US2138601A - Roller aligner - Google Patents

Description

Nov.29, 1938.v I K. L. 'HERRMANN I 2,138,601

J I I v ROLLER ALIGNER FiidNDec. 20, 1954 4 Sheet-Sheet 2 I\NVENITOR. llar/ L Her/mann- ATT Nov. 29, 1938. H-ERRMANN 2,138,601

ROLLER ALIGNER Filed Dec. 20, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 r 5 INVENTOR. 5E *1 lfar/ L Herr/170m 93 BY 8/ a WNEY Patented Nov. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE The Bantam Ball Bearing Company,

South Bend, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application December 20, 1934, Serial No. 758,355

8 Claims.

This application is a continuation in part, of my copending application, Serial No. 712,373, filed February 21, 1934, entitled Thrust bearings and relates to bearings for use in heavy duty machinery such, for example, as paper calenderlng machines, rolling mills and other machines having rollers on which a heavy load is exerted.

The principal object of my invention is to provide means which will compensate for deflection or misalignment of a roller, or a plurality of rollers, subjected to heavy loads to thus relieve the bearings therefor from strain and thrust usually imposed thereon.

A further object is to provide an anti-friction member interposed between a bearing supporting a. roller subjected to a heavy load such, for example, as a rolling mill roller or calendering machine roller, and a fixed support which will relieve the strain on the bearing due to deflection or end wise movement of the roller.

Another object is to provide in a machine having a roller subjected to heavy loads, a bearing for the roller and means associated with the bearing which will permit movement thereof relative to its support to relieve any strain imposed thereon due to deflection or end-wise movement of the roller.

Still another object is to provide ,a bearing which will compensate for the misalignment of 30 a plurality of rollers such as paper calendering rollers, and thus relieve the thrust imposed on the bearing for such rollers when they tend to shift end-wise due to an unleveled setting of the machine.

A further object is to provide a bearing which will permit the several rollers in a vertical stack to rotate freely in their bearings even though the vertical support for such rollers is out of perfect alignment or the longitudinal axes of the-rollers are not exactly horizontal or parallel.

Yet another object is, to provide in a calender stack a bearing interposed between the bottom roller and one of its supports which will permit of limited longitudinal movement of the roller relative to its support.

Further objects, and objects relating to details of construction and methods of manufac-.

bearing aligner interposed between the roller and.

a support therefor.

is an end elevational view of a calender Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the bearing aligner taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, certain of the parts being in full lines to bettershow the invention.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken. on the line 66 of Fig. 3, showing one of the rollers and the retainer therefor interposed between the calender roller bearing and the support therefor.

Fig. 7 shows the contact or wear plates set in the base and the bearing for the calender roller against which one of the aligning rollers is adapted to contact.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view showing the drive end of a calender roller taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is an end view of the modified form of bearing aligner,-,showing the bearing cage and bearing support in section.

Fig. 10 isa plan 'view of the bearing aligner taken on the line I 0|0 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a detailed sectional View taken on the broken line I Ill of Fig. 10.

Fig. 12-is an end view of another modified form of bearing aligner showing the bearing cage and bearing support in section...

Fig. 13 is a sectional view looking'in the same direction as Fig. 12, taken on the line I3I3 of Fig. 14.

Fig. 14 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line Mld of Fig. 12.

Fig. 15 is a diagrammatic sectional view showing the roller of the bearing aligner positioned between wear plates having fiat bearing faces.

Fig. 16 is a View similar to Fig. 15, showing wear plates having concave bearing faces.

Fig. '17 is a view similar to Fig. 15, showing wear plates having convex bearing faces.

Fig. 18 is a view similarto Fig. 15 in which an elliptical member is substituted for a roller.

Fig. 19 is a view similar to Fig. 16, including the elliptical member shown in Fig. 18.

Fig. 20 is a view similar to Fig. 17, including the elliptical member shown in Fig. 18.

