FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to outside diameter (OD) protecting cap for cold rolled
steel coils and a device/machine for manufacturing of said caps for coils produced in Cold
Rolling Mills or Silicon Steel Mills. The OD protection cap helps avoiding damage of the cold
rolled coils/Silicon Steel Coils during the shipment/loading of finished coils by crane and
transportation of same from shipping bay to either customers' place or stockyard by
railway wagon or by road on truck. The protection cap for steel coils according to the
present invention are produced involving a system adapted to provide required adequate
strength and rigidity to caps which can be fitted to the OD of the coil at both the ends
before dispatch to protect the coil OD from damage during handling and transportation.
Advantageously, the system for generation of the protection caps according to the
invention is simple to operate and would favour mechanized generation of the protection
cap with least manual effort. Importantly also the system for production of the coil OD
protection cap is adapted to favour faster and durable production of light weight yet
sufficiently stronger caps at the most cost-effective rates.
Thus the coil OD protection cap and the system for its manufacture according to the
present invention would thus favour obtaining rigid steel caps for protecting steel coils OD
during loading, handling or transporting and is thus worthy of wide industrial application in
steel mills producing a variety of coils and transporting to various destinations.
BACKGROUND ART
Steel plant operations involving production of cold rolled coils such as in Cold Rolling Mill
and/or Silicon Steel Mill Units, require these coils to be loaded and transported to the
consumer's premises/stockyard. The finished coils are usually loaded with cranes from
shipping bay of Cold Rolling Mill and Silicon Steel Mills and transported to customers' place
or stockyard by railway wagon or by truck on road. As a result of such handling and
transporting, the outside diameter (OD) of the coils used to get damaged and as a result
there arises a lot of complaints from various customers/end users.
The conventional method of protecting the coil OD is achieved by placing a multi slit strip
bent to the shape of coil outside diameter. Such multi slit strip bent over coil OD is not
rigid enough to provide full protection to coil OD and handling of coil in this condition is not
free of any damage to the coil edges.

In this method a number of slits are cut half the width along the length of the strip
followed by bending it at 90°. The strip so made was then bent by hand and mounted on
to the OD of the coil, The cut slits allow the strip to be bent to desired radius without
wrinkling edge. The conventional protection cap so formed is very flexible and one has to
hold the cap on coil OD in position till it is tied to the coil with the help of separate binding
strap. Moreover, due to the presence of slits, this protection cap failed to protect the coil
outside diameter from damage during handling and transportation to the extent required
and resulting in lots of complaints from customers. The process of making such
conventional caps also involved cumbersome and time consuming operations.
There has been thus a continuing need in the art for providing a protection Cap and a
system for its manufacture which would on one hand eliminate the limitations of the prior
art caps and process of its manufacturing and on the other hand would ensure fitting of
the OD protection cap of the coil at the ends before dispatch in such a way that would
facilitate safe loading/handling and transportation without any damage of the coil OD or
other dimensions. The system/device for manufacturing such caps and the method of
manufacture is required to be simple, cost effective and at the same time capable of
providing sufficient strength to the coil caps ensuring safe damage free handling and
transporting from point of steel mills to the consumers' end or stockyards and thus
favoring improved end quality and customers satisfaction.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is thus the basic object of the present invention to provide for cold rolled coil Outside
Diameter (OD) protection caps which would be strong and adapted to protect the
ends/edges of the coils for safe and damage free handling/transporting and also to
providing a system/device capable of producing such OD protection caps for rolled steel
coils in a simple, faster and cost effective manner.
A further object of the present invention is directed to steel coil protection caps which
would be light in weight and yet sufficiently strong to withstand possible shocks during
handling and transportation of coils.

A still further object of the present invention is directed to steel coil OD protection caps
and a system for producing such caps which would favour faster mechanized generation of
such caps and also the cost of manufacturing of the protection cap would be reasonably
low and involve minimum of human intervention for operation of the system.
A still further object of the present invention is directed to steel coil OD protection caps
and a system for producing such caps wherein the said required system /device for the
production of the said protection cap would enable conceiving, designing and building
totally in house, in order to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art product and process.
A still further object of the present invention is directed to steel coil OD protection caps
and a machine/device for producing such caps wherein said device is configured for
manufacturing of coil OD protection cap adapted to set a pair of bevel gears (the forming
tools) in a manner to produce OD protection cap for different outside diameter of coils.
Another object of the present invention is directed to a coil OD protection cap and a
system to produce such caps wherein said system is adapted to very fast production rate
compared to the earlier methods/gadgets used for manufacturing split type coil OD
protection caps.
A still further object of the present invention directed to steel coil OD protection caps and a
system for producing such caps wherein the system would be totally mechanized,
involving less/very insignificant manual intervention since slit cutting is eliminated and
also favour generating products that would be safer to use being free of any cut slits.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus according to the basic aspect of the present invention there is provided a coil OD-
protection cap comprising:
a circular substantially "L" shaped thin strip having a crimped surface for
protection of coil OD adapted to touch the circular face of the said coil OD to be
protected with added strength against outside shock.

