WO2008148937A1

WO2008148937A1 - Method of using a slitter winder and apparatus for applying adhesive

Info

Publication number: WO2008148937A1
Application number: PCT/FI2008/050329
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jaakko Haapanen
Original assignee: Metso Paper Oy
Current assignee: Valmet Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2007-06-05
Filing date: 2008-06-04
Publication date: 2008-12-11
Anticipated expiration: 2009-12-05
Also published as: FI20075414A0; DE112008001508T5; FI20075414L; FI121305B

Abstract

The present invention relates of a method of using a slitter winder (20) according to which the web (w) is slit in the longitudinal direction into at least two partial webs (w1) which are rewound to separate roll (26) and according to which, when the rolls have reached a desired diameter, the web is cut and the cut end of the web attached to the surface of the completed roll by means of adhesive by bringing adhesive with an adhesive application apparatus (29) to the surface of the web on the side which remains between the web and the roll when the adhesive arrives to the roll. It is characteristic of the method that adhesive is brought to the surface of the web while the web is moving and that an adhesive stripe (28, 28') essentially transverse to the running direction of the web is formed of the adhesive onto the surface of the web.

Description

Method of using a slitter winder and apparatus for applying adhesive

[001] The present invention relates to a method of operating a slitter winder according to the preamble of patent claim 1.

[002] The invention also relates to an application apparatus according to the preamble of patent claim 7.

[003] A machine roll being produced in a paper machine is often slit in the longitudinal direction into partial webs, which form customer rolls or market rolls of desired width. Attaching the cutting point of the market rolls produced in the slitter winder, i.e. the "tail" of the web, automatically after the rewinding is one of the increasingly important features in the paper finishing process. This is first of all due to the. fact that less personnel is working today at the slitter winder at a time than before and roll changes, web feeding and other compulsory measures take so much of their working time that there is not much time for attaching the roll tails manually by means of a tape of corresponding means. Further, rolls the tails of which have not been secured cause problems on conveyors; a further problem is that the roll has time to become slack before it is packed.

[004] There are solutions known from the prior art which aim at solving the problems described above by providing in connection with the winder following the slitter an apparatus applying adhesive to the surface of the paper web for a desired time in separate stripes at certain points in the transverse direction of the paper web while the slitter winder slows down and stops for a set change. Finnish patents no. 64114, no. 65554 and no. 69617 are referred to as prior art of this feature. According to the solutions described in these patent publications, the adhesive is applied to the surface of the web by a duct extending along the entire width of the machine by extruding adhesive through bores provided at even spacing. A solution of this kind includes a large number of separate nozzles requiring time-consuming service. Additionally, in this kind of a solution the pasted zone easily becomes relatively long. [005] It is known from the prior art as such to apply adhesive to the surface of a web by means of an apparatus traversing in the transverse direction of the web running direction. A problem here is that the pasted area becomes long in the running direction of the web, if the slitter winder is not stopped or, if it is stopped, production losses are incurred.

[006] It is known from publication GB 2061234 to use an adhesive applying apparatus to seal a tail of the web to the surface of a roll so that adhesive is introduces while the web is moving and an adhesive stripe substantially in the transverse direction of the web running direction is formed to the surface of the web.

[007] The prior art solutions described above during the so-called set change are not efficient in view of the overall efficiency.

[008] In order to solve, among other things, the problems and drawback mentioned above, a new type of a method of using a slitter winder has been developed which remarkably improves the overall efficiency of a slitter winder.

[009] In this context the term adhesive refers in addition to a mere adhesive also to a tape or any other arrangement producing the corresponding effect. The term adhesive stripe must be understood to cover also glue or tape, and the application may have a form deviating from a straight line and be for example a spiral.

[001O] In order to achieve the objectives mentioned above, according to the method of using the slitter winder, the web is slit in the longitudinal direction to at least two partial webs, which are wound to separate rolls and, when the rolls have reached the desired diameter, the web is cut and the cut end of the web is bound to the surface of the complete roll by means of an adhesive so that adhesive is brought by means of an adhesive applying apparatus to the surface of the web to the side which remains between the web and the roll when the adhesive arrives to the roll. Adhesive is brought to the surface of the web while the web is moving and an adhesive stripe essentially in the transverse direction of the web moving direction is formed to the surface of the web. The method is mainly characterized in that introduction of adhesive to the surface of the web is carried out during the decelerating movement of the web. When adhesive is brought to the surface of the web at least partly during the decelerating movement of the web, the advantage is provided that there is no need to reserve a long time in the operating sequence of the slitter winder for the introduction of adhesive and thus the operation of the apparatus is more efficient.