In heavy duty machinery havingrollers subjected to heavy loads or thrusts, considerable difiiculty has been experienced in providing bearings for such rollers which will stand up in use because slight misalignment of the rollers or deflections thereof will impose thrust and strain on the bearings, causing them to fail aftera short period of time with the result that the expense,

of maintenance of such equipment is high and the loss of time in making repairs and replacement are considerable. To overcome these objections, I have provided an anti-friction member interposed between at least one of the bearings the support therefor which will permit the bearfor the rollers subjected to the heavy-load and,

ing to have limited movement relative to the supports, thus compensating for either or both the axial thrust and the radial thrust imposed thereon.

In Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive of the drawings, I have shown my invention as incorporated in a paper calendering machine and will first proceed with the description of the invention as relating to that use. In paper calendering machines and other machines in which there are a plurality of horizontal rollers mounted one on top of the other; that is, in a vertical stack, it has been found extremely diflicult to set the frame or roller support with such accuracy that the bearings for the rollers will be in true alignment with the journals on the rollers. In such machines there are frequently from nine to thirteen rollers having diameters varying from fourteen inches to thirtytwo inches in the stack, the rollers being of a length of three feet to twelve feet, depending on the purpose for which the machine is used.

In such machines the work rollers are supported in radial bearings mounted in raceways formed in the supports and it is extremely difficult to set the supports in perfect alignment so that the raceways are parallel and as the supports are not tied together to prevent one or the other of them from getting out of alignment, the longitudinal axes of the roller bearings are not coincident with the longitudinal axesof the rollers. This will result in heavy loads being put on the bearings which will cause undue wear and early failure due either to deflection of the rollers or slight longitudinal movement thereof.

To counteract the forces to which the roller bearings are subjected, I have provided a bearing aligner interposed between the bottom roller and base of the support which will permit a slight end-wise movement of the roller to thus relieve the thrust put on the bearing for the roller, thus permitting normal operation of the same and prolonging the life thereof.' If desired, a roller aligner may be used under each bearing at the opposite ends of the bottom roller, or at one end only thereof.

While I have heretofore used the term roller bearing, I have referred to the radial bearing for supporting an end of the calender roller and have not referred to a type or design of bearing as distinguished from a different type such as a ball bearing.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, I have illustrated a paper calendering machine having side frame members l8 which are slotted at H to form raceways to receive the radial bearings l2 for a plurality of work rollers l3. The bottom roller M will be more particularly referred to later on in the description, As it is desirable to apply some pressure to the rollers when the paper is run between them, I have shown an adjusting wheel l5 connected by a suitable rod l6 to a lever pivoted at l8 tothe frame member ID, there being a screw l9 bearing against the block 20 which bears against the bearing |2 from the top roller l3, the pressure thereon being regulated by the handwheel I5. As the adjusting means of the calender roller forms no part of my invention, 'the same will not be described in further detail.

Each of the rollers I3 is, of course, supported :in suitable radial bearings |2 carried in the raceway I l in each of the frame members ID, the

bearings being of any suitable design satisfactory for the purpose for which they are used. The bottom roller I4 is reduced at 2| at each end thereof to provide journals mounted in suitable bearings, one of which is illustrated in Fig. 8. Also, the rollers may be rotated or driven by the pulley B mounted on the extended end of one of the journals 2|.

Referring particularly to Fig. 8, this bearing comprises an inner race member 22, an outer race member 23 between-which are interposed a plurality of rows of rollers 24 each carried in a suitable cage 25. The outer race member 23 is mounted in a cage 26 which is held against longitudinal movement by stop members 21 positioned on opposite sides of the frame member Ill and roller i4 relative to the frame member I0, I have provided an anti-friction member, before referred to as a bearing aligner, interposed between a bearing for the roller I4 and the support therefor, or at both ends of the roller l4, if desired, which will now be described in detail.

