Reel For Winding Tape

Abstract

A take-up reel having a pair of flanges is described. One of the flanges is removable and is biased toward the fixed flange. The spacing between the flanges is slightly less than the width of the tape so that the tape is firmly held by the reel. The means which biases the removable flange includes a ring which is nonrotatable with respect to the hub of the reel but which is axially movable relative to the hub.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a reel for winding the punched paper tape in a tape take-up device for tape punches or readers and similar equipment using paper or other flexible tape. The inventive reel is particularly useful with a device of the kind described in the copending patent application Ser. No. 44,799 of the applicants titled "Punched Tape Feed And Guiding Device For Paper Tape Punches Or Readers," filed June 9, 1970 and assigned to the assignee of the instant invention.

Existing devices for winding or take-up of the paper tape for tape punches or readers include, as is well known, a take-up reel to which the paper strip or tape is fed with a predetermined speed. The take-up reel includes two disks or flanges spaced from one another by a distance slightly less than the width of the paper tape. The flanges therefore exert a slight pressure on the edges of the tape, so as to cause entrainment and winding of the tape onto the reel.

In order to secure and to wind the tape fed to the take-up reel in a fully automatic manner, it has already been proposed to mount a ring-shaped member or core on the hub of the reel with a push fit which is tight enough to attain entrainment of the core by friction. The hub is caused to rotate with an angular velocity to obtain, in relationship to the radius of the ring-shaped member or core (assuming the core to rotate without slipping) a tangential speed which is always higher than the feed speed of the paper strip. To obtain this, in the paper-strip winding devices, the take-up reel normally includes a first flange, which is directly fastened to a shaft that entrains the reel in rotation, and a second flange, which can be detached from the first flange in order to permit removal of the wound tape roll. The second flange is resiliently connected to support members and, through a clutch, also to the first flange.

The constructional arrangement of the take-up reel of the devices of the prior art described above, although enabling a fairly satisfactory operation, is not free from drawbacks. For instance, upon completion of the winding operation the paper tape which is wound on the ring-shaped member is removed from the reel along with the ring-shaped member and, therefore, is not immediately available for use on another reel which is provided with two side flanges, as would be desirable both for storing the paper strip and for the subsequent reuse thereof.

Further the resilient connection of one of the flanges of the take-up reel with the support members, as well as with the second flange by means of a coupling or clutch, results in a constructional arrangement which is rather complex and of large overall dimensions.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a paper-strip take-up reel for winding devices which overcomes the disadvantages enumerated above.

The take-up reel in accordance with the present invention includes a pair of flanges, one of which is removable from the reel. The flanges are spaced from one another by a distance which is less than the width of the paper tape, and thereby exert a slight pressure on the edges of the tape in order to attain entrainment thereof. The reel is characterized in that the removable flange is pulled towards the other flange by resilient means including a ring which is nonrotatable relative to, but which is axially movable relative to the hub of the reel. The first flange is secured to the removable flange with fastening means. The hub also includes a plurality of helical springs which are connected between the ring and the second flange and which are disposed around the hub of the reel in an annular recess provided inside a sleeve which is integrally fastened to and concentric with the second flange. A tape take-up core ring is frictionally mounted on the sleeve for rotation therewith.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention, one preferred embodiment thereof is described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a reel embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial section on an enlarged scale, taken along a diametral plane, of the reel of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a partial section on enlarged scale, taken along arcuate line III--III of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The take-up reel (FIGS. 1 and 2) includes two disks or flanges 1 and 2. The flange 1 is integral with a hub 3 (FIG. 2), which is composed of two parts, one of which, 3', is formed in one piece with the flange 1, and the other of 3, 3", butts against the first and is secured thereto in any suitable manner, as for instance by welding. A sleeve 5 extends from the inner surface of the flange 1, and is coaxial with the flange 1. A core ring 6 is mounted on sleeve 5 so as to rotate with the sleeve 5 because of frictional restraint occasioned by a friction fit.

The inner surface of the bore in the hub portions 3', 3" (FIG. 1) includes several longitudinal grooves 7. In the example shown, there are three grooves spaced 120.degree. from one another, thereby forming a member for splined coupling, by means of which the reel can be mounted on a corresponding splined shaft provided on any machine or device utilizing the reel embodying the invention.

