Title of Invention	METAL CROP REMOVER AND CROP REMOVING METHOD
Abstract	When the trailing end of a preceding stripe metal plate (6) and the leading end of a following stripe metal plate (9) are bonded, crops (38, 39) are generated at the joint. The crop processor comprises an upper tapping cutter (75) and a lower tapping cutter (74), wherein the shear side (38a) of the upper crop (38) at the joint is tapped by the upper tapping cutter (75) and the shear side (39a) of the lower crop (39) is tapped by the lower tapping cutter (74), thus removing the upper and lower crops (38, 39).

Title of Invention

METAL CROP REMOVER AND CROP REMOVING METHOD

Abstract

When the trailing end of a preceding stripe metal plate (6) and the leading end of a following stripe metal plate (9) are bonded, crops (38, 39) are generated at the joint. The crop processor comprises an upper tapping cutter (75) and a lower tapping cutter (74), wherein the shear side (38a) of the upper crop (38) at the joint is tapped by the upper tapping cutter (75) and the shear side (39a) of the lower crop (39) is tapped by the lower tapping cutter (74), thus removing the upper and lower crops (38, 39).

Full Text	FORM 2 THE PATENT ACT 197 0 (39 of 1970) The Patents Rules, 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (See Section 10, and rule 13) 1. TITLE OF INVENTION CROP PROCESSOR AND CROP PROCESSING METHOD AND CONTINUOUS ROLLING FACILITY AND CONTINUOUS ROLLING METHOD 2. APPLICANT(S) a) Name b) Nationality c) Address a) Name b) Nationality c) Address MITSUBISHI-HITACHI METALS MACHINERY, JAPANESE Company 34-6, SHIBA 5-CHOME, MINATO-KU, TOKYO 1080014 JAPAN AND POSCO KOREAN Company 1, KOEDONG-DONG, NAM-lCU, POHANG-SHI, KYUNGBUKU 790785 REPUBLIC OF KOREA INC PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION The following specification particularly describes and the manner in which it is to be performed : - the invention CERTIFICATION I, Yasuyuki Tanaka, 5-15-10, Higashihongo, Midori-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Japan hereby certify that I am the translator of the certified copy of the documents in respect of an application No. 2006-002261 for a patent filed in Japan on January 10, 2006, and certify that the following is a true and correct translation to the best of my knowledge and belief. Yasuyuki Tanaka Date: This 26th day of May 2008 Technical Field The present invention relates to a crop processor and a crop processing method for removing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint where metal plates are shear-bonded to each other. Moreover, the present invention relates to a continuous rolling facility and a continuous rolling method, which are capable of bonding a preceding metal plate to a following metal plate while the metal plates are advancing, and include a crop processor for removing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint where the metal plates are shear-bonded to each other. Background Art A continuous rolling facility for a metal plate is configured to obtain a metal plate having a predetermined thickness by use of a roughing roller and a finishing roller. One of already developed measures for the continuous rolling facility is to bond metal bars between a roughing roller and a finishing roller and thereby to allow execution of finish rolling continuously. In order to execute finish rolling continuously, it is necessary to bond metal bars at a high speed, and various techniques have been proposed in this regard. As the technique for bonding metal bars at a high speed, there have been known techniques for superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal bar and a leading end of a following metal bar on each other, for shearing both of the metal bars at the same time, and for bonding their newly-formed surfaces to each other by bringing them into direct contact in a shearing process (see Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3, for example). These techniques are favorable methods for continuous rolling facilities since they employ shear-bonding to enable bonding simply and in a short time period. -2- Patent Document 1: JP-A 9-174117 Patent Document 2: JP-A 10-34203 Patent Document 3: JP-A 2001-232403 Disclosure of the Invention Problems to be Solved by the Invention Continuous rolling facilities disclosed in Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 enable bonding simply and in a short time period and are favorable as the continuous rolling facilities. In the case of shear-bonding, crops remain on an upper side and a lower side of a joint. Accordingly, a crop processor for removing crops on line immediately after bonding is necessary. During removing crops, it is necessary to remove the crops reliably and without affecting surfaces of a metal bar to be formed into a product. However, a concrete technique for an optimum crop processor has not been established to date. The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing circumstance, and an object thereof is to provide a crop processor and a crop processing method which are capable of reliably removing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint. Moreover, the present invention has been made in view of the foregoing circumstance, and another object thereof is to provide a continuous rolling facility and a continuous rolling method which include a crop processor capable of reliably removing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint. Means for Solving the Problems A crop processor according to a first invention for attaining the object provides a crop processor configured to process crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint shear-bonded by superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate -3- and a leading end of a following metal plate and compressing a superposed portion, characterized in that crop removing means for removing the crop by tapping a shear surface of the crop is provided on at least one of the upper side and the lower side of the bonded metal plates. A crop processor according to a second invention for attaining the object provides the crop processor according to the first invention; characterized in that the crop removing means removes the crops on both of the upper side and the lower side of the bonded metal plates by tapping shear surfaces of the crops. A crop processor according to a third invention for attaining the object provides the crop processor according to the second invention, characterized in that, among the crop removing means, the crop removing means for removing the crop of the preceding metal plate removes the crop by tapping the shear surface of the crop from a front side in an advancing direction of the metal plates, and that, among the crop removing means, the crop removing means for removing the crop of the following metal plate removes the crop by tapping the shear surface of the crop from a rear side in the advancing direction of the metal plates. A crop processor according to a fourth invention for attaining the object provides a crop processor for processing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint shear-bonded by superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate and compressing a superposed portion, characterized by comprising crop removing means, disposed on both of an upper side and a lower side of a bonded metal plate and at a front side in an advancing direction of the bonded metal plates, for removing the crop on one of the upper side and the lower side of the metal plates by tapping a shear surface of the crop on the one side and for removing the crop on the other side by tapping or peeling off an opposite side of a shear surface of the crop on the other side. A crop processing method according to a fifth invention for attaining the object provides a crop processing method for processing crops remaining on an upper side -4- and a lower side of a joint shear-bonded by superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate and compressing a superposed portion, characterized by comprising the step of removing the crop by tapping a shear surface of at least one of the crops of the preceding metal plate and the following metal plate. A continuous rolling facility according to a sixth invention for attaining the object provides a continuous rolling facility characterized by comprising superposing means for superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate at an upstream side of a finishing roller, a bonding apparatus including a pair of shear blades configured to sandwich a superposed portion of the metal plates and to perform bonding while compressing and shearing from both sides, and the crop processor according to any one of claims 1 to 4 configured to process crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a shear-bonded joint. A continuous rolling facility according to a seventh invention for attaining the object provides the continuous rolling facility according to the sixth invention, characterized by comprising chamfer forming means for forming a chamfer on a front side of the crop processor and on a superposed surface side on a tip end of the following metal plate. A continuous rolling facility according to an eighth invention for attaining the object provides the continuous rolling facility according to the sixth or seventh invention, characterized in that a crop shear is disposed in front of the bonding apparatus, and that the crop shear includes the chamfer forming means. A continuous rolling facility according to a ninth invention for attaining the object provides the continuous rolling facility according to any one of the sixth to eighth inventions, characterized by comprising upward warpage forming means for warping upward the superposed surface on the tip end of the following plate on a front side of the crop processor. -5- A continuous rolling method according to a tenth invention for attaining the object is characterized by comprising the steps of superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate at an upstream side of a finishing roller, shear-bonding a superposed portion by compressing a superposed portion, and removing a crop by tapping a shear surface of at least one of the crops of the preceding metal plate and the following metal plate. Effects of the Invention According to the crop processor of the first invention, the crop on at least one of the upper side and the lower side can be removed by tapping the shear surface of the crop, and it is possible to achieve proper removal while curbing an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint. According to the crop processor