CA2184769C - Web inspection and repair machine with web indexer device - Google Patents
Web inspection and repair machine with web indexer device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2184769C CA2184769C CA 2184769 CA2184769A CA2184769C CA 2184769 C CA2184769 C CA 2184769C CA 2184769 CA2184769 CA 2184769 CA 2184769 A CA2184769 A CA 2184769A CA 2184769 C CA2184769 C CA 2184769C
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- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- web
- sub
- inspection
- mandrel
- web material
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
- 238000007689 inspection Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 39
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 32
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 11
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 claims 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 claims 1
- 238000012795 verification Methods 0.000 claims 1
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H21/00—Apparatus for splicing webs
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H20/00—Advancing webs
- B65H20/24—Advancing webs by looping or like devices
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H26/00—Warning or safety devices, e.g. automatic fault detectors, stop-motions, for web-advancing mechanisms
- B65H26/02—Warning or safety devices, e.g. automatic fault detectors, stop-motions, for web-advancing mechanisms responsive to presence of irregularities in running webs
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
- B65H2301/41—Winding, unwinding
- B65H2301/414—Winding
- B65H2301/4148—Winding slitting
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2511/00—Dimensions; Position; Numbers; Identification; Occurrences
- B65H2511/20—Location in space
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2513/00—Dynamic entities; Timing aspects
- B65H2513/50—Timing
- B65H2513/512—Starting; Stopping
Landscapes
- Replacement Of Web Rolls (AREA)
- Controlling Rewinding, Feeding, Winding, Or Abnormalities Of Webs (AREA)
Abstract
A device for the inspection and repair of a roll of web material includes an unwind mandrel, a rewind mandrel, an inspection area and a splice area. A flaw in the web is detected at the inspection area, whereupon the web is braked to a halt.
Where the splice area is adjacent to or coincident with the inspection area, the flawed portion of the web can pass well beyond the splice area before the web comes to a halt. Provided herein is a web-indexer device that includes a reciprocating indexer shuttle having idler rolls mounted thereon, with further idler rolls mounted to the machine such that the web material can be strung between them in a substantiallyboustrophedonic configuration. Control means are provided to allow the operatorwho has caused the web to be braked to a halt upon detecting a flaw, to move theindexer frame so as to retrieve a portion of the web so as to bring the flaw back to the splicing station for repair, without having to reverse the rotational direction of the unwind mandrel or the rewind mandrel.
Where the splice area is adjacent to or coincident with the inspection area, the flawed portion of the web can pass well beyond the splice area before the web comes to a halt. Provided herein is a web-indexer device that includes a reciprocating indexer shuttle having idler rolls mounted thereon, with further idler rolls mounted to the machine such that the web material can be strung between them in a substantiallyboustrophedonic configuration. Control means are provided to allow the operatorwho has caused the web to be braked to a halt upon detecting a flaw, to move theindexer frame so as to retrieve a portion of the web so as to bring the flaw back to the splicing station for repair, without having to reverse the rotational direction of the unwind mandrel or the rewind mandrel.
Description
~ 218476g WEB INSPECTION AND REPAIR MACEIINE
WITE~ WEB INl~EXER DEVICE
This invention relates generally to web inspection and converting machines which are adapted to perform various process steps on an elongate web. The machine 5 typically has an unwind mandrel and a rewind mandrel, and the web is provided initially in the form of a coil or roll of web material which can be fltted on the unwind mandrel. The web is then strung through various possible c..., '.~ ofdevices such as idler rolls, error detectors, splicers, die cutters, print heads, and web slitters. Slitting the web may be required when the web carries a sequence of images, with two or more rmages located across the web. Inspection of the moving web canbe done cle~. u~ lly, or visually with the assistance of a ~LIuboscu~c, vision or video system that samples the movrng web.
BACKGROUNI) OF THIS INVENTION
In ~,uuv~ iu.~l web inspection machines, regardless of the means of error detection, the r ~ ' I IC~IUill ' iS to locate the position of an error along the length of the web, and ~ ly to decelerate and stop the machine in such a manner that the error is positioned at a "splice station" where it may be corrected by the operator. Several methods are ~;ul~ Liu~lly used to acbieve this lc4.,h~l~l (a) A frrst method, for use with uni-directional machines that cannot be reversed, involves providing a sufficient distance (along the web path) between the inspection point and the splice station to enable the section of the web with the detected error to be stopped at, or prior to, the splice station. If the error passes by the splice station, it cannot be "brought back" to the splicing area because the machine is not capable of reversing the movement of the we.b. Providing the required length of web between the inspection and spliced areas represents a ~;UlllL~lUllli;!l-" since more physical room is required, and a greater length of web must be redirected and guided.
