Title of Invention

"APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING A MATERIAL WEB"

Abstract

An apparatus (1) for processing a material web (8) comprises a stationary mating roller (6), a working roller (5) and a pressing device (2) by means of which the working roller (5) can be pressed against the mating roller (6) along a contact zone (7). The working roller {5) comes to contact on its peripheral area opposite the contact zone (7) against a pressing body (4) and a supporting component (3). The displaceable working roller (5) is connected to a drive (9) and forms a peripheral drive for the mating roller (6) mounted to revolve with it, wherein the working roller (5) in its driven and pressed-against position drives the material web (8) through the contact zone (7). The supporting component (3) is located in front of the contact zone (7) in the area between the latter and the pressing body (4). The entering of the web (8) into the contact zone (7) is provided between the supporting component (3) and me mating roller (6).

Full Text

1. Field of the Invention The invention concerns an apparatus for processing a material web comprising a stationary backing roller extending the length of the device, a working roller which can be displaced to press against the latter and has a small diameter in relation to the backing roller diameter, a pressing device by means of which the working roller can be pressed against the backing roller along a contact zone, which is continuous over the working width and allows the material web to pass through it, wherein the pressing device has a pressing body with a pressing surface, against which the working roller comes to lie on its peripheral area opposite the contact zone, and a supporting element, arranged separately from the pressing body, with a support body surface, on which the working roller comes to lie during the pressing operation. Such apparatuses are used particularly as dyeing devices for squeezing, i.e. for the dehydration and dyeing of webs saturated with dye, so-called padding machines. 2. Prior Art An apparatus of this type is familiar from EP 0 534 930. Here both a stationary and a moving bearing bed are each provided with at least one cylindrical pressing body for the pressure application of a working roller, which is conceived as a revolving roller driven by a fixed mating roller. The stationary pressing body is a supporting body, which operates as a passive counterpressure or backing body against the pulling power exercised by the mating roller on the working roller. Such a familiar arrangement can result in disadvantageous spline effects and forces operating between the pressing/supporting bodies. The running of the working roller is impaired, and problems with reproducing working conditions can occur. The attempt has been made to counteract such disadvantageous effects by providing the beds of the bearings with elastic bolsters and deflection-controlled rollers. DE-U-296 19695 suggests arrang- ing the working roller so that it is displaceable in the contact position with thiee degrees of freedom, whereby a pressing body needs to be provided with a bearing bed with which the working roller meshes, A stationary backing or mating roller forms a drive roller to make possible the motional bearing of the pressing body in combination with the working roller, In the event of only a slight frictional force operating in the contact zone, in addition the working roller needs to be driven. Such a device achieves an automatic adjustment of the working roller to the operating conditions. In some cases, however, problems will occur with regard to reproducible processing results. With yet another apparatus (US 2 878 778) a web is fed between two pressure rollers. Each pressure roller is mounted on a pair of backing or mating rollers. One of the pressure rollers and the mating rollers are driven. The construction of the device is costly. The variety of rollers causes problems with regard to setting, reproducibility and cleaning. 3. Objects of the Invention In contrast to prior art, the present invention has as its major object to alleviate said problems and to improve apparatus of the described type for processing material webs. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to make such improvements with regard to simplicity of construction, assembly and serviceability, adjustability, operational function and results, and system cleaning. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In an apparatus comprising a stationary backing or mating roller (the rerm mating roller being used in this context hereinbelow); a displaceable working roller arranged to press against the mating roller in a contact zone upon being charged with pressure force and having a smaller diameter than the mating roller, with the contact zone being continuous over a desired work¬ing width and allowing the web to pass through it; a pressing device including a pressing body with a pressing surface to engage the working roller on a peripheral area thereof which is on the roller's side opposite the contact zone; and a supporting element separated from the press¬ing body and having a support body surface to engage the working roller during the pressing operation; these objects are achieved in that the displaceable working roller is connected to a roller drive and forms a peripheral drive for the revolving mating roller, whereby the working roller in its driven and pressed-against position drives the material web through the contact zone, the supporting element, viewed in the direction of rotation of the working roller, is located in the area between the latter and the pressing body and the feed-in of the web into the contact zone is provided between the supporting element and the mating roller. An essential measure consists in the fact that the working roller, whose diameter is small in relation to the diameter of the mating roller, forms the direct motive source of the device in such a way that the mating roller is only made to revolve via the web without being self-propelled. The supporting element is provided on the side of the device facing the web feed-in, independent of the pressing facility/device, in the area between rhe latter and the mating roller. This arrangement of the supporting element in from of the contact zone helps the operation of the working roller, which can be moved in the direction of contact and essentially perpendicular to this, to remain stable. In addition propulsion by means of the small roller ensures a parti¬cularly quiet and stable operation of the rollers. Owing to the arrangement of the supporting element in combination with the self-drive of the displaceable working roller and the pick-up of the mating roller, dynamic effects are reduced on the supporting element. It is likewise ad¬vantageous that, viewed from the direction of rotation of the working roller, the peripheral area of the same remains free behind the contact zone towards the pressing facility. This makes assembly and cleaning considerably easier. A particularly advantageous embodiment consists in the pressing body and the supporting element being constructed as an L-shape, when viewed in front sectional view, with flat sliding surfaces arranged at least approximately at right angles to each other. This arrange¬ment is advantageously so provided that the lines of contact on the working roller, viewed from the direction of rotation of the roller and proceeding from the line of contact on the pressing body, come to lie at peripheral angle intervals of approx. 90°, 90°, 180°. This also ; allows an operation which is particularly low on wear and friction to achieve an optimum reduction of surfaces sliding against each other. It is particularly useful, especially in connection with the aforesaid embodiments, that the axles of the working roller and mating roller lie on the same, at least approximately horizontal plane, the web runs from bottom to top and the working roller comes to lie at least with the greatest part of its own weight on the support body surface. It is useful for this device arrange¬ment in particular that the pressing body is constructed as a plate which can be inserted and removed between the working roller and a pressure generating device of the pressing device on the side of the apparatus including the web delivery. It is particularly advantageous, too, if the pressing body is arranged so that it is displaceable with at least two degrees of freedom for applying pressure, while at the same time being supported on a stationary element between the pressure generating device and the working roller. Thus, operational positioning and mo¬tional stability are achieved for a broad spectrum of applications and settings. Especially in combination with the horizontal arrangement of working roller and mating roller, the pressing body can usefully lie against the apex of the working roller, which is de¬termined by the distance from the axle of the mating roller A - d +• D/2, with d * the working roller diameter and D - the mating roller diameter. It is particularly advantageous, however, that the pressing body, viewed in the direction of rotation of the working roller, lies in front of the said working roller apex, but in proximity to it. Thus the distance, measured in a straight line, between the pressing body point of contact and the mating roller point of contact at least approximately conforms to the working roller diameter. It is particularly advantageous, espe¬cially in combination with this arrangement, if the support body surface of the supporting element and the imaginary tangential surface, which is determined by the tangent of contact shared by the two rollers, are aligned at an angle ex ≤ 90°. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which schematically show a pre¬ferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what now are con¬sidered to be the best modes contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the scope of the appended claims. In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a profile cross-section of a device according to the invention in the working position, Fig. 2 is a profile cross-section of another device according to the invention in the working position and Fig. 3 shows, in the form of a diagram, a device according to the invention in conjunction with a compensator roller control system. