Installation and method for continuously shaping longitudinally slotted pipes

Abstract

A method and an installation for continuously shaping longitudinally slotted pipes from a flat material minimizes or avoids markings in the material by evenly introducing into the roll stand the rolling forces of at least two rolls acting successively on the flat material and/or by allowing the two successively acting rolls to align freely relative to one another.

Claims

1. A system for continuous molding of longitudinally slotted pipes from a flat material comprising roll stands disposed one behind the other in a system direction, wherein each roll stand carries at least a respective first roll having a respective first roll axis, wherein at least one of the roll stands is a roll support roll stand having a roll support that carries at least the first roll, and second, third and fourth rolls disposed one behind the other in the system direction, wherein the roll support is mounted freely on the roll support roll stand by way of a roll positioning device having a degree of rotational freedom parallel to the first roll axis of the first roll carried by the roll support, a degree of rotational freedom perpendicular to a material running direction of the flat material on the first roll carried by the roll support and wherein there are two projections located on opposite sides of the degree of rotational freedom parallel to the first roll axis (62) on each roll stand (45) on which projections springs (64) engage, which springs in turn act on an intermediate support connected to the roll support (54).

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the roll positioning device has at least one of a degree of rotational freedom perpendicular to the first roll axis of the first roll carried by the roll support and a degree of rotational freedom parallel to the material running direction.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the roll positioning device has at least one positioning position for positioning the first, second, third and fourth rolls and an axis of rotation on an other side of the flat material from the perspective of a corresponding roll of the rolls in the at least one positioning position.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the roll support carries not more than ten rolls disposed one behind the other in the system direction.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the respective first roll has a diameter and a width, wherein the width is greater than half the diameter.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the rolls are longer than their diameter.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein every roll axis of every roll of one roll stand of the roll stands is in a stationary position with respect to every other roll axis of the rolls of said roll stand.

8. A system for continuous molding of longitudinally slotted pipes from a flat material, the system comprising roll stands disposed one behind the other in a system direction, wherein each roll stand carries at least a respective first roll having a respective first roll axis, wherein each first roll is freely mounted on the respective roll stand that carries the first roll, by way of a respective roll positioning device having an axis of rotation with at least one of a degree of rotational freedom perpendicular to the first roll axis and a degree of rotational freedom parallel to a material running direction of the flat material on the first roll, wherein said roll positioning device has a first part and a second part, wherein the first part is a roll stand side part, wherein the second part is a roll side part, wherein the second part rotates around said axis of rotation freely relatively to the first part, wherein each roll positioning device respectively has at least one positioning position for positioning the first roll and wherein there are rotary guide surfaces (58) having curved surfaces connecting the first part and the second part; wherein the rotary guide surfaces (58) cause the roll positioning device to have said axis of rotation on an other side of the flat material from the perspective of a corresponding roll in the at least one positioning position.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the second part of the roll positioning device is a roll support, and wherein the first part of the roll positioning device is an intermediate support.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the second part of the roll positioning device is an intermediate support, and wherein the first part of the roll positioning device is the roll stand.

11. A method for continuous molding of longitudinally slotted pipes from a flat material comprising: (a) successively moving the flat material past a plurality of roll arrangements comprising a plurality of roll stands; wherein each roll stand carries at least a respective first roll having a respective first roll axis, wherein at least one of the roll stands is a roll support roll stand having a roll support that carries at least the first roll, and second, third and fourth rolls disposed one behind the other in the system direction, wherein the roll support is mounted freely on the roll support roll stand by way of a roll positioning device having a degree of rotational freedom parallel to the first roll axis of the first roll carried by the roll support, a degree of rotational freedom perpendicular to a material running direction of the flat material on the first roll carried by the roll support and wherein there are two projections (62) located on opposite sides of the degree of rotational freedom parallel to the first roll axis on each roll stand (45) on which projections springs (64) engage, which springs in turn act on an intermediate support (54) connected to the roll support (b) successively applying to the flat material rolling forces of the at least four rolls on each one roll stand of the plurality of roll arrangements to bend the flat material; and wherein at least one of the following steps is performed: (1) evenly absorbing the rolling forces into each roll stand; and (2) allowing the four rolls to position themselves, relative to one another.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein 1) the rolling forces of not more than ten rolls successively acting on the flat material are evenly absorbed into the roll stand or wherein not more than ten successively acting rolls position themselves relative to one another or 2) wherein the rolling forces of not more than ten rolls successively acting on the flat material are evenly absorbed into the roll stand and not more than ten successively acting rolls position themselves relative to one another.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the rolls are longer than their diameter.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein every roll axis of every roll of one roll stand of the roll stands is in a stationary position with respect to every other roll axis of the rolls of said roll stand.

