Ring-rolling machine and method for lifting and lowering the mandrel roll of a ring-rolling machine

Abstract

In a ring-rolling machine having a mandrel roll and a related radial roll, the mandrel roll can be handled in operationally reliable and structurally simple manner if an axial bearing of the mandrel roll is opened by way of an opening drive that does not rotate along with the mandrel roll and/or is closed by inserting the mandrel roll into the axial bearing.

Claims

1. A ring-rolling machine comprising: a mandrel roll mounted in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing, a lifting apparatus for lifting the mandrel roll, pushing jaws, a radial roll related to the mandrel roll, and an opening element comprising locking latches and a wedge, the wedge comprising blocking latches, wherein the upper mandrel roll bearing is configured as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing and an axial bearing, the axial bearing encompasses a mandrel roll head of the mandrel roll and supports the mandrel roll at a bottom, the axial bearing is configured so that it can be opened by way of the opening element, the locking latches prevent opening of the axial bearing if the mandrel roll is not supported from below, the blocking latches prevent closing of the axial bearing if no mandrel roll is present in a region of the axial bearing, the pushing jaws are pressed against the locking latches via the wedge to displace the locking latches outward into an open position to open the axial bearing when the mandrel roll is supported from below, and the locking latches have a locking effect by way of force fit or friction fit and are separate from the pushing jaws.

2. The ring-rolling machine according to claim 1, wherein the locking latches have at least one latch contact point on which the mandrel roll comes to rest.

3. The ring-rolling machine according to claim 1, wherein the opening element comprises an opening drive that does not rotate along with the mandrel roll, said opening drive being configured to act on a drive plate that opens the axial bearing and rotates along with the mandrel roll.

4. A method for lifting and lowering a mandrel roll of a ring-rolling machine, the ring-rolling machine being according to claim 1, the method comprising: displacing the mandrel roll so as to lift and lower the mandrel roll, opening the axial bearing by way of the opening element, preventing, via the locking latches, opening of the axial bearing if the mandrel roll is not supported from below, and preventing, via the blocking latches, closing of the axial bearing if no mandrel roll is present in the region of the axial bearing.

5. A method for lifting and lowering a mandrel roll of a ring-rolling machine, the ring-rolling machine being according to claim 1 and further comprising a bearing body, an operating guide, and a discharge guide, the upper mandrel roll bearing being disposed on the bearing body, the method comprising: displacing the mandrel roll so as to lift and lower the mandrel roll, guiding the bearing body by way of the operating guide, vertically in a vertical operating region, guiding the bearing body by way of the discharge guide in a vertical discharge region, and transferring guidance of the bearing body between the operating guide and the discharge guide when the bearing body departs from the vertical operating region or enters back into the vertical operating region.

6. A method for lifting and lowering a mandrel roll of a ring-rolling machine, the ring-rolling machine being according to claim 1 and further comprising a bearing body and a discharge guide, the upper mandrel roll bearing being disposed on the bearing body, the method comprising: displacing the mandrel roll so as to lift and lower the mandrel roll, guiding, via the discharge guide, the bearing body in a vertical discharge region, and clamping the bearing body in place during operation.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the opening element includes an opening drive that does not rotate along with the mandrel roll or wherein the axial bearing is opened by inserting the mandrel roll into the axial bearing.

8. The ring-rolling machine according to claim 1, wherein the wedge is disposed at a wedge inclination angle, wherein the pushing jaws are disposed at a pushing jaw inclination angle, and wherein the wedge inclination angle and the pushing jaw inclination angle are dimensioned so that the locking latches are subject to a self-locking effect, the wedge inclination angle is obtuse, or the locking latches are subject to a self-locking effect and the wedge inclination angle is obtuse.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

(2) In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

(3) FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a ring-rolling machine;

(4) FIG. 2 shows a detail view of the operating guide and discharge guide of the arrangement according to FIG. 1, with the mandrel roll lowered, in section parallel to the drawing plane according to FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 3 shows a rear view of the arrangement shown in FIG. 2;

(6) FIG. 4 shows the arrangement according to FIGS. 2 and 3 in a perspective view;

(7) FIG. 5 shows the arrangement according to FIGS. 2 to 4 in a schematic view;

