Abstract:
An apparatus for emptying a reel on which a web of material is wound in layers. A frame supports the reel. A carriage is mounted on the frame for reciprocal movement longitudinally in a first direction and in a second direction opposite the first direction over the reel. A knife is mounted on the carriage for movement with the carriage to cut sheets of material from the web as the carriage moves over the reel. A plough removes cut sheets of the material from the reel as the carriage moves over the reel.

Description:
FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an apparatus for emptying reels of web material. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In the manufacture of web-shaped material on reels, it is relatively often necessary to reject a number of reels and to take care of returned reels which are damaged in one way or another and which will not be accepted by customers. Such broken reels are to be emptied of the web-shaped material on the reels. The material is to be recycled by, for example, being comminuted and dissolved into pulp in order later to become new paper. The core of the reel, in the form of a sleeve, is to be taken care of and re-used. The reason for this is that it is not desirable to comminute and dissolve the sleeve material, since this should not be included in the pulp. Prior art reel dividers or guillotines have proved to suffer from drawbacks in the form of, among other things, complex design and construction, lack of versatility, and above all high costs, as well as the fact that they often damage the sleeve (the core) so that this cannot be re-used. 
     The task forming the basis of the present invention is to provide a novel apparatus overcoming these problems. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention provides an apparatus which is relatively simple from the design and construction point of view, and which has proved to be extremely efficient and versatile. The apparatus according to the present invention is extremely simple to adapt to different types of material, e.g. fine paper, paperboard, tissue, plastic, and foils of types such as aluminum foil. The relatively simple design and construction moreover guarantee a high dependability and simple maintenance. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will now be described in greater detail hereinbelow, with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic, perspective view of one embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a view, similar to that of FIG. 1, of another embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a shuttle carriage for an apparatus according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a part of an apparatus according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 has a frame  1  in the form of an inverted U with feet  2 ,  3 ,  4  and  5 . Between the vertical shanks in the frame  1 , a beam or boom  6  extends which is displaceable up and down in the frame  1 . The beam or boom  6  carries side supports  7  and  8  which are displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the boom or beam  6  for adapting to each end of a paper reel  9  which is placed in the frame  1  and may rest on a per se conventional pallet  10 . After placing of the side supports  7  and  8  against the ends of the paper reel  9 , it is appropriate to lock the side supports  7  and  8  in the desired position. 
     A shuttle-like carriage  11  is displaceable reciprocally on the boom or beam  6  between the side supports  7  and  8 . The carriage  11  supports a roller knife  12  and a plough  13  with two flaps  14  and  15 . The plough  13  is double-directed and the flaps  14  and  15  are adjustable for adaptation to the direction of movement of the plough  13  and the carriage  11 . 
     In FIG. 1 the parts are shown with the roller knife  12  during cutting work on movement from left to right on the reel  9 . The layers or sheets cut through during the preceding stroke have already fallen down onto the pallet  10 . The boom or beam  6  is fed progressively down towards the center of the reel  9 . This downward movement ceases when the sleeve in the reel  9  is reached, whereafter the pallet  10  with the severed sheets is conveyed off for recycling. The sleeve is taken care of for possible re-use. The beam or boom  6  is returned to its starting position, whereafter a new damaged reel may be placed in the frame  1 . The beam or boom  6  is displaceable by means of screws of the like disposed in the frame legs. 
     In the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 2, the frame  1  is disposed on a leg  16  on one side of the reel  9  and a leg  17  on the other side of the reel  9 . In the legs  16  and  17 , there are provided pins  18  for engagement in the sleeve of the reel  9  to lift the reel up towards the shuttle carriage  11  with the roller knife  12  and the plough  13 . In this embodiment, the severed sheets are deposited below the reel  9  and may be transported off in any suitable manner. Possibly, a conveyer may be provided for continuous removal of the sheets. 
     FIG. 3 shows the carriage  11  in greater detail with the knife  12 , the plough  13  and the flaps  14  and  15 . It has proved to be suitable that the knife  12  rotate when cutting such web-shaped material as fine paper and paperboard, while the knife  12  may suitably be stationary when cutting such material as, for example, tissue. The carriage  11  is suitably connected to a linear prime mover, for example a pneumatic cylinder, a so-called shuttle cylinder, for reciprocal displacement between the ends of the reel  9 . Suitably, the roller knife  12  is freely running, but it may be either stationary or driven, depending upon the different material qualities. FIG. 3 illustrates more closely that the flaps  14  and  15  are secured on the plough  13  with the aid of hinges  19  centrally positioned on the plough  13  and permitting pivoting of the flaps  14  and  15  from the position illustrated in FIG. 3 to the position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     The roller knife  12  is mounted on a hub or shaft  20  at the end of a swing or end walls forming the shuttle carriage  11 . The swing may be pivotal for angular positioning of the roller knife  12  and the plough  13  in relation to the longitudinal axis of the reel  9 . The roller knife  12  may, as was mentioned above, be freely rotated, driven or locked, depending upon the material variety on the reel  9 . The shuttle carriage  11  may be mounted on a shuttle piston in a shuttle cylinder. Such an arrangement is exemplified in FIG. 4 which is described in greater detail below. The plough  13  may be suspended by bolts which extend from a plate which is connected to the shuttle carriage  11  with the aid of a carrier or stub shaft. With the aid of the bolts, it is possible to adjust the plough in relation to the roller knife  12 . The flaps  14  and  15  may be switchable with the aid of pistons which are suitably of the pneumatic type. 
     The arrangement exemplified in FIG. 4 displays a shuttle cylinder  27  with three pistons  28 ,  29  and  30 . The piston  29  supports the shuttle  11  with the roller knife  12 , while the side supports  7  and  8  are mounted on the pistons  28  and  30 , respectively, the side supports  7  and  8  being urged against the ends of the reel  9 . The pistons  28 ,  29  and  30  divide the shuttle cylinder  27  into four chambers  31 ,  32 ,  33  and  34 . When the chambers  31  and  34  are pressurized, the side supports  7  and  8  are urged against the ends of the reel  9 . A somewhat lower pressure in the chamber  32  will displace the piston  29  with the shuttle  11  and the roller knife  12  from the piston  28  towards the piston  30 . When the roller knife  12  has reached or passed the end of the paper reel  9 , the pressurization is switched from the chamber  32  to the chamber  33  and the flaps  14  and  15  are switched for displacement of the roller knife  12  towards the piston  28 , and thereby the other end of the reel  9 . As previously, the cylinder  27  is progressively displaced towards the reel  9  in suitable cutting depths, or the reel  9  is displaced upwards towards the cylinder  27 . 
     When cutting such a material variety as tissue, it has proved to be suitable to maintain the roller knife  12  stationary and employ air jets as the plough instead of the mechanical plough  12  with the flaps  14  and  15  described in the foregoing. 
     Many modifications are naturally possible without departing from the scope of the inventive concept.