阅读说明：本技术 用于冷却长形产品的装置 (Device for cooling elongated products ) 是由 O·布鲁莫 M·居尔詹 R·阿莫尔灵 T·海尔 于 2021-04-23 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请涉及一种用于冷却长形产品的装置,其中所述装置具有包含用于容置冷却剂的容置接头的至少一个冷却装置以及包含用于将冷却剂供给给所述冷却装置的供给接头的冷却剂供给管路。所述冷却装置相对于所述冷却剂供给管路可沿圆形轨迹以旋转半径围绕旋转轴运动或者沿平直轨迹运动。所述供给接头和/或所述容置接头配设有凸缘,所述凸缘环形包围供所述冷却剂通过的开口并且配设有球面状接触面,从而在沿所述圆形轨迹的某个区段的多个不同位置上,在所述冷却剂供给管路的供给接头与所述冷却装置的容置接头之间存在密封接触。(The present application relates to a device for cooling elongate products, wherein the device has at least one cooling device having a receiving connection for receiving a coolant and a coolant supply line having a supply connection for supplying coolant to the cooling device. The cooling device can be moved in relation to the coolant supply line in a circular path with a radius of rotation about an axis of rotation or in a straight path. The supply connection and/or the receiving connection are provided with a flange which surrounds the opening for the coolant and is provided with a spherical contact surface, so that at a plurality of different positions along a section of the circular path, there is a sealing contact between the supply connection of the coolant supply line and the receiving connection of the cooling device.)

1. A device for cooling long products is disclosed,

wherein the device has at least one cooling device (70) comprising a receiving connection (50) for receiving a coolant and a coolant supply line (42) comprising a supply connection (4-1) for supplying coolant to the cooling device (70),

wherein the cooling device (70) is movable with respect to the coolant supply line (42) along a circular trajectory with a radius of rotation about an axis of rotation (40),

wherein the supply connection (4-1) and/or the receiving connection (50) is provided with a flange (44, 45) which surrounds the opening (46, 47) for the coolant in an annular manner and is provided with a spherical contact surface (48, 49),

so that there is a sealing contact between the supply connection (4-1) of the coolant supply line (42) and the receiving connection (50) of the cooling device (70) at a plurality of different positions along a section of the circular trajectory.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second electrodes are disposed on opposite sides of the housing,

wherein the device has a plurality of cooling devices (70),

wherein the cooling device (70) is arranged on a rotor (3-1) which is rotatable about the axis of rotation (40) such that the cooling device (70) is movable on the same circular trajectory.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the supply connector (4-1) and the receiving connector (50) are designed to move relative to each other along the circular trajectory with maintaining the sealing contact by means of contact faces (48, 49) of the flanges (44, 45).

4. Device according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the contact surface (48) of the flange (44) is concave and has a bending radius corresponding to the radius of rotation, wherein a section of the receiving joint (50) that is external in the direction of the radius of rotation is movable along the circular trajectory.

5. Device according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the contact surface (49) of the flange (45) is convex and has a bending radius corresponding to the radius of rotation, wherein the flange (45) is movable along the circular trajectory.

6. A device for cooling long products is disclosed,

wherein the device has at least one cooling device (70) comprising a receiving connection (50) for receiving a coolant and a coolant supply line (42) comprising a supply connection (4-1) for supplying coolant to the cooling device (70),

wherein the cooling device (70) is movable along a straight trajectory relative to the coolant supply line (42),

wherein the supply connection (4-1) and/or the receiving connection is provided with a flange which surrounds the opening for the coolant and is provided with a flat contact surface,

so that there is a sealing contact between the supply connection (4-1) of the coolant supply line (42) and the receiving connection (50) of the cooling device (70) at a plurality of different positions along a section of the straight trajectory.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first and second electrodes are disposed on opposite sides of the substrate,

wherein the device has a plurality of cooling devices (70),

wherein the cooling device (70) is arranged on an actuator which is movable along the straight trajectory such that the cooling device (70) is movable on the same straight trajectory.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 or 7,

wherein the supply connection (4-1) and the receiving connection (50) are designed to move relative to each other along the straight trajectory with the sealing contact maintained by the contact surface of the flange.

9. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the receiving joint (50) of the cooling device (70) has an elastic sealing element (80) and/or

Wherein the supply connection (4-1) of the coolant supply line (42) has an elastic sealing element (80), wherein the sealing element (80) is preferably self-sealing,

wherein the opening (46, 47) of the flange (44, 45) is smaller than the area enclosed by the sealing element (80).

10. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the supply connection (4-1) has a supply opening (46), the receiving connection (50) has a receiving opening (56),

wherein the supply opening (46) is smaller than the receiving opening (56).

Technical Field

The invention relates to a device for cooling long products.

Background

So-called cooling stages are used in the rolling of hot metal bars, wires and pipes. These cooling sections are used to specifically influence the structure of the metal by cooling the hot-rolled product. Such cooling sections are arranged in the rolling mill at different positions in front of or behind the individual roll stands of the rolling train and are usually formed by water boxes and connected compensating sections. The water tank is used for cooling the long products. Cooling is carried out by cooling the surface of the rolled product, whereby a compensation section is usually arranged behind the water box for compensating the surface temperature with the temperature inside the product.

By long product is meant in the present disclosure a metal semi-finished product of constant cross-sectional length, produced by rolling, drawing or forging, which is not flat, since its length is much greater than its thickness and width. In particular to bars, wires, tubes and profiles.

A processing or rolling line in the present disclosure refers to a substantially straight line segment or a substantially straight line segment along which the elongated product can be moved in the processing device.

In order to obtain an optimum cooling effect, it is important to match the cooling section to the long product to be cooled. In the cooling section, a plurality of annular cooling devices (e.g., cooling nozzles) arranged one after the other coaxially and one or more wiper nozzles are usually arranged, through which the hot-rolled material passes centrally. In these cooling nozzles a certain amount of water is injected through the annular gap to fill the cooling tubes completely. A common water level is 50m 3/h. It is important that the rolled stock is guided as centrally as possible in the cooling tube in order to obtain a uniform cooling effect over the circumference of the rolled stock.

Another important point is that the coolant-filled annular gap between the rolled stock and the cooling tube does not exceed or fall below a certain size. In view of this, it is necessary to use a plurality of cooling devices having different inner diameters, which are respectively adapted to different rolled stock cross sections. For example, three different cooling tube diameters are required to cover a product line of rolled stock ranging in diameter from 20mm to 100 mm.

It has been found that a plurality of cooling sections, each adapted to a cross-section of the rolled stock, can be provided as exchangeable in order to be quickly inserted into or removed from the processing line when the product is exchanged. Product changes may be performed many times a day, and the speed of such reloading operations is therefore critical to the efficiency of the rolling train, since the rolling train must be shut down during this period, resulting in production stoppages.

Due to the different requirements placed on the products, the entire product range of the hot in-line treatment is not always implemented in hot rolling mills for long products. To meet these requirements in long product rolling trains, it may be necessary to guide the rolled stock through a bypass roller table instead of a cooling tube.

A common configuration in the prior art is provided with a plurality of cooling sections which are arranged parallel to one another on a translationally displaceable slide, so that they can be arranged optionally in the processing line by displacement of the slide. A bypass roller table parallel to the cooling section may also be arranged. In the event that the rolled stock is not guided through one of the cooling sections, the slide can be moved in such a way that it is moved out of the processing line and the bypass roller table is pushed into the processing line.

However, this design has the disadvantage that the carriage, which can be moved at the bottom, has a high space requirement.

