BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This present disclosure relates to slitting of coil stock and the proper and safe collection of the scrap that is necessarily generated. When coil stock is slitted, the edge quality, width variation, or the total width of the individual slit coils necessarily generates edge trim scrap. This scrap is typically a thin continuous ribbon that is generated while the slitter is processing the coil stock. Scrap must be handled with care and properly captured. Scrap can be wound or chopped. A scrap chopper slices the scrap into individual lengths while it is being generated. Winders coil up the scrap into one continuous coil. Current winders in the art involve a few different styles. A first style is a fixed spool where the scrap is wound. The spool stores the scrap and is also used to transport it. A second style involves a spool with a collapsible spindle. The collapsible spindle design is open on one end while the coil is being wound. When the scrap winder spool is full, the spindle is collapsed enough to release the scrap coil bundle. Feeding the scrap winder is dangerous and difficult, especially when dealing with a large gauge metal or an unpredictable material. An improved scrap winder is necessary.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure describes a scrap winder that has a mandrel that rotates on a pivoting frame. The pivoting frame pivots upward to allow gravity to release the bundle of wound scrap from the mandrel. The mandrel is tapered to facilitate releasing the wound scrap. A yoke slides a sliding hub between an extended position to a refracted position. The extended position allows a cable to be unwound and mated to the beginning of a strip of scrap. When the scrap is pulled enough to be engaged with the hub, it is placed between protrusions or a grouping of posts that causes the scrap to coil when the hub is rotated, also known as a grab. The hub is then retracted and the mandrel is pivoted down to mate with the hub. As the scrap is wound, the mandrel begins to fill up.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of this invention has been chosen wherein:
FIG. 1 is a top view of the slitting line;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the scrap winder in the winding position;
FIG. 3 is a side view of the scrap winder in the release position;
FIG. 4 is a section view taken about line 4-4 of the sliding hub in the retracted position;
FIG. 5 is a section view similar to that of FIG. 4 showing the sliding hub in the extended position;
FIG. 6 is a section side view of the retrieving end of the cable;
FIG. 7 is a top view of the retrieving end of the cable; and
FIG. 8 is a front view of the scrap winder.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A slitting line 10 has an uncoiler station 12 where a master coil 14 of sheet metal 16 is unwound. The sheet metal 16 then proceeds to a slitting station 18 where a series of rotating knives 20 separate the sheet metal 16 into strips 22 of a predetermined width. These strips 22 then proceed to a coiling station 24 where they are wound into slit strip 26. At the slitting station 18, a ribbon of edge trim 28 is generated. The edge trim 28 is generated because of the edge quality of the master coil 14 and/or the combined width of the strips 22 may not add up perfectly to the width of the sheet metal 16. This edge trim 28 is generated as the sheet metal 16 is slit into strips 22 and must be handled properly. The edge trim 28 can have razor sharp edges in the cases of thin stock and be very dangerous for the user to handle. Other times, the stock may be thick material that is difficult to wrestle from the slitter station 18 to the scrap winder 30. The scrap winder 30 is designed to safely wind and handle the edge trim 28. The scrap winder 30 winds the edge trim 28 at the same speed as the slitting line 10 to maintain tension on it during winding. Depending on the arrangement of the portions of the slitting line 10, an eyelet 32 can be inline between the scrap winder 30 and the slitting station 18. The eyelet 32 is affixed to the floor or part of the slitting line 10 to guide the edge trim 28 from the slitting station 18 to the scrap winder 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the slitting line 10 has two scrap winders 30 that are mirror images of each other, but other configurations are possible.
The scrap winder 30 is designed to safely coil the edge trim 28 and then transfer a scrap bundle 34 of edge trim 28 into a hopper 36. The scrap winder 30 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 has a tapered mandrel 38 with a flange plate 40, a tapered portion 42 and a tip 44. The tapered portion 42 is wider near the flange plate 40 and smallest near the tip 44. As shown in FIG. 3, the mandrel 38 rotates on a shaft 46 about an axis 48 and is supported by bearings 50. The mandrel is attached to a pivoting frame 52 that pivots about a pivot point 54. A cylinder 56 as shown in FIG. 3 is attached to the pivoting frame 52 at a pivoting attachment point 58 on one end and a frame attachment point 60 of the scrap winder 30 at the other end. The cylinder 56 moves the pivoting frame 52 and mandrel 38 between a winding position as shown in FIG. 2 and a release position as shown in FIG. 3. The mandrel 38 is shown as free-wheeling on bearings 50 but can be driven separately by a motor or other means.
The scrap winder 30 has a frame 62 where various parts are attached, including the pivoting frame 52 and cylinder 56. An inboard flange plate 64 has a mandrel facing side 63 and a yoke facing side 65. As shown in FIG. 5, the inboard flange plate 64 has a center aperture 66 and a series of sliding pins 68 extending from the yoke facing side 65. At terminal ends 70 of the sliding pins 68 is a backstop 72 affixed thereto.
