Patent Publication Number: US-9896286-B2

Title: Roller

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to a roller for example used for a paper sheet separation mechanism. 
     Description of Related Art 
     A roller is used for a paper sheet separation mechanism, etc. Such a roller employs a structure in which a rubber part is attached to a roller body part (for example, see patent document 1). 
     The roller described in patent document 1 is configured to hold the rubber part in the roller body part by receiving a rubber piece in a notch of the roller body part, into which the rubber part is fitted, and the rubber piece having a larger dimension than the notch, without using an adhesive agent.
     Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Laid Open Publication No. 1998-157864   

     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     However, in the structure described in patent document 1, the rubber part and the roller body part are in contact with each other only in the notch, thus involving a problem that the rubber part falls off from the roller body part during use of the roller. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide the roller capable of suppressing the fall-off of the rubber part from the roller body part during use of the roller. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a roller, comprising: 
     a roller body part; and 
     a rubber part attached to the roller body part, 
     the rubber part comprising: 
     a rubber body part provided on an outer circumference of the roller body part; and 
     a side extending part extending on a side face of the roller body part from a side face of the rubber body part, 
     wherein the roller body part has a recess portion formed on the side face of the roller body part, and into which the side extending part is fitted. 
     By fitting the side extending part of the rubber part into the recess portion on the side face of the roller body part, displacement or detachment of the rubber part is suppressed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a schematic left side view of a roller according to an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 1B  is a schematic front view of the roller according to an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 1C  is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1D , and  FIG. 1D  is a schematic right side view of the roller according to an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 1E  is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1D . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A roller  10  according to an embodiment of the present invention, will be described, with reference to  FIG. 1A  to  FIG. 1E . The roller  10  of this embodiment is preferably used in a paper sheet separation mechanism for example, for conveying accumulated paper sheets such as integrated banknotes and securities, etc., by separating them one by one. Here, the roller  10  used as a feed roller of the paper sheet separation mechanism is given as an example, for the explanation to proceed. 
       FIG. 1A ,  FIG. 1B , and  FIG. 1D  are respectively a schematic left side view, front view, and right side view of the roller  10 .  FIG. 1C  and  FIG. 1E  are respectively a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA and a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line BB shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1D . 
     A structure of the roller  10  will be described first. The roller  10  is constituted of a roller body part (metal core)  100 , and a rubber part  200  attached to the roller body part  100 . In order to facilitate the illustration, in  FIG. 1A  to  FIG. 1E , the roller body part  100  is denoted by a left-upward hatching, and the rubber part  200  is denoted by a right-upward hatching. 
     The roller body part  100  is made of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy for example, and has approximately a cylindrical shape, with a through hole  110  in the center so that a shaft can pass therethrough. A circumferential direction, a radial direction and a thickness direction of the roller body part  100  (or the roller  10 ) are sometimes simply called the circumferential direction, the radial direction, and the thickness direction. 
     The whole body of the rubber part  200  is integrally formed using a rubber material (such as polyurethane, etc.) in a shape of being fitted into the roller body part. The roller body part  100  and the rubber part  200  are not fixed to each other by an adhesive agent. That is, the roller body part  100  and the rubber part  200  are in contact with each other not through the adhesive agent. 
     In this specification, the expression “the rubber part  200  is fitted into the roller body part  100 ”, etc., does not mean a fabrication method such that “the rubber part  200  formed as a separate body from the roller body part  100 , is fitted into the roller body part”, but mean a shape in which “the rubber part  200  is fitted into the roller body part  100 ”. As will be described later in detail, the rubber part  200  of this embodiment is molded into a shape fitted into the roller body part  100  by pouring the rubber material over the roller body part  100  which is a part of a mold. 