Another difficulty in the prior art is that it is difficult to supply coolant to the cooling device: although the cooling section can be moved into and out of the processing line, it must be ensured that the cooling section is supplied with coolant. In particular, it must be ensured that the cooling device can reliably supply the air line arranged in the processing line with coolant. In the usual cooling section, what may occur for a single cooling device is an order of magnitude of 50m³Coolant flow/h, and therefore the coolant supply needs to be designed such that it can handle these volumetric flows. This has an effect in particular on the spatial dimensions of the coolant supply device, the weight of the coolant supply device and the sealing requirements. The larger size and higher weight can hinder the movement of the cooling section into and out of the processing line.

In the prior art, documents EP 2707156B 1 and DE 3885235T 2 disclose, for example: cooling sections are arranged in a rotor in such a way that one of the cooling sections is arranged in the processing line. However, the solutions known from the prior art for arranging the cooling sections on a rotor have disadvantages with regard to the coupling between the coolant supply and the cooling sections.

EP 2707156B 1 describes a plurality of cooling stages arranged on a rotor, which can be optionally arranged in a processing line by rotation of the rotor. After the rotor has rotated, the connection between the coolant supply and the cooling section is established by means of the movement of the hydraulic clutch, so that after the rotor has rotated, a further movement of the hydraulic clutch is required to bring the coolant supply into connection with the cooling section. In contrast, before the rotor rotates, the hydraulic clutch must first be disengaged in order to arrange a further cooling section in the processing line.

DE 3885235T 2 likewise describes a plurality of cooling stages arranged on the rotor, which can optionally be arranged in the processing line. When the cooling section is replaced, the rotor is first turned out of the operating position, in the process of which the connection of the cooling section to the coolant supply is released. The rotor is then rotated and again turned to the process line, wherein a connection between the coolant supply and the cooling means of the selected cooling stage is established.

In both cases, the connection of the coolant supply to the selected cooling section cannot be effected simultaneously with the rotation of the rotor. In the prior art, the connection between the coolant supply and the cooling section is established by a linear relative movement between the longitudinal axis of the rotor and the coolant supply connection after the rotor has been rotated. That is, the prior art device needs to be provided not only with means for driving the rotor in a movement around its rotor axis, but also with means for establishing a connection between the cooling section and the coolant supply by means of a relative movement, which is effected substantially in the radial direction of the rotor or parallel to this radial direction. This, in addition to increasing the structural complexity, also increases the space requirement and the maintenance requirement. This arrangement also increases the time required for product replacement.

Another disadvantage of the prior art device is that the height position of the cooling section cannot be adjusted. An important point for achieving an optimum structure in the rolled stock is that the temperature distribution of the rolled stock in the circumferential direction after leaving the cooling zone is uniform. In conventional systems, uneven cooling in the cooling section often results in streaking on the periphery of the elongated product. This effect always occurs if the elongated product is not guided perfectly centrally in the cooling section. In order to avoid such striation, the elongated product must be guided in the center of the cooling device with a positional accuracy of more than 1 mm. To achieve this, known designs of the cooling sections are provided with height-adjustable guide rollers which are arranged between the cooling sections. However, this solution only leads to an optimally centered guidance of the elongated product in the cooling section at the inlet and outlet regions of the cooling section. The difference in height between the elongated product inlet and the elongated product outlet is quite possible in the order of 40 to 50mm, so that the elongated product needs to be lifted or settled by means of the guide rollers when entering and leaving the cooling stretch. This problem is exacerbated in prior art devices by the following: due to the technical solution of the rotor and the fixed position of the coolant supply connection, the height position of the cooling section cannot be fine-tuned but is fixed. In view of the above, it is desirable to provide an arrangement in which the passage height of the cooling section (or guide section) can be adjusted within a certain range, i.e. height adjustability is provided. The main prerequisites for this solution are: the coolant supply connection and the connection between the coolant supply connection and the cooling device enable the cooling section to be height-adjusted while maintaining the coolant connection.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a compact device for cooling long products, in which a coolant connection can be quickly established and released between an optional cooling device and a coolant supply line when a product change is carried out.

