WO1991000150A1

WO1991000150A1 - Apparatus for coating strip material

Info

Publication number: WO1991000150A1
Application number: PCT/US1990/001429
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ronald B. Peterson; William C. Carlsen; Richard P. Almen
Original assignee: Adolph Coors Company
Priority date: 1989-06-26
Filing date: 1990-03-16
Publication date: 1991-01-10
Also published as: IE902285L; IE63849B1; IE902285A1

Abstract

Apparatus is provided for applying lubricating material to each surface of a continuous strip (138) of aluminum wherein a first applicator roll (46) transfers lubricating material from first supply tank (90) to the outer surface of a first coating roll (56) and a second applicator roll (72) transfers lubricating material from a second supply tank (102) to the outer surface of a second coating roll (80) and the continuous strip (138) of aluminum is passed between the first and second coating rolls to have the lubricating material applied to each surface thereof. The second coating roll (80) is rotated by a suitable drive means (140) and is positively connected to the second applicator roll (72), the first coating roll (56) and the first applicator roll (46) so as to rotate these rolls. The apparatus permits differing amounts or kinds of lubricating material to be applied to the surfaces of the continuous strip of aluminum.

Description

APPARATUS FOR COATING STRIP MATERIAL

Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to apparatus for applying a lubricant to both sides of a continuous strip of material and more particularly to apparatus for applying desired amounts of lubricant to each side of the continuous strip of material.

Background of the Invention

In the manufacture of aluminum cans it is customary to feed a continuous strip of aluminum to a punch press which forms shallow cup shaped blanks from the strip. The shallow cup shaped blanks are then used in a body maker machine which pushes the shallow cup shaped blanks through can forming and ironing dies to elongate and shape the shallow cup shaped blanks into can bodies. The foregoing operations require substantial contacting relationships between the apparatus and the aluminum material. Therefore, it is necessary to apply a lubricating material to each side of the continuous strip of aluminum prior to feeding it into the punch press. One conventional method of applying such lubricating material to the continuous strip of aluminum is to pull the continuous strip of aluminum through a bath of lubricating material and squeeze off any excess lubricating material. Another method is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,559,900 to Knapke et al. wherein the strip of aluminum is pulled through a bath of lubricating material by a first pair of propulsion rolls which also squeeze off excess lubricant and then through a pair of metering rolls which exert great pressure on the lubricating material to form a precise microscopic pattern of lubricating patches on both the upper and lower surfaces of the strip of aluminum.

Brief Description of the Invention This invention provides apparatus for applying lubricating material to each surface of a continuous strip of aluminum wherein the strip of aluminum passes between a first and a second coating roll wherein the first coating roll coats one surface of the strip of material with an evenly distributed precise amount of the lubricating material and the second coating roll coats the other surface of the strip of aluminum with ~-^~~ evenly distributed precise amount of lubricating material and wherein the amount of lubricating material on the one surface may differ from the amount of lubricating material on the other surface. Also, the kind of lubricating material on the one surface can differ from that on the other surface.

In the preferred embodiment, the invention includes frame means for supporting the various components. Feed means, comprising a pair of rotating feed rolls, are mounted to the frame means and function to unwind a continuous strip of aluminum from a coil and feed it toward a coating station. A first set of rolls are provided at the coating station and comprises a first applicator roll and a first coating roll each of which is mounted on its own shaft for rotation therewith and each of the shafts is rotatably mounted on slide assemblies which are slidably mounted on the frame means. A gear is mounted on each shaft for rotation therewith and the gears are in mesh with each other. A first tank for holding a supply of lubricating material is mounted on the slide assemblies so that successive portions of the outer peripheral surface of the first applicator roll will move through the first tank and be coated with the lubricating material. The first applicator roll has at least an outer layer of hardened steel with the surface thereof sand blasted to a finish of between about AA 16 and 120 micro inches as measured by a profilmeter of the type marketed by Federal under the trade designation Surfanalyzer System 2000 and measured as described in Exhibit A enclosed herewith which is a portion of a manual accompanying the profilmeter. This provides

