WEB INSPECTION AND REPAIR MACHINE WITH WEB INDEXER DEVICE

MACHINE POUR L'INSPECTION ET LA REPARATION D'UN MATERIAU EN BANDE, AVEC SYSTEME D'INDEXAGE DE L'ENTRAINEMENT DE LA BANDE

English 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.

French Abstract

Dispositif servant à inspecter et à réparer un rouleau de tissu en bande continue. Ce dispositif comprend un mandrin de déroulage, un mandrin de rebobinage, une aire d'inspection ainsi qu'une aire d'épissage. Dans la zone d'inspection, lorsqu'on détecte un défaut dans la bande, on commande l'arrêt de celle-ci. Lorsque la zone d'épissage est adjacente à la zone d'inspection ou coïncide avec celle-ci, la partie défectueuse de la bande peut dépasser de beaucoup la zone d'épissage avant que la bande ne s'arrête. La présente invention s'avère un dispositif de repérage de bande qui comprend une navette de repérage à mouvement alternatif, sur laquelle sont montés des rouleaux non commandés. D'autres rouleaux non commandés sont fixés à la machine pour que le tissu en bande continue puisse être tendu entre eux dans une configuration sensiblement boustrophédonique. Des mécanismes de contrôle permettent à l'opérateur qui a commandé l'arrêt de la bande, après avoir détecté un défaut, de déplacer le cadre de repère afin de ramener la partie défectueuse de la bande dans la zone d'épissage pour la réparer. Cette opération est effectuée sans avoir à inverser la direction de rotation du mandrin de déroulage ou de rebobinage.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
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.
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.
5. The method claimed in claim 4, in which said first plurality of idler rolls

11
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.

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

2184769
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

- 2184769
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.

Representative Drawing