Another aspect of the present invention wherein the shape and configuration of the crimps
are selectively provided based on the required strength of the cap.
A still further aspect of the present invention directed to a system for the production of coil
OD-protection cap comprising:
rotatable forming tools comprising a pair of crimp forming rotary members with
selectively machined contact regions operatively connected to create a bite region
at the place where the forming tools contact each other for generating the desired
crimp formation on a surface of a "L" shaped thin strip and generate the circular-
shaped cap;
a geared motor drive operatively connected to said crimp forming tools through
shaft, coupling and bearing means and adapted to rotate the said two crimp
forming tools in opposite direction such that the "L" shaped bent cap strip fed into
the said bite region is pulled through the bite region of said crimp forming tools
and the crimping formed on a surface of the "L" shaped strip defining the surface
of the cap adapted to touch the circular face of the coil to thereby provide for the
said circular shaped coil OD protection cap having the crimping for added strength.
Yet another aspect of the present invention directed to said system for the production of
coil OD-protection cap wherein the said rotary forming tools comprises pair of cooperative
bevel gears an upper bevel gear adapted to rotate in an anticlockwise direction and a
lower bevel gear adapted to rotate in clockwise direction and having selectively machined
teeth for desired crimping action.
A still further aspect of the present invention directed to a system for the production of
coil OD-protection cap wherein said geared motor drives rotate the forming tools/bevel
gears through chain-sprocket arrangement and two "U" shafts, each said shaft operatively
connecting to a respective forming tools/bevel gear through couplings and bearing
housings.
According to a still further aspect of the present invention directed to said system for the
production of coil OD-protection cap wherein the said "U" shafts are adapted for meshing
of the bevel gears at a specified inclination for generating the desired crimp on a surface
of the strip.

A still further aspect of the present invention directed to said system for the production of coil
OD-protection cap wherein the said bearing housings are supported on vertical plates and a
common base plate supports the drive and two vertical plates and the shafts mounted with
gears and sprocket are housed in the vertical plate located closer to the drive while the shafts
holding the forming tools are housed in the vertical plate located away from the drive.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention directed to said system for the
production of coil OD-protection cap having bending machine generating the "L" shaped strips
installed adjacent to facilitate the feeding in of the "L" strips into the bite region of said rotary
forming tools.
A still further aspect of the present invention directed to a system for the production of coil OD-
protection cap comprising:
coupling adapted to transmit rotational drive from gearbox output shaft to a bottom
shaft mounted with sprocket, a chain means providing for transmission of rotational
motion from bottom shaft to an intermediate shaft, a pair of gears adapted to transmit
the rotational motion from the intermediate shaft to a top shaft, said top and bottom
shafts being mounted with said two forming tools with the two 'U' shafts adapted to
transmits rotational motion from the sprocket mounted shafts to the forming tool
mounted shafts.
According to yet another aspect of said system for the production of coil OD-protection cap
wherein said top bearing housing is adjustable and adapted to achieve the exact clearance
required between the meshing teeth of the bevel gears.
According to yet another aspect of the said system for the production of coil OD protection cap
wherein the bearing housing accommodating the top forming tool holding shaft is vertically
adjustable that facilitates adjusting the gap at the bite region of the top and bottom forming
tools.
Another important aspect of the present invention directed to a method of producing coil OD
protection cap using the system comprising:
providing the "L" shaped strip;
feeding of said "L" strip through said bite region of the forming tools/bevel gears such
that the surface of the "L" shaped strip adapted to touch the face of the coil OD

