Winding Machine

Abstract

Apparatus is disclosed for performing the winding-up of webs, preferably of several webs slit from a single web. The apparatus comprises opposed rotatable winding shafts supported at one end only by supports, and means for axially displacing at least one of the winding shafts in the support into a predetermined winding area, the winding shafts when displaced being adapted to support winding cores for a winding roll.

Parent Case Text

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 166,941, filed July 28, 1971, now abandoned.

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for winding-up web-like material. In addition to serving for simple re-winding operations, this apparatus is particularly used for winding up several webs slit from a single web, i.e. as a slitting and winding apparatus. The apparatus is particularly suitable for processing thin webs of plastic film.

Apparatus for the winding-off and winding-up of materials in separate machine units and for re-winding materials in a single machine are well known and are commercially available in a great variety of versions. The first group of machines need not be considered, however, because they are used only for special purposes due to the large floor space they require, and also because they are far less pertinent to the present invention than is the second group. The machines coming under this category have already attained a high degree of technical perfection and are to be included within the class of high performance special apparatus.

The simplest versions of such machines are the so-called re-winding machines. In such machines, the web of material is wound-off from a roll and re-wound on another winding shaft that is driven with one or more manufacturing operations for the web of material taking place between the two winding procedures. Such manufacturing operations may include trimming of the edges, slitting of the roll, printing, coating or embossing operations, or other comparable operations.

For simple re-winding operations, machines are known in which the winding shafts are supported at each end and are lifted out of the machine each time a fresh roll is inserted and finished rolls are removed. Light-weight rolls, i.e. narrow rolls with relatively small diameters, are lifted manually from the machine, whereas heavy rolls, with correspondingly heavier winding shafts, are removed from the machine with the aid of hoisting apparatuses.

In order to avoid the complicated insertion and removal of the rolls together with their winding shafts in the case of the aforementioned machines, apparatuses have been developed in which the winding shafts are supported at one end only so that the rolls can be inserted and removed from the side. This lateral insertion and removal of the rolls has the serious drawback that, particularly in the case of heavy rolls, a displaceable lateral removal device must be provided by means of which the rolls can be removed laterally. The devices used for this purpose, for example hoisting apparatuses, must operate in such a manner that they accurately engage the rolls, because otherwise the rolls could be damaged at their front ends, for example. This interaction between winding shaft, roll, and removal device, however, can be achieved only with technically expensive means. Further, in the case of slitting machines in which several rolls must be laterally removed, such a removal device must be provided for each roll in order to permit an economical operation. Furthermore, this type of machine has the considerable disadvantage that it requires more floor space due to the rigid arrangement of the winding shafts, because a space corresponding at least to the width of the original roll is additionally needed to permit lateral removal of the rolls.

As a further development of the simple re-winding machines, apparatuses have been constructed in which a wide web of material is simultaneously subdivided into several narrower webs, which are wound upon separate winding shafts. In these machines, winding shafts supported on both ends also are used, and the drawbacks caused by the difficult insertion and removal of the original roll and of the finished narrower rolls are the same as in the case of a simple re-winding operation.

In order to better obviate these difficulties, machines have been developed which are equipped with full-length winding shafts which are capable of radially swinging out. In addition to the expensive technical construction and the susceptibility to malfunction caused thereby, and by the great weight of the winding shafts, this type of machine has the disadvantage that the opening of the bearings for the winding shafts, which must be effected before the winding shafts are swung out, requires additional operating time and often can be performed only with great difficulties, especially with the compact constructions preferred today.

Another embodiment of the roll cutting and winding machines is equipped with radially swingable winding arms, and the narrow rolls produced from the original roll by slitting are rested, without axles, in pairs of rocking levers. In addition to the already mentioned drawbacks of swivelling devices, this machine has the disadvantage that the rolls mounted in the pairs of rocking levers are not supported in the center so that, in spite of the expensive mechanical equipment, the rolls, and especially thick rolls, tend to sag, which, in turn, may cause further operating difficulties, also during further processing of the narrow rolls.