(b) When a reversing machine is utilr~ed, the web can be wound back onto ',he unwind mandrel of the machine. However, this option is often ~u~ Lu~ l by another function of the machime, namely the slittrng of the web just prior to passrmg into the machine rewind. Once a web is slit, it normally cannot be reversed through the slitter section. For this reason, bi-directional machines are generally used where slitting is not required. Al ~.;y, the slitting is done on a second (post inspection) pass. Also, a reversing machine can often encounter difficulties with web guidimg.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THIS ~VENTION
The present d~V~IUU~ relates to a third way for error Pn~;l;.,.,;~, which effectively addresses the ~IIUI~U111i11~,~ of the web handling techniques mentioned in the previous section without movmg the unwind or rewind rolls. The proposed ' A UV~ i and method essentially involve a web indexing device which is equippedwith an integral variable position translating mrrhanicrn Accordingly, this invention provides, in a machine allowing inspection and repair of a roll of web material, the machine including:
a) an unwind mandrel, b) a rewind mandrel, c) am inspection area, d) a splice area, e) guide rolls for directing the web along a path from the unwind mandrel, past the inspection and splice areas in any sequence, to the rewind mandrel, andf) first control means for causing the web to move past said inspection and splice areas, and to allow am operator to brake the web to a standstill upon thedetection of a flaw m the web;
the illI~UlU v~ which comprises:
providing said machine with a web indexing device including:
g) an indexer shuttle mounted for back and forth movement with respect to the machine, h) a first plurality of idler rolls mounted to said indexer shuttle, i) a second plurality of idler rolls mounted to said machine, and so positioned with respect to the first plurality of idler rolls that web material can be strung 30 ~ lu,~d in sllhsfanti~lly bu~u~hedulll~ 5,, and j) second control means adapted, upon detection of a flaw at the inspection station, and upon braking of the web to a standstill, to move the indexer shuttle so ~ 218~769 as to return am identified portion of the web to the splicing station for repair, ~.irl~aLiu.. or any type of ,...-.l;li.-l;l..,, without having to reverse the rotational direction of the unwind mandrel or the rewind mandrel.
Further, this invention provides a method of inspecting and repairing a roll of 5 web material, for use with a machine which hlCul~l an umwind mandrel; a rewind mandrel; an inspection area; a splice area; guide rolls for directing the web material along a path from the unwind mandrel, past the inspection and splice areas in any sequence, to a rewind mandrel; control means to cause the web material tomove past said inspection and splice areas, and to allow the web to be braked to a 10 standstill upon the detection of a feature being searched for along the web; an indexer shuttle mounted for back and forth movement with respect to the machine; a frst plurality of idler rolls mounted to said indexer shuttle; and a second plurality of idler rolls mounted to said machine, the method including the steps of:
a) stringing the web material around the first and second pluralities of idler rolls 15 in ~ "y bu.,~LIu~h~lu~
b) unwinding the roll of web material at the unwind mandrel, while rewinding the web material at the rewind mandrel, whereby the web material moves past the inspection and splice areas;
c) inspecting the web material at the inspection area in order to detect a feature 20 being searched for;
d) when such feature is detected, using the control means to brake the web material to a standstill;
e) moving the indexer shuttle in the direction which will reposition the feature-containing portion of the web material at the splicing station without reversing the 25 rotation of either mandrel; and f) repairing the web material.
ERAL DESCRlPrION OF TI~E DRA~7VINGS
Several e..,l" ' of this invention are illustrated in the a~ull.L,a.~ lg drawings, in which like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views, and 30 in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a first ~"-l,o~ of this invention;
- 218~7~9 .
Figure 2 is a schematic elevational view of a second ~llllJodiu~ of this invention;
Figure 3 is a schematic elevational view of a web-reversing apparatus without the iIII~IU~ .. of this invention, l~ g the prior art;
S liigure 4 is a schematic elevational view of a machine capable of reversing, to which the ~ /IU~' ' of this invention has been applied;
Figure 5 is a schematic clevational view of a further ~IIIbUdi.~ of this invention; and Figure 6 is a schematic elevational view of a machine similar to that shown in Figure 5, with a further variant of the illl~IU~ lL provided by the present invention.
