages at least including the final stage
of a train of reversible rolling mills and cold- or hot-steel belt rolling mills.
[0032] By way of example, in the case where a back-up roll having the construction shown
in Fig. 9 was employed in a rolling mill according to the present invention, illustrating
the crown patterns, they have the varieties shown in Fig. 3. In this figure, the column
captioned "eccentric state" corresponds to Fig. 10, but for the sake of simplicity,
only the eccentric positions of the centers C
2, C
3 and C
4 of the respective eccentric portions 2, 3 and 4 are shown. Also, meaning of a parenthesized
description such as (9 smaller diameter) is indication of the fact that a crown pattern
is finely adjusted by selecting the diameters of the opposite end divided rolls 9
smaller than the diameters of the other two kinds (central 7 and intermediate 8) divided
rolls. From Fig. 3 it is seen that an arbitrary crown pattern can be formed by appropriately
selecting the eccentric state.
[0033] Next, in order to clarify a difference in capabilities between the rolling mill according
to the present invention provided with a roll-crossing device and having a sleeve-roll
type backup roll and the known rolling mill only having a sleeve-roll type backup
roll, a controllable range of a sheet crown including a common 4-stage rolling mill
was compared in detail through numerical calculation. As shown in Fig. 4, a sheet
crown is represented here by the following numerical values.

here
- hC:
- sheet thickness of a sheet width central portion
- hQ:
- sheet thickness at a quarter point of a sheet width
- hE:
- sheet thickness at a position 25 mm apart from a sheet end
[0034] As conditions for calculation, dimensions of various portions of a rolling mill is
shown in Fig. 5 and Table 1.

[0035] Rolling conditions are three standards of sheet widths of 800 mm, 1300 mm and 2000
mm, and a rolling load is 0.8 tf/mm. As a function for crown control, in the conventional
4-stage rolling mill, a cross angle of a cross-roll type rolling mill was set at 1.5
degrees/one side by work roll bending, and a sleeve-roll type backup roll was applied
to only either one of the upper and lower backup rolls.
[0036] Results of calculation are shown in Fig. 6. The respective rolling mill types are
indicated along the abscissa, and three types of rolling mills including a 4-stage
rolling mill, a sleeve-roll type backup roll rolling mill and further a sleeve-roll
type backup roll rolling mill provided with a roll-crossing device according to the
present invention, were compared. A lower half of Fig. 6 shows a controllable range
of a sheet crown C
2 in the sheet width end portion, while an upper half of Fig. 6 shows a control amount
ΔC
4 of a sheet crown C
4 in the quarter portion. (With regard to the meaning of ΔC
4, description will be made later.) It is seen from this figure that according to the
roll-cross method, while a controllable range of the sheet crown C
2 can be greatly broadened, a control amount of the sheet crown C
4 is small, and that on the contrary, a control amount for the sheet crown C
4 by the sleeve-roll type backup roll is large. Accordingly, by employing the rolling
mill according to the present invention in which the both types are combined, defective
shape of rolled material of every type can be dealt with.
[0037] More detailed illustration of the results of calculation in Fig. 6 with respect to
the case of a sheet width of 2000 mm, is given in Fig. 7. In Fig. 7, a crown of a
sheet at the time of employing various crown control functions is shown taking the
sheet crown C
2 in the sheet width end portion along an ordinate and the sheet crown C
4 in the quarter portion along an abscissa. For instance, a rhombus formed by connecting
points A, B, C and D represents variation of a sheet crown when a sleeve-roll type
backup roll is revolved one turn with a roll cross angle fixed at zero degree. As
the cross angle is increased from zero degree, the coordinate point representing a
sheet crown moves successively in the left-downward direction, and a sheet crown when
the sleeve-roll type back-up roll is revolved one turn with the cross angle fixed
at 1.5 degrees is represented by points A', B', C' and D'.
[0038] Accordingly, if a crown pattern of a backup roll is fixed, according to roll-crossing
a sheet crown moves only on a straight line, for example, connecting the points C
and C'.
[0039] Whereas, by varying a crown pattern and changing a cross angle by means of sleeve-roll
type backup rolls, a sheet crown can take any arbitrary point within a hexagon formed
by connecting points A, B, B', D', C', and C. The quarter portion sheet crown control
amount ΔC
4 shown in the upper half of Fig. 6 is representation of a width in the direction of
the abscissa of this hexagon.
[0040] As described in detail above, in the rolling mill according to the present invention,
since a V-shaped crown can be further added to the V-, W-, A- and M-shaped crown patterns
formed by the sleeve-roll type backup rolls owing to provision of both a roll-crossing
device and sleeve-roll type backup rolls, the respective crown patterns are further
diversified, a sheet crown of a rolled material and complex sheet configuration defects
such as composite elongations can be simultaneously controlled.
[0041] In addition, it becomes possible to sufficiently control a sheet configuration even
if the eccentric amounts of the respective divided rolls are not enlarged, and so,
lives of the rolling bearings for supporting the respective divided rolls can be elongated.