U.S. patent number 3,695,539 [Application Number 05/051,839] was granted by the patent office on 1972-10-03 for multiple reel unwind stands.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Masson Scott Thrissell Engineering Limited. Invention is credited to Horst Karl Lindstaedt.
United States Patent |
3,695,539 |
Lindstaedt |
October 3, 1972 |
MULTIPLE REEL UNWIND STANDS
Abstract
An unwind stand, for unwinding multiple webs of sheet materials
such as paper or thin board simultaneously from a plurality of
large and heavy reels, in which the reels are mounted for the
unwinding operation in a single set of pairs of shaftless heads
which correspond in number to the reels, and a transporter or
conveyor is provided for moving the reels from a reel preparation
station to the unwind station. The shaftless heads may be
stationarily mounted on the transporter or conveyor, which moves in
the direction of web run-off, e.g., back and forth or in a closed
loop. The shaftless heads are preferably mounted on cantilever
supports pivotable about a vertical axis for squaring adjustment of
the reels.
Inventors: |
Lindstaedt; Horst Karl (London,
EN) |
Assignee: |
Masson Scott Thrissell Engineering
Limited (N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
10359923 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/051,839 |
Filed: |
July 2, 1970 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Jul 5, 1969 [GB] |
|
|
33,986/69 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
242/559; 198/432;
198/597; 198/610; 198/681; 242/559.1; 242/571.2; 242/592;
242/594.6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H
16/021 (20130101); B65H 2301/41346 (20130101); B65H
2301/41726 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65H
16/00 (20060101); B65H 16/02 (20060101); B65h
019/30 () |
Field of
Search: |
;242/58.6 ;198/84 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gilreath; Stanley N.
Assistant Examiner: Gerstein; Milton S.
Claims
I claim:
1. An unwind apparatus for supplying multiple webs simultaneously
from a plurality of reels, including a preparation station, an
unwind station, a single set of shaftless heads for carrying the
reels, when unwinding, at predetermined locations and corresponding
in number to the reels, transporter means carrying said shaftless
heads for transporting the wound reels between the two stations in
the same direction as the web run-off, and means regulating, at the
preparation station, the spacing of the reels to accord with the
spacing of said set of shaftless heads for unwinding.
2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which a cantilever support
forming part of the transporter means carries each pair of
shaftless heads.
3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, in which the cantilever support
is pivotable about a vertical axis for squaring adjustment of the
heads.
4. An unwind apparatus for supplying multiple webs simultaneously
from a plurality of reels, including a preparation station, an
unwind station, a single set of shaftless heads for carrying the
reels, when unwinding, at predetermined locations and corresponding
in number to the reels, structure at the unwind station on which
said shaftless heads are mounted whereby said shaftless heads
remain in the unwind station, transporter means separate from said
structure for transporting the wound reels between the two stations
in the same direction as the web runoff, means for regulating, at
the preparation station, the spacing of the reels to accord with
the spacing of said set of shaftless heads for unwinding, and means
on said transporter means for maintaining said reels with that
spacing to present them in the correct relationship at the unwind
station.
5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, in which said transporter means
has a flat platform for receiving the ends of reels arranged with
their axes vertical, said reels having central cores, the platform
being apertured to allow passage of said regulating means to
cooperate with the cores of said reels, said unwind station
including a barrel frame rotatable about an axis parallel to the
web take-off direction and carrying said shaftless heads, one set
of which can engage the reel cores through the platform apertures
when the transporter means is at the unwind station.
Description
This invention relates to unwind stands for delivering a plurality
of webs of sheet material, such as paper or thin board,
simultaneously from a number of reels, and is particularly, though
not exclusively, applicable to heavy duty stands designed to
support reels having wound diameters of up to or exceeding 31/2
feet and axial lengths of up to 7 or 8 feet. Such reels may weigh
in excess of 2 tons and present considerable problems in
preparation and loading into the operative unwinding position.