A plurality of recesses 32 and'33 are formed respectively in the cage 26 and the upper-face of the base of the frame ID in which are set hardened discs 34 and 35 (see Figs. 6 and Di ,Interposed between discs 34 and 35 are rollers 36 which are mounted in slots 31 formed in the retainer 38. An opening 39 is formed in the retainer 38 to receive a pin 48 which extends into an opening 4| formed in the frame member 1., The lower end of the pin is preferably round while the upper end thereof is rectangular and is provided with recesses 42 in the opposed faces thereof. Openings 43 are provided in the retainer 38 into which coil springs 44 are inserted to abut against the recesses 42 in the pin 40, as shown-in Figs. 4 and 5, the springs being held under compression by the screws 45. By this construction, the retainer 38 is maintained in a neutral position by the springs 44 but if the same is moved in either direction from its neutral position, it will move against the compression of one or the other of the springs. When the load which has caused the retainer 38 and the rollers 36 to shift from neutral position is removed, the retainer and rollers will return to neutral position, as shown in Fig. 4. It will thus be seen that as an end thrust is applied to the roller H to move it in an end-wise direction, the rollers 36'will permit a slight shifting of the roller relative to its end bearing and thus relieve any twisting or pinching of the hearing which would occur with-' out the use of the thrust bearing.

My invention finds utility in heavy duty machinery having one or more rollers spaced horizontally and is not confined to rollers mounted in a vertical stack as described in connection with paper calendering machines, it having been found that an equal advantage will be obtained by the use of my invention in connection with rollers which are subject to' deflection as well as, or instead of, end-wise movement.

In Figs. 9 to 11 inclusive, I have shown a modified form of my invention in which the frame of the machine 50 is provided with a wear plate 5| thereon and the bearing cage 52 is also provided with a wear plate 53 between which the bearing aligner is interposed. As illustrated, I have provided a pair of upstanding supports 54 on the plate 5| attached thereto by the bolts 55 which are journaled at 58 to receive outwardly extending bearing members 51 formed on the retainer 58. The retainer 58 is formed with a recess 59 therein to receive the roller 68. As it is desirable to provide the minimum contact between the roller 68 and the retainer 58, I, therefore, provide a plurality of pads or projections 6| thereon which contact only with the roller 8|]. The bearing members 51 mounted in the journals 58 in the mem bers or plates 54 prevent end-wise movement of the retainer 58 and the roller 60 carried thereby; however, the retainer and roller are pemitted to move in a plane substantially parallel ,with the longitudinal axes of the members 51. I provide a centering means for the retainer 58 which comprises a plurality of pins 62 supported by the supports 54, each having a pointed head 63 engaging in a correspondingly shaped recess 64 formed inthe retainer 58. Each. of the supports 54 is recessed at 65 and a coiled spring 66 is interposed between the head 63 on the pin 62 and the bottom of the recess 65. I preferably provide one of these centering means on each side of the retainer 58 adjacent to the respective end thereof, as is best illustrated'in Fig. 10. It will thus be seen that the bearing for the work roller is permitted to move relative to the support 58 which may be occasioned either by the end-wise movement of the roller causing the bearing 52 to shift therewith or by a deflection of the work roller which would cause a slight tilting of the bearing cage 52 and that in either event the'bearing is permitted to move relative to the support, thus compensating for any strain or thrust imposed thereon which it is evident will materially lengthen the life ofthe bearing.

In Figs. 12 and 14 inclusive, I have illustrated another form of my invention which is very similar to that illustrated in Figs. 9 to 11 inclusive in which I have shown the base 50, the bearing cage' 52 and the respective wear plates 5| and 53, as in the previously described construction. In this construction the bearing aligner comprises the I having the bearing members 5'1 journaled at 56,

cage 10 having a recess H therein to receive the rollers 68, the cage being provided with ears I2 extending over the ends of the wear plate to prevent longitudinal movement of the retainer and the rollers relative to its support; that is, the retainer is provided with ears -12 instead of as shown in the preceding views. In this modification, the centering means comprises bolts 13, each having a nut 14 thereon extending through the upstanding support 15 bolted on the base 58, the upstanding portions beingrecessed at 15 to receive the coiled spring 11 interposed between the head of the bolt 13 and the bottom. of the recess I6, thus maintaining the bearing aligner normally in its neutral position. In this construction I have shown apair of rollers 60 placed end-to-end in the retainer 18; however, it will be understood that one roller may be employed if so desired but commercially I find it advantageous to use a plurality of rollers, as illustrated.