The above-mentioned cutting machines have the common drawback that, due to the rigid arrangement and, consequently, predetermined length of the winding shafts, only special sizes can be produced. Thus, a complicated removal of the old shafts and insertion of new shafts is necessary when other sizes are to be produced, provided such adaptation is possible at all.

The above-mentioned machines have known devices for driving the winding shafts, such as motors with torque transfer means, and means for common or separate adjustment of the winding tension also may be provided.

The present invention provides an apparatus for the winding-up of a single web, preferably, however, of several webs slit from a single web, which does not have the disadvantages of the described machines and which, when it is used in a preferred embodiment as a roll cutting and winding machine, provides easy and rapid removal of the finished roll and, furthermore, for a great variety of roll widths.

This is achieved by an apparatus in which one, or preferably several, winding shafts axially displaceable into the winding-up area of the winding roll or rolls are arranged, the free end of the winding shaft or the free ends of the winding shafts when being pushed out carrying winding cores for receiving the winding roll or rolls and the winding shafts and/or cores being equipped with known means for power transfer between the core and the shaft.

By means of the axial displaceability, it is possible to easily move the winding shafts into any position of a predetermined winding area. The apparatus of the invention is advantageously distinguished from prior art apparatuses in that it permits a rapid installation of the winding arrangement, without time-consuming and technically expensive dismantling or swivelling of entire winding shafts, and that winding cores of different widths, corresponding to the width of the web to be wound up, can be mounted within a short time. A further, very essential advantage is the adjustability resulting from the lateral displaceability of the winding shafts because the winding core can be adapted very accurately to the direction of feed of the web. In prior art apparatuses, there is the risk of a lateral distortion of the web to be wound up, when its direction of feed does not exactly correspond to the position of the winding core, so that rolls are produced which do not have level front surfaces. Such rolls must be trimmed again, thus causing a loss of material and operating time, with the same problems arising during the renewed rewinding which becomes necessary. By means of the apparatus of the present invention, time-saving and technically very accurate operating is possible with more economical production methods resulting therefrom which have been impossible hitherto.

After the winding-up operation, the winding shafts are moved back to their original position, the roll together with the winding core being rapidly separated from the winding shaft thereby.

Removal devices may be provided for heavy rolls, as in the known machines, but since, after the returning of the winding shaft, the roll is freely movable, it is not necessary, as in the case of the known machines, to accurately engage these devices in a technically expensive manner. It is possible, for example, to cause the roll to fall into a hoisting device which then transports the roll out of the machine.

As mentioned above, in a preferred embodiment the apparatus is not used as a simple rewinding apparatus for one or several webs but as a roll cutting and winding machine. In this case, the web of material being unwound from a roll is divided by means of roll-dividing devices, e.g. rotating knives, into the desired number of webs and the divided webs are wound onto separate winding shafts.

In another embodiment, the winding shafts are arranged on both sides of the apparatus. This arrangement has the advantage over the arrangement on one side that the supporting lateral parts and their mounts may be less strong because the weight of the winding shafts, cores and rolls is distributed on both sides. In the case of the arrangement on both sides, the winding shafts preferably are arranged with their axes symmetrical to each other, either only one or both opposite winding shafts being axially displaceable. This embodiment, inter alia, serves for carrying the roll with both free ends of the opposite winding shafts.

Since the winding shafts are normally of a relatively heavy construction and the winding cores and the rolls wound upon them very often are heavy, it has proven to be particularly suitable in many cases to provide a supporting device for the winding shafts at or shortly before the beginning of the area where they carry the rolls. Supports used for this purpose include, for example, upright and/or suspended parts, and a half-bearing attached to a rod may be used, for example.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the supports are also displaceable in the direction of the axial displaceability of the winding shafts, preferably by the same distance as the shafts. This simultaneous displacement of winding shafts and supports is necessary, for example, for the adjustment of a winding position or correction of an already selected position. A displacement of the winding shaft independently of the displacement of the support, and vice versa, is also possible.

When the roll is supported, the machine parts serving for this purpose should interfere as little as possible with the operation. They are, therefore, preferably shiftable so far that the finished roll can be removed without lateral transport movement.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the supports can be raised or lowered by means of known apparatuses.