of the second invention, both of the crops on the upper side and the lower side can be removed by tapping the shear surfaces of the crops, further curbing an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint. According to the crop processor of the third invention, it is possible to remove the crops at the joint by tapping the shear surfaces. According to the crop processor of the fourth invention, it is possible to remove the crops so as to wait for the joint and thereby to enable reliable removal, and moreover, to achieve proper removal while curbing an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint. According to the crop processing method of the fifth invention, the crop can be removed from the shear surface by tapping the shear surface at the joint, and it is possible to achieve proper removal while curbing an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint. -6- According to the continuous rolling facility of the sixth invention, the continuous rolling facility including the crop processor capable of properly removing the crops remaining on the upper side and the lower side of the joint is obtained. According to the continuous rolling facility of the seventh invention, it is possible to scoop the crops properly in the course of or after tapping the crops. Moreover, it is possible to peel off the crops properly. According to the continuous rolling facility .of the eighth invention, it is possible to form the chamfer without disposing a special device. According to the continuous rolling facility of the ninth invention, since the upward warpage forming means is provided, it is possible to form warpage on the upper crop and thereby to facilitate removal and collection of the upper crop. According to the continuous, rolling method of the tenth invention, the crop can be removed from the shear surface by tapping the shear surface at the joint, and it is possible to achieve proper removal while curbing an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint. Brief Description of the Drawings [Fig. 1] Fig. 1 is an overall block diagram of a continuous rolling facility including a crop processor according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Fig. 2] Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a bonding device in Fig. 1. [Fig. 3] Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the bonding device in a different stage from Fig. 2. [Fig. 4] Fig. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a state of completion of bonding a preceding metal plate and a following metal plate. [Fig. 5] Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a blade driving mechanism in the bonding device. [Fig. 6] Fig. 6 is a conceptual diagram of the blade driving mechanism having a -7- different condition from Fig. 5. [Fig. 7] Fig. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of a bonding apparatus. [Fig. 8] Figs. 8(a) and 8(b) are schematic diagrams of a crop connected state. Fig. 8(a) shows a state of bonding while placing a leading end of a following metal bar on a trailing end of a preceding metal bar and Fig. 8(b) shows a state of bonding while placing the trailing end of the preceding metal bar on the leading end of the following metal bar. [Fig. 9] Figs. 9(a) and 9(b) are schematic diagrams showing states after crop separation. Fig. 9(a) shows a case of separating by applying forces from shear surface sides (from directions of arrows in solid lines ir\ Fig. 8) and Fig. 9(b) shows a case of splitting by applying forces from end surfaces of the crops (from directions of arrows in broken lines in Fig.8 [Fig. 10] Fig. 10 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a crop processor according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Fig. 11] Fig. 11 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a crop processor according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Description of Symbols 1 ROUGHING ROLLER (ROUGHING MILL) 2 COIL BOX 3 BONDING APPARATUS 4 FINISHING ROLLER (FINISHING MILL) 5 DOWN COILER 6 FOLLOWING METAL BAR 7 CROP SHEAR 8 SUPERPOSING DEVICE 9 PRECEDING METAL BAR 10 BONDING DEVICE 11 METAL BAR 12 CROP PROCESSOR -8- 13,14 LEVELERS 15 CROP SHEAR 16 EDGE HEATER 17 BAR HEATER 21 TRAILING END OF PRECEDING METAL BAR 22 LEADING END OF FOLLOWING METAL BAR 25,27 PROTRUSIONS ON BLADES 26 UPPER BLADE 28 LOWER BLADE 31 UPPER CLAMP 32 LOWER CLAMP 33 UPPER SUPPORTER 34 LOWER SUPPORTER 35 UPPER BLADE ASSEMBLY 36 LOWER BLADE ASSEMBLY 37 HOUSING 38 UPPER CROP 39 LOWER CROP 41 MAIN CRANKSHAFT 42 UPPER ECCENTRIC SHAFT 43,45 LINKS 44 LOWER ECCENTRIC SHAFT 46 SYNCHRONIZING SHAFT 47 SWING LEVER 51 RUNNING HOUSING 52 FIXED BLADE 53 VERTICALLY MOVING BLADE 54 RUNNING SHEAR DEVICE 61, 62, 71 , 72 CROP PROCESSORS 64, 74, 75 TAPPING BLADES 65 SCRAPER 66 DISCHARGE GUIDING MEMBER -9- 67 CHAMFERING UNIT 76 CYLINDER 77 SCRAPER 78 CROP TRAY 80 CROP CONNECTOR PORTION 81 SPLIT END 82 SPLIT END Best Modes for Carrying Out the Invention First, an overall configuration of a continuous rolling facility will be described based on Fig. 1. Fig. 1 shows an overall configuration of a continuous rolling facility including a crop processor according to an embodiment of the present invention. The continuous rolling facility of this embodiment includes a roughing roller (a roughing mill) 1, a coil box 2, a bonding apparatus 3, a finishing roller (a finishing mill) 4 formed of multiple stages of rollers, and a down coiler 5 arranged from an upstream side. A metal plate (a following metal bar) 6 rolled by the roughing mill 1 is wound around a coiler of the coil box 2 and a difference in advancing speeds between the roughing mill 1 and the finishing mill 4 is adjusted. The following metal bar 6 unwound from the coiler of the coil box 2 is subject to cutting of a leading end by a crop shear 7 as needed, and is then superposed on a trailing end (the end is cut by the crop shear 7 as needed) of a preceding metal bar 9 by a superposing device 8 of the bonding apparatus 3. The leading end of the following metal bar 6 is bonded to the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9 by a bonding, device 10 of the bonding apparatus 3, and crops at the joint are cut off by a crop processor 12. A metal bar 11 bonded by the bonding apparatus 3 and rendered continuous is sent to the finishing mill 4. -10- The bonding apparatus 3 is configured to bond the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9 to the leading end of the following metal bar 6 while the metal bars are advancing, and therefore constitutes a short-time bonding apparatus capable of bonding in a short time period. Moreover, in order to perform bonding during the advance, a configuration to allow the bonding device to move so as to follow the advance of the metal bars or a configuration to allow the bonding device to swing so as to follow the advance of the metal bars are applicable. Although details will be described later, the bonding device 10 of the bonding apparatus 3 has a bonding mechanism including a pair of shear blades configured to sandwich a superposed portion of the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9 and the leading end of the following metal bar 6 and to perform bonding while compressing and shearing that portion from both sides, for example. The metal bar 11 sent to the finishing mill 4 is sequentially subjected to hot rolling by the multiple stages of rollers and is rolled into a predetermined plate thickness. The metal bar 11 rolled into the predetermined plate thickness is wound around the down coiler 5. Concerning reference symbols in the drawing, 13 denotes a leveler provided at an exit side of the coil box 2,14 denotes a lever provided at an exit side of the bonding apparatus 3, 15 denotes a crop shear provided at an entrance side of the finishing mill 4,16 denotes an edge heater disposed between the lever 14 and the crop shear 15, and 17 denotes a bar heater disposed at a downstream side of the edge heater 16. Note that layouts of the levelers 13 and 14, the crop shear 15, the edge heater 16, and the bar heater 17 are determined by appropriate selection depending on conditions and other factors of the continuous rolling facility. The layout positions, the presence or absence of these constituents, and the like are not limited only to the illustrated example. -11- Here, the crop shear 7 for cutting off the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9 and the leading end of the following metal bar 6 is necessary in the case of striking the metals bars for bonding. However, the crop shear 7 is not always necessary in the case of bonding in a shearing process while superposing the metal bars and can therefore be omitted. An example of the bonding device 10 of the bonding apparatus 3 will be concretely described based on Fig. 2 to Fig. 6. Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show a schematic configuration of the bonding device 10, in which Fig. 2 shows a condition to start bonding and Fig. 3 shows a condition in the course of bonding. Fig. 4 shows the metal plate in the state of completion of bonding. Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 show a blade driving mechanism in the bonding device 10. As shown in Fig. 2, a leading end 22 of the following metal bar 6 is superposed on a trailing end 21 of the preceding metal bar 9, and a portion where the trailing end 21 and the leading end 22 are superposed is sandwiched by an upper blade 26 having a protrusion 25 and a lower blade 28 having a protrusion 27. That is, the protrusions 25 and 27 are in contact with one of the surfaces of the trailing end 21 and the leading end 22. Meanwhile, an upper clamp 31 and a lower clamp 32 are in contact with the region where the leading end 22 of the following metal bar 6 and the trailing end 21 of the preceding metal bar 9 are superposed. The upper clamp 31 is supported by a certain hydraulic force using an upper supporter 33 and the lower clamp 32 is supported by a certain hydraulic force using a lower supporter 34. The upper blade 26, the upper clamp 31, and the upper supporter 33 are integrally formed as an upper blade assembly 35. Meanwhile, the lower blade 27, the lower clamp 32, and the lower supporter 34 are integrally formed as a lower blade assembly 36. -12- The upper blade assembly 35 and the lower blade assembly 36 are guided to a post portion of a housing 37 and are supported so as to move in a thickness direction of the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6. The upper blade assembly 35 and the lower blade assembly 36 are rendered capable of approaching and receding from each other by use of link mechanisms to be described later, so that the upper blade assembly 35 and the lower blade assembly 36 approach and recede from each other while sandwiching the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6. An approaching action takes place in the process of bonding while a receding action takes place after bonding. Here, it is also possible to render only one of the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 movable. As shown in Fig. 3, in the process of shearing the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 9 with the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28, the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6 are bonded together by plastic flow deformation on both of shear surfaces, thereby forming the integrated and continuous metal bar 11. As shown in Fig. 4, in a position of completion of a bonding operation, an upper crop 38 which is the leading end portion of the following metal bar 6 and a lower crop 39 which is the trailing end portion of the preceding metal bar 9 remain in mutually deviated positions above and below a bonded region of the continuous metal bar. Thereafter, the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are retracted so that the upper and lower blades recede from each other until the space therebetween becomes a certain amount. The upper crop 38 and the lower crop 39 remaining in mutually deviated position on an upper side and a lower side at the time of bonding are removed by the crop processor 12 (see Fig. 1) and the continuous metal bar 11 is sent to the finishing mill 4. Details of the crop processor 12 will be described later. -13- Bonding of the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6 using the bonding device 10 is executed synchronously with the advance of the metal bars. For this reason, synchronous movements of the bonding device 10 and approaching and receding movements of the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are executed by use of a blade driving mechanism shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. That is, the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are configured to move in accordance with a movement locus of the joint between the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6. The blade driving mechanism will be described based on Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Fig. 5 shows a state before starting bonding and Fig. 6 shows a state at the time of completion of bonding. The upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 move from the positions before starting bonding to the positions at the completion of bonding and the return to the positions before starting bonding. At this time, the metal bars 6 and 9 to be bonded are advancing to a down stream direction (directions of arrows in Figs. 5 and 6) at a line speed. Accordingly, the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 move along an upper blade locus and a lower blade locus shown in dotted lines synchronously with this advance. A main crank shaft 41 includes two eccentric shafts relative to a center A. An upper eccentric shaft 42 is connected to the upper blade 26 through a link 43 while a lower eccentric shaft 44 is connected to the lower blade 28 through a link 45. The upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are vertically moved (either pressed down or retracted) in response to an angle of rotation of the main crank shaft 41. Meanwhile, a synchronizing shaft 46 which is engaged with the main crank shaft 41 to establish a synchronous relation is provided, and the synchronizing shaft 46 is linked with the link 43 of the upper eccentric shaft 42 and with the link 45 of the lower eccentric shaft 44 through a swing lever 47. -14- Through the link with the synchronizing shaft 46, the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are moved in an advancing direction of the metal bars 6 and 9 substantially at the same speed with the advance of the metal bars 6 and 9 while the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are in contact with the metal bars, and the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are retracted to the original positions when the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are detached from the metal bars. In the above-described bonding apparatus 3, the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are moved in a vertical direction in accordance with the movement locus of the joint between the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6. For example a distance required from the start of bonding to completion of bonding is set approximately equal to or below 1 m. The continuous rolling facility shown in Fig. 1 describes the example of the facility provided with the coil box 2. In the case of a continuous rolling facility without the coil box 2, the bonding apparatus 3 is configured to execute bonding after a trailing end of the following metal bar 6 is ejected from the roughing mill 1 or before a leading end of the preceding metal bar 9 is caught by the finishing mill 4. That is, the continuous rolling facility is set to roll only any one of the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6 when the bonding apparatus 3 bonds the metal bars 9 and 6. In the above-described bonding apparatus 3, the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6 are bonded together by compressing the blades from both sides in the thickness direction of the metal bars 6 and 9 and thereby subjecting the shear surfaces to plastic flow deformation in the shearing process. Accordingly, it is possible to bond the metal bars at a high bonding strength and in a short time period. Here, as for the bonding apparatus, it is also possible to apply a running shear device 54 configured to provide a running housing 51 with a fixed blade 52 and a -15- vertically moving blade 53 as shown in Fig. 7 as long as the device is capable of bonding in a short time period. It is also possible to move the running housing 51 synchronously with the advance of the metal bars and to bond the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6 by moving down the vertically moving blade 53 to perform shearing with the fixed blade 52 during the advance. In this case, a distance for bonding (a distance from a start of bonding to an end of bonding) becomes, for example, approximately equal to 10 m. However, it is possible to achieve shear-bonding with an extremely simple device configuration. Fig. 8 is views showing a crop connected state at a joint of metal bars, in which Fig. 8(a) shows a state of an outcome of bonding while placing the leading end of the following metal bar 6 on the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9, and Fig. 8(b) shows a state of an outcome of bonding while placing the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9 on the leading end of the following metal bar 6. After bonding, there are crop connected portions 80 (portions where the crops 38 and 39 are partially connected to the bonded metal bar 11). Arrows in solid line show a case of splitting the crops 38 and 39 by tapping shear surfaces 38a and 39a of the crops 38 and 39, and arrows in broken lines show a case of splitting the crops by tapping or peeling off from opposite sides 38b and 39b of the shear surfaces (end surfaces of the metal bars). Fig. 9 is views showing a state after splitting the crops, in which Fig. 9(a) shows split ends 81 in the case of splitting the crops 38 and 39 by tapping from the directions of the arrows in the solid lines in Fig. 8, and Fig. 9(b) shows split ends 82 in the case of splitting the crops 38 and 39 by tapping or peeling off from the directions of the arrows in the broken lines in Fig. 8. When the crops 38 and 39 are split from the directions of the arrows in the broken lines in Figs, 8(a) and 8(b), burrs 83 as on the split ends 82 are generated after splitting as shown in Fig. 9(b). When the burrs 83 are generated, notches 84 remain -16- in the vicinity of the split ends 82 at the joint, which constitute a factor to reduce strength of the joint. Moreover, the burrs may be folded back and attached to the surfaces of the metal plate 11 along with the subsequent rolling process, thereby leading to reduction in a base material thickness in the thickness direction of the metal plate 11 and reduction in the strength. In contrast, when the crops 38. and 39 are split from the directions of the arrows in the solid lines, the split ends 81 becomes so continuous after splitting as to have no burrs 83 or notches 84 as described above. This neither causes reduction in the strength of the joint, nor causes reduction in the strength during the rolling process. As described above, splitting the crop connected portions 80 by tapping the shear surfaces 38a and 39a of the crops 38 and 39 from the directions of the arrows in the solid lines in Fig. 8 makes it possible to curb an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint. Next, the crop processor 12 will be described based on Fig. 10 and Fig. 11. Fig. 10 shows a conceptual configuration of a crop processor according to a first embodiment of the present invention and Fig. 11 shows a conceptual configuration of a crop processor according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The crop processor according to the first embodiment will be described based on Fig. 10. As shown in the drawing, crop removers 71 and 72 serving as crop removing means are respectively provided so as to face the shear surface 38a of the upper crop 38 and the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 remaining on the upper side and the lower side of the joint while sandwiching the metal bar 11. The crop remover 71 on the lower side includes a tapping blade 74 serving as tapping means which is disposed in a position opposed to the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 on the trailing end side of the preceding metal bar 9. The tapping -17- blade 74 is set to wait for the lower crop 39 along with the advance of the metal bar 11 and is configured to remove the lower crop 39 from the shear surface 39a side by tapping the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 by the tapping blade 74. The crop remover 72 on the upper side includes a tapping blade 75 serving as tapping means which is disposed in a position opposed to the shear surface 38a of the upper crop 38 on the following metal bar 6. The tapping blade 75 is set to chase the upper crop 38 along with the advance of the metal bar 11 and is rotated by driving means such as a cylinder 76 at a higher speed than the advancing speed of the metal bar 11. The