DETAILED DES(~RlPIIQN OF THE DRAWI~GS
Attention is first directed to Figure 6, which is a schematic elevational view showing the major c ~ " . ,~ of a web processing mPrh:lni~m to which the presentinvention has been applied.
The ~ shown generally at 10 in Figure 6 is seen to mclude an unwmd mandrel 12, a rewind mandrel 14, an inspection area 16, amd a splice area 18.
A coil 20 of web material is mounted on the unwind mandrel 12, with the web being paid off the coil 20, and looping around stationary idler rolls 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30. The web then passes through a web rndexing ,.-- l m shown generally at the arrow 32, the details of which will be described below. The web 21 exiting from the web indexing device is entrained around fixed idler rolls 34 and 36, from which it enters a slitting ' 38, emerging to loop around idler rolls 40 and 42, thence passing around idler rolls 44 and 46. The latter two rolls 44 and 46 are moumted at one end of a lever arm which is pivoted at the other end to a portion of the frame 48 (lever arm not illustrated). This . ~,, allows the rolls 44 and 46 to follow the gradually increasing diameter of the rewind coil 49, with downwardpressure exerted by the rolls 46 ensuring that the web will be wound up with adequate tightness.
Turning now the web-indexing device 32, it should be noted firstly that this device is located directly under the stationary inspection area 16 and the stationary 218~769 splice area 18. The device 32 includes an indexer shuttle S0 which is ve}ticallyelongate and which supports four idler rolls 52, 54, 56 and 58.
To complete the indexing ,, there are provided four additional idler rolls 60, 62, 64 and 66, which are frxed with respect to the frame 48. The mdexer S shuttle 50 is shown in solid lines in its furthest leftward position, which CO~ ,uu~
to the normal operation of the web handling machine, but it can move to a rightward position shown m broken lines m Figure 6, or any iUi~ ' position, in order to return an identified portion to the splice area 18 for repair, review or n~nflifir~inn It will be noted that idler rolls 62 and 66 are generally level with a horizontal 10 table 70 n.,..~ the inspection area and the splice area.
Beginning with the left-hand side, it will be noted that the web is looped around the various fixed and movable idler rolls in the following sequence: 30, 58, 60, 56, 62, 66, 54, 64, 52 and 34. The rolls 58, 60, 56 and 62 are positioned such that the web path between them is buu~L.,, ' ' , and the same is true for the idler lS rolls 52, 64, 54 and 66.
In the use of the machine shown in Figure 6, the operator stands or sits at the inspection area and uses cu v~ iu~l control means for causing the web in t'ne coil 20 to move along the path illustrated in Figure 6, which includes moving the web past the inspection area 16 and the splice area 18. The inspection area includes suitable 20 rneans to enable the operator to detect flaws in the web (for example a missmg label in the case of a web acting as a substrate for a plurality of labels). When the operator detects a flaw, he uses uuuv...iull~l braking means (not illustrated in Figure 6) to brake the web to a standstill. He then uses a second control means to move the indexer shuttle S0 to the right (as pictured in Figure 6) ~urrl~i.,ll~ly far to bring the 25 web flaw back to the splice area 18. This is ~ J without having to rotate either the unwind mandrel or the rewind m~mdrel.
In Figure 6, the flat rectangle 72 represents a flaw in the web, and its position , represents the furthest that the flaw can enter the indexing ~.., .,,.... .1 and still be brought back to the splice area 18 by movement of the 30 indexer shuttle to the furthest rightward position (shown in broken lines m Figure 6).
r~ ~y, the distance along the web between the position shown by the numeral 72 and the center of the splice area is alu~ / four times the maximum left-to-right l;_r ' of the indexer shuttle 50, due to the ~act that there are four web reaches in the buu~LIul~h~do~ ,..,.ri ~. ~ai"
When the flaw has moved back to the splice area through the rightward motion of the indexer shuttle, the operator can then attend to the splicmg task. When the 5 splicing has been completed, the indexer shuttle 50 can be moved back to its rumling position, and the web-handling machine can be reshrted.
Figure S shows a web-handling machine somewhat similar to that illustrated in Figure 6 and described above, except that the indexer device is differently configured. Specifically, two idler roll pairs, 80 and 82, are mounted on opposite 10 sides of an indexer shuttle 83, which is mounted for movement in the left-to-right direction. The remaining rolls are stationary. In this: ,, t, a video camera 86 is used to detect flaws in the web, the video camera 86 being moumted to the left of a splicing station 90. The signal from the video camera 86 passes to a video monitor 92, which is watched by the operator. A slitting m~h:lni~m 38a is provided, 15 having the same function as the sliKing ~ 38 in Figure 6.