When such an unwind stand is used in conjunction with an automatic
slitter or cutter accepting simultaneously a plurality of webs, for
example between two and eight, it is important that the "downtime,"
i.e., the time involved in changing fresh reels for used reels and
gathering the webs of the new reels for insertion into the cutter,
should be reduced to a minimum, since during this period the cutter
system is idle. A considerable amount of preparation work can be
performed on fresh reels while unwinding is in progress but the
actual changeover time is critical. Conventional unwind stands may
involve a changeover time of 30 to 45 minutes or more to change
eight reels, whereas the time taken to readjust and reset a cutting
machine may be as little as 5 minutes or less, thus involving an
excess downtime of as much as 25 minutes or more per changeover.
With short runs and at faster cutting speeds this problem becomes
aggravated and it is an object of the present invention to provide
an improved unwind stand which will enable the changeover time to
be reduced and which may facilitate removal of empty cores or
partly unwound reels, all preferably within a minimum floor
area.
One conventional method of supporting heavy reels in unwind stands
is by means of steel shafts through the core centers, the ends of
the shafts being mounted in open bearings on the stand, into which
the reels are maneuvered manually or by means of overhead lifting
gear. This procedure is laborious and sometimes dangerous and the
shafts are subject to hard treatment and can be damaged. Moreover,
the shafts tend to droop under the weight of the reels and can be
otherwise distorted so that the reels fail to run true, and in some
cases the reels with their cores skid on the shafts, further adding
to the problems. In place of shafts it is known to use pairs of
shaftless heads arranged to move inwards to engage opposite ends of
the cores, but such heads are relatively expensive and existing
heads suffer from certain limitations if attempts are made to
adjust the axes of the reels for squaring purposes. Squaring is
necessary if a wound reel is slightly tapered conically in the
winding process, so that when the web is drawn off the tension
varies across the width of the web. To compensate for this
variation in tension and to maintain correct tracking of the web,
the axis of the reel on the unwind stand can be adjusted to produce
uniform tension across the web, or an additional squaring roller
can be introduced to vary the path of the run-off web and thus
compensate for this tension variation. It has been proposed to
adjust shaftless heads for squaring purposes by moving one of the
heads relative to the other in a direction parallel to the web
run-off, but although this method varies the axis of the reel the
heads do not remain aligned with one another and this can result in
the reel failing to run true, and the ends of the core may be
damaged.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an
improved unwind system which will at least partly overcome some of
the disadvantages of existing systems.
From one aspect the invention consists in an unwind apparatus for
supplying multiple webs simultaneously from a plurality of reels,
including a preparation station and an unwind station, a single set
of shaftless heads corresponding in number to the reels, and
transporter or conveyor means for transporting the wound reels
between the two stations.
Preferably, the shaftless heads are supported on a moving structure
and themselves form part of the transporter, which is conveniently
arranged for movement in the same direction as the web run-off.
According to a preferred feature of the invention each pair of
shaftless heads is mounted on a cantilever support, which may be
pivotable about a vertical axis for squaring adjustment of the
heads.
From another aspect the invention consists in an unwind system for
supplying multiple webs simultaneously from a plurality of reels,
including a preparation station and an unwind station, and
transporter means for moving wound reels between the two stations,
the overall floor area utilized being less than three times and
preferably not substantially greater than twice the floor area of
the unwind station.
Preferably the movable transporter is arranged to inter-leave
within the support structure of the unwind station or the
preparation station so that the transporter itself occupies little
or no further floor area than either of the said stations.
From yet another aspect the invention consists in an unwind system
for supplying multiple webs simultaneously from a plurality of
reels, including a preparation station and an unwind station and a
plurality of stands or supports for wound reels at both stations,
the supports being movable around a path or paths forming a closed
loop as seen from the side of the system. For example the stands
may be connected to an endless conveyor having upper and lower runs
passing around guides at opposite ends, and preferably each support
or stand includes shaftless heads and a squaring roller for
adjusting the tension of the take-off web.