The solution of the invention to achieve the above object is a device according to claim 1 and a device according to claim 6. Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

According to one aspect of the invention, a device for cooling an elongated product is provided, wherein the device has at least one cooling device comprising a receiving connection for receiving a coolant and a coolant supply line comprising a supply connection for supplying coolant to the cooling device. Wherein the cooling device is movable with respect to the coolant supply line about an axis of rotation with a radius of rotation along a circular trajectory, the supply connection and/or the receiving connection being provided with a flange which surrounds the opening for the passage of the coolant in an annular manner and is provided with a spherical contact surface, so that at a plurality of different positions along a section of the circular trajectory there is a sealing contact between the supply connection of the coolant supply line and the receiving connection of the cooling device.

In such an arrangement, the cooling device can be moved along a circular path relative to the coolant supply line. This movability enables the optional arrangement of the cooling device in the processing line and the removal of the cooling device from the processing line. Furthermore, the cooling device can be moved along a circular path with a radius of rotation about an axis of rotation, which can be achieved in particular by being arranged on a rotor which can be rotated about the axis of rotation. The above solution enables to save space in terms of the area occupied by the device compared to a linear movement.

Furthermore, the supply connection and/or the receiving connection is provided with a flange which surrounds the opening for the coolant in an annular manner and is provided with a spherical contact surface. This means that the flange can be arranged partly on the stationary coolant supply side or on the movable receiving side. The contact surface may be only partially spherical. The spherical configuration of the contact surface enables the receiving connector to move along a circular trajectory relative to the feeding connector, while maintaining contact between the receiving connector and the feeding connector along a portion of the circular trajectory. Particularly preferably, the radius of curvature of the spherically shaped contact surface corresponds to the outer radius of rotation. The receiving fitting is thereby moved along this spherical surface relative to the supply fitting. But it is not mandatory that the bending radius corresponds exactly to the radius of rotation. Rather, a substantial match between these bend radii is only achieved. For example, in the case of a receiving connection which is in contact with the supply connection only over a relatively small circular segment, the difference in radius has only a slight effect.

The distance between the supply connection and the receiving connection is thus not or only slightly varied, so that a sealing contact is maintained between the supply connection of the coolant supply line and the receiving connection of the cooling device at a plurality of positions along a section of said circular trajectory.

Furthermore, a sealing element, such as a seal, can be provided between the receiving connection and the supply connection. The cross-sectional plane of the opening through which the coolant passes is generally circular, based on a spherical structure. The seal can therefore be designed as a rotationally symmetrical rotary body, which requires less effort in the production process of the seal and thus contributes to a reduction in the production costs of the sealing element. In the case of a cylindrical contact surface region, for example, which is possible in principle, a non-circular cross-sectional plane results, which requires a complex geometry of the sealing element.

The flange herein is used to form a sealing surface, e.g. to arrange a sealing element on and along the sealing surface. This makes it possible in particular to realize a large flange surrounding the opening, so that such a sealing element is moved over the flange surface while maintaining the sealing state of the connection to be sealed. That is, the larger the area that the flange and the sealing element seal, the larger the gap around the opening and thus the lower the accuracy requirements for the relative positioning of the joints and the freedom of positioning of the cooling device, which will be explained in more detail below.

By this solution the coolant supply line can be arranged stationary, so that there is no need to provide a movable hose connection as part of the coolant supply line, which hose connection is normally used to move the coolant supply line in order to seal off the joint. The coolant supply line and the hose connection are usually subjected to a relatively high pressure of, for example, 8bar at a line cross section of, for example, 65 mm. This situation can place high demands on the hose connection and increase the maintenance costs of the hose connection and shorten its service life. Through the technical scheme of the fixed position of the coolant supply pipeline, the hose connection is not needed, so that the pipeline maintenance cost is reduced, and the service life is prolonged.

Preferably, the device has a plurality of cooling devices, wherein the cooling devices are arranged on a rotor which is rotatable about the axis of rotation such that the cooling devices can move on the same circular path.

