Method and apparatus for forming high tensile steel from low and medium carbon steel

Claim 3

The method of claim 1 in which said heating step comprises: heating said material to a temperature of at least approximately 2000°F.

Claim 4

The method of claim 2 in which said step of elongating said steel material comprises: elongating said steel material by at least 10%.

Claim 5

The method of claim 2 in which said step of elongating said steel material comprises: elongating said steel material by at least 50%.

Claim 6

The method of claim 2 in which said step of elongating said steel material comprises: elongating said steel material by at least 100%.

Claim 7

The method of claim 2 in which said step of elongating said steel material comprises: elongating said steel material by at least an amount approaching 200%.

Claim 8

The method of claim 2 in which said steel material comprises steel wire.

Claim 9

The method of claim 1 in which said step of elongating said steel material comprises: elongating said steel material by at least 10%.

Claim 10

The method of claim 1 in which said step of elongating said steel material comprises: elongating said steel material by at least 50%.

Claim 11

The method of claim 9 in which said steel material comprises steel wire.

Claim 12

The method of claim 1 in which said step of elongating said steel material comprises: elongating said steel material by at least 100%.

Claim 13

The method of claim 1 in which said step of elongating said steel material comprises: elongating said steel material by at least an amount approaching 200%.

Claim 14

The method of claim 1 in which said steel material comprises steel wire.

Claim 15

The method of claim 1 comprising: locating any incipiently forming necks forming in the steel material in the vicinity of the juncture of said heat and quench means and applying at the quenching means a concentrated quench to the incipient neck so located so as to inhibit its further formation.

Claim 16

The method of claim 14 in which said step of locating the incipient neck in the vicinity of the junction of said heating and quenching means comprises: sensing the distance between successive necks previously formed and using the distance so determined to predict the position of the incipient neck.

Claim 17

The method of claim 15 in which the distance between said successive previously formed necks is multiplied by a function of the reduction ratio for the steel material from its thickness ahead of said heating and quenching means to its thickness downstream of said heating and quenching means so as to compensate for the fact that the material is in the process of reducing and changing length at the point where the incipient neck is forming.

Claim 18

The method of claim 15 in which said steel material is moved by first and second drives on opposite sides of said heating and quenching means, said first and second drives operating at a rate of N 1 ' and N 2 ' respectively; providing a blaster nozzle means in said quench means for effecting incipient neck control; using stepper motors to drive said first and second drive means; using an electronic gauge to locate a neck and activate a counter to register the pulses P 1 emitted by an electronic clock from the detection of said neck until the detection of the next adjacent neck; using a multiplier circuit to multiply the length of steel material L passing over said second drive means in a given digital drive pulse to said stepper motor for said second drive by a function of the desired drive ratio (N 2 /N 1 ) of said second to first drive means; using a divider circuit to divide the distance S 2 between said electronic gauge and said blaster nozzle means by the output of said multiplier circuit [L × F N 2 /N 1 )] to yield an output P 2 = S 2 ÷ [L × F (N 2 /N 1 )]; using a subtracting circuit to subtract P 2 from P 1 to yield P 3 ; using P 3 to activate a counter which is reset pursuant to a signal from said electronic gauge indicating that a neck has been located and using said counter to activate a ramp generator which in turn activates a valve control to begin increasing the flow of quenching fluid to said blaster nozzle means; controlling the extent of flow to said blaster nozzle by using a comparator circuit to compare the size of a neck as gauged by said electronic gauge with the average material thickness as determined by inputting readings from said electronic gauge into an averaging circuit, which averaging circuit ignores necks, and increasing said flow as a function of the deviation of said neck size from said average.

Claim 19

The method of claim 14 in which said step of applying a concentrated quench to said incipient neck comprises: providing said quenching means with two spray manifolds for spraying quenching fluid onto the steel material, one of said manifolds comprising a primary quenching manifold and the other comprising a neck inhibiting quenching manifold for delivering a concentrated blast of quenching liquid to the steel material; said step further comprises providing means for diverting the flow of quenching fluid from said primary quenching manifold to said neck inhibiting quenching manifold at such time as the incipient neck is in position adjacent said neck inhibiting quenching manifold.