Figure 1 illustrates a l~ r~ .. in which the indexer shuttle (not illustrated) is vertically movable. Figure 1 does illustrate the movable idler rolls 96 which form part of the indexer shuttle. The machine m Figure 1 hll;ul,u~ a vertically movable unwmd mandrel 12, a vertically movable rewind mandrel 14, an inspection monitor 20 device 100 and a splicing station 90. A slitting device 38b is also provided. The operation of the machine shown in Figure 1 is essentially the same as that for the machine shown in Figure 6.
Figure 2 shows a machine very similar to that in Figure 1, with the exception that the rewind mandrel 14a is mounted in a fixed position, and is adapted to receive 25 only relatively small coils of web.
Figure 3 shows a prior art machine capable of reversing web ll~J.. t, and therefore not requiring an indexer for the purpose of brmging a flawed portion of the web back to a splicing station.
Figure 4 shows a machine similar to that illustrated in Figure 3, with the 30 addition of an indexer shuttle and the pu~iLi~ g of the idler rolls so as to allow the web to be strung bo~ lly. The Figure 4 machine has the addition of a slitter 38d.
' ~ 2184769 The remaining . , of the machines shown in Figures 1, Z and 4 have functions which are obvious from the drawings, in the light of the specific tiPcrrirtir,n of the machine shown rn Figure 6.
Though not illustrated, it is proposed that the indexer shuttle be mounted on S rails or the like, and positioned either by a cylmder, a ball screw, or similar actuator device.
It will be understood from the above that the web~ ' device described herem is applicable to various kinds of machines, such as inspectors, die cutters, printing presses and other types of web converting rmachines.
While several ~ .l,o~ of this mvention have been illustrated in the accu~ drawings and described L~ci.~l)u~" it will be evident to those skilled in the art that changes and ,..r,.l;l;._l;., may be made therein, without departing from the essence of this invention, as set forth in the appended claims.
WITE~ WEB INl~EXER DEVICE
This invention relates generally to web inspection and converting machines which are adapted to perform various process steps on an elongate web. The machine 5 typically has an unwind mandrel and a rewind mandrel, and the web is provided initially in the form of a coil or roll of web material which can be fltted on the unwind mandrel. The web is then strung through various possible c..., '.~ ofdevices such as idler rolls, error detectors, splicers, die cutters, print heads, and web slitters. Slitting the web may be required when the web carries a sequence of images, with two or more rmages located across the web. Inspection of the moving web canbe done cle~. u~ lly, or visually with the assistance of a ~LIuboscu~c, vision or video system that samples the movrng web.
BACKGROUNI) OF THIS INVENTION
In ~,uuv~ iu.~l web inspection machines, regardless of the means of error detection, the r ~ ' I IC~IUill ' iS to locate the position of an error along the length of the web, and ~ ly to decelerate and stop the machine in such a manner that the error is positioned at a "splice station" where it may be corrected by the operator. Several methods are ~;ul~ Liu~lly used to acbieve this lc4.,h~l~l (a) A frrst method, for use with uni-directional machines that cannot be reversed, involves providing a sufficient distance (along the web path) between the inspection point and the splice station to enable the section of the web with the detected error to be stopped at, or prior to, the splice station. If the error passes by the splice station, it cannot be "brought back" to the splicing area because the machine is not capable of reversing the movement of the we.b. Providing the required length of web between the inspection and spliced areas represents a ~;UlllL~lUllli;!l-" since more physical room is required, and a greater length of web must be redirected and guided.