(8) FIG. 6 shows the arrangement according to FIGS. 2 to 5 with the mandrel roll raised to a discharge position, in a similar representation as that of FIG. 2;

(9) FIG. 7 shows the arrangement according to FIGS. 2 to 6 with the mandrel roll raised to a discharge position, in a similar representation as that of FIG. 3;

(10) FIG. 8 shows the arrangement according to FIGS. 2 to 7 with the mandrel roll raised to a discharge position, in a similar representation as that of FIG. 4;

(11) FIG. 9 shows a part of the axial bearing of the ring-rolling machine according to FIGS. 1 to 8 in a schematic sectional view, with the axial bearing open;

(12) FIG. 10 shows the arrangement according to FIG. 9 without the opening drive, in a section perpendicular to the drawing plane according to FIG. 9;

(13) FIG. 11 shows the arrangement according to FIGS. 9 and 10, with the axial bearing closed, in a section identical to FIG. 9;

(14) FIG. 12 shows the arrangement according to FIGS. 9 to 11 in a perspective view; and

(15) FIG. 13 shows the arrangement according to FIGS. 9 to 12 in a perspective view similar to FIG. 12, partially broken open.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(16) Referring in detail to the drawings, the ring-rolling machine 10 shown schematically as a whole in FIG. 1 has a mandrel roll 40 and a related radial roll 12, which can interact with one another in known manner to roll rings.

(17) Furthermore, two axial rolls 13 and 14 are provided in a carriage 15 of the ring-rolling machine 10, wherein the carriage 15 can be set with reference to the radial roll 12, along a guide 16.

(18) For the different adjustment possibilities, the ring-rolling machine 10 has a plurality of linear drives 17, which include a lifting apparatus 60 for the mandrel roll 40 or for a bearing body 24 that carries the mandrel roll 40.

(19) The axial rolls 13, 14 can also be set relative to one another by way of one of the linear drives 17, for example, in that the upper axial roll 13 can be lowered and lifted. In this exemplary embodiment, the lower axial roll 14 remains in a vertical 59 position, which corresponds to a table 11 in terms of its height, on which table a ring to be rolled can slide.

(20) As is particularly evident from FIG. 2, the ring-rolling machine 10 has an upper mandrel roll bearing 21 and a lower mandrel roll bearing 22.

(21) In this exemplary embodiment, the upper mandrel roll bearing 21 comprises both a radial bearing 23 and an axial bearing 30, which are provided on a bearing body 24, in each instance. In this regard, the upper mandrel roll bearing 21 serves as a fixed bearing in this exemplary embodiment. It is understood that in deviating embodiments, however, a different configuration can be selected.

(22) The lower mandrel roll bearing 22 merely has a radial bearing 23 and serves as a floating bearing, wherein components of an axial bearing can also be provided on the lower mandrel roll bearing 22 in deviating embodiments, if necessary.

(23) In the case of the present exemplary embodiment, the mandrel roll bearings 21, 22 are configured as roller bearings, in each instance, in which a bearing bushing 29 is mounted, at first, which bushing then encompasses the mandrel roll 40 radially in sufficiently tight manner. This makes it possible, on the one hand, for the mandrel roll 40 to be vertically displaced along the bearing bushing 29 of the lower mandrel roll bearing 22, so that it can be mounted at different vertical heights in different operating positions. On the other hand, the mandrel roll 40 can then also be removed from the mandrel roll bearings 21, 22 entirely; this is correspondingly advantageous for setup work, maintenance work, and the like, particularly for mandrel roll replacement.

(24) The bearing body 24 can be displaced vertically 59 by means of the lifting apparatus 60, which comprises a lifting cylinder 61. For this purpose, the lifting cylinder 61 is held on the remainder of the ring-rolling machine 10 by way of a cylinder framework 62 in this exemplary embodiment, and vertically 59 drives a bearing body framework 63 by way of a lifting piston 64. The bearing body framework 63 is firmly connected with the bearing body 24, so that in this manner, vertical 59 displacement of the bearing body 24 is easily possible, as shown as examples in FIGS. 2 to 8. It is understood that in deviating embodiments, other lifting apparatuses 60 can also be provided, for example by means of cable hoists or by means of electric motor drives or the like.

(25) For operationally reliable vertical displacement, the bearing body 24 is guided in a guide. This guide has an operating guide 25 and a discharge guide 26 in the present embodiment.

