Patent Grant
8650924
The invention relates to a bearing block assembly for bearing a pair of rollers which enclose a nip, at one end of said pair, comprising two bearing blocks, each of which is intended for bearing a respective roller and which are provided with supporting elements for supporting in a frame, which bearing blocks each have a bearing aperture with a centre line or axis, support means by means of which the bearing blocks are supported next to one another in such a manner that the centre lines or axes of the bearing apertures extend parallel and at a distance from one another, as well as adjusting means by means of which the mutual distance between the centre lines or axes can be adjusted.
Such a bearing block assembly is known, inter alia, from DE-A-4034796. The bearing blocks thereof each have a rolling bearing by means of which an end of a roller is rotatably supported. The bearing blocks of each bearing assembly can be adjusted with respect to one another by moving them closer together or further apart. As a result thereof, the gap or nip between the rollers can be adjusted. In this case, the reliefs on the rollers in the form of elevations and/or depressions are at such a distance with respect to one another that the desired operation on a strip of material can be carried out, such as providing ridges, cuts or other surface structures.
With a view to ensuring the desired accuracy of such structures, it has to be possible to adjust and fix the rollers, and thus the bearing blocks, accurately with respect to one another. According to the prior art, as known from DE-A-4034796, this is achieved by means of an eccentric mechanism by means of which one of the rollers is suspended in a bearing block. It is also known, for example, to use screw spindles or hydraulic adjustment devices and tensioning devices, respectively. Such adjustment devices are relatively expensive; in addition, handling the bearing blocks and fixing them in the final position is labour-intensive.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a bearing block assembly of the abovementioned type which is simpler to use and which can nevertheless also ensure the desired accurate position of the rollers with respect to one another. This object is achieved by the fact that the support means comprise a spring structure which is situated between the bearing blocks and which cooperates with both bearing blocks and which is elastically deformable during adjustment of the mutual distance between the centre lines or axes.
With the bearing block assembly according to the invention, the bearing blocks t are connected to one another by the elastic structure or spring structure. This elastic structure may form an integral part of the bearing blocks, such as for example obtained by treating a block-shaped or plate-shaped metal material. However, the elastic structure can also be welded onto the bearing blocks in order to form an integral part thereof. A significant advantage of such an embodiment in a single entity of the bearing blocks is the greater stability thereof compared to two separate, mechanically coupled bearing blocks as was customary. The production of the bearing blocks, in particular the bearing apertures thereof, can also be accurately carried out very accurately in such a manner that the mutual position thereof can be accurately established. A further advantage is the fact that fewer components are required in order to produce the bearing block assembly, resulting in lower costs.
In addition, according to a further alternative, the elastic structure can be rigidly connected to both bearing blocks, for example by means of bolt connections. Combinations of such embodiments are also possible, such as an elastic structure which is formed as a single part with one of the bearing blocks from one and the same body and which is rigidly connected to the other bearing block by welding or a bolt connection and the like. Furthermore, a combination of a welded connection and a rigid bolt connection is possible.
Preferably, it is provided that the bearing blocks and the elastic structure all form part of an integrally formed bearing body which is made from metal material and which, in the area situated between the bearing apertures thereof, comprises slots which open on opposite surfaces, viewed in the direction of the centre lines or axes, of the bearing body. In this case, the slots are formed and positioned in such a manner that they enclose one or more leaf springs which provide the desired elasticity. The metal material is preferably steel, but other materials, such as aluminium, can also be used for the bearing body.
The elastic structure can be configured in different ways by providing apertures which extend through the entire thickness of the bearing body, between the opposite main surfaces thereof, viewed in the direction of the centre lines or axes. In this connection, preferably several mutually overlapping slots are provided. In particular, the slots can open on a side, viewed in the direction at right angles to the centre lines or axes, of the bearing body. Preferably, there are two mutually separate slots, one of which opens on one side and the other opens on the other side, viewed in the direction at right angles to the centre lines or axes, of the bearing body in the central area thereof. These slots, each of which opens on one side of the bearing block, are preferably in line with one another and may be separated by a wall.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment, there is at least one central slot which overlaps the slots opening on both sides of the bearing body, which central slot is completely enclosed by the bearing body, viewed in the direction at right angles to the centre lines or axes. By means of such an assembly of continuous slots, an elastic leaf spring is as it were formed in the area between both bearing apertures of the bearing body which elastic leaf spring is elastically deformed when adjusting the mutual position of the bearing blocks. Due to the stiffness of the leaf spring in the direction parallel to the slots and/or in the direction from the one exit to the opposite exit of the slots, the stability of the bearing blocks with respect to one another is guaranteed. In those directions, the stiffness is relatively high, as the leaf spring only provides flexibility in that direction which is directed from the one bearing block to the other. Furthermore, the torsional stiffness of this embodiment of the bearing block assembly is high, about an axis at right angles to the two centre lines or axes and situated in the plane defined by said lines.
A particularly simple embodiment is obtained if the slots are all straight and mutually parallel. In particular, the two slots opening on the sides may be equal in length. A reliable and uniform possibility of adjusting the mutual distance of the bearing blocks is achieved if the pattern as determined by the slots is symmetrical with respect to a plane of symmetry which coincides with the two centre lines or axes.