upper crop 38 is removed from the shear surface 38a side by tapping the shear surface 38a of the upper crop 38 by the tapping blade 75 driven by the cylinder 76 or the like. Instead of the cylinder 76, it is also possible to rotate the tapping blade 75 by a motor and the like. The crop processor of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 10 is configured to remove the lower crop 39 on the trailing end side of the preceding metal bar 9 by tapping the -shear surface 39a with the tapping blade 74 and to remove the upper crop 38 of the following metal bar 6 by tapping the shear surface 38a with the tapping blade 75. Accordingly, the upper side and the lower side of the joint are formed into the split ends 81 and the burrs on the split ends 82 harmful for the joint are therefore eliminated. The split upper crop 38 is received by a scraper 77 and is moved to a crop tray 78 by turning the scraper 77 upward as indicated with an arrow in the drawing. Although it is not illustrated, the upper crop 38 can be discharged offline by inclining the crop tray 78, for example. The crop processor according to the second embodiment will be described based on Fig. 11. As shown in Fig. 11, crop removers 61 and 62 are respectively provided to be located on a front side of the upper crop 38 and the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 -18- remaining on the upper side and the lower side of the joint while sandwiching the metal bar 11.. The crop remover 61 on the lower side includes a tapping blade 64 serving as tapping means which is disposed in a position opposed to the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 on the trailing end side of the preceding metal bar 9. The tapping blade 64 is set to wait for the lower crop 39 along with the advance of the metal bar 11 and is configured to remove the lower crop 39 from the shear surface 39a side by tapping the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 by the tapping blade 64. The crop remover 62 on the upper side includes a scraper 65 serving as peeling means which is disposed in a position opposed to leading end surface 38b of the upper crop 38 of the following metal bar 6. A tip end of the scraper 65 is fitted into a lower end of the leading end surface 38b of the upper crop 38 along with the advance of the metal bar 11 and removes the upper crop 38 from the leading end surface 38b side by peeling the upper crop 38 off the surface of the metal bar 11. . The removed upper crop 38 is guided by an upper surface of the scraper 65 and by a discharge guiding member 66 and is discharged to a predetermined discharge site. A chamfer 67 is formed on the lower end (the superposed surface side) of the leading end surface 38b of the upper crop 38, so that the tip end of the scraper 65 can be easily fitted thereto. The crop processor of the second embodiment shown in Fig. 11 is configured to remove the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 on the trailing end side of the preceding.metal bar 9 by the tapping blade 64 and to remove the upper crop 38 of the of the following metal bar 6 from the leading end surface 38b side by the scraper 65. Accordingly, it is possible to remove the lower crop 39 and the upper crop 38 so as to wait for the metal bar 11 on the front side in the advancing direction. For this reason, it is possible to allow the tapping blade 64 to reach the lower crop 39, and to fit the scraper 65 into the upper crop 38 reliably, and thereby to remove the -19- lower crop 39 and the upper crop 38 reliably. Moreover, the upper side of the joint is formed into the split end 82 (see Fig. 9(b)) while the lower side of the joint is formed into the split end 81 (see Fig. 9(a)). Accordingly, it is possible to limit the burr of the split end 82 harmful for the joint only to one place. The chamfer 67 shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 is automatically formed when part of the following metal bar 6 is cut with the crop shear 7 in Fig. 1. Concerning a generation mechanism of this chamfer, "Improvement of cutting performance of a drum type crop shear", Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Technical Report Vol. 21 No. 6 (1984), Fig. 3, Fig. 4, etc. reporting about generation of a chamfer by cutting with a drum shear, serve as a reference. Note that the crop shear is not limited only to the drum type crop shear. The crop shear only needs to be able to form the chamfer 67. Moreover, by bending upward the leading end portion (the portion to be superposed) of the following metal bar 6, it is possible to facilitate fitting of the scraper 65 into the space between the upper crop 38 and the preceding metal bar 9 without providing the chamfer 67 in particular. Moreover, it is also possible to facilitate scooping of the upper crop 38 by the scraper 77. In addition thereto, as for means for facilitating fitting of the scraper 65 into the space between the upper crop 38 and the preceding metal bar 9 or facilitating scooping of the upper crop 38 by the scraper 77, it is also conceivable to form the trailing end (which becomes the leading end at the time of unwinding) of the following metal bar 6 at the time of winding around the coil box 22 so as to be warped upward at the time of unwinding. Alternatively, it is also possible to make arrangement by leaving predetermined warpage by controlling the leveler 13 disposed in front of the bonding apparatus 3. According to the crop processor and the crop processing method described above, it is possible to properly remove the upper crop 38 and the lower crop 39 remaining on the upper side and the lower side of the joint. Moreover, according to the continuous rolling facility including the above-described crop processor, it is -20- possible to establish the continuous rolling facility and the continuous rolling method which are capable of properly removing the upper crop 38 and the lower crop 39 remaining on the upper side and the lower side of the joint. Although the tapping means configured to tap the crop from the shear surface side has been cited as the crop removing means herein, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. It is also possible to split the crop in the form of the split end 81 instead of the split end 82 by cutting the crop connected portion from the shear surface of the crop with a cutter or the like. What is important is that the crop removing means only needs to have an ability to separate the crop from the metal plate by applying force to the crop. -21- CLAIM: 1. A crop processor for processing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint which is shear-bonded in a way that a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate are superposed on each other and that their superposed potion is compressed, characterized in that crop removing means for removing the crop by tapping a shear surface of the crop is provided on at least one of the upper side and the lower side of the bonded metal plates. 2. The crop processor according to claim 1, characterized in that the crop removing means remove the crops on both of the upper side and the lowet side of the bonded metal plates by tapping shear surfaces of the crops. 3. The crop processor according to claim 2. characterized in that one of the crop removing means for removing the crop of the preceding metal plate removes the crop by tapping the shear surface of the crop from a front side in an advancing direction of the metal plates, and that one of the crop removing means for removing the crop of the following metal plate removes the crop by tapping the shear surface of the crop from a rear side in the advancing direction of the metal plates. 4. A crop processor for processing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint which is shear-bonded in a way that a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate are superposed on each other and that their superposed potion is compressed, characterized by comprising: crop removing means disposed on both of an upper side and a lower side of bonded metal plates at a front side in an advancing direction of the bonded metal plates, the crop removing means removing the crop on one of the -22- upper side and the lower side of the metal plates by tapping a shear surface of the crop on the one side, and removing the crop on the other side by tapping or peeling off an opposite side to a shear surface of the crop on the other side. 5. A crop processing method for processing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint which is shear-bonded in a way that a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate are superposed on each other and that their superposed potion is compressed, the method characterized by comprising: removing the crop by tapping a shear surface of at least one of the crops of the preceding metal plate and the following metal plate. 6. A continuous rolling facility characterized by comprising: superposing means for superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate at an upstream side of a finishing roller; a bonding apparatus including a pair of shear blades that bonds the metal plates by holding, compressing and shearing a superposed potion of the metal plates from both sides; and the crop processor according to any one of claims 1 to 4 for processing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a shear-bonded joint. 7. The continuous rolling facility according to claim 6, characterized by comprising: chamfer forming means for forming a chamfer on a superposed surface side of a tip end of the following metal plate at a side preceding the crop processor. 8. The continuous rolling facility according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that a crop shear is disposed in a place preceding the bonding apparatus, and -23- the crop shear includes the chamfer forming means. 9. The continuous rolling facility according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized by comprising: upward warpage forming means for warping upward the superposed surface of the tip end of the following plate at a side preceding the crop processor. 10. A continuous rolling method characterized by comprising: superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate at an upstream side of a finishing roller; bonding the metal plates by compressing and shearing a superposed portion of the metal plates; and removing a crop by tapping a shear surface of at least one of the crops of the preceding metal plate and the following metal plate. Dated this 26th day of June, 2008 HIRAL CHANDRAKANT JOSHI AGENT FOR MITSUBISHI-HITACHI METALS MACHINERY, INC. AND POSCO -24-

