FRIGERIO, Lucia (Via Roma 27, Lierna, I-23827, IT)
| CLAIMS 1. An apparatus (1) for cleaning, by abrasion, rod and the like with scale crust and surface oxide, comprising, on a supporting frame (2), an assembly (3) for unwinding a wire or rod (F) on the surface of which a first abrasive cloth supporting spindle (20) and at least one second abrasive cloth supporting spindle (21) act, said first spindle (20) and said at least one second spindle (21) being accommodated within a work zone (30) defined by said supporting frame (2), characterized in that said first spindle (20) and said at least one second spindle (21) are directed toward each other and are integrally connected. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , characterized in that it comprises a hollow central shaft (10) for the passage of said rod or wire (F) and passes within a rotating body (11), which supports said first spindle (20) and said at least one second spindle (21). 3. The apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said rotating body (11) comprises, at the axial ends, supporting disks (22) which are joined by tension members (25) and supporting said first spindle (20) and said at least one second spindle (21). 4. The apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a single openable cover (31) arranged so as to close said work zone (30). 5. The apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a first motor (40) which turns said first spindle (20) and said at least one second spindle (21). 6. The apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first motor (40) is connected to said first spindle (20) for the rotation of the rollers (26) that support the abrasive cloth (27) and, by means of a transmission mechanism (41), to a lower transmission shaft (42) connected to a second transmission mechanism (43) for the actuation of the rollers (26) that support the abrasive cloth (27) of said at least one second spindle (21). 7. The apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a motor (50) for turning said rotating body (11) by means of a transmission (51) for the rotating body to said rotating body supported by a cradle-like support (23) defined by said supporting frame (2). 8. The apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises supporting arms (60) for the connection of the end of the rollers (26) of said spindles (20, 21) that lies opposite the end connected to said supporting disks (22). 9. The apparatus according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a central suction assembly (61) arranged at said work zone (30). |
Technical Field
The present invention refers to an apparatus for cleaning, by abrasion, rod and the like with scale crust and surface oxide.
Background art
It is well known that to draw a rod or wire originating from hot- rolling processing, it is essential to remove the scale that forms during the cooling process and any surface oxide that may form during storage and transport.
Nowadays, in order to carry out the surface cleaning, a chemical pickling is performed using acids that dissolve the oxide. This system, which is the most commonly used, especially for wires that are highly resistant and which therefore have a high carbon content, suffer the drawback of being very pollutant and expensive, and hence there is a pressing need to use alternative systems.
To this end, as an alternative to the chemical process, mechanical systems are used, such as scaling with elongation of the outer surface of the rod and consequent detachment of the crust, brushing of the surfaces with steel wire brushes, surface sandblasting and the like.
The system that is currently most widely used is implemented by means of an abrasive cloth that renders all of the surface cleaned of oxides and scales, resulting in a surface that is highly compatible with the subsequent drawing operations with powder lubricants.
The most widely used solution for processing the mechanical wire involves inserting the wire or rod into an unwinding system that passes through a hollow shaft and is pulled, at a known speed, by a device located downstream.
To carry out the abrasion phase, abrasive cloth supporting spindles are used that rotate about the wire and which are made to scrape against it with an abrasive effect at a suitable working speed.
In practice, at each rotation of the spindle, a length of wire is cleaned that is equivalent to the width of the abrasive cloth.
Typically, conventional machines are provided with two spindles which are positioned at the ends of the machine-body and, in practice, are made up of a central body that carries the two spindles at its ends.
The rotation commands are made on the central axis and by means of central transmissions, which put the two spindles into rotation.
This type of equipment suffers the drawback that the maintenance is particularly difficult with regard to the transmissions and, in addition, this type of equipment is considerably difficult to balance properly.
Another negative aspect consists in that major difficulties are encountered in keeping the abrasive cloth centred on the axis of the wire, with additional difficulties in keeping the cloth centred on the supporting rollers.
The considerable distance between the two spindles, which are arranged opposite each other at the ends, inevitably causes a torsion on the wire in the section between the first spindle and the second spindle, displacing the correct alternation of work of the cloths, with a consequent cleaning that is not homogeneous.
Moreover, operator intervention is quite complex, because the operator has to check two positions that are distant and distinct from each other, not only for changing the cloths, but also for checking the position of the cloths, and for checking the parallelism of the rollers.
A further negative aspect consists in that the central supports are critically important for their maintenance and design, since they are subjected to loads and vibrations that are difficult to control, owing to the presence of dynamic instruments or of different dimensions of the abrasive cloth.