_* cells in the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll. The coating roll is a conventional roll having a layer of rubber thereon having a Shore A durometer of about 90. Doctor blade means are provided to remove excess lubricant material from the outer peripheral surface of the applicator roll so as to leave the lubricating material only in the cells of the applicator roll which is then transferred to the first coating roll. This permits the roll first coating to be able to cooperate with a second coating roll to form a layer of substantially uniform lubricating material on one surface of the strip of aluminum as small as 15 milligrams per square foot. A second set of rolls are provided at the coating station and comprise a second applicator roll and a second coating roll each of which is mounted on its own shaft for rotation therewith. The shaft for the second coating roll is rotatably mounted in bearings on the frame means at a fixed location. A gear is mounted on each shaft for rotation therewith and the gears are in mesh with each other. Also, the gears on the shafts of the first and second coating rolls are in mesh with each other. The second applicator roll is mounted in bearings mounted at a fixed location on a second tank which holds a supply of lubricating material so that successive portions of the outer peripheral surface of the second applicator roll will move through the lubricating material and be coated with lubricating material. The second tank is slidably mounted on the frame means. Doctor blade means are provided to remove excess lubricating material from the outer peripheral surface so as to leave an evenly distributed precise amount of lubricating material thereon which is then transferred to the second coating roll. The first and second coating rolls cooperate to form a substantially uniform layer of lubricating material on the other surface of the strip of aluminum. The second applicator roll and the second coating roll are conventional parts of coating apparatus marketed by Inta-Roto Machine Co. of Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A. Support cylinders are mounted on the frame means and are connected to the slide assemblies for controlling the amount of force the first coating roll places on the strip of aluminum as it passes between the first and second coating rolls. Drive means are provided for rotating a shaft of one of the feed rolls so as to rotate the feed rolls and for rotating the shaft of the second coating roll so as to rotate, the first and second coating rolls and the first and second applicator rolls. The first and second coating rolls are moving in the same direction when applying the lubricating material on the strip of aluminum so that they exert a driving force on the strip of aluminum. The first and second coating rolls have a peripheral velocity that is slightly greater than the peripheral velocity of the pair of feed rolls to maintain sufficient tension in the strip of material so that it will not sag to contact any other part of the apparatus.

Brief Description of the Drawings An illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of Fig. 1 with parts removed;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view with parts removed of a portion of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view with parts removed of the connection between the first applicator roll and first coating roll of this invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs, l and 2 and comprises support means 2 comprising four legs 4 on which is mounted a base support member 6. Feed means 8 are mounted on a pair of spaced apart frame means 10 and comprise a first roll 12 mounted on a shaft 14 for rotation therewith which shaft 14 is rotatably mounted in a pair of spaced apart bearing means 16 slidably mounted on the frame means 10. A pair of spaced apart support cylinders 18 are mounted at a fixed location on the frame means 10 and are connected to the pair of bearing means 16 to govern the amount of pressure applied by the first roll 12 on a second roll 20 mounted on a shaft 22 for rotation therewith which shaft 22 is rotatably mounted in a pair of spaced apart bearing means 24 secured at fixed locations on the frame means 10. A gear, described below, is mounted on the shaft 22 and is rotated as described below. The first roll 12 is an idler roll so that rotation of the roll 20 will rotate the roll 12. The pair of spaced apart frame means 10 are mounted on a pair of spaced apart integral support walls 26 extending upwardly from base support member 6.

