Extrudate transport apparatus having a free floating roller assembly
AssigneeCorning Incorporated
InventorJohn Christian Duroe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An extrudate transport apparatus comprises a free floating roller assembly, wherein the roller assembly controls a rotational pitch of a cylindrical green ceramic extrudate as the green ceramic extrudate moves longitudinally from a first location to a second location within the extrudate transport apparatus. The free floating roller assembly has a predetermined effective weight and comprises a contact roller having a deformable outer surface for frictionally contacting an outer surface of the green ceramic extrudate in motion adjacent thereto, while maintaining a constant contact force upon said green ceramic extrudate.
Claims5
A method for orienting sections of a green ceramic extrudate, comprising:
- applying a reference mark to a green ceramic extrudate as the extrudate exits an extrusion apparatus onto an extrudate support channel;
- contacting a surface of the green ceramic extrudate with a contact roller comprising a contact roller axis substantially perpendicular to a predetermined extrudate axis along the extrudate support channel, wherein the contact roller is rotatably mounted to a free floating roller assembly having a predetermined effective weight, wherein the free floating roller assembly exerts a constant contact force to the surface of the green ceramic extrudate;
- selectively reorienting the contact roller angularly with respect to the predetermined extrudate axis while maintaining the constant contact force;
- cutting the extrudate to form an extrudate segment;
- floatingly supporting the extrudate segment on an air bearing;
- taking an optical reading of the reference mark on the cut section of the floatingly supported extrudate;
- transferring the extrudate segment from the extrudate support channel via frictional force to a dryer tray;
- and
- imaging an end of the extrudate segment on the dryer tray and comparing the image with a target range for alignment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.