     The rubber part  200  is roughly divided into a rubber body part (feed rubber)  201 , a side extending part  203 , and an outer circumferential part  205 . The rubber body part  201  is provided on a part of an outer circumference of the roller body part  100  (one portion in a circumferential direction), over the entire thickness of the roller body part  100 . The rubber body part  201  has a higher coefficient of friction against a conveyed paper sheet than the roller body part  100 , and feeds the paper sheet in contact with the paper sheet on the outer circumference, with a rotation of the roller  10 . A recess portion (notch)  101  having a shape corresponding to the rubber body part  201 , is formed on a part of the outer circumference of the roller body part  100 , so that the rubber body part  201  is fitted into the notch  101 . 
     An outer circumferential shape of the rubber body part  201  can be shaped into an uneven shape (tooth form) as needed. By shaping the outer circumferential shape of the rubber body part  201  into the uneven shape, adhesion of a paper powder to the rubber body part  201  can be suppressed, thus suppressing a reduction of a frictional force. 
     The rubber body part  201  has a protrusion  202  that protrudes to the inside (radial direction side or circumferential direction side) of the roller body part  100 . A portion other than the protrusion  202  in the rubber body part  201 , is referred to as a main part of the rubber body part  201 . A recess portion (hole)  102  having a shape corresponding to the protrusion  202 , is formed on an inner surface of the notch  101 , so that the protrusion  202  is fitted into the hole  102 . Owing to the protrusion  202 , the rubber body part  201  is hardly deviated to outside in the radial direction or in the thickness direction. Thus, an effect of suppressing the deviation or fall-off of the rubber body part  201  from the roller body part  100 , can be obtained. The protrusion  202  has a radially enlarged structure in which the thickness becomes larger toward the inside (radial side or circumferential side) of the roller body part  100 . 
     The rubber part  200  has a side extending part  203  extending on a side face (on a left side face shown in  FIG. 1A  in this example) of the roller body part  100  from the side face of the rubber body part  201 . A recess portion (groove)  103  having a shape corresponding to the side extending part  203 , is formed on the side face of the roller body part  100 , so that the side extending part  203  is fitted into the groove  103 . The side extending part  203  is preferably formed in a ring shape and in a closed shape along the circumference of the roller body part  100 . 
     In  FIG. 1A , a border line is shown between the rubber body part  201  and the side extending part  203 , to make the illustration easy to be understood. However, the side extending part  203  is formed integrally with the rubber body part  201 , with no seam provided between the rubber body part  201  and the side extending part  203 . 
     Owing to the side extending part  203  fitted into the side face of the roller main body  100 , the rubber body part  201  is hardly deviated in the thickness direction, particularly to an opposite side (right side in this example) of a formation side of the side extending part  203 . Also, owing to the side extending part  203 , the rubber body part  201  is hardly deviated to the radial outside. Thus, the effect of suppressing the deviation or the fall-off of the rubber body part  201  from the roller body part  100 , can be obtained. 
     It should be noted that if the side extending part  203  is formed as a portion fitted into the side face of the roller body part  100  extending from the side face of the rubber body part  201 , the abovementioned effect can be obtained even if the side extending part  203  does not have a ring shape. An extending direction of the side extending part  203  on the side face of the roller body part  100 , is not limited to the circumferential direction as shown in the figure. By further forming the side extending part  203  into the ring shape, the abovementioned effect can be further increased. 
     The side extending part  203  has a protrusion  204  protruding to the inside (thickness direction side) of the roller body part  100  from the side face side of the roller body part  100 . A portion other than the protrusion  204  in the side extending part  203 , is referred to as a main part of the side extending part  203 . A recess portion (hole)  104  having a shape corresponding to the protrusion  204 , is formed on the inner surface of the groove  103 , so that the protrusion  204  is fitted into the hole  104 . Owing to the protrusion  204 , the rubber body part  201  is further hardly deviated to the radial outside or in the thickness direction, and the effect of further suppressing the deviation or the fall-off of the rubber body part  201  from the roller body part  100 , can be obtained. 