By arranging a plurality of cooling devices on the rotor, different cooling sections can be provided, which are each suitable, for example, for a certain diameter range of the diameters of several elongated products. At the same time, space can also be saved by the arrangement on the rotor, since by rotation of the rotor about its axis of rotation, the rotor does not need to be moved horizontally in order to exchange the cooling device arranged in the processing line (i.e. aligned therewith). By moving the cooling devices arranged on the rotor on the same circular trajectory, it is also possible to rotate each of the plurality of cooling devices with its receiving joint in sealing contact with the supply joint of the coolant supply line.

Preferably, the supply fitting and the receiving fitting are designed to move relative to each other along the circular path with the sealing contact maintained through the contact surface of the flange.

By maintaining sealing contact between the supply fitting and the receiving fitting during relative rotation of the receiving fitting and the supply fitting, the position of the cooling device can be adjusted by rotation of the cooling device along a segment of a circular trajectory. This enables, for example, fine adjustment of the angular position and the height position of the cooling device to correspond to the height of the processing line, in order to align the cooling device.

Preferably, the contact surface of the flange is concave and has a bending radius corresponding to the radius of rotation, wherein a section of the receiving joint that is external in the direction of the radius of rotation is movable along the circular trajectory. Alternatively, the contact surface of the flange is convex and has a bending radius corresponding to the rotation radius, wherein the flange is movable along the circular trajectory.

This first option relates in particular to the case where the flange is built on the feed connection. This second option relates in particular to the case where the flange is built on the receiving joint.

This solution enables to maintain a sealed contact between the housing joint and the supply joint during the rotation of the cooling device along the rotation radius, since the distance between the contact surface of the housing joint and the contact surface of the supply joint does not vary.

According to another aspect of the invention, an apparatus for cooling an elongated product is provided, wherein the apparatus has at least one cooling device comprising a receiving connection for receiving a coolant and a coolant supply line comprising a supply connection for supplying coolant to the cooling device. The cooling device is not movable along a circular path with respect to the coolant supply line, but rather along a straight path. The supply connection and/or the receiving connection are provided with a flange which surrounds the opening for the coolant and is provided with a flat contact surface, so that at a plurality of different positions along a section of the straight trajectory, there is a sealing contact between the supply connection of the coolant supply line and the receiving connection of the cooling device.

In such an arrangement, the cooling device may be moved in a straight trajectory relative to the coolant supply line, similar to the previously described first aspect of the invention. This movability enables the optional arrangement of the cooling device in the processing line and the removal of the cooling device from the processing line. Furthermore, the cooling devices can be moved on a straight path, which can be provided, for example, by an elevator-type arrangement, wherein the cooling devices can be moved into and out of the processing line one after the other from the top or from the bottom to the top. The above solution enables space saving in terms of area required compared to horizontal movement.

Furthermore, the supply connection and/or the receiving connection are provided with a flange which surrounds an opening through which the coolant passes in an annular manner. This means that the flange can be arranged partly on the stationary coolant supply side or on the movable receiving side. As in the previous aspect, this contact surface solution enables to move the receiving connector with respect to the supply connector, while maintaining the contact between the receiving connector and the supply connector. The distance between the supply connection and the receiving connection is thus not varied, so that a sealing contact is maintained between the supply connection of the coolant supply line and the receiving connection of the cooling device at a plurality of positions along a section of said straight trajectory.

Preferably, the device has a plurality of cooling devices, wherein the cooling devices are arranged on an actuator which is movable along the straight trajectory such that the cooling devices are movable on the same straight trajectory.

By arranging a plurality of cooling devices on an actuator, such as a vertically movable elevator, it is possible to provide different cooling sections, each adapted to a specific diameter range of diameters of several elongated products, for example. At the same time, the arrangement on a vertically movable actuator also saves area requirements compared to a horizontally movable arrangement. Furthermore, by moving the cooling devices arranged on the actuator in a straight trajectory, it is also possible to set a selected one of these cooling devices such that its receiving coupling comes into sealing contact with the supply coupling of the coolant supply line when the actuator is moved in the direction of movement.