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Devices 1 according to the invention (dyeing machines), according to Figs. 1 to 3, comprise a stationary support beam 13 fixed to the machine and continuous over the length of the device, a pressing facility 2 located thereon, a plate-like supporting element 3 likewise located there¬on, a stationary mating roller 6 located on the machine and extending the length of the device and a working roller 5 which can be displaced to press against the latter and has a small dia¬meter d in relation to the mating roller diameter D. The supporting element 3 engages beneath the working roller 5, whereby the latter lies on a flat sliding support body surface 30 of the supporting element 3. The pressing facility 2 has a plate-like pressing body 4, continuous over the length of the de¬vice, which is fitted with a flat sliding pressing surface 40 which comes to lie against the working roller 5. By means of the pressing facility 2 the working roller 5 can be pressed against the mating roller 6 along a contact zone 7 through which the material web 8 passes so that the web 8 can be squeezed. The surface of the working roller 5 should be rubberized pre¬ferably. The core of the roller 6 consists preferably of stainless steel. The surface may be chromed, for example, or be fitted with an elastic shell made of plastic, rubber or similar material. The working roller 5 is displaceable in all directions transversely to the length of the device and is connected at the front with a roller drive 9 comprising a drive motor via a cardan shaft 91, which does not impede the transverse movement. In contrast, the stationary mating roller 6 lacking propulsion can be rotated around its axle 60 and is mounted on a frame not depicted. In contact position it is solely the working and drive roller 5 that conducts the material web 8 through the slit between the squeezing rollers comprising the contact 2one 7, At the same time, the mating roller 6 is made to revolve by means of the working roller 5. In the embodiment example according to Fig. 1 and in the diagrammatic illustration of Fig. 3 the axle 50 of the working roller 5 and the axle 60 of the mating roller 6 lie on the same horizontal plane 100. At the same time the support body surface 30 of the supporting element 3 extends parallel to the horizontal plane 100. The flat pressing surface 40 of the pressing body 4 is aligned vertically to the support body surface 30. Consequently the working roller 5 is located in a retainer, L-shaped in profile, with a pressing surface 40 that .can be moved to press against the rear wall 130 of the support beam 13. This pressing surface 40 lies against the apex 51 of the working roller 5, which is determined by the distance A = d + D/2 from the axle 60 of the mating roller 6, where d is the external diameter of the working roller 5 and D the external diameter of the mating roller 6. The diameter d of the working roller, for example, is roughly half as large as the diameter D of the mating roller 6. It can be seen that, given such a dimensioning in conjunction with the roller arrangement described, the supporting element support body surface 30 extends trans¬versely to the peripheral area 61 of the mating roller 6 spanning the area of the feed-in or supply of the material web 8. At the same time, the support body surface 30 and rhe imaginary tangential surface 71, which is determined by the tangent of contact shared by the two rollers 5, 6 in contact position, are aligned at an angle a ≤ 90°. In this way the working roller 5 in the contact-free position comes to lie with its own weight against the support body surface 30. With the embodiment example according to Fig, 2 also, the take-up and operating space for the working roller 5 is determined by an L-shaped arrangement of the sliding surfaces 40,30 of the pressing body 4 and the supporting element 3. In contrast to the device in Fig. 1, the L-arrangement is in a tilted position at a tilt angle fi to the horizontal plane 100, on which the roller axle 60 is located. The main operating plane 200 conceived for the pressing facility 2, on which the axle 50 of the working roller 5 is located and which extends parallel to the sup¬port body surface 30, is inclined downwards with the relatively small angle 13 vis-a-vis the horizontal plane 100, for example in the order of magnitude of 5' to 7°, In regular contact position the pressing surface 40 is aligned vertically to the support body surface 30. The associated regular line of contact 400, which extends the length of the device, is located at that moment on the plane 200. As can be seen from Fig. 2, the effective lines of contact 400,700 along the working roller 50 are also located at least approximately at the distance of the diameter d with the arrangement in tilted position and with an inclined plane 200. At the same time, the line of contact 400, viewed from the direction of rotation r of the working roller 5, lies in front of and in proxim- ity to the working roller apex 51, whose position is determined by the distance A - d + D/2 from the axle 60. Because of the arrangement described the angle a corresponding to the peripheral angle T between the apex 51 and the regular line of contact 400 is smaller than 