     In  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1E , a border line is shown between the side extending part  203  and the protrusion  204 , to make the illustration easy to be understood. However, the protrusion  204  is formed integrally with the side extending part  203 , with no seam provided between side extending part  203  and the protrusion  204 . 
     The roller  10  has a structure in which small diameter parts  112  and  114  having relatively small outer diameters, are sandwiched between large diameter parts  111 ,  113 , and  115  having relatively large diameters, and the small diameter parts  112  and  114  have valley portions. A side face of the large diameter part  111  forms one of the side faces (left side face in this example) of the roller  10 , and a side face of the large diameter part  115  forms the other side face (right side face in this example) of the roller  10 . The roller  10  given for example as a feed roller, is used by forming a pair with a gate roller, so that mountain portions of the gate roller are arranged in the valley portions of the feed roller. 
     The rubber part  200  has an outer circumferential part  205  extending on the outer circumference of the large diameter part  115  from a circumferential end portion of the rubber body part  201 . In the large diameter parts  111  and  113 , the circumferential outside of the rubber body part  201  is not covered with a rubber member, and meanwhile, in the large diameter part  115 , the circumferential outside of the rubber body part  201  is covered with the outer circumferential part  205 . The recess portion (for example notch)  105  having a shape corresponding to the outer circumferential part  205 , is formed on the outer circumference of the large diameter part  115  of the roller body part  100 , so that the outer circumferential part  205  is fitted into the recess portion  105 . 
     In  FIG. 1D , a border line is shown between the rubber body part  201  and the outer circumferential part  205 , to make the illustration easy to be understood. However, the outer circumferential part  205  is formed integrally with the rubber body part  201 , with no seam provided between the rubber body part  201  and the outer circumferential part  205 . 
     The outer circumferential part  205  has a protrusion  206  that protrudes to the inside (radial direction side) of the roller body part  100  from the outer circumferential side of the roller body part  100 . A portion of the outer circumferential part  205  other than the protrusion  206  is referred to as a main part of the outer circumferential part  205 . A recess portion (hole)  106  having a shape corresponding to the protrusion  206 , is formed on an inner surface of the recess portion  105 , so that the protrusion  206  is fitted into the hole  106 . Owing to the protrusion  206 , the outer circumferential part  205  is hardly deviated to outside in the radial direction or in the thickness direction. As a result, the rubber body part  201  is hardly deviated to outside in the radial direction or in the thickness direction, and the effect of suppressing the deviation or fall-off of the rubber body part  201  from the roller body part  100 , can be obtained. 
     In  FIG. 1D  and  FIG. 1E , a border line is shown between the outer circumferential part  205  and protrusion  206 , to make the illustration easy to be understood. However, the protrusion  206  is formed integrally with the outer circumferential part  205 , with no seam provided between the outer circumferential part  205  and the protrusion  206 . 
     A dimension of each part of the roller  10  is as follows for example. diameters of a large diameter part  111 , etc., and a small diameter part  112 , etc., are respectively about 45 mm and 38 mm for example. A diameter of the through hole  110  of the shaft is about 10 mm for example. A thickness of an entire body of the roller  10  is about 24 mm for example, and thicknesses of the large diameter part  111 , etc., and the small diameter part  112 , etc., are respectively about 4.5 mm and about 5 mm for example. 
     A thickness (dimension in the radial direction of the roller) of the rubber body part  201  is about 5 mm for example, and a length (dimension in the circumferential direction of the roller) of the rubber body part  201  is about 25 mm for example. Further, the thickness (dimension in the thickness direction of the roller) of the side extending part  203  is about 1 mm for example, and a width (dimension in the radial direction of the roller) of the side extending part  203  is about 3 mm for example. A depth (dimension in the thickness direction of the roller) protruded from the side extending part  203  of the protrusion  204  is about 3 mm for example, and a diameter (dimension in the radial direction of the roller) of the protrusion  204  is about 3 mm for example. 