Preferably, the supply connection and the receiving connection are designed to move relative to each other along the straight trajectory with the sealing contact maintained by the contact surface of the flange.

By maintaining sealing contact between the supply connection and the receiving connection during relative movement of the receiving connection and the supply connection, the position of the cooling device can be adjusted by movement of the cooling device along a section of a straight trajectory. This enables, for example, fine adjustment of the height position of the cooling device to correspond to the height of the processing line in order to align the cooling device.

Preferably, according to the first or second aspect of the invention or according to a preferred development of the above-mentioned aspect, the receiving connection of the cooling device has an elastic sealing element and/or the supply connection of the coolant supply line has an elastic sealing element, wherein the sealing element is preferably self-sealing and wherein the opening of the flange is smaller than the area enclosed by the sealing element.

The opening of the flange is smaller than the area enclosed by the sealing element, which enables the opening of the flange to move within the area enclosed by the sealing element without having to affect the sealing contact between the supply connection of the coolant supply line and the receiving connection of the cooling device. This allows fine adjustment of the position of the cooling device along the contact surface, e.g. fine adjustment of the vertical position of the cooling device, in order to arrange the cooling device accurately in the processing line.

Preferably, the supply fitting has a supply opening and the receiving fitting has a receiving opening, wherein the supply opening is smaller than the receiving opening.

The technical scheme can further provide assistance for the mobility, and the specific mode is as follows: the coolant quantity discharged via the supply opening can be reliably accommodated by the accommodating opening without a large overpressure in the region of the connections.

Further advantages and improvements of the invention are described and claimed in the following description of the drawings and claims in their entirety.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a prior art water tank.

Fig. 2 is a rotor in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view of the rotor with portions of the cooling section not shown.

Fig. 4a, 4b and 4c show several embodiments of the supply connection, the receiving connection and the connection between the supply connection and the receiving connection.

Fig. 5 is an embodiment of a sealing element.

Fig. 6a, 6b, 6c show the cooling device in different height positions.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a device for cooling or guiding long products according to the prior art, which has a plurality of guide sections, which can be designed either as cooling sections 1-4-1, 1-4-2, 1-4-3 or as bypass sections 1-5. The cooling sections 1-4-1, 1-4-2, 1-4-3 differ in that they are designed to cool elongated products having respectively different cross-sectional profiles. The water tank 1-1 is arranged on the rails 12, 14 in a movable manner in a first direction. By means of the movement in the first direction, one of the cooling sections 1-4-1, 1-4-2, 1-4-3 or the bypass section 1-5 can be brought into optional alignment with the processing line (not shown). The processing line is configured in such a way that it has an inlet for the long products and an outlet for the long products, which are aligned with one another and spaced apart in the direction of movement of the long products, so that corresponding guide sections are arranged in alignment therebetween, in order to convey the long products in the direction of movement from the inlet on the inlet side 11 into the guide sections and from the guide sections on the outlet side 13 into the outlet.

This solution creates a great space requirement for moving the guide section in the first direction.

Fig. 2 shows a rotor 3-1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The rotor 3-1 has a plurality of guide sections 32, 34, 36, 38, three of which are designed as cooling sections 32, 34, 36 in the embodiment shown, and one as bypass section 38.

The rotor 3-1 is rotatably supported about a rotor shaft 40. In the embodiment shown, the guide sections 32, 34, 36, 38 are parallel to each other and to the rotor shaft. In the embodiment shown, the rotor shaft 40 is parallel to the direction of movement.

The guide segments 32, 34, 36, 38 are arranged such that they can be moved together by rotation of the rotor 3-1 about the rotor shaft 40 and can optionally be arranged in line with the processing line. This is particularly true for: the centers of the guide segments 32, 34, 36 and 38 are substantially equidistant from the rotor shaft in the radial direction of the rotor 3-1.