In a preferred embodiment, the supporting device is a supporting bearing preferably carried by two arms parallel to the winding shaft and supported by bearings. Also in this arrangement, the supporting device and the winding shaft may be displaced by the same amount together or independently of one another.

In another embodiment of the apparatus, a spacer sleeve or disc is arranged between the supporting bearing and the winding shaft, which rotates synchronously with the winding shaft and is fixed to the rotating portion of the supporting bearing in order to protect it from dropping-off during axial displacement of the winding shaft. The spacer sleeve is so constructed that it protects the roll from being laterally displaced during the retraction of the winding shaft after completion of the winding operation and thus allows separation of the winding shaft from the roll.

In principle, the winding shaft or shafts may be arranged or mounted in any desired position, provided they are axially displaceable in accordance with the invention. However, in order to substantially avoid contamination -- which is of particular importance when webs of thin plastic films are to be wound-up -- it has proved to be of advantage for the winding shaft or shafts to be so far retracted in their initial position that they are accommodated in an enclosed housing outside of the winding area.

In a preferred embodiment, the means for effecting rotation as well as those for axial displacement of the winding shafts and, if desired, devices for adjusting the web tension, e.g. motors, rods, compressed-air cylinders, and the like, are also in the enclosed housing, a compact construction with diminished risk of contamination being achieved thereby.

Suitable devices for axial displacement of the winding shaft and any supporting device are known hydraulic and/or pneumatic devices, for example.

In another embodiment of the apparatus, the end of the winding shaft or the ends of the winding shafts are provided with a known self-locking easily removable locking cap of which the parts carrying the core have outside diameters exceeding the inside diameter of the winding core.

For further illustration, the apparatus of the invention will be described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1 to 8 are diagrammatic views in elevation of various embodiments of the apparatus of the invention, but do not show the driving means, or the means for speed adjustment, as well as for the displacement of the winding shafts and/or of the supporting device.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the apparatus in a preferred embodiment as a roll cutting and winding apparatus.

FIGS. 10 to 12 show three different positions of one of the winding shafts and the supporting system therefor.

The same numerals designate the same parts.

FIG. 1 shows the winding shaft 4 introduced in a housing 13 and carried by the bearing 11, the arrows indicating the direction of axial displaceability or rotation.

FIG. 2 shows the apparatus of FIG. 1, the winding shaft 4 being introduced into the winding area of the arriving web, not shown. The roll 3 is on the winding core 5.

FIG. 3 shows an apparatus with the winding shafts 4 and 4' on both sides A and B of the complete apparatus, with their axes symmetrical to each other.

FIG. 4 shows the apparatus of FIG. 1 but with winding shafts introduced into the winding area, their ends carrying the roll on the common winding core 5. This apparatus, however, is a special case selected for some purposes.

FIG. 5 shows an apparatus for simultaneously winding up several webs. For special purposes, the winding shafts 4 and 4' may be arranged at least partially rigidly, but in a preferred embodiment they are all axially displaceable.

The apparatus illustrated is specially constructed as a roll cutting and winding apparatus, the distance (a) corresponding to the total width of the original web. The rolls partially are of different widths, the two lower rolls in some cases being the edges cut for achieving absolutely planar front surfaces. Such cut edges are relatively narrow, compared to the wound divided rolls.

FIG. 6 shows an apparatus similar to that illustrated in FIG. 5, in which each winding shaft 4 is facing a winding shaft 4', their axes being symmetrical.

FIG. 7 corresponds to the apparatus of FIG. 6, but the winding shafts face one another with their axes being symmetrical (4 and 4' in a and b positions) and each has only one winding core, the rolls being devided in a manner different from that of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of two supporting devices 14 and 14' which can be raised and lowered in the direction of the arrows and support the winding axes shortly before the carrying position of the rolls 3. The supporting devices are mounted on an axis 15 and are axially displaceable.

FIG. 9 shows a preferred embodiment of the apparatus as a roll cutting and winding apparatus.

