RIDER ROLL ARRANGEMENT

Abstract: Rider roll arrangement, in order to weight at least one winding (29) of a material in the form of a web which is supported during winding in a winding device, having a rider roll, which comprises a multitude of weighting rollers (2, 2') mounted by means of brackets (10) to a support beam (1), with each weighting roller (2, 2') comprising a means for a hydraulic pressing against and a means for a pneumatic lifting away from at least one winding, characterized in that the means for pressing or lifting respectively are combined in one piston/cylinder unit (4) acting in two directions and are arranged in the interior of each weighting roller (2, 2'). Due to said arrangement, the building space is minimal and it is especially simple to exchange the weighting rollers by means of detaching the brackets from the support beam.

Description: RIDER ROLL ARRANGEMENT The invention pertains to a rider roll arrangement, in accordance with the preamble of Claim 1, in order to weight at least one winding of a material in the form of a web which is supported during winding in a winding device. A rider roll arrangement of the same generic class is known from US-A-5, 320,299. In order to be able to hold the individual weighting rollers in contact with the winding along a line of contact (nip line), the brackets are mounted to the support beam in an articulated manner, such that the weighting rollers can be swung, independently of each other, about a pivot axis with respect to the support beam. A swinging of the weighting rollers on their brackets is carried out by means of one piston rod respectively, each end of which is applied with pressure by means of piston/cylinder units; the center regions of the piston rods feature a hinge for a pivoted connection with the associated brackets . A clear improvement of the winding structure was achieved with the known rider roll arrangements. However, due to the piston rod, the piston/cylinder units acting upon its two ends must be in extraordinarily precise alignment with each other. In addition, the bracket associated with each weighting roll transfers lateral force to the piston rod as it swings about the pivot axis . The object of the invention is to create a compact rider roll arrangement, with which the space required for installation of the rider roll arrangement can be reduced. An additional object is to create a rider roll arrangement that enables a rapid and simple exchange of the weighting rollers for repair or maintenance work. Yet another object of the invention is to be able to select the number of weighting rollers per meter of rider roll width to be as high as possible. In order to solve these problems, a rider roll arrangement is proposed in accordance with the characteristics of Claim 1. Due to a combination of the means for the pressing and lifting respectively of each individual weighting roller in a piston/cylinder unit that acts in two directions and due to the arrangement of this unit in the interior of the weighting roller, the building space required for each weighting roller with respect to the rider roll width is minimal. For this purpose, it is preferable to use pistons and cylinders that are separate from each other. Since a swinging of the weighting rollers with respect to the support beam can be omitted on one hand and since, on the other hand, a piston rod that is put under load on both sides can be omitted, it is especially simple to exchange the weighting rollers by means of detaching the brackets from the support beam. The combination of hydraulic means and/or pneumatic means in a common piston/cylinder unit enables a precise variation of the nip pressure between the relevant weighting rollers and the winding that is weighted by means of said weighting roller, since slight differences in force between the pressing force and the lifting or compensating force acting in the opposite direction lead to a significant variation in nip pressure. In a preferred embodiment, the cylinder comprises oppo- sing cylinder chambers, with the hydraulic means acting upon the cylinder chambers that faces the at least one winding and the pneumatic means acting upon the opposite cylinder chamber, which faces away from the winding. This solution can be achieved in a preferred way with a cylinder having an H-shaped cross-sectional profile. It is preferred for the brackets to comprise a central plate, to which the weighting rollers are mounted in pairs. With this arrangement, the number of weighting rollers per meter of rider roll width can be further increased and, simultaneously, two weighting rollers are exchanged in one step. A very simple mounting of the weighting rollers to the brackets can be achieved by means of mounting the cylinders in a fixed manner to the associated brackets. In particular, this mounting can be selected to be, in fact, fixed but in a detachable manner, e.g., by means of a screw connection, such that when exchanging a weighting roller, in particular with a paired arrangement, the other respective weighting roller can continue to be used. In order to control nip pressure, it is advantegous that the cylinder chambers for the hydraulic means of the weighting rollers arranged in pairs are connected to each other and only the pneumatic means are controlled individually. By this means it is also possible to completely lift away weighting rollers that are not required, as is the case when winding several windings in the winding device, in the gap between windings, without the need to undertake structural modifications to the rider roll arrangement. Additional practical configurations of the object of the invention are contained in additional claims. Details, features and advantages of the object are yielded from the following description with reference to the figure, in which is represented - per