Web Winding

Abstract

There is disclosed in the specification a winding apparatus having a normal winding station including standards for supporting an arbor for a roll of web being wound. The arbor is driven through a rotary coupling mounted in one of a pair of opposed movable arms arranged first to engage the arbor at a temporary winding station to initiate the winding operation and then to transfer the web roll to the normal winding station where the remainder of the web winding operation is completed.

Description

The present invention relates generally to improvements in web winding apparatus and more particularly to such apparatus adapted to taking up web uninterruptedly from a source which may be considered either as a machine producing the web or one in which the web is processed in some way.

In some respects, the present apparatus is adapted to the winding of heavy web rolls and some of the advantages derived from it are particularly adaptable to heavily constructed winders. For example, conventional winders adapted for performing an uninterrupted winding operation generally include a heavy frame defining two alternately employed winding stations at each end of which there is usually a complete individual drive for winding the roll at that particular station. It is readily seen that the need for a heavily constructed generally complex frame having complete drives together with necessary switching equipment to perform the winding operation alternately at the two stations renders the manufacture of such conventional winders complex and expensive.

Other disadvantages of such conventional winders are the amount of floor space required for the two stations and the difficulty of loading a core for the start of a winding operation and the removal of a fully wound web roll from the apparatus.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to reduce the weight and cost of winding apparatus especially that intended for winding large web rolls.

Another object is to reduce the amount of floor space and head room required for winding apparatus adapted to being supplied with web uninterruptedly at high speed.

Still another object is to facilitate the loading of cores into web winders and the unloading of fully wound rolls.

A still further object is to provide greater uniformity in wound rolls than has heretofore been possible with conventional winders.

In the achievement of the foregoing objects, a feature of the invention relates to a pair of opposed pivoted arms upon one of which a roll-driving center is carried. A related feature of the invention pertains to stationary supports or standards which support the roll being wound at a normal winding station. At the start of the winding operation, the core and the starting roll are supported as well as driven at a temporary winding station by mechanism mounted on the arms. However, after a priorly wound full roll has been removed from the supports, the newly started roll is transferred to the supports to complete the winding operation.

Another feature of the invention relates to mechanisms for severing the web when a roll has been fully wound and for securing the severed web to a new core in preparation for the start of a new roll winding operation. The severing of the web is accomplished when the web is stationary at the severing position and the leading end of the web behind the cut is secured to the new core and also before rotary motion is imparted to the core. While the web at the new core remains stationary, the quantity of web continuing in motion from the source is absorbed in a storage festoon before the resumption of winding.

The foregoing objects and features of the invention will be more fully understood from a detailed description of an illustrative embodiment taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in left side elevation depicting web winding apparatus according to the present invention and also showing a storage festoon through which the web passes on its way to the winding apparatus,

FIG. 2 is a view on an enlarged scale of the winding apparatus depicted in FIG. 1 taken at a time when the winding of a roll of web is nearing completion;

FIG. 3 is a view also in left side elevation of the winding apparatus depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 but showing the parts of the apparatus in their positions at the beginning of a roll winding operation;

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective as seen from the left side and rear of the winding apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 3 inclusive;

FIG. 5 is a detail view of instrumentalities of the machine for severing the web to a fully wound roll and also for securing the leading end of the severed web to the core on which the next roll is to be wound;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary detail view showing a driving center which engages a core shaft or arbor upon which the roll is wound together with mechanism for maintaining the center in driving engagement with the arbor during winding operations;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but showing the driving center retracted out of engagement with the arbor;

FIG. 8 is a view in rear elevation depicting the apparatus and festoon of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIGS. 6 and 7 but showing a dead center which engages the opposite end of the arbor.

Turning now to the drawings, particularly FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive, apparatus according to the present invention is seen to include a storage festoon indicated generally at 20 and of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,208, issued Dec. 3, 1968 upon application of Richard A. Butler, Jr. et al. The festoon 20 in the present embodiment performs the dual functions of accepting web from the source while the winding operation is interrupted for the start of a new roll and of providing a signal for regulating the winding speed in accordance with the quantity of web in the festoon at any given time. These two functions are essentially the same as those performed by a similar festoon forming a part of a winding apparatus disclosed in application for U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 809,146, filed Mar. 21, 1969 in the name of Richard A. Butler, Jr. et al, now abandoned.

