Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WEB ALIGNMENT :~S I t~1 AND METHOD
Gideon Shahaf, Amit Shahaf and ~fe~.; Weiler
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relat~s to aLItG~ wn~ol sy~k,.,s gencrally
5 and to web guiding equipment in particular.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Generally, ~l~at~.ial~ which aro guided in web forrn ten~ to be thin paper,
filrn or fabric. Often, the ",dl~.ial ~anders from its correct ali~lll,~ent on the web
due to various factors, such as ..laterial irregulari~y, web speed or faulty
10 ~nac~ ry.
Web guiding systems are cc,--lll~onl~ used in pr~ tion yrlJ~s3e~ to
collec~ly guide and tension the ~"dt~lial on the web. G._.lerally, all auk,...at~cl
control systems utilize ~ tors to correct web travel and sc..sGra to detoct the
actual web ~o~'Aiol~. The actual web position is continuously compared with a
15 pre d¢h.,.l;ned value by a co,ltl~ller which ensures that the appro~.,idtè
cci,culiuns are made.
Various types of actuator~ are known, the type of actuator used
~epcn~ing on th~ a~pli~ ie" and the type of fabric. Actuato~ inelude pivotin~
frames, sLcc~ and ~ V~ti.l~ rollers and tumin~ bars for example. When guided
20 by pivoti~ r,_.l.e~, the web is subject to movement on both Its lon~itutinal and
transverse axes. ri.~otl"y thmes are conl",onl~ used where spaoe i at a
premium. Steerin~ roller actu~tors are loc~t~ - I in the infeed area of the
.IOait;vl~ g roller and slmultaneou~ly correct the ~eb in t~o dll~Aivn~. Pivotin~
rollers are mostly used on continuously fed mabri~l webs, such as tran~port belts,
25 where ~uidin~ accuracy toleranoe of one cc"~,),ater Is suffcient. Tune bors are
uaed where it is ~ a~ to change the web direcbon by ~0 da~ c~ ~nd
simullanoously make cGr~e~tion6~
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In the prQ~ ction of corru3ated board webs, the ".isal;~"nenl of the liner
and medium roll ed~es "cc~r~ the removal of overlapping edges and thus
can lead to significant W~8~ e and c~cr,Ee.
The known prior art web guiding systems require extra ~~chine~y and
s ~p~ t,or, and are not ~uibd to optimal placing of the webs in corrugated
boards. Fu.UI_.l-.or-~, exl~til,~ prior art eystems are relatiYely 810w and ~r._r~lly
manually adjusted.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An ob~ect of the ~n~ent invention i~ to provide a web guiding sy~t~. " for
corrugat~d boards which ov_reol"cs the lin~ t;on~ and disadvd"L~a3~ of prior artunits.
s A further object of the ,t~r~ont in~entiG" is to provide a web guiding
system which i8 easily installed and does not require ~dditional l"achil,ery or
major mùdirl.,a~iuns to the uxi~t;"~ web.
~ yet hrther object of the present invention is to provide a web guiding
system for corru~ated boards which prevents glue conL.";rlatiGn of single facer
rolls.
A yet furth~r object of the pr~sc.lt invor~tioi, k to provide a web guidin~
~ystem for corru~abd boards whi~ nt~ullably adjush the glue dam in
accordance with the web v~idth,
There is thus provided, in n~,dOnGe ~ith a ,c~ ,r,cd _m~ud;l,,ent o~
the pru~ l inv~.~tiol" a web ali~,.,.,_r~l system which include~ at least one liner
web roll affixod to a first roll sbnd and at least one medium web roll affixed to a
saco, .J roll ~tand. The web alis3r,r"ent ~"~t-,." is charactorized by further including
control mean~ for pre~ositionin~ the liner snd medium web rolls prior to the
c~r", . ,e. ,c~ l of unwindin~ of the liner web roll and the medium web roll.
