Roll straightening machine and method for producing an elongated string member

Abstract

A roll straightening machine for straightening an elongated string member includes at least one first straightening roll rotatably mounted around a first rotation axis, and at least one second straightening roll rotatably mounted around a second rotation axis. The first and second rotation axis and rolls are oblique with respect to a longitudinal axis of an elongated string member to be received in the roll straightening machine, and also oblique with respect to one another. In order to provide a roll straightening machine that can be set up flexibly for different requirement profiles, the first rotation axis is mounted on a first holding device and the second rotation axis is mounted on a second holding device. The first and the second holding devices are supported by a frame in a removable manner, which is arranged to receive a variable number of holding devices having the straightening rolls.

Claims

1. A roll straightening machine for straightening an elongated string member, comprising: a frame including a first pair of rails and a second pair of rails; a first straightening roll having a first rotation axis; a second straightening roll having a second rotation axis, the first and second straightening rolls each being motor-driven, wherein each of the first and second rotation axes are oblique with respect to a longitudinal axis of the elongated string member to be received in the roll straightening machine, and wherein the first and second rotation axes are oblique with respect to one another; a first holding device arranged to support the first straightening roll for rotation about the first rotation axis; and a second holding device arranged to support the second straightening roll for rotation about the second rotation axis, wherein the first and the second holding devices are supported by the frame in a removable manner, wherein the first pair of rails and the second pair of rails each include a plurality of locations to receive holding devices, wherein the first and the second holding devices each have a pair of through holes, wherein the first pair of rails extends through the pair of through holes of the first holding device and the first holding device is positioned at one of the plurality of locations of the first pair of rails, and wherein the second pair of rails extends through the pair of through holes of the second holding device and the second holding device is positioned at one of the plurality of locations of the second pair of rails.

2. The roll straightening machine according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of additional holding devices, each additional holding device including a straightening roll, wherein, on each pair of rails, at least one of the plurality of additional holding devices is received, and wherein the number of the additional holding devices received on each pair of rails is the same.

3. The roll straightening machine according to claim 1, wherein one or both of the first holding device and the second holding device includes a substantially cuboid body.

4. The roll straightening machine according to claim 1, wherein the first and second holding devices have an identical construction.

5. The roll straightening machine according to claim 1, wherein the first pair of rails is arranged beneath the second pair of rails on the frame, and wherein each rail within the first pair rails and the second pair of rails extend parallel to one another.

6. The roll straightening machine according to claim 1, wherein a first polishing device is provided on the first holding device, the first polishing device being arranged such that, during the operation of the straightening machine, the first polishing device polishes the first straightening roll, and wherein a second polishing device is provided on the second holding device, the second polishing device being arranged such that, during the operation of the straightening machine, the second polishing device polishes the second straightening roll.

7. The roll straightening machine according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the first polishing device and the second polishing device includes a motor-driven polishing punch.

8. The roll straightening machine according to claim 1, wherein at least one rail of the first pair of rails includes a stop on a first end and a thread on a second end, wherein, on the thread, a first nut is arranged, and wherein the first nut clamps holding devices that are mounted on the at least one rail of the first pair of rails against each other and against the stop.

9. The roll straightening machine according to claim 8, wherein the first nut is a hydraulic nut.

10. The roll straightening machine according to claim 8, wherein the first holding device is movable relative to the first pair of rails by sliding the first pair of rails through the through holes of the first holding device, and wherein the second holding device is movable relative to the second pair of rails by sliding the second pair of rails through the through holes of the second holding device.

11. The roll straightening machine according to claim 8, wherein at least one rail of the second pair of rails includes a stop on a first end and a thread on a second end, wherein, on the thread, a second nut is arranged, and wherein the second nut clamps holding devices that are mounted on the at least one rail of the second pair of rails against each other and against the stop.

12. The roll straightening machine according to claim 11, wherein the second nut is a hydraulic nut.

13. A method for producing an elongated string member, comprising the steps: providing an elongated string member to be straightened; and straightening the elongated string member with a roll straightening machine according to claim 1.