FIG. 3 is a view of rotor 3-1 with portions of cooling section 32 not shown. The rotor 3-1 is arranged in fig. 3 in such a way that the cooling section 36 is arranged in the processing line. The cooling sections 32, 34, 36 each have a plurality of cooling devices 70-32, 70-34, 70-36, which differ in terms of their internal structure, so that the cooling device 70 corresponding to one of the cooling sections 32, 34 or 36 is suitable for the respective elongated product cross section, but are substantially identical in terms of their external structure, and are therefore designated by the reference numeral 70 in the following unless a particular cooling device is involved.

The cooling devices 70-36 of the cooling section 36 arranged in the processing line are in sealing contact with the coolant supply line 42 via the supply connections 4-1-1, 4-1-2, 4-1-3, 4-1-4, 4-1-5, 4-1-6, 4-1-7, respectively. The cooling devices 70-32, 70-34 of the cooling sections 32, 34 which are not arranged in the processing line are not in contact with the coolant supply line 42.

Fig. 4a shows a solution for the feed connection 4-1.

The supply connection 4-1 of the embodiment shown has a flange 44 which surrounds an opening 46 for the coolant and is provided with a spherical contact surface 48.

Fig. 4b shows an embodiment of the supply connection 4-1, which is in contact with the receiving connection 50 of the cooling device 70 via a spherical contact surface 48. The cooling device 70 has centrally an opening 72 for cooling the elongated product to be cooled passing through. The receiving fitting 50 centrally has an opening 56 for receiving coolant. A sealing contact is established between the cooling device 70 and the coolant supply line 42 by the supply connection 4-1 and the receiving connection 50. By "in sealing contact" is meant herein that almost all of the coolant delivered by the supply connection 4-1 is directed to the cooling device 70 via the opening 56.

In the illustrated embodiment, the spherically shaped contact surface 48 of the flange 44 is concave and has a radius of curvature R. The bending radius R corresponds to a radius of rotation in which the section of the receiving joint 50 which is external in the direction of the radius of rotation can be moved about the rotor 3-1 along a circular path. By means of the spherical shape of the contact surface 48, a sealing element 80 having a rotationally symmetrical shape can be arranged between the contact surface 48 of the flange 44 of the feed connection 4-1 and the receiving connection 50 of the cooling device 70. If the contact surface 48 is not spherical, but cylindrical, for example, the sealing element 80 must have a non-rotationally symmetrical shape in order to seal the supply fitting 4-1 with the receiving fitting 50. The rotationally symmetrical shape of the sealing element 80 facilitates simplified manufacturing of the rotationally symmetrical portion, thereby reducing costs.

Fig. 4c shows an alternative embodiment of the connection between the supply connection 4-1 and the cooling device 70. In the embodiment shown in fig. 4c, the receiving fitting 50 is provided with a flange 45 which surrounds the opening 47 for the coolant and is provided with a spherical contact surface 49 in a ring shape, so that a sealing contact is produced between the supply fitting 4-1 of the coolant supply line and the receiving fitting 50 of the cooling device 70 at a plurality of different positions along a certain section of the circular trajectory.

As an alternative to the spherical shape of the contact surface 48 of the flange of the feed fitting 4-1, in the embodiment shown in fig. 4c the contact surface 49 of the flange 45 receiving the fitting 50 is spherical. In this case, the sealing member 80 is fixedly disposed on one side of the supply joint 4-1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a sealing element 80 which in the embodiment shown in fig. 5 is mounted on the side which accommodates the joint 50. It should be noted that the sealing member 80 may be installed on one side of the supply joint 4-1. The sealing element 80 is a body which is rotationally symmetrical about the axis of the feed fitting 4-1 or the receiving fitting 50, having a main portion 6-2 and a sealing lip 6-5. The sealing lip 6-5 is integrally connected to the main portion 6-2 so as to form a recess 6-4 having a recess base diameter larger than the inner diameter of the sealing lip 6-5 and larger than the inner diameter of the main portion 6-2 in a cross-sectional view transverse to the rotation axis 81. In the case where the sealing element 80 is arranged between the supply nipple 4-1 and the receiving nipple 50 in such a way that the main portion 6-2 comes into contact with the receiving nipple 50 and the sealing lip 6-5 comes into contact with the contact surface 48 of the flange 44 of the supply nipple, the sealing lip seals the fluid connection between the supply nipple 4-1 and the receiving nipple 50. In the event of an overpressure in the interior 82 of the sealing element 80 relative to the outer space 83 of the sealing element 80, the sealing lip 6-5 is pressed against the flange 44, thereby enhancing the sealing effect.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4c, the arrangement of the sealing element 80 differs in that the main portion 6-2 is arranged on a flat surface of the feed fitting 4-1 and the sealing lip 6-5 is in contact with the spherical contact surface 49 of the flange 45 of the receiving fitting 50.