A pair of spaced apart opposite supports 30 are secured to front portions 32 of the support walls 26 and project outwardly therefrom. An angle member 34 extends between and is secured to the spaced apart supports 30. Also, a plate member 36 extends between and is secured to the spaced apart supports 30. A pair of upstanding sidewalls 40, Figs. 1 and 3, are securely mounted on each front portion 32. A pair of spaced apart support members 42 are secured to each sidewall 40 and extend upwardly therefrom and the ends thereof are secured to cross members 44. A first applicator roll 46 is mounted on a shaft 48 for rotation therewith which shaft 48 is mounted for rotation in a pair of bearing means 50 which are mounted in a pair of slide assemblies 52 for sliding movement over the support members 42. As stated above, the first applicator roll 46 has an outer layer of hardened steel which is sand blasted to a finish of between about AA 16 and 120 micro inches where AA is the arithmetical average. The sand blasting forms tiny cells on the outer peripheral surface of the first applicator roll 46 so as to retain the lubricating material therein. As far as applicant knows, this sand blasting is the only method by which the tiny cells for applying the desired fine layer of lubricating material may be obtained. It is noted that the RMS figure is about 11 per cent higher than the AA figure. A gear 54 is mounted on the shaft 48 for rotation therewith. A first coating roll 56 is mounted on a shaft 58 for rotation therewith which shaft 58 is mounted on a pair of bearing means 60 which are mounted on the slide members 62 for sliding movement over the support members 42. As stated above, the first coating roll 56 has an outer layer of rubber having a Shore A duro eter of about 90. A pair of support cylinders 64 are mounted on the cross-members 44 and are connected by rods 66 to the slide assemblies 52. Each slide member 62 is connected to each slide assembly 52 for relative linear movement therebetween, as described more fully below, and the distance between the slide assemblies 52 and 62 when in operative position is controlled by adjustable nut and bolt means 68. The support means 64 function to control the amount of pressure applied by the first coating roll 56 on the second coating roll 80, described below. A gear 70 is mounted on the shaft 58 for rotation therewith and is in mesh with gear 54. A second applicator roll 72 is mounted on a shaft 74 for rotation therewith which shaft 74 is mounted for rotation in a pair of bearing means 76 mounted as described below. A gear 78 is mounted on the shaft 74 for rotation therewith. A second coating roll 80 is mounted on a shaft 82 for rotation therewith which shaft 82 is mounted for rotation in a pair of bearing means 84 which are securely mounted on each upstanding sidewall 40. A gear 86 is mounted on the shaft 82 for rotation therewith and is in mesh with the gear 78 and with the gear 70.

A first tank 90 for holding a supply of lubricating material 92 is mounted on the slide assemblies 52 and is of the type marketed by Inta-Roto under the trade designation Rotocoater. The first tank 90 has a transversely extending opening 94 through which a portion of the first applicator roll 46 extends so that the outer peripheral surface 96 thereof contacts the lubricating material 92. Sealing means 98 are on three sides of the opening 94 and are in contact with the outer peripheral surface 96 and the sidewalls (not shown) of the first applicator roll 46. Adjustable doctor blade means 100 are mounted on the remaining side of the opening 94 so as to trim excess lubricating material 92 from the outer peripheral surface 96. The use of the doctor blade means 100 cooperates with the tiny cells formed by the sand blasting operation to permit a relative thin layer of lubricating material to be deposited on the surface of the continuous strip of aluminum. A second tank 102 comprises an open pan 104 located on a base 106 having an upwardly extending framework 108. A pair of support blocks 110 are securely mounted on the framework 108 and the bearing means 76 are securely mounted thereon. The base 106 has three depending slides 112, Fig. 2, mounted thereon so that the base 106 can slide on the plate member 36. An air cylinder 114 is mounted on an angle member 116 extending between and connected to the support walls 26 and is adapted to move the outer peripheral surface 118 of the second applicator roll 72 into or out of contact with the outer peripheral surface 120 of the second coating roll 80 by sliding the base 106 over the plate member 36. A pair of adjustable stops 122 are threadedly mounted in a depending flange 124 on the base 106 and are located to abut against upstanding flanges 126 on the plate member 36 to position the peripheral surface 108 at the proper location. Doctor blade means 128 are mounted for movement toward or away from the outer peripheral surface 118 by adjusting means 130 mounted on the base 106 so that excess amounts of the lubricating material may be removed from the outer peripheral surface 118. An angle member 132 extends between and is secured to the opposite sidewalls 40. A plurality of spaced apart guide rods 134 have arcuate front sections 136 for guiding the continuous strip 138 of aluminum after the layers of lubricating material have been applied thereto.