14. A roll straightening machine for straightening an elongated string member, comprising: a frame including a first rail and a second rail; a first straightening roll having a first rotation axis; a second straightening roll having a second rotation axis, the first and second straightening rolls each being motor-driven, wherein each of the first and second rotation axes are oblique with respect to a longitudinal axis of the elongated string member to be received in the roll straightening machine, and wherein the first and second rotation axes are oblique with respect to one another; a first holding device arranged to support the first straightening roll for rotation about the first rotation axis; and a second holding device arranged to support the second straightening roll for rotation about the second rotation axis, wherein the first and the second holding devices are supported by the frame in a removable manner, wherein the first rail and the second rail each include a plurality of locations to receive holding devices, wherein at least one of the first rail and the second rail includes a stop on a first end and a thread on a second end, wherein, on the thread, a first nut is arranged, and wherein the first nut clamps holding devices that are mounted on the at least one of the first rail and the second rail against each other and against the stop.

15. The roll straightening machine according to claim 14, further comprising a plurality of additional holding devices, each additional holding device including a straightening roll, wherein, on each rail, at least one of the plurality of additional holding devices is received, and wherein the number of additional holding devices received on each rail is the same.

16. The roll straightening machine according to claim 14, wherein one or both of the first holding device and the second holding device includes a substantially cuboid body.

17. The roll straightening machine according to claim 14, wherein the first and second holding devices have an identical construction.

18. The roll straightening machine according to claim 14, wherein the first nut is a hydraulic nut.

19. The roll straightening machine according to claim 14, wherein the first and the second holding devices each have a through hole, wherein the first rail extends through the through hole of the first holding device and the first holding device is positioned at one of the plurality of locations of the first rail, and wherein the second rail extends through the through hole of the second holding device and the second holding device is positioned at one of the plurality of locations of the second rail.

20. The roll straightening machine according to claim 14, wherein a first polishing device is provided on the first holding device, the first polishing device being arranged such that, during the operation of the straightening machine, the first polishing device polishes the first straightening roll, and wherein a second polishing device is provided on the second holding device, the second polishing device being arranged such that, during the operation of the straightening machine, the second polishing device polishes the second straightening roll.

21. The roll straightening machine according to claim 20, wherein at least one of the first polishing device and the second polishing device includes a motor-driven polishing punch.

22. A method for producing an elongated string member, comprising the steps: providing an elongated string member to be straightened; and straightening the elongated string member with the roll straightening machine according to claim 14.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a roll straightening machine according to an embodiment of the present invention at an angle from above.

(2) FIG. 2 shows a partially cutaway schematic side view of the roll straightening machine of FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 3 shows a schematic side view of a polishing means for the rolls of the roll straightening machine of FIGS. 1 and 2.

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the holding means of FIGS. 1 and 2.

(5) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rolls of FIGS. 1 and 2.

(6) In the figures, identical elements are marked with identical reference numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) FIG. 1 shows a perspective representation of the inclined roll straightening machine 1 according to the invention at an angle from above. In the representation it can be seen that the machine 1 has a frame 2 as central element, which, as a carrier, supports the essential functional units of the straightening machine 1. This frame 2 consists first of all of two vertical carrier plates 3, 4, which are held together by means of two upper longitudinal carriers 5, 6 as well as two lower longitudinal carriers 7, 8 (of which, in FIG. 1, only the first longitudinal carrier 7 is represented). The carrier plates 3, 4 and the longitudinal carriers 5, 6, 7, 8 together form a self-supporting construction on which the additional units and elements of the roll straightening machine 1 are fastened or suspended.

(8) In the representation of FIG. 1 it can already be seen that, in addition to the longitudinal carriers 5, 6, 7, 8, the roll straightening machine 1 comprises rails formed as rods with circular cross section, whose hydraulic nuts 9, 10, 11, 12 protrude from the carrier plate 3.

(9) The rails of the frame 2 form the central elements in the construction of the roll straightening machine according to the invention. In order to describe said roll straightening machine more precisely, we will now turn to the representation of FIG. 2.

(10) On the left side of FIG. 2, one can clearly see two of the four hydraulic nuts 10, 12, and in their extension in a longitudinal direction the respective associated rails 13, 15. The rails form, in pairs, an upper pair of rails 13, 13′ and a lower pair of rails 15, 15′ (FIG. 4). The rails 13, 15 are all parallel to one another and arranged in pairs vertically one above the other.

(11) The upper and the lower rolls of the roll straightening machine 1 are received on and supported by the rails 13, 15, by means of corresponding holding means 17. In the represented embodiment, the straightening machine 1 comprises five pairs of upper rolls 24, 25 and lower rolls 29. For the sake of simplicity only two upper rolls 24, 25 and a lower roll 29 of this total of 10 rolls are represented in FIG. 2. Each roll of a pair of rolls is suspended by means of a holding means 17 on a rail pair. Here, all the upper rolls 24, 25 are suspended on the upper rails 13, while the lower rolls 29 are suspended on the lower rails 15.

