MOVABLE HEAT-INSULATING CARRIAGE IN METAL PROCESSING

Abstract

A heat-insulating device for use in a processing line for a metal strip to be transported along a strip conveying direction, preferably for use in a rolling mill, wherein the heat-insulating device has: at least one heat-insulating carriage which has a heat-insulating hood which, in order to reduce temperature losses, can be moved over the metal strip; and a transport, which has a drive for moving the heat-insulating carriage and is configured in such a way that the heat-insulating carriage can be moved out of the processing line and into the latter horizontally, preferably along a straight line.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. A heat-insulating installation for use in a processing line for a metal strip to be transported along a strip-conveying direction, the heat-insulating installation comprising: at least one heat-insulating carriage which has a heat-insulating hood that is movable over the metal strip for minimizing temperature losses; and a transporting means which includes a drive for relocating the heat-insulating carriage and is configured so that the heat-insulating carriage is driveable horizontally out of and into the processing line.

16. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 15, wherein the heat-insulating carriage is driveable horizontally along a straight line.

17. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 15, wherein the transporting means includes at least one rail and/or bar and/or roller.

18. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 15, wherein the drive is hydraulic and/or electric and/or pneumatic and/or a combination thereof.

19. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 15, further comprising a roller way provided along the processing line and having a plurality of rollers for transporting the metal strip, wherein the associated heat-insulating carriage is movable into and out of an intermediate space between two neighboring rollers.

20. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 15, wherein the heat-insulating carriage has lateral heat insulations which, conjointly with the heat-insulating hood, configure a profile that is U-shaped in a cross section perpendicular to the strip-conveying direction.

21. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 15, wherein the heat-insulating carriage has an undercarriage that lies opposite the heat-insulating hood so that the undercarriage is disposed below the metal strip when the driven-in heat-insulating carriage is moved over the metal strip.

22. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 21, wherein the undercarriage is configured to be heat-insulating to minimize temperature losses.

23. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 21, wherein the undercarriage has overpass elements capable of being brought into contact with the metal strip in order for the metal strip to pass over in a driven-in state of the heat-insulating carriage.

24. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 23, wherein the overpass elements are ribs and/or rollers.

25. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 20, wherein the heat-insulating hood, the lateral heat insulations, and the undercarriage configure walls of a tunnel that surrounds a heat-insulating space and through which the metal strip passes in a driven-in state of the heat-insulating carriage.

26. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 25, wherein the tunnel has a lateral slot, and/or at least one portion of the tunnel walls is provided such that said portion is openable and closeable.

27. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 20, wherein at least one of the lateral heat insulations is mounted so as to be pivotable.

28. The heat-insulating installation according to claim 15, wherein the heat-insulating carriage has an accessible platform.

29. A system for processing a metal strip, comprising: a roll table having rollers for transporting the metal strip along a strip-conveying direction; and at least one heat-insulating installation according to claim 15, the heat-insulating carriage of said heat-insulating installation being capable of being driven into and out of an associated intermediate space between neighboring rollers of the roll table.

30. The system according to claim 29, further comprising at least one induction heater capable of being driven into and out of an intermediate space that is not occupied by the heat-insulating carriage.

31. The system according to claim 29, wherein the heat-insulating installation includes a plurality of heat-insulating carriages, further comprising a connecting element that connects the plurality of heat-insulating carriages to one another to form a grouping so that group-wise driving-in and driving-out of the heat-insulating carriages is enabled.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0022] FIGS. 1A to 1C show a heat-insulating carriage for use in a rolling mill; FIG. 1A shows a three-dimensional illustration of the heat-insulating carriage; FIGS. 1B and 1C show sectional illustrations of the heat-insulating carriage in the laterally closed and open state.

[0023] FIG. 2 shows an assembly of a plurality of heat-insulating carriages on a base frame along a processing line, illustrated as a three-dimensional view from obliquely above.