Drive means 140 for rotating the shafts 22 and 74 are illustrated in Fig. 1 and comprise a drive motor 142 having a drive shaft 144 on which a drive gear 146 is mounted for rotation therewith. A gear 148 is mounted on the shaft 22 so that rotation of the gear 148 rotates the shaft 22. A gear 150, Fig. 2, is mounted on the shaft 82 so that rotation of the gear 150 rotates the shaft 82. A drive chain 152 is trained around the drive gear 146 and the gears 148 and 150 so that rotation of the drive gear 146 moves the drive chain 152 to rotate the gears 148 and 150. A tensioning gear 154 is mounted on one of the support walls 26 so that the proper amount of tension is on the drive chain 152. A speed control unit 156, Fig. 1, has a sensor 158 mounted on a control arm 160 which is adapted to contact a loop 162 of the continuous strip 138 to sense the location of the loop 162 and adjust the drive motor 142 as a function of feed demand of the cupper (not shown) .

The structure for permitting the relative linear movement between the slide assembly 52 and the slide assembly 62 is illustrated in Fig. 4. A frame member 170, having a base member 172, adapted to extend in a generally horizontal plane, and two leg member 174 and 176 extending perpendicularly from the base member 172, is mounted on each slide assembly 52 by bolts 178 threadedly mounted therein. Each of the leg members 174 and 176 has an elongated slot 180 formed therein. A headed threaded bolt 182 passes through each slot 180 and is threaded into each slide assembly 62 to permit limited relative sliding movement between the slide assembly 52 and the slide assembly 62. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the slide assemblies 52 and 62 are in their operative position to apply coating to the continuous strip of material. When it is desired to separate the first applicator roll 46 and the first coating roll 56, the support cylinders 64 are actuated to move the slide assemblies 52 in an upward direction. The headed threaded bolts 182 permit the slide assembly 52 to move relative to the slide assembly 62 until the bottom portion 184 of the slots 180 contacts the shank portion (not shown) of the headed threaded bolts at which time the slide assembly 62 will move with the slide assembly 52. When it is desired to move the apparatus into operative position, the support cylinders will move the slide assemblies 52 and 62 downwardly until the first coating roll 56 contacts the second coating roll 80. At that time, the headed threaded bolts 182 and the elongated slots 180 will permit the continued movement of the slide assemblies 52 until a portion of each slide assembly 52 contacts the adjustable nut and bolt means 68 on each slide assembly 62. The support means 64 continue the downward movement of the slide assemblies 52 and 62 until the desired amount of pressure exists between the first coating roll 56 and the second coating roll 80.

In operation, a continuous strip 138 of aluminum is pulled off a coil of aluminum (not shown) by the feed rolls 12 and 20 which have a conventional outer layer of rubber or other similar material having a durometer of about 90 shore A. The continuous strip 138 moves between the outer peripheral surfaces 164 and 120 of the first and second coating rolls 56 and 80. The peripheral velocity of the outer peripheral surfaces 164 and 120 is slightly greater than the peripheral velocity of the outer peripheral surfaces of the first and second feed rolls 12 and 20 so that the continuous strip 138 between them is under tension so that the surfaces of the continuous strip 138 of aluminum will not contact any object. This also provides for a slight slippage between the continuous strip 138 of aluminum and the coating rolls 56 and 80. The lubricating material is transferred from the applicator rolls to the coating rolls as a plurality tiny globules which are spread out as a substantially uniform layer on each side of the continuous strip as it passes between the superposed coating rolls. The amount of lubricating material, such as a neat oil, applied to the surfaces of the continuous strip 138 can be the same or different and generally is between a minimum amount of about 15 milligrams per square foot per side and a maximum amount of about 200 milligrams per square foot per side. The above-described sand blasting operation provides the structure so that the fine layer of about 15 milligrams per square foot may be deposited on the continuous strip 138. In one operation, the preferred amount on the top side of the continuous strip 138 of aluminum is about 30 milligrams per square foot and the preferred amount on the bottom side is about 90.0 milligrams per square foot.