(b) When a reversing machine is utilr~ed, the web can be wound back onto ',he unwind mandrel of the machine. However, this option is often ~u~ Lu~ l by another function of the machime, namely the slittrng of the web just prior to passrmg into the machine rewind. Once a web is slit, it normally cannot be reversed through the slitter section. For this reason, bi-directional machines are generally used where slitting is not required. Al ~.;y, the slitting is done on a second (post inspection) pass. Also, a reversing machine can often encounter difficulties with web guidimg.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THIS ~VENTION
The present d~V~IUU~ relates to a third way for error Pn~;l;.,.,;~, which effectively addresses the ~IIUI~U111i11~,~ of the web handling techniques mentioned in the previous section without movmg the unwind or rewind rolls. The proposed ' A UV~ i and method essentially involve a web indexing device which is equippedwith an integral variable position translating mrrhanicrn Accordingly, this invention provides, in a machine allowing inspection and repair of a roll of web material, the machine including:
a) an unwind mandrel, b) a rewind mandrel, c) am inspection area, d) a splice area, e) guide rolls for directing the web along a path from the unwind mandrel, past the inspection and splice areas in any sequence, to the rewind mandrel, andf) first control means for causing the web to move past said inspection and splice areas, and to allow am operator to brake the web to a standstill upon thedetection of a flaw m the web;
the illI~UlU v~ which comprises:
providing said machine with a web indexing device including:
g) an indexer shuttle mounted for back and forth movement with respect to the machine, h) a first plurality of idler rolls mounted to said indexer shuttle, i) a second plurality of idler rolls mounted to said machine, and so positioned with respect to the first plurality of idler rolls that web material can be strung 30 ~ lu,~d in sllhsfanti~lly bu~u~hedulll~ 5,, and j) second control means adapted, upon detection of a flaw at the inspection station, and upon braking of the web to a standstill, to move the indexer shuttle so ~ 218~769 as to return am identified portion of the web to the splicing station for repair, ~.irl~aLiu.. or any type of ,...-.l;li.-l;l..,, without having to reverse the rotational direction of the unwind mandrel or the rewind mandrel.
Further, this invention provides a method of inspecting and repairing a roll of 5 web material, for use with a machine which hlCul~l an umwind mandrel; a rewind mandrel; an inspection area; a splice area; guide rolls for directing the web material along a path from the unwind mandrel, past the inspection and splice areas in any sequence, to a rewind mandrel; control means to cause the web material tomove past said inspection and splice areas, and to allow the web to be braked to a 10 standstill upon the detection of a feature being searched for along the web; an indexer shuttle mounted for back and forth movement with respect to the machine; a frst plurality of idler rolls mounted to said indexer shuttle; and a second plurality of idler rolls mounted to said machine, the method including the steps of:
a) stringing the web material around the first and second pluralities of idler rolls 15 in ~ "y bu.,~LIu~h~lu~
b) unwinding the roll of web material at the unwind mandrel, while rewinding the web material at the rewind mandrel, whereby the web material moves past the inspection and splice areas;
c) inspecting the web material at the inspection area in order to detect a feature 20 being searched for;
d) when such feature is detected, using the control means to brake the web material to a standstill;
e) moving the indexer shuttle in the direction which will reposition the feature-containing portion of the web material at the splicing station without reversing the 25 rotation of either mandrel; and f) repairing the web material.
ERAL DESCRlPrION OF TI~E DRA~7VINGS
Several e..,l" ' of this invention are illustrated in the a~ull.L,a.~ lg drawings, in which like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views, and 30 in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a first ~"-l,o~ of this invention;
- 218~7~9 .
Figure 2 is a schematic elevational view of a second ~llllJodiu~ of this invention;
Figure 3 is a schematic elevational view of a web-reversing apparatus without the iIII~IU~ .. of this invention, l~ g the prior art;
S liigure 4 is a schematic elevational view of a machine capable of reversing, to which the ~ /IU~' ' of this invention has been applied;
Figure 5 is a schematic clevational view of a further ~IIIbUdi.~ of this invention; and Figure 6 is a schematic elevational view of a machine similar to that shown in Figure 5, with a further variant of the illl~IU~ lL provided by the present invention.
DETAILED DES(~RlPIIQN OF THE DRAWI~GS
Attention is first directed to Figure 6, which is a schematic elevational view showing the major c ~ " . ,~ of a web processing mPrh:lni~m to which the presentinvention has been applied.
The ~ shown generally at 10 in Figure 6 is seen to mclude an unwmd mandrel 12, a rewind mandrel 14, an inspection area 16, amd a splice area 18.
A coil 20 of web material is mounted on the unwind mandrel 12, with the web being paid off the coil 20, and looping around stationary idler rolls 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30. The web then passes through a web rndexing ,.-- l m shown generally at the arrow 32, the details of which will be described below. The web 21 exiting from the web indexing device is entrained around fixed idler rolls 34 and 36, from which it enters a slitting ' 38, emerging to loop around idler rolls 40 and 42, thence passing around idler rolls 44 and 46. The latter two rolls 44 and 46 are moumted at one end of a lever arm which is pivoted at the other end to a portion of the frame 48 (lever arm not illustrated). This . ~,, allows the rolls 44 and 46 to follow the gradually increasing diameter of the rewind coil 49, with downwardpressure exerted by the rolls 46 ensuring that the web will be wound up with adequate tightness.