Claim 20

The method of claim 18 in which the size of a previously formed neck, formed a relatively short distance from the incipiently forming neck, is determined and said step of diverting quenching liquid is performed to an extent proportionate to the extent to which said previously formed neck deviates from the normally desired thickness of the steel material.

Claim 21

The method of claim 18 in which the size of a previously formed neck, formed a relatively short distance from the incipiently forming neck, is determined and said step of applying a concentrated quench is performed to an extent proportionate to the extent to which said previously formed neck deviates from the normally desired thickness of the steel material.

Claim 22

The method of claim 14 in which said steel material is steel wire.

Claim 23

The method of claim 1 comprising: sensing the actual temperature to which said steel material is heated by said heating means controlling the velocity with which said steel material moves relative to said heating and quenching means as a function of the temperature so determined.

Claim 24

The method of claim 22 which comprises: making a predetermination as to the temperature to which said steel material should be heated by said heating means and either increasing or decreasing the rate of said heating step in accordance with the difference between the actual temperature of the steel as actually determined and the predetermined desired temperature.

Claim 25

The method of claim 23 comprising: decreasing the velocity at which the steel material moves relative to said heating and quenching means in the event the rate of heating of the heating means cannot be adjusted upwardly a sufficient amount to compensate for a difference in the temperature as actually sensed and the predetermined desired temperature whereby the steel material will move more slowly and will thereby be heated to a higher temperature by the heating means.

Claim 26

The method of claim 22 in which said steel material comprises steel wire.

Claim 27

The method of claim 1 comprising: sensing the actual temperature to which said material is heated by said heating means; making a predetermination as to the temperature to which said steel material should be heated by said heating means and either increasng or decreasing the rate of said heating step in accordance with the difference between the actual temperature of the steel as predetermined and the predetermined desired temperature.

Claim 28

The method of claim 1 comprising: sensing the tension between the said two spaced points; making a predetermination as to a tension level which said tension between said two spaced points should not be allowed to exceed; slowing to a stop movement of said wire relative to said heating and quenching means in the event said predetermined tension level is exceeded, but maintaining the existing tension between said two spaced points when said steel material is stopped whereby said heating means will soften said steel material thereby causing said steel material to elongate and relieve said tension; initiating movement of said steel material again after said tension has been so relieved.

Claim 29

The method of claim 1 in which said steel material is moved and elongated between said two spaced points by providing a first rotatable drive means located upstream from said heating and quenching means and a second rotatable drive means located downstream from said heating and quenching means, said second rotatable drive means being rotated at a rate of rotation faster than said first rotatable drive means and at a ratio proportionate to the desired reduction ratio for said steel material; said method further including the step of sensing the actual thickness of the steel material after it has passed said quenching means and comparing it to a predetermined desired thickness and adjusting the rate of rotation of said second drive means relative to the rate of rotation of said first drive means as a function of the difference between the thickness as sensed and the thickness desired.

Claim 30

The method of claim 28 in which said first and second drive means are controlled as follows: determining the reduction ratio (d 2 /d.sub. 1) desired for the material, the temperature (T°) to which the material must be heated and the velocity (V) at which the material must be moved, said determination being made as a function of the carbon content of the starting steel material and the ultimate tensile strength desired; inputting the velocity (V) into a first logic circuit which establishes the ratio of a desired rate of rotation N 1 for said first drive means to the rate N c at which pulses are emitted from an electronic clock, as a function of (V); inputting the ratio N 1 /N c into an additive circuit which adds correcting factor C 1 , determined as a function of variation between the desired temperature (T°) and the actual temperature (T a °) sensed by a temperature sensor, and C 2 , determined as a function of excessive tension between said first and second drive means; said additive circuit yielding a corrected value (N 1 /N c )' for (N 1 /N c ); inputting (N 1 /N c )' into a first multiplier circuit for multiplying by N c , the signal emitted by said electronic clock, to yield a pulse signal N 1 ' for driving said first drive means; inputting said reduction ratio (d 2 /d 1 ) into a second logic circuit for computing d 1 and d 2 separately as a function of (d 2 /d 1 ), the initial material thickness and the final material thickness; feeding d 2 and d 1 into a squaring circuit in which the ratio of the drive rate for said second drive means to the drive rate for said first drive means (N 2 /N 1 ) is determined as a function of (d 1 /d.sub. 2) 2 ; inputting (N 2 /N 1 ) into a correction circuit which adds correction factor C 3 thereto, C 3 being a function of the difference between the actual final material thickness d 2a as determined by a final electronic gauge and the desired final material thickness d 2 ; multiplying the output of said correction circuit (N 2 /N 1 ) by N 1 , as determined hereinabove, and inputting the result N 2 into said second drive means.

