Ring mill apparatus and method
AssigneeFirth Rixson Limited
InventorDavid Hebert
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ring mill apparatus and method utilizes at least one hydraulic or other direct drive motor to drive a roller in contact with a ring that is to be expanded by the ring mill. The motor may be two opposed radial piston hydraulic motors, to drive an upper king roller, which contacts the outside of the ring, which is inserted between the upper king roller and a lower mandrel roller, which contacts the inside of the ring. The lower mandrel roller is urged upwards against the ring by a ram driven carriage. Two hydraulic or other direct drive motors can be provided in-line with, and directly connected to, the king roller.
Claims42
A system to expand a ring, comprising:
- a king roller arranged to contact the outside of the ring;
- a mandrel roller arranged to contact the inside of the ring;
- a shaft connected to the king roller;
- a drive system, having two hydraulic motors connected to the shaft, configured to rotationally drive the king roller;
- and
- a hydraulic ram configured to apply pressure between the king roller and the mandrel roller.
A system to expand a ring, comprising:
- a king roller arranged to contact the outside of the ring;
- a mandrel roller arranged to contact the inside of the ring;
- a shaft connected to the mandrel roller;
- a drive system, having two hydraulic motors connected to the shaft, configured to rotationally drive the mandrel roller;
- and
- a hydraulic ram configured to apply pressure between the king roller and the mandrel roller.
An expanded ring made by a process, comprising the steps of:
- contacting the outside of a ring with a king roller;
- contacting the inside of the ring with a mandrel roller;
- driving a shaft with a drive system having two hydraulic motors configured to rotationally drive the shaft;
- driving one of the rollers with the driven shaft, the driven shaft configured to rotationally drive the king roller;
- rotating the ring between the rollers;
- and
- applying pressure to the rotating ring with a hydraulic ram configured to apply pressure between the king roller and the mandrel roller.
An expanded ring made by a process, comprising the steps of:
- contacting the outside of a ring with a king roller;
- contacting the inside of the ring with a mandrel roller;
- driving a shaft with a drive system having two hydraulic motors configured to rotationally drive the shaft;
- driving one of the rollers with the driven shaft, the driven shaft configured to rotationally drive the mandrel roller;
- rotating the ring between the rollers;
- and
- applying pressure to the rotating ring with a hydraulic ram configured to apply pressure between the king roller and the mandrel roller.
A method of expanding a ring, comprising the steps of:
- contacting the outside of the ring with a king roller;
- contacting the inside of the ring with a mandrel roller;
- driving a shaft with a drive system having two hydraulic motors configured to rotationally drive the shaft;
- driving one of the rollers with the driven shaft, the driven shaft configured to rotationally drive the king roller;
- rotating the ring between the rollers;
- and
- applying pressure between the rollers with a hydraulic ram.
A method of expanding a ring, comprising the steps of:
- contacting the outside of the ring with a king roller;
- contacting the inside of the ring with a mandrel roller;
- driving a shaft with a drive system having two hydraulic motors configured to rotationally drive the shaft;
- driving one of the rollers with the driven shaft, the driven shaft configured to rotationally drive the mandrel roller;
- rotating the ring between the rollers;
- and
- applying pressure between the rollers with a hydraulic ram.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.