Sampling apparatus and method

1. An apparatus for cropping the ends of or for separating test pieces from rolled strip wound into bundles,

the appartus comprising:

shears,

a first and a second bottom roller having respective axes arranged in parallel and forming an essentially horizontal plane, for the reception of a bundle of rolled strip having a horizontally oriented bundle axis, the spacing of the axes of the bottom rollers being smaller than the smallest bundle diameter,

a pressure roller which is adjustable in position, the second bottom roller is adjustable in position for lifting off from a surface area of the bundle, the first bottom roller and the pressure roller being configured to support the bundle , so that a first arc segment between lines of contact of the first bottom roller and of the pressure roller on the bundle surface area is greater than a second arc segment between lines of contact of the two bottom rollers, and

at least the first bottom roller or the pressure roller having a rotary drive.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first arc segment between the lines of contact of the first bottom roller and of the pressure roller on the bundle surface area is greater than 90°.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the arc segment is 120°.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein an opening blade is provided for opening the bundle.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the blade is adjustable, the pressure roller having an axis of rotation, and the blade having an axis of rotation of the blade coinciding with the axis of rotation of the pressure roller.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a pivotable guide device, which has at least one guide roller provided for guiding the strip end to the shears and for displacing the strip end.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the guide device comprises an adjustable guide plate for guiding the strip end.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein an adjustable guide element is provided for guiding the strip end on a top side of the strip end.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6 , further comprising a driving roller which is adjustable in position and which, together with the guide roller, forms a pair of driving rollers having respective axes of rotation lying essentially parallel to one another, for transporting or fixing the strip end.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the guide roller or the driving roller that form the pair of driving rollers is adjustable in position in a direction perpendicular to a plane formed from their axes of rotation, in order to change the curvature of the strip end caused by a respective axial offset of the guide and driving rollers.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the guide roller or the driving roller is adjustable in position in a plane formed from their respective axes of rotation, in order to change a gap between the guide roller and the driving roller and to influence a lateral position of the strip end.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the guide roller or the driving roller has a rotary drive.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the driving roller is mounted pivotably about an axis fixed to the guide device.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the guide roller is adjustable in such a way that the strip end is pressed against the pressure roller fixed in position and lifted off from the bundle, and such that a curvature, can be set in the strip end.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the curvature of the strip in the strip end is set corresponding to the curvature of the outer turn of the bundle.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 , wherein a stop on the shears is provided as a stay for curving the strip end.

17. A method for cropping the ends of or for separating test pieces from rolled strip wound into bundles, comprising the steps:

positioning a bundle on a first and second bottom roller, the bottom rollers touching the bundle on a surface area thereof,

pivoting in of a pressure roller which touches the bundle on its surface area

and fixes the bundle in terms of its position,

lowering the second bottom roller in order to increase spacing of contact points of the first bottom roller and of the pressure roller,

rotating the bundle in order to open the bundle and deliver a strip end of the bundle to a cutting or inspection device,

cutting the strip end for sample or the inspection of the sample,

laying the remaining strip end onto the bundle.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17 , further comprising before cutting, varying the curvature of the strip end by means of a guide device, and the strip end is essentially straightened.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18 , further comprising guiding the strip end in the guide device and delivering the strip end to a shears for the cutting step by pivoting the guide device.

20. The method as claimed in claim 18 wherein the guide device has a driver function and the method comprises guiding or conveying the strip end to the shears by means of the guide device.

21. The method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein after the cutting of the strip end, winding the strip end up again to an extent such that a length of the strip end remains which corresponds essentially to a length of the guide device.

22. The method as claimed in claim 17 , wherein inspection comprises surface inspection directly on the cut-off strip.

23. The method as claimed in claim 18 , wherein after the sampling or inspection, raising the strip end as a result of pivoting of the guide device, and clamping the strip end between a guide roller and a driving roller of the guide device, and, immediately thereafter, raising the second bottom roller.

24. The method as claimed in claim 18 , wherein before laying the strip end onto the bundle, curving the strip end by means of a guide roller of the guide device around the pressure roller fixed in position and lifted off from the bundle, so that the strip end has a curvature corresponding to an outer diameter of the bundle.