# Patent

## Title
Roller conveyor roller, especially for the transport of furnace-heated metallic strip material

## Abstract

A roller conveyor roller for furnace-heated metal strip has a roller shell journaled on a shaft with bearings providing thermal and electrical insulation of the shell from the shaft. The shell can be divided into shell segments each of which can have two bearings. One of these bearings can be a conical bearing with conical rings and with rollers which are thermally and electrically insulating.

## Background
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a division of Ser. No. 10/480,717 filed 11 Dec. 2003 as a national stage application of PCT/EP02/05954 filed 31 May 2002 and based upon German national application 10128999.5 of 15 Jun. 2001 under the International Convention.


FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a roller-conveyor roller, especially for the transport of furnace-heated metallic strip material, continuous castings of steel or the like, with a roller shaft and a roller shell casing journaled on the roller shaft at least at the roller ends.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Because of a general difference in the electrical potentials between a metallic product and a roller-conveyor roll, electrical currents and spark formation can result in surface defects in the manufactured material.
It is known (DE 24 26 135 C2) to provide a roller conveyor roll for the transport of rolled products such as rolling mill products which can resist impact with the rolled product. It has not been noted therein that such roller conveyor rolls also contribute to electrical currents and spark formation which can degrade the rolled product.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The invention has therefore as its object to suppress such electrical currents and spark formation so that the mentioned damage no longer can arise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object set forth is achieved according to the invention in that the roller shell or casing is electrically and/or thermally insulated at the respective roller ends, at least, where it is journaled on the roller shaft. Such a roller conveyor roll is suitable for roller conveyors or roller conveyor segments in regions of inductive heating and induced electrical fields as well as wherever general differences in electrical potentials between a rolled product or continuously-cast product and a roller conveyor roll can arise and wherever electrical currents and spark formation can contribute to surface defects. Advantageously, such a roller-conveyor roll can also be used to largely suppress the heat transfer by conduction between the roller casing or shell heated by a product and the roller shaft or roller axle which as a rule is cooled.
A further feature of the invention is that between the roller casing at the roller ends and the roller shaft, individual insulating bodies are distributed around the respective peripheries or a one-piece annular insulating body is provided. The insulating bodies can thus serve to center the roller casing on the roller shaft and/or for torque transmission there between.
In a feature of the invention the individual insulating bodies distributed around the periphery are comprised of profile rods. The profile can be round rods, flat or rectangular cross sections or can be composed of other cross sectional shapes. The material for such profiled bars can be of ceramic or other insulating materials of corresponding strength.
A further advantage arises when the profile bars are axially secured with respect to the roller shaft and the roller casing together with bearing rings.
To restrict axial shifting it is for example advantageous for the axial securing to be achieved with sheet metal rings welded onto the ends of the bearing.
While the roller casing and the roller shaft are basically separate from one another and are connected together exclusively by means of the insulated bodies, by means of the axial retainers, a loose bearing and a fixed bearing can be formed between the roller casing and the roller shaft. As a result, thermal stresses can be compensated and thermal expansion and contraction can be accommodated.
Basically a further advantage is achieved in that the insulating bodies can center the roller shell on the roller shaft and simultaneously form a torque transmitting medium. In this manner a compact unit which is advantageous for any requisite force transmission in a roller conveyor roll is obtained.
In an alternative embodiment, the roller shell or casing is subdivided into roller shell segments arranged in the roller shaft and mounted on the roller shaft by insulated bodies which serve to center them on the roller shaft and for torque transmission. The insulating bodies are distributed around the periphery of the roller shaft. In this manner the roller shell or casing segments are separated from the roller shaft and are exclusively connected through the described insulating bodies.
According to a further alternative, the insulating body is configured as a conical bearing whose cone shaped inner ring and/or whose cone shaped outer ring and/or their conical rollers respectively form insulating bodies. Because of the short roller casing segments the longitudinal expansion and contraction and the expansion and contraction resulting from heating in the axial direction has play which is negligible so that no arrangement of loose bearing and fixed bearing units are required. In this manner electrical currents in the axial direction are especially suppressed.
A further feature of the invention is that any increased play in the mutual fitting of the insulating bodies and their retaining portions resulting from heating of the roller casing can be compensated by the fact that the conically shaped inner ring is axially shiftable and is adjustable against a spring force on the roller shaft.
The inclination of the cone angle is then so selected that because of the longitudinal expansion of the roller casing or shell the outer cone assumes a different position upon the inner cone and thereby largely compensates for the expansion of the diameter.
In a practical embodiment the conically shaped inner ring is biased on the roller shaft by means of dished-disk springs which can be seated against a step or shoulder on the stuff and against the hollow conical outer ring which is fixedly connected to the roll casing or shell and which is shiftable axially with respect to the roller shaft. The play is continuously eliminated by the spring force.
Another configuration provides that a roller shell segment is journaled at the respective roller ends in respective conical bearings and generally centrally by means of insulating bodies distributed over the periphery.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the drawing embodiments of the invention are shown and are described in greater detail in the following. In the drawing:
FIG. 1 is an axial longitudinal section through a first embodiment of the roller conveyor roll,
FIG. 1A is an end view thereof,
FIG. 2 is an axial longitudinal section through a second embodiment of a roller-conveyor roll with roller casing or shell segments,
FIG. 2a is the associated side view,
FIG. 3 is an axial longitudinal section through a third embodiment of the roller conveyor roll,
FIG. 3a is the associated side view; and
FIG. 4 is an axial longitudinal section through a fourth embodiment of the roller conveyor roll.



SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
The roller conveyor rolls serve for example for transport of strip material which passes out of a treatment furnace or for the transport of continuous-casting strands, for example. The basic structure encompasses a roller shell or casing 1. The latter is journaled at least at the roll ends 2 and 3 in respective electrical and/or thermal insulators on the roller shaft 4 (FIGS. 1 and 1a as a first embodiment).
The insulation is comprised of individual insulating bodies distributed around the periphery of the roller shaft 4 between the roller shell or casing 1 and the roller shaft 4 at the roll ends 2 and 3 (FIG. 1, 1A, FIG. 2, 2A and FIG. 3, 3A). Alternatively, a one-piece annular insulating body 6 (FIG. 4) can be provided.
The individual insulating bodies 5 distributed around the periphery are comprised of profile rods 7 which have a round, flat, rectangular or polygonal cross section. The profile bars 2 are comprised of ceramic or some other material having an insulating effect.
The roller shaft 4 is equipped with bearing stubs 8 and 9 and is cooled by means of a cooling medium which flows through a core channel 10. The profile bars 7 are secured together with bearing rings 11 and 12 on shaft steps 13. The axial retaining is effected by sheet metal rings 17 welded onto the ends 14 and 15 and which are respectively applied together with the bearing 16 formed by the profiled rods 7. These bearings 16 can be formed as a loose bearing 16a and a fixed bearing 16b to allow thermal expansion. The insulating bodies 5 center the roll shell 1 on the roller shaft 4 and form simultaneously by form locking and/or force locking a torque transmitting means.
In a second embodiment (FIGS. 2, 2A) the roller shell or casing 1 is subdivided into a plurality of spaced apart roller shell segments 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, etc. arranged upon the roller shaft 4 and which are centered on the roller shaft 4 with respect to the insulating bodies 5 and transfer the drive torque.
According to a third embodiment (FIGS. 3 and 3A) the insulating body 5 is configured as a conical bearing 18 of which either the conical inner ring 18a or the conical outer ring 18b and or the conical rollers 18c respectively form the insulating bodies 5.
In the fourth embodiment (FIG. 4) the conically shaped inner ring 18a is axially shiftable and is adjustable against the spring force upon the roller shaft 4. The conical inner ring 18a is braced on the roller shaft 4 axially by means of dish-disk springs 19 which are seated against a shaft step 20. The ring 18a is shiftable relative to the hollow conical outer ring 18b fixedly connected with the roll shell or casing 1. The torque in this configuration is transferred by frictional connection to the conical outer ring 18b. The insulating material is the ceramic from which the conical outer ring is composed.
Instead of ceramic, glass fiber textiles can be used in a corresponding thickness or layering.
A roller shell or casing segment 1a, 1b, etc. can at each of the roller ends 2 and/or 3 be journaled in the conical bearing 18 somewhat centrally by means of insulating bodies 5 distributed over the periphery.
To limit creep currents over the surface of the insulating body 5a dried ambient atmosphere is applied. Such an atmosphere can be obtained for example in the region of a treatment furnace.

## Claims

1. A roller conveyor roll for conveying furnace-heated metallic strip materials, the roll comprising:
a shaft extending along an axis;
a plurality of roller shell segments axially spaced apart along said shaft and coaxially surrounding said shaft; and
a support at at least one end of each of said shell segments supporting the respective shell segment on said shaft, each of said conical supports including:
a respective conical inner ring member rotationally fixed on said shaft inside each of the shell segments,
a respective conical outer ring member rotationally fixed in each of the shell segments and spaced from the respective inner ring member, and
a respective plurality of rods between each of the inner ring members and the respective outer ring member rotationally coupling each of the inner ring members to the respective outer ring member, at least one of said members being an electrically and thermally insulating ceramic body and electrically and thermally isolating the respective shell segment from the shaft.

2. The roller conveyor roll defined in claim 1, further comprising a respective rich support at the other end of each of said shell segments provided with respective electrically and thermally insulating bodies.