Full Text

FORM 2
THE PATENT ACT 197 0 (39 of 1970)
The Patents Rules, 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (See Section 10, and rule 13)
1. TITLE OF INVENTION
CROP PROCESSOR AND CROP PROCESSING METHOD AND CONTINUOUS ROLLING FACILITY AND CONTINUOUS ROLLING METHOD

2. APPLICANT(S)
a) Name
b) Nationality
c) Address

a) Name
b) Nationality
c) Address

MITSUBISHI-HITACHI METALS MACHINERY,
JAPANESE Company
34-6, SHIBA 5-CHOME,
MINATO-KU,
TOKYO 1080014
JAPAN
AND
POSCO
KOREAN Company 1, KOEDONG-DONG, NAM-lCU, POHANG-SHI, KYUNGBUKU 790785 REPUBLIC OF KOREA

INC

PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes and the manner in which it is to be performed : -

the invention

CERTIFICATION
I, Yasuyuki Tanaka, 5-15-10, Higashihongo, Midori-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Japan hereby certify that I am the translator of the certified copy of the documents in respect of an application No. 2006-002261 for a patent filed in Japan on January 10, 2006, and certify that the following is a true and correct translation to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Yasuyuki Tanaka
Date: This 26th day of May 2008

Technical Field
The present invention relates to a crop processor and a crop processing method for removing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint where metal plates are shear-bonded to each other. Moreover, the present invention relates to a continuous rolling facility and a continuous rolling method, which are capable of bonding a preceding metal plate to a following metal plate while the metal plates are advancing, and include a crop processor for removing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint where the metal plates are shear-bonded to each other.
Background Art
A continuous rolling facility for a metal plate is configured to obtain a metal plate having a predetermined thickness by use of a roughing roller and a finishing roller. One of already developed measures for the continuous rolling facility is to bond metal bars between a roughing roller and a finishing roller and thereby to allow execution of finish rolling continuously. In order to execute finish rolling continuously, it is necessary to bond metal bars at a high speed, and various techniques have been proposed in this regard.
As the technique for bonding metal bars at a high speed, there have been known techniques for superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal bar and a leading end of a following metal bar on each other, for shearing both of the metal bars at the same time, and for bonding their newly-formed surfaces to each other by bringing them into direct contact in a shearing process (see Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3, for example).
These techniques are favorable methods for continuous rolling facilities since they employ shear-bonding to enable bonding simply and in a short time period.
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Patent Document 1: JP-A 9-174117 Patent Document 2: JP-A 10-34203 Patent Document 3: JP-A 2001-232403
Disclosure of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
Continuous rolling facilities disclosed in Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 enable bonding simply and in a short time period and are favorable as the continuous rolling facilities. In the case of shear-bonding, crops remain on an upper side and a lower side of a joint. Accordingly, a crop processor for removing crops on line immediately after bonding is necessary.
During removing crops, it is necessary to remove the crops reliably and without affecting surfaces of a metal bar to be formed into a product. However, a concrete technique for an optimum crop processor has not been established to date.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing circumstance, and an object thereof is to provide a crop processor and a crop processing method which are capable of reliably removing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint.
Moreover, the present invention has been made in view of the foregoing circumstance, and another object thereof is to provide a continuous rolling facility and a continuous rolling method which include a crop processor capable of reliably removing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint.
Means for Solving the Problems
A crop processor according to a first invention for attaining the object provides a crop processor configured to process crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint shear-bonded by superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate
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and a leading end of a following metal plate and compressing a superposed portion, characterized in that crop removing means for removing the crop by tapping a shear surface of the crop is provided on at least one of the upper side and the lower side of the bonded metal plates.
A crop processor according to a second invention for attaining the object provides the crop processor according to the first invention; characterized in that the crop removing means removes the crops on both of the upper side and the lower side of the bonded metal plates by tapping shear surfaces of the crops.
A crop processor according to a third invention for attaining the object provides the crop processor according to the second invention, characterized in that, among the crop removing means, the crop removing means for removing the crop of the preceding metal plate removes the crop by tapping the shear surface of the crop from a front side in an advancing direction of the metal plates, and that, among the crop removing means, the crop removing means for removing the crop of the following metal plate removes the crop by tapping the shear surface of the crop from a rear side in the advancing direction of the metal plates.
A crop processor according to a fourth invention for attaining the object provides a crop processor for processing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint shear-bonded by superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate and compressing a superposed portion, characterized by comprising crop removing means, disposed on both of an upper side and a lower side of a bonded metal plate and at a front side in an advancing direction of the bonded metal plates, for removing the crop on one of the upper side and the lower side of the metal plates by tapping a shear surface of the crop on the one side and for removing the crop on the other side by tapping or peeling off an opposite side of a shear surface of the crop on the other side.
A crop processing method according to a fifth invention for attaining the object provides a crop processing method for processing crops remaining on an upper side
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and a lower side of a joint shear-bonded by superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate and compressing a superposed portion, characterized by comprising the step of removing the crop by tapping a shear surface of at least one of the crops of the preceding metal plate and the following metal plate.
A continuous rolling facility according to a sixth invention for attaining the object provides a continuous rolling facility characterized by comprising superposing means for superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate at an upstream side of a finishing roller, a bonding apparatus including a pair of shear blades configured to sandwich a superposed portion of the metal plates and to perform bonding while compressing and shearing from both sides, and the crop processor according to any one of claims 1 to 4 configured to process crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a shear-bonded joint.
A continuous rolling facility according to a seventh invention for attaining the object provides the continuous rolling facility according to the sixth invention, characterized by comprising chamfer forming means for forming a chamfer on a front side of the crop processor and on a superposed surface side on a tip end of the following metal plate.
A continuous rolling facility according to an eighth invention for attaining the object provides the continuous rolling facility according to the sixth or seventh invention, characterized in that a crop shear is disposed in front of the bonding apparatus, and that the crop shear includes the chamfer forming means.
A continuous rolling facility according to a ninth invention for attaining the object provides the continuous rolling facility according to any one of the sixth to eighth inventions, characterized by comprising upward warpage forming means for warping upward the superposed surface on the tip end of the following plate on a front side of the crop processor.
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A continuous rolling method according to a tenth invention for attaining the object is characterized by comprising the steps of superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate at an upstream side of a finishing roller, shear-bonding a superposed portion by compressing a superposed portion, and removing a crop by tapping a shear surface of at least one of the crops of the preceding metal plate and the following metal plate.
Effects of the Invention
According to the crop processor of the first invention, the crop on at least one of the upper side and the lower side can be removed by tapping the shear surface of the crop, and it is possible to achieve proper removal while curbing an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint.
According to the crop processor of the second invention, both of the crops on the upper side and the lower side can be removed by tapping the shear surfaces of the crops, further curbing an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint.
According to the crop processor of the third invention, it is possible to remove the crops at the joint by tapping the shear surfaces.
According to the crop processor of the fourth invention, it is possible to remove the crops so as to wait for the joint and thereby to enable reliable removal, and moreover, to achieve proper removal while curbing an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint.
According to the crop processing method of the fifth invention, the crop can be removed from the shear surface by tapping the shear surface at the joint, and it is possible to achieve proper removal while curbing an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint.
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According to the continuous rolling facility of the sixth invention, the continuous rolling facility including the crop processor capable of properly removing the crops remaining on the upper side and the lower side of the joint is obtained.
According to the continuous rolling facility of the seventh invention, it is possible to scoop the crops properly in the course of or after tapping the crops. Moreover, it is possible to peel off the crops properly.
According to the continuous rolling facility .of the eighth invention, it is possible to form the chamfer without disposing a special device.
According to the continuous rolling facility of the ninth invention, since the upward warpage forming means is provided, it is possible to form warpage on the upper crop and thereby to facilitate removal and collection of the upper crop.
According to the continuous, rolling method of the tenth invention, the crop can be removed from the shear surface by tapping the shear surface at the joint, and it is possible to achieve proper removal while curbing an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[Fig. 1] Fig. 1 is an overall block diagram of a continuous rolling facility including a crop processor according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Fig. 2] Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a bonding device in Fig. 1. [Fig. 3] Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the bonding device in a different stage from Fig. 2.
[Fig. 4] Fig. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a state of completion of bonding a preceding metal plate and a following metal plate.
[Fig. 5] Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a blade driving mechanism in the bonding device.
[Fig. 6] Fig. 6 is a conceptual diagram of the blade driving mechanism having a
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different condition from Fig. 5.
[Fig. 7] Fig. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of a bonding
apparatus.
[Fig. 8] Figs. 8(a) and 8(b) are schematic diagrams of a crop connected state. Fig.
8(a) shows a state of bonding while placing a leading end of a following metal bar on
a trailing end of a preceding metal bar and Fig. 8(b) shows a state of bonding while
placing the trailing end of the preceding metal bar on the leading end of the
following metal bar.
[Fig. 9] Figs. 9(a) and 9(b) are schematic diagrams showing states after crop
separation. Fig. 9(a) shows a case of separating by applying forces from shear
surface sides (from directions of arrows in solid lines ir\ Fig. 8) and Fig. 9(b) shows a
case of splitting by applying forces from end surfaces of the crops (from directions of
arrows in broken lines in Fig.8
[Fig. 10] Fig. 10 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a crop processor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
[Fig. 11] Fig. 11 is a conceptual configuration diagram of a crop processor according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Description of Symbols

