Roll that can be bent with a composite shell

Abstract: The roll includes a continuous tubular roll shell (11) of a composite material and axle journals (12) rotating together with the roll shell and joined to each end of the roll shell. The axle journals are supported on a supporting element (13) surrounding the axle journal (12) by at least two bearing elements (14, 15) located at a distance from each other in the axial direction (X-X) of the roll, which supporting element (13) for its part is supported on the machine frame structures (R). The first bearing element (14, 15) is supported on the supporting element (13) through a bending mechanism (20, 21), which is used for applying to the first bearing element (14, 15) a force affecting in a radial direction in order to deflect the first bearing element (14, 15) in relation to the central axis (X-X) of the unbent roll, whereby the axle journal (12) will bend in relation to a pivot point which is formed at the second bearing element (14, 15) and a bending moment is applied to the roll shell (11).

Description: The invention concerns a roll that can be bent with a composite shell as defined in the introductory part of claim 1, see WO-A-99/09329. The invention concerns a roll provided with a continuous tubular shell of a composite material. Due to the advantageous characteristics of the material of a composite roll, such as elastic modulus and density, the composite roll can be dimensioned so that it may be bent into the desired curvature by a moderate moment and so that it will function either at a subcritical speed, that is, below the lowest resonance frequency, or in between resonance frequencies. If it is desired to bend a steel roll into the required curvature without bringing about excessive tensions, the roll diameter must be very small. Hereby one or more critical roll speeds must unavoidably be exceeded. With a steel roll, the bending moment needed for bending is also considerably higher than with a composite roll, whereby the bearing forces of the steel roll are also considerably higher than with a composite roll. The applicant's WO Publication 99/09329 presents a roll that can be bent for a web-like material. The roll includes a continuous tubular roll shell of a composite material as well as axle journals connected to either end of the roll shell. The axle journals are attached with at least one support point to a mounting flange structure mounted to the machine frame. In addition, the roll includes a bending mechanism, which is used for bending the axle journals and that way the roll shell into the shape of an arc, and a control device, which is used for controlling the angular position of the roll arc. The solution according to the invention forms a simple alternative in relation to the solutions presented in the applicant's above-mentioned WO publication. The main characteristic features of the roll according to the invention are defined in the characterising part of claim 1. The roll structure according to the invention is quite simple and it needs little maintenance. Owing to its simple structure, the roll is easy to manufacture and its costs are advantageous. In addition, the simple structure facilitates maintenance of the roll. The roll according to the invention may be used e.g. as a spreader roll in a paper or board machine. In the following, the invention will be described with reference to the figures shown in the appended drawings, but the intention is not to restrict the invention solely to the details of these figures. Figure 1 is a schematic basic view, wherein a continuous tubular roll shell is bent by a moment applied to both ends of the roll shell. Figure 2 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of one end face area of the roll according to the invention. Figure 3 is a schematic crosswise cross-sectional view of the end face area of the roll shown in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a schematic view from above of the end face area of the roll shown in Figure 2. Figure 5 is a schematic view of a modification of the embodiment shown in Figure 2. Figure 1 is a basic view showing a roll provided with a shell 11 of a composite material and provided with axle journals 12. By applying bending moments M 1 , M 2 to the axle journals 12 located at the roll ends, the roll shell 11 can be bent into the desired curvature. Moment M 1 may be different from moment M 2 , whereby the progress of the web proceeding on the roll shell 11 may be directed in the roll axis direction. Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the roll according to the invention. The figure is a schematic longitudinal section of one end face area of the roll. The roll consists of a continuous tubular roll shell 11 of a composite material, at each end face of which axle journals 12 are fitted, which rotate together with the shell 11 and protrude from the end face of the shell 11. Each axle journal 12 is pivoted rotatingly by bearings 14, 15 located at a distance from each other in the direction X-X of the roll axis. An essentially tubular supporting element 13 is fitted around the axle journal 12. The bearing 14 located innermost in relation to the end face of the roll shell 11 is supported at its inner periphery on the axle journal 12 and at its outer periphery on the inner surface of the supporting element 13. The bearing 15 located outermost in relation to the roll shell 11 is supported at its inner periphery on the narrowed outer end of the axle journal 12 and at its outer periphery on a bending mechanism 20, 21 fitted into the supporting element 13 through a supporting ring 17. The supporting element 13 is supported at its outer periphery at the inner bearing 14 on a mounting flange 16, which for its part is mounted to the machine frame structures R. Outside the axle journal 12 on the machine maintenance side, the outer end face of the supporting element 13 is closed by an outer end face wall 13a. On the driving side of the machine, a roll driving shaft can be placed through the outer end face wall 13a. At the inner end face of supporting element 13 there is an inner end face wall 13b, which has an opening equal in size to the cross-section of the axle journal 12 and which can be sealed to the axle journal 12. Between the end face walls 13a, 13b the shape of the supporting element 13 is essentially cylindrical. The end face walls 13a, 13b can be used for closing the inner space of the supporting element 13. The bending mechanism 20, 21 here consists of a pin 21, which is mounted to a supporting ring 17 surrounding the outer periphery of the outer bearing 15 and which is provided with an external thread and extends through the supporting element 13 and a nut 20 fitted to the pin 21 outside the supporting element 13. Using the nut 20 supported against the outer surface of the supporting element 13, a force in the radial direction can be applied to the outer bearing 15, by which force the outer bearing 15 is deflected in relation to the central axis X-X of the unbent roll, whereby the inner bearing 14 functions as the pivoting point. Thus, such a bearing 14 must be used here, which allows both rotating of the axle journal 12 and the pivoting motion required for bending. Instead of one bearing 14 it is possible to use two concentric superimposed bearings, whereby the inner bearing is the rotatory bearing, whereas the outer bearing is the pivot bearing. By using a screw element 20 to apply the desired bending moments to the axle journals 12 located at both ends of the roll shell 11, the roll shell 11 is made to bend into the desired curvature. Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the roll end face shown in Figure 2. The figure shows the axle journal 12, the outer bearing 15, the supporting ring 17, the supporting element 13, the nut 20, the pin 21 and the mounting flange 16. The mounting flange 16 consists of two halves 16a, 16b, which can be attached to each other. The lower half 16b of the mounting flange 16 is mounted to the machine frame structures R. Figure 4 is a schematic view from above of the roll end face shown in Figure 2. The nut 20 is supported on the outer surface of the supporting element 13 and the pin 21 is supported in the axial direction in a slot 22 formed in the supporting element 13, so that the pin 21 can be moved in the said slot 22 in the peripheral direction of the supporting element 13. The figure also shows mounting screws 100, 101 between the two halves 16a, 16b of the mounting flange 16. The angular position of the longitudinal axis of the pin 21 determines the angular position of the curvature of the shell 11. In the situation shown in Figure 3, wherein the angular position of the pin 21 is 0°, the shell 11 bends directly downwards, when the axle journal 12 is pulled by the pin 21 and by the nut 20 upwards, whereby the angular position of the curvature of the shell 11 is also 0°. In a standstill situation, the angular position of the curvature of the shell 11 may be regulated in such a way that the mounting screws 100, 101 between the two halves 16a, 16b of the mounting flange 16 are loosened, whereby the supporting element 13 can be turned in the peripheral direction, so that the longitudinal axis of the pin 21 is placed in the desired angular position. This regulation may be used for performing a rough control of the angular position of the curvature of the shell 11. Fine control of the angular position of the curvature of the shell 11 is performed by loosening the nut 20 and moving the pin 21 in the slot 22 in such a way that the longitudinal axis of the pin 21 is placed exactly in the desired angular position. The nut 20 may also be locked to the supporting element 13 