Press roll with adjustable flexion

Abstract

A press roll with adjustable flexion has a roll shell mounted to rotate around a fixed yoke and mounted with self-aligning bearings on a support cap in which the yoke is also supported on its own curved support. The press roll works in conjunction with a mating roll to form a press zone, near which there is a main hydraulic support that is positioned between the yoke and the shell and that transfers support forces from the yoke to the shell. The distance between the bearings of the shell is equal to that of the mating roll. The self-aligning bearing and the curved yoke support are mounted concentrically on a tubular collar of the support cap. There can also be supplemental supports outside the press zone for imposing additional flexion on the roll shell.

Description

four, as in FIG. 3. Yoke 57. The yoke and roll shell 51, 52 and 47 are fastened at the fixed-bearing end so as to permit no axial displacement in relation to the frame 60, whereas axial displacement of yoke 7; 27 and roll shell 1, 2; 21, 22 with respect to frame 10 is possible at the movable-bearing end. Except for the means that prevent the axial displacement, the mountings at each end do not differ.

As FIG. 1 shows, the rotating roll shell 1 is prolonged by a flanged bearing bushing 2. Self-aligning bearing 3 connects bushing 2 to support cap 4, which also houses the bearing. Cap 4 is sealed with a cover 5 that has a sealing lip 6. Support cap 4 has a tubular collar 4a that extends into bearing bushing 2. Yoke 7 is articulated by means of a spherical liner 8 that has a contact surface 8a to collar 4a of cap 4, on which it rests. A sealing lip 9 seals the gap between yoke 7 and support cap 4. Cap 4 is fastened to a movable bearing lever or to a frame 10.

There is a semiannular pressurized compartment 11 between shell 1 and yoke 7. Compartment 11 is bordered by peripheral seals 12 and by longitudinal sealing strips 13 that lie opposite each other. It can be supplied with compressed oil over a channel 14 to apply a support force to shell 1 to counteract the force of the mating roll. Compartment 11 (the main support) is only slightly shorter than the length of the press area BL. There are supplemental supports in the form of hydrostatic pressure shoes 15 and 16 outside press area BL at each end of shell 1. Their axes lie in the press plane (which coincides with the plane of the drawing). They can be activated with compressed oil supplied from lines 15a and 16a. One shoe 15 works toward mating roll 17, the other in the opposite direction. An additional, calculated flexion can thus be imposed on the ends of roll shell 1 when necessary. A supplemental semiannular pressurized compartment similar to compartment 11 can be used instead of hydrostatic pressure shoes 15 and 16.

The center plane m of bearing 20 on the mating roll is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the press roll. The distance from this center plane to that of the bearing on the other end of the roll is the bearing distance LE. The center planes of bearing 20 and of self-aligning bearing 3 on each end of the roll coincide. This is another way of saying that the bearing distances are equal. The "bearing distance" of support surfaces 8a on yoke 7 is also the same.

FIG. 2 also shows a bearing bushing 22 flanged to a rotating roll shell 21 and connected to a support cap 24 with a self-aligning roller bearing 23. In this case, however, bearing 23 is inside bushing 22, whith its inner ring resting on collar 24a of cap 24. A cover 25 with a sealing lip 26 seals off the oil chamber of bearing 23. Yoke 27 is separated, as in FIG. 1, by an intermediate ring 8 from support cap 24. Yoke 27 is provided with hydrostatic pressure shoes 18, also called support pistons, which support shell 21 from inside. The press roll has a row of several such shoes 18 (the main support) along the press plane. Supplemental hydrostatic pressure shoes 15 and/or 16, which are again outside press area BL can be supplied with pressure in such a way as to force a desired flexion of roll shell 21.

FIG. 3 shows a powered embodiment with a semiannular pressure compartment 11 (as in FIG. 1) but without supplemental supports, although such could of course be added if necessary. A bearing bushing 52 screws into shell 51 and a crown gear 47 to bushing 52. The shell, which is thus extended in length, is again mounted with a self-aligning roller bearing 53 to the collar 54a of the support cap 54. The yoke 57 is again articulated to collar 54a by a spherical liner 58. A sealing lip 59 seals the gap between support cap 54 and a bushing 60 that has been slid onto yoke 57. A spring washer 61 holds spherical liner 58 in place axially over bushing 60 (a fixed bearing). Support cap 54 is attached to a contact-pressure lever, contact-pressure piston, or frame 10. Bearing 53 is prevented from moving axially with respect to support cap 54 by a support ring 62 and a spring washer 63. On the other hand, crown gear 47 is prevented from moving axially with respect to bearing 53 by support ring 64 and spring washer 65 (a fixed bearing).