Ful ll 10u l l~re~ in accordanoe with a ~r_fw,ed embodiment of the ~r.s~. lt
inve.~ ", the web ali5"""_.~ system also includes a corrugator and a ~lue dam
for gluing the liner web roll to the m~dium web roll.
FWUIC.IIIG~, in accordanoe with a ~r~h,r,ed ~,ubGJi."o,lt of the present
invcr,tion, the control mean~ po~itions tho 5~1ue d~m with r~r~n~ to the
2s corru~ator.
~ u,U,_r",o~, in ~ccordnnce with ~ ~r~..~ c.nbGJl~"c.lt of the pre~ent
invention, the ~ltlonin~ of the ~lue dam bke- place prior to the ~ en~n~ent
o~ unwinding of the medium web roll.
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F~,ll,a"-,ole, in accord,_.,ce ~ith a ~re~rc~d el"bGdi",e.lt of the ~OIeaellt
invention, the control means tracks and adjustably aligns the liner web roll and the
medium web roll during ope~aliGlldl movc",e"t~ to Illai.ltai~l the pre-positioning,
Fl~llh~ ,ure, in accc-rlance with a pr~fier~ed ~ b.J~i,l,_.,l of t~e pr~e"l
5 invention, the control means includes eneodin~ position apparatus coupled to the
liner roll sbnd and the medium roll stand.
F~,rtl,er",Gr~, in accch~&.,~ with a ~èfel~ed embodiment of the yre~elll
invention, the control ~neans further includes encoding position appdldlllS cOupled
h the glu~e daln.
F~"lher",~re, in acconlance with a pr._f~ J embodiment of the l,rt:sent
inv_nt;on, the encoding position appsratus incl~Jdes at least one cable transducer.
Fu~ er "on:, in ac~ance with a pr fiL.rtJ embodiment o~ the pr~sênt
invention, thê encOdi~ Iy position ap~r~tus includes at least one ult~son
transducer.
Fu,ll,e".,orl,, in aGcordance with a ~.re~r.~l embodiment of the ~r~__r.t
invention, the control rneans further include~ a plurality of laser ~_nsGr~ coupled
to the web of the liner roll and the medium roll.
Fl,lll,e,~nore, in accordance with a ~l~f~h~l e"lL~li,.lenl of the ,cr~~e.,l
inv~.ltion, the control me~n~ further c~""~ s a d~t~a~ of Ji",_n~ions of
20 ata.~dard rolls.
~ Jdi~ionally, in accordance with a prcfellèJ embodiment of the pr~se,ltinvention, there is provided a Ill_U~ud for ali~nin~ a web having at least one liner
~veb roll af~ixod to a flr~t roll stand, at least one medium web ron affixed to a
sec6..d roll stand, a corru~ator and ~lue ~am. The ".o~U,Gd inc~ s the step of
25 pre-positionin~ at least one of the medium and the linet web rolls.
Fu,lt,~r,..or~, in ~ cL with a pr,f~ l eln~ mel~t of the ~.e~ t
ention, the step of pr~po~itionin~ is rebtive to the po-~ttlon of the corru~atot.
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Furth~n..u,e in accor~ance with a p~erel~èd embodi",ent of the present
in~ tiGn, ~e step of pre-pG~itlonin~ the glue dam i8 relative to the position of the
corrusator.
