Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO 93/06035 ' PCI'/US92/07S83
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T5TLE: WIDTH ADJUSTING MACHINE FOR REEL CUTTERS
Background of the Invention
Field of the Inv~ntion
The inYention concerns a width adlusting machine for reel cutters
with at least two web g~lide rollers. M~re particularly, 1:his invention
relates to a compact apparatus for spreading a traveling fibrous web,
such as a sheet of paper, which has been cu~ in the dir~ction of web
travel, such that the cut web portions are spread laterally of their
direction of travel, and for collecting~ and discharging the dust particies
produced while maintaini~ng a predetermined gap distance~between the
cut web portions.
D~scri~tion of the Prior Art
P~eel cutters separate a material web that is unwound from~ a roller,
having an~elongated~axial~ ponion in;the~longitudinal direction~(web
advance direction?~into severai~partial; (i~e.~narrower slit web~portions)~
webs which are~subsequently~wound up again. During this~process, i~is
verv important ~o~guide the partial webs~exactly parallel to each~othe~r
;and to avoid mutual defects ~n the cut edges of adjacent parti~l w~bsO
Width adjus~irig~ machines with two web guide rollers are increasingly
utilized ~for this~purpose, whereby the first rol~ler, vi~wed in the web
advance d~irectlo~n, has a spherical~shape (i.e. profile) in~the area ~of~the~
partial,~ or~circumferentiallv~extending,~surface on either side~of which the
materia! web is wound, which~ shape is preferably obtained by a
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WO 93/0~035 ~!IA) PCT/US92/07583
corresponding bendin~ of the axis of this web 0uide roller. This first we~
guide roller expands the entire w~b material widthwise, whereby adjacent
partial v~lebs di~erge in the ara~ of the cut edg~s, so that they ar~ nQ l~nger
parallel. ~n order to pro~ri~ ~ possibili~y for an 0xact subsequent winding
of the partial webs, howev0r, these webs must bo guided parallel to each
oth~r. A seeond web ~uid~ roller which becomes effe~tive within ~ certain
dist~nc~ fro~n the first w~b ~uide roller, pr~ rably, a ~ew hundred mn), and
~ whose partial sur~ac~ around which the w~b ma~erial is wound is
con~t~ucted with its sur~ce profile opposite to th~ ~pherical or convex
shape of the first web ~uide roller, that is, In a concave shape. Th~ D
individlJ~I pa~tial webs, which by r.~w h~ve a certain laterai distan~e
betwe~n each ~>ther, ~re ~uid~d ~ck in a parallel direction whi;e
main~ainin~ th~ir separation. Such a width adjustin~ mach~n~ thu~ has a
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substantial space raquire~nent between the .,utting:st~tion and the windin~
station.of th~ r~el ~utting ma~hin~.
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Above and beyond ~hese requirements, r~l cutters ~Isually
necessitat~ the rem~val of di~st andlor possibl~ resi~ue produced durin~ the
longitudinal cutt,n~, or slittin~, process and deposited on the material web.
These gener~lly ~nown ~ust removal systsms thus ai~o have a ~ubst~ntial
r gp~Ge requirement which, as :mention~d above, even ~u~ther exacerbates
the problems of all-too-sonfined sp~ce condit,ens.
in European Patent Appli~ation N~. 0 431 275 A2, ~pp~ratus is
diselosed for s~reading the rel~tively na~row, component we~ strips .
produçed~ when a travelin~, relatiY~ly wide web is slit lorl~itudinally into a
plur~lity ~f such strips. The plurality of traveling, relatively narrow, web
strips aru first spread by a first, bowed, rotatin~ r~ll, and are ~hen ~uided
~ack into parallel, co-traveling array by bein~ pass~d over a second, bowed,
ro~ating roli. The apparatu~ i~ provlded with a regulation me~hanisn~ which
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WO 93/06~:~5 ~2~B) PCTIUS92107583
is fitted to ccrrect the directiona3 angles between the bowed rolls such tha~
the ~irectional angles between the bowed r~lls are adjusted to the desired
values. This apparatus neither collects dust from the web-slitting process,
n~r does it provide a means for coll~cting such dust operatin~ in
conjunction with th~ we~ preading l~owPd rolls.
Summary ~f th~ In~entio~
Startin!3 from these facts~, the invention is bas~d on the objective t~
arran~e ~ ~u~t remov~l systRm, as well ~s ~ dual ex,~ander roller
arrana~ment in a ree3 cutting machin~ within the confined sp~e between
the cuttin~ s~stion ~nd ~he w~nd~n~ station~ It is further desir~d to cr~ate
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WO 93/06035 2 ~ 7 ii~ O P~/U~92/07~83
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th~ insertion of the partial webs into the machine c~mponen~s arranged
a~er the cutting station in as uncomplicated a manner as possible.
The aforementioned objective is attained by a width adjusting
machine for reel cu~ters that is constructed by passing th~ traveling web
successively over a convexly b~wed web-spreading roller and conca~rely
bowed roller to maintain the slit web portions spaced apart. Intermediat~
these firs~ and second rollers is a dust collector which comprises a pair of
sp~ce~ vacuum plates which are positioned on either side of tho web.