example - a preferred embodiment of a rider roll arrangement in accordance with the invention. The figures show: Figure 1: A sectional view of a bracket with weighting rollers arranged in pairs (section along line I-I in accordance with Figure 2) - partially broken; and Figure 2: A view of the bracket together with the weighting roller of Figure 1 from the right (partially broken) . The rider roll arrangement comprises a rider roll designated altogether as 100, which contains a multitude of weighting roller pairs 2,2' only one of which is shown on the right side of Figure 1 by the weighting roller designated altogether as 2, which is mounted to a bracket designated altogether as 10. For the weighting roller 2' shown on the left in Figure 1, the components that serve to guide the roller tube 8 are omitted for clarity. In order to obtain a rider roll 100, a multitude of weighting rollers, or weighting roller pairs 2,2' are mounted to a support beam 1 next to each other and by means of brackets 10. The paired arrangement of the weighting rollers 2,2' to a common bracket 10 corresponds to an arrangement having an optimal number of weighting rollers 2,2' per meter of roll width. It is possible, e.g., to use 16 weighting rollers per meter of roll width. Since it is possible to exchange a bracket 10 from the support beam 1 rapidly and simply, individually mounted weighting rollers can also be used along the weighting roll, e.g., in a case where, based on the winding task, a second weighting roller is not required, e.g., at the gap between two windings. It is self-evident that the support beam 1 can be moved with respect to a winding 29 (only one winding is shown schematically) , with dependence on its winding diameter, in order to hold the weighting roll in contact with the winding 29 along a line of contact N (nip line), as the diameter of the winding grows. Representations of the winding machine used and support or carrier rolls used in order to support the winding have been omitted since these are all conventionally known. In the following, the assembly of the rider roll arrangement is explained with reference to the weighting roller 2 shown on the right in Figure 1 and in Figure 2. Pressure must be applied to each weighting roller 2 during the winding of a winding 29 in order to apply a defined linear pressure on each individual winding or on the material web to be wound thereupon, as is known in detail from US-A- 5,320,299. The support beam and, therefore, the entire weighting roll are moved, on one hand, with dependence on the diameter of the winding; on the other hand, the weighting rollers 2 must be able to give way individually to slight differences in the height or diameter of the winding 29. The weighting roller 2 is movable to a limited degree relative to a center axis M, the distance of which from the support beam 1 is fixed. This ability to move is achieved by means of a cylinder 3 of a piston/cylinder unit 4. The cylinder 3 has an H-shaped cross section and is fastened late- rally, in a fixed manner, to the carrier bracket 10. In order to form a weighting roller pair as a component of the rider roll 100, it is preferable to arrange, symmetrical to the cylinder 3, a cylinder 3' of an additional weighting roller 2' on the opposite side of the bracket 10. In order to press the weighting roller 2,2' against the winding 29, represented by means of a dashed line, the cylinder chamber 5 that faces this winding is hydraulically loaded. In order to lift or counterbalance each individual weighting roller 2,2', the cylinder chamber 6 that faces away from the winding 29 is loaded with the use of pneumatic pressure. Two linear guides 7, shown in Figure 2, e.g., element pairs composed of a ball-bearing guide 25 and rod 26 serve as an axial guide for the weighting rollers 2,2' relative to the cylinder axis Z, with the ball-bearing guide 25 being able to be mounted on the central plate 30 of the bracket 10 on both sides of the longitudinal sides of the cylinder 3,3'. Each weighting roller 2,2' features a roller tube 8, within which are arranged the piston/cylinder unit 4 as well as the elements serving to guide the weighting rollers. In order for the weighting rollers to be able to rotate along with the winding 29, the roller tube 8 is supported about a support 11, in a pivoted manner, by means of ball bearings 9. The ball bearings 9 are held by means of a support 11 in the form of a double chamber, which simultaneously carries the fluid pistons 12 and pneumatic pistons 13. The movement of the weighting rollers 2 about the cylinder 3 is guided by means of the linear guides 7 and is made possible by means of two rolling diaphragms 14, 15, which close off the cylin- der chamber 5 and piston 12, or cylinder chamber 6 and piston 13 respectively, in a sealing manner. The supports 11 form, with the ball bearings 9 and the pistons 12, 13, a unit for which the distance of the individual weighting rollers 2, 2' from the surface of the winding 29 (nip line N) can hence be varied. The mounting of the diaphragms between the aforementioned unit and cylinder is explained, per example, for the "pneumatic side". The end of the cylinder 3, 3' features an annular peripheral recess 17, against which is mounted, in a sealing manner, a rolling membrane 15, by means of an annular collar 18 fixed with a screw connection designated altogether as 19. In order to form a piston seal, the rolling membrane 15 is mounted between piston 13 and support 11, e.g., by means of screwing. A disk spring package 16 is provided on the hydraulic side 5, 12, 14, between the support 11 and hydraulic piston 12 including rolling membrane 14, such that the membrane 14 is inserted between the piston 12 and a counterpart 24 by means of a screw connection, with the disk spring package 16 coming into effect between the support 11 and the