1 ROUGHING ROLLER (ROUGHING MILL)
2 COIL BOX
3 BONDING APPARATUS
4 FINISHING ROLLER (FINISHING MILL)
5 DOWN COILER
6 FOLLOWING METAL BAR
7 CROP SHEAR
8 SUPERPOSING DEVICE
9 PRECEDING METAL BAR
10 BONDING DEVICE
11 METAL BAR
12 CROP PROCESSOR
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13,14 LEVELERS
15 CROP SHEAR
16 EDGE HEATER
17 BAR HEATER
21 TRAILING END OF PRECEDING METAL BAR
22 LEADING END OF FOLLOWING METAL BAR
25,27 PROTRUSIONS ON BLADES
26 UPPER BLADE
28 LOWER BLADE
31 UPPER CLAMP
32 LOWER CLAMP
33 UPPER SUPPORTER
34 LOWER SUPPORTER
35 UPPER BLADE ASSEMBLY
36 LOWER BLADE ASSEMBLY
37 HOUSING
38 UPPER CROP
39 LOWER CROP
41 MAIN CRANKSHAFT
42 UPPER ECCENTRIC SHAFT
43,45 LINKS
44 LOWER ECCENTRIC SHAFT
46 SYNCHRONIZING SHAFT
47 SWING LEVER
51 RUNNING HOUSING
52 FIXED BLADE
53 VERTICALLY MOVING BLADE
54 RUNNING SHEAR DEVICE
61, 62, 71 , 72 CROP PROCESSORS
64, 74, 75 TAPPING BLADES
65 SCRAPER
66 DISCHARGE GUIDING MEMBER
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67 CHAMFERING UNIT
76 CYLINDER
77 SCRAPER
78 CROP TRAY

