Apparatus for adjusting the altitude of a chord of an expanding roll

Claim 2

An adjustable curvature roll assembly, comprising: an elongated arc-shaped shaft and first and second bearing means supporting said shaft at axially spaced locations which are a substantial distance apart; disclike means rotatably supported on said shaft at a location spaced between said first and second bearing means, said disclike means being eccentrically positioned relative to the longitudinally extending axis of said shaft; a hollow cylinderlike roll positioned in surrounding relationship to and rotatably supported on said disclike means; first means coacting between said shaft and said disclike means for enabling said disclike means to be angularly adjusted relative to said shaft and for enabling said disclike means to be fixedly and nonrotatably connected to said shaft in a selected angular orientation; and second means coacting between said shaft and one of said bearings means for enabling said arc-shaped shaft to be angularly rotated relative to said one bearing means through a selected angle and for enabling said shaft to be fixedly and nonrotatably secured to said one bearing means in a selected angular orientation.

Claim 3

A roll assembly according to claim 1, wherein said disclike means includes a plurality of disclike members rotatably supported on said shaft in axially spaced relationship therealong, the eccentricity of said disclike members successively increasing in a direction extending axially from the bearing means toward the midpoint of the shaft, and means nonrotatably interconnecting said plurality of disclike members.

Claim 4

A roll assembly according to claim 2, further including a plurality of sleeves with each sleeve being disposed in surrounding relationship and rotatably supported on a respective one of said disclike members, and said roll comprising an elongated rubber roll extending axially of and covering said plurality of sleeves.

Claim 5

A roll assembly according to claim 3, wherein the means nonrotatably interconnecting the plurality of disclike members includes a plurality of coupling tubes rotatably disposed on said shaft and extending axiaLly between and nonrotatably coupled to adjacent disclike members.

Claim 6

A roll assembly according to claim 4, wherein said first means is supported on said shaft adjacent one axial end of said rubber roll, said first means being normally fixedly and nonrotatably secured to said shaft and including means for releasing same from said shaft to enable relative rotation therebetween, and further including a coupling sleeve non-rotatably connected between said latter-mentioned means and the axially adjacent disclike member.

Claim 7

A roll assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first means comprises a casing rotatably mounted on said shaft and disposed adjacent one axial end of said roll, a worm gear disposed within said casing and nonrotatably fixed to said shaft, a manually rotatable worm rotatably supported on said casing and disposed in meshing engagement with said worm gear, and handle means disposed exteriorly of said casing and non-rotatably connected to said worm for rotating same.

Claim 8

A roll assembly according to claim 2, wherein said plurality of disclike members includes a first plurality of eccentric members rotatably supported on said shaft in the region between one end of said roll and the midpoint of said shaft, and a second plurality of eccentric members rotatably supported on said shaft in the region between the other axial end of said roll and the midpoint of said shaft, the eccentricity of the individual eccentric members of said first and second pluralities successively increasing in a direction from the axial end of said roll toward the midpoint of said shaft; first coupling means extending axially between and non-rotatably interconnecting the individual eccentric members of said first plurality, and second coupling means extending between and nonrotatably interconnecting the eccentric members of said second plurality; thrust bearing means located adjacent the midpoint of said shaft and disposed between the first and second pluralities of eccentric members for permitting relative rotation therebetween; and said first means including first and second adjustment means disposed adjacent the opposite axial ends of said roll, said first and second adjustment means respectively coacting with said first and second pluralities of eccentric members for enabling rotation of same relative to said shaft.