Bending and balancing mechanism for the axially shiftable rolls of a roll stand

A roll bending and balancing mechanism for a rolling mill, comprising:

• an upper working roll and a lower working roll having respective ends;
• a rolling mill stand formed with respective windows receiving said ends of said working rolls;
• a respective upper roll-supporting member received in each of said windows and rotatably supporting a respective end of said upper rolls, and a lower roll-supporting member rotatably receiving a respective end of said lower roll and received in a respective one of said windows, said roll-supporting members and the respective rolls being axially shiftable horizontally relative to said stand;
• an upper lifting housing and a lower lifting housing respectively engaging an upper one of said roll-supporting members and a lower one of said roll-supporting members in each of said windows, each of said lifting housings being formed with a horizontal guide surface slidably engaging a horizontal guide surface of the respective roll-supporting member along each side of said rolls, said horizontal guide surfaces arranged to permit axial movement of said upper and lower working rolls and their respective upper and lower one of said roll-supporting members being slidable relative to said respective upper and lower lifting housings on said horizontal guide surfaces;
• a respective guiding block in each of said windows fixed to said stand and provided with means for vertically guiding the respective upper and lower lifting housing relative to said stand, said blocks each being formed with a respective cross piece projecting from said vertical guide means inwardly toward the interior of the respective window between the respective lifting housings;
• and
• at least one upper piston received in a respective cylinder at each side of said rolls in each upper lifting housing and having a piston shaft connected to the respective cross piece and at least one lower piston guided in a respective cylinder formed in each of said lower lifting housings on each side of said rolls in each of said windows and engaging the respective cross piece whereby said pistons shift said housings vertically relative to said cross pieces and respective blocks in the respective windows, axes of said pistons and centers of said horizontal guide surfaces on each side of said rolls lying in a common vertical plane.