A lug 66 that is fastened to support cap 54 projects into a groove 67 in yoke 57 and prevents it from turning. This device is not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

A drive shaft 68 with a feather 69 is powered through a cardan drive, not shown. Drive shaft 68 is mounted in a spherical bearing 30 and sealed with a sealing lip 31 in a cover 32. Bearing 30 and cover 32 rest in a bearing bracket 30a that screws onto support cap 54. Shaft 68 powers an angularly adjustable geared coupling 33 that activates a drive pinion 34 that mates with crown gear 47. There is a spherical bearing 35 in the center of drive pinion 34, on which it pivots on a supporting bolt 36 that is fastened rigidly with a molded bond 37 and a screw 38 to support cap 54. When the press roll is in operation and shell 51 bends, so that crown gear 47 has to tilt, pinion 34 will readily adjust to the slant.

Bearing 35 is axially stabilized on the one hand by a spring washer 39 in pinion 34 and on the other by a stabilizing ring 40 and spring washer 41 on bolt 36. Support cap 54 also forms a housing for cogwheels 34 and 47. This drive housing is sealed off near bearing bushing 52 with a cover 55 and sealing lip 56.

A mating roll and its bearing are positioned as in FIG. 2, although not shown in FIG. 3.

The components in FIG. 4 3 that are the same as in FIG. 2 are labeled with the same index numbers. The only essential difference is that collar 24b is extended by distance e inside shell 21, 22 and that the yoke 27' can thus be shorter.

A drive for the roll in any of the embodiments may be of a known type, as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,620 incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A press roll with adjustable flexion for applying pressure in cooperation with a mating roll:

the press roll comprising:

a longitudinally extending yoke; a hollow roll shell around the yoke; the shell having first opposite ends;

a self-aligning bearing at each first end of said shell for supporting the shell for rotating around the yoke and for holding the shell away from the yoke;

the mating roll being adjacent the press roll; both the press roll and the mating roll having parallel rotation axes; both rolls together defining a press nip; the press nip and the roll axes being in a press plane; the mating roll having second opposite ends and being supported at the second opposite ends by respective mating roll bearings;

the press roll yoke having third opposite ends; and a respective support cap for each third end of the press roll yoke for supporting the yoke in position; at each third end, the yoke including a supported area which is supported by the respective support cap; each support cap including a collar extending into the interior of the hollow shell from the respective first end at which that support cap is positioned and extending around the respective third end of the yoke, the respective supported area of the yoke sitting on the respective collar;

the longitudinal distance between the center planes of the supported areas of the yoke, which planes are perpendicular to the rotation axes of the rolls, is at most as great as approximately equal to the distance between the mating roll bearings;

the distance between the self-aligning bearings of the roll shell is at least approximately the distance between the mating roll bearings.

2. The press roll of claim 1, wherein the mating roll bearings and the supported areas of the yoke are symmetrically located longitudinally with respect to each other along the roll axes.

3. The press roll of claim 1, wherein each supported area of the yoke comprises a curved support surface, and the support surface and the self-aligning bearing at each first end of the shell have at least approximately the same longitudinal midpoint along the roll axes.

4. The press roll of claim 1, wherein each supported area of the yoke has a center plane across the roll axes and the distance between the center planes of the two supported areas is shorter than the distance between the bearings of the mating roll.

5. The press roll of either of claims claim 1or 3, wherein the collar of the support cap is tubular and the collar extends between the roll shell and the yoke.

6. The press roll of claim 5, wherein A press roll with adjustable flexion for applying pressure in cooperation with a mating roll;

the press roll comprising:

a longitudinally extending yoke; a hollow roll shell around the yoke; the shell having first opposite ends;

a self-aligning bearing at each first end of said shell for supporting the shell for rotating around the yoke and for holding the shell away from the yoke;

the mating roll being adjacent the press roll; both the press roll and the mating roll having parallel rotation axes; both rolls together defining a press nip; the press nip and the roll axes being in a press plane; the mating roll having second opposite ends and being supported at the second opposite ends by respective mating roll bearings;

the press roll yoke having third opposite ends; and a respective support cap for each third end of the press roll yoke for supporting the yoke in position; at each third end, the yoke including a supported area which is supported by the respective support cap; each support cap including a tubular collar extending into the interior of the hollow roll shell between the roll shell and the yoke from the respective first end at which that support cap is positioned and the respective supported area of the yoke sitting on the respective collar; each self-aligning bearing is being located inside the roll shell; each collar being hollow and having an outside and an inside; the self-aligning bearing being carried on the outside of the collar and the yoke being positioned on the inside of the collar.;

the longitudinal distance between the center planes of the supported areas of the yoke, which planes are perpendicular to the rotation axes of the rolls, is at most somewhat greater than the distance between the mating roll bearings;

the distance between the self-aligning bearings of the roll shell is at least approximately the distance between the mating roll bearings.

