Adjustable radius conveyor roll
AssigneePPG Industries, Inc.
InventorStephen J. Schultz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An adjustable radius conveyor roll for shaping and conveying heat softened glass sheets. Interconnected glass sheet engaging members are rotatably mounted along a flexible shaft of the conveyor roll. The ends of the roll are pivotally connected to pivoting support arms. A roll flexing arrangement includes a collar positioned at the center of the roll and a roll flexing drive to move the center of the roll in a vertical direction to adjust the curved configuration of the conveying roll.
Claims19
An adjustable radius conveyor roll for conveying an article comprising:
- a flexible shaft;
- means for pivotally supporting opposing end portions of said shaft;
- a plurality of article contacting members mounted around said shaft in generally adjacent and abutting relationship along said shaft for rotation thereabout;
- and
- means for displacing a portion of said shaft relative to said end portions of said shaft wherein said portion is intermediate of said end portions of said shaft and said displacing means acts on said intermediate portion.
A method of adjusting the transverse radius of curvature of an adjustable radius conveyor roll comprising:
- rotatably mounting a plurality of article contacting members along a flexible shaft;
- pivotally supporting end portions of said shaft;
- and
- applying a force to a portion of said shaft intermediate of said end portions to deflect said shaft so as to pivot said shaft about said end portions and vertically displace said intermediate portion of said roll relative to said end portions wherein said deflection changes the transverse radius of curvature of said roll.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.