I preferably provide a plurality of rollers in the bearing aligner so that there will be a minimum amount of friction between the bearing cage and its support in the event the roller having the aligner beneath its bearing is deflected laterally relative to its support because in the twisting or movement of the aligner in that direction}, one of the rollers is permitted to roller in one direction and the other roller in the opposite direction. By the use of the plurality of rollers as described, it will thus be seen that the bearing aligner not only will compensate for longitudinal movement of the work roller but also deflection of the roller in both horizontal and vertical planes so that under any of these conditions the bearing therefor is permitted to move with the work roller journal to vmaintain an equal thrust on the bearing under any of the working conditions towhich the work roller is subjected.

In conventional constructions heretofore mentioned in which the work roller is supported by anti-friction bearings upon deflection of the work roller, the journal in its bearing moves from its true longitudinal axis thus throwing the load on one edgeof the bearing. This prevents full distribution of the load on the bearing, thus causing excessive wear on one edge of the race members and the anti-friction members interposed therebetween so that the life ofthe bearing is relatively short which of necessity requires frequent replacement of parts and loss of the use of the machine while such repairs are being made. The bearing aligner heretofore described permits the bearing for the work roller to tilt or move with the journal so that the load is distributed equally on the bearing in the same manner as though there were no deflection of the work roller.

In Figs. 15 to 20, I have diagrammatically shown different forms of anti-friction members of the bearing aligner positioned between wear plates supported respectively by the bearing cage and machine support. In Fig. 15, I have shown the roller 60 positioned between wear plates 80 and 8| which respectively correspond with the wear plates 34 and 35 and 5| and 53 described in the preceding views. In this form, it will be seen that if the wear plate 80 is shifted longitudinally relative to the wear plate 8| and is also tilted, as previously described, that there will be a slight movement of the bearing and consequently the work roller relative to the support moving the work roller closer to the support due to the fact that the bearing plate 80 will shift from the line F.

For some uses the construction shown in Fig. 15 is to be preferred but in other machines it is desirable to provide a greater contact area between the roller and the wear plates and I have, therefore, shown in Fig. 16the roller 80 interposed between wear plates 80 and 8| which respectively have concave bearing faces 82 and 83. The amount of curvature of the faces 82 and 83 can, of course, be varied in difierent sizes and types of machines in accordance with the load imposed on the work roller or depending on the size of the roller 68. The greater area of contact between the roller and wear plates has advantage insome machines in that there is less danger than in the previously described constructions of the roller 60 scoring the wear plates.

In Fig. 17, I have shown a roller 60 interposed between the wear plates 80 and 8| which re-' spectively areprovided with convex bearing faces 84 and 85. As stated above in connection with Fig. 16, the curvature of the bearing faces Bland 85 can be varied for use in machines having different requirements but it will be seen, however, that with this construction the bearing faces 84 and 85 can be 'so formed that upon tilting of the wear plate 88 relative to the wear plate 8|, the same distance can be maintained between the roller and the support as when'the roller is in true alignment and has not been subjected to deflection.

In Fig. 18, I have shown a construction similar to Fig. 15 but in which I have substituted an ellipticalanti-friction member '88 for the roller 68,

the same being positioned between wear plates 88 and 8| having flat bearing faces. When it is desired to reduce the over-all height of the machine, it is sometimes desirable to substitute the ellipti- 5 cal member 86 for the roller 60 because it will be apparent that this member provides the same bearing surface contact with the wear plates88- and 8| as would a roller having a diameter indicated by the dotted line 0. Thus I am enabled 10 to provide an anti-friction member in the roller aligner which has the same bearing surface contact with the wear plates as the roller C but which will permit bringing the wear plates 88 and 8| much closer together.