15. A method for continuous molding of longitudinally slotted pipes from a flat material comprising: (a) successively moving the flat material past a plurality of roll arrangements to bend the flat material; and (b) allowing two successively acting rolls to position themselves relative to one another; and (c) positioning the two successively acting rolls jointly, with a roll positioning device having at least one positioning position for positioning the two successively acting rolls and an axis of rotation represented on an other side of the flat material from the perspective of the two successively acting rolls, wherein said roll positioning device has a first part and a second part, and rotary guide surfaces (58) having curved surfaces connecting the first part and the second part; wherein the first part is a roll stand side part, wherein the second part is a roll side part, and wherein the second part rotates around said axis of rotation freely relatively to the first part.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the second part of the roll positioning device is a roll support, and wherein the first part of the roll positioning device is an intermediate support.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the second part of the roll positioning device is an intermediate support, and wherein the first part of the roll positioning device is the roll stand.

18. A method for continuous molding of longitudinally slotted pipes from a flat material comprising: (a) successively moving the flat material past a plurality of roll arrangements comprising a plurality of rolls and a plurality of positioning devices, each roll having a respective roll axis; (b) successively applying to the flat material rolling forces of the plurality of rolls to bend the flat material; and (c) causing, via a respective positioning device having at least one positioning position, respectively, for positioning at least one roll of a respective roll arrangement and having a respective axis of rotation, the at least one roll of the respective roll arrangement to move with the rolling forces perpendicular to the roll axis or parallel to a material running direction of the flat material on the at least one roll, wherein the at least one roll of the respective roll arrangement moves with the rolling forces perpendicular to the roll axis and parallel to the material running direction, in the respective at least one positioning position, wherein said roll positioning device has a first part and a second part, wherein there are rotary guide surfaces (58) having curved surfaces connecting the first part and the second part; wherein the rotary guide surfaces (58) cause the axis of rotation of the positioning device to be represented on an other side of the flat material from the perspective of a corresponding roll, wherein the first part is a roll stand side part, wherein the second part is a roll side part, and wherein the second part rotates around said axis of rotation freely relatively to the first part.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the second part of the roll positioning device is a roll support, and wherein the first part of the roll positioning device is an intermediate support.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the second part of the roll positioning device is an intermediate support, and wherein the first part of the roll positioning device is the roll stand.

Description

(1) Further advantages, goals, and properties of the present invention will be explained using the following description of exemplary embodiments, which are particularly shown also in the attached drawing. The drawing shows:

(2) FIG. 1 a perspective schematic view of a first system for continuous molding of longitudinally slotted pipes;

(3) FIG. 2 a perspective schematic view of a second system for continuous molding of longitudinally slotted pipes;

(4) FIG. 3 a perspective schematic view of a third system for continuous molding of longitudinally slotted pipes;

(5) FIG. 4 a perspective view of a first roll support that can be used in the aforementioned systems;

(6) FIG. 5 the roll support according to FIG. 4 in a front view;

(7) FIG. 6 the roll support according to FIGS. 4 and 5 in a side view;

(8) FIG. 7 the roll support according to FIGS. 4 to 6 in a further side view;

(9) FIG. 8 a further roll support that can be used in one of the aforementioned systems, in a front view;

(10) FIG. 9 the roll support according to FIG. 8 in a perspective representation, similar to FIG. 4;

(11) FIG. 10 the roll support according to FIGS. 8 and 9 in a first exploded representation;

(12) FIG. 11 the roll support according to FIGS. 8 to 10 in a further exploded representation;

(13) FIG. 12 a perspective view of a further roll support that can be used in one of the aforementioned systems;

(14) FIG. 13 the roll support according to FIG. 12 in a further perspective view;

(15) FIG. 14 the roll support according to FIGS. 12 and 13 in a side view; and

(16) FIG. 15 the roll support according to FIGS. 12 to 14 in an exploded representation.

