Abstract:
A system and method for receiving, handling and storing used rolls following unwinding of sheet material therefrom includes: 
     (a) transferring the cores to a remnant cleaning station, 
     (b) inspecting for (i) remnant material, (ii) repairable damage or (iii) irreparable damage; and 
     (c) for those cores cleaned, repaired, or satisfactory as is, transferring them to a storage rack for the specific size and length.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is based upon and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/460,826 filed Jan. 7, 2011. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a system for storing and managing the cores of rolls of sheet form material. After the sheet form material is unwound from the core, the core is transferred to the core storage and management system for further processing. The present invention is related to our co-pending application Ser. No. 12/928,231 for an Automatic Core Cleaning Apparatus and co-pending application Ser. No. 12/925,084 for an Automatic Core Joining and Cutting Apparatus. The present invention may be used independently of or variously in combination with the technology disclosed and claimed in the related applications. The co-pending applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention is a highly adaptable core storage and management system that can be adapted for use in any industrial setting where sheet form material is provided on large rolls having cores. After the sheet form material is dispensed from the rolls during the manufacturing process, the core remains, usually having some remnants of sheet form material still attached. The core is cleaned, inspected and either stored for reuse, repaired and stored for reuse, or disposed of. The core storage and management system of the present invention is intended to accumulate the spent cores, clean cores, and rejected cores for either reuse or disposal. The core storage and management system will monitor the lengths and diameters of the cores and sort the cores of various sizes into storage racks designated for each core of various sizes. The storage and management system of the present invention can be designed for use in conjunction with a core cutting and joining apparatus such as that disclosed in our co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/925,084. The core storage and management system of this invention can also be used in combination with a core cleaning apparatus as disclosed in our co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/928,231. 
         [0004]    Ideally, the core storage and management system of the present invention will identify clean cores of various sizes and diameters and store the clean cores in specified racks. 
         [0005]    The core storage and management system is extremely adaptable in that it can utilize any number of storage racks and the storage racks can be adaptable to contain stacks of individual cores or cores of various lengths and diameters. 
         [0006]    Cameras can be used to inspect incoming cores to see if they are clean or damaged. The core storage and management system of this invention includes an inspection station for the manual inspection of cores for damage. Any damaged cores can either be sent to a core cutter and joiner machine located proximate the core storage and management system, or disposed of if damaged too badly for repair. 
         [0007]    The core storage and management system uses sensor arrays to monitor the length and diameter of each core member it receives. The core storage and management system maintains a record of the total number of each core size received and interfaces with the manufacturing processes to ensure that cores of proper diameter and length are being delivered to the proper cleaning and repair stages within the facility. 
         [0008]    RFID tags are affixed to each core except for those damaged too badly for repair. The RFID tags contain information regarding the size and condition of each core (i.e. whether acceptable for re-use as is, in need of cleaning, in need of repair), and storage location. 
         [0009]    The core storage and management system is used at facilities that convert product on cores and provides for reuse of the cores. The core storage and management system stores cores, identifies core lengths and diameters, identifies cores that are damaged and can be salvaged via a core cutting and joining apparatus, manages inventory, processes outbound orders by either utilizing existing inventory or creating the cores via the core cutter and joiner apparatus. The core storage and management system significantly reduces manpower and safety issues. 
         [0010]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a top view of a core storage system as used with the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the core storage unit of the system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the core storage unit of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is an end view of the core storage unit of  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    The core storage unit section of the management system of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 2-4  as a simple layout. The core storage unit section  20  comprises six racks  10  for storing cores C. The number, size and layout of racks  10  in the storage unit can vary depending on the requirements of the manufacturing facility. The racks  10  are designed to inventory and store cores C of either the same size or of varying sizes (as shown in  FIGS. 2-4 ) and lengths (as shown in  FIG. 2 ). The storage system includes an overhead crane  46  for receiving and delivering clean cores to the appropriate rack  10  for the specific size and length of core C being conveyed. The overhead crane  46  rides across the top of frame  18  to deliver a received core to its appropriate rack or to remove a core for delivery from its appropriate rack  10 . The frame  18  extends longitudinally between ends  19  and laterally between sides  21 . The crane  46  is mounted for movement both longitudinally and laterally in order to place core C in the appropriate rack  10  for its size (diameter) and length. The crane  46  has clamps  48  actuatable between a closed position for gripping the cores and an open position for releasing the cores C. 
         [0016]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the core storage management system includes the core storage unit section  20  and an inspection/cleaning section  30 . The core storage unit section  20  extends longitudinally between a core joiner station  47  (for example of the type disclosed in application Ser. No. 12/925,084) and a manual inspection station  44 . The core joiner station  47  is not necessarily part of the system of the present invention. It could be located at a position remote from the system. The inspection/cleaning station  30  is adjacent to the core storage unit section  20  and is positioned to receive incoming cores C via a cross conveyor  52  extending there between. A loading conveyor  45  receives cores C and moves them laterally onto the core storage unit section  20  and then to the cross conveyor  52  and onto the inspection/cleaning station  30 . The inspection/cleaning station  30  includes core cleaning assembly  43  that cuts any remnant material from the used core C. The remnant material is transferred to a final destination, for example a pulper, bailer, or other processing unit. After the core C is cleaned it is then inspected to determine whether it is damaged or whether it is acceptable for reuse. 
         [0017]    The inspection station includes at least one camera  41  positioned to inspect the core C. The camera  41  is preferably movable such that it can inspect both ends of the core C. In other embodiments, a second camera  42  may be included at the inspection station  30 . If the core C is clean, it is delivered to a second cross conveyor  53  for return to the core storage unit section  20 . An overhead crane  46  picks up the clean core and transports it to its proper rack  10  for storage. If the core C fails inspection, it is sent to a manual inspection station  44  for operator intervention. 
         [0018]    Adjacent to and parallel with the loading conveyor  45  is an unloading conveyor  56 . The loading conveyor  45  and unloading conveyor  56  are mounted on mechanism which is moveable longitudinally. Such longitudinal movement moves the two conveyor  45 ,  56  from a first longitudinal position at which the loading conveyor  45  is aligned with the first cross conveyor  52  for delivery of cores C thereto to a second position at which the unloading conveyor  56  is aligned with the first cross conveyor  52  so that it can receive cores C being removed from the core management system. However, the position and layout of the various units of the core storage management system  10  (i.e. core storage unit section  20 , racks  10 , core cleaning assembly  43 , inspection station  30  and conveyors) may vary. Accordingly, the method of moving the cores may vary from site to site. 
         [0019]    The storage racks  10  can variously contain individual used and clean cores. The clean cores C can be retrieved from the appropriate storage racks  10  for delivery to the unloading conveyor  56 . 
         [0020]    The core storage and management system further includes an inspection station  44  wherein each core can be delivered for manual inspection. If any of the cores are damaged, but salvageable, they can be delivered by crane  46  to the adjacent core cutter and joiner apparatus  47 . A properly joined core can then delivered by overhead crane  46  to its appropriate storage rack  10 . 
         [0021]    It should be noted that the layout of the various components is not necessarily as shown in  FIG. 1 . The components can be used in a variety of combinations and locations depending on the requirements and layout of the facility in which it is used. 
         [0022]    This description of the core storage and management system is intended to be illustrative. As explained herein the system is extremely adaptable for use in a variety of manufacturing settings. The scope of the present invention is set forth in the appended claims.