[0024] FIG. 3 shows an assembly of a plurality of heat-insulating carriages in combination with induction heater modules on a base frame along a processing line, illustrated as a three-dimensional view from obliquely above.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Preferred exemplary embodiments will be described hereunder by means of the figures. Identical, similar, or elements with equivalent functions herein are provided with identical reference signs, and repeated description of these elements is to some extent dispensed with so as to avoid any redundancies.

[0026] FIG. 1A shows a heat-insulating carriage 10 according to an exemplary embodiment. The heat-insulating carriage 10 has a heat-insulating hood 11 and two lateral heat insulations 12 and 13 which in each case have a heat-insulating structure. For example, said heat-insulating elements (and optionally further elements for the heat insulation) can be constructed from materials having a low thermal conductivity and/or a high reflective capability in terms of heat radiation. The heat insulation can however also be guaranteed or facilitated by vacuum heat insulation, geometrical or structural properties of the respective elements.

[0027] The heat-insulating hood 11 and the two lateral heat insulations 12 and 13, conjointly with an undercarriage 14 which can likewise be embodied so as to be heat-insulating, surround a heat-insulating space 16 through which the strip-shaped material to be insulated (not shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C and 2) passes, said strip-shaped material also being referred to as strip material or metal strip. To this end, opening slots through which the strip-shaped material passes into and out from the heat-insulating space 16 of the heat-insulating carriage 10, are provided. The heat-insulating space 16 together with the opening slots thus forms a tunnel for the strip-shaped material.

[0028] The undercarriage 14 in the embodiment illustrated has overpass ribs 15 which protrude into the heat-insulating space 16 and serve for transporting the material to be insulated in that said material bears on the overpass ribs 15. Alternatively or additionally, overpass rollers can be provided, or the undercarriage 14 can be constructed in another way as long as the material to be processed, for instance the rolled sheet metal or the sheet metal to be rolled, can pass through the heat-insulating space 16 of the heat-insulating carriage 10 without problems.

[0029] It can be particularly clearly derived from the sectional FIGS. 1B and 1C that the heat-insulating hood 11 and/or the lateral heat insulations 12 and 13 can be constructed in a modular manner, that is to say that a plurality of heat-insulating elements which can be adapted in a simple manner to different environments, materials, and/or operating conditions can be provided, for example.

[0030] The lateral heat insulation 13 is provided so as to be pivotable, such that the heat-insulating space 16 can be laterally opened and closed. This can be particularly readily derived from a comparison of FIGS. 1B and 1C, wherein FIG. 1B shows the closed state and FIG. 1C shows the opened state. This functionality can be utilized for opening the heat-insulating space 16 in the case of a disruption and/or for regulating the insulating performance. Alternatively or additionally, the lateral heat insulation 12 can of course be provided so as to be pivotable. In general terms, it can be useful for one or a plurality of heat-insulating sides to be provided so as to be adjustable (displaceable, pivotable, etc.), on account of which the heat-insulating carriage 10 can be set in a simple manner for different working conditions. The lateral heat insulation 13 in the present exemplary embodiment is provided such that this movably mounted module can be pulled over the strip-shaped material, for instance the rolled material, on account of which the heat-insulating carriage 10 can be laterally pulled out of the processing line. The heat-insulating carriage 10 can thus be driven in and driven out in the continuous rolling operation and/or the batch rolling operation, for example.

[0031] In the case of the exemplary embodiment shown here, a lateral slot 17 between the lateral heat insulation 13 and the undercarriage 14 is at all times provided additionally to the pivotability of the lateral heat insulation 13, so as to be able to drive the heat-insulating carriage 10 into and out of the processing line also during the processing process. An alternative construction form is the closed heat-insulating carriage 10 which cannot be driven in or driven out during the strip operation, or the rolling operation, respectively.

[0032] The heat-insulating carriage 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1A to 1C furthermore has an accessible platform 18 having safety railings, on account of which maintenance jobs, control jobs, and/or check jobs on the heat-insulating installation and/or the system can be carried out in a simple and safe manner.