Claim 31

The method of claim 28 in which said steel material is wire.

Claim 32

The method of claim 1 in which a predetermined desired ultimate tensile strength for the steel being treated is selected and the desired reduction ratio for the cross section of the steel material is determined as a function of the desired ultimate tensile strength; said method further including the step of preselecting a desired final material cross section; and prereducing the thickness of said steel material prior to performing said heating and quenching step to a degree sufficient to yield a cross section which will be reduced in said simultaneous heating, quenching and elongating step to approximately the desired final cross section as a result of elongation in accordance with the determined reduction ratio.

Claim 33

The method of claim 31 in which said steel material is post-reduced in cross section by an amount approximately equal to the amount of tolerance in a negative direction typically resulting from said heating, quenching and simultaneous elongation step.

Claim 34

The method of claim 32 in which said steel material is steel wire.

Claim 35

The method of claim 1 in which said steel material is post-reduced in cross section by an amount approximately equal to the amount of tolerance in a negative direction typically resulting from said heating, quenching and simultaneous elongation step.

Claim 36

The method of claim 34 in which said steel material is steel wire.

Claim 39

The method of claim 36 in which said step of locating the incipient neck in the vicinity of the junction of said heating and quenching means comprising: sensing the distance between successive necks previously formed and using the distance so determined to predict the position of the incipient neck.

Claim 40

The method of claim 37 in which the distance between said successive previously formed necks is multiplied by a function of the reduction ratio for the steel material from its thickness ahead of said heating and quenching means to its thickness downstream of said heating and quenching means so as to compensate for the fact that the material is in the process of reducing and changing length at the point where the incipient neck is forming.

Claim 41

The method of claim 37 in which said steel material is moved by first and second drives on opposite sides of said heating and quenching means, said first and second drives operating at a rate of N 1 ' and N 2 ' respectively; providing a blaster nozzle means in said quench means for effecting incipient neck control; using stepper motors to drive said first and second drive means; using an electronic gauge to locate a neck and activate a counter to register the pulses P 1 emitted by an electronic clock from the detection of said neck until the detection of the next adjacent neck; using a multiplier circuit to multiply the length of steel material L passing over said second drive means in a given digital drive pulse to said stepper motor for said second drive by a function of the desired drive ratio (N 2 /N 1 ) of said second to first drive means; using a divider circuit to divide the distance S 2 between said electronic gauge and said blaster nozzle means by the output of said multiplier circuit [L × F (N 2 N 1 )] to yield an output P 2 = S 2 ÷ [ L × F (N 2 /N.sub. 1)]; using a subtracting circuit to subtract P 2 from P 1 to yield P 3 ; using P 3 to activate a counter which is reset pursuant to a signal from said electronic gauge indicating that a neck has been located and using said counter to activate a ramp generator which in turn activates a valve control to begin increasing the flow of quenching fluid to said blaster nozzle means; controlling the extent of flow to said blaster nozzle by using a comparator circuit to compare the size of a neck as gauged by said electronic gauge with the average material thickness as determined by inputting readings from said electronic gauge into an averaging circuit, which averaging circuit ignores necks, and increasing said flow as a function of the deviation of said neck size from said average.

