Patent Publication Number: US-2004056141-A1

Title: Winding tube

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The invention relates to a winding tube for web-shaped materials having an elongated hollow cylinder tube body and at least one adapter, the adapter contacting a casing surface of the tube body substantially over the entire circumference along an axial portion of the tube body to fix the adapter against relative rotation, the adapter having an exterior diameter that does not exceed that of the tube body.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] Winding tubes are employed in the paper and printing industries, for example, for receiving webs of paper. A winding tube includes an elongated hollow cylinder tube body made of paper or cardboard. Recently, tube bodies extruded from thermoplastic materials have also been used.  
       [0003] To wind the web material onto the winding tube, and unwind it therefrom, the tube is mounted in a winding machine on chucks that engage the ends of the tube body from the inside and permit torque transfer through clamping means or via interlocking elements. It is known to equip the ends of the tube body with adapters, such as metal end caps placed on the open ends of the tube body, to permit the damage-free clamping of the relatively soft tube body.  
       [0004] DE 44 13 810 of Sonoco Products Co. describes a ring-shaped adapter glued to a tube body made of paper. The adapter includes a truncated conical outer surface received by a correspondingly conically designed interior surface of the tube body end. The adapter reinforces the ends of the winding tube to better resist the clamping forces of a winding machine and also permits the use of a tube body whose interior diameter is greater than the chuck of the winding machine.  
       [0005] Even with paper or cardboard tube bodies, which are relatively cheap to produce, there is an increasing desire to limit waste by designing the tube bodies for multiple uses. Costs for producing the tube body and adapter disclosed in DE 44 13 810, however, are increased by the inclusion of the conical seat. Furthermore, the gluing of the adapter into the tube body prevents the further use of an adapter from a damaged tube body.  
       [0006] Plastic winding tubes are typically produced from simple materials for reasons of cost. Such plastic tubes, however, are generally not able to withstand the high loads applied by the chucks. The production of winding tubes using high quality wear-resistant plastics capable of repeated usage is not feasible because of material costs.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007] It is an object of the invention to provide a winding tube that can be repeatedly used, is cost-effective to produce and is variable in use. This object is attained by providing an adapter for a tube body that can be removed from the tube body without being destroyed. Two functions of the winding tube, namely holding the web material and transferring torque from the winding machine, are separated in a simple manner by making the adapter removable. Suitable materials can be selected for the tube body and adapter to provide the respective functions. If one component fails, it is not necessary to replace the entire winding tube. Moreover, use of chucks of different sizes, or with different interlocking elements, is possible in the course of winding and unwinding (i.e., producing and using) the same roll of web-shaped material.  
       [0008] The adapter may be interlockingly connected to the tube body in a simple manner, particularly when a plastic material is used, by providing meshing grooves and teeth on the contacting surfaces. Even when using paper tube bodies, axial teeth arranged on a plastic adapter can be pressed into the relatively soft material of the tube body to provide interlocking torque transfer. The interlocked connection between the adapter and the tube body is particularly advantageous with respect to the removal capability.  
       [0009] A frictional connection between the adapter and tube body advantageously reduces manufacturing outlay. Such a connection can be accomplished with a cylindrical contact face by inserting a cooled adapter into a tube body, which has been heated if required, to generate a shrink pressure in the area of the contact face and fix the tube body and adapter against relative rotation. In cases where only limited torque transfer is demanded, the fixation against relative rotation may be assured by roughened surfaces in the manner of a micro-interlocked connection. In case of special demands made on the winding tube, interlocked and frictional connections could be combined with each other and could be reinforced using roughened surfaces.  
       [0010] Means for preventing axial displacement between the adapter and tube body are also provided in addition to the clamping effect between the contact faces. In this manner, it is possible to apply axial forces via the adapter, to position the winding in a machine for example. Preferably, a radially protruding collar is provided for this purpose.  