Located in the center aperture 66 is a sliding hub 86 (FIGS. 3-5). The sliding hub 86 slides between an extended position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 and a retracted position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. In the refracted position, the sliding hub is near the backstop 72. The sliding hub 86 is driven by a key affixed to the driving shaft 74 (FIG. 3) that mates with a slot 85 (FIG. 4) on the sliding hub 86. The key is affixed to the driving shaft 74 using screws or other mechanical means. It is contemplated that the driving shaft 74 is rotationally coupled to the sliding hub through a spline interface or other means that allow axial movement between the two while transferring rotational torque. The driving shaft 74 is supported by bearings 76 and driven by a motor 78 that is coupled to the driving shaft 74 through pulleys 80, 82, and a belt or chain 84. The motor 78 could be hydraulic, electric, or driven by other torque generating device. The motor drives the driving shaft 74 at a controlled torque to regulate the tension in the edge trim 28 as it is wound on the tapered mandrel 38. It is contemplated that the driving shaft 74 is driven directly by the motor 78 or other means. The sliding hub 86 slides on the sliding pins 68 and rotates with backstop 72 and inboard flange plate 64. The sliding hub 86 further includes a series of protrusions 96 that extend from a front face 98 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 to form a grab. Behind the front face 98 is a puller cable reel 100 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The puller cable reel 100 is a sheave with a minor outside diameter 102 that is bordered on one end with the back of the front face 98 and a driving portion 104 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 on the other end. The driving portion 104 has a series of apertures 106 that are designed to receive the sliding pins 68. The driving portion 104 further includes a radial channel 108 that allows a yoke 90 (FIG. 3) to axially move the sliding hub 86 on the sliding pins 68. When the sliding hub 86 is refracted, the front face 98 is nearly flush with the inboard flange plate 64. When the sliding hub 86 is extended, the puller cable reel 100 is exposed to the mandrel facing surface 63, allowing the user to retrieve a cable 110 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The cable 110 is affixed to the puller cable reel 100 on one end and has a clip 112 on the loose end. The clip 112 is designed to grab onto the start end 114 of the edge trim 28. The clip 112 has an aperture 116 that the start end 114 is placed into. Tension in the cable 110 causes the aperture 116 and edge trim 28 to bind, thereby grabbing the edge trim 28. For thin material, the edge trim 28 can be passed through and bent around the aperture 116 to form a more secure connection between the clip 112 and the edge trim 28. Rotating the sliding hub 86 causes the cable 110 to wind around the minor outside diameter 102 (FIGS. 4 and 5), pulling the start end 114 toward the scrap winder 30.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the pivoting frame 52 is in the winding position and the sliding hub is in the retracted position, the tip 44 of the mandrel 38 abuts terminal ends of the protrusions 96 on the sliding hub 86. This creates a winding drum, an area for the edge trim 28 to be captured and wind around the tapered portion 42.
A cylinder or actuator 88 moves the yoke 90 about a fulcrum 92 to slide the sliding hub 86 between the extended and retracted position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The actuator is attached at point 94 on one end and a sliding hub mating portion 118 is located on the opposite end. The mating portion 118 is fixed to the axial position of the radial channel 108 (FIG. 2) to facilitate the movement of the sliding hub 86. The mating portion 118 allows the sliding hub 86 to rotate. It is contemplated that bushings or bearings are located in the radial channel 108 between the mating portion 118 and the radial channel 108.
To assist a radially compact bundle 34 (FIG. 1), an oscillating guide 122 is affixed to the frame 62. The oscillating guide 122 has an aperture 124 (FIG. 8) that the edge trim 28 passes through. The guide 122 moves parallel to the axis of the driving shaft 74, driven by cylinder 126 to direct the edge trim 28 to wind around the mandrel 38 along the axis 48 instead of bunching up adjacent to the inboard flange plate 64. By directing the edge trim 28, the overall diameter of the bundle 34 can be better controlled.
When the slitting line 10 is started, the master coil 14 is unrolled and the sheet metal 16 is fed to the slitting station 18. Here, the edge trim 28 is generated with the start end 114 leading the strip. At this point, the pivoting frame 52 is moved to the release position as shown in FIG. 3 and the sliding hub 86 is in the extended position, revealing the puller cable reel 100. The cable 110 is then extended by either releasing a portion of the puller cable reel 100 or rotating the sliding hub 86. The clip 112 is then firmly attached to the start end 114 of the edge trim 28. Next, the motor 78 and driving shaft 74 are engaged, rotating the sliding hub 86 to retract the cable 110. As the start end 114 is pulled sufficiently and becomes adjacent to the front face 98, the start end 114 is disengaged from the clip 112 of the cable 110. The start end 114 is then placed between the protrusions 96, also referred to as a gripper slot. The sliding hub 86 can then be retracted and the pivoting frame 52 can be moved to the winding position as shown in FIG. 2. The motor 78 and driving shaft 74 are then engaged again, causing the start end 114 that is trapped between protrusions 96 to begin to coil around the tapered portion 42 of the mandrel 38. The mandrel 38 begins to fill and the guide 122 begins to move from being aligned with the inboard flange plate 64 towards the flange plate 40, causing the individual wraps of the edge trim 28 to fill along the tapered portion 42 of the mandrel 38. As the master coil 14 becomes depleted, the mandrel 38 fills, eventually holding edge trim 28 of the entire length of the sheet metal 16 as a bundle 34. When the entire length of the edge trim 28 is held by the scrap winder 30, the pivoting frame 52 can then be moved to the release position as shown in FIG. 3, where gravity causes the coiled edge trim to fall onto a ramped surface 120 and then into the hopper 36.
It is understood that while certain aspects of the disclosed subject matter have been shown and described, the disclosed subject matter is not limited thereto and encompasses various other embodiments and aspects. No specific limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred. Modifications may be made to the disclosed subject matter as set forth in the following claims.
Patent Grant
9808951
