Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to high-speed winding
devices providing vibration-free operatirn at constan-t
winding tension. The invention particularly pertains,
to slit web rewinding devices for winding ribbons cut
from a web onto individual cores,.
Several winding devices have been previously
disclosed.
U. S. Patent No. 3,122,335 discloses a motor-
driven windin~ device having a pivotal arm with a core
adapter chuck at one end and a fluid cylinder at the
other end. The fluid cylinder is joined with the arm
and with a base member by pin means which limit motion
to one plane. The fluid cylinder, in operation, forces
the arm against a winding drum with no counter force
means.
U. S. Patent No. 3,866,853 also discloses a
winding device with an arm, a core carrier, and a fluid
cylinder. The fluid cylinder lS joined only to the arm
and causes the arm to bear against a winding ~rum by
~eans of a roller, mounted on the cylinder piston rod,
acting against a base member camrning plate. ~he Eluid
cylinder, in operation, forces the ar~ against the
winding drum with no counter force means.
U. S. Paten-t No. 2,460,694 discloses hydraulic
web tension control in a slit web rewinding assembly
wherein the'tension of individual slit strips provides
a continuous hydraulic signal for regulating the force
of the arm against the winding drum. The f~uid cylinder
and the arm cooperate by rneans of a rack and pinion.
U, S. ~atent No. 2,5~72,126 discloses a
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winding device having a double acting fluid cylinder
to control the force of the arm against ~he winding
drum~ The winding device is friction-driven. The
fluid cylinder is joined with the arm and with base
means by pins which limit motion to one plane.
U. S. Patent Nos. 3,322,361 and 2,833,488 s
disclose friction-driven windiny devices fitted with
core adapter chucks. Each core is disclosed to be held
vise-like at its edges by a pair of core adapter chucks
or by an individual core adapter chuck. Each core
adapter has a tubular garter spring resting on a resil-
ient member at the bottom of a groove in the adapter.
The garter spring is not radially deformed during use,
but provides a high friction surface to prevent rota-
tional slippage of cores due to radial forces exerted
by the resilient member beneath the spring.
Winding devices of the prior art exhibit
deficiencies in operation, especially when used at
high wind-up speeds and when used to wind narrow rib-
bons of material. Problems caused by parts fitting
together too loosely or too tightly, at assembly or
after use, are accentuated at high wind-up speeds.
Loose-fitting parts tend to vibrate, tighter fitting
parts bind together, and neither permit wind-up at
constant tension. Wound rolls made at high speed
without adequate tension control tend to chatter and
bounce on the winding drum resulting in flat spots and
uneven edges.
According to the present invention, a wind-
ing device is provided having elements fitted and
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related together to provide continued, vibration~free,
high speed operation with wind-up tension control,
resulting in uniformly round rolls having even edges.
The winding device of this invention comprises: an arm;
a chuck rotatably mounted on one end of the arm; a
socket fixedly mounted to the other end of the arm; a
base pivotally joined to the arm between the ends of
the arm; and a fluid cylinder comprising, a piston rod
pivotally mounted on the base, a cylinder casing
operatively engaging the piston rod, and a ball carried
on the casing mated with the socket to universally con-
nect the fluid cylinder to the arm~ The chuck of this
invention comprises: a mandrel; a housing rotatably
mounted on the mandrel and having at least one groove
with a floor cut around the periphery of the housing;
and a spring in at least one groove wherein the spring
comprises, a bottom contacting the floor of the groove,
and a plurality of cantilevered fingers joined to one
edge of the bottom and extending out of the groove.
; 20 Embodiments of the invention are illustrated
in the following drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 is an end view representation of a
slit web rewinding assembly including winding devices
of this invention.
Fig. 2 is a side view representation of a
winding device from the assembly of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional representation
of a chuck for the device of Fig. 2.
Figs. 4a and 4b are opposite side views of a
retaining spring used in the chuck of Fig. 3.
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Figs. 5a and Sb are cross-sectional repre-
sentations of the retaining spring in place on the
t' chuck. Fig. 5a represents the spring in unbiased
condition. Fig. 5b represents the spring with a core
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on the chuck.