FI,,Il.~...,Gre in accO~al-C2 with a pl_li r-_~ en,il.~in,ent of the prese~lt
5 invention, the step of pre-positioning cclllpli~as the steps of:
a) placing the at least one of the medium and the liner web rolls on the
CGI~c8pOi ,ding roll stand;
b) determining the width of the at least one of the medium and the liner
web rolls;
c) transferring the debrmined width to control a,~par~us;
d~ by ref~rence to the deternlined width looking up the exact
dirr,ensiol,;. of the at least one of the medium and the liner web rolls
fronl a ~ ~t~ 5~ of roll Ji~ 3iDI la; and
e) ali~ning the at least one of the medium and the liner web rolls in
acconi~n~ with the database dimensions.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ~HE l~RAWINGS
The prosei1t invention will be ~r~on~tood and ap~,rP :-t~d more fully
from the following .~ desc~ilJtion taken in conjunction with the app~ ed
B in which:
Fig. 1 is a ~,he~ tic isu,.~_t~;c illu~tlYtiûn of a web guidin~ ~ys~m for
corrugated boards, constructed and o~ rdti-/e in accordance with a pr~fe"~
~" ~b~c~iment of th~ pr~cnt invention; and
Fig. 2 i8 a floJv chart represcnt~o,) of the ope,dli-n of web guiding
system of Fig. 1.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
Reference is now made to Fig. 1 which illu~b~t~& a web guiding system
for corr~gatod boards, generally rLf~ r_ nc~d 10, constructed and opelati./e
ac~or.lin~l to a pr~ eJ embodiment of the p,___ut Inveution.
s Web ~uiding system 10 CGlllpl;_CS a fir~t roll stz~nd 12 having at least
one liner roll 14 aff~ed tl~er.!~, a ~ec~ roll stand 16 having at leas~ one medium
(or fluting) roll 18 affixed tl,erLto, z~ liner splicer 20 and a medium spllcer 22, first
and secûr,d pre~ att:lD 24 and 26, ~e~ecti~ely a ~in~le facer 28 and a glue dam
30. All of the abovo r~f~r~ncQi CGIllpGl,On~6 of web guiding ~ys~ern 10 are
standard. known in the art, col"pon~nb llsed for the prodlJ~tion of sin~lc F~cedcorru~ated cardboard sheet.
In a pr~.,~ embodiment, web guidin~ s~t~." 10 ¢G,..pliec; a pair of
liner rolls 14 and a pair of medium roll~ 18. In oper~hion, one of each of the pair of
liner and modium rolls 14 and 18, n ~p~ctively i8 in use at any one time The
15 secu.,J of the pair of liner and medium roll8 1i and 18"~ e~tively are on
~t~ndby and are placed in o~,_.dtion when the fir~t pair of roll8 are ex~usted. For
the pul~o_e3 of clarity, only one liner roll 14 and medium roll 18 is IIIL~ in
Fig. 1.
Web ~uidin~ s~r~ite, " 10 further CGn l~rl~e3 a pair of liner cable
20 transdueers, rof~r~ cl 32L and 32M, respectivoly, a pair of ultrasonlc
0~i.s~u~ers, generally ,_A.r~nccd 34L and 34M, n~ tively, a plurality of laser
sensor~, generally r~r~.~ce~r 38L and 3~M, re~.~ ly, and contro! rreans,
~enerally dwignabd 40. Sinco cable ban~cuoers 32, uitra~onic t~ans~ oer~ 34
and h~er ~en~or~ 3~ E~enerally ~_.~,." the s~me func~on for both liner roll~ 14
:~ 25 and mediurn rolls 18, they ~lave boon r~r~..~J with tho 6~ne n~-merab with tho
addition of suffixes qL" and ~M', re~pectiv~ly. to di~tin~ubh which of the variou~
corn~ a~o atbched to llner ~oll 14 and medium roll 18.
Control moans 40 accurately pr~position~ liner roll 14 and mocilum roll
18 and thon constsntly track~ both lin~r and m~tium rolls, 14 and 18,
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respectively, ~:t~!t~ti,.~ any adj~ eul~ and al;y"",~nt to the web edges ~hich
may be "- - - 4cl.
First roll stand 12 c6,n~ Es at least one longitudinal cl~.llellt 42 to
w~ich are dtta. l._l a pair of arms 44. Liner roll 14 jB retained by pair of amls 44
5 and is freely rotatable about a longitudinal axis defined by a line conne~ling pair of
arms 44. The liner roll web 46 i8 fed, via liner eplioer 20 and fir~t pr~heater 24, to
the single-facer 28. Each of cable transducers 32L and each of the l~ltl..so,)ictransducers ~4L are suitably coupled to the co"~condi"~ arm 44. The plurality
of laser sen~ors 3~SL are loc- -t~d either side of ~eb 4c ~refe,~ly bel~_en Iiner
10 splicer 20 and hrst pre-heater 24.