to be capped develops a crimping while passing there between the forming
tools/bevel gears for added strength apart from favouring generating the circular
shape of the protecting cap in the process of crimping.
An interesting aspect regarding the said system for the production of coil OD protection
cap is that the length of the 'L' shaped sheet is so chosen that each coil OD cap produced
covers more than half but less than three fourth of the coil outer periphery edge so that
two such protection caps are used for protecting each side OD edge of the coil. The two
coil protection caps overlap each other ensuring total coverage of the coil OD.
The present invention and its advantages and objectives are described in greater details
with reference to the accompanying non-limiting exemplary figures and embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES
Figure 1 : is the illustration of the conventional Coil OD Protection Cap used earlier.
Figure 2: is the illustration of the Coil OD protection cap produced using the
Machine/system of the present invention at different stages of production.
Figure 3: is the illustration of the embodiment of the machine/system for manufacturing
the Coil OD protection Caps according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE
ACCOMPANYING FIGURES
Reference is first invited to the accompanying Figure 1 that illustrates the conventional Coil OD
Protection Cap used previously and its different stages of production. The conventional method
of protecting the coil OD had been achieved by placing a multi slit strip bent to the shape of
coil outside diameter. It is clearly apparent from the accompanying Figure 1 that the multi-slit
strip bent over coil OD for protecting the ends of the rolled coils. A number of slits are cut half
the width of strip and all along its length at its one edge, followed by bending it at 90° in a
press. The strip so made was then bent manually striking by hand and mounted on to the OD
of the coil, wherein the cut slits allow the strip to bend to desired radius matching with coil OD.
The protection cap so formed is very flexible and is less rigid to provide desired protection in
handling/transporting wherein one has to hold the cap on coil OD in position till it is tied to the
coil with the help of separate strap. Due to the presence of slits, this protection cap failed to
protect the coil outside diameter from damage during handling and transportation to the extent required

and thus failing to arrest lots of complaints from customers. The cumbersome process of
making such conventional coil OD protection caps slit cut design configuration also found
to be complex , time consuming and labour intensive .
Reference is next invited to the accompanying Figure 2 that illustrates the Coil OD
production Cap according to the present invention at different stages of production,
involving a dedicated machine/device to produce the same and thereby ensuring desired
strength and rigidity of the coil protection cap to provide desired protection of the rolled
coils during loading/handling and transporting.
The machine/device of the present invention has a very simple look but is unique in
performance to produce coil protection caps of desired strength and service reliability. It is
capable of producing coil-OD protection cap out of a thin strip taken at the stage I, to bent
through an angle of 90° at stage II in a bending press, as has been illustrated in
accompanying Figure 2. Advantageously, the protection cap does not contain any slit
according to the present configuration and rather the surface of the protection cap
touching the circular face of the coil is crimped during forming which add strength to the
protection cap against outside shock and also provide rigidity to hold the coil in position at
positions it is mounted, avoiding any damage or distortions during handling or
transporting. Such OD caps has been conceived, designed and developed totally in house.
The process of generation of the coil OD protection cap has been developed from concept
to actual practice as implemented in the embodiment of the machine of the invention.
The lL' shaped strip so produced is used as the input material to the machine for producing
the subject coil OD protection cap.
Reference is now invited to the accompanying Figure 3 that illustrates an embodiment of
the machine/device for mass scale production of the coil OD protection cap according to
the invention having the features already explained with reference to the Figure 2. Such
machine or process was never known to have existed before the attempt was made to
design it.
It is clearly apparent from said accompanying Figure 3, that a geared motor (GM) drive
provide rotational motion to a pair of bevel gears (BG) serving the purpose of forming
tools (FT) in the process and transfer power from the drive operatively through a chain-