In order to utilize the inventive reel with the device described in the aforementioned patent application a pin 8 is mounted at the inside of the recess in the hub portions 3', 3" this pin has been omitted from FIG. 1, for the sake of clearness. As shown in FIG. 2 the pin 8 includes a central spindle 9 having two protruding end portions 10 and 11 of different lengths. A bushing 12, which is positioned around spindle 9 is provided with a lug or spline 13 which is used for coupling to one of the grooves 7 contained in the hub portions 3', 3". Spline 13 is formed with a resilient tongue 14 which extends in a substantially axial direction and terminates with a detent tooth 15. The bushing 12 is also provided, at the end opposite to that on which the tooth 15 is formed, with an annular collar 16. The pin 8 can be axially locked, with respect to the hub portions 3', 3" of the reel, by the collar 16 at one side, and by the tooth 15 of the tongue 14 at the opposite side.

The reel along with the pin 8, can be mounted on bearings 17 which are opened towards the top of the device, to permit insertion of the reel in position on the bearings 17 by means of a movement perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the reel, as described in the aforementioned patent application. When protruding end portions 10, 11 of the pin 8 are housed in the corresponding bearings 17, the reel can be rotated by means of a friction disk 18, which is urged against the edge of the flange 1 of the reel, as diagrammatically shown in FIG. 1.

The flange 2 of the reel is resiliently secured, with respect to the disk 1, by means of an annular fastening plate 19 (FIGS. 1 and 2), which carries a plurality of flat springs 20, each of which is disposed radially in a plane parallel to that of the plate 19 (FIG. 2) and is united to the plate 19 by means of a short connection section 21. The fastening plate 19 is provided with a central hole which fits over the outer surface of the hub portions 3', 3". This outer surface is formed with a number of axial teeth 22 (FIG. 1); and each of these teeth is adapted to cooperate with a groove of corresponding shape, provided in the plate 19. Therefore, the fastening plate 19 can be rotated by the reel, while being free to be displaced axially relative to the reel. The fastening plate 19 is provided with several small bridges 23 (FIGS. 1 and 2), each of which is connected is one end of a helical spring 24 (FIG. 2). The opposite end of spring 24 engages a corresponding peg 25 of the flange 1 of the reel. The springs 24 therefore pull the fastening plate 19 towards the disk 1. A projection 26, formed on the hub portion 3" provides a stop for limiting the outward movement of the plate 19 in the axial direction.

The disk 2 of the reel is formed with a number of slots 27 (FIG. 1), each of which cooperates with one of the flat springs 20. Disk 2 is also formed with a number of engagement seats 28, on each of which one of the flat springs 20 comes to rest when the disk 2 is mounted with respect to the disk 1. The slots 27 are essentially L-shaped, and are formed with a radially extending leg 27' and a circumferentially extending leg 27". Radial portion 27 serves for passage of the laminar portion of the spring 20 and circumferential portion 27" serves for passage of the short connection section 21 of spring 20.

FIG. 3, which is a section of the disk 2 taken along a cylindrical surface III--III, shows a sloping surface 29 which is provided on the inner face of the disk 2, adjacent to each of the slots 27. Sloping surface 29 enables the flat spring 20, which is adapted to cooperate with surface 29, to slide behind the corresponding engagement seat 28 (following the rotation of the disk 2 relative to the disk 1 and a slight axial displacement of the flange 2 towards the flange 1,) even although the radial leg 27' of the slot 27 is narrower than the width of the flat spring 20 in cross section.

Each of the engagement seats 28 is formed with a narrow groove 30 (FIG. 3). The protruding portions 31 (FIGS. 1 and 2) which are provided on each of the flat springs 20, can snap into the grooves 30. As shown in FIG. 3, in order to facilitate the engagement of each of the seats is provided with an upper surface 32 which slightly slopes towards the edge 33 thereof.

The operation of the take-up reel in accordance with the invention is as follows.

To mount the flange 2 on the flange 1, it is necessary to bring the surfaces 29 (FIG. 3) into contact with the corresponding flat springs 20 (FIG. 1), and to subsequently rotate the flange 2 relative to the flange 1, while simultaneously exerting a slight pressure on the flange 2. As a result of this operation, the springs 20 slide on the surface 29 of the flange 2 (FIG. 3) and pass through the section 27' of the slot 27 and into engagement with seats 28, thus bringing the protruding portion 31 (FIG. 1) inside the grooves 30. In this position, the flange 2 is firmly locked relative to the fastening plate 19 because, as shown in FIG. 2, each flat spring 20 urges the flange to forcibly abut against the outer surface of the engagement plate.