(17) In the systems for continuous molding of longitudinally slotted pipes 10 from a flat material 15 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, multiple roll stands 45 (here only numbered as examples and represented schematically by a fixed cylinder that is not numbered separately) are disposed one behind the other in a system direction 31, so that each cross-section of the flat material 15 successively moves past each of the roll stands 45. The roll stands 45 carry rolls 40 on roll supports 48, in each instance, whereby for reasons of clarity, only a part of the rolls that are necessary for molding, in each instance, is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. In particular, in FIGS. 1 to 3, for reasons of clarity, no representation of the rolls 40, roll supports 48, and roll stands 45 is provided on the right system side, for the sake of a clearer illustration, because ultimately, these are generally configured in a mirror image to the rolls 40, roll supports 48, and roll stands 45 on the left system side. It is understood that the placement of the rolls 40 is, in any case, adapted to the material requirements and desired bending radii, in each instance, in suitable manner, in every concrete embodiment.

(18) As is directly evident, the system shown in FIG. 1 has two roll supports 48 disposed next to one another, having rolls 40, which act on the side of the flat material 15 that represents the inside of the pipe 10 after the process. In contrast, the system according to FIG. 2 merely has one such arrangement, while the system according to FIG. 3 does without any such arrangement.

(19) In this connection, it is understood that suitable systems or arrangements can be selected in accordance with the material properties of the flat material 15 as well as the dimensioning of the pipe 10, whereby in particular, the arrangements according to FIGS. 1 to 3 can also be combined.

(20) It is furthermore understood that the pipe 10 can subsequently be passed on to further processing, particularly, for example, welding of the slot that has still remained open.

(21) The system direction 31 ultimately represents approximately an average value of the pass-through direction of the flat material 15 through the system, whereby ultimately, a cross-section of the flat material successively moves past the roll stands 45 and the rolls 40, as a result of the process. However, the individual material points of such a cross-section have different material running directions 32, in accordance with the bending process, whereby it can be assumed that aside from process-related variations, every material point of the flat material 15 that is identically disposed at the same system height, in terms of cross-section, will also have the same material running direction 32. Wherever the rolls 40 come into contact with the flat material 15, in each instance, a material running direction 32 of the roll 40, in each instance, or at the roll 40, in each instance, follows directly. A corresponding material running direction is also indicated schematically in FIGS. 4, 6, 7, and 10.

(22) In detail, the roll arrangements according to FIGS. 4 to 11 comprise four rolls 40, in each instance, which are mounted on a common roll support 48. In this manner, the rolling forces that act on the roll support 48 are distributed to the four rolls 40 provided thereon, and are therefore introduced into the flat material 15 over a relatively large area.

(23) Both arrangements shown in FIGS. 4 to 11 can be used in the systems of FIGS. 1 to 3, whereby preferably, the arrangement of FIGS. 4 to 7 appears particularly suitable for lateral roll arrangements that act on the flat material 15 from the side of the flat material 15 that later represents the outside of the pipe 10, because these arrangements already run in relatively stable manner in themselves, and the likelihood of lateral break-out at any joints is relatively low. This is different in the case of roll arrangements that act on the side of the flat material 15 that later represents the inside of the pipe 10. These rolls frequently run in unstable equilibrium and tend to break out laterally, particularly if the rolling forces become too great or process-immanent variations occur. The arrangement according to FIGS. 8 to 11 is better suited for such cases. In this connection, it is understood that depending on the concrete requirements, the arrangements of FIGS. 8 to 11 and 4 to 7 can also be used differently. In particular, it is understood that in deviating embodiments, these arrangements can also be combined with other roll arrangements, and that the systems 1 to 3 can also be provided with other roll arrangements, particularly, of course, with further roll arrangements that implement the characteristics of the present claims.