The invention may be performed in various ways and a number of
embodiments will now be described by way of example, and with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the whole apparatus,
with parts omitted for clarity,
FIG. 2 is a side elevation, to a larger scale, of part of the
loading section and preparation section, incorporating a separate
weighing station,
FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a subsequent part of the
preparation section,
FIG. 4 is an end elevation of the unwind section,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cantilever arm assembly forming
part of the unwind section,
FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of the unwind section
illustrating the removal of an empty core,
FIG. 7 is a cross-section, to a much larger scale, through one form
of shaftless head,
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal section through an alternative form of
shaftless head,
FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic elevation similar to FIG. 1 of a second
embodiment,
FIG. 10 is an end view of the unwind section of the embodiment of
FIG. 9, to a larger scale,
FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic elevation of a third embodiment,
FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of part of the unwind section of the
assembly of FIG. 11,
FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic elevation of a fourth embodiment,
FIG. 14 is a plan view of a feed trolley used in the assembly of
FIG. 13,
FIGS. 15 and 16 are end views of the unwind section of the assembly
of FIG. 13, and
FIGS. 17 and 18 are diagrammatic elevations of a fifth
embodiment.
In the example illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6, the complete unwind
stand system is in three section; a loading section 10, a
preparation section 11 and an unwind section 12. These sections are
conveniently built as separate units and finally assembled to form
one complete continuous assembly extending in an in-line manner
parallel to the direction of web run-off to a subsequent automatic
multiple cutter (not shown) to the right of the assembly shown in
FIG. 1. The cutter forms no part of the present invention and need
not be described. It is, however, significant that the unwind
assembly occupies little more lateral width, if any, than the
cutter itself, so that a number of such assemblies can be arranged
in parallel rows closely adjacent to one another, feeding a number
of closely spaced cutting machines. The unwind assembly illustrated
is designed to feed webs simultaneously from up to eight reels 14
having diameters up to 42 inches and varying widths between say 12
and 94 inches, arranged in two decks of four. The whole unwind
assembly has continuous upper and lower levels to locate the reels
at the two different heights.
The first, loading, section 10 comprises upper and lower inclined
platforms 15, 16 to receive fresh reels 14 delivered by a forklift
loader, stacker truck or lift (not shown) at the loading end 17.
The reels 14 run down the inclined platforms 15, 16 and are checked
at the lower end by a double gate system of inclined chocks 18, or
plates or bars, which stop the reels and deliver them one by one as
required to the next section 11.
As delivered to the loading section 10, the reels 14 usually have
torn or otherwise useless outer windings, due to damage caused by
mechanical handling. They are therefore delivered first to a
cleaning station 24 also having upper and lower levels. At each
level, the cleaning station 24 has a turntable 26, whose diameter
is equal to the width of the largest reel to be handled, recessed
into a platform 28. The turntable 26 may have a diametral recess
261 or a pair of ridges one each side of a diameter, to locate the
reel on it. In the modification illustrated in FIG. 2, the reels
first arrive at a separate weighing station 20 having upper and
lower levels, at each of which is a small platform 21 supported on
a load cell 22. Each reel 14 in turn comes to rest on the platform
21 and its weight is registered by the load cell 22. It is then
rolled over platform 28 to the cleaning station 241 which in this
embodiment comprises at each level a pair of horizontal support
rollers 25 mounted on a turntable 262 attached to the top of a
vertical hydraulic jack 27. A fresh reel 14 is rolled manually in
position over the two rollers 25 and the jack 27 is then elevated
to the position shown in FIG. 2 to lift the reel above the level of
the adjacent platforms 28, 29 so that the turntable 262 can be
rotated through 90.degree. and the reel 14 can be turned on the
rollers 25. The turntables 26 and 262 may be supported for rotation
on their associated jack standards in the manner shown in U.S. Pat.
No. 1,570,730.
With the reel in this position, as shown on the upper level of FIG.