[0011] In a most optimal situation, there is no need to reserve time in the operating sequence of the slitter winder for the introduction of adhesive at all, whereby the whole adhesive volume is introduced during the decelerating movement. This improves the operating efficiency of the slitter winder as the slitter winder need not be stopped for the application of adhesive and the adhesive coverage in the longitudinal direction of the web is very short.

[0012] The adhesive stripe is formed or a tape attached with an application apparatus, where the speed component of the application head in the direction of the web movement is kept essentially as great as the speed of the web at each moment. In this way, an adhesive stripe essentially in the direction transverse to the running direction of the web can be provided on the surface of the web irrespective of the movement of the web.

[0013] Application of adhesive performed during the decelerating movement is according to a preferred embodiment achieved by changing the movement direction of the application head during the adhesive application process. [0014] Application of adhesive performed during the decelerating movement is according to another preferred embodiment achieved by changing the movement speed of the application head during the adhesive application process.

[0015] An adhesive stripe can be produced also by an application apparatus comprising several separate application heads, which together form an adhesive stripe to each partial web.

[0016] In order to achieve the objectives mentioned above, the apparatus according to the invention for applying adhesive to a moving web comprises an application head disposed in connection with a support structure extending across the web essentially in the transverse direction. A characteristic feature of the application apparatus is that the support structure comprises a guide extending across the web, onto which the application head has been movably installed and the application head has been arranged to create onto the surface of the web an adhesive stripe essentially in the transverse direction of the web movement direction while the web is moving.

[0017] The operation of the application apparatus may be improved further according to an embodiment of the invention by including in the apparatus means for changing the moving direction of the application head whereby the movement direction of the application head can be changed during the application of adhesive. This arrangement allows forming an essentially transverse adhesive stripe during the decelerating movement of the web. This is preferably effected by supporting the application head over an articulated lever onto a carriage provided on the guide.

[0018] The operation of the application apparatus may be improved further according to an embodiment of the invention by including in the application apparatus means for changing the moving speed of the application head during the application of adhesive. This arrangement allows forming an essentially transverse adhesive stripe during the decelerating movement of the web.

[0019] The invention and its operation will be described in the following with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which

Figure 1 illustrates utilizing the capacity of a slitter winder according to prior art and according to the method of the invention;

Figure 2 illustrates a slitter winder equipped with an adhesive application apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 illustrates the principle of an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 4 illustrates the principle of another embodiment of the invention.

[0020] Figure 1 illustrates the operating speed v of a slitter winder as a function of time t. In a prior art solution the operating model typically follows the form illustrated by a broken line. Here the normal operating speed 10.1 is followed by a speed deceleration stage 10.2 and consequently, the running speed of the web is reduced to zero and the slitter winder is stopped for a certain time 10.3. While the web does not move, adhesive or a tape is brought to the surface of the web which later will attach the "tail" of the roll, i.e. the end of the web, to the roll. After the adhesive or the tape has been disposed onto the surface of the web the slitter winder is made to crawl, 10.4, so that the adhesive point on the surface of the web proceeds to the roll. The web is also cut at this stage after the adhesive point. The adhesive or the tape is preferably disposed onto such a surface of the web that it stays at once against the surface of the completed roll. Otherwise the adhesive or the tape would stick to the reeling cylinder or a corresponding means formed by the first rewinding nip. After the crawling stage the slitter winder may be stopped, the completed rolls removed from the machine and the process started from the beginning in the normal way.

