Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
247 words
In a spiral accumulator for a flexible metal strip comprising: a fixed frame; an annular plate with a substantially vertical axis, rotatably mounted with respect to said fixed frame for supporting the spiral-wound turns of the strip; rotating means for rotating said annular plate; an outer and an inner crown of rollers each roller freely rotatably mounted with respect to its fixed and substantially vertical axis, said outer and inner crowns of rollers being disposed respectively at the external and internal peripheries of said annular plate for retaining the turns of the strip; and deflecting means disposed within said inner crown of rollers for guiding the inside turn of the strip to the outlet of the accumulator, causing it to pass above the spiral wound turns of the strip, the improvement wherein said deflecting means includes a series of deflecting rollers freely rotatably mounted with respect to the axes thereof, said axes of said deflecting rollers being fixed with respect to said frame and being tilted with respect to the axis of said annular plate by an angle varying from one deflecting roller to another, and wherein the intersections of the lower ends of the axes of the deflecting rollers with the plane of said annular plate are disposed substantially in an arc of a circle whose center is situated at a certain distance from the axis of said annular plate, on the side of the axis of said annular plate opposite that of the accumulator outlet.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
247 words
In a spiral accumulator for a flexible metal strip comprising: a fixed frame; an annular plate with a substantially vertical axis, rotatably mounted with respect to said fixed frame for supporting the spiral-wound turns of the strip; rotating means for rotating said annular plate; an outer and an inner crown of rollers each roller freely rotatably mounted with respect to its fixed and substantially vertical axis, said outer and inner crowns of rollers being disposed respectively at the external and internal peripheries of said annular plate for retaining the turns of the strip; and deflecting means disposed within said inner crown of rollers for guiding the inside turn of the strip to the outlet of the accumulator, causing it to pass above the spiral wound turns of the strip, the improvement wherein said deflecting means includes a series of deflecting rollers freely rotatably mounted with respect to the axes thereof, said axes of said deflecting rollers being fixed with respect to said frame and being tilted with respect to the axis of said annular plate by an angle varying from one deflecting roller to another, and wherein the intersections of the lower ends of the axes of the deflecting rollers with the plane of said annular plate are disposed substantially in an arc of a circle whose center is situated at a certain distance from the axis of said annular plate, on the side of the axis of said annular plate opposite that of the accumulator outlet.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
An accumulator in accordance with claim 1 wherein the inclination of the axes of said deflecting rollers increases progressively from one deflecting roller to the next according to the proximity of the rollers to the accumulator outlet.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
45 words
An accumulator in accordance with claim 1, wherein the projections of the axes of said deflecting rollers on the plane of said annular plate make substantially equal angles with the tangents of said circle at the points where said circle intersects each of these axes.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
57 words
An accumulator in accordance with claim 1 further including an outgoing guide disposed after said deflecting rollers in the strip feed direction, said guide comprising at least two adjacent guide rollers whose axes are parallel to each other and tilted with respect to the axis of said annular plate, one of said guide rollers being positively rotated.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
31 words
An accumulator in accordance with claim 4, wherein the bases of the outgoing guide rollers are disposed at a certain distance above the level of the plane of said annular plate.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
An accumulator in accordance with claim 1 wherein the axes of the deflecting rollers are connected at their two ends to said frame by ball-and-socket joints.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
51 words
An accumulator in accordance with claim 1 wherein said inner crown of vertical rollers includes a section articulated about a fixed and substantially vertical axis and means for making said section pivot about the axis thereof to permit the introduction of the inside turn of the strip into said deflecting means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
An accumulator in accordance with claim 1 wherein said deflecting means further includes support rollers with substantially horizontal axes disposed in the vicinity of said deflecting rollers for supporting the inside turn of the strip.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
31 words
An accumulator in accordance with claim 8 wherein the vertical distance of said support rollers from the plane of said annular plate increases inversely with the distance from the accumulator outlet.