Turning now the web-indexing device 32, it should be noted firstly that this device is located directly under the stationary inspection area 16 and the stationary 218~769 splice area 18. The device 32 includes an indexer shuttle S0 which is ve}ticallyelongate and which supports four idler rolls 52, 54, 56 and 58.
To complete the indexing ,, there are provided four additional idler rolls 60, 62, 64 and 66, which are frxed with respect to the frame 48. The mdexer S shuttle 50 is shown in solid lines in its furthest leftward position, which CO~ ,uu~
to the normal operation of the web handling machine, but it can move to a rightward position shown m broken lines m Figure 6, or any iUi~ ' position, in order to return an identified portion to the splice area 18 for repair, review or n~nflifir~inn It will be noted that idler rolls 62 and 66 are generally level with a horizontal 10 table 70 n.,..~ the inspection area and the splice area.
Beginning with the left-hand side, it will be noted that the web is looped around the various fixed and movable idler rolls in the following sequence: 30, 58, 60, 56, 62, 66, 54, 64, 52 and 34. The rolls 58, 60, 56 and 62 are positioned such that the web path between them is buu~L.,, ' ' , and the same is true for the idler lS rolls 52, 64, 54 and 66.
In the use of the machine shown in Figure 6, the operator stands or sits at the inspection area and uses cu v~ iu~l control means for causing the web in t'ne coil 20 to move along the path illustrated in Figure 6, which includes moving the web past the inspection area 16 and the splice area 18. The inspection area includes suitable 20 rneans to enable the operator to detect flaws in the web (for example a missmg label in the case of a web acting as a substrate for a plurality of labels). When the operator detects a flaw, he uses uuuv...iull~l braking means (not illustrated in Figure 6) to brake the web to a standstill. He then uses a second control means to move the indexer shuttle S0 to the right (as pictured in Figure 6) ~urrl~i.,ll~ly far to bring the 25 web flaw back to the splice area 18. This is ~ J without having to rotate either the unwind mandrel or the rewind m~mdrel.
In Figure 6, the flat rectangle 72 represents a flaw in the web, and its position , represents the furthest that the flaw can enter the indexing ~.., .,,.... .1 and still be brought back to the splice area 18 by movement of the 30 indexer shuttle to the furthest rightward position (shown in broken lines m Figure 6).
r~ ~y, the distance along the web between the position shown by the numeral 72 and the center of the splice area is alu~ / four times the maximum left-to-right l;_r ' of the indexer shuttle 50, due to the ~act that there are four web reaches in the buu~LIul~h~do~ ,..,.ri ~. ~ai"
When the flaw has moved back to the splice area through the rightward motion of the indexer shuttle, the operator can then attend to the splicmg task. When the 5 splicing has been completed, the indexer shuttle 50 can be moved back to its rumling position, and the web-handling machine can be reshrted.
Figure S shows a web-handling machine somewhat similar to that illustrated in Figure 6 and described above, except that the indexer device is differently configured. Specifically, two idler roll pairs, 80 and 82, are mounted on opposite 10 sides of an indexer shuttle 83, which is mounted for movement in the left-to-right direction. The remaining rolls are stationary. In this: ,, t, a video camera 86 is used to detect flaws in the web, the video camera 86 being moumted to the left of a splicing station 90. The signal from the video camera 86 passes to a video monitor 92, which is watched by the operator. A slitting m~h:lni~m 38a is provided, 15 having the same function as the sliKing ~ 38 in Figure 6.
Figure 1 illustrates a l~ r~ .. in which the indexer shuttle (not illustrated) is vertically movable. Figure 1 does illustrate the movable idler rolls 96 which form part of the indexer shuttle. The machine m Figure 1 hll;ul,u~ a vertically movable unwmd mandrel 12, a vertically movable rewind mandrel 14, an inspection monitor 20 device 100 and a splicing station 90. A slitting device 38b is also provided. The operation of the machine shown in Figure 1 is essentially the same as that for the machine shown in Figure 6.
Figure 2 shows a machine very similar to that in Figure 1, with the exception that the rewind mandrel 14a is mounted in a fixed position, and is adapted to receive 25 only relatively small coils of web.