80 CROP CONNECTOR PORTION
81 SPLIT END
82 SPLIT END
Best Modes for Carrying Out the Invention
First, an overall configuration of a continuous rolling facility will be described based on Fig. 1. Fig. 1 shows an overall configuration of a continuous rolling facility including a crop processor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The continuous rolling facility of this embodiment includes a roughing roller (a roughing mill) 1, a coil box 2, a bonding apparatus 3, a finishing roller (a finishing mill) 4 formed of multiple stages of rollers, and a down coiler 5 arranged from an upstream side.
A metal plate (a following metal bar) 6 rolled by the roughing mill 1 is wound around a coiler of the coil box 2 and a difference in advancing speeds between the roughing mill 1 and the finishing mill 4 is adjusted. The following metal bar 6 unwound from the coiler of the coil box 2 is subject to cutting of a leading end by a crop shear 7 as needed, and is then superposed on a trailing end (the end is cut by the crop shear 7 as needed) of a preceding metal bar 9 by a superposing device 8 of the bonding apparatus 3.
The leading end of the following metal bar 6 is bonded to the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9 by a bonding, device 10 of the bonding apparatus 3, and crops at the joint are cut off by a crop processor 12. A metal bar 11 bonded by the bonding apparatus 3 and rendered continuous is sent to the finishing mill 4.
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The bonding apparatus 3 is configured to bond the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9 to the leading end of the following metal bar 6 while the metal bars are advancing, and therefore constitutes a short-time bonding apparatus capable of bonding in a short time period. Moreover, in order to perform bonding during the advance, a configuration to allow the bonding device to move so as to follow the advance of the metal bars or a configuration to allow the bonding device to swing so as to follow the advance of the metal bars are applicable.
Although details will be described later, the bonding device 10 of the bonding apparatus 3 has a bonding mechanism including a pair of shear blades configured to sandwich a superposed portion of the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9 and the leading end of the following metal bar 6 and to perform bonding while compressing and shearing that portion from both sides, for example.
The metal bar 11 sent to the finishing mill 4 is sequentially subjected to hot rolling by the multiple stages of rollers and is rolled into a predetermined plate thickness. The metal bar 11 rolled into the predetermined plate thickness is wound around the down coiler 5.
Concerning reference symbols in the drawing, 13 denotes a leveler provided at an exit side of the coil box 2,14 denotes a lever provided at an exit side of the bonding apparatus 3, 15 denotes a crop shear provided at an entrance side of the finishing mill 4,16 denotes an edge heater disposed between the lever 14 and the crop shear 15, and 17 denotes a bar heater disposed at a downstream side of the edge heater 16.
Note that layouts of the levelers 13 and 14, the crop shear 15, the edge heater 16, and the bar heater 17 are determined by appropriate selection depending on conditions and other factors of the continuous rolling facility. The layout positions, the presence or absence of these constituents, and the like are not limited only to the illustrated example.
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Here, the crop shear 7 for cutting off the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9 and the leading end of the following metal bar 6 is necessary in the case of striking the metals bars for bonding. However, the crop shear 7 is not always necessary in the case of bonding in a shearing process while superposing the metal bars and can therefore be omitted.
An example of the bonding device 10 of the bonding apparatus 3 will be concretely described based on Fig. 2 to Fig. 6. Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show a schematic configuration of the bonding device 10, in which Fig. 2 shows a condition to start bonding and Fig. 3 shows a condition in the course of bonding. Fig. 4 shows the metal plate in the state of completion of bonding. Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 show a blade driving mechanism in the bonding device 10.
As shown in Fig. 2, a leading end 22 of the following metal bar 6 is superposed on a trailing end 21 of the preceding metal bar 9, and a portion where the trailing end 21 and the leading end 22 are superposed is sandwiched by an upper blade 26 having a protrusion 25 and a lower blade 28 having a protrusion 27. That is, the protrusions 25 and 27 are in contact with one of the surfaces of the trailing end 21 and the leading end 22.
Meanwhile, an upper clamp 31 and a lower clamp 32 are in contact with the region where the leading end 22 of the following metal bar 6 and the trailing end 21 of the preceding metal bar 9 are superposed. The upper clamp 31 is supported by a certain hydraulic force using an upper supporter 33 and the lower clamp 32 is supported by a certain hydraulic force using a lower supporter 34.
The upper blade 26, the upper clamp 31, and the upper supporter 33 are integrally formed as an upper blade assembly 35. Meanwhile, the lower blade 27, the lower clamp 32, and the lower supporter 34 are integrally formed as a lower blade assembly 36.
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The upper blade assembly 35 and the lower blade assembly 36 are guided to a post portion of a housing 37 and are supported so as to move in a thickness direction of the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6. The upper blade assembly 35 and the lower blade assembly 36 are rendered capable of approaching and receding from each other by use of link mechanisms to be described later, so that the upper blade assembly 35 and the lower blade assembly 36 approach and recede from each other while sandwiching the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6. An approaching action takes place in the process of bonding while a receding action takes place after bonding.
Here, it is also possible to render only one of the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 movable.
As shown in Fig. 3, in the process of shearing the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 9 with the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28, the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6 are bonded together by plastic flow deformation on both of shear surfaces, thereby forming the integrated and continuous metal bar 11.
As shown in Fig. 4, in a position of completion of a bonding operation, an upper crop 38 which is the leading end portion of the following metal bar 6 and a lower crop 39 which is the trailing end portion of the preceding metal bar 9 remain in mutually deviated positions above and below a bonded region of the continuous metal bar. Thereafter, the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are retracted so that the upper and lower blades recede from each other until the space therebetween becomes a certain amount.
The upper crop 38 and the lower crop 39 remaining in mutually deviated position on an upper side and a lower side at the time of bonding are removed by the crop processor 12 (see Fig. 1) and the continuous metal bar 11 is sent to the finishing mill 4. Details of the crop processor 12 will be described later.
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Bonding of the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6 using the bonding device 10 is executed synchronously with the advance of the metal bars. For this reason, synchronous movements of the bonding device 10 and approaching and receding movements of the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are executed by use of a blade driving mechanism shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. That is, the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are configured to move in accordance with a movement locus of the joint between the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6.
The blade driving mechanism will be described based on Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Fig. 5 shows a state before starting bonding and Fig. 6 shows a state at the time of completion of bonding.
The upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 move from the positions before starting bonding to the positions at the completion of bonding and the return to the positions before starting bonding. At this time, the metal bars 6 and 9 to be bonded are advancing to a down stream direction (directions of arrows in Figs. 5 and 6) at a line speed. Accordingly, the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 move along an upper blade locus and a lower blade locus shown in dotted lines synchronously with this advance.
A main crank shaft 41 includes two eccentric shafts relative to a center A. An upper eccentric shaft 42 is connected to the upper blade 26 through a link 43 while a lower eccentric shaft 44 is connected to the lower blade 28 through a link 45. The upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are vertically moved (either pressed down or retracted) in response to an angle of rotation of the main crank shaft 41.
Meanwhile, a synchronizing shaft 46 which is engaged with the main crank shaft 41 to establish a synchronous relation is provided, and the synchronizing shaft 46 is linked with the link 43 of the upper eccentric shaft 42 and with the link 45 of the lower eccentric shaft 44 through a swing lever 47.
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Through the link with the synchronizing shaft 46, the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are moved in an advancing direction of the metal bars 6 and 9 substantially at the same speed with the advance of the metal bars 6 and 9 while the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are in contact with the metal bars, and the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are retracted to the original positions when the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are detached from the metal bars.
In the above-described bonding apparatus 3, the upper blade 26 and the lower blade 28 are moved in a vertical direction in accordance with the movement locus of the joint between the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6. For example a distance required from the start of bonding to completion of bonding is set approximately equal to or below 1 m.
The continuous rolling facility shown in Fig. 1 describes the example of the facility provided with the coil box 2. In the case of a continuous rolling facility without the coil box 2, the bonding apparatus 3 is configured to execute bonding after a trailing end of the following metal bar 6 is ejected from the roughing mill 1 or before a leading end of the preceding metal bar 9 is caught by the finishing mill 4.
That is, the continuous rolling facility is set to roll only any one of the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6 when the bonding apparatus 3 bonds the metal bars 9 and 6.
In the above-described bonding apparatus 3, the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6 are bonded together by compressing the blades from both sides in the thickness direction of the metal bars 6 and 9 and thereby subjecting the shear surfaces to plastic flow deformation in the shearing process. Accordingly, it is possible to bond the metal bars at a high bonding strength and in a short time period.
Here, as for the bonding apparatus, it is also possible to apply a running shear device 54 configured to provide a running housing 51 with a fixed blade 52 and a
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vertically moving blade 53 as shown in Fig. 7 as long as the device is capable of bonding in a short time period. It is also possible to move the running housing 51 synchronously with the advance of the metal bars and to bond the preceding metal bar 9 and the following metal bar 6 by moving down the vertically moving blade 53 to perform shearing with the fixed blade 52 during the advance.
In this case, a distance for bonding (a distance from a start of bonding to an end of bonding) becomes, for example, approximately equal to 10 m. However, it is possible to achieve shear-bonding with an extremely simple device configuration.
Fig. 8 is views showing a crop connected state at a joint of metal bars, in which Fig. 8(a) shows a state of an outcome of bonding while placing the leading end of the following metal bar 6 on the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9, and Fig. 8(b) shows a state of an outcome of bonding while placing the trailing end of the preceding metal bar 9 on the leading end of the following metal bar 6. After bonding, there are crop connected portions 80 (portions where the crops 38 and 39 are partially connected to the bonded metal bar 11).
Arrows in solid line show a case of splitting the crops 38 and 39 by tapping shear surfaces 38a and 39a of the crops 38 and 39, and arrows in broken lines show a case of splitting the crops by tapping or peeling off from opposite sides 38b and 39b of the shear surfaces (end surfaces of the metal bars).
Fig. 9 is views showing a state after splitting the crops, in which Fig. 9(a) shows split ends 81 in the case of splitting the crops 38 and 39 by tapping from the directions of the arrows in the solid lines in Fig. 8, and Fig. 9(b) shows split ends 82 in the case of splitting the crops 38 and 39 by tapping or peeling off from the directions of the arrows in the broken lines in Fig. 8.
When the crops 38 and 39 are split from the directions of the arrows in the broken lines in Figs, 8(a) and 8(b), burrs 83 as on the split ends 82 are generated after splitting as shown in Fig. 9(b). When the burrs 83 are generated, notches 84 remain