While an illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. Apparatus for applying coating material on both sides of a continuous strip of material comprising: support means for supporting the apparatus; feed means for feeding a continuous strip of a relatively thin material to a coating station; a first set of rolls at said coating station for coating one side of said strip of material with a first coating material; said first set of rolls comprising a first applicator roll having an outer peripheral surface and a first coating roll having an outer peripheral surface; said first applicator roll being mounted on a shaft for rotation therewith; said first coating roll being mounted on a shaft for rotation therewith; first mounting means for rotatably mounting said shafts on said support means; a gear mounted on each of said shafts for rotation therewith and said gears being in mesh with each other; a first tank for holding a supply of said first coating material; first support means for supporting said first tank on said first mounting means so that successive portions of said outer peripheral surface of said first applicator roll will move through said first tank and be coated with said first coating material; doctor blade means in said first tank for removing excess amounts of said first coating material from said outer peripheral surface to leave a desired amount of first coating material on said outer peripheral surface; said first mounting means positioning said first applicator roll relative to said first coating roll so that said amount of first coating material on said outer peripheral surface of said first applicator roll is contacted by said outer peripheral surface of said first coating roll and is transferred thereto; a second set of rolls at said coating station for coating the other side of said strip of material with a second coating material; said second set of rolls comprising a second applicator roll having an outer peripheral surface and a second coating roll having an outer peripheral surface; said second applicator roll being mounted on a shaft for rotation therewith; said second coating roll being mounted on a shaft for rotation therewith; second mounting means for rotatably mounting said shafts on said support means; a gear on each of said shafts of said second applicator roll and said second coating roll with said gears being in mesh with each other; a second tank for holding a supply of said second coating material; said gear on said second coating roll being in mesh with said gear on said first coating roll; second support means for supporting said second tank on said support means so that successive portions of said outer peripheral surface of said second applicator roll will move through said second tank and be coated with said second coating material; doctor blade means in said second tank for removing excess amounts of said second coating material from said outer peripheral surface to leave a desired amount of said second coating material on said outer peripheral surface; said second mounting means positioning said second applicator roll relative to said second coating roll so that said amount of said second coating material on said outer peripheral surface of said second applicator roll is contacted by said outer peripheral surface of said second coating roll and is transferred thereto; drive means for rotating at least one of said gears so as to rotate all of said gears; and said first and second coating rolls being positioned at said coating station so that said amount of said first coating material on said first coating roll is transferred to said one side of said continuous strip of material as a substantial uniform layer and said amount of said second coating material on said second coating roll is transferred to said other side of said strip of material as a substantially uniform layer.

2. The invention as in claim 1 wherein: the weight of said substantially uniform layer of said first coating material on said one side of said continuous strip differs from the weight of said substantially uniform layer of said second coating material on said other side of said continuous strip.

3. The invention as in claim 1 wherein: said first and second coating materials are a lubricant; and said weight of said uniform layer of lubricant on either side of said continuous strip is between about 15 and 200 milligrams per square foot.

4. The invention as in claim 1 wherein: said first and second coating rolls moving in the same direction when applying said coatings to said strip of material so as to exert a driving force on said continuous strip of material; and said continuous strip of material is aluminum.

5. The invention as in claim 4 wherein: said first applicator roll having an outer layer of hardened steel having an outer peripheral surface which has been sand blasted to a finish of between about AA 16 and 120 micro inches.

6. The invention as in claim 5 wherein: said first and second coating rolls have a peripheral velocity slightly greater than the peripheral velocity of said feed rolls so as to maintain sufficient tension in said continuous strip of aluminum so that said strip of aluminum is free from any contacting relationship between said first and second coating rolls and said feed rolls.

