Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Live roll
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-17
2003-01-07
Bidwell, James R. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Live roll
C198S781070, C198S781110, C198S791000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06502690
ABSTRACT:
The invention pertains to a driving roll and specifically a driving roll or a driven roll for use in a roller conveyor or as a driven carrying roll for a belt conveyor.
Driving rolls such as those employed in roller conveyors or as carrying rolls in belt conveyors conventionally consist of a cylindrical roller body, which its terminated at both ends by a roller base. The roller bases contain the bearings for the seating of the driving rolls on a roller axis. In a driving roll or one driven roll, a roller base is generally designed as a driving member by means of which a driving force is transferred to the roll. Depending on their purpose, the driving rolls can be driven over belts, especially cogged belts or chains. In this case, depending on the selected driving means the driving member must be designed as a chain wheel or a toothed wheel for a cogged belt.
In addition, various possibilities are available to drive a multitude of driving rolls arranged in series. On the one hand, the possibility is available to drive all driving rolls tangentially over a continuous cogged belt or a continuous chain. On the other hand, the possibility of a drive from roller to roller is also possible. In the case of a drive from roller to roller, two rollers each are connected with each other via a cogged belt or a chain. This means that the driving members must include two chains or toothed wheels, one for the connection with the preceding roll and one for connection with the following roll.
These different driving possibilities imply a multitude of different design shapes of the driving members. For example, the driving members for the tangential drive using cogged belts must include a toothed wheel, for tangential drive using a chain, a chain wheel, for the drive using cogged belts from roll to roll two toothed wheels each and for the drive using a chain from roll to roll two chain wheels each. These four possibilities alone include four different driving members. Other variation possibilities of the driving members may result from different types of bearings.
Because of the multitude of differently designed driving members, the known driving rolls imply high manufacturing and warehousing costs for the availability of individual parts. In addition, the availability of replacement parts is problematic, since all types of driving members must be kept in storage to ensure availability of replacement parts.
The purpose of this invention is to create an improved driving roll, which because of its simplified design allows interaction with numerous different types of drives.
This task is resolved by means of a driving roll with the characteristics indicated in Claim
1
. The subclaims present advantageous design forms.
The universal coupling device of the drive roll according to the invention permits the variable installation of different drive wheels, without such implying changes of modifications to the roller base. All drive wheels have a standardized design such that they can be optionally connected with the driving roll. This modular design of the driving roll reduces the number of required individual parts for the implementation of the most diverse types of drives, so that the manufacturing and warehousing costs for the driving rolls can be reduced considerable.
In one of the first potential designs according to the invention the driving roll presents the coupling device an opening and a driving member inserted into the opening in the longitudinal direction of the roller, which extends in the longitudinal direction over the free end of the roller base and in at least two insertion positions, in which the driving rolls are inserted so far that they can be fastened to it. The fact that the driving roll is inserted at different lengths and can be fastened in these different insertion positions, makes it possible that this driving member can be used for the arrangement of two chain wheels or toothed wheels as well as for the arrangement of only one toothed wheel or chain wheel, since the extent of the driving member in the longitudinal direction of the roll can be modified to the pertinent toothed or chain wheel. Here, at least two different defined insertion positions are available. However, more than two predefined insertion positions can be provided or the driving member can be designed in such a manner that it can be fastened in a position inserted at any optional length in the driving roll. Thus different distances of the driving roll in the longitudinal direction of the roll can be reached over the free end of the roller base. However, in contrast with the known driving rolls no separate driving members are required. The driving member is merely positioned differently on the driving roll and then fastened. This construction eliminates the necessity of providing different driving members for the different types of drives.
Only one driving member is required, which can be used for a multitude of different types of drives. Depending on the desired type of drive, a different number of different drive wheels, such as toothed wheels or chain wheels, can be placed on the driving member. This reduction of the different number of individual parts also allows a reduction of the manufacturing costs, since only one driving member at a corresponding total number must be manufactured. In addition, the warehousing costs are greatly reduced and the supply of replacement parts is considerably simplified.
Advantageously the driving roll includes latching means for the fastening of the driving member at any of the at least two insert positions. Such latching means simplify the mounting of the driving member on the driving roll, since the driving member must merely be inserted in the opening in the base of the roll of the driving roll and is latched there in the desired position with the driving roll. Thus, no additional mounting parts or mounting steps for the fastening of the driving member to the driving roll are required. The latching means are preferably designed in the form of ring shaped latching protrusions on the inner side of the opening in the roll base and in the form of corresponding ring shaped grooves on the outside of the driving member. Several different latching grooves are arranged interspaced from each other on the surface of the driving member in order to ensure the latching of the driving member in the various desired insertion positions.
Preferably, the driving roll presents at the opening of the roll base a wedge shaped profile or a toothed profile, which meshes into the corresponding wedge profile or tooth profile of the driving member. Such a profile allows a reliable transfer of forces from the driving member to the driving roll. It is especially advantageously when the profile extends on the driving member in the longitudinal direction of the roll over the entire length of the driving member, so that for any insertion position the meshing of the wedge or tooth profile of the driving roll into the profile on the driving member is possible. This ensures a secure transfer of force independent of the insertion position.
Preferably the tooth profile on the driving member is designed corresponding to the profile of a cogged belt. Such a design makes the additional inclusion of a toothed wheel for the accommodation of a cogged belt on the driving member superfluous, the cogged belt can mesh directly with the profile arranged on the driving member. This signifies that the tooth profile on the driving member is used for the transfer of force from the cogged belt to the driving member as well as for the transfer of force from the driving member to the driving roll. Thus an additional reduction of components is achieved. In the event of a drive from roll to roll, i.e., two cogged belts mesh with each driving member, it is advantageous to place in the free area of the part extending away from the roller base a spacer, which divides the free area in two areas, on each of which a cogged belt runs. In this manner it can be ensured that despite the continuous toothed profile, the two cogged belts
Bidwell James R.
Coats & Bennett P.L.L.C.
Interroll Holding AG
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