sprocket arrangement and two corresponding 'U' shafts (US) connected to each of said
bevel gear. The forming tools used in the machine are basically these bevel gears having
teeth specially machined. Application of 'U' shafts has enabled meshing of these gears at a
specified inclination in the selective range and at desired contact force during forming.
A common base frame (BF) supports the drive and two vertical plates. These vertical
plates fixed housing of the bearings (FBH) that support the shafts. The shafts mounted
with gears and chain-sprockets (CS) are housed in the vertical plate located closer to the
drive and the shafts holding the forming tools (FT) are housed in the vertical plate located
away from the drive. As the geared motor is turned on, the two bevel gears start rotating
in opposite directions e.g. the upper bevei gear rotate in anticlockwise direction and the
lower bevel gear rotates in clockwise direction, and thereby providing a propagating
motion to the 'L' shaped sheet obtained at stage II of Figure 2 is fed at the feed clearance
of the forming tools. As the input 'L' shaped strip is fed into the bite region of the top and
bottom bevel gears, the strip is pulled and the coil OD protection cap gets formed to
desired dimension to suit a coil diameter. It is observed that a combination press-tools
operation as an alternative process to produce the cap shape has been found unviable
because of the following factors:
-mechanised press tools are highly expensive,
-leads to huge wastage of input material,
-not possible to produce strong protection cap with thin strip,
-high cost of production.
As already described, the coil OD protection Cap is directed to protecting coil OD from
damage during handling and transportation. Shipping Bay or Coil Packaging Area is the
place where the subject machine is installed. The whole machine preferably anchored to
ground by suitable foundation bolts. The bending machine, that produces 'L' shaped strip
which is input material for the Cap making machine, is installed near to the OD cap
forming machine for ease of in-process transfer avoiding delay. The mechanisms
comprising drive, chain-sprocket, gear, coupling etc. are properly guarded for operational
safety. The bearings are packed with grease before putting the covers. The covers will
have provision for grease sealing. The 'U' shafts' ends need to be properly greased from
time to time. The forming tools, the gears and the chain-sprocket also are needed to be
provided with grease. The sleeves(SLV) help in maintaining desired distance between the
bearings. The coupling(CPL) transmits rotational drive from gearbox output shaft to
bottom shaft mounted with chain-sprocket(CS). The chain transmit rotational motion from

bottom shaft to the intermediate shaft. A pair of gears transmits the rotational motion
from the intermediate shaft to the top shaft. The top and bottom shafts are mounted with
two forming tools which basically are two bevel gears of special design. The top bearing
housing is adjustable (ABH) and it is needed to be adjusted to achieve the exact clearance
required between the meshing teeth of the bevel gears. The two 'U' shafts (US) transmits
rotational motion from the sprocket mounted shafts to the forming tool mounted shafts.
It is extremely surprising to conceive that the final product shown in Figure 2, is a product
obtainable from the generation process/operations implemented in the machine shown in
Figure 3. It is here the product is generated between two rotating bevel gears having
machined teeth, working as the forming tool, while the 'L' shaped strip is passed to the
input feeding zone of the forming tools. To produce the coil OD protection Cap, only one
operator is required to operate the machine. The operator shall first switch on the machine
and then hold the 'L' shaped strip piece in grip-zone of the forming tools(FT) [the pair of
bevel gears(BG) ] so as to obtain the final product according to Figure 2. The forming tools
simply pull the 'L' shaped strip and the coil OD protection cap is automatically be formed.
Once a cap is generated, the product is kept in bucket and the next 'L' shaped strip is fed
between forming tools by the same operator for generation of cap. The coil OD protection
Cap making Machines for Producing Caps at mass scale have been successfully
manufactured in-house and installed in plant working successfully and consistently so as to
achieve:
- Capable of producing coil-OD protection cap at a mass scale to meet
requirements of coiling plants.
- ensures protection to coil outside diameter from damage during handling and
transportation.
- Ensure providing quality coils to end users / Customers.
- more revenue is earned by selling prime quality coils at premium prices.
It is thus possible by way of the present invention to produce coil OD protection Caps on
mass production basis so that the coils at the output of cold rolling mill or Silicon steel mill
coils are loaded, handled and transported in safe and protected manner avoiding any
damage or distortion to the outside diameter. Importantly, the system/device of the
invention delivers the coil protection caps of higher strength and rigidity so that the end

quality of finished product are satisfying to customers and are acceptable. The coil caps
produced by using the method and the system according to the present invention is
adapted to meet the required standards of quality of delivery of the coils to the customers
free of damages thereby improving customer confidence by damage free transportation.
The coil OD protection cap are strong enough to withstand heavy shocks and thus capable
of protecting the OD/edges of coil. The method and system for producing the coil OD
protection caps on mass scale of the invention which would serve to generate quality caps
at a faster rate has thus a wide prospect for industrial application in steel plants and cold
rolling mills.