1, and the lower level of FIG. 2, as many of the outer windings of
the paper as may have been damaged are removed, and this waste
material is delivered directly downwards into a collection bin (not
shown) below and alongside the turntable. Instead of having a
separate weighing station 20, the turntable 26 of FIG. 1, or the
turntable 262 or the jack 27 of FIG. 2, may include weighing
mechanism such as load cells to determine the initial weight of the
reel and the weight when finally cleaned so as to check the amount
of waste. While supported on the turntable 26 or 262, the reel 14
can also be turned through 180.degree. about the vertical axis of
the turntable, manually or by any desired power means, as may be
necessary to ensure that the web pull-off will occur in the desired
direction. When the reel 14 is ready, it is pushed off the
turntable onto the platform, manually or by any desired power
means, the jack 27 being first lowered in the example of FIG. 2,
and it then continues into the next part of the preparation section
11.
The next part of the preparation section 11 is an alignment station
30 which comprises two support platforms 31, 32 one at each level,
each platform having four reel positions. At each reel position
there is provided a pair of supporting horizontal rollers 34 (FIGS.
1 and 3) extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the
assembly. The two rollers 34 are mounted on shafts 35 rotatably
supported at both ends in a transverse frame member 36. The frame
member is movable vertically within an aperture 33 in the platform
31 or 32 by means of a pair of screw jacks 37, 38, operated through
a cross-shaft 39 and gearing 40 by an electric motor 41. When a
reel 14 is received at one of the reel positions, an operator
manipulates controls 42 to operate motor 41, and this elevates the
pair of rollers 34 by means of the jacks 37, 38 to raise the reel
center to the correct height for subsequent engagement with a pair
of the shaftless heads, as described below. It will be appreciated
that the diameters of the reels may vary so that the height of lift
of the jacks must be variable. The operator can judge visually or
can measure to determine when the reel center has reached the
desired elevation, whereupon he shuts off motor 41.
When all eight reels are correctly positioned in the alignment
station 30, the leading ends of the paper webs are pulled off the
reels and led to the front reels on the upper and lower platforms
31, 32 and secured to them ready for the subsequent changeover. No
squaring rollers are provided and therefore no web threading
operations are necessary.
The unwind section 12 comprises an open frame 45 easily accessible
from both sides and from opposite ends. Within this frame, and
extending also into the preparation section 11, are mounted two
parallel horizontal longitudinal rails 46 (FIGS. 1 and 4) guiding a
movable transporter 47 which also acts as an unwind stand. The
transporter 47 comprises four parallel heavy rigid upright tubes 48
(FIG. 4) arranged in a longitudinal row and attached at their upper
ends to a horizontal framework 49 having rollers 50 longitudinally
spaced along both opposite sides, running on the longitudinal rails
46. The lower ends of the tubes 48 are attached to a lower
horizontal beam 51 carrying heeling rollers 52 on vertical axes
engaging a fixed heeling rail 53 mounted at the bottom of the main
frame. Each vertical tube 48 supports two identical cantilever arm
assemblies 54, 55 at heights corresponding respectively to the two
levels at which the reels 14 are handled. Each cantilever arm
assembly comprises a pivotal collar 56 closely located around the
tube 48 and bearing on a fixed positioning collar 57 secured to the
tube, so that the pivotal collar 56 is capable of pivotal movement
about the tube axis. From each pivotal collar 56 project two
parallel horizontal carrier tubes 58, and on these tubes two
brackets 59, 60 are mounted by means of sleeves 61, 62 slidable on
the carrier tubes 58. Each bracket 59, 60 has a depending plate or
lug 63, 64 carrying at its lower end an expanding type shaftless
head 65, 66 for engaging one end of a reel core 72. The two
brackets 59, 60 with the attached heads 65, 66 are movable towards
and away from one another, symmetrically, by means of a lead screw
67 (FIG. 5) having threads of opposite hand enclosed within gaiters
68, 69 and engaging in the brackets 59, 60. The lead screw 67 is
parallel with the carrier tubes 58 and is rotatable by means of an
individual geared motor drive (not shown) to draw the brackets 59,
60 together or to move them apart.