Claim 42

The method of claim 36 in which said step of applying a concentrated quench to said incipient neck comprises: providing said quenching means with two spray manifolds for spraying quenching fluid onto the steel material, one of said manifolds comprising a primary quenching manifold and the other comprising a neck inhibiting quenching manifold for delivering a concentrated blast of quenching liquid to the steel material; said step further comprises providing means for diverting the flow of quenching fluid from said primary quenching manifold to said neck inhibiting quenching manifold at such time as the incipient neck is in position adjacent said neck inhibiting quenching manifold.

Claim 43

The method of claim 40 in which the size of a previously formed neck, formed a relatively short distance from the incipiently forming neck, is determined and said step of diverting quenching liquid is performed to an extent proportionate to the extent to which said previously formed neck deviates from the normally desired thickness of the material.

Claim 44

The method of claim 40 in which the size of a previously formed neck, formed a relatively short distance from the incipiently forming neck, is determined and said step of applying a concentrated quench is performed to an extent proportionate to the extent to which said previously formed neck deviates from the normally desired thickness of the material.

Claim 45

The method of claim 36 in which said metal material is wire.

Claim 46

The method of claim 43 in which said wire is steel wire.

Claim 49

The method of claim 45 in which ultimate tensile strength is further controlled by heating the material to a particular predetermined temperature.

Claim 50

The method of claim 46 in which ultimate tensile strength is further controlled by moving the material at a particular predetermined velocity.

Claim 51

The method of claim 45 in which ultimate tensile strength is further controlled by moving the material at a particular predetermined velocity.

Claim 54

The method of claim 49 in which ultimate tensile strength is further controlled by moving the material at a particular predetermined velocity.

Claim 57

The method of claim 51 in which ultimate tensile strength is further controlled by heating the material to a particular temperature.

Claim 60

The method of claim 53 in which said heating step comprises: heating said steel material to a temperature of at least approximately 2000°F.

Claim 61

The method of claim 54 in which said step of reducing the cross section of said steel material comprises elongating said steel material by at least 10%.

Claim 62

The method of claim 54 in which said step of reducing the cross section of said steel material comprises elongating said steel material by at least 50%.

Claim 63

The method of claim 54 in which said step of reducing the cross section of said steel material comprises elongating said steel material by at least 100%.

Claim 64

The method of claim 54 in which said step of reducing the cross section of said steel material comprises elongating said steel material by at least 200%.

Claim 65

The method of claim 54 in which said steel material comprises steel wire.

Claim 66

Apparatus for substantially elongating materials comprising: heating means for heating the material to a softened, plastic state; quenching means positioned adjacent said heating means for rapidly quenching the heated material back to a non-plastic state; spaced first and second drive means positioned on opposite sides of said heating and quenching means for moving said material through said heating and quenching means, said second drive means operating at a rate faster than said first drive means whereby said first and second drive means serve to apply an elongating force on said material to effect a substantial elongation thereof; locating means for locating any incipiently forming necks forming in the material in the vicinity of the juncture of said heating and quenching means; and said quenching means including neck inhibiting quenching means for delivering a concentrated quench to said incipient neck to inhibit its further formation.

Claim 67

Apparatus for substantially elongating materials comprising: heating means for heating the material to a softened, plastic state; quenching means positioned adjacent said heating means for rapidly quenching the heated material back to a non-plastic state; spaced first and second drive means positioned on opposite sides of said heating and quenching means for moving said material through said heating and quenching means, said second drive means operating at a rate faster than said first drive means whereby said first and second drive means serve to apply an elongating force on said material to effect a substantial elongation thereof; locating means for locating any incipiently forming necks forming in the material in the vicinity of the juncture of said heating and quenching means; and said quenching means including neck inhibiting quenching means for delivering a concentrated quench to said incipient neck to inhibit its further formation.