Referring to Fig. 1, the end view of a slit
web rewinding assem`bly 10 is shown in detail adequate
to illustrate the relation between winding devices 11
and 11' and winding drum 12. A web 13 passes over
backing roll 14 where it is slit into ribbons by cut-
ter 15. The web 13, now slit, passes nip roll 16 and
around winding drum 12 until individual ribbons en-
counter and are taken up on rolls 17 and 17' of the
individual ribbons. The ro]ls 17 and 17' are wound on
cores carried by chucks on arms 18, 18' of slit web
winding devices 11, 11'. One or a plurality of winding
devices 11, 11' can be used as illustrated mounted
side-by-side along the length of a winding drum 12
; and mounted at two or more locations around the
periphery of a winding drum 12. Winding drum 12 is
driven and is contacted by rolls 17 and 17' as they
are wound. As will be explained, the force of that
contact is adjusted to be constant over the course
of each winding operation and is herein referred to
as winding tension. Each winding device operates in-
dependent of the others and winding tension for each
device is individually adjustable. Rolls 17 and 17'
are preferably driven only by contact with winding
drum 12 and receive no other driving forces. However,
~0 when the additional weight of a motor drive would not
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be detrimental to high speed operation or when
especially thick film is to be slit and wound, the
chucks which carry the cores and rolls can be motor
~ driven.
Fig. 2 represents an enlarged side view, in
partial cutaway, of a winding device~ll. Arm 18 car-
ries chuck 19 on which is mounted a core for winding
ribbons of slit web. The arm 18 is pivotally joined
with base 20 by means of shaft ~1 and a bearing
surface in arm 18 to permit no significant lateral
movement. Socket 22 is fixedly moun~ed to arm 18 at
the end opposite chuck 19. Fluid cylinder 23 compris-
ing piston rod 24 operatively engaged in cylinder
casing 25 carrying ball 26 i.5 ~miversally connected
to arm 18 by means of ball 26 and socket 22, and
piston rod 24 is loosely pivotally mounted to base 20
by pin 27. Cylinder spring 28 (shown by partial
cutaway of cylinder casing 25) ~xerts a force to pull
arm 18 away from the winding drum. Base 20 is adjust-
ably ixed to frame member 29 by hold down bolt 30.
Fluid is introduced into fluid cylinder 23 under
constant pressure, adjustably controlled, for example,
by a regulator (not shown). The fluid pressure is
adjusted to counteract the force from cylinder spring
28 and permit the desired degree of contact between
core and winding and the winding drum.
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional viewr along
site lines indicated in Fig. 2, of chuck 19 rotatably
mounted to the end of arm 18. Bolt 32 securely
fixes mandrel 33 having inner races 34 to arm 18.
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Chuck housing 31 is fixed to cylinder 35 having outer
races 36 and is rotatably mounted on arm 18 by means
of bearings 37 riding in inner races 34 and outer
races 36. The xotatable mounting of chuck housing 31
is constructed to eliminate lateral movement and
wobble. In the case of ball bearings~ wobble is de-
creased by utilizing more than one set of balls and
races. At least one floored groove 38 is cut around
the periphery of chuck housing 31 and circular core
adapter springs 39 are fitted therein. The springs
39 are secured against the floor of the grooves 3~
by means of stretchahle retaining rings 40. Wobble
between springs 39 and any core mounted thereon is
minimized by use of more than one spring 39. More
than one spring 39 can be used in one groove 38.
~ s can be seen from Fig. 3, core adapter
spring 39 has a bottom portion which rests in contact
with the floor of grooves 38 and a peaked, cant~lever,
top portion which extends, in unbiased condition,
beyond the upper limit of groove 38. ~igs. 4a and
4b represent opposite views of core adapter spring 39.
Fig. 4a is an edge view from the cantilever side.
Fig. 4b is an edge view from the open side~ The
bottom portion 41 forms a circular base for spring 39
and from one edge of the base extend a plurality of
peaked cantilever fingers 42. The spring 3~ is a
split ring, as is evidenced by space 43, and is held
in shape by retaining ring 40.
Figs. 5a and 5b are cross-sectional repre-
sentations of core adapter spring 39 as it rests in
7.
groove 38 unbiased (Fig. 5a) and as it rests ingroove 38 in use to retain a core 44 (Fig. 5b).