Each expanding shaftless head 65, 66 includes a stub shaft 70, 71
projecting towards the opposite head and capable of entering into
the respective open end of the reel core 72. As shown in FIG. 7,
the stub shaft 70 there seen in section may carry a number of
axially extending radially movable gripper strips 90 each of which
has a bottom flange 91 received in a channel 92. An inflatable tube
93 bears against the bottom face of the flange 91. The tubes 93 can
be connected to a common source of pneumatic pressure to expand the
gripper strips 90 outwards to grip a reel core 72.
In the alternative form of expanding shaftless head shown in FIG.
8, the head comprises a hexagonal section spigot or arbor 94, and
three clamping segments 95 with corrugated outer surfaces 96,
retained by rings 99, 100 secured to the arbor 94. The segments 95
each have two flat inner surfaces 97 at 120.degree. so that the
inner surfaces of the three segments 95 together form a hexagonal
section surrounding the arbor 94. The segments 95 are drawn
together by coil springs 98, but are forced apart by a camming
action on rotation of the arbor 94 relative to the segments 95, so
as to grip a reel core 72.
Each head 65, 66 also includes braking means 73, 74 (FIGS. 4 to 6)
to control the run-off web tension. It may further include
automatic core ejector or push-off devices (not shown) to ensure
that a reel core 72 will be discharged from both ends when the two
heads 65, 66 are separated at the finish of an unwind operation.
Alternatively, means indicated diagrammatically at 86 in FIG. 6 may
be provided for gripping the mid-portion of the reel core 72 when
the heads 65, 66 are being separated.
Each complete cantilever arm assembly 54, 55 including its two
shaftless heads 65, 66 can be pivoted about the axis of the
respective vertical tube 48 in order to adjust the reel axis in a
horizontal plane in relation to the web run-off direction so as to
compensate for conical tapering of the wound reel 14. This squaring
adjustment may be achieved by a screwthreaded adjusting rod 75
(FIG. 5) pivotally attached at one end to a fixed anchor bracket 76
on the vertical tube 48 and engaging a screwthreaded collar 77
attached to one of the carrier tubes 58. The shaft 75 may be
manually rotated in either direction by means of a hand-wheel 78 to
cause the cantilever arm assembly 54 or 55 to pivot through a
limited angle about the vertical axis. It will be noted that the
heads 65, 66 will remain aligned coaxially with one another during
this pivotal adjustment.
Each cantilever arm assembly 54, 55 is designed to be capable of
supporting the weight of a wound reel 14, i.e., 2 tons or more, but
in the actual unwinding operation it may be desirable that the free
end of the cantilever arm assembly should be additionally supported
or clamped, if only to reduce vibration. For this purpose the outer
bracket 59 at the free end of the assembly may have a roller 79
designed to run on a horizontal track (not shown) supported by
another part of the main open frame 45 and braking means such as a
friction clamping pad or a magnetic bracket (not shown) may be
provided to lock or clamp this outer end of the cantilever
assembly.
It will be seen that this system provides the advantages of
shaftless heads and also provides for so-called squaring adjustment
while maintaining the axes of the two heads in alignment. Moreover
the arrangement of cantilever supports for the shaftless heads
provides other advantages in association with the transporter
system for moving fresh reels into position, as will become
apparent.