90". As depicted in Fig. 2, it is particularly advantageous that the pressing body 4 arranged so that it can be tilted against the tube elements 21 and the working roller 5 can be conceived as a plate which can be freely inserted and extracted from above and be equipped for this purpose with one or more handles 41 hatched in the drawing. As can be seen from Figs. 1 and 2, the working roller 5 may be comfortably handled for inser¬tion and extraction through the space open from above between the pressing facility 2 and the mating roller 6. Thus, the pressing facility 2 needs only be operated without pressure, without any displacement or movement of the support beam 13 being required, since the opening be¬tween the pressing body 4 and the mating roller 6 conforms to the internal diameter d of the working roller 5, Conventional movable support beams become superfluous, The pressing facility 2 usefully comprises a pressure generating facility 20 with pressure hose elements 21 distributed along the length of the device over the working width. These form contact zones covering the entire working width in rows. Each tube element is connected with a source, not depicted in the drawing, which provides a pressure medium, e.g, compressed air. With the selected pressurization of the tube elements 21, the desired contact pressure will occur over the working width. The tube elements 21 are arranged between the stationary rear wall 130 of the support beam 13 and the rear surface of the pressing body 4, as can be seen from Figs, 1 and 2. According to Fig. 1 the wall 130 is the floor of a guide retainer for the pressing body 4, U-shaped in profile. Consequently this can only be translated along the guide surface 301 corresponding to the support body surface 30. As depicted in Fig. 2, however, it is particularly advantageous for pressing against to arrange the pressing body 4 so that it is displaceable with at least two degrees of freedom between the pressure hose elements 21 and the working roller 5. At the same time the pressing body 4 is formed by a plate-like beam continuous over the working width, which is positioned so that it can be tilted at its lower longitudinal edge 43 on the support/guide body surface 301 protrud- ing from the support beam 13. As a result of this arrangement, the pressing body 4 can auto¬matically align its flat pressing surface 40 against the working roller 5 in combination with the tube arrangement described. In operating mode any deviations from the regular contact position are compensated for, with the deviations being counteracted. With one embodiment example, depicted in Fig. 3, seen from the direction of the web move¬ment B, a familiar compensator roller control system 80 is provided behind the mating roller 6. A device of this type is a useful and advantageous component of the devices in Figs. 1 and 2. It includes a pivotally mounted roller 83 and optionally a driven deflection and slip roller 84. The web 8 is conducted over the roller 84 and the roller 83 acts upon the web 8 on the sec¬tion between the mating roller 6 and the guide roller 84. In the device according to the invention, in contrast to normal systems of this type, the arrangement 80 does not control the web tension, but rather only controls the continued con¬veyance of the web 8 behind the roller 84. As a particularly useful embodiment of the device 1 according to the invention the arrangement 80 constitutes an advantageous auxiliary facility in combination with the device 1. In this way the arrangement 80 may be set, if required, in such a way that the conveyance of the web 8 through the contact zone 7 and the subsequent continued conveyance of the web 8 until separation from the roller 6 occur without any tensile stress being caused. This is achieved in combination with the drive contact pressure, which is effected by the axial drive 9 acting upon the displaceable working roller 5 and which in the /course of the power transfer from the working roller 5 via the contact zone 7 operates through the web 8 onto the roller 6 or rather the section of web partly wrapped around the latter. Thus the exclusive induction of the drive power provided according to the invention from the work¬ing roller 5 to the revolving movement of the roller 6 is achieved in an optimum manner WE CLAIM: 1. Apparatus (1) for processing a material web (8), comprising a stationary mating roller (6) extending the length of the apparatus, a working roller (5) adapted to be displaced to press against the latter and having a small diameter (d) in relation to the mating roller diameter (D), a pressing device (2) by means of which the working roller (5) can be pressed against the mating roller (6) along a contact zone (7), which is continuous over the working width and allows the material web (8) to pass through it, wherein the pressing device (2) has a pressing body (4) with a pressing surface (40), against which the working roller (5) comes to contact on its peripheral area opposite the contact zone (7), and a supporting component (3), arranged separately from the pressing body (4), with a support body surface (30), on which the working roller (5) comes to lie, characterized in that the displaceable working roller (5) is connected to a drive (9) not affecting the transversal movability of the working roller (5) and forms a peripheral drive for the mating roller (6) mounted to revolve with it, wherein the working roller (5) in its driven and pressed-against position drives the material web(8) through the contact zone (7), the supporting component (3), viewed in the direction of rotation (r) of the working roller (5), is located in front of the contact zone (7) in the area between the latter and the pressing body (4), and the entering of the web (8) into the contact zone (7) is provided between the supporting component (3) and the mating roller (6). 