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in the vicinity of the split ends 82 at the joint, which constitute a factor to reduce strength of the joint. Moreover, the burrs may be folded back and attached to the surfaces of the metal plate 11 along with the subsequent rolling process, thereby leading to reduction in a base material thickness in the thickness direction of the metal plate 11 and reduction in the strength.
In contrast, when the crops 38. and 39 are split from the directions of the arrows in the solid lines, the split ends 81 becomes so continuous after splitting as to have no burrs 83 or notches 84 as described above. This neither causes reduction in the strength of the joint, nor causes reduction in the strength during the rolling process.
As described above, splitting the crop connected portions 80 by tapping the shear surfaces 38a and 39a of the crops 38 and 39 from the directions of the arrows in the solid lines in Fig. 8 makes it possible to curb an adverse affect of the crop splitting on the joint.
Next, the crop processor 12 will be described based on Fig. 10 and Fig. 11. Fig. 10 shows a conceptual configuration of a crop processor according to a first embodiment of the present invention and Fig. 11 shows a conceptual configuration of a crop processor according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
The crop processor according to the first embodiment will be described based on Fig. 10.
As shown in the drawing, crop removers 71 and 72 serving as crop removing means are respectively provided so as to face the shear surface 38a of the upper crop 38 and the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 remaining on the upper side and the lower side of the joint while sandwiching the metal bar 11.
The crop remover 71 on the lower side includes a tapping blade 74 serving as tapping means which is disposed in a position opposed to the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 on the trailing end side of the preceding metal bar 9. The tapping
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blade 74 is set to wait for the lower crop 39 along with the advance of the metal bar 11 and is configured to remove the lower crop 39 from the shear surface 39a side by tapping the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 by the tapping blade 74.
The crop remover 72 on the upper side includes a tapping blade 75 serving as tapping means which is disposed in a position opposed to the shear surface 38a of the upper crop 38 on the following metal bar 6. The tapping blade 75 is set to chase the upper crop 38 along with the advance of the metal bar 11 and is rotated by driving means such as a cylinder 76 at a higher speed than the advancing speed of the metal bar 11. The upper crop 38 is removed from the shear surface 38a side by tapping the shear surface 38a of the upper crop 38 by the tapping blade 75 driven by the cylinder 76 or the like. Instead of the cylinder 76, it is also possible to rotate the tapping blade 75 by a motor and the like.
The crop processor of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 10 is configured to remove the lower crop 39 on the trailing end side of the preceding metal bar 9 by tapping the -shear surface 39a with the tapping blade 74 and to remove the upper crop 38 of the following metal bar 6 by tapping the shear surface 38a with the tapping blade 75. Accordingly, the upper side and the lower side of the joint are formed into the split ends 81 and the burrs on the split ends 82 harmful for the joint are therefore eliminated.
The split upper crop 38 is received by a scraper 77 and is moved to a crop tray 78 by turning the scraper 77 upward as indicated with an arrow in the drawing. Although it is not illustrated, the upper crop 38 can be discharged offline by inclining the crop tray 78, for example.
The crop processor according to the second embodiment will be described based on Fig. 11.
As shown in Fig. 11, crop removers 61 and 62 are respectively provided to be located on a front side of the upper crop 38 and the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39
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remaining on the upper side and the lower side of the joint while sandwiching the metal bar 11..
The crop remover 61 on the lower side includes a tapping blade 64 serving as tapping means which is disposed in a position opposed to the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 on the trailing end side of the preceding metal bar 9. The tapping blade 64 is set to wait for the lower crop 39 along with the advance of the metal bar 11 and is configured to remove the lower crop 39 from the shear surface 39a side by tapping the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 by the tapping blade 64.
The crop remover 62 on the upper side includes a scraper 65 serving as peeling means which is disposed in a position opposed to leading end surface 38b of the upper crop 38 of the following metal bar 6. A tip end of the scraper 65 is fitted into a lower end of the leading end surface 38b of the upper crop 38 along with the advance of the metal bar 11 and removes the upper crop 38 from the leading end surface 38b side by peeling the upper crop 38 off the surface of the metal bar 11. . The removed upper crop 38 is guided by an upper surface of the scraper 65 and by a discharge guiding member 66 and is discharged to a predetermined discharge site.
A chamfer 67 is formed on the lower end (the superposed surface side) of the leading end surface 38b of the upper crop 38, so that the tip end of the scraper 65 can be easily fitted thereto.
The crop processor of the second embodiment shown in Fig. 11 is configured to remove the shear surface 39a of the lower crop 39 on the trailing end side of the preceding.metal bar 9 by the tapping blade 64 and to remove the upper crop 38 of the of the following metal bar 6 from the leading end surface 38b side by the scraper 65. Accordingly, it is possible to remove the lower crop 39 and the upper crop 38 so as to wait for the metal bar 11 on the front side in the advancing direction.
For this reason, it is possible to allow the tapping blade 64 to reach the lower crop 39, and to fit the scraper 65 into the upper crop 38 reliably, and thereby to remove the
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lower crop 39 and the upper crop 38 reliably. Moreover, the upper side of the joint is formed into the split end 82 (see Fig. 9(b)) while the lower side of the joint is formed into the split end 81 (see Fig. 9(a)). Accordingly, it is possible to limit the burr of the split end 82 harmful for the joint only to one place.
The chamfer 67 shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 is automatically formed when part of the following metal bar 6 is cut with the crop shear 7 in Fig. 1. Concerning a generation mechanism of this chamfer, "Improvement of cutting performance of a drum type crop shear", Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Technical Report Vol. 21 No. 6 (1984), Fig. 3, Fig. 4, etc. reporting about generation of a chamfer by cutting with a drum shear, serve as a reference. Note that the crop shear is not limited only to the drum type crop shear. The crop shear only needs to be able to form the chamfer 67.
Moreover, by bending upward the leading end portion (the portion to be superposed) of the following metal bar 6, it is possible to facilitate fitting of the scraper 65 into the space between the upper crop 38 and the preceding metal bar 9 without providing the chamfer 67 in particular. Moreover, it is also possible to facilitate scooping of the upper crop 38 by the scraper 77.
In addition thereto, as for means for facilitating fitting of the scraper 65 into the space between the upper crop 38 and the preceding metal bar 9 or facilitating scooping of the upper crop 38 by the scraper 77, it is also conceivable to form the trailing end (which becomes the leading end at the time of unwinding) of the following metal bar 6 at the time of winding around the coil box 22 so as to be warped upward at the time of unwinding. Alternatively, it is also possible to make arrangement by leaving predetermined warpage by controlling the leveler 13 disposed in front of the bonding apparatus 3.
According to the crop processor and the crop processing method described above, it is possible to properly remove the upper crop 38 and the lower crop 39 remaining on the upper side and the lower side of the joint. Moreover, according to the continuous rolling facility including the above-described crop processor, it is
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possible to establish the continuous rolling facility and the continuous rolling method which are capable of properly removing the upper crop 38 and the lower crop 39 remaining on the upper side and the lower side of the joint.
Although the tapping means configured to tap the crop from the shear surface side has been cited as the crop removing means herein, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. It is also possible to split the crop in the form of the split end 81 instead of the split end 82 by cutting the crop connected portion from the shear surface of the crop with a cutter or the like. What is important is that the crop removing means only needs to have an ability to separate the crop from the metal plate by applying force to the crop.
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CLAIM:
1. A crop processor for processing crops remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a joint which is shear-bonded in a way that a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate are superposed on each other and that their superposed potion is compressed, characterized in that crop removing means for removing the crop by tapping a shear surface of the crop is provided on at least one of the upper side and the lower side of the bonded metal plates.
2. The crop processor according to claim 1,
characterized in that the crop removing means remove the crops on both of the upper side and the lowet side of the bonded metal plates by tapping shear surfaces of the crops.
3. The crop processor according to claim 2.
characterized in that one of the crop removing means for removing the crop
of the preceding metal plate removes the crop by tapping the shear surface
of the crop from a front side in an advancing direction of the metal plates,
and
that one of the crop removing means for removing the crop of the following
metal plate removes the crop by tapping the shear surface of the crop from a
rear side in the advancing direction of the metal plates.
4. A crop processor for processing crops remaining on an upper side and a
lower side of a joint which is shear-bonded in a way that a trailing end of a
preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate are
superposed on each other and that their superposed potion is compressed,
characterized by comprising:
crop removing means disposed on both of an upper side and a lower side of bonded metal plates at a front side in an advancing direction of the bonded metal plates, the crop removing means removing the crop on one of the
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upper side and the lower side of the metal plates by tapping a shear surface of the crop on the one side, and removing the crop on the other side by tapping or peeling off an opposite side to a shear surface of the crop on the other side.
5. A crop processing method for processing crops remaining on an upper side
and a lower side of a joint which is shear-bonded in a way that a trailing end
of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a following metal plate are
superposed on each other and that their superposed potion is compressed,
the method characterized by comprising:
removing the crop by tapping a shear surface of at least one of the crops of the preceding metal plate and the following metal plate.
6. A continuous rolling facility characterized by comprising:
superposing means for superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate
and a leading end of a following metal plate at an upstream side of a
finishing roller;
a bonding apparatus including a pair of shear blades that bonds the metal
plates by holding, compressing and shearing a superposed potion of the
metal plates from both sides; and
the crop processor according to any one of claims 1 to 4 for processing crops
remaining on an upper side and a lower side of a shear-bonded joint.
7. The continuous rolling facility according to claim 6, characterized by
comprising:
chamfer forming means for forming a chamfer on a superposed surface side of a tip end of the following metal plate at a side preceding the crop processor.
8. The continuous rolling facility according to claim 6 or 7,
characterized in that
a crop shear is disposed in a place preceding the bonding apparatus, and
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the crop shear includes the chamfer forming means.
9. The continuous rolling facility according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
characterized by comprising:
upward warpage forming means for warping upward the superposed surface of the tip end of the following plate at a side preceding the crop processor.
10. A continuous rolling method characterized by comprising:
superposing a trailing end of a preceding metal plate and a leading end of a
following metal plate at an upstream side of a finishing roller;
bonding the metal plates by compressing and shearing a superposed portion of the metal plates; and
removing a crop by tapping a shear surface of at least one of the crops of the preceding metal plate and the following metal plate.
Dated this 26th day of June, 2008
HIRAL CHANDRAKANT JOSHI
AGENT FOR MITSUBISHI-HITACHI METALS MACHINERY, INC. AND POSCO
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METAL CROP REMOVER AND CROP REMOVING METHOD

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