As explained above it is also important to provide means for
rapidly removing empty reel cores 72, or partly unwound reels, and
in such a manner that the cores or partly unwound reels will not
cause damage or injury. Accordingly the open frame 45 at the unwind
station 12 also includes means for supporting two clearing
platforms 80, 81 (FIG. 4) in cantilever manner from the side
thereof opposite that from which the cantilever arm assemblies 54,
55 extend from the vertical tubes 48 of the transporter 47. Each
clearing platform 80, 81 extends the full length of the unwind
station 12 and in their normal positions the platforms are
positioned a short distance below the reels 14 in each level. The
platforms are maintained in the horizontal position by rollers 82
engaging opposite sides of a vertical guide rail 83. Each platform
80, 81 is vertically movable by means of a power operated hoisting
system shown diagrammatically in the case of platform 80 as
comprising a cable 84 passing over a pulley 85 and wound on a
power-driven winch (not shown) in housing 86 for selective
actuation by the operator. In this way, platforms 80 and 81 can be
raised to meet and support any partly unwound reel to be removed
from the unwind stand. This may occur, for example, if one reel has
a defective web in which case it is normal to cut the web and
continue winding from the remaining reels until the next
changeover. The defective reel must, of course, be removed before a
fresh reel can be inserted and the defective reel may weigh up to
the full initial weight of a wound reel.
Since the clearing platforms 80, 81 are arranged as cantilevers
projecting in the opposite direction from the cantilever arm
assemblies 54, 55 supporting the shaftless heads on the transporter
47, the complete transporter can be moved longitudinally between
the unwind station 12 and preparation station 11 without
conflicting with the clearing platforms. Moreover, when the
transporter 47 is out of the unwind station 12 the platforms 80, 81
can both be moved vertically. In use, at the end of an unwinding
operation, the two platforms 80, 81 are raised to meet and support
any partly unwound reel, the pairs of shaftless heads 65, 66 are
moved apart by the lead screw 67 under remote control means to
disengage from the reel cores 72 and to drop any empty core centers
on to the platforms 80, 81, and the transporter 47 is then moved
out of the unwind station 12 to pick up eight fresh reels 14 from
the preparation station 11. When the transporter 47 is clear of the
unwind station 12 the lower clearing platform 81 can be cleared of
empty reel cores and any "broken-out" reels. The upper clearing
platform 80 is then lowered down on to the lower platform 81 and
cleared in the same manner. The two platforms are than returned to
their original positions before the transporter 47 returns to the
unwind station 12 and interlocks are provided to prevent the return
of the transporter until the platforms are correctly
positioned.
At the preparation station 11 the two stationary platforms 31, 32
supporting the fresh reels 14 are similarly mounted in cantilever
fashion on the same side as the clearing platforms 80, 81 so that
the transporter 47 with its cantilever arm assemblies 54, 55
supporting the shaftless heads 65, 66 can interleave as it enters
this area longitudinally. The fresh reels 14 have previously been
aligned correctly as explained above so that each pair of shaftless
heads 65, 66 can be engaged rapidly in the ends of each core center
72, whereupon the pairs of support rollers 34 at each reel station
are retracted, leaving the reels 14 supported entirely by the
transporter 47. The transporter 47 is then returned rapidly to the
unwind station 12 by suitable power operated mechanism (not shown).
An operator then picks up the four gathered web ends fastened to
the front reel at each level and introduces them to the automatic
cutting machine. It is anticipated that the total changeover time
may be of the order of 5 minutes or less, i.e., of approximately
the same duration as the time taken to reset the cutter machine
itself, if such re-setting is necessary. Unless difficulties are
encountered in disposing of the reel cores and broken-out reels the
excess downtime may be greatly reduced or completely eliminated.
Moreover the disposal of the heavy defective reels can be performed
rapidly and under complete control, almost entirely eliminating any
dangerous manual operations. The system avoids the use of squaring
rollers which can only be threaded when the reels are in the unwind
area and which, therefore, tend to increase the downtime. Moreover,
the system avoids the need for duplicate shaftless heads at the
unwind and preparation stations, which would occur with a turntable
arrangement, and thus considerably reduces the overall cost of the
equipment. The whole assembly can be arranged in line with each
cutting machine and occupies little or no greater width than the
cutting machine itself so that a bank of cutting machines can be
arranged closely adjacent one another, or the unwind stands may be
provided in alignment with existing cutting machines positioned in
this manner, without the need to re-site the machines. The loading
arrangements are greatly simplified since loading is performed at
one end only, e.g., by a forklift or stacker truck or by a lift,
and thereafter the graded incline along the machine to the
preparation station facilitates the maneuvering of the reels into
position.