Similarly, second roll stand 1~ co. "~,ri~es at least one longitudinal
el~ ent 48 to which are ~ldcheJ a pair of arrns 50. Medium roll 18 is retained by
arms 50 and is freely rotstable about a lon~itudinal axis defined by a line
cun~ arrns 50. The m~dium roll web 52 i8 fed via medium splioer 22 to
15 se GIlJ pre-heater 25 and thence to single-facer 28. Each of cablo transducers
32M and each of the ultl..son ç transducer~ 34M are ~uibbly coupled to the
c~r,e~pur.Jing arm 50 of longit~dinal element 48. The plurality of laser senso~
36M are lo~at~-~l either sido of medium roll web SZ l,rLf~_rably bet~r acn medium
splicer 22 and e~ ,J pre-heater 2~.
Liner roll 14 and medium roll 18 aro ~lued togell,er in sin~le ~acer 28 to
produce th~ corru~ated board 54 ~~vhich then oxits via a plurality of rollors 56.
Cable transduc~rs 32, ultrasonic transducers 34 and laser l~el ,~r~ 3~
are sbndard known in the art CGlllpG~ s and are not further ~ ed. It will be
a~ by ~6.~GI18 lu, vrlcl~eable in the art th~t ~ny suihble type of ~nc~d~r
~~ 25 for loc~Un~ the po6;tio,. of appar~tu6 may be used an~ that the present invention
is not le~ hd to the use of cable ~nd uitra~onic tran~ducers 32 and 34,
r~.spe_ti~_ly which are described by way of example only. Fu,ll,~ ,o~, cable andul~souic tra"~1uc~rs 32 and 34 i~spectiveiy, may be ;llter~l ..~e~ly used. In
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an alternative e.nLo.li",ent, laser sensors may be used il,~,LeaJ of l~ltldsonicsensors.
Glue dam 30 i8 a typic~l known in the art glue dam sulbble for single
spacer or double backer use. In the pr~L.-~I en~Gdi",e"l, for the pur~,os~s of
5 example only, a sin~le spaoer s~f~te.l, is referred to. A cable transducer 58 is
~tL_hed to glue darn 30 for posit;u, ~ y the glue dam 30.
Control means 4Q, wllich is sultably coupled to transducers 32,
ds~nic transducers 34 snd laser s~n~ûr~ 3~, ~Jr~.~3~ dats ,~cei~ed from
these co"-~ol,e..~ and regulate~ tho positi~,"i~ of first and second r~:ll stsr~d~ 12
10 and 16, r~pccti~ely and glue dam 30 ~or.Jingly. Control m~ans 40 comprises,
inbr alia, a ~ir'~ e CGi~illillS,~ data (8uch 2~S exact dimensions) of ~tandard
rolls.
Rc~ftr-, ,~ is now al~o made to Fig. 2, which i~ a flow chart
r~pr~_cntatl6r, of the op_. ~tion of web 0uidin~ system 10.
A standard medlum roll 18 i~ placed on arms 50 of first roll sbnd 1~
(sbp 202) and the opera~r closes arm~ 50 onto the rnedium roll 18 (step 204).
Cable and uH.as~: transducer 32M and 34M, r~c~ ely, (lo~ on eaoh
arm 50) debrmine the wldth of the rnedium roll 18 and transmit this dat~ to control
means ~0 (step 206). Control mean~ 40 refers to its d~t~h- ,~ to lookup the exact
20 di.. ensions of the medium roll 18 place~ on arms 50 (sbp 208). The medium
roll 18 i8 then accurately pûsitioned by means of the pair of ul~ G"ic tr~ns~lu~rs
34M which .~iv_ instnuctions ~rorn eontrol means 40. (step 210).