[0021] When applying the method of the invention the running model follows the form indicated by the solid line. Then the normal operating speed 10.1 can be kept up longer and the decelerating stage 10.3 started later. According to the invention adhesive is brought to the surface of the web while the web is moving, during the deceleration stage. According to the invention the deceleration of the slitter winder is preferably followed by its stop. Subsequently the completed rolls are removed from the machine. The capacity increase obtained when carrying out the method of the invention according to the model illustrated in figure 1 has been illustrated as the area covered with inclined lines. The deceleration in the deceleration stage, in other words the negative acceleration, need not be constant, thus with a certain application the form illustrated in figure 1 may be different.

[0022] Figure 2 illustrates a slitter winder 20 comprising a slitting unit 22 and a rewinding unit 24 and rolls guiding the running of the web w. The wide web is slit in the slitting unit 22 to partial webs w' which are then wound to separate rolls 26, so-called customer rolls, in the winding unit 24.

[0023] Figure 2 illustrates an adhesive applying apparatus 29 according to an embodiment of the invention disposed in connection with a support structure 30 extending across the web essentially in the transverse direction of the web. The support structure comprises also a guide 32 extending across the web in its transverse direction. There is a movable adhesive application head 34 provided in the guide. The application head 34 has been arranged on the guide in a movable carriage 36 over a lever 38. The lever 38 has been attached turnably at one of its ends to the carriage whereby the movement path of the application head 34 may be changed to deviate from the movement path created by the guide. Figure 2 also illustrates apparatus 50 for moving the application head 34, the apparatus comprising in this embodiment a belt attached to the application head and a motor 51 driving the belt. The apparatus 50 can be used also for example to change the movement speed of the application head during the application so that the application may be performed with an accelerating movement or a decelerating movement. [0024] The application of adhesive can be carried out either with liquid adhesive or tape. In this way the application head has been arranged to produce an adhesive stripe to the surface of the web essentially in the transverse direction in relation to the web running direction while the web is running. When the adhesive is brought to the web surface while the web is moving and an adhesive stripe essentially transverse to the direction of the web is provided onto the surface of the web, the slitting process becomes remarkably more efficient.

[0025] In order to improve the efficiency of the slitting process it is preferable to prepare for the set change while the web is decelerating. Then the period during which the slitter winder would be run for example at a constant speed which is lower than the normal production speed, can be minimized.

[0026] Figure 3 illustrates in principle an embodiment of the invention illustrated in figure 2. It discloses an application apparatus 29 with which the adhesive stripe is formed. The speed component of the application head 34 in the web movement direction is kept as great as the speed w' of the web at each moment in time. The adhesive stripe 28 produced in this way in the web is essentially transverse to the web running direction. The web running direction has been illustrated in each partial web with an arrow. The supporting structure 30 has been provided here to extend over the partial webs w' so that the application of adhesive may be performed for each separate partial web w'. There is a guide 32 in connection with the support structure in support of which the application head 34 in connection with the support structure has been provided. The support structure and the guide extend at both sides to a distance outside the partial webs. This makes possible accelerating the carriage before the start of the application of adhesive and also decelerating it after the application. Here the application head is connected to the guide 32 by means of a separate carriage 36. [0027] The supporting structure has been disposed at an angle α in relation to the transverse direction of the web, whereby, when the application head moves, this results in a web direction speed component of the application head of V_x = sin α • V₃₆ determined by the angle, where V₃₆ is the speed of the carriage 36 in the guide 32.

[0028] As the application of adhesive is according to the invention preferably carried out during the decelerating movement of the web also the web direction speed component of the application head can be changed during the application of adhesive. This may be effected so that the application head has been disposed in the carriage over a lever 38 in an articulated manner so that the position of the application head in relation to the guide can be changed. Then, by changing the angle β-i, β₂ of the lever in relation to the guide while the application head moves the speed of the application head itself in the web direction can be fine adjusted in relation to the speed of the carriage 36.

[0029] Here the rotation axis of the articulation is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the guide whereby the application head moves along a parallel level with the web running above it. In some cases also a solution may be used where the application head moves by turning around the longitudinal axis of the guide.

[003O] As illustrated in the embodiment of figure 2, also the speed of the carriage itself is preferably adjustable while it moves whereby the speed component of the application head in the direction of the web can be directly influenced by changing the speed of the carriage.