(24) In this connection, in the arrangements according to FIGS. 4 to 11, the rolls 40 are connected with the roll stand 45 by way of a fork 52 of the positioning means 50, in each instance, which stand in turn has a cylinder (not numbered), into which the fork 52 is inserted with a piston (not shown). In this manner, the fork 52 of each individual roll support 48 can be positioned parallel to the alignment of the cylinder or the piston in the direction of the system center, and this brings about very precise positioning of the roll support 48 and therefore of the rolls 40. In this connection, it is also possible, particularly in a special embodiment, to couple these cylinders with one another, all of them or in groups, in each instance, with pressure equalization, so that the press-down pressure that bears down on all the roll supports is the same. However, the latter does not necessarily have to be implemented in this way. Instead, it is also possible to provide all or at least two forks 52 that are disposed on one system side, in other words at least two forks 52 on the right system side or at least two forks 52 on the left system side or two forks 52 in the center of the system, directly on a common support, which in turn can be positioned by way of suitable positioning means, such as, for example, by way of piston/cylinder units, whereby this can take place, on the one hand, along a predetermined path, or also, for example, by means of two or more piston/cylinder units, also with regard to changeable positioning angles, both perpendicular and parallel to the system direction 31, or by means of changing the incline about an axis parallel to the system direction 31.

(25) The fork 52 carries an intermediate support 54, in each instance, whereby this is implemented by a rotary hinge bolt 57 in the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 4 to 7, while this happens by means of rotary guide surfaces 58 in the arrangement according to FIGS. 8 to 11, which surfaces are configured on the fork 52, on the one hand, and on the intermediate support 54, on the other hand, and by way of a securing motion link 59 (see FIG. 8), which runs in a securing groove, not numbered separately, so that the intermediate support 54 is secured on the fork 52.

(26) As is directly comprehensible, the rotary hinge bolt 57 brings about an axis of rotation 35 of the intermediate support 54, including the modules carried by it, which axis is aligned coaxial to the rotary hinge bolt 57. Depending on the curvature of the two rotary guide surfaces 58 on the fork 52 and the intermediate support 54 of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, the axis of rotation 35 of this arrangement can, in contrast, ultimately be displaced within relatively broad limits. As a result, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, there is a degree of rotational freedom 33 that is represented on the other side of the flat material 15, as is directly comprehensible from FIGS. 8 and 9, so that in this manner, a stable equilibrium of the corresponding rotary joint is guaranteed. As is particularly evident in FIG. 9, the degree of rotational freedom 33 lies parallel to at least one roll axis 41 of the rolls 40 that are carried by the roll support 48, or perpendicular to the material running direction 32 of the rolls 40 that belong to this material running direction 32.

(27) The degree of rotational freedom 33 of the rotary joint situated between the fork 52 and intermediate support 54 of the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 4 to 7 also lies parallel to at least one roll axis 41 of the roll 40 carried by the roll support 48, if the roll support 48 is aligned accordingly. In this connection, it should be clarified, in general, that the aforementioned parallelity can be implemented, in complementary manner, in that the degree of rotational freedom 33 should be aligned perpendicular to the material running direction 32 of at least one roll carried by the roll support 48.

(28) The roll support 48 is mounted on the intermediate support 54 by way of rotary guide surfaces 58 (not explicitly shown in the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 4 to 7), in each instance, whereby it is secured by way of side plates 56 on the face side.