Disclosure of the invention The aim of the invention is to solve the aforementioned problems, by providing an apparatus for cleaning, by abrasion, rod and the like with scale crust and surface oxide, that makes it possible to considerably simplify the transmissions of movement both of the central shaft and of the rollers for pulling the cloths, by locating the two spindles closer to each other.
Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide an apparatus that is simple with regard to balancing and which has self-aligned support bearings in order to reduce vibrations.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that allows a rapid and simple assembly and dismantling of the entire apparatus, and which moreover offers immediate accessibility to the area of intervention by the operator, who can easily carry out all operations such as threading the wire, changing the abrasive cloth, centring the abrasive cloths, tensioning the abrasive cloths, further offering complete visual accessibility to all of the work zone from a single position.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus wherein the configuration and the correction of the parallelism of the rollers that support the abrasive cloths is easy and effective in such a way that, once set, it remains in place independently of the speed of rotation.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for cleaning, by abrasion, rod and the like with scale crust and surface oxide that, thanks to its distinctive implementation characteristics, is capable of offering the widest guarantees of reliability and safety in use.
This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by an apparatus for cleaning, by abrasion, rod and the like with scale crust and surface oxide, according to the present invention, comprising, on a supporting frame, an assembly for unwinding a wire or rod on the surface of which a first abrasive cloth supporting spindle and at least a second abrasive cloth supporting spindle act, said first spindle and said at least one second spindle being accommodated inside a work zone defined by said supporting frame, characterized in that said first spindle and said at least one second spindle are directed toward each other and are integrally connected.
Brief description of the drawings
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of an apparatus for cleaning, by abrasion, rod and the like with scale crust and surface oxide, illustrated by way of a non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:
- Figure 1 is a front elevation view of the apparatus according to the invention;
- Figure 2 is a plan view of the apparatus;
- Figure 3 is a side elevation view of the apparatus;
- Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 1. Ways of carrying out the invention
With reference to the figures, the apparatus for cleaning, by abrasion, rod and the like with scale crust and surface oxide, according to the invention, generally indicated with the reference numeral 1, comprises a supporting frame 2 on which an assembly 3 is provided for unwinding a wire or rod which is inserted into a central shaft, indicated with the reference numeral 10 and which passes inside a rotating body, indicated with the reference numeral 11 and which supports a first spindle 20 and a second spindle 21 , which are integrally connected and mutually opposing, in that they are directed toward each other and are each supported by a supporting disk, indicated with the reference numeral 22. The disks 22 are connected to a central support 23, which is integrally defined inside the apparatus and which is obtained with cradle-like seats, at a work zone 30, which can be closed from above by an openable cover 31 which, in practice, closes the fairing that defines the frame.
The supporting disks 22 are joined by tension members 25 which render the two spindles mutually integral.
For the actuation, a first motor 40 is provided for turning the spindles, such motor, by means of a belt transmission mechanism 41, is connected to a lower transmission shaft 42 which is connected to a second transmission mechanism 43 which is connected to the other spindle.
In this way, the motor is able of simultaneously actuating the rotation of the rollers 26 of both spindles, which support an abrasive cloth 27.
Another motor 50 is provided, which rotates about the axis of the rotating body and which, by way of a transmission through the central body 51 , puts the rotating body 11 in rotation on the support 23.
With this arrangement all the movements are located outside the rotating body on which the spindles are positioned, while the spindles, which are integrally joined to each other, are opposite and at a reduced mutual distance from each other.
Moreover, in order to allow an easy alignment of the rollers of the spindles, supporting arms 60 are provided which, in practice, make the parallelism rigid between the two rollers for pulling the abrasive cloths, and are unaffected by centrifugal effects; moreover, a system for the fine adjustment of the parallelism of the rollers 26 is provided on the arms 60.
Moreover it should also be noted that it is possible to have a single central suction assembly 61 , located in the area affected by the spindles, which easily removes all the residues of processing, so preventing the several support bearings from becoming worn.
From the foregoing it can thus be seen how the invention achieves the intended aim and objects, and in particular attention is drawn to the fact that an apparatus is provided in which the spindle supporting assembly is monolithic and has supports at its ends, hence it is not subject to imbalances, and it has a rigid parallelism between the rollers that enables an optimal positioning of the cloths and improved working conditions.
Moreover, the positioning of the rollers inside the transmission assemblies, which are located at the ends of the hollow central shaft, makes it possible to reduce the distance between one spindle assembly and the other, thereby minimizing the processing defects that are due to torsion of the wire.
The use of a single work zone gives the operator better control and simplifies both the structure and all the connected operative elements.
The invention, thus conceived, is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.
Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.
In practice the materials employed, provided they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the dimensions and the contingent shapes, may be any according to requirements.
The disclosures in Italian Patent Application no. MI2010A000259 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.
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