[0031] The right hand part of the illustration in figure 3 shows adhesive stripes 28, 28' produced by the apparatus and method according to the invention, the stripe being provided between the sides of each partial web w'. The adhesive stripe 28' of the topmost partial web in the figure is both curved and also a little inclined in relation to the direction which is transverse in relation to the running direction of the web. This has been accomplished by turning the lever 38 a little faster than would be necessary to produce a totally perpendicular adhesive stripe or alternatively by running the carriage 36 faster so that the web direction speed component V_x of the application head is greater than the speed of the web. The transverse adhesive stripe 28' a little inclined from the perpendicular direction illustrated in figure 3 still accomplishes the advantages provided by the invention if the alteration of the adhesive stripe in the web running direction or the coverage D is about 100 mm at the most. In figure 3, the adhesive stripe is curved, thus the alteration means the distance of the beginning end and the finishing end from each other in the web running direction. In some cases the adhesive stripe may be provided for example as a curve whereby the alteration if formed by the distance between the center portion and the ends of the curve.

[0032] Figure 4 illustrates schematically another embodiment of the invention Also here the support structure 30 has been arranged to extend across all the partial webs w'. The support structure comprises at one its ends a support point 42 around which the support structure 30 may be turned in the plane of the partial webs. The support structure preferably comprises a bearing arrangement. In the embodiment of figure 4 the support structure comprises an actuator 44 at the end opposite to the end with the support point which makes the support structure turn, α, around the support point 42. Like in the embodiment of figure 3 also the support structure in figure 4 comprises a guide 32 in which the application head 34 and the carriage 36 have been movably provided. In the embodiment of figure 4 the web direction speed component to the application head can be influenced by the speed of the carriage and by turning of the support structure. An additional feature in the embodiment described here is also that the application apparatus comprises several, in this case two, application heads 34. This allows more versatile use, in other words producing an essentially transverse adhesive stripe at versatile deceleration 10.3 of the web. [0033] As can be noticed from the above a continuous fiber web winding apparatus and method have been developed which remove a remarkable portion of the drawbacks of the prior art. However, it should be noted that only a few preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above. Thus it is evident that the invention is not limited to the embodiments presented above but it can be modified in many ways within the scope of protection defined by the appended patent claims.

Claims

Patent claims

1. A method of using a slitter winder (20) according to which the web (w) is slit in the longitudinal direction into at least two partial webs (w¹) which are wound to separate roll (26) and according to which, when the rolls have reached a desired diameter, the web is cut and the cut end of the web attached to the surface of the completed roll by means of adhesive by bringing adhesive with an adhesive application apparatus (29) to the surface of the web on the side which remains between the web and the roll when the adhesive arrives to the roll, and according to which the adhesive is brought to the surface of the web while the web is moving and an adhesive stripe (28, 28') essentially transverse to the running direction of the web is formed of the adhesive onto the surface of the web, characterized in that adhesive is brought to the surface of the web (w) during the decelerating movement of the web (10.3).

2. A method according to claim 1 , characterized in that the speed component of application head (34) in the running direction of the web is kept as great as the speed of the web at each moment in time.

3. A method according to claim 1 , characterized in that the adhesive is brought to the surface of the web (w) during the decelerating movement of the web (10.3).

4. A method according to claim 1 , characterized in that the adhesive stripe is formed so that adhesive is brought to the surface of the web by means of several separate application heads (34) provided in the application apparatus.

5. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the movement direction of the application head is changed during the application of adhesive.

6. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the movement speed of the application head is changed during the application of adhesive.

7. An apparatus (29) for applying adhesive onto a moving web, containing an application head (34) provided in connection with a support structure (30) extending essentially in the transverse direction across the web, the support structure comprising a guide (32) extending across the web into which the application head has been disposed movably, and the application head has been arranged to form onto the surface of the web (w) an adhesive stripe (29, 28') essentially in the transverse direction in relation to the web running direction while the web is moving, characterized in that the application apparatus comprises means (38, 44) for changing the movement direction of the application head (34) during the application of adhesive and/or that the application apparatus includes means (50, 51) for changing the movement speed of the application head (34) during the application of adhesive.

8. An application apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the application head has been supported over an articulated lever (38) to a carriage (36) provided in the guide.

9. An application apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises more than one application heads (36).