WE CLAIM:
1. A coil OD-protection cap comprising:
a circular substantially "L" shaped thin strip having a crimped surface for
protection of coil OD adapted to touch the circular face of the said coil OD to be
protected with added strength against outside shock.
2. A coil OD-protection cap as claimed in claim 1 wherein the shape and configuration
of the crimps are selectively provided based on the required strength of the cap.
3. A system for the production of coil OD-protection cap as claimed in anyone of
claims 1 to 2 comprising:
rotatable forming tools comprising a pair of crimp forming rotary members with
selectively machined contact regions operatively connected to create a bite region
at the place where the forming tools contact each other for generating the desired
crimp formation on a surface of a "L" shaped thin strip and generate the circular
shaped cap;
a geared motor drive operatively connected to said crimp forming tools through
shaft, coupling and bearing means and adapted to rotate the said two crimp
forming tools in opposite direction such that the "L" shaped bent cap strip fed into
the said bite region is pulled through the bite region of said crimp forming tools
and the crimping formed on a surface of the "L" shaped strip defining the surface
of the cap adapted to touch the circular face of the coil to thereby provide for the
said circular shaped coil OD protection cap having the crimping for added strength.
4. A system for the production of coil OD-protection cap as claimed in claim 3 wherein
the said rotary forming tools comprises pair of cooperative bevel gears an upper
bevel gear adapted to rotate in an anticlockwise direction and a lower bevel gear
adapted to rotate in clockwise direction and having selectively machined teeth for
desired crimping action.

5. A system for the production of coil OD-protection cap as claimed in anyone of
claims 3 or 4 wherein said geared motor drives rotate the forming tools/bevel gears
through chain-sprocket arrangement and two "U" shafts, each said shaft
operatively connecting to a respective forming tools/bevel gear through couplings
and bearing housings.
6. A system for the production of coil OD protection cap as claimed in claim 5 wherein
the said "U" shafts are adapted for meshing of the bevel gears at a specified
inclination for generating the desired crimp on a surface of the strip.
7. A system for the production of coil OD-protection cap as claimed in anyone of
claims 5 to 6 wherein the said bearing housings are supported on vertical plates
and a common base plate supports the drive and two vertical plates and the shafts
mounted with gears and sprocket are housed in the vertical plate located closer to
the drive while the shafts holding the forming tools are housed in the vertical plate
located away from the drive.
8. A system for the production of coil OD-protection cap as claimed in anyone of
claims 4 to 7 having bending machine generating the "L" shaped strips installed
adjacent to facilitate the feeding in of the "L" strips into the bite region of said
rotary forming tools.
9. A system for the production of coil OD-protection cap as claimed in anyone of
claims 4 to 8 comprising:
coupling adapted to transmit rotational drive from gearbox output shaft to a bottom
shaft mounted with sprocket, a chain means providing for transmission of
rotational motion from bottom shaft to an intermediate shaft, a pair of gears
adapted to transmit the rotational motion from the intermediate shaft to a top
shaft, said top and bottom shafts being mounted with said two forming tools with
the two 'U' shafts adapted to transmits rotational motion from the sprocket
mounted shafts to the forming tool mounted shafts.

10. A system for the production of coil OD-protection cap as claimed in anyone of
claims 3 to 9 wherein said top bearing housing is adjustable and adapted to achieve
the exact clearance required between the meshing teeth of the bevel gears,
preferably the bearing housing accommodating the top forming tool holding shaft is
vertically adjustable to facilitate adjusting the gap at the bite region of the top and
bottom forming tools.
11. A method of producing coil OD protection cap using the system as claimed in
anyone of claims 3 to 10 comprising:
providing the "L" shaped strip;
feeding of said "L" strip through said bite region of the forming tools/bevel gears
such that the surface of the "L" shaped strip adapted to touch the face of the coil
OD to be capped develops a crimping while passing therebetween the forming
tools/bevel gears for added strength apart from favouring generating the circular
shape of the protecting cap in the process of crimping.
12. A method of producing coil OD protection cap using the system as claimed in
anyone of claims 3 to 11 wherein the length of the 'L' shaped sheet is selected such
that each coil OD cap produced covers more than half but less than three fourth of
the coil outer periphery edge so that two such protection caps provide for
protecting each side OD edge of the coil and the two coil protection caps overlap
each other ensuring total coverage of the coil OD.
13. A coil OD-protection cap and a system for the production of coil OD-protection cap
substantially as hereindescribed and illustrated with reference to the accompanying
figures.

A outside diameter (OD) protection cap for cold rolled steel coils and a system/machine for
manufacturing of said caps for steel sheet coils produced in Cold Rolling Mills/Silicon Steel
Mills. The coil OD protection cap helps avoiding damage of the Steel Coils during the
shipment/loading of finished coils and transporting by railway wagon or by road on truck.
The system for production of protection Cap for steel coils according to the present
invention are produced by generation method using a pair of bevel gears attached to
power driven shaft and adjustable selective inclination working as the forming tools to
provide rigidity to such caps by producing crimped surface and generate diameters
acoording to required diameters of coil to be protected. The coil OD protection cap and
the system for its production thus having potential for wide industrial application for safe
handling/transportation of steel sheet coils.