Th~ essentially plane plates with suction openings utilized according ~o
the invention can with the concept of the invenl:ion be realized by
different means, similar to the shape and arran3ement of the suction
openings; however, it must be ensur~d that a sufficiently s~rong and
evenly dist~ibuted suctTon air flow can be realized with simultaneously
sufficient mech~nical stability, such that the unwanted impurities
deposited on th~ traveling web will be remov~d and discharged through
the suction openings. The plates can be provided with slots, bores or
similar structures lfor this purpose, or they can consist of an intersecting
or non-in~ersec~ing screen s$ructure with screening spaces.
The inven~ion has the advantage of providing high efficiency with
regard to the dust removal with the smallest structural dimensions, and,
furthermore, it simpiifies the insertion process of the web ends.
The production o~ the suGtion ait flow and its dischar~e, including
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~he dischal~é of the removed particles, can be realized by most different
means, for ex~mple, by flexible or rigid pipes that exit at the suction
openings. Particularly preferred is a construction where the plate with
the suction openings is part of one hollow body that extends over the
width of the material web (machlne width). This arrangement is not only
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WO 93/06035 P~/US92/07583
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uncomplicated with regard to structural considerations, but it can also b~
constructed very effectively with regard to the flow technology. Such an
arrangement has a particularly small space requirement and is particularly
effective with regard to mechanical considerations if both hollow bodies
are part of a support arrangement for the web guid~ rollers of the width
adjusting apparatus arranged ~o both sides of the p!ate since this manner
of construction makes it possible to omit the otherwise necessary torsion
rods or sirnilar structural elements arranged lateral to the materiai web.
In this particular instance, both hollow bodies are provided with the
plates which are preferably rigidlv conn~cted at their front ends with one
bracket for each of ~he two web; guide rollers that are arranged to both
sides of the plates, whereby both hollow bodies and both brackets
together form the support arrangemen~. This makes i~ possible to install
or remove the width adjusting machine, together with ~he suction deviee,
from th~ reel cuttîng rnachine as a compact, in particular, p~efabricated,
possibly even modular, structural unit (group of structural components),
or it can, if so desired, be subsequently installed in the most simple
manner. The structure of the support arrangement designated as
"brackets" can be realized by most different means, whereby the most
important factor is not a narrowly defined braeket-like structure, but
str~lctural elements, or a structural group comprised of several structural
elements provided on each of the front ends, can serve as a receptacle
for the bearings of the web guide rollers and can also b~ rigidly
conneeted with the hollow bodies extending over the width of the
machine.
The arrangement according to the invention is particularly
advantageous when the support arrangemen~ of both web guide rollers is
swiveled about an axls that extends parallel to the rotation~l axis of the
guid~ rollers. In this particular ~nstance, the dust removal plates also
W~93/0603~ 2 ~ 1 ~70 ~ P~r/US92/075~3
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swivel wi~hout altering the web advance geometry in the area o~ the gap
formed between the two plates. This generally known ability to swing
horizon~ally of both web guide rollers of the width adjusting machine
alters the winding angie of the material web around the web guide rollers
and thus leads to an alteration of their efficiency. Such alterations are,
for example, required during a change of the number and/or the width of
the partial webs of the materiai we~.
Practical ~xamples of the object of the invention, which in
particular ensure good guidance and insertabili~y of the partial webs, are
recited in, and are apparent from, ~he claims.
The aforementioned structural componen~s to be utilized
according to the invention, as w~ll as the ones claimed and described in
the examples, are not subject to any particuiar exceptions with regard to
their size, shape, material selection and technical concept, so that the
selec~ive criteria known in ~he corresponding application area can be
applied without limitations.
Further details, characteristics and advantages of ths object of the
invention result from the following description of the preferred
embodimen~ in conj-Jnction with the corresponding drawing which shows
a preferred example of a width adjusting maehine according to the
inventicn. The drawing shows a schematic representa~ion of the width
adjusting machine according to the invention in a sectiona! view in which
the cutting-p!ane lies parallel to the web advance direction and
perpendicular to the web guide rollers.
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The width adjusting machine with dust removal system according
to the invention can basically also be advantageously applied vvith
W0 93/06035 2 ~ (6) PCI/USg2~07~83
mat~rial webs that are not or not yet divided in the longitudinal direction.
It is basically possible to separate the most different web materials with
the object of the invention, in particul~r, paper and cardboard materials,
but also fibrous materials or foils consisting of metal, plastic or similar
materials, or even multi-layered materials.
Brief Descri~tion of the Drawinq
Figur2 1 is a side-eleYational view of this invention, in somewhat
schematic form, showing the bowed first and sccond web guide rollers
rotatably mounted on either side of the dust collecting apparatus.
DescriPtion of the Preferred Embodiment
In the figure, the path of ~he material web 11 through a wid~h
adjusting machine 10 is illustrated by the broken line ~long and short
dashes), and the we~ advance direction is indicated by the arrows 12.