counterpart 24. Therefore, the position of the weighting roller 2 shown in Figures 1 and 2 corresponds to a center position between a fully lowered weighting roller (piston 13 rests against the cylinder wall of the cylinder chamber 6) and a fully 5 lifted position (cylinder 12 rests against the end wall of the cylinder chamber 5) . A shock absorber in the form of said disk spring package 16, which is arranged on the hydraulic side between the piston 12 and the support 11, serves to protect the rolling membranes 14, 15 against over- 10 stress. The disk spring package 16 is used to intercept, "internally", a suddenly occurring change in pressure or pressure peak in the cylinder chamber 5, i.e., on the hydraulic side. A fact also serving to simplify the construction and 15 control of the overall rider roll is that the cylinder chamber 5 is connected to the cylinder chamber 5' of the second weighting roller 2' of the weighting roller pair 100 as shown, e.g., by means of a channel 20 that reaches through the cylinders 3, 3' and central plate 30 of the bracket 10. 20 . It is preferable for the central plate 30 to also support the hydraulic supply 31 as well as the pneumatic supplies 32a, 32b. The channels for feeding hydraulic fluid or pneumatic fluid are guided in a suitable manner within the central plate 30, as indicated by a dashed line in Figure 2. 25 This also simplifies, in particular, an exchange of a weighting roller pair of a weighting roll 100, since for a defect or during maintenance of a weighting roller 2 or both weighting rollers 2, 2', only the supplies 31, 32a, 32b and the mounting means 21 of a quick-acting closure must be 30 detached. For this purpose, the quick-acting closure 22, for a dovetail-type support beam 1 functioning as shown as a rail, can form the counterpart that is guided in the rail and clamped by means of one or several screws 23. 35 The use, altogether, of a closed hydraulic control loop is preferred such that even for minor movement of individual weighting rollers, a uniform load distribution can be achieved on all weighting rollers. Any suitable lubricating and/or hydraulic oil can be used as hydraulic fluid, while the use of air is preferred as pneumatic fluid. Since the distance from each of the weighting roll pairs on the support beam is infinitely adjustable, it is also possible to arrange weighting roller pairs having different tube widths on one carrier or to distribute the same over the machine width. Both the distance between two win- dings as well as the distribution of the weighting rollers over the winding width can be selected by this means to be extremely flexible and to be adapted to the winding task. With a rider roll arrangement in accordance with the invention, it is possible to weight the windings in a pro- grammed, fully automatic manner, with dependence on the respective winding diameter. In order to lift the weighting rollers in the region of the narrow clearance gap between adjacent material webs, it is sufficient to actuate valves in order to control the pneumatic fluid, thereby pressuri- zing the cylinder chamber 6 of the piston/cylinder.

Claims: 1. Rider roll arrangement, in order to weight at least one winding (29) of a material in the form of a web which is supported during winding in a winding device, having a rider roll, which comprises a multitude of weighting rollers (2,2') mounted by means of brackets (10) to a support beam (1), with each weighting roller (2,2') comprising a means for a hydraulic pressing against and a means for a pneumatic lifting away from at least one winding, characterized in that the means for pressing or lifting respectively are combined in one piston/cylinder unit (4) acting in two directions and are arranged in the interior of each weighting roller (2,2') . 2. Rider roll arrangement of Claim 1, characterized in that the hydraulic means acts upon a cylinder chamber (5) that faces the winding (29) and the pneumatic means acts upon a cylinder chamber (6) of cylinders (3, 3') the piston/cylinder unit (4) which faces away from the winding. 3. Rider roll arrangement, according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cylinders (3, 3') respectively, are mounted in a fixed manner to associated brackets (10). 4. Rider roll arrangement of one of Claims 1-3, characterized in that at least several brackets comprise a central plate (30), on which the cylinders (3,3') of the weighting rollers (2,2') are mounted in pairs. 5. Rider roll arrangement of Claim 4, characterized in that the cylinders are mounted to the central plate (30) by means of a screw connection. 6. Rider roll arrangement of Claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the cylinder chambers (5,5') for the hydraulic means of the respective weighting rollers (2,2') arranged in pairs are connected to each other. 7. Rider roll arrangement of one of Claims 1-6, characterized in that a linear guide (7) that guides the weighting roller parallel to the piston/cylinder unit (4) is provided in the interior of each weighting roller (2). 8. Rider roll arrangement of one of Claims 1-7, characterized in that the hydraulic means of each weighting roller includes a shock absorber, in particular, in the form of a spring arrangement (16) that is effective in a coaxial sense to the piston/cylinder unit, as a protection against over- stress . 9. Rider roll arrangement of one of Claims 1-8, charac- terized in that the brackets (10) are mounted to the support beam (1) such that they can be detached by means of a quick- acting closure (21, 22, 23).

Inventors: DOERFEL WALTER, TREUTNER JUERGEN, DOERFEL, WALTER, TREUTNER, JUERGEN
Applicants: BELOIT TECHNOLOGIES INC, DOERFEL WALTER, TREUTNER JUERGEN, BELOIT TECHNOLOGIES, INC., DOERFEL, WALTER, TREUTNER, JUERGEN
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B65H18
IPC codes: B65H18, B65H27, F16C13