     A thickness (dimension in the radial direction of the roller) of the outer circumferential part  205  is about 2 mm for example, and a width (dimension in the thickness direction of the roller) of the outer circumferential part  205  is about 4 mm for example. A depth (dimension in the radial direction of the roller) protruded from the outer circumferential part  205  of the protrusion  206  is about 3 mm for example, and a diameter (dimension in the radial direction of the roller) of the protrusion  206  is about 3 mm for example. 
     A fabrication method of the roller  10  will be described next. First, the roller body part  100  is prepared. The roller body part  100  is formed by processing a metal material such as aluminum alloy, etc., by machining using a lathe or a milling machine or the like. Next, the roller body part (metal core)  100  is placed as a core in an outer mold defining the outer shape of the rubber part  200 , to thereby prepare a mold for molding the rubber part  200 . 
     Next, vulcanization molding is performed by pouring a rubber material such as polyurethane for example into the mold, to thereby mold the rubber part  200 . Thus, the roller  10  is fabricated having a structure in which the rubber part  200  is fitted into the roller body part  100 . The entire body of the rubber part  200 , that is, the rubber body part  201 , the side extending part  203 , and the outer circumferential part  205  of the rubber part  200  are integrally molded. After removing the roller  10  from the mold, required steps are performed such as a polishing step of polishing the outer circumference of the rubber part  200  and an assembly step of forming an assembly by making the shaft pass through the roller  10 . 
     In the roller  10  of this embodiment, the roller body part  100  and the rubber part  200  are not fixed to each other by an adhesive agent. Namely, in the fabrication step of the roller  10  of this embodiment, prior to the step of pouring the rubber material into the mold, it is not necessary to previously apply the adhesive agent onto the surface in contact with the rubber part  200  of the roller body part  100 . 
     The fabrication method of fixing the roller body part and the rubber part by the adhesive agent, is given as a comparative embodiment. In the comparative embodiment, it is necessary to provide the step of applying the adhesive agent onto the surface in contact with the rubber part of the roller body part. In this embodiment, such an adhesive agent application step is not required, and therefore the fabrication step of the roller can be simplified. 
     In the roller  10  of this embodiment, although the rubber part  200  and the roller body part  100  are not adhered to each other, the deviation or the fall-off of the roller body part  100  from the rubber part  200  can be suppressed, because the side extending part  203  is provided as described above. 
     In this embodiment, the rubber part  200  and the roller body part  100  are not adhered to each other. Therefore, there is an advantage as follows: if a failure occurs in the rubber part  200  in the molding step, a poor rubber part  200  can be easily removed from the roller body part  100 , and the roller body part (metal core)  100  can be reused. 
     In this embodiment, the recess portion such as a groove  103 , etc., is formed in the roller body part  100 , and the side extending part  203 , etc., is provided to suppress the deviation or the fall-off of the rubber part  200 . Such a recess portion can be easily formed by a normal mechanical machining, similarly to forming the recess portion originally formed in the roller body part  100 , such as a notch  101  into which the main part of the rubber body part  201  is fitted. 
     For example, the hole  106  into which the protrusion  206  of the outer circumferential part  205  is fitted, can be formed on the side edge portion of the large diameter part  115  by forming a (circular) hole extending in the thickness direction, using a drill or the like, so as to communicate with the inner surface of the recess portion  105  into which the outer circumferential part  205  is fitted, along the outer circumference of the roller. 
     Such a hole  106  formed on the side edge portion of the large diameter part  115  extending in the thickness direction, is the hole having a constant thickness if viewed in the thickness direction of the roller. However, if viewed in the radial direction of the roller, this is a recess portion having a structure in which the thickness becomes larger toward the inside. Therefore, the protrusion  206  fitted into the hole  106  has a structure in which the thickness becomes larger toward the inside (radial direction side) of the roller body part  100 . Thus, the protrusion  206  can be hardly pulled-off radially outward. 
