Measuring and testing – Dynamometers – Responsive to multiple loads or load components
Patent
1988-10-21
1990-07-10
Ruehl, Charles A.
Measuring and testing
Dynamometers
Responsive to multiple loads or load components
7386248, 7386254, G01L 510, G01B 728
Patent
active
049399365
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a shapemeter for continuously detecting and indicating the shape of metallic strips during a rolling operation. The invention also provides a rotor module for such shapemeter.
In the rolling of metallic strip "shape" means a variation in width-wise tension when the strip is held in lengthwise tension. Thus "shape" refers to deviations of flatness of the strip in more than one direction. Poor flatness or "shape" results from imperfect rolling at an earlier stage and, unless remedial action is taken, is manifested in the finished product. By using a shapemeter lack of flatness may be detected and remedial action taken during the rolling operation.
A shapemeter usually has a number of concentric rotary sleeves arranged transversely to the passline of the strip and engaged under tension by the moving strip which is arranged to have a small "wrap" around the sleeves. Variations in shape are detected by sensing the load applied to individual sleeves, an instantaneous display of these individual loads indicating the flatness profile or shape of the strip then in contact with the shapemeter. Signals from the shapemeter representative of these individual loads may be used to control automatically the rolling operation, as by varying roll profile, or the degree and location of bad shape as indicated by the display may be interpreted to effect manual control of the rolling operation.
Numerous designs of shapemeters have been proposed in the past and some, such as that described in U.K. patent 1160112 are in successful use. In most earlier constructions the sleeves are carried on a mandrel and supported on air or roller bearings and the relative deflections of the sleeves are detected either by sensing changes in air pressure or by the use of other forms of load detector.
All existing shapemeters require very high tolerances to be maintained during construction resulting in very expensive instruments. Furthermore most current designs limit the minimum width to which a rotor can be manufactured thus limiting the number of rotors for a particular axial length of shapemeter and this, in turn, limits the resolution of measurement.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a shapemeter of simplified construction that does not require high tolerances during manufacture and that enables narrow rotors to be constructed. A further object is to provide an improved rotor module for such a shapemeter.
Our copending application No. PCT/GB87/00205, shows one design of rotor module and shapemeter; the present invention provides an alternative arrangement.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a rotor module for a shapemeter comprising a central arbor secured to a non-rotatable ring surrounding the arbor and an outer hollow cylinder rotatable on bearings on the ring characterised in that the arbor is secured to the ring only by no more than two webs and means to detect relative movement between the arbor and the ring in response to a force applied to the cylinder at such a position as to cause the web or webs to bend in order to provide output signals representative of such movement. Preferably when there are two webs they are in substantial alignment. The means may be carried by the web so as directly to detect bending thereof in response to said movements. Alternatively the means may detect a variation in a gap between the ring and the arbor at a location adjacent the predetermined position.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a shapemeter comprising a plurality of rotor modules according to the preceding paragraph having their arbors joined together so that the cylinder of each module are concentric.
The above and other aspects of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a shapemeter,
FIG. 2 is a section on the line II--II of FIG. 1 to a larger scale and
FIG. 3 is a part section on the line III--III of FIG. 2.
Referring to the drawing
REFERENCES:
patent: 3413846 (1968-12-01), Flinth
patent: 3557614 (1971-01-01), Muhlberg
patent: 4112751 (1978-09-01), Grunbaum
patent: 4281539 (1981-08-01), Keller
Scottow Colin A.
Spooner Peter D.
Protos Precision Systems Limited
Ruehl Charles A.
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