Claim 68

The apparatus of claim 60 in which said locating means comprising neck sensing means positioned at the downstreeam end of said quenching means for sensing necks after they have been formed; and neck locating logic means for predicting the location of incipiently forming necks as a function of the distance between previously formed necks as sensed by said sensing means.

Claim 69

The apparatus of claim 61 in which said neck locating logic means includes multiplying means for multiplying the distance between previously formed necks as sensed by said neck sensing means by a function of the extent to which material is reduced in thickness in said apparatus in order to compensate for the fact that the material is in the process of reducing and changing length at the point where the incipient neck is forming.

Claim 70

The apparatus of claim 62 in which said quench means including blaster nozzle means and a valve control operably connected to said blaster nozzle means for effecting incipient neck control; stepper motors driving said first and second drive means at a rate of N 1' and N 2' respectively; an electronic clock, a first counter and an electronic gauge operably interconnected such that said electronic gauge locates a neck and activates said counter to register the pulses P 1 emitted by said electronic clock from the detection of said neck until the detection of the next adjacent neck; a multiplier circuit to multiply the length of steel material L passing over said second drive means in a given digital drive pulse to said stepper motor for said second drive by a function of the desired drive ratio (N 2 /N 1 ) of said second to first drive means; a divider circuit operably connected to said multiplier circuit to divide the distance S 2 between said electronic gauge and said blaster nozzle means by the output of said multiplier circuit [L × F (N 2 /N 1 )] to yield an output P 2 = S 2 ÷ [L × F (N 2 /N 1 )]; a subtracting circuit operably connected to said divider circuit and said first counter to subtract P 2 from P 1 to yield P 3 , said subtracting circuit being operably connected on its output side to a second counter such that P 3 is used to activate said second counter, which is reset pursuant to a signal from said electronic gauge indicating that a neck has been located; said second counter being operably connected to a ramp generator which in turn is operably connected to said valve control to begin increasing the flow of quenching fluid to said blaster nozzle means; a comparator circuit for comparing the size of a neck as gauged by said electronic gauge with the average material thickness as determined by inputting readings from said electronic gauge into an averaging circuit, which averaging circuit ignores necks, operably connected to said ramp generator, for increasing said flow as a function of the deviation of said neck size from said average.

Claim 71

The apparatus of claim 62 in which said quenching means includes a primary quenching means in addition to said neck inhibiting quenching means; manifold means delivering quenching fluid from a single source to said primary quenching means and said neck inhibiting quenching means; and quenching fluid diverter means operably connected to said manifold means for diverting the flow of quenching liquid between said primary quenching means and said neck inhibiting quenching means when a located incipient neck is in position to be quenched by said neck inhibiting quenching means.

Claim 72

The apparatus of claim 64 in which a diverter control logic means operably connects said sensing means with said diverter means for generating a control signal as a function of the size of the deviation of said neck as sensed by said neck sensing means.

Claim 73

The apparatus of claim 65 in which said diverter control logic means comprises: said quench means including blaster nozzle means and a valve control operably connected to said blaster nozzle means for effecting incipient neck control; stepper motors driving said first and second drive means at a rate of N 1' and N 2' respectively; an electronic clock, a first counter an a electronic gauge operably interconnected such that said electronic gauge locates a neck and activates said counter to register the pulses P 1 emitted by said electronic clock from the detection of said neck until the detection of the next adjacent neck; a multiplier circuit to multiply the length of steel material L passing over said second drive means in a given digital drive pulse to said stepper motor for said second drive by a function of the desired drive ratio (N 2 /N 1 ) of said second to first drive means; a divider circuit operably connected to said multiplier circuit to divide the distance S 2 between said electronic gauge and said blaster nozzle means by the output of said multiplier circuit [L × F (N 2 /N 1 )] to yield an output P 2 = S 2 ÷ [L × F (N 2 /N 1 )]; a subtracting circuit operably connected to said divider circuit and said first counter to subtract P 2 from P 1 to yield P 3 , said subtracting circuit being operably connected on its output side to a second counter such that P 3 is used to activate said second counter, which is reset pursuant to a signal from said electronic gauge indicating that a neck has been located; said second counter being operably connected to a ramp generator which in turn is operably connected to said valve control to begin increasing the flow of quenching fluid to said blaster nozzle means; a comparator circuit for comparing the size of a neck as gauged by said electronic gauge with the average material thickness as determined by inputting readings from said electronic gauge into an averaging circuit, which averaging circuit ignores necks, operably connected to said ramp generator, for increasing said flow as a function of the deviation of said neck size from said average.

