U.S. patent application number 17/680590 was filed with the patent office on 2022-08-25 for automatic overhead gantry for narrow slit rolls handling.
This patent application is currently assigned to Automatic Handling International, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Automatic Handling International, Inc.. Invention is credited to R. Scott Croy, Robert Janes, Craig Reed, Jacob Swanson.
Application Number | 20220267111 17/680590 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | |
Filed Date | 2022-08-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220267111 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Croy; R. Scott ; et
al. |
August 25, 2022 |
AUTOMATIC OVERHEAD GANTRY FOR NARROW SLIT ROLLS HANDLING
Abstract
A system for automatic handling and sorting of narrow-slit
rolls. Wherein the system is also capable of preventing toppling of
the narrow-slit rolls.
Inventors: |
Croy; R. Scott; (Ida,
MI) ; Janes; Robert; (Toledo, OH) ; Reed;
Craig; (Monroe, MI) ; Swanson; Jacob; (Monroe,
MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Automatic Handling International, Inc. |
Erie |
MI |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Automatic Handling International,
Inc.
Erie
MI
|
Appl. No.: |
17/680590 |
Filed: |
February 25, 2022 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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63153655 |
Feb 25, 2021 |
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International
Class: |
B65H 19/12 20060101
B65H019/12 |
Claims
1. An automated apparatus for handling and sorting narrow-slits
comprising, in combination: a cushioner having a cushion and at
least two stabilizing arms; a hold-down with at least one hold down
arm; and an overheard gantry having a lifting frame and a gantry
hold-down;
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lifting frame of the
overheard gantry has at least two lifting probes.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 further including at least one
narrow-slit storage.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 further including at least one
kicker.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 further including at least one
upender.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 further including at least one
conveyor. An automated apparatus for handling and sorting
narrow-slits comprising, in combination: a cushioner having a
cushion and at least two stabilizing arms; a hold-down with at
least one hold down arm; an overheard gantry having a lifting frame
and a gantry hold-down; at least one conveyor; at least one kicker;
at least one narrow-slit storage; at least one updender; and
wherein the components are controlled by a programable logic
controller configured to transport and sort narrow-slits.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the programable logic
controller is further configured to differentiate between
narrow-slits of varying width, and sort the narrow-slits in the at
least one narrow-slit storage by the width of the narrow-slit.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the programable logic
controller is further configured to allow a user to input a desired
order of narrow-slits, based on the width of the narrow-slit, and
the overhead gantry will assemble the narrow-slits at the upender
as requested.
9. A method of transporting and sorting narrow slits comprising,
receiving a roll, having at least one narrow-slit cut into it, with
a cushion and stabilizing arms; positioning the roll onto a
conveyor with the cushion and stabilizing arms; holding the roll
with a hold-down; clamping a desired quantity of narrow-slits from
the roll using an overhead gantry; releasing the hold-down;
repositioning the hold-down on the roll such that the desired
quantity of narrow-slits clamped by the overhead gantry are no
longer held by the hold down; determining the width of the picked
narrow-slits; picking up the desired quantity of narrow-slits from
the roll using an overhead gantry; and sorting the narrow-slits by
width by placing the narrow-slits at a narrow-slit storage
unit.
10. The method of claim 9 further including building a package of
narrow-slits based on a request from a user.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE
[0001] The present patent application is based upon and claims the
benefit of provisional patent No. 63/153,655, filed Feb. 25,
2021.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] When manufacturing paper products, large rolls of tissue
paper are provided for processing into various products such as
bath tissue, paper towels, air dried, and crepe air dried materials
such as napkins. The rolls of tissue are provided on cores and may
weigh up to 8,000 pounds. The tissue is rolled on the core and may
be 90 inches in diameter. Paper manufacturers receive these rolls
and unwind them to process the tissue paper into the various
products being manufactured. Certain paper applications require
strips of tissue paper narrower than the large rolls, known as
narrow-slit rolls. These narrow-slit rolls can vary in thickness
depending on the desired application. The narrow-slit rolls are cut
from the large roll to a desired thickness. The narrow-slit rolls,
given their narrow width are not capable of standing unassisted
without risk of falling over. Despite being narrow, the narrow-slit
rolls can still weigh hundreds to thousands of pounds depending on
the width. This heaviness coupled with the unstable nature of
narrow slit rolls outs users at high risk for injury. There is a
need in the industry to safely handle and move narrow slit
rolls.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The system is designed to automatically handle and sort
narrow-slit rolls.