(26) Both the operating guide 25 and the discharge guide 26 have guide elements 27 in the case of the present ring-rolling machine 10, which elements are provided on the bearing body 24 and interact with guide bodies 28 firmly disposed on the remainder of the ring-rolling machine 10. It is understood that if necessary, the guide elements 27 can also be provided indirectly on the bearing body 24, which body can also be configured in multiple parts, if necessary, if this appears to be required in deviating embodiments, as long as sufficient guidance can be guaranteed.

(27) In the present embodiment, the guide elements 27 of the operating guide 25 are configured as guide rails, which interact with guide bodies 28 structured as rollers. It is understood that if necessary, other guide elements 27 or guide bodies 28, such as slide blocks, for example, can also be used, as long as sufficiently stable guidance is guaranteed.

(28) Supplemental to the guide elements 27 of the operating guide 25, which are structured as guide rails, clamping elements 65B are furthermore provided, which can be displaced by way of clamping drives 65, in such a manner that the related guide bodies 28 can be clamped in place as clamping bodies 65A. In this manner, the bearing body 24 can be clamped in place by means of the clamping drives 65, in different operating positions along the operating guide 25, and consequently the mandrel roll 50 can be operated in operating positions at different vertical heights.

(29) In the present ring-rolling machine 10, the guide bodies 28 of the discharge guide 26 are provided with rolling bodies, not numbered, which interact with guide elements 27 configured as guide rails, which elements extend upward, parallel to the lifting cylinder 61 and to the cylinder frameworks and bearing body frameworks 62, 63. This embodiment allows operationally reliable lifting and lowering in structurally simple manner, wherein here, too, a slide guide or the like is provided in deviating exemplary embodiments, if necessary.

(30) As is directly evident, the operating guide 25 and the combination of clamping bodies 65A and clamping elements 65B allow vertical displacement of the bearing body 24 and consequently of the mandrel roll 40 over an operating region 51, while the discharge guide 26 allows vertical displacement over a discharge region 52, wherein the guide lengths 53, 54 of the two regions, the operating region and the discharge region 51, 52 overlap. In the overlap, the guide width of the operating guide 25 widens away from the operating region 51 toward the discharge region 52, so that in this manner, threading of the guide elements 27 of the operating guide 25 into the guide bodies 28 of the operating guide 25 can be easily guaranteed.

(31) For the remainder, the operating guide 25 is selected to be narrower than the discharge guide 26 outside of the overlap region, and this particularly allows good threading of the mandrel roll 40 into the lower mandrel roll bearing 22 and stable guidance in the region of the clamping bodies 65A and clamping elements 65B. Then, the guide play until clamping can be reduced by way of the clamping drives 65, by means of the clamping bodies 65A and the clamping elements 65B.

(32) Furthermore, in the present exemplary embodiment, the operating guide plane 55 and the discharge guide area 56, which is also configured as a plane, are disposed at a distance from one another, wherein the operating guide plane 55 intersects the mandrel roll 40 in the present exemplary embodiment. The latter brings about particularly stable and symmetrical guidance of the bearing body 24 and consequently also of the mandrel roll 40 in the operating region 51; ultimately, this is not necessary in the discharge region 52. Because of the fact that the operating guide plane 55 and the discharge guide area 56 are at a distance from one another, sufficient construction space remains, in each instance, for the respective modules of the operating guide 25 and of the discharge guide 26.

(33) The guide bodies 28 of the operating guide 25, on the one hand, and of the discharge guide 26, on the other hand, can overlap viewed horizontally 58, and this accordingly saves construction space in the vertical 59 direction.

(34) As can be seen in FIGS. 9 to 13, the axial bearing 30 has opening means 31 by means of which the axial bearing 30 can be opened and closed. This makes it possible to replace the mandrel roll 40 in fast and operationally reliable manner, wherein the axial bearing 30 encompasses a mandrel roll head 41 of the mandrel roll 40 in the present exemplary embodiment, and axially supports it from below and also from the top, in the present exemplary embodiment.

(35) In this exemplary embodiment, the opening means 31 comprises locking elements, which are configured as a locking latch 35 and can be opened and closed counter to spring pressure of springs 38, by way of pushing jaws 37, wherein the pushing jaws 37 can be pressed against the locking latches 35 by way of a wedge 66 that can be displaced by means of an opening drive 67, so that the locking latches 35 can be displaced outward into an open position.