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting element (3) is provided with a support surface (30), which extends transverse to the peripheral area (61) of the mating roller (6) extending in the area of the web entrance. 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the supporting component (3) is provided with a flat support surface (30). 4. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pressing body (4) is provided with a flat pressing surface (40). 5. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the supporting component (3) and the pressing body (4) have flat surfaces (30; 40), which are arranged at least approximately at right angles to each other. 6. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the pressing body (4) lies against the apex (51) of the working roller (5), which is determined by the distance A = d + D/2 from the axle (60) of the mating roller (6), wherein d is the diameter of the working roller (5) and D the diameter of the mating roller (6). 7. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the pressing surface (40) of the pressing body (4) is arranged and aligned in such a way that it lies against the working roller (5), viewed in the direction of rotation (r) of the same, in front of the working roller apex (51), which is determined by the distance A = d +D/2, with d = the working roller diameter and D = the mating roller diameter, from the axle (60) of the mating roller (6), wherein the pressing body surface (40) lies against the working roller (5) in proximity to the said apex (51). 8. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the support body surface (30) of the supporting component (3) and the imaginary tangential face (71), which is determined by the tangent of contact shared by the two rollers (5, 6) when in pressing contact, are aligned at an angle a £ 90°, wherein the distance, measured in a straight line, between the contact point of the pressing body (4), on the one hand, and the contact point of the mating roller (6), on the other, at least approximately corresponds to the diameter (d) of the working roller (5). 9. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the mating roller (6), the pressing body (4) and the supporting component (3) are arranged in such a way that the working roller (5) comes to lie with at least the greatest part of its own weight on the support body surface (30). 10. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the axles (50, 60) of the working roller (5) and the mating roller (6) lie in a common, at least approximately horizontal plane (10), wherein the web runs in a direction (B) from bottom to top and in the operating condition the working roller (5) rests on the support body surface (30) located below it. 11. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein it comprises a compensator roller control system (80) which acts upon the web (8) running off the mating roller (6), and is adapted to move the web (8) through the contact zone (7) and subsequently along the stretch of web lying against the mating roller (6) without causing tensile stress in the web (8) in the case of the peripheral drive of the mating roller (6) being effected by the driving working roll (5). 12. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the pressing body (4) for exerting pressure is arranged to be movable with at least two degrees of freedom between a pressure generating device (20) and the working roller (5). 13. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein a pressure generating device (20) of the pressing device (2) has at least one pressure tube element (21) operating against the pressing body (4) and extending lengthwise along the working width. 14. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the pressing body (4) of the pressing device (2) is constructed and arranged as a plate, which, viewed in relation to the working direction of rotation (r) in the area of the pressed- against plate, is adapted to be installed and removed through the empty space (120) both in front of the plate contact point (400) and above the working roller (5).

Documents:

766-del-1999-abstract.pdf

766-del-1999-claims.pdf

766-del-1999-correspondence-others.pdf

766-del-1999-correspondence-po.pdf

766-del-1999-description (complete).pdf

766-del-1999-drawings.pdf

766-del-1999-form-1.pdf

766-del-1999-form-19.pdf

766-del-1999-form-2.pdf

766-del-1999-form-3.pdf

766-del-1999-form-4.pdf

766-del-1999-form-6.pdf

766-del-1999-gpa.pdf

766-del-1999-petition-137.pdf

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