Briefly, the festoon 20 comprises a stationary frame including vertical side plates 22 upon which is mounted a plurality of idler rollers 24 which rotate about stationary axes and define with dancer rollers 26 a variable path for the web 28 which enters from the right as seen in FIG. 1 and is trained alternately over idler and dancer rollers in a double bight configuration as fully described in the above identified Butler et al. patent. The dancer rollers 26 are mounted in a yoke slidable on vertical guides 29 for movement toward and away from the idler rollers 24. The yoke includes plates 30 which are continuously urged upwardly away from the idler rollers 24 by a mechanism including fluid-actuated pistons slidable in two cylinders 34. The connections between the pistons and the plates 30 include an appropriate cam which signals the quantity of web in the festoon 20. The signal is employed for regulating the speed of a motor 36, generally in the same manner as is disclosed in the above identified Butler application.

In the present apparatus, the function of supporting the growing web roll as it is being wound and that of driving the core for the winding operation are largely separated with the result that support elements which must be adapted to substantial loads may be simple and accordingly economical to construct. After an initial period of winding at a temporary winding station when the roll 38 is relatively small and light the roll is transferred to the normal winding station where it is supported as it grows heavier on a pair of floor-mounted standards 40. A core shaft or arbor 42 which grips one or a plurality of cores 44 internally is received on the standards 40 where the arbor is cradled in engagement with two rollers 46 of the type generally employed as follower rollers in conjunction with large cams, for example.

Rotation is imparted to the arbor 42 through a live center 48 having its arbor engaging surface longitudinally splined to transmit torque to the arbor 42 through a liner 50 of polymeric material which acts as a filler to enhance the driving characteristics of the center in a suitably splined tapered socket in the arbor. The arbor 42 is gripped between the live center 48 and a tailstock center 52 which are mounted respectively in upstanding arms 54 and 56 of a U-shaped frame pivoted at 58 in floor mounted pillow blocks 60. A fluid-actuated piston having a rod 62 and slidable in a cylinder 64 is connected to each of the arms 54 and 56 for moving the arms to position the centers for driving in an initial position, that shown in FIG. 3, and then to a normal winding position, that shown in FIG. 2.

The center 48 is mounted upon a splined shaft 66 by a screw 68 and retained against rotation relative to the shaft by a pin 70 which enters a slot in the center. The shaft 66 is rotatable in a pair of inboard bearings 72 mounted in a sleeve 74 slidable in a housing 76 which forms a part of a weldment including the arm 54. A sprocket 78 is fitted with an internally splined hub 80 which is journalled in a pair of ball bearings 82 and coupled loosely to splines 84 on the shaft 66. The center 48 is thus driven through the sprocket 78 and is axially slidable to engage and disengage the socket in the end of the arbor 42. An axial motion is imparted to the sleeves 74 for engaging and disengaging the center 48 by means of a mechanism including a cylinder 86 in which there is slidable a piston having a rod 88 connected at 90 to a bell crank 92 which has a generally vertical arm coupled to the sleeve 74. The bellcrank 92 is pivotally supported at 94 between a pair of hangers 96 from which the cylinder 86 is supported for swinging motion. The vertical arm of the bellcrank 92 passes through a slot in the housing 76 and terminates at its distal end in a cylindrical enlargement which engages an appropriate slot in the sleeve 74. When the rod 88 is retracted, the center 48 is withdrawn from the socket in the arbor 42 while the center is pressed into driving contact in the socket when the rod 88 is extended under fluid pressure acting on the piston.

The mounting of the center 52 is similar to that of the center 48 except that the center 52 is not driven but merely provided with means for moving it toward and away from a socket in its related end of the arbor 42. The center 52 is fixed to a shaft 100 by a screw 102 and retained against rotation by a pin 104 which engages an appropriate slot in the center. The shaft 100 is journalled in roller bearings 106 having outer races pressed into a sleeve 108 which is axially slidable in a bore in a housing 110 forming a part of the weldment including the arm 56. The shaft 100 at its outer end passes loosely through a bushing 112 which is rotatable in a pair of spaced apart ball bearings 114. The center 52 is thus mounted for sliding movement in and out of the socket in the arbor 42 under the influence of mechanism including a piston slidable in a cylinder 116 and having a rod 118. The mechanism for advancing and retracting the center 52 is the mirror image of that connected with the center 48 and includes a bell crank 120 pivotally supported at 122 between a pair of hangers 124 for the cylinder 116. The bellcrank 120 is pivotally connected at 126 to the rod 118 and includes a vertical arm passing through a slot in the housing and terminating in a cylindrical ending which engages a slot in the sleeve 108 for advancing the center 52 into the socket in the arbor 42 and for retracting it when the rod 118 is extended and retracted respectively.