Claim 74

The apparatus of claim 60 in which said quenching means includes a primary quenching means in addition to said neck inhibiting quenching means; manifold means delivering quenching fluid from a single source to said primary quenching means and said neck inhibiting quenching means; and quenching fluid diverter means operably connected to said manifold means for diverting the flow of quenching liquid between said primary quenching means and said neck inhibiting quenching means when a located incipient neck is in position to be quenched by said neck inhibiting quenching means.

Claim 75

Apparatus for substantially elongating materials comprising: heating means for heating the material to a softened, plastic state; quenching means positioned adjacent said heating means for rapidly quenching the heated material back to its non-plastic state; spaced first and second drive means positioned opposite sides of said heating and quenching means for moving said material through said heating and quenching means, said second drive means operating at a rate faster than said first drive means whereby said first and second drive means serve to apply an elongating force on said material to effect a substantial elongation thereof; digital control means operating said first drive means, said digital control means including: an electronic clock for emitting pulses; a first ratio determining circuit for determining the ratio of the number of pulses per period of time required to drive said first drive means to the number of pulses for the same period of time emitted by said electronic clock, as a function of the velocity at which material is to be processed by said apparatus and for generating a digital signal representative thereof; first multiplier means coupled to said first ratio determining means and coupled to said electronic clock for multiplying the number of pulses emitted by said electronic clock by said digital signal generated by said first ratio determining means for generating a first drive signal emitted for digitally driving said first drive means; a drive ratio circuit for generating a digital drive ratio signal representing the rate of operation of said second drive means to that of said first drive means; second multiplier means coupled to said first multiplier means and coupled to said drive ratio circuit for multiplying said first drive signal by said drive ratio signal for thereby emitting a second drive signal for digitally driving said second drive means.

Claim 76

Apparatus for substantially elongating materials comprising: heating means for heating the material to a softened, plastic state; quenching means positioned adjacent said heating means for rapidly quenching the heated material back to its non-plastic state; spaced first and second drive means positioned opposite sides of said heating and quenching means for moving said material through said heating and quenching means, said second drive means operating at a rate faster than said first drive means whereby said first and second drive means serve to apply an elongating force on said material to effect a substantial elongation thereof; digital control means operating said first drive means, said digital control means including: an electronic clock for emitting pulses; a first ratio determining circuit for determining the ratio of the number of pulses per period of time required to drive said first drive means to the number of pulses for the same period of time emitted by said electronic clock, as a function of the velocity at which material is to be processed by said apparatus and for generating a digital signal representative thereof; first multiplier means coupled to said first ratio determining means and coupled to said electronic clock for multiplying the number of pulses emitted by said electronic clock by said digital signal generated by said first ratio determining means for generating a first drive signal emitted for digitally driving said first drive means; a drive ratio circuit for generating a digital drive ratio signal representing the rate of operation of said second drive means to that of said first drive means; second multiplier means coupled to said first multiplier means and coupled to said drive ratio circuit for multiplying said first drive signal by said drive ratio signal for thereby emitting a second drive signal for digitally driving said second drive means.

Claim 77

The apparatus of claim 68 including sensing means sensing the actual thickness of material after it has passed said quenching means; comparing means operably connected to said sensing means for comparing the thickness actually sensed to a predetermined desired thickness; and second drive correction circuit coupled to said comparing means and to said second multiplier means for adjusting the second drive signal and thereby the rate of operation of said second drive means relative to the rate of operation of said first drive means as a function of the difference between the thickness sensed and the thickness desired.