With a view to adjusting the mutual distance of the bearing blocks with respect to one another, the support means may comprise an adjustment mechanism which cooperates with at least one of the slots for adjusting the mutual position of the bearing blocks while elastically deforming the elastic structure. Said adjustment mechanism may, for example, be configured as an eccentric which is situated in a slot and is adjustable in order to influence the width of the slot.
After the width of the slot has been adjusted, the resulting mutual distance between the bearing blocks can be established. In this connection, the support means may comprise a locking by means of which the bearing blocks can be locked at a set mutual distance with respect to one another. For example, the locking means may comprise at least one filling element which is situated in a slot. The filling elements may have different thicknesses or may also have several filling elements which together have a desired thickness and are used to lock the mutual distance between the bearing blocks.
In this case, it is furthermore possible to ensure that the set position is maintained by pushing the bearing blocks in the direction towards one another. In this connection, at least one clamping element may be present for keeping the bearing blocks pushed towards one another while clamping the at least one filling element.
The bearing blocks of a known configuration may be suspended in the frame of a machine using suspension means intended for the purpose. The bearing block assembly according to the invention may be used accordingly in such a machine, as long as it has also been provided with such suspension means.
In general, the bearing block assembly can also be characterized by means of the elastic properties thereof in an orthogonal coordinate system. The bearing block assembly is then determined by a coordinate system, the x axis of which runs parallel to the centre lines or axes, the z axis runs at right angles to both axes and is in a plane through or parallel to said centre lines or axes, and the y axis runs at right angles to the x axis and the z axis, wherein the spring structure is relatively elastic regarding mutual displacements of the bearing blocks with respect to one another according to the z axis and regarding rotations of both bearing blocks with respect to one another about the x axis and the y axis, and wherein the spring structure is relatively stiff according to mutual rotations of the bearing blocks with respect to one another according to the z axis and regarding displacements of the bearing blocks with respect to one another according to the x axis and the y axis. The invention furthermore relates to a bearing body for the above-described bearing block assembly. In addition, the invention relates to a machine for treating a strip of material, such as cardboard and the like, comprising a frame having two spaced-apart positioning locations for a bearing block assembly as well as a bearing block assembly at each positioning location, the suspension means of which cooperate with supports on the respective positioning location.
Next, the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an exemplary embodiment, illustrated in the figures, of the bearing block assembly, the bearing body and a rolling machine comprising such bearing block assemblies.
The machine illustrated in
At one end of the rollers 6, the gearbox 7 is located, via which the rollers 6 can be driven in the opposite direction at an even speed of revolution, so that a strip of material (not shown) can be passed through the nip 8 between the rollers 6. The rollers 6 may be provided with reliefs and depressions (not shown) in connection with providing ridges, cuts and the like in the strip of material. The electric motor 9 serves to drive the rollers 6 via the gearbox 7.
As mentioned above, the rollers 6 are each supported in a bearing block assembly 3 which is shown on a larger scale in
The illustrated exemplary embodiment comprises two different types of slots. The slots 14 are separated by a wall 17, and open on opposite transverse sides of the bearing block assembly 3. In addition, the slots 14 are in line with one another. A central slot 15 which does not open on one of the transverse sides extends parallel thereto and is closed on all sides. However, all slots 14, 15 open on the opposite main surfaces 16 of the bearing block assembly 3. Although the illustrated exemplary embodiment shows a total of three slots, different numbers of slots are also possible.
The bearing body 18, which does not comprise more than the integrally formed bearing blocks 10 and the elastic structure 13, is part of the bearing block assembly. In the slot 15, in particular in the recessed portion 19 thereof, an eccentric 20 is present by means of which the width of the slot, viewed in the direction from the one axis to the other axis, can be adjusted in which case the leaf springs 30 are then bent. As a result of this setting of the width of the slot 15, the upper boundary thereof will become more or less convex, as a result of which the width of the slots 14, in particular on the opening ends thereof, is also affected. By operating the eccentric 20 in the desired manner, the mutual distance between the axes 12 can be influenced, which results in the fact that the magnitude of the nip 8 between the rollers can be adjusted.
After the width of the slots 14, 15 has thus been adjusted with a view to achieving the desired size of the slot 8, the filling means 21 are placed in the slots 14. Said filling means ensure that the mutual distance between the axes 12 is maintained, even when the eccentric 20 returns to its rest position. With a view to establishing and fixing this position of the bearing blocks 10 with respect to one another, the clamping means 22 illustrated in
In the above, an embodiment has been described in which the bearing block assembly is mounted by means of a shoulder 27. However, the bearing block assembly according to the invention can also be accommodated in the machine in another way, without the use of such a shoulder. Thus, the bearing block assembly can, for example by means of the bottom bearing block, be securely anchored to the frame of the machine.
The bearing block assembly according to the invention can also be characterized by its mechanical properties with respect to the orthogonal coordinate system with x, y and z axes, as is illustrated in
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|---|---|---|---|
| 2005046 | Jul 2010 | NL | national |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20120006653 A1 | Jan 2012 | US |