The above o~ ti~n~ (sbps 202 - 210) a-e then carried out for liner roll
~4 ~tep 212).
2S The ~lue dam 30 i8 then~ccurately r:~itioned, by means of ~ablo
tran~duoer~ 58 (~tep 214), ac~,Jin~,~ to the position set for modiurn roll 18.
It i~ a feature of the invenffon U~at, the liner and meciium rolls 14 and 18,
n-~re~ively are ifi~pchdently pr~ ~o~7t;,,-,-~d prior to the un.v;.-. ;n~ of the rolls
and that the ~ition of the medium roll 18 i~ not d~t~..";.~_l by the cG.",.,on
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"mssbr/slave" ar,ans~"e~"l. Thu8, t~le positioning of the liner roll 14 is not
depe. ~ t on the p.Js;~;sr,.,~g of the medium roll 18, or vice versa,
It is a further featu~e of the ill.Je..ltiG~ that, during pre-positionin~, control
means 40 takes into account the offset Let~ren the n,at~rial and the facer 28 to5 achieve accurate pre-po~itioning w-~hin a tolerance of +/- 3mm. Generally, prior
an web systems do not allo~H for the offset betNeen paper and maci,i"e and if any
adjusl. "_. ,t is made, only adjust the r~lls relative to each other at the gluin~ stage.
Since apprt,xi",~t ly 15 to 20 m of paper travels from each roll to the glue dam 30
before gluing be~ins, pre-po3itiuning and accurab adjustment o~ the glue dam 30
10 saves tllis n~,rrl,a'l~ ~vasted roll Illd~,rial.
CUnIIt~G~ a single ~acer has a vacuum or pr~ssure slot to ensure that
tlle fluting roll retains its gluin~ capabilities while being affixed to the liner roll 14.
The ~,ositioning of the web within the ~Tngle ~ac~r take~ into account the vacuum
or pressure 81Ots, U~a~ r o~ti,,,ici,,g the w~b position within the facer,
1S Durin~ corrugation, as the liner and medium rolls 14 and 18"~s~cti~Jely
are un~inding and traveling toward~ thê glue darn 30, on-line positionin~ takes
place (step ~16). On-line posisioning is CG-~b~'l~ by laser s~nsor~ 36 in
conjunction with control means 40. Laser sens~r~ 36, which ~_"~r~lly only have
a 30 mrn range, ~enso the posfflo~, of the liner and medium rolls 14 and 18,
20 rt~p~ ely and continuously transfer the data to control mean~ 40. Control
means 40 ~'1j"5~ liner and medium rolls 14 ~nd ~8, re~pectively via instructionsto ul~ "i~ se~,~G~
It will be a~,~r6~;Jt~ 1 by persons ~killed in the art that the invc.ltiu,- is
applicable to double backer as ~ell as ~in~le facer co~rugator~ and is al~o
Z5 ~pplicable to any other type ~f web. A feature of the in~/~uti~;n is the accurate
alisii,.,.ent of a web wKhout the ne~d for chan~e~ to ~ta"d~n~ web guiding
equipment or the addition of cross maehine rollers for example.
It will be fiurther appr~ nJ that the p~ nt inve. ~iGn is not limlted by
what has been desc,iL_~ I,er~i"al~ove and that nulnêrous modi~icatior,8, all of
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which fall within the scope of the pr~&~i~t invention, exist. For ~xample, while the
present invention ha~ been de~,,iL_d with res~ue~t to a web guidin~ system
cG,.,,uri_ing a sin~le liner roll and medium roll, a pair of liner rolls and a pair of
medium rolls may be used, each of the pair of liner rolls and medium rolls to b~5 used alten,a~ ely.
It will be ~p~r~ tkd by persons skilled in the art that the pr~sent
in~e, ItiG~ i8 not limited by what has been particularly shown and descri~ed herein
above. Rather the s~ope of the invention is d~ d by the claims which follo~:
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