(36) The locking latches 35 carry wear plates 68 on which an underside of the mandrel roll head 51 can come to rest, so that these wear plates 68 form latch contact points 34 of the locking latches 35.

(37) However, the inclination angles of the wedges 66 and of the pushing jaws 37 as well as the contact surfaces of the latch contact points 34 of the locking elements and the contact surfaces of the locking elements 32 or of the locking latches 35 that are active at the bearing bushing 29 are dimensioned in such a manner that the locking elements are subject to a self-locking effect when the mandrel roll 40 rests on the latch contact points 34 of the locking latches 35. In this way, the opening drive 67 cannot open the opening means 31 or the locking latches 35 and consequently the axial bearing 30 if the mandrel roll 40 is hanging on the latch contact points 34 of the locking elements 32 or of the locking latches 35.

(38) If, however, the mandrel roll 40 is supported from below, then the corresponding friction fit of the locking elements 32 or of the locking latches 35 opens, so that then, the pushing jaws 37 that are acted on by the wedge 66 and the opening drive 67 can open the locking latches 35 and consequently also the axial bearing 30.

(39) Blocking latches 36 are also provided in the wedge 66 as blocking elements, which drop out of the wedge 66 when the pushing jaws 37 are open and prevent closing of the locking latches 35 and of the pushing jaws 37 by means of the springs 38. These blocking latches 36 have a latch contact point 34 on a guide rod, not numbered, which latch contact point 34 raises the blocking latches 36 again when a mandrel roll is inserted, so that the locking latches 35 or the locking elements can be closed by means of the spring 38.

(40) In the present exemplary embodiment, the locking elements and the blocking elements are provided in a housing 70 that is affixed to the bearing bushing 29 and rotates with it. This allows particularly low-wear axial securing of the mandrel roll 40. The housing is in two parts and comprises a frame-like lower housing part 71 and a shell-like two-part upper housing part 72, thereby facilitating maintenance work and assembly work.

(41) The bearing bushing 29 of the upper mandrel roll bearing 21 is mounted in the bearing body 24 both axially and radially, in fixed and rotatable manner. Thus, the mandrel roll 40 can be mounted in fixed manner by way of the bearing bushing 29, radially and axially, accordingly. Similar mounting also takes place for the bearing bushing 29 of the lower mandrel roll bearing 22, wherein the latter supports the mandrel roll 40 axially, as a floating bearing, due to lack of axial fixation of the mandrel roll 40.

(42) The opening drive 67 is attached to the bearing body 24 by means of an opening drive support 69, and consequently does not rotate along with the housing 70 of the axial bearing 30 or with the mandrel roll 40. This allows opening of the axial bearing 30 without complex ducts, particularly without hydraulic ducts. Slide contacts might still be required, for example in order to electronically monitor the position of the latches, but this does not require any great currents and voltage and can be done wirelessly, if necessary, for example by means of RFID technology.

(43) For opening, the opening drive 67 acts on a drive plate 39, which is made available by the base of the wedge 66 in this exemplary embodiment.

(44) Accordingly, while only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST

(45) 10 ring-rolling machine 11 table 12 radial roll 13 upper axial roll 14 lower axial roll 15 carriage 16 guide 17 linear drive 21 upper mandrel roll bearing 22 lower mandrel roll bearing 23 radial bearing 24 bearing body 25 operating guide 26 discharge guide 27 guide element 28 guide body 29 bearing bushing 30 axial bearing 31 opening means 34 latch contact point 35 locking latch 36 blocking latch 37 pushing jaw 38 spring 39 drive plate 40 mandrel roll 41 mandrel roll head 42 mandrel roll foot 51 operating region 52 discharge region 53 guide length of the operating guide 25 54 guide length of the discharge guide 26 55 operating guide plane 56 discharge guide area 58 horizontal(ly) 59 vertical(ly) 60 lifting apparatus 61 lifting cylinder 62 cylinder framework 63 bearing body framework 64 lifting piston 65 clamping drive 65A clamping body 65B clamping element 66 wedge 67 opening drive 68 wear plate 69 opening drive support 70 housing 71 lower housing part 72 upper housing part