Figure 3 shows a prior art machine capable of reversing web ll~J.. t, and therefore not requiring an indexer for the purpose of brmging a flawed portion of the web back to a splicing station.
Figure 4 shows a machine similar to that illustrated in Figure 3, with the 30 addition of an indexer shuttle and the pu~iLi~ g of the idler rolls so as to allow the web to be strung bo~ lly. The Figure 4 machine has the addition of a slitter 38d.
' ~ 2184769 The remaining . , of the machines shown in Figures 1, Z and 4 have functions which are obvious from the drawings, in the light of the specific tiPcrrirtir,n of the machine shown rn Figure 6.
Though not illustrated, it is proposed that the indexer shuttle be mounted on S rails or the like, and positioned either by a cylmder, a ball screw, or similar actuator device.
It will be understood from the above that the web~ ' device described herem is applicable to various kinds of machines, such as inspectors, die cutters, printing presses and other types of web converting rmachines.
While several ~ .l,o~ of this mvention have been illustrated in the accu~ drawings and described L~ci.~l)u~" it will be evident to those skilled in the art that changes and ,..r,.l;l;._l;., may be made therein, without departing from the essence of this invention, as set forth in the appended claims.
Claims (6)
1. In a machine allowing inspection and repair of a roll of web material, the machine including:
a) an unwind mandrel, b) a rewind mandrel, c) an inspection area, d) a splice area, e) guide rolls for directing the web along a path from the unwind mandrel, past the inspection and splice areas in any sequence, to the rewind mandrel, andf) first control means for causing the web to move past said inspection and splice areas, and to allow an operator to brake the web to a standstill upon thedetection of a flaw in the web;
the improvement which comprises:
providing said machine with a web indexer device including:
g) an indexer shuttle mounted for back and forth movement with respect to the machine, h) a first plurality of idler rolls mounted to said indexer shuttle, i) a second plurality of idler rolls mounted to said machine, and so positioned with respect to the first plurality of idler rolls that web material can be strung therearound in substantially boustrophedonic configuration, and j) second control means adapted, upon detection of a flaw at the inspection station, and upon braking of the web to a standstill, to move the indexer shuttle so as to return an identified portion of the web to the splicing station for repair, verification or any type of modification, without having to reverse the rotational direction of the unwind mandrel or the rewind mandrel.
a) an unwind mandrel, b) a rewind mandrel, c) an inspection area, d) a splice area, e) guide rolls for directing the web along a path from the unwind mandrel, past the inspection and splice areas in any sequence, to the rewind mandrel, andf) first control means for causing the web to move past said inspection and splice areas, and to allow an operator to brake the web to a standstill upon thedetection of a flaw in the web;
the improvement which comprises:
providing said machine with a web indexer device including:
g) an indexer shuttle mounted for back and forth movement with respect to the machine, h) a first plurality of idler rolls mounted to said indexer shuttle, i) a second plurality of idler rolls mounted to said machine, and so positioned with respect to the first plurality of idler rolls that web material can be strung therearound in substantially boustrophedonic configuration, and j) second control means adapted, upon detection of a flaw at the inspection station, and upon braking of the web to a standstill, to move the indexer shuttle so as to return an identified portion of the web to the splicing station for repair, verification or any type of modification, without having to reverse the rotational direction of the unwind mandrel or the rewind mandrel.
2. The improvement claimed in claim 1, in which said first plurality of idler rolls includes a first sub-plurality and a second sub-plurality, and in which said second plurality of idler rolls includes a third sub-plurality and a fourth sub-plurality, said sub-pluralities being disposed such that web material can be strung boustrophedonically between the first and third sub-pluralities on one side of the splice area, and can be strung boustrophedonically between the first and third sub-pluralities on the other side of the splice area.
3 . The improvement claimed in claim 1 ,in which each said sub-plurality includes at least two idler rolls.