in the radial direction. Hereby the outer bearing 15 may be deflected in opposite directions in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the pin 21. When in the situation shown in Figure 3 the nut 20 is used to push the outer bearing 15 downwards, the roll shell 11 will bend upwards, and when the nut 20 is used to pull the outer bearing 15 upwards, the roll shell 11 will bend downwards. Figure 5 shows a modification of the embodiment shown in Figure 2. The outer end face of the supporting element 13 is closed by an outer end face wall 13a outside the axle journal 12, as in the embodiment shown in Figure 2. However, in this embodiment the outer end face wall 13a extends outside the outer periphery of the tubular part of the supporting element 13, whereby the supporting element 13 can be mounted at its outer end face wall 13a to the machine frame structures R. At the inner end face of the supporting element 13 there is an inner end face wall 13b, which has an opening in size equal to the cross-section of axle journal 12 and which can be sealed to the axle journal 12. An inner bearing 14 and a pivot bearing 18 surrounding the former are also fitted to this inner end face wall 13b. The inner space of the supporting element 13 is also closed here. Pivot bearing 18 here functions as the pivot point, when the outer bearing 15 is deflected in relation to the central axis X-X of the unbent roll. In the same way as in the embodiment shown in Figure 2, instead of two concentric superimposed bearings 14, 18 one bearing may be used, which functions both as rotatory bearing and as pivot bearing. In the embodiments shown in the figures, the outer bearing 15 is deflected in relation to the end face of roll shell 11, whereby the inner bearing 14 functions as the pivot point. Of course, the situation may be the other way round, whereby the deflecting mechanism 20, 21 is located at the location of the inner bearing 14 and the outer bearing 15 will function as the pivot point. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the mounting flange 16 is hereby located in connection with the outer bearing 15. Instead of the pin 21 and the nut 20 shown in the figures, e.g. a wedge element may be used as the deflecting part. Hereby the wedge element is positioned into the space between bearing 14, 15, which will be deflected, and the supporting element 13. By moving the two wedge components of the wedge element in the axial direction in relation to each other a force in the radial direction can be applied to the bearing 14, 15 which will be deflected, whereby the pivot point is formed in connection with the other bearing 14, 15. Instead of the pin 21 and the nut 20 shown in the figures, e.g. a hydraulic cylinder-piston actuator may be used as the deflecting element. The cylinder is mounted in the radial direction to the supporting element 13 and the piston rod is mounted to the bearing 14, 15, which will be deflected. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the pivot point, that is, bearing 14, is supported directly on the supporting element 13 and the supporting element 13 again is supported on the machine frame structures R by a flange 16 supporting the supporting element 13 at the bearing 14. The pivot point and the supporting point are thus in the same radial plane in the axial direction X-X. The forces applying to the deflection point are transferred through the supporting element 13 to the supporting point, and from the supporting point the forces are transferred through the flange 16 to the machine frame structures R. Thus, a bending moment is applied to the mounting point between the flange 16 and the machine frame structure R. A supporting point is formed here through the flange 16 between the supporting element 13 and the machine frame structure R. In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, the pivot point, that is, pivot bearing 18, is supported on a supporting element 13, which for its part is supported on the machine frame structures R outside the axle journal 12. The pivot point is here in the radial plane located at the inner bearing 14, and the supporting point is in the radial plane located outside the axle journal 12. The forces applying to the pivot point are transferred through the supporting element 13 to the supporting point as are the forces applying to the deflection point. A bending moment is applied also here to the mounting point between the supporting element 14 and the machine frame structure R. The supporting point between the supporting element 13 and the machine frame structure R is formed here through the outer end face wall 13a of supporting element 13. The following is a presentation of claims, which define the invention, within the scope of which the details of the invention may vary from the above presentation, which was given by way of example only.