[0004] The system receives the rolls from the winder controlling
the full roll set with combination of pneumatic roll cushion and
powered roll stabilizer arms. Once contained on the conveyor, the
system uses a combination of a roll pressure plate and conveyor
drive to index the slit rolls forward to pick up position. The
correct number of roll or rolls to pick up is determined
automatically by the data transmitted from the customer winder and
order. Using either an ID probe or three-point cradle on outside
diameter, the roll or rolls are safely picked up automatically via
automatic overhead gantry. The automatic gantry using servo
controls moves within the XYZ axis to pick and place the roll or
rolls according to SKU order requirements. The automatic gantry
lifts a roll horizontally and maintains roll in this orientation.
The invention can be customized to handle any width of narrow-slit
from as small as 1/4'' up to and including a full roll. In the
present embodiment the invention is designed for a user that
desires to handle and sort narrow slits roll 3'' wide up to 20''
wide. However, it should be understood that the invention can be
tailored handle any size narrow-slit, up to and including a full
roll. The rolls can be placed individually on roll queue stands or
directly onto an upender or packaging machine then feeding an
outfeed transport system to warehouse.
[0005] The system movements are all of electric controls and the
hold down is pneumatic to accommodate varying diameters and amounts
of pressure required. The footprint of the system is contained
within a small overhead self-supporting steel structure. All
operations are contained safely inside this structure.
[0006] The overhead gantry using electric vertical lift and
two-point cradle engages the roll from the bottom and a pneumatic
vertical hold down is engaged to contain the load while the system
pressure plate is repositioned for the next roll. The gantry raises
vertically simultaneously moving to the destination for roll set
down via CIP motion controls. Roll set down occurs by lowering the
load to roll stand, upender infeed or packaging station using the
same controls in reverse. This pick and place and index sequence is
repeated until the full roll set is empty/complete and ready for
next roll set to be discharged from winder. The controls system
tracks the rolls data individually for building SKUs or finished
customer orders. This also allows the system to be sorting rolls
into orders while the next set is winding.
IN THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a side view of a narrow-slit handler with framing
removed.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a side view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a side view of a cushioner, hold down and upender
r of the narrow-slit handler.
[0012] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0013] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0014] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0015] FIG. 9 is a side view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0016] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0017] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a narrow-slit handler
without a gantry.
[0018] FIG. 12 is a side view of a cushioner and hold-down.
[0019] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0020] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a narrow-slit handler
without a gantry.
[0021] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0022] FIG. 16 is a top view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0023] FIG. 17 is a front view of a narrow-slit handler.
[0024] FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a cushioner with stabilizer
arms.
[0025] FIG. 19 is a front view of a hold-down.
[0026] FIG. 20 is a top view of a hold-down.
[0027] FIG. 21 is a side view of a hold-down.
[0028] FIG. 22 is a top view of a cushioner with stabilizer
arms.
[0029] FIG. 23 is a front view of a cushioner with stabilizer
arms.
[0030] FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a hold-down.
[0031] FIG. 25 is a perspective view of a kicker.
[0032] FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a kicker.
[0033] FIG. 27 is a back view of an overhead gantry.
[0034] FIG. 28 is a perspective view of an overhead gantry.
[0035] FIG. 29 is a side view of an overhead gantry.
[0036] FIG. 30 is a top view of an overhead gantry.
[0037] FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a narrow-slit storage
unit.
[0038] FIG. 32 is an exploded view of a cushioner with stabilizer
arms.
[0039] FIG. 33 is an exploded view of a hold-down.
[0040] FIG. 34 is an exploded view of an overhead gantry with
support framing removed.
[0041] FIG. 35 is a perspective view of an overhead gantry with
support framing removed.
[0042] FIG. 36 is an exploded view of a gantry traversing
frame.
[0043] FIG. 37 is an exploded view of an overhead gantry with
framing removed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0044] Referring now to FIGS. 1-17, a narrow-slit handler 1 is
shown. The narrow-slit handler 1 comprises an overhead gantry 5, a
cushioner 10 with stabilizer arms 11, hold-down 15, conveyors 25,
kickers 20, narrow-slit storage 30, and upender 35.
[0045] A roll 3, which has been previously cut into slits of
desired widths (narrow-slits 2), enters the narrow-slit handler at
ramp 45. The cushioner 10 extends to meet roll 3 with a cushion 12
and at least two stabilizer arms 11. The cushioner 10, using the
cushion 12 and stabilizer arms 1, guides roll 3 down ramp 45 and
onto conveyor 25. Hold-down 15 centers itself on roll 3 and lowers
hold-down arms 16 to make contact with roll 3 and hold the
narrow-slits in position to prevent toppling. Overhead gantry 5
positions itself to the side of roll 3, selecting the desired
number of narrow-slits 2, clamping the narrow-slits 2 into place
and transports the narrow-slits to at least one narrow-slit storage
30 (FIG. 31). Narrow-slit storage 30 is sloped down such that once
the narrow-slits 2 are placed into the narrow-slit storage 30 they
do not topple as they rest against the back of the narrow-slit
storage 30. The overhead gantry 5 can organize the narrow-slits 2
by any parameter if there is more than one narrow-slit storage 30,
but they are typically arranged by size.
[0046] A user requests a package of narrow-slits. This package
could be all the same size narrow-slits or of varying sizes. The
overhead gantry 5 then picks the desired narrow-slits and assembles
the package at an upender 35. Once the package is completed, the
upender 35 upends the package and it is sent on for further
processing.
[0047] Alternatively, if the narrow-slit is wide enough that it
will not topple on its own (or a full roll), the narrow-slit
handler 1 bypasses the overhead gantry 5 by conveying the
narrow-slit to a kicker 20. Kicker 20 pushes the narrow-slit onto
ramp 50, the narrow-slit then rolls to a second kicker 20 which
stops the narrow-slit and seats the narrow-slit onto a second
conveyor 25 which transports the narrow-slit to upender 35 where it
is upended, individually or as part of a package, and sent for
further processing.
[0048] Referring now to FIGS. 18, 22-23, and 32, the cushioner 10
having at least two stabilizing arms 11 is shown. The cushioner 10
comprises a frame 46 in communication with an extending frame 13.
The extending frame 13 having a cushion 12 and stabilizing arms 11.
A stabilizing arm motor is in communication with stabilizing arms
11 and is capable of extending and retracting stabilizing arms 11.
Cushion cylinders 14 are attached to frame 46 and in communication
with extending frame 13, such that when acted upon the cushion
cylinders 14 extend the extending frame 13 to meet a roll 3.
Similarly, the cushion cylinders 14 can retract the extending frame
13.
[0049] Referring now to FIGS. 19-22, 24, and 33 the hold-down 15 is
shown. The hold-down 15 comprises a frame 22, linear tracks 17,
hold down rails 16, traversing motor 18, lift chain 19 and lift
motor 21. The hold-down arms 16 traverse the frame 22 with linear
rails 17, linear guides 24 and traversing motor 18. The hold-down
rails are raised and lowered with a lift motor 21, lifting chain
19, linear rails 23 and linear guides 24.
[0050] Referring now to FIGS. 25-26 a kicker is shown. The kicker
is known to those skilled in the art.
[0051] Referring now to FIGS. 27-30, and 34-37, the overhead gantry
5 is shown. The overhead gantry 5 comprises frame 40, overhead
frame 43, traversing frame 42, mast 4 in connection with a gantry
hold-down 6, a lifting frame 8, and a cylinder 9. The overhead
gantry 5 is capable of moving along the x-y axis, as well capable
of turning mast 4 360 degrees. The mast 4 traverses the overhead
frame 43 with linear rails 44 and traversing motor 48 by use of
traversing pulleys 36 and a traversing belt. The overhead frame
traverses 43 the frame 40 with overhead traversing motor 55 and
rails. The mast 4 rotates 360 degrees with rotation frame 41 and
rotation motor 39. Rotation frame 41 also includes sprocket 52 and
slew ring 53 which are in communication with mast 4 and allow the
mast to rotate. The lifting frame 8 moves along mast 4 using linear
rails 23 and linear guides 24. The gantry hold-down 6 moves in
conjunction with the lifting frame 8 until acted on by cylinder 9
to clamp down on narrow-slits 2. The lifting frame is moved up and
down with vertical drive 37 and drive chain 38. The lifting frame
having at least two lifting probes 7 spaced apart at or near the
bottom the lifting frame.
[0052] Wherein a programable logic control is programmed to control
the movements of all parts of the narrow-slit handler 1 such that a
user can input a desired package, the narrow-slit handler 1 will
process the narrow-slits and build the desired package, without
allowing the narrow-slits to topple over.
[0053] Described above is the preferred embodiment of the
invention. It is understood that that one skilled in the art could
employ different embodiments could employ different types of rails,
motors, cylinders, etc.
* * * * *