In the second embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIGS. 9
and 10, the unwind equipment has three main sections as in the
previous example, that is to say a loading section 101, a
preparation section 102 and an unwind section 103 with a
reel-cleaning station 104 at the entry to the preparation section
102.
The apparatus is in many respects similar to the previous example
and the loading section 101 and reel-cleaning station 104 may be
identical. In this example, however, the shaftless reel heads 105,
106 remain stationary in the unwind section 103, that is, they do
not move transversely of their axes, and the fresh reels 14 are
moved into the unwind section 103 from the preparation section 102
by two separate transporters 107 at the two levels. The shaftless
heads 105, 106 (FIG. 10) in the unwind section 103 are mounted in
aligned pairs, and are moved toward and away from each other by
conventional motors 105a and 106a, each head being supported in an
overhung manner on a framework 108 at the respective side of the
machine. The transporters 107 each comprise a moving carriage 109
carrying rollers 110 engaging guide rails 111 on the framework 108.
In this arrangement it may be necessary to provide additional
squaring rollers 112, one for each pair of heads, even though this
may tend to increase the downtime, since each web must then be
threaded over the respective squaring roller 112 after the reels 14
have been introduced into the unwind section 103.
Each of the moving transporters 107 includes pairs of supporting
rollers 113 and jacking mechanisms 114 as in the previous example
so that the fresh reels 14 can be raised to the correct center line
in the preparation section 102. As shown in FIG. 10, the jacking
devices 114 may be operated from either side of the machine by hand
wheels 115 provided on each end of cross-shafts 116.
After the reels have been transported into the unwind section 103
and engaged by the shaftless heads 105, 106, the supporting rollers
113 are lowered so that the two transporters 107 can be withdrawn
manually or by conventional mechanical means.
In order to facilitate clearing of empty reel cores or partly
unwound reels, a pair of fixed platforms 117 are mounted on the
framework 108 at each level, one on either side of the path of the
rollers 113, and a pair of elevating clearing platforms (not shown)
may also be provided, preferably arranged to be introduced from the
front end of the unwind stand (the right-hand end in FIG. 9). To
reduce the floor area these clearing platforms may be of relatively
short dimensions longitudinally, sufficient to support one reel
only, the platforms being movable longitudinally to any one of the
four reel positions at each level.
In the third embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the
equipment again comprises a loading section 120 and a pre-cleaning
station 121 as in the previous examples but the major portion of
the preparation and unwinding sections are effectively combined in
one section 122, though arranged in line as before. A heavy-link
chain conveyor 123 of the continuous endless type, with parallel
horizontal upper and lower runs 124, 125 respectively, is guided
over large pin wheels or sprockets 126 at opposite ends of this
combined section 122 and the links 127 of the chain are arranged to
locate sixteen pairs of shaftless heads 128, eight being at the two
levels in the unwind area 129 and eight similarly in the
preparation area 130. The conveyor 123 also carries brackets 131
supporting squaring rollers 132, one for each pair of heads 128,
and power-operated means (not shown) are provided for advancing the
conveyor 123 through one complete half cycle at each changeover so
that a complete fresh set of eight reels 14 is introduced into the
unwind area 129 and the previous set of reels returned to the
preparation area 130. The weight of the reels carried by the heads
can be supported by rollers 133 carried by the links 127 and
running on rails 134 located alongside the conveyor 123.
Empty reel cores and partly unwound reels are conveniently removed
as each reel 14 returns along the lower run 125 of the conveyor.
For this purpose a trolley indicated diagrammatically at 135 with
an elevating receiver may be movable below the lower run 125 and
any selected pair of heads 128 can be opened to eject a reel core
or an unwound reel into the receiver. The conveyor 123 may be
halted briefly for this discharge procedure.
