Method and device for correcting meandering in non-contact conveying apparatus for strip material

1. A method for correcting meandering of a strip material in an apparatus that performs conveyance of a continuously travelling strip material at a non-contact state while floating the strip material by a floater group comprising one or more floaters arranged in line,

characterized in that the strip material is tilted by forcibly changing a height position in the widthwise direction of the strip material in at least one of a zone between the most upstream floater in the floater group and a conveyance roll located immediately upstream of such a floater, a zone between two adjacent floaters, and a zone between the most downstream floater in the floater group and a conveyance roll located immediately downstream of such a floater to change the height position in the widthwise direction of the strip material above the floater, whereby a static pressure applied to the strip material above the floater is changed to correct meandering thereof,

wherein a cant roll is arranged in a zone where the strip material is tilted so as to come in contact with the lower face of the travelling strip material and push up the strip material and is tilted with respect to a horizontal surface to change the height position of the cant roll in the widthwise direction of the strip material, whereby the strip material is tilted, and

wherein an arrangement distance of the cant roll falls within S/2 from a center of a floater, where S is a distance between a center of the most upstream floater in the floater group and a center of the conveyance roll located immediately upstream of such a floater, a distance between the centers of the two adjacent floaters, or a distance between a center of the most downstream floater in the floater group and a center of the conveyance roll located immediately downstream of such a floater.

2. The method for correcting meandering of a strip material according to claim 1 , wherein a pushing-up amount of the cant roll falls within a range of H/3 to 6H with respect to a pass line of the strip material before the arrangement of the cant roll, where H is an average floating amount of the strip material above the floater.

3. The method for correcting meandering of a strip material according to claim 1 , wherein a tilt angle of the cant roll falls within a range of ±0.3 to 5° with respect to a horizontal surface.

4. The method for correcting meandering of a strip material according to claim 1 , wherein the tilt angle of the cant roll is controlled by feed-back control and/or feed-forward control based on measurement results of a meandering amount of the strip material.

5. The method for correcting meandering of the strip material according to claim 1 , wherein a peripheral speed of the cant roll is controlled within a range of ±4 m/min with respect to a conveyance speed of the strip material.

6. A device for correcting meandering of a strip material in an apparatus that performs conveyance of a continuously travelling strip material at a non-contact state while floating the strip material by a floater group comprising one or more floaters arranged in line,

characterized in that the device is provided with a tilting means for correcting meandering of a strip material in at least one of a zone between the most upstream floater in the floater group and a conveyance roll located immediately upstream of the floater, a zone between two adjacent floaters, and a zone between the most downstream floater in the floater group and a conveyance roll located immediately downstream of such a floater and

the tilting means forcibly changes the height position in the widthwise direction of the strip material to tilt thereof and change the height position in the widthwise direction of the strip material above the floater,

whereby a static pressure applied to the strip material above the floater is changed to correct meandering thereof,

wherein the tilting means for correcting meandering of a strip material is provided with a cant roll arranged so as to come in contact with the lower face of the travelling strip material and push up the strip material in the zone where the strip material is tilted and the cant roll is tilted with respect to a horizontal surface to change a height position of the cant roll in the widthwise direction of the strip material, whereby the strip material is tilted, and

wherein the cant roll is arranged in a position within S/2 from a center of a floater, where S is a distance between a center of the most upstream floater in the floater group and a center of the conveyance roll located immediately upstream of such a floater, a distance between the centers of the two adjacent floaters, or a distance between a center of the most downstream floater in the floater group and a center of the conveyance roll located immediately downstream of such a floater.

7. The device for correcting meandering of a strip material according to claim 6 ,

wherein the cant roll can push up the strip material within a range of H/3 to 6H with respect to a pass line of the strip material before the arrangement of the cant roll, where H is an average floating amount of the strip material above the floater.

8. The device for correcting meandering of a strip material according to claim 6 , wherein the tilt angle of the cant roll can be controlled within a range of ±0.3 to 5° with respect to a horizontal surface.

9. The device for correcting meandering of a strip material according to claim 6 , wherein the tilt angle of the cant roll is controlled by feed-back control and/or feed-forward control based on measurement results of a meandering amount of the strip material.