FIGS. 10 through 12 show the apparatus components required for effecting the rotary and pushing movement of the winding shaft and the pushing movement of the supporting arms with the bearings 6. These components are enclosed within the housings 13 and 13', and in FIGS. 10 to 12 are shown for one side of the apparatus only.

FIG. 8 shows the structural elements required for operating the raising and lowering devices 14 and 14'. The elements are specifically shown only for the raising and lowering device 14, and similar elements are employed in connection with the raising and lowering device 14'. The piston of the raising and lowering device 14 works in a cylinder 27 filled with air or liquid 28. Pressure, designated with the letter P, can be applied to the system through the junction 29 to raise the piston 14. By reducing the pressure P, the piston 14 can be lowered. By turning the hand wheel 34 mounted on the spindle 30, the nut 31 connected to the device 14 can be axially displaced thereby also moving the raising system axially. The spindle 30 is supported in the bearings 32 and 33.

FIG. 9 shows the individual webs 2 which are cut from a web of material 1 by means of cutting devices (not shown) and wound into the rolls 3. The rolls are wound upon winding cores 5, not shown. The axially displaceable winding shafts 4 and 4' are supported by supporting bearings 6 attached to the axially displaceable supporting arms 10. The winding shafts are passed through the bearings 11, and the supporting arms 10 are passed through the bearings 12, both bearings being positioned in the side bearing plate 7. Between the supporting bearing 6 and the roll 3, there are the spacer sleeves 8 which rotate in synchronism with the winding shafts 4 and 4'. At the free ends of the winding shafts, self-locking but easily detachable locking caps 9 are provided which are taken off for removal of a finished roll and are replaced, as a safety measure, after a new winding core has been slipped on.

FIGS. 10 to 12 show the apparatus enclosed within the housing 13'. Similar apparatus is enclosed in the housing 13. The shaft 4 is rotated by means of the motor 16 driving the shaft through the gear 17, V-belt and V-belt pulley. The shaft 4 is axially displaceably mounted in a casing 20, and the V-belt pulley is laterally displaceably but non-rotatably mounted on the casing 20. The shaft 4 is supported by the supports 22a and 22b. The bearing brackets 6 and 6a are connected with the supporting arms 10, and in the bearing bracket 6a a stem guide is located in which the spindle 23 is moved by means of a miter gear 24 and a motor, not shown. By moving the spindle 23 via the bearing bracket 6a, the supporting arms 10 and 10a are axially moved together with the bearing bracket 6.

To the bearing bracket 6a a hydraulically or pneumatically working lifting cylinder is connected. On the opposite side the cylinder is connected with the shaft 4 via a connecting plate 25 and a double-acting thrust bearing 26. By means of this cylinder, the shaft is axially displaceable, independently of the location of the supporting system composed of parts 10, 10a, 6 and 6a.

FIG. 10 shows the shaft 4 and the supporting system both in an outer position.

FIG. 11 shows the shaft 4 in an outer position and the supporting system in an inner position.

FIG. 12 shows the shaft 4 in an inner position and the supporting system in an outer position.

The apparatus in principle can be used for all webs of material, e.g. of paper, metal, textile laminates, and the like, which are wound in the flat state but it has proved in practice particularly suitable for winding flat plastic films, especially those of small thicknesses, e.g. of 25.mu. and less.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for performing winding operations comprising opposed rotatable winding shaft means supported at one end only by supporting means, and means for axially displacing at least one of said winding shaft means in said supporting means into various positions in a predetermined winding area, said winding shaft means when displaced being adapted to support winding core means for a winding roll.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which the axes of the opposed winding shaft means are symmetrical.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 including means for axially displacing both of said winding shaft means.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 including additional supporting means for said winding shaft means.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4 including means for axially displacing said additional supporting means concurrently with said winding shaft means.

6. An apparatus according to claim 4 in which said additional supporting means includes means for lowering and raising it.

7. An apparatus according to claim 4 in which the additional supporting means includes supporting bearing means.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7 including at least one supporting arm connected to the supporting bearing means.

9. An apparatus according to claim 7 including spacer sleeve means on said winding shaft means adjacent said supporting bearing means.