Although squaring rollers 132 are employed in this system, to avoid
the expense of squaring shaftless heads, the downtime is not
effectively increased since the webs can be threaded over the
squaring rollers 132 in the preparation area 130 and led to the
respective end roller so that when the reels are introduced into
the unwind area 129 the webs can rapidly be introduced into the
cutting machine 136.
In the fourth embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 13 to 16, the
equipment has a reel storage section 140, a preparation section 141
and an unwind section 142, but in this case the reels 14 are loaded
at one level only, each reel disposed vertically, i.e., with its
axis vertical. The reels 14 are lifted from the storage section 140
by an electrically operated travelling hoist 143 having an
expanding core gripper 144, which places each reel on a
horizontally movable feed trolley 145 with its lower open core end
over one of a number of vertically movable spigots or pins 146
mounted in the base 147 of the preparation section 141. The spigots
146, when in the raised positions as shown in FIG. 13, extend
through longitudinal apertures 148 (FIG. 14) in the trolley 145 and
serve to locate the reels 14 in the desired relative positions,
corresponding to the positions which they are to occupy in the
unwind section 142. The spigots 146 each incorporate individual
turntables 149 on vertical axes. By further elevating the spigots
146 the reels 14 are lifted clear of the trolley 145, and can be
rotated to allow any spoilt outer windings of paper to be removed.
When the reels 14 are fully prepared, the spigots 146 and
turntables 149 are withdrawn downwardly by retractable jacks 150 so
that the reels stand properly positioned in two rows of four on the
trolley 145. The trolley 145 can then be moved on rollers 158 into
the unwind section 142.
In this embodiment the unwind section 142 comprises a rotary barrel
frame 151 capable of rotating about a horizontal axis parallel with
the web run-off direction. Each end of the barrel frame 151 is
provided with a large bearing ring or flange 152 running on
ground-mounted rollers 153 and power-operated means (not shown)
comprising a roller chain wrapped round one end ring 152 and driven
by a motor via a gearbox and pinion are provided for rotating the
barrel frame 151 as required. The barrel frame 151 is provided with
eight pairs of shaftless heads 154 for locating the eight wound
reels in position in two rows of four. In order to provide for
squaring adjustment of the heads 154 to compensate for tapered
reels, a retractable alignment shaft 155 is arranged to pass
centrally through each pair of heads 154 so that the two heads of
each pair can be pivoted about a common transverse axis and will
remain in alignment. These retractable center shafts 155 do not
constitute support shafts and merely act as alignment guides for
each pair of heads 154. The shafts 155 are withdrawn manually or by
conventional mechanical means as shown in FIG. 15 during the
loading and unloading operations.
When loading a set of eight fresh reels 14, assuming that the
barrel frame 151 is empty and the shafts 155 withdrawn vertically,
the feeder trolley 145 is moved forwards to carry the eight fresh
reels 14 into the barrel frame 151, for which purpose the barrel
frame is provided with guide rails 156 on to which the trolley 145
runs. When the reels are in position, the shaftless heads 154 are
engaged in the upper and lower ends of each reel core and the
alignment shafts 155 inserted downwardly through each reel. The
lower heads 154 lift the reels off the trolley 145 which is
withdrawn rearwardly to the preparation secton 141. The barrel
frame 151 is then rotated about its axis through 90.degree. to
bring the eight reels 14 into their horizontal positions as shown
in FIGS. 13 and 16 and the squaring adjustment of each pair of
shaftless heads is performed in the normal manner. The webs, which
had previously been drawn off, are inserted in the cutting machine
157 and the unwind operation then proceeds in the conventional
manner.
Finally, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 the shaftless
heads 160 are mounted one at each end of a series of links 161
connected by further links 162 into a "concertina" type linkage.
The linkage can be extended as shown in FIG. 17 to enable the reels
14 to be engaged by the heads 160 while the reels are at floor
level. The linkage is then compressed lengthwise to the position
shown in FIG. 18, e.g., by a motorized trolley device pushing the
links 161, 162 together, thus bringing the reels 14 into a two-deck
formation in which the webs 163 can be drawn off as shown.
* * * * *