7. The invention as in claim 6 wherein said feed means comprises: first and second feed rolls each having a shaft rotatably mounted on said support means; a gear on said first shaft; said drive means rotating said gear so as to rotate said feed roll; and said first and second feed rolls having peripheral surfaces having opposite portions in contact with said strip of material so that rotation of said first feed roll rotates said second feed roll.

8. The invention as in claim 7 wherein said drive means comprises: a motor having a drive gear mounted thereon; said shaft of said second feed roll having a gear mounted thereon; said shaft of said second coating roll having a gear mounted thereon; a driving chain trained around said drive gear, said first feed roll gear and said second coating roll gear to rotate said first feed roll shaft and said second coating roll shaft; and said gears on said first and second coating roll shafts rotating said first and second coating rolls at a velocity greater than the velocity of said feed rolls so as to apply said tension to said strip of material.

9. The invention as in claim 1 wherein: said first and second coating materials are a lubricant; said first mounting means for rotatably mounting said first applicator roll and said first coating roll on said support means comprise bearings mounted in first slide assemblies for mounting said first applicator roll and bearings mounted in second slide assemblies for mounting said first coating roll and said first and second slide assemblies mounted for linear sliding movement over portions of said support means; and a portion of said second mounting means for rotatably mounting said second coating roll and said second applicator roll on said support means being mounted at a fixed location on said support means for rotatably mounting said second coating roll.

10. The invention as in claim 9 and further comprising: support cylinders mounted at a fixed location on said support means and connected to said slide members to control the amount of pressure said first coating roll applies to said second coating roll.

11. The invention as in claim 10 and further comprising: means for permitting relative limited linear movement between said first and second slide assemblies.

12. The invention as in claim 11 wherein: the weight of said substantially uniform layer of lubricant on said one side of said continuous strip differs from the weight of said substantially uniform layer of lubricant on said other side of said continuous strip.

13. The invention as in claim 12 wherein: said weight of said uniform layer of lubricant on either side of said continuous strip is between about 15 and 200 milligrams per square foot.

14. The invention as in claim 13 wherein: said first and second coating rolls moving in the same direction when applying said coatings to said continuous strip of material so as to exert a driving force on said strip of material; and said continuous strip of material is aluminum.

15. The invention as in claim 14 wherein: said first applicator roll having an outer layer of hardened steel having an outer peripheral surface which has been sand blasted to a finish of between about AA 16 and 120 micro inches.

16. The invention as in claim 15 wherein: said first and second coating rolls have a peripheral velocity slightly greater than the peripheral velocity of said feed rolls so as to maintain sufficient tension in said continuous strip of aluminum so that said strip of aluminum is free from any contacting relationship between said first and second coating rolls and said feed rolls.

17. The invention as in claim 16 wherein said feed means comprises: first and second feed rolls each having a shaft rotatably mounted on said support means; a gear on said first shaft; said drive means rotating said gear so as to rotate said feed roll; and said first and second feed rolls having peripheral surfaces having opposite portions in contact with said strip of material so that rotation of said first feed roll rotates said second feed roll.

18. The invention as in claim 17 wherein said drive means comprises: a motor having a drive gear mounted thereon; said shaft of said second feed roll having a gear mounted thereon; said shaft of said second coating roll having a gear mounted thereon; a driving chain trained around said drive gear, said first feed roll gear and said second coating roll gear to rotate said first feed roll shaft and said second coating roll shaft; and said gears on said first and second coating roll shafts rotating said first and second coating rolls at a velocity greater than the velocity of said feed rolls so as to apply said tension to said strip of material.

19. The invention as in claim 1 wherein: said first applicator roll having an outer layer of hardened steel having an outer peripheral surface which has been sand blasted to a finish of between about AA 16 and 120 micro inches.

20. The invention as in claim 19 wherein: said first coating roll having an outer layer of rubber having a Shore A durometer of about 90.