Mandrel bar steadier

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING AN ELONGATED GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL MEMBER HAVING AN AXIS SO ITS AXIS SUBSTANTIALLY COINCIDES WITH A PASS LINE OF A METAL WORKING MACHINE, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A FRAME WHICH IS STATIONARY RELATIVELY TO SAID PASS LINE; AT LEAST THREE ROLLERS WHICH ARE ROTATABLE ABOUT AXES WHICH ARE ESSENTIALLY EQUIANGULARLY SPACED ABOUT ESSENTIALLY EQUIDISTANTLY SPACED FROM, AND ESSENTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID PASS LINE WHEN SAID APPARATUS OPERATES TO SUPPORT THE ELONGATED MEMBER; A SEPARATE SUPPORTING MEMBER ROTATABLY SUPPORTING EACH OF SAID ROLLERS INDEPENDENTLY OF THE OTHER ROLLERS, EACH OF SAID SUPPORTING MEMBERS BEING PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL PIVOT AXIS WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID PASS LINE AND SEPARATE FROM THE PIVOT AXES ABOUT WHICH ARE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED SUPPORTING MEMBERS FOR THE OTHER ROLLERS, SAID PIVOT AXES BEING ESSENTIALLY EQUIANGULARLY SPACED ABOUT AND ESSENTIALLY EQUIDISTANTLY SPACED FROM SAID PASS LINE AND FIXED RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER, AND THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE PIVOT AXIS AND THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE ROLLER ON EACH SUPPORTING MEMBER BEING ESSENTIALLY EQUAL TO THAT ON ALL OTHER SUPPORTING MEMBERS; AND LINKAGE MEANS CONNECTING ALL OF SAID SUPPORTING MEMBERS TO PIVOTALLY MOVE THEM IN THE SAME ANGULAR DIRECTION ESSENTIALLY IN UNISON AND ESSENTIALLY THE SAME ANGULAR AMOUNT SO ALL SAID ROLLERS MOVE TO VARIOUS POSITIONS TOWARD SAID PASS LINE WHILE THEIR AXES ARE ESSENTIALLY EQUIANGULARLY SPACED ABOUT AND ESSENTIALLY EQUIDISTANTLY SPACED FROM SAID PASS LINE, ONE OF SAID SUPPORTING MEMBERS BEING CONNECTED TO SAID LINKAGE MEANS BY MEANS PERMITTING MOVEMENT OF SAID SUPPORTING MEMBER RELATIVELY TO SAID LINKAGE MEANS IN ONE DIRECTION INDEPENDENTLY OF THE OTHER SUPPORTING MEMBERS SO THAT SAID INDEPENDENTLY MOVABLE SUPPORTING MEMBER AND THE ROLLER SUPPORTED THEREBY CAN BE PIVOTALLY MOVED AWAY FROM SAID PASS LINE INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID OTHER SUPPORTING MEMBERS TO PERMIT AN ELONGATED MEMBER TO BE LATERALLY INSERTED INTO OR REMOVED FROM THE SPACE BETWEEN THE OTHER ROLLERS.