Viewed in the web advance direction, the material web 11 is at first
wound around a first web guide ~oller 13: by a small angle of
approximately 40~ and subsequently in reverse winding direction around
: a second web guide~ roller 14, whereby a linear web portion with a
length of a few dm, for exarnple, 5 dm, is located between the two web
guide rollers. The surface profile Qf the part of the web guîde roller 13
~: around which the ~material web 11 is wound is convex, when :~/iewed in
the direction of web travel, while the- corresponding portion of the web
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guide roller,1~ surface profile is sha,~ed in a concave manner. In the
~' preferred example shown in the figures, this shape is obtained by a
corresponding bending of both web guide rollers (see, for example, DE
AS 22 01 8~4).
wo g3/06035 2 1 ~i ~ 7 ~ 0 PCr/US92/07583
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Pillow blocks 15A or 15B for support of the web guide rollers 13
and 14 are provided on the corresponding front ends of the web guide
roilers 13 and 14. These pillow blocks are, in turn, connected, in
particular, scrswed, to the retaining p~ate 16, so that the pillow blocks
15A and 15B on each side of the appara~us, together with the retaining
plate 16 between the correspnnding pillow blocks, represent a shar~d
bracket 17 for bo~h web guide rollers '13 and 14 that is supported in
such a rnanner so as to swivel with regard ~o a machine frame, no~
illustra~ed, about a swivel point 18 provided on each of the opposing
retaining plates 16. The swivel axis extending ~hrough both opposing
swivel points 18 in~ersects the material web 11 in the plane of the web
and at a right angle to its direction of travel approximately in the center
of the web portion between the two web guide rollers 13 and 14.
The brackets 17, which are supported in such a way so as to
swivel with r~spect to both sides of the m~terial web 11, are conrlected
with each other in the area of the retaining plate 16 by two hoilow,
elongated profile bodi~s 19 and 20 that are welded or at~ached in a
m~nner similar as their front ends in such a way ~hat two su~tion
ohambers 21 and 22 are createdthat can be connected to a vacuum
source with a dustcollector,forexampie,a cyclone,by atleastone
perforation 23 and 24 arranged in the retaining plate 116) and one dus~
removal pipe 25,26. In ~order to provide a better adaptability to the loca~
space oonditions, the dust removal pipes 25 and 26 extend
approximately in a right angle or any other suitable angle to the profile
bodies 19 aF~d 20, whereby a swivel connection between the retaining
pla~e 16 andthe dustremovalpipes 25 and ~6 ensures a further
possibility for ada~tation to the local space conditions (swivel direotion
arrows A and B).
Wo 93/0603S Pcr/us92lo7s~3
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On the sides that face the material web 11, the profile bodies 19
and 20 are provided with laterai surfaces 19Q and 20A which are
constructed as perforated plates, in the example of the embodiment
shown, and representin~, in a general s~nse, planar plates provided with
suction openings 27, whereby these plates extend over the entire width
of the material web and a certain portion olF the path of the material web
11 in the web advance direction ànd are arran~ed parallel to the ma~erial
web 11. The flow arrows G indicate the direction in which the suction
air and the dust particles contained therein flow inwardly throu~h the
suction openinys 27 of the plates ~lateral surfa~es 19A, 20A).
The fact that the brackets 17 and the profile bodies 19 and 20
form a unified carrier arrangement for the web guide rollers 13 and 14
ensures that the relative position between the material web 1~ and the
lateral wall surfaces 19A and 20A of the profile bodies 19 and 20 is not
changed, even if this carrier arrangement is swiveled about the swivel
point 18.
Pressure chambers 29 and 30 that are integrated with the profile
bodies 19 and 20 in ~he form of pipes 31,32 and that extend over the
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width of the machine are provided, whereby these pipes have nozzles 28
to both sides of the distance gap D between the lateral wall surfaoes 19A
and 20A throu~h which the material web 11 can be supplied with a
hydrauiic fluid. This hydraulic fluid guides the material w~b as well as
removes lightl~ adhering dust particles.
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In the exarnple shown in the figure, the pipe 32 can b~ swiveled
about its longitudinal axis, so that the direction of action of the nozzles
can be optimized for this application purpose. A guide surface 33 is
provided on the profile bodies 20 as a further insertion aid.
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WO 93/06035 ~ 1 ~. 8 7 ~ Pcr/us92/o7583
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The preferred example illustrated in the figures thus rnakes it
possible that ~he distance between the surfaces of the dust
r~moval sys~em and the material web remains constant, independent of
the swivel position of the web guide rollers 13 and 14. Both lateral
surfaces of the web material are cleaned simultaneously. The la~eral
surfaces 19A and 20A in conneetion with ~he nozzles 28 simplify the
automated insertion of the material web into the width adjusting
machine. The profile bodies 19 and 20 serve simultaneously as a
vacuurn chamber and as a part of the carrier arrangement of the web
guide rollers 13 and 14, so that other conventional structural elements
usually utilized for this purpose can be omitted.
Th~ suction device according to the invention can basically also be-
combined with other cylinders or rollers of a reel cutting machine in an
advantageous manner, as will be apparent to one skilled in the art,
without departing frorn the principles of the invention.
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