Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WO9l/l41~2 PCT/DK9l/00063
-- 1 --
A Roller Assembly
The invention relat~s to a roller de~ice of the kind
stated in the introductory portion of claim 1.
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The synchronized rollers may e.g. be such crimper rolle~s
which are used in many a~ricultural machines and which may
be ~quipped with longitudinal rubber edges which in
operation intermesh without touching. The deep toothing
and the coarse gear wheels ensure that the rollers can be
lifted quitably from each other while the gear wheels are ~ ;
still correctly intermeshed. In such cases where the --
rollers are lifted out of engagement by a large material
15 , lump they must be 5teered back into engagement without
causing damage.
In practice, use is e.g. made of rollers with five rubber
edges and correspondingly gear wheels with five teeth. ;~
20 I However, due to the polygon e~fect, gear wheels that
coarse periodically are not in sufficiently firm engage-
ment to ensure that the rollers are not damaged in the
given situation.
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25 It is the object of the invention to provide a roller ~ -
device of the kind ensurin~ that the rollers pass into
correct engagement with aach other witho~t risk of damage ;
after having been forced so far apart by material lumps
that they have passed out o engagement. ;~
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The object is achieved by the roller device being designed
as stated in the characterizing portion of claim 1, in
that by such a construction an engagement is obtained
which is similar to the one obtained by using single gear
35 wheels having the same number of teeth as in the set ;~
according to the invention while maintaining the freedom
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.~091/14112 PCT/DK91/OOQ63
- 2 -
of movement of the gear wheel a~es relative to each other
which is made possible by the large tooth height.
The angular displacement can be as stated in claim 2 . ~ -
corresponding to l/n of the tooth pitch.
For most practical purposes each set may suitably comprise
two gear wheels as stated in claim 3.
lO , The relative axial disposition of the gear wheels in a set
is not decisive; but in practice it is often expedient
that the gear wheels are positioned close to each other as
stated in claim 4.
1 In the following the invention will be explained in more
deta~l, reference being made to the drawing in which `
Fig. l shows a side view of the one pair of gear wheels ! `
in one embodiment of the roller device according
to the invention with two gear wheels in each set,
Fig. 2 shows a section along the line A-A in fig. l, `~
Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of one end of the roller
device, and ;
Fig. 4 shows the two rollers seen from one end. ;~
In the drawing lO and ll are two gear wheels which as ;
shown at 12 are welded firmly onto each side of a spacer
ring 13 displaced one half tooth pitch corresponding -to an
angular displacement of 360/2z, where z is the number of
teeth, here five. This gear wheel pair and the second gear
wheel pair cooperating therewith are, as shown in fig. 3,
positioned on the end of each separate one of a pair of
cooperating crimper rollers l5 and l6. As also shown in
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WO91/14112 PCT/DK91/00063
-- 3
fig. 4 these crimper rollers are each equipped with a
number of longitudinal edges 18 of rubber or a like
resilient material corresponding to the number of teeth on
I each of the gear wheels lO and 11, i.e. in the present
case five. These edges may be attached to the rollers in
an arb~trary suitable way, e.g. by means of bolts. The
roller shafts rest in two end plates one of which 19 is
shown in fig. 3. The lower roller 17 is in a conventional
manner provided with stationary axis, while the shaft
of the upper roller 16 is movable at both ends in a slit
20 and being influenced by a spring 21 to abut against the
bottom of the slit, in which position the rubber edges of
the two rollers intermesh as shown in fig. 4. The gear
wheels must synchron~ze the rotary movements of the
rollers in such a way that the rubber edges do not get
into contact, which would expose them to risk of damage.
As such crimper rollers are often pressed rather far apart
by passing material lumps against the effect of the
springs 23, the gear wheels must, as in the case shown
with five tooth, necessarily have coarse teeth, i.e. large
tooth height and correspondingly large tooth pitch. This,
if as in the usual way only one gear wheel was provided on
each roller, would give the teeth on the two wheels so
great freedom of movement relative to each other when the
rollers and consequently the gaar wheels are pressed
apart, that the desired safeguard against contact between
the roller edges is not achieved. However, when there are
two gear wheels being firmlv attached to each other and
displaced by one half tooth pitch or in the case shown
30 180/5 = 36 rela~ive to each other, on each crimper
roller, the same effect is obtained as with single gear
wheel having double the number of teeth, i.e. in this case
ten teeth. Such gear wheel pairs cannot assume relative
positions in which the two crimper rollers are in mutual
contact.
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.091/14112 PCT/DK91/OOg63
-- 4
Both the gear wheels 10 and 11 and the spacer ring 13 are
provided with inwardly directed, radial protrusions 15
contemplated for cooperation with outwardly directed,
radial protrusions on a not shown central means being
attached to the crimper roller or its shaft through rubber
elements not shown acting as shock absorbers.
The details of the shown and described roiler device can
be changed in various ways within the scope of the
invention. E.g. the two gear wheels must not necPssarily
be positioned close to each other, but merely have to be
secured against rotation relative to each other. Further- -
more, both the number of gear wheels in each set and the
number of teeth on each gear wh~el are variable.
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