Rotary motion is imparted to the sprocket 78 by a roller chain 130 which is driven by a sprocket 132 fixed to a shaft concentric with the pivot 58 for the arms 54 and 56. The shaft which has fixed to it the sprocket 132 also carries another sprocket 134 over which passes a roller chain 136 for transmitting the rotation of a sprocket 138 on the motor 36 to the sprocket 134.

While a roll is being wound in the condition depicted in FIG. 2 a core shaft 42 having a complement of cores 44 mounted upon it is readied for the next roll winding operation. The readying comprises the step of fitting the cores to the core shaft which is provided with means for gripping the interior of the cores in driving engagement. The cores on the arbor are given a coat of adhesive or a double faced tape at least to the upper portion as seen particularly in FIG. 5.

The prepared core shaft and cores are inserted into the machine being laid on a set of concave rolls 142. The arbor is pushed endwise up to a stop which locates it with respect to the position of the web. The rolls 142 are rotatable in a box-like framework including plates 144 fixedly mounted upon the plates 22 of the festoon frame. At the time that the arbor 42 with the cores 44 is laid upon the rolls 142, a pair of hook-shaped arbor carrying arms 146 is in the position depicted in dot and dash lines in FIG. 5, a position allowing the arms to cradle and raise the arbor to the position depicted in solid lines in order to commence the winding of a new roll. There is, extending between the two arms 146, a slotted bar 148, the slot of which is filled with an elastomeric material to serve as a cutting pad for the web. The arms 146 are raised together by a pair of pistons each mounted on a rod 150 and slidable in a cylinder 152. The rod 150 which is extended or retracted by pressurized fluid appropriately introduced into the cylinder 152, is pivotally connected to its related arm 146 at 154. Each of the cylinders 152 is pivotally supported at 156 between a pair of ears extending rearwardly from the festoon frame.

Cooperating with the assembly including the arms 146 in the start of a new roll is a pivoted frame including a pair of spaced apart arms 158 sharing a pivot 160 with the arms 146. The pivoted frame is normally maintained in the raised dot and dash position as shown in FIG. 5, during normal winding operations. However, in order to cooperate with the arms 158 in severing the web and in securing the new leading end to the core 44, the frame is lowered to the full line position by the action of a fluid operated piston mounted upon a rod 162 and slidable in a cylinder 164. The rod 162 is pivotally connected to the frame at 166 and the cylinder 164 is pivotally supported at its opposite end upon the festoon framework. The mounting of the cylinder 164 is such that when the rod 162 is extended the arms 158 and the pivoted frame are lowered while the framework is raised when the rod 162 is retracted. Interconnecting the arms 158 is a web severing knife assembly such as that disclosed in the above identified application, including a stationary welded housing fixedly secured between the two arms 158 which also serve to close the ends of the housing and make it fluid tight. The housing comprises a longitudinal member 170 of L-shaped cross-section having a rearward vertical surface separated from a parallel surface of a plate 172 by a spacer 174 to provide a guideway for a sliding member 176. A knife 178 is mounted on the member 176, both the sliding member and the knife extending the whole width of the web between the arms 158, as also seen in FIG. 4. In addition to the foregoing elements mounted on the arms 158, there is also a pair of idler rollers 180 and 182 rotatable on stationary shafts extending between the arms. In addition there is also mounted between the arms 158 a formed paster block 184 secured to the underside of and extending the entire length of the L-shaped member 170. While the arms 158 are in their raised dot and dash line position shown in FIG. 5, the web contacts only the roller 180 and passes from there to the web roll 38 being wound. However, when the arms 158 are lowered, the web bridges the gap between the rollers 180 and 182 to facilitate the pasting and severing of the web. The arms 146 are raised to bring the core 44 into contact with the web at the paster block 184 at a time when the web is stationary. The pressure of the core 44 against the web at the paster block 184 secures the web in position for severing by the knife 178 which is projected by the introduction of fluid into the cavity behind the sliding member 176 in the housing.