Bottom portion 41 is secured in place by retaining
ring 4a. In Fig. 5a, peaked, cantilever fingers 42
are shown in the unbiased position extending out,
beyond the upper limit, of groove 38, peaked, and
pointing back toward bottom 41. In Fig. 5b, fingers
42 are shown in biased position wherein core 44 forces
the top of fingers 42 into groove 38. The ends of
fing~rs 42 do not contact either the bottom portion
41 of spring 39 or the side or floor of groove 38.
Elements of the winding device of this
invention are joined together in a way to minimiæe
vibration and yet insure smooth operation without
danger of the elements binding together. The ball
and socket joint between the fluid cylinder and the
arm permits close-Eitting and smooth operation even
when the arm and piston rod might be mounted to the
base out of alignment or when they may have been
bent or worn out of alignment by use or handling.
The ball and socket of this device permits
stable, vibration-free operation in a very narrow
structure. Use of the ball and socket precludes
necessity for pins, bearings, shoulders and the like
in the jointure between the arm and the fluid
cylinder. The narrow structure is important to
permit assembly of a multitude of the winding devices
in side-by-side operation to wind very narrow ribbons.
The sturdy, unlversal, construction provided by a
ball and socket jointure i5 especially important
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for narrow devices because, the narrow devices
are more likely to be bent out of alignment in the
normal c~urse of operation~
To increase stability of high speed opera-
tion by reducing chatter and bounce of wound rolls
against the windup roll, the fluid cylinder can be of
the double acting variety, with counter forces to
positively position the piston rod. The counter
~orces are preferably provided by means o a spring
bias producing light force on the core and the arm
away fxom the winding drum and a pressure-regulated
fluid bias producing the counter force against the
winding drum. In such a preferred arrangement, the
spring bias pulls the piston rod into the cylinder
casing and the fluid bias pushes the piston rod out
of the cylinder casing. In operation, the fluid
bias is controlled to be only slightly ~reater than
the spring bias and the fluid bias serves as a
vlbration damper to absorb bounce ana chatter move-
ments of the arm away from the winding ~rum.
The chuck, with one or more core adaptersprings, combines a minimum Gf vibration and wobble
in winding operations with ease of mounting cores and
removing wound rolls of film~ The chuc~ is fitted
with one or more springs to provide a level founda-
tion for cores. The springs each have a plurality
of fingers which fingers are individually, easily,
deformed. The fingers, being spaced around the
chuck periphery, exert a plurality of smallr e~ual,
outward forces which are easily overco~e to mount a
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core or remove a completed roll. Those small forces,
however, hold a core completely free from wobble in
the plane of winding.
The combination of universal ball and socket
mounting of the fluid cylinder to the arm and use of
chuck with the core adapter springs having canti-
levered fingers for each core to be wound, result in
vibration-free high speed operation. Wound rolls of
material are circular, have straight edges, and a
uniform ribbon tension.
The winding device of this invention can be
used to wind ribbons of any flexible slit web material.
Slit films, foils and webs of paper, metal, synthetic
or treated polymeric materia:L, combinations or lam-
inates of such materials, and the like, can be wound
using the device of this invention. While films as
thick as 350.0 microns or mo}e can~be wound usinq the
device of this invention, this device is particularly
suited for winding slit webs of thin gauge polymeric
film such as polyester film from about 1.0 to about
lOO,Q microns in thic~ness.
The winding device can be used to advantage
at any winding speed but provides special advantage
at winding speeds of greater than about 60 meters per
minute (200 feet per minute) for films more than
about 50.0microns thick and greater than about 150
meters per minute (500 feet per minute) for films
less than about50.0 microns thick. Winding speeds
of at least as high as 450 meters per minute (1500
feet per minute) can be attained using this winding
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device, to produce wcund rolls of high quality.
Ribbons of material of any width can be
wound. For wide ribbons r additional core adapter
springs are recommended. For wide ribbons of heavy
material, two arms can be used~ When two arms are
used, the chucks can be adjusted to f~ace each other
and each chuck can be used to support one end of a
core. Due to the stability of cores on the chucks of
this invention~ more than one narrow ribbon can be
wound on a single core.