In other words, the sealing element 80 is oriented such that the sealing lip 6-5 rests against the spherically curved portions of the two surfaces 48, 49.

In particular, the sealing element 80 is designed such that the inner diameter of the sealing lip 6-5 is greater than the diameter of the openings 46, 47 of the flanges 44, 45, so that the sealing element 80 can be moved along the contact surfaces 48, 49 of the flanges 44, 45 without releasing the sealing connection between the supply connection 4-1 and the cooling device 70. This makes it possible to achieve movability of the cooling device 70 with respect to the supply connection, see fig. 6a, 6b, 6 c.

Fig. 6a shows an intermediate position of the connection of the supply connection 4-1 to the cooling device 70. Starting from this intermediate position, the cooling device 70 can be brought into the upper position shown in fig. 6b and the lower position shown in fig. 6c by rotation about the rotor axis. This is achieved by: the inner diameter of the sealing lip 6-3 is larger than the diameter of the opening 46 of the flange 44, so that the sealing lip 6-3 completely surrounds the opening even in the upper and lower position, thereby ensuring a sealing contact between the supply connection 4-1 of the coolant supply line and the receiving connection 50 of the cooling device 70.

A similar effect occurs in the embodiment shown in fig. 4c, in which the curved flange 45 is arranged on the receiving fitting 50 and the sealing element 80 is arranged on the supply fitting 4-1.

The preferred size of the diameter of the rotor where the cooling device 70 is located is about 1 m. To compensate for the difference in height of the processing line, a cooling device with a height adjustability of +/-25mm may be required. With these dimensions, the horizontal displacement of the cooling device from the intermediate position towards the upper or lower position is a few tenths of a millimeter, so that the horizontal displacement of the elongated product during passage is negligible.

Further, the seal member 80 adopting the aforementioned structure can be matched with a small difference in distance between the surfaces to be sealed by the elasticity of the seal lip 6-3.

List of reference numerals

Unless the context indicates otherwise, the same reference signs in the drawings refer to the same features or to features that are substantially functionally identical.

1-1 Water tank

1-2-1.. 1-2-6 cooling device

1-3-1, 1-3-2 cooling device

1-4-1 cooling section

1-4-2 cooling section

1-4-3 Cooling stage

1-5 by-pass section

3-1 rotor

3-2-1.. 3-2-6 cooling device

3-3-1, 3-3-2 cooling device

42 coolant supply line

44 flange

45 flange

46 opening

47 opening

48 surface/contact surface

49 surface/contact surface

50 accommodating joint

56 opening

4-1 supply connection

4-1-1-4-1-7 supply joint

11 feed side

13 discharge side

32 cooling section

34 cooling section

36 cooling section

38 bypass section

40 rotor shaft

60 guide device

70 cooling device

72 opening

80 sealing element

81 rotation axis

82 inner cavity

83 external space

5-2 surface/contact surface

6-1 accommodation joint

6-2 major part

6-4 recesses

6-5 sealing lip

7-2 contact surface

9-1 inner diameter of supply opening

9-2 inner diameter of receiving opening

172 groove

12 track

14 tracks.