Claims: Roll that can be bent with a composite shell, said roll comprising a continuous tubular roll shell (11) of a composite material and axle journals (12) connected at each end of the roll shell (11) to rotate together with the roll shell (11), said axle journals (12) being supported on a supporting element (13) by at least two bearing elements (14, 15) located at a distance from each other in the direction of the roll axis (X-X), said supporting element (13) surrounding the axle journal (12) and the bearing elements (14, 15), characterised in that the supporting element (13) is supported on the machine frame structures (R) through one supporting point wherein the first bearing element (14, 15) is supported on the supporting element (13) through a bending mechanism (20, 21), by which a force affecting in the radial direction is applied to the first bearing element (14, 15) in order to deflect the first bearing element (14, 15) in relation to the central axis (X-X) of the unbent roll, whereby the axle journal (12) bends in relation to a pivot point which is formed at the second bearing element (14, 15) and a bending moment is applied to the roll shell (11). A roll as defined in claim 1, characterised in that the bending mechanism (20, 21) is formed by a pin (21) mounted to a supporting ring (17) surrounding the first bearing element (14, 15), which pin extends through an opening (22) in the supporting element (13), and by a nut (20), which is fitted on to the threaded pin (21) and which is supported against the outer surface of the supporting element (13). A roll as defined in claim 2, characterised in that the opening (22) is shaped as a slot, whereby the pin (21) can be moved in the peripheral direction of the supporting element (13) in order to change the angular position of the pin (21) and this way to change the angular position of the curvature of the shell (11). A roll as defined in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the first bearing element (15) is located outermost in relation to the roll end face and the second bearing element (14) is located innermost in relation to the roll end face, whereby the outer bearing element (15) is deflected by a bending mechanism (20, 21) fitted to the supporting element (13) at the outer bearing element (15), whereby the inner bearing element (14) functions as pivot point. A roll as defined in claim 4, characterised in that the supporting element (13) is supported on the machine frame structures (R) through a mounting flange (16) at the bearing element (14) located innermost and forming the pivot point. A roll as defined in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the first bearing element (14) is located innermost in relation to the roll end face and the second bearing element (15) is located outermost in relation to the roll end face, whereby the inner bearing element (14) is deflected by a bending mechanism (20, 21) fitted to the supporting element (13) at the inner bearing element (14), whereby the outer bearing element (15) functions as pivot point. A roll as defined in claim 6, characterised in that the supporting element (13) at the bearing element (14) forming the outmost pivot point is supported through a mounting flange (16) on the machine frame structures (R). A roll as defined in any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the outer end face of the supporting element (13) is closed by an outer end face wall (13a) located in the axial direction (X-X) at a distance from the outer end face of the axle journal (12). A roll as defined in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the inner end face of the supporting element (13) is closed by an inner end face wall (13b) sealingly fitted on the axle journal (12). A roll as defined in any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the outer end face wall (13a) extends outside the outer end face of the supporting element (13), and that the supporting element (13) at its outer end face wall (13a) is mounted to the machine frame structures (R) and not to the mounting flange (16). A roll as defined in claim 10, characterised in that the inner bearing (14) is surrounded by a pivot bearing (18), which is supported on the inner end face wall (13b) of the supporting element (13), and that the outer bearing (15) is deflected by a bending mechanism (20, 21) fitted into the supporting element (13) at the outer bearing (15). A roll as defined in claim 10, characterised in that the outer bearing (15) is surrounded by a pivot bearing (18), which is supported on the supporting element (13), and that the inner bearing (14) is deflected by a bending mechanism (20, 21) fitted into the supporting element (13) at the inner bearing (14).

Inventors: ISOMETSAE JUHA, KURKELA TUOMO, SNELLMAN JORMA, ISOMETSAE, JUHA, KURKELA, TUOMO, SNELLMAN, JORMA, ISOMETSÄ, Juha
Applicants: METSO PAPER INC, METSO PAPER, INC.
Application year: 2001
Main classification: F16C13
IPC codes: F16C13, D21G1, D21F7, B65G39