       [0011] By matching the exterior diameter of the collar to the exterior diameter of the tube body, the exterior casing surface of the collar may be used as a winding surface. When transporting a winding designed in this way, the wound-on web material additionally contributes to the axial fixation of the adapter on the tube body. Recesses may be cut in the front of the collar for affecting the cooling properties of the latter.  
       [0012] Interlocking elements may be attached to the interior casing surface of the adapter to provide for combination with different chucks.  
       [0013] When employing two adapters in accordance with the invention, a torque can be introduced at both ends of a winding tube. This is particularly advantageous in connection with very long winding tubes, such as are used in the printing industry, for example.  
       [0014] The adapter is preferably made of a material of greater resistance than the tube body. In this manner, the use of high-quality, and therefore expensive, materials such as highly wear-resistant plastics like fiber-reinforced polyamide, can be limited to relatively small components.  
       [0015] The adapter can be advantageously produced by means of injection-molding methods. In this way several complex characteristics may be formed in one work step including grooves and teeth in the contact face, recesses in the end of the collar and interlocking elements on the interior casing surface.  
       [0016] The use of paper or cardboard for the tube body keeps production costs down and provides a supply of recycling materials for useful purposes.  
       [0017] The use of higher quality thermoplastic materials, such as styrene butadiene, for the tube body is preferable when the contact faces of the adapter and tube body are intended to have grooves and teeth. These interlocking elements can be directly formed during extrusion of the tube bodies to extend over the entire length of the tube body. When produced by extrusion, the tube body can be made to any arbitrary length depending on the requirements. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0018]FIG. 1 is a plan view on the front face of an adapter of a winding tube according to the invention;  
     [0019]FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view through one end of the winding tube of FIG. 1 showing the adapter mounted thereon; and  
     [0020]FIG. 3 is a section perpendicular to the axis through the winding tube of FIG. 1 showing the adapter mounted thereon. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0021] A winding tube  1 , whose one end is shown by of example in the drawings, receives a web of newspaper print (not shown) approximately 3 m in length for a rotary printing press (also not shown). An extruded tube body  2 , made of polystyrene having a density of 1.05 kg/dm 3 , has an exterior diameter  3  of 182 mm. The tube body  2  is provided at each of its ends with an adapter  3 . The adapter  3 , having an interior diameter  5  of 154 mm, is made by injection-molding fiberglass-reinforced polyamide having a density of 1.4 kg/dm 3 .  
     [0022] The tube body  2  has a trapezoidal interior tooth arrangement  6  extending axially over its entire length and continuously around its circumference. The tube body has an exterior diameter  3  of 170 mm and an interior diameter  5  of 165 mm. The interior tooth arrangement  6  includes a tooth base  9  and a tooth crown  10  each having a width  11  of 5 mm in the circumferential direction. Each of the teeth includes a profile having an inclination  12  of 39.1°.  
     [0023] The interior tooth arrangement  6  of the tube body  2  engages a correspondingly mirror-reversed exterior tooth arrangement  13  of the adapter  3  in an exact fit having a radial play of between 0.2 to 0.4 mm. The adapter  3  includes three trapezoidal cams  14  having a width  15  of 46.5 mm and an interior diameter  16  of 150 mm. The cams  14  extend in the axial direction on the interior of the adapter  3  and are circumferentially offset from each other by 120°. By means of the trapezoidal cams  14 , the adapter  3  can be matched to a chuck (not shown) that is standardized to fit the printing press.  
     [0024] The adapter  3  further includes a circumferential collar  17 , having a length  18  of 20 mm in the axial direction, against which the end of the tube body  2  rests directly. The exterior diameter of the collar  17  is matched to the exterior diameter  3  of the winding tube  1 . The front face  19  of the adapter  3  has twenty-six recesses  20 , evenly distributed over the circumference. Each of the recesses  20  has a radial width  21  of 4 mm and an axial depth  22  of 12 mm.  
     [0025] To facilitate mounting of the adapter  3  on the tube body  2 , as well as of the winding tube  1  on the chuck (not shown), the tube body  2  and the adapter  3  have been provided with conical mounting slopes  19 ,  24  and  25  at their respective inlet ends.