Claim 78

The apparatus of claim 69 comprising: means for sensing the temperature of said material as it passes through said heating means; control means operably connected to said temperature sensing means and to said heating means for increasing or decreasing the heating rate of said heating means in accordance with the difference between the actual temperature of the material and the predetermined desired temperature.

Claim 79

The apparatus of claim 70 comprising: temperature compensating control means operably connected to both said temperature sensing means and to said heating means and to said first and second drive means for decreasing proportionately the rates of operation of said first and second drive means when the actual temperature of said material as sensed by said sensing means is too low and said heating means is operating at its maximum capacity.

Claim 80

The apparatus of claim 68 including means sensing the tension between said first and second drive means; tension compensating control means operably connected to said tension sensing means and to said first and second drive means for stopping movement of said first and second drive means when the tension sensed by said tension sensing means reaches a predetermined level and for automatically starting said first and second drive means again when the material has been softened by said heating means to relieve the tension between said first and second drive means.

Claim 81

Apparatus for substantially elongating material comprising: heating means for heating the material to a softened, plastic state; quenching means positioned adjacent said heating means for rapidly quenching the heated material back to a non-plastic state; spaced first and second drive means positioned on opposite sides of said heating and quenching means for moving said material to said heating and quenching means, said second drive means operating at a rate faster than said first drive means whereby said first and second drive means serve to apply an elongating force on said material to effect a substantial elongation thereof; adjustable die means positioned upstream of said first drive means for effecting a prereduction of the cross section of the material prior to its passing through said heating means and said quenching means.

Claim 82

Apparatus for substantially elongating material comprising: heating means for heating the material to a softened, plastic state; quenching means positioned adjacent said heating means for rapidly quenching the heated material back to a non-plastic state; spaced first and second drive means positioned on opposite sides of said heating and quenching means for moving said material to said heating and quenching means, said second drive means operating at a rate faster than said first drive means whereby said first and second drive means serve to apply an elongating force on said material to effect a substantial elongation thereof; adjustable die means positioned upstream of said first drive means for effecting a prereduction of the cross section of the material prior to its passing through said heating means and said quenching means.

Claim 83

The apparatus of claim 73 which includes a postreduction die means positioned downstream from said second drive means for effecting a final reduction of the thickness of the material after it has passed through said heating and quenching means.

Claim 84

The apparatus in accordance with claim 74 including logic control means comprising: a first logic circuit which establishes the ratio of a desired rate of rotation N 1 for said first drive means to the rate N c at which pulses are emitted from an electronic clock, as a function of velocity (V) at which the material must move; an additive circuit operably connected to said first logic circuit and which adds to the ratio (N 1 /N c ) correcting factor C 1 , determined as a function of variation between the desired temperature (T°) and the actual temperature (T a °) sensed by a temperature sensor and C 2 , determined as a function of excessive tension between said first and second drive means; said additive circuit yielding a corrected value (N 1 /N c )' for (N 1 /N c ); first multiplier circuit operably connected to said additive circuit for multiplying (N 1 /N c )' by N c , the signal emitted by said electronic clock, to yield a pulse signal N 1 '; the output side of said first multiplier circuit being operably connected to said first drive means for driving said first drive means at N 1 '; a second logic circuit for computing d 1 and d 2 separately as a function of the desired reduction ratio (d 2 /d 1 ) for the material, the initial material thickness and the final actual material thickness; a squaring circuit operably connected to said second logic circuit in which the ratio of the drive rate for said second drive means to the drive rate for said first drive means (N 2 /N 1 ) is determined as a function of (d 1 /d 2 ) 2 ; a first correction circuit operably connected to said squaring circuit which adds correction factor C 3 to (N 2 /N 1 ) to yield (N 2 /N 1 )', C 3 being a function of the difference between the actual final material thickness d 2a as determined by a final electronic gauge and the desired final material thickness d 2 ; a second multiplying circuit operably connected to the output of said correction circuit for multiplying (N 2 /N 1 )' by N 1 , as determined hereinabove; and the output side of said second multiplying circuit being operably connected to said second drive means.