[0033] The embedding of a plurality of heat-insulating carriages 10 in a strip-processing system, in particular the modularity and relocation capability of said heat-insulating carriages 10, can be derived from FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0034] A roller way 20 having rollers 21 which are disposed behind one another such that said rollers 21 are suitable for transporting a strip material, for instance a continuous sheet metal, is shown in FIG. 2. To this end, the rollers 21 can at least in part be driven. The plurality of heat-insulating carriages 10 can be driven into the roller way 20, thus into the processing line, and then driven out of the latter; said heat-insulating carriages 10 in the driven-in state are in particular provided between the rollers 21. To this end, the heat-insulating carriages 10 can be mechanically relocated on rails or bars or by means of rollers. The relocating or the adjusting of the heat-insulating carriages 10 can be performed in a mechanical manner by way of relocation cylinders 22 which are situated on the operator side. Alternatively, the drive can be implemented so as to be electric, pneumatic, hydraulic, a combination thereof, or in any other manner as long as a reliable driving-in and driving-out of the heat-insulating carriages 10 is guaranteed. The driving-in is preferably performed from the operator side, but driving-in from the drive side, which relative to the processing line lies opposite the operator side, is also conceivable.

[0035] Two or more heat-insulating carriages 10 can be grouped in that said heat-insulating carriages 10 are connected to one another, for example by way of a connection element 23 for grouping. On account thereof, the heat-insulating carriages 10 can be relocated individually or in groups, depending on the requirement.

[0036] The drive for driving-in and driving-out of the heat-insulating carriages 10 is possible underground, as can be particularly clearly derived from FIG. 3. A foundation 100 in which underground drives 101 for the relocatable activation of the heat-insulating carriages 10 (and optionally further modules) are installed is shown in said FIG. 3. The strip material, that is to say the rolled material, for example, is partially shown in FIG. 3 and is identified by the reference sign 102. The rolling and/or transporting direction in the view of FIGS. 2 and 3 is from the left to the right.

[0037] It can furthermore be derived from FIG. 3 that the relocation capability of the heat-insulating carriages 10 supports the modular character of the system in a particular manner. This is because one or a plurality of other modules for the strip material 102 can be provided besides the heat-insulating carriages 10. In the example of FIG. 3, induction heaters 103 which can be driven into the processing line alternatively to the heat-insulating carriages 10, so as to actively heat the strip material 102, are provided. Alternatively, depending on the requirement, gaps 104 in the processing line can be left vacant at locations where neither insulating or heating is required, or for reasons of maintenance, fault repair, etc.

[0038] The installation space hi a rolling line or generally a strip-processing line can be effectively utilized by way of the heat-insulating carriages 10 illustrated here. A free space for maintenance jobs can furthermore be achieved by way of the relocation capability.

[0039] The heat-insulating carriages 10 and the modular embedding thereof are in particular suitable for the application in rolling mills, for instance in cogging trains and finishing trains in hot-rolling mills having a continuous rolling operation and/or a batch rolling operation. The heat-insulating carriages 10 serve for avoiding temperature losses and, in as far as required, can be equipped with an overpass function (here implemented in an exemplary manner by overpass ribs 15) for the rolled material. The heat-insulating carriages 10 can be coupled in a modular manner to other installations such as, for instance, induction heaters 103.

[0040] In as far as applicable, all individual features which are illustrated in the exemplary embodiments can be combined with one another and/or replaced with one another, without departing from the scope of the invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0041] 10 Heat-insulating carriage

[0042] 11 Heat-insulating hood

[0043] 12 Lateral heat insulation (fixed)

[0044] 13 Lateral heat insulation (movable for opening and closing)

[0045] 14 Undercarriage

[0046] 15 Overpass ribs

[0047] 16 Heat-insulating space

[0048] 17 Lateral protection

[0049] 18 Platform

[0050] 20 Roller way

[0051] 21 Rollers

[0052] 22 Relocation cylinder

[0053] 23 Connection element for grouping

[0054] 100 Foundation

[0055] 101 Underground drive

[0056] 102 Strip material/rolled material

[0057] 103 Induction heater

[0058] 104 Gap/intermediate space in the processing line