The assembly including the disk 2 and the engagement plate 19 is resiliently movable in the axial direction relative to the disk 1. The hollow space between the inner surfaces of the flanges 1 and 2 has a width which is slightly less than the width of the paper tape and, therefore, the reel exerts a force which is sufficient to cause the tape to be wound on the ring or core 6.

Assuming that the reel is to be used on a winding device of the kind described in the application mentioned above, it is first necessary to insert the pin 8 (FIG. 2) inside the central hole of the hub portions 3', 3" of the reel. During this operation, the tongue 14 is flexed toward the axis of the reel, thereby enabling the end tooth 15 to pass inside one of the grooves 7; the detent tooth 15 snaps into the position shown in FIG. 2 as soon as the collar 16 comes to abut against the front surface of the hub portion 2". The pin 8 is then torsionally or rotatably locked to the reel because the spline 13 coacts with the groove 7. After the reel is placed in position on the winding device, the reel can be rotated by the friction disk 18 (FIG. 1), while the paper tape is being fed by guide rollers 35. Upon completion of the winding of the paper tape onto the reel, removal of the wound roll of tape from the reel is accomplished by repeating in reverse sequence the steps of the operation carried out to mount the flange 2 on the flange 1. It is then possible to separate flange 2 from flange 1 and then remove the wound roll of paper tape from the core 6. This removal operation can be made easier by tapering the outer surface of the core 6.

It is to be understood that the above description is merely illustrative of one embodiment of the present invention given by way of example, and that many modifications and variations may be introduced both in the shape and the arrangement of the various parts and components, without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

What we claim is:

1. A take-up reel for tape winding devices such as punches and readers comprising:

a pair of flanges, one of said flanges being removable from said reel and the other of said flanges being provided with a hub,

a ring axially slidably mounted on said hub,

a plurality of flat springs radially disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of said ring and external to said ring, said flat springs being connected to said ring by short connection portions,

engagement seats on the outer face of said removable flange, said flat springs engaging said seats to removably lock said removable flange between said flat spring and the outer surface of said ring, and

a plurality of coil springs tensioned between said ring and said other flange and disposed around said hub, said springs pulling said flanges toward one another so as to be spaced by a distance which is less than the width of said tape to exert a slight pressure on the edges of said tape and thereby attain entrainment of said tape.

2. The take-up reel of claim 1 wherein said coil springs are disposed in an annular recess provided inside a sleeve integrally fastened to and concentric with said other flange, a take-up core ring being frictionally mounted on said sleeve for rotation therewith.

3. The take-up reel of claim 2, wherein said engagement seats include a recess adapted to receive, by snap action, a corresponding protruding part of each of said flat springs.

4. The take-up reel of claim 2 wherein said engagement seats include a slot for receiving one of said flat springs, said slots being essentially L-shaped and the edge thereof being connected with the inner face of said removable flange by means of surface which slopes relative to said inner face of said removable flange.

5. The take-up reel of claim 3 wherein said engagement seats include a slot for receiving one of said flat springs, said slots being essentially L-shaped and the edge thereof being connected with the inner face of said removable flange by means of a surface which slopes relative to the said inner face of said removable flange.

6. The take-up reel of claim 1 further including; a support pin adapted to be inserted inside a central hole of said reel hub; said support pin including at least one tooth for engagement with a groove provided in the surface of said hole; said support pin also including a tongue deformable in radial direction toward the axis of said reel, a detent at the end of said tongue, said detent being adapted to axially lock said pin with respect to said reel against a collar provided at the end of said pin opposite to the end carrying said detent.

7. The take-up reel of claim 5 further including; a support pin adapted to be inserted inside a central hole of said reel hub; said support pin including at least one tooth for engagement with a groove provided in the surface of said hole; said support pin also including a tongue deformable in radial direction toward the axis of said reel, a detent at the end of said tongue, said detent being adapted to axially lock said pin with respect to said reel against a collar provided at the end of said pin opposite to the end carrying said detent.