(29) In this connection, a rotary bolt, not numbered, is disposed in the side plates 56 of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, in each instance, which bolt secures the roll support 48 in the intermediate support 54 and defines an axis of rotation 35 with a degree of rotational freedom 34, which axis is aligned parallel to the material running direction 32 at the rolls 40. In this connection, the rolling forces of the rolls 40 that act successively on the flat material 15 are transferred by way of the rotary guide surfaces between roll support 48 and intermediate support 54, and only a small part of these forces is absorbed by the rotary bolt. As is directly evident, the axis of rotation 35 of the degree of rotational freedom 34 also lies on this side of the flat material 15 from the perspective of the rolls 40. It is true that this might lead to a slightly more unstable equilibrium when rolling forces act on this arrangement. However, this can be tolerated, if applicable, depending on the dimensioning of the rolling forces and the rolls.

(30) In the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 8 to 11, as well, the roll support 48 is mounted on the intermediate support 54 by way of rotary guide surfaces 58, whereby in this exemplary embodiment, the side plates 56 have securing motion links 59 that run in corresponding securing grooves, not separately numbered, and secure the roll support 48 in its position on the rotary guide surface 58 of the intermediate support 54. In this connection, the rotary guide surfaces 58 and the securing guide track of the securing motion link 59 can be freely selected within broad limits, so that in this exemplary embodiment, the axis of rotation 35 of the degree of rotational freedom 34 can be found on the other side of the flat material 15, from the perspective of the rolls 40. It is understood that under certain circumstances, the axes of rotation 35 of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 11 can also be provided within the flat material 15 or actually on this side of the flat material 15, if this is possible under process conditions or actually appears necessary. The selected embodiment of the rotary guide surfaces 58, in contrast, allows an extremely stable equilibrium, in each instance, when the arrangement according to FIGS. 8 to 11 is subjected to a load.

(31) As is directly evident, the axis of rotation 35 of the degree of rotational freedom 34 is aligned parallel to the material running direction 32 in the case of this exemplary embodiment, as well.

(32) It is understood that the intermediate support 54 and/or the roll support 48 can easily be biased by means of suitable spring arrangements, which bring about, for example, a return pull into a neutral position, in each instance, in such a manner that they tend to spring back into a correspondingly determined neutral position, in each instance. Such springs can be mechanical springs, for example, which act parallel to the guide direction. Likewise, pressure springs or also hydraulic or pneumatic arrangements, for example at the front and the back, can act on the intermediate support, in order to bring about a corresponding positioning behavior.

(33) The arrangement shown in FIGS. 12 to 15 essentially corresponds to the arrangement according to FIGS. 4 to 7 and can also be used in the systems of FIGS. 1 to 3. To avoid repetition, there will be no explanation of identical modules at this point, and reference is made to the explanations concerning the arrangement according to FIGS. 4 to 7 in this regard.

(34) In deviation from the arrangement according to FIGS. 4 to 7, the arrangement according to FIGS. 12 to 15 supplementally has two projections 62 on the roll stand 45, on which projections springs 64 engage, which springs in turn act on the intermediate support 54. As is directly comprehensible from the figures, the projections 62 are provided in accordance with the alignment of the intermediate support 54 on both sides of the fork 52, so that the latter allows the roll support 48 to strive toward a zero position with regard to the degree of rotational freedom 33 (not shown in FIGS. 12 to 15, but corresponds to the representations in FIGS. 4 to 7 in this regard), about the related axis of rotation 35 (not shown in FIGS. 12 to 15, but corresponds to the representations in FIGS. 4 to 7 in this regard), so that the roll support 48 assumes a defined position with regard to the degree of rotational freedom 33 even in the unstressed state.

(35) Such spring means 60 can, however, also be implemented differently, for example by means of flat helical springs, by means of pneumatic springs or by means of other devices that have a resetting effect, and can also be provided with regard to the degree of rotational freedom 34. It is also understood that corresponding spring means 60 can also be provided in the arrangement according to FIGS. 8 to 11.

REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST

(36) 10 pipe 15 flat material 31 system direction 32 material running direction 33 degree of rotational freedom 34 degree of rotational freedom 35 axis of rotation 40 roll 41 roll axis 45 roll stand 48 roll support 50 roll positioning means 52 fork 54 intermediate support 56 side plate 57 rotary hinge bolt 58 rotary guide surface 59 securing motion link 60 spring means 62 projection 64 spring