The operation of the apparatus will now be summarized briefly starting at a time when the roll 38 is nearing its full size. At that time, the arbor 42 carrying the cores 44 has already been laid upon the rollers 142, the arms 146 are in their lowered dot and dash position and the arms 158 are in their raised dot and dash position. Upon a signal which may occur automatically by the closing of a switch (not shown) as a result of reaching a predetermined roll size or upon the manual closing of a switch by the operator, the winding of the roll 38 is slowed down by the motor 36 or by an auxiliary brake (not shown) which may be connected to the otherwise dead center 52 employing essentially the same mode of coupling as is employed for the sprocket 78 at the live center 48. As the roll 38 comes to a stop, the arms 158 are lowered and the arms 146 raised to grip the web between the cores 44 and the block 184. Immediately upon gripping of the web pressurized fluid is introduced to the housing behind the sliding member 176 to cause the knife 178 to sever the web. As soon as the roll 38 stops, the centers 48 and 52 are retracted from the arbor 42 and the arms 54 and 56 are swung to the position depicted in FIG. 3 as the rod 62 is extended from the cylinder 64 by fluid under pressure. In this generally vertical position of the arms 54 and 56, a stop locates the centers 52 and 48 in alignment with the new arbor 42 to which the leading end of the web has now been attached. The centers 48 and 52 are engaged with the new arbor 42 by the action of fluid under pressure in the cylinders 86 and 116 respectively. As the centers are engaging the new arbor, the arms 158 are raised and the arms 146 lowered to free the new arbor 42 for rotation as the motor 36 is again energized. During the stoppage, web from the source is taken up by the festoon 20. The dancer rollers 26 which have remained near the idler rollers 24 at the lower end of the dancer roller travel during normal winding of the previous roll, move away from the idler rollers to absorb the web coming from the source as the web 28 continues uninterruptedly to enter the festoon 20. The initial part of the winding operation continues in the arbor position depicted in FIG. 5. While the new roll being wound still remains small, the previously completed roll 38 on the standards 40 is hoisted away. Then at a signal, the electrically controlled shifting of a solenoid valve spool, not shown, causes the cylinder 64 to be energized to transfer the new roll to the standards 40 without interrupting the winding operation.

Claims

Having thus described my invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Web winding apparatus comprising

a first support for an arbor at a normal winding station,

a second support for an arbor at a temporary winding station, and

means for rotating the arbor at the two winding stations, said rotating means being comprised of a pair of spaced-apart arms which are movable so that corresponding ends of the arms can be moved between the temporary winding station and the normal winding station,

means carried by said ends of the arms for engaging an arbor and supporting it between the arms,

means for rotating the engaging means so as to rotate the arbor supported thereby, and

means for moving said arms so that an arbor at the temporary winding station which is engaged and rotated by the engaging means can be moved to the normal winding station as it rotates.

2. Web winding apparatus defined in claim 1 and further including

means adjacent the temporary winding station for holding a new arbor and wherein said second support means at the temporary winding station is comprised of arms for cradling the ends of said arbor in said holding means and means for moving the cradling means to the temporary winding station.

3. Web winding apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said first support at the normal winding station is comprised of

a pair of upstanding standards and bearing means on the standards arranged to accommodate a rotating arbor.

4. Web winding apparatus as defined in claim 1 and further including

a web storage festoon ahead of the temporary winding station and means adjacent the temporary winding station for severing a web leading from the festoon to a roll of web on an arbor at the normal winding station.

5. Web winding apparatus as defined in claim 4 and further including

means adjacent the temporary winding station for securing the severed end of a web leading from the festoon to an arbor at the temporary winding station.

6. Web winding apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein

the arbor engaging means are comprised of a pair of opposed centers on the arms between which the arbor is received, at least one of said centers being rotatable and at least one of said centers being retractable axially.

7. Web winding apparatus according to claim 1 and further including

a movable pad adjacent the temporary winding station and movable into engagement with an arbor supported at the temporary winding station for pressing a web against that arbor and a knife assembly positioned adjacent the temporary winding station for separating a web secured to the arbor supported at the temporary winding station from the web on the arbor supported at the normal winding station.