In known guide rollers of this type (DE 196 22 238 C1), two outer tube sections and a middle tube section are connected through couplings so as to rotate in unison. All tube sections are rigid. These guide rollers are used solely to align the web material.
Also known is a guide roller (DE-AS 11 78 257) that has two outer tube sections and a center tube section that is arranged therebetween. The outermost tube sections are supported on a central shaft through ball bearings. The ends--on the one hand of the outer tube sections and on the other hand of the central tube section--that are adjacent to each other fit around each other and are joined to each other so as to be rotationally fixed. The tube sections are supported by the bail bearings in the overlap area where the tubes fit around each other. In known guide rollers of this type the outer ends of the outer tube sections cannot be adjusted radially relative to the shaft. In addition, in the case of this known guide roller, since all the tube sections are configured so as to be rigid in and of themselves, such guide rollers can be used only to align the web material.
Also known are transverse-tightening rollers that tighten the web material solely across its width. Such transverse-tightening rollers incorporate a plurality of individually supported tube sections that are arranged in an arc; all of these are joined by way of couplings so as to rotate in unison. It is also known that all of the tube sections can incorporate slits that extend part way around the periphery of the tube section and are offset relative to each other, so as to make the tube sections elastic.