1. Field
Aspects of the present invention relate generally to rolling mills in which hot rolled steel rod is formed into a continuous series of rings, and the rings are deposited in an overlapping pattern on a conveyor where they undergo controlled cooling before being gathered into coils in a reforming chamber. Embodiments of the present invention further relate to a guide with an improved and adjustable nose cone adapted to be encircled by the rings as they free fall from the delivery end of the conveyor into the reforming chamber.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional rod rolling mill, as depicted diagrammatically in
The upper end of the mandrel 20 is typically defined by a tapered nose cone 22 having a horizontal profile when viewed from above that is optimally configured and sized to accept and guide rings of a specific rod size. Experience has shown, however, that rings of differently sized rods act differently as they drop from the delivery end of the conveyor. Thus, a nose cone designed to handle one rod size may not be suitable for other rod sizes, the rings of which may not lay flat as they accumulate in the reforming chamber.
In the past, mill operators have sought to address this problem by employing multiple interchangeable nose cones, with each nose cone having a horizontal profile configured and sized to handle a specific rod size. The maintenance of multiple nose cones represents a significant capital investment, and the task of interchanging one nose cone for another is both time consuming and labor intensive.
Broadly stated, embodiments of the present invention address the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a guide comprising a vertically projecting mandrel terminating at its upper end in a nose cone having a horizontal profile that can be changed to accommodate different rod sizes.
In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the nose cone is defined by at least one element mounted to adjustably project outwardly from a central axis of said mandrel.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the nose cone comprises a plurality of angularly spaced fins extending radially from a central axis of the mandrel, with the horizontal profile of the nose cone being defined by outer edges of the fins, and with an adjustment mechanism for shifting at least one of the fins outwardly from the mandrel's central axis.
Preferably, at least one fin is shifted outwardly on the downstream side of the nose cone, Le., in the direction of delivery of rings from the end of the conveyor.
These and other embodiments, features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The components described hereinafter as making up the various embodiments are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive, Many suitable components that would perform the same or a similar function as well as the materials described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of embodiments of the present invention.
Referring now to the figures, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts throughout the views, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
With reference to
The fins 32 may be of the type depicted in
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, and in order to accommodate other rod sizes, the horizontal profile of the nose cone may be enlarged by projecting at least one of the fins outwardly from axis A to achieve the altered profile P2 shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
The nose cone's horizontal profile can be preferably enlarged on the downstream side of the nose cone, i.e. and as shown in
With an exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in
While exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, modifications, additions and deletions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and its equivalents, as set forth in the following claims.