Clamp for rolling mill roll stand

A clamp for releasably fixing a rolling mill roll stand on a support structure, said clamp comprising:

• a tubular housing adapted to be secured to said support structure, said housing having a cylindrical interior extending along a central axis between a closed rear end and an open front end;
• a piston subdividing the interior of said housing into front and rear chambers, said rear chamber being filled with a liquid lubricant and being in communication with an external supply of said lubricant;
• a clamping jaw projecting forwardly from said piston through the open front end of said housing, said piston being reciprocally movable along said axis between a locked position at which said clamping jaw engages said roll stand, and an unlocked position at which said clamping jaw is disengaged from said roll stand;
• resilient means acting in said rear chamber to exert a locking force urging said piston into said locked position, said resilient means comprising a plurality of Belleville springs in a stacked arrangement along said central axis;
• and
• fluid means acting in said front chamber to overcome said locking force to thereby urge said piston into said unlocked position.