4. A method of inspecting and repairing a roll of web material, for use with a machine which incorporates: an unwind mandrel; a rewind mandrel; an inspection area; a splice area; guide rolls for directing the web material along a path from the unwind mandrel, past the inspection and splice areas in any sequence, to a rewind mandrel; control means to cause the web material to move past said inspection and splice areas, and to allow the web to be braked to a standstill upon the detection of a feature being searched for along the web; an indexer shuttle mounted for back and forth movement with respect to the machine; a first plurality of idler rolls mounted to said indexer shuttle; and a second plurality of idler rolls mounted to said machine, the method including the steps of:
a) stringing the web material around the first and second pluralities of idler rolls in substantially boustrophedonically configuration;
b) unwinding the roll of web material at the unwind mandrel, while rewinding the web material at the rewind mandrel, whereby the web material moves past the inspection and splice areas;
c) inspecting the web material at the inspection area in order to detect a feature being searched for;
d) when such a feature is detected, using the control means to brake the web material to a standstill;
e) moving the indexer shuttle in the direction which will reposition the feature-containing portion of the web material at the splicing station without reversing the rotation of either mandrel; and f) repairing the web material.
a) stringing the web material around the first and second pluralities of idler rolls in substantially boustrophedonically configuration;
b) unwinding the roll of web material at the unwind mandrel, while rewinding the web material at the rewind mandrel, whereby the web material moves past the inspection and splice areas;
c) inspecting the web material at the inspection area in order to detect a feature being searched for;
d) when such a feature is detected, using the control means to brake the web material to a standstill;
e) moving the indexer shuttle in the direction which will reposition the feature-containing portion of the web material at the splicing station without reversing the rotation of either mandrel; and f) repairing the web material.
5. The method claimed in claim 4, in which said first plurality of idler rolls includes a first sub-plurality and a second sub-plurality, and said second plurality of idler rolls includes a third sub-plurality and a fourth sub-plurality, the web material being strung boustrophedonically between the first and third sub-pluralities on one side of the indexer shuttle, and being strung boustrophedonically between the first and third sub-pluralities on the other side of the indexer shuttle.
6. The method claimed in claim 5, in which each said sub-plurality includes at least two idler rolls.
Priority Applications (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2184769 CA2184769C (en) | 1996-09-04 | 1996-09-04 | Web inspection and repair machine with web indexer device |
| DE1997608558 DE69708558T2 (en) | 1996-09-04 | 1997-09-04 | Fabric show and repair machine for volumes |
| EP19970306869 EP0827927B1 (en) | 1996-09-04 | 1997-09-04 | Web inspection and repair machine |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2184769 CA2184769C (en) | 1996-09-04 | 1996-09-04 | Web inspection and repair machine with web indexer device |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2184769A1 CA2184769A1 (en) | 1998-03-05 |
| CA2184769C true CA2184769C (en) | 2000-07-18 |
Family
ID=4158840
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2184769 Expired - Fee Related CA2184769C (en) | 1996-09-04 | 1996-09-04 | Web inspection and repair machine with web indexer device |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0827927B1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2184769C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE69708558T2 (en) |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US20020176617A1 (en) * | 2001-05-22 | 2002-11-28 | Pti Advanced Filtration, Inc. | System and method for continuous integrity testing of a material web |
| US7819355B2 (en) | 2006-02-08 | 2010-10-26 | Prittie Family Trust 89 | Web inspection and repair machine with retractable inspection zone |
| ITMI20090218A1 (en) * | 2009-02-19 | 2010-08-20 | Laem System S R L | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR QUALITY CONTROL IN LINE OF PLANTS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF EXTRUDED FILMS IN THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL |
Family Cites Families (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3084841A (en) * | 1959-06-03 | 1963-04-09 | Dainippon Printing Co Ltd | Transfer mechanism |
| US3322604A (en) * | 1963-01-14 | 1967-05-30 | Gloucester Eng Co Inc | Machine for altering moving webs |
| GB1089792A (en) * | 1963-05-07 | 1967-11-08 | Packmark Ltd | Method and apparatus for stopping web movement |
| JPH01181666A (en) * | 1988-01-13 | 1989-07-19 | Sanyo Kokusaku Pulp Co Ltd | Band takeup stopping method |
| DE4432371B4 (en) * | 1994-09-12 | 2004-12-09 | Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Ag | Useful printing and finishing processes |
-
1996
- 1996-09-04 CA CA 2184769 patent/CA2184769C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1997
- 1997-09-04 EP EP19970306869 patent/EP0827927B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-09-04 DE DE1997608558 patent/DE69708558T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| DE69708558D1 (en) | 2002-01-10 |
| EP0827927A2 (en) | 1998-03-11 |
| CA2184769A1 (en) | 1998-03-05 |
| EP0827927B1 (en) | 2001-11-28 |
| EP0827927A3 (en) | 1998-06-17 |
| DE69708558T2 (en) | 2002-07-04 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |