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.
Claims7
A roller assembly for controlling a green ceramic extrudate in longitudinal motion along a predetermined extrudate axis of an extrudate support channel, comprising:
- a contact roller in contact with the green ceramic extrudate, the contact roller having a deformable outer surface and rotatably mounted on the roller assembly;
- a bearing sub-assembly attached along the extrudate support channel and holding the contact roller adjacent thereto, the bearing sub-assembly having a bearing configured to allow the contact roller to adjust relatively freely with respect to the green ceramic extrudate;
- and
- the roller assembly having a predetermined effective weight exerts a constant contact force on the green ceramic extrudate,
- wherein the roller assembly is a free floating roller assembly and self-adjusts in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the green ceramic extrudate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.