7. The press roll of claim 6, further comprising a driven gear supported to the outside of the self-aligning bearing and being attached to the roll shell for the driven gear to be driven for driving the shell to rotate;

a drive pinion in engagement with the driven gear for rotating the driven gear, and means for rotating the drive pinion.

8. The press roll of claim 7, wherein the drive pinion is mounted to driving means for enabling the drive pinion to pivot in position with respect to the driven gear, in addition to the drive pinion rotating.

9. The press roll of claim 8, wherein for the pivot mounting of the drive pinion, a spherical bearing is positioned inside the drive pinion; a supporting bolt being fastened on the support cap, and the spherical bearing resting on the supporting

bolt.

10. The press roll of claim 9, wherein the drive pinion rotating means comprises a drive shaft and comprises a geared coupling

connecting the drive shaft to the drive pinion. 11. The press roll of any of claims 1, 3 or 4, further comprising A press roll with adjustable flexion for applying pressure in cooperation with a mating roll;

the press roll comprising:

a longitudinally extending yoke; a hollow roll shell around the yoke; the shell having first opposite ends;

a self-aligning bearing at each first end of said shell for supporting the shell for rotating around the yoke and for holding the shell away from the yoke;

the mating roll being adjacent the press roll; both the press roll and the mating roll having parallel rotation axes; both rolls together defining a press nip; the press nip and the roll axes being in a press plane; the mating roll having second opposite ends and being supported at the second opposite ends by respective mating roll bearings;

first hydraulic support means located between the yoke and the shell for controlling the pressure of the shell against the mating roll across the press nip; first means for supplying a pressure medium to the first hydraulic support means;

supplemental hydraulic support means at each end of the shell and located between the yoke and the shell and also located longitudinally between the first hydraulic support means and the respective self-aligning bearing at the respective end of the shell, also for controlling the pressure of the shell against the mating roll across the press nip;

second means for supplying a pressure medium to the supplemental hydraulic support means independent of the first hydraulic support means.;

the press roll yoke having third opposite ends; and a respective support cap for each third end of the press roll yoke for supporting the yoke in position; at each third end, the yoke including a supported area which is supported by the respective support cap; each support cap including a collar extending into the interior of the hollow roll shell from the respective first end at which that support cap is positioned and the respective supported area of the yoke sitting on the respective collar;

the longitudinal distance between the center planes of the supported areas of the yoke, which planes are perpendicular to the rotation axes of the rolls, is at most somewhat greater than the distance between the mating roll bearings;

the distance between the self-aligning bearings of the roll shell is at least approximately the distance between the mating roll bearings.

12. The press roll of claim 11, wherein the second means for supplying pressure medium comprises means for selectively pressurizing each of the supplemental hydraulic support means at the opposite ends of the shell to an individual selected extent, independently of the

pressurizing of the other supplemental hydraulic support means. 13. The press roll of claim 11, wherein each supplemental hydraulic support means

is positioned to direct support force toward the mating roll. 14. The press roll of claim 11, wherein each supplemental hydraulic support means

is positioned to direct support force away from the mating roll. 15. The press roll of claim 11, wherein the supplemental hydraulic support means at both ends of the shell are positioned for applying force in the press

plane in respective opposing directions. 16. The press roll of claim 11, wherein each supplemental hydraulic support means comprises a semiannular pressure compartment between the yoke and the shell; seals around the

compartment. 17. The press roll of claim 16, wherein each supplemental hydraulic support means is positioned to direct support force toward the

mating roll. 18. The press roll of claim 16, wherein each supplemental hydraulic support means is positioned to direct support force away from

the mating roll. 19. The press roll of claim 16, wherein the supplemental hydraulic support means at both ends of the shell are positioned for

applying force in the press plane in respective opposing directions. 20. A press roll with adjustable flexion for applying pressure in cooperation with a mating roll:

the press roll comprising:

a longitudinally extending yoke; a hollow shell around the yoke; the shell having opposite ends;

a self-aligning bearing at each end of the shell for supporting the shell for rotating around the yoke and for holding the shell away from the yoke;

a support cap at each end of the press roll yoke for supporting the yoke in position; at each end said yoke including a supported area which is supported by the respective support cap;

first hydraulic support means located between the yoke and the shell for controlling the pressure of the shell against the mating roll across the press gap; first means for supplying a pressure medium to the first hydraulic support means;

supplemental hydraulic support means at each end of the shell and located between the yoke and the shell and also located longitudinally between the first hydraulic support means and the respective self-aligning bearing at the respective end of the shell;

second means for supplying a pressure medium to the supplemental hydraulic support means independent of the first hydraulic support means.