(12) The tube to be straightened 20, can be an elongated string member that during the operation of the machine 1, extends in a longitudinal direction through said machine from an inlet 34 to an outlet. As shown in FIG. 5, in order to form an inclined roll straightening machine 1, the rotation axis of all the rolls are oriented at an angle relative to the tube to be straightened in the straightening machine, i.e., they are oblique with respect to the tube to be straightened.

(13) In FIG. 2, the rotation axis of the first upper straightening roll 24 and of the first lower straightening roll 29 are drawn in as examples and provided with the reference numerals 43, 44. In addition, in each case the rotation axis 43, 44 of two rolls of a pair of upper and lower rolls are arranged at an angle with respect to one another, i.e., also oblique with respect to one another (FIG. 5).

(14) The profile of the outer surface of each individual roll 24 to 33 is hyperbolic in a sectional plane along the radius of the rolls. Each one of the rolls has its own drive motor 45, so that, when the rolls are engaged with the product to be straightened, i.e., the steel tube to be straightened, the rolls transport the tube from the inlet 34 to the outlet.

(15) As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, one of the holding means 17 has two through holes 16 that have the same center-to-center distance as the rails 13 and 15, so that the holding means 17 in each case can be slid onto a pair of rails 13, 15.

(16) Obviously, by sliding or pulling the holding means 17 on or off the rails 13, 15, the rolls can be exchanged simply, or different configurations of roll arrangements can be provided. In particular, it is possible to implement a ten-roll straightening machine with five pairs of upper and lower rolls (this configuration is shown in the figures) and to convert said machine, by removing a pair of upper and lower rolls with their holding means 17, into an eight-roll straightening machine.

(17) In order to make this modularity of the machine 1 possible, all the holding means 17 are constructed identically. In particular, they have identical dimensions of their cuboid base body.

(18) In the embodiment shown, the longitudinal extension of each rail 13, 15 between the hydraulic nut 9, 10, 11, 12 and the stop 4 is a whole-number multiple, namely the fivefold multiple, of the longitudinal extension of a single holding means 17 plus a residual length. In the implementation of a ten-roll straightening machine, the amount of space remaining at the front and at the back on each pair of rails 13 and 15, that is to say the residual length, is filled by means of spacers 23, which have the same construction as the holding means 17, wherein, however, no rolls are received on these spacers 23. Together, the spacers 23 received on a rail have a longitudinal extension which is approximately equal to the residual length.

(19) If a straightening machine 1 with a smaller number of rolls is to be implemented, then, on each pair of rails, one or more holding means are replaced by place holders that have the same longitudinal extension as a single holding means.

(20) In order to achieve the desired stability, conical rings of each holding means, which enclose the rails 13 and 15 concentrically, engage in the recesses complementary thereto of the respective adjacent holding means 17.

(21) In addition, by means of the hydraulic nuts 9, 10, 11, 12 which push against the respective first holding means or a spacer element, the holding means are clamped against a stop of the rails 13, 15, stop which is formed by a carrier plate 4 located in the back viewed in a longitudinal direction.

(22) In addition, in the schematic side view of FIG. 3, one can see that each one of the rolls has its own polishing means 40 (these are not represented in FIGS. 1 and 2), which makes it possible to feed a polishing stamp 41 in the radial direction towards the roll surface 42, so that the polishing stamp 41 engages with the roll surface 42 and polishes said roll surface when the roll 24 rotates.

(23) For the purposes of the original disclosure, it is pointed out that all the features accessible to a person skilled in the art from the present description, the drawings and the claims, even though they have been described in concrete terms only in combination with certain additional features, can be combined, both alone and also in any desired combination, with other features or groups of features disclosed herein, to the extent that this is not explicitly ruled out or that technical circumstances make such combinations impossible or meaningless. A comprehensive, explicit description of all the conceivable combinations of features is dispensed with herein only for the sake of brevity and readability of the description.

(24) While the invention has been represented and described in detail in the drawings and in the preceding description, this representation and description have been provided only as examples and are not intended as a limitation of the scope of protection as defined by the claims. The invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments.

(25) Modifications of the disclosed embodiments are evident to the person skilled in the art from the drawings, the description and the appended claims. In the claims the word “comprise” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article “a” does not exclude a plural. The mere fact that certain features are claimed in different claims does not rule out their combination. Reference numerals in the claims are not intended as a limitation of the scope of protection.