     To summarize the above description schematically, it can be considered that in the roller  10  of this embodiment, the rubber part  200  is configured so that the protrusion  202  of the rubber body part  201 , the side extending part  203 , and the protrusion  206  of the outer circumferential part  205 , are added to the main part of the rubber body part  201  and the main part of the outer circumferential part  205  which are provided for activate the roller as a feed roller, as structures for suppressing the deviation or the fall-off of the rubber part  200 , and particularly the deviation or the fall-off of the rubber body part  201 . 
     Although the side extending part  203  has the effect of suppressing the deviation or the fall-off of the rubber body part  201  by the main part only, such an effect can be increased by further having the protrusion  204 . Also, by forming the side extending part  203  into a ring shape, such an effect can be increased. 
     The outer circumferential part  205  is not required to be provided depending on a specification of the feed roller. When the outer circumferential part  205  is not provided, the structure of the roller body part  100  and the rubber part  200  in the large diameter part  115  can be a similar structure as the large diameter part  111  (in a symmetric relationship with the large diameter part  111 ) for example. The side extending part  203  of the rubber part  200  can also be provided on the side face of the large diameter part  115  side, similarly to the side face of the large diameter part  111  side. The side extending part  203  is not necessarily required to be provided on both side faces of the roller  10 , and may be provided at least one side face. 
     Further, the outer circumferential part  205  may be provided in a ring shape over the whole circumference of the roller  10 , or may be provided at a part of the roller  10  in the circumferential direction, or may be provided on a plurality of large diameter parts. When the outer circumferential part  205  is provided, the main part itself of the outer circumferential part  205  can be considered as the structure of suppressing the deviation or the fall-off of the rubber body part  201 . 
     It is also acceptable that the side extending part  203  is formed as needed on the side face of the roller at the side where the outer circumferential part  205  is provided. 
     It is also acceptable that the roller structure provided with the large diameter part and the small diameter part as shown in this example, has another aspect in which the side extending part  203  is provided on the inside face of the large diameter part, other than the aspect of the abovementioned embodiment in which it is provided on the outside face of the roller. However, the fabrication is easier in the case of providing the side extending part  203  on the outside face of the roller, than the case of providing it on the inside face of the large diameter part of the roller. 
     It is not always necessary to add the abovementioned all structures as the structure of suppressing the deviation or the fall-off of the rubber body part  201 , and a preferable structure can be suitably selected and added. 
     In the abovementioned embodiment, explanation is given for a case that the fabrication method of forming the rubber part  200  is provided by pouring the rubber material over the roller body part  100 . However, it is also acceptable to employ a fabrication method of fitting the rubber part  200  into the roller body part  100  from outside as a separate body, as needed. However, it becomes difficult to fit the already molded rubber part  200  into the roller body part  100  from outside, by providing various structures of suppressing the deviation or the fall-off of the rubber part  200 . Accordingly, it is easy and preferable to employ the fabrication method of molding the rubber part  200  by pouring the rubber material over the roller body part  100 . 
     In the abovementioned embodiment, the feed roller used for the paper sheet separation mechanism is given for an example. However, the technique of suppressing the deviation or the fall-off of the rubber part described in the abovementioned embodiment, can be widely applied to the roller configured to have the rubber part on the outer circumference of the roller body part. For example, this technique can be applied to a pick-up roller, etc., used for the paper sheet separation mechanism. 
     The abovementioned embodiment shows an example of the roller structure in which the large diameter part and the small diameter part are provided. However, the abovementioned structure of suppressing the deviation or the fall-off of the rubber part, can also be provided to the roller having a structure in which the diameter is constant and the large diameter part and the small diameter part are not provided, depending on the specification of the roller. 
     The roller may have other structure (such as a counterbore part and the through hole, etc.) for satisfactorily functioning the roller, depending on the specification. 
     The present invention has been described above based on embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, it is obvious for a skilled person, that various modifications, improvement, and a combination, etc. can be acceptable.