In Fig. 19, I have shown a construction similar to Fig. 16 but in which I have substituted the elliptical member 86 for the roller 60 and in which I provide for the greater surface contact between! I the anti-friction member and the wear plates 20 than is possible in the construction shown in Fig.

18 and which has the same advantages as the construction previously described in connection with Fig. 16. In Fig. 20, I have shown a construction similar to Fig. 17 but in which I have also substituted the elliptical member 86 for the roller 60 and which will permit of the several advantages as described in connection with Fig. 17,.it being evident that the convex faces 84 and 85 on the wear plates 88 and 8| will'permit the elliptical member 88 to tilt and also the wear plate 80 to tilt and with it the bearing for the work roller without separating the members 88 and 8|, thus maintaining the bearings for the work roller in the same position 5 relative to the frame as though the work roller had not been deflected.

While I have shown several embodiments of my invention, it will be evident that modifications can be made therein without departing from the 40 spirit and substance of my invention, the scope of which is to be measured entirely by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a machine having 45 spaced supports and rollers arranged in a vertical stack carried by said supports, means to permit longitudinal movement of the bottom roller relative to said supports comprising, a thrust bearing interposed between said bottom roller 50 and one of said supports, said bearing having spaced rollers, a retainer therefor having openings extending therethrough, pins extending into said openings secured in said support, and resilient means at opposite sides of each of said 55 pins to permit the rolling of said bearing rollers between said bottom roller and support and to return said bearing rollers to a predetermined position.

2. A thrust bearing to permit longitudinal 80 movement and deflection of a roller and antie friction bearing therefor relative to their support comprising, an anti-friction member interposed between said roller and support, means to permit rolling of said anti-friction member parallel with 65 the longitudinal axis of said roller, and resilient means to return said anti-friction member to a predetermined position.

3. A thrust bearing to permit longitudinal movement of a roller relative to its support com- 70 prising, a radial bearing for said roller, a thrust roller interposed between said radial bearing and support, a retainer for said thrust roller, means extending from said su'pportinto an aperture in said retainer, and means supported by said retainer engaging said first means to normallyv maintain said roller in a predetermined position, said means permitting said thrust roller to roll parallel with the longitudinal axis of said first roller when longitudinal thrust is applied to the latter.

4. In combination with a machine having spaced supports and a roller subject to deflection, bearings for said roller carried in said support,

at least one of said bearings having movement relative to its support, and an anti-friction bearing having free rolling movement between said movable bearing and its support to, permit tilting and axial movement of said bearing upon deflection of said roller from its longitudinal axis.

5. In combination with a machine having spaced supports and a workroller subject todeflection and limited end-wise movement, bear ings for said roller carried in said support, at least one of said bearings adapted to move out I of alignment relative to its support, and an antisupports, at least one of said bearings having movement relative to its support, and means to permit said movable bearing to move with said work roller upon deflection of the work roller supported therein comprising, a roller retainer positioned transversely to said work roller interposed between said movable bearing and its support, a roller in said retainer also positioned transversely to said* work roller engaging said movable bearing and its support to permit axial movement of said bearing upon radial deflection of said work roller,v and means to return said transverse roller to a predetermined position.

7. In combination with a machine having spaced supports and rollers arranged in a vertical stack carried by said supports, anti-friction bearings for said rollers, means to permit longitudinal movement and deflection from the longitudinal axis of the bottom roller and at least one of the bearings therefor relative to said supports comprising, a thrust bearing interposed between said bottom roller and a support for said one bearing, said thrust bearing having spaced rollers in endto-end relation, a retainer therefor, and resilient means for permitting the rolling of said bearing rollers between said bottom roller and support and to return said bearing rollers to a predetermined position.

. 8. In combination with a machine having spaced supports, bearings carried thereby, at least one of said bearings having movement relative to its support, a work roller inserted in said bearings, and a roller interposed between said bearing and support having free rolling movement therebetween whereby said movable hearing will tilt with said work roller upon deflection of said work roller from its longitudinal axis."

KARL L. HERRMANN.

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