Unwinding device for paper reels

Abstract: An unwinding device comprises a number of elastic belts (24a-d) forming a loop within which the paper reel (10) abuts. The translating motion of the belts (24a-d) causes the unwinding of the paper reel (10) by friction.

Description: The present invention relates to the handling of paper reels and more specifically to an unwinding device for paper reels. It is known that a number of printing machines is fed with paper in form of reels, and these reels have not negligible size and above all weight, the latter possibly being of several hundred kilograms. To date unwinding systems for this type of reels have been adopted which essentially comprise motor driven mandrels which are inserted within a center axial hole of the reel and are driven at an adjusted speed so as to obtain an essentially constant linear speed of the paper band being unwound from the reel. It is evident that as the diameter of the reel changes, the rotation speed of the mandrel must be adjusted in a controlled manner, in order to fulfill the above requisite. These various needs have raised and raise not negligible problems for the solution of which it has been necessary to have recourse to complex and delicate mechanisms both from the structure and from the actuation and control points of view. As a matter of fact, from one side the relevant weight of the reel which is thus supported in a cantilevered manner from the mandrel involves the adoption of very resistant and heavy structural members in order to obtain the necessary mechanical strenght, whereas the careful speed adjustment, especially if depending on the receiving machine positioned downstream, such as for example a laser printer, makes it necessary to use control and adjustment devices, which are complicated and by themselves delicate, especially if of electronic type. In this connection further complications arise such as the relevant inertia of the reels whereby when, for a whatsoever reason, the unwinding of the reel must be stopped, the headway of the reel causes relevant forces to be applied to the mandrel and to the related supporting structure, or the paper unwinding must be continued, this paper having to be in some manner temporarily collected, for example by means of reserve devices, and to be thereafter fed when the downstream positioned machine starts again the paper calling. Another problem to be solved is that of providing the so-called paper alignement, namely the alignment of either edge of the paper band being unwound from the reel with the next machine fed with the band. As a matter of fact this paper band, possibly already provided with suitable dragging holes along the edges must feed at high rate (for example at a speed corresponding to almost two sheets per second), machines like the so-called laser printers. It is evident that whatever obstacle hindering the paper band advancement may lead to a reduction of the operating rate of the printer to the detriment of the production rate of the whole line, which may consist in an electronic accounting or billing center, such as the invoice emitting centers of companies supplying services of public utility (electricity, telephone, and the like). DE-A-3 638 303 discloses an apparatus for changing bobbins of wrapping material including an unwinding device, in which the bobbin to be unwound is advanced to the space between two conveyors the operating reaches of which form an acute angle, the paper being unwound due to the friction between the conveying belts (being driven into a translating motion) and the outermost paper layer of the bobbin. DE-A-3 030 845 discloses an unwinding apparatus in which a bobbin to be unwound is supported onto a conveying belt translating in the direction in which the web being unwound is dragged by a pair of cooperating rollers. The main purpose of the present invention is that of solving all the problems and drawbacks as above shortly mentioned. A more specific purpose of the present invention is that of achieving the above stated purpose by means of a device having simple and effective structure and operation, by which the requirements of the machines being fed downstream can be flexibly met. These purposes are achieved by means of an unwinding device for paper reels characterized by comprising, in its essence, at least one belt of a material having some elasticity, the reel to be unwound abutting with a predetermined force against a surface of the belt, and means for driving said at least one belt with a motion having predetermined and adjustable speed contacting with friction a predetermined surface portion of said reel, the free edge of the paper band forming said reel being directed in the motion direction of said at least one belt. According to a first embodiment of the unwinding device said at least one belt comprises a number of parallel and spaced belts, each forming a closed circuit and provided with at least a pair of end rollers, one first of which is coupled to motor rotation means whereas the second is an idle roller, the distance between the rollers of said pair being less than half the lenght of each belt by a predetermined amount so as to form a loop or cradle within which said reel is freely abutting, said predetermined amount being moreover selected as a function of the elasticity of the material forming said belts and of the friction coefficient between the belt surface and the paper forming the reel. According to a variation of said first embodiment roller means are positioned between said belts, said roller means having axis parallel to the motion direction of said belts and being freely rotatable, said roller means being displaceable between a first rest or lowered position, in which the upper generating line of the roller means is at a height less than the lowest point of said cradle formed by said belts and a second operating raised position in which said reel is lifted by said roller means, it being thus disengaged from the upper surface of said belts. According to a further embodiment the unwinding device of the invention is provided with abutments sidewise positioned with respect to said parallel belts, against which said reel freely abuts, whereby it is supported without any constraint, especially during the unwinding starting from a full reel. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the surface, as defined by the belts by which the paper is unwound from the reel, is inclined towards one side, namely orthogonally to the motion direction of the belts, whereby the paper reel abutting within the loop defined by the above surface is pushed towards said side of the device whereby the paper band unwound from the reel comes out of the device in a strictly aligned condition with the same above defined side, which shall be coincident and thus aligned with the entry line of the machine positioned downstream of the unwinding device. The specific features and advantages of the present invention shall appear more clearly from the following detailed description, relating to the enclosed drawings, wherein: figure 1 is a side elevation view, partially cross-sectioned, of the unwinding device according to the invention; figure 2 is a plan view from above of figure 1; figure 3 is a cross-section view according to the lines III-III of figure 1; figure 4 is a view like figure 3 showing the reel unwinding device in a different operating condition; figure 5 is a side view, partially in cross-section, of the preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention; figure 6 is a plan view from above of the device shown in figure 5; figure 7 is cross-section view, perpendicular to that of figure 5, showing in an elarged manner for sake of illustration how the paper reel is positioned onto the unwinding device; figure 8 is a partial plan view, like figure 6, showing another embodiment of the device according to the present invention; figure 9 is a view of a detail of the device of figure 8; figure 10 is a schematic view of the operating principle of the device according to the present invention; figure 11 is a view like figure 10 of the device seen cross-wise; figure 12 is a view like figure 6 of a further embodiment of the device according to the present invention. Referring to the drawings, the device for the unwinding of paper reels, generically indicated by the reference 10, comprises a basement or frame 12, which at boths ends rotatably supports two axes or rollers 14, 16, the second of which is operatingly coupled to a driving motor 18, for example through suitable and not shown means of mechanical transmission of motion and of adjustment of the rotation speed of the roller 16, for example by means of a gearing. Each roller 14, 16 has mounted thereto a number of spools, which in the embodiment shown in figures 1 to 4 are four for each roller and are indicated by the references 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d, for the roller 14 and by 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d for the roller 16. Each pair of spools namely the pairs (20a, 22a), (20b, 22b), (20c, 22c), and (20d, 22d) supports a closed circuit belt indicated by the references 24a, 24b, 24c and 24d, which is driven into a translation motion in the direction of arrow F by the driving means 18. From the figure 1, it can be appreciated that, when the reel 10 is positioned onto the upper or operating reach of the belts the latter are bent downwardly forming something like a thing cradle or loop A onto which the bottom of the reel 10 abuts. From the same figure 1 it can be noticed as well that the translation motion of the belts 24 in the direction of the arrow F causes by friction the unwinding of the band or strip of paper C from the reel 10, without need for the latter of being in whatever manner supported at the axis thereof. Secondly it is worth to note that, once the necessary friction relationship between the upper surface of the belts 24 and the paper forming the reel is established, as well as the distance along which such a contact must take place in order to have the unwinding occurring safely, the translation speed of the belts 24 determines the unwinding speed of the paper band C from the reel 10. In this connection it is also to be noted that the belts are preferably manufactured from a suitable material having a certain elasticity, such as semi-rigid rubber, the thickness thereof being selected depending on the material: from the combination of these two element depends at the very end the deepness or height of the cradle A formed by the upper surface of the belts 24. Obviously in order to ensure anyhow the forming of the said cradle, the distance between the axes of the rollers 14 and 16 is selected so as to be less by a predetermined value with respect to the lenght of the upper or operating reach of the belts 24. Such a solution, however, is not compulsory, when only the natural elasticity of the material forming the belts 24 is exploited, this elasticity under the weight of the reel 10 determining owing to a natural elongation of the belts, the forming of the said cradle. It is lastly to be noted that by a simple mathematical calculation it can be verified that the unwinding speed of the paper band is independent from the mass of the reel 10, whereas determining importance has the heigth or deepness of the said cradle, this heigtt as a matter of fact limiting this unwinding speed. For example, if the operating rate of a laser printer is taken into consideration, it being a typical example of a machine which may be served by an unwinding device according to the present invention, this rate is about 80 cm/second: for such an unwinding speed of the paper band C from the reel 10, the cradle A formed by the belts 24 must have a heigth of at least 4 cm, to prevent the translation motion of the belt from causing the reel to came out of the cradle. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the basement 12 is positioned flush of the floor, so as to permit the reel 10 to be charged within the cradle formed by the belts 24 by rolling the reel around the axis thereof. Often, however, it is necessary to substitute the reel 10 being unwound with another one, for example of a different width, to meet the requirements of the downstream machine served by the unwinding device. The paper reels 10 as those involved by the present invention, have not negligible weight, of the order of the some hundred kilograms, whereby the resin from the said cradle of the reel 10, even if already partially unwound, may present not negligible problems. To this end the present invention provides within the basement 12 a number of idle rollers 26a, 26b, and 26c parallel to the belts 24 (a, b, c and d) and interposed between them, said rollers being supported at their ends by cylinder and piston means 28 (a, b, c) and 30 (a, b and c). In this manner, the roller assembly 26 (a, b and c) is movable between a lowered or disengaged position (shown in the figures 1-3) and a raised or operatin position (figure 4), in the latter the reel 10 being disengaged from the cradle 10 and from the belt 24 (a, b, c) owing to the raising thereof. Preferably in the said raised position the roller assembly 26 (a, b, and c) brings the bottom of the reel 10 at the level of the floor in which the basement 12 is preferably embedded, whereby the reel 10 can be readily rolled away. The idleness of the rollers 26 (a, b and c) is moreover useful to permit crosswise displacements of the reel 10 with respect to the translation direction of the belts 24 (a, b and c), for example to aligne one side of the reel and consequently the paper band C which is unvound therefrom with a predetermined plane. In this connection it is furthermore to be noted that both the basement 10 and the number and width of the belts 14 as well as of the rollers 26 are selected as a function of the maximum possible width of the paper band C and consequently of the reel 10 whereby it is necessary to be able to displace the reel 10 cross-wise with respect to the belts 24, particularly for sizes less then the maximum width, to adjust the alignment with the machine being served downstream. Lastly the unwinding device according to the present invention is provided with balanster means to sidewise retain the reel within the cradle or loop A without however rigidly engaging the reel. These means comprise an upper side bar 32 and a lower side bar 34 connected by short posts 36, 38, the lower bar being supported from a box-like member having dampering springs. From the bars 32 and 34 adjustable pushers protrude, 40 and 42 respectively, having abutting plates 44 and 46. Against the latter plates the side of the reel 10 abuts. The adjustability of the pushers 40 and 42 is important for the right positioning of the reel 10, as regards the exit position of the paper band C, whereas the elastic mounting of the bars 32 and 34 has the purpose of dampering side displacements of the reel during the unwinding thereof. Referring now to the figures 5, 6, 7 in which where possible the same references as in the figures 1-4 are used with an increase of 100 units, the device for the unwinding of paper reel 110 comprises a basement or frame 112 which at both ends supports rotatably two axes or rollers 114, 116, one of which is operatingly connected to a driving motor (not shown) for example through a proper gearing. These components are standard and it is not necessary to give a more detailed description or showing. To each roller 114 and 116 a number of sprockets is mounted (in the figures 5-7 in the number of five for each roller), indicated by the references 120 (a,b,c,d,e) for the roller 114 and 122 (a,b,c,d,e,) for the roller 116. Each pair of corresponding sprockets 120 and 122 is engaged by a toothed closed belt 124 (a,b,c,d,e) which is moved in the direction of the arrow F owing to the engagement with the toothing of the sprockets 120 and 122. From figure 5 it can be appreciated that by positioning the reel 110 onto the upper or operating reach of the belts 124, the latter are bent downwardly forming a loop or cradle A in which part of the reel abuts, the lowest generating line of which is consequently parallel to the generating line of the cradle or loop A as determined in the upper surface of the belts 124. The translation motion of the belts in the direction of the arrow F, owing to the technical reasons already mentioned, causes by friction the unwinding of the band or strip of paper C from the reel 110 without the need of the supporting in any manner the reel at the axis thereof. For the cross-wise displacement of the reel roller assemblies 126 (a,b,c,d) are provided, having cylinder and piston assemblies 128 (a,b,c,d,) and 130 (a,b,c,d,) for their raising and lowering between the rest position and the operating position. In this case too the unwinding device is provided with side abutting means consisting of a pair of bars 133 and 135, supported by respective bracket 137, and 139 anchored to the basement 112, the bars 133 and 135 being tapered (as indicated by the reference 141) towards the entry end of the reel 110 onto the roller assembly and consequently within the cradle formed by the belts 124, to promote the loading of the reel. As already discussed above, in order to ensure the alignment of one of the edges of the paper band C removed from the reel 110, the loop or cradle A formed by the belts 124 has a predetermined inclination with respect to the horizontal plane towards one of the sides of the basement, whereby the reel naturally tends to take a position sidewise displaced towards the said side and to remain in such position, thus ensuring that the line along which the corresponding edge of the paper band C comes out is constant. In order to achieve such a purpose, in the embodiment shown in the figures from 5 to 7, the length of each toothed belt 124 is progressively increased (respectively reduced) whereby the loop or cradle A formed by the belts shall have a greater height at the said side at which the belts 124 have greater length and respectively lower height at the opposite side. In the showing of figure 7, in which such an inclination is exagerated for sake of illustration, the belt 124a has a length less than that of the belt 124b; the latter in turn has a length less than that of the belt 124c and so on up to the last belt 124e which is that of greatest length. It is evident that the reel 110 tends to approach the side of the basement 112 corresponding to the belt 124e, up to touch the related abutting bar 135. The translation motion of the belts shall cause the edge of the paper band coming out of the device to be aligned with said side, with which also the laser printer or other machine to be feed in a continuous manner with the paper band removed from the reel 110 shall be aligned. According to the embodiment shown in the figures 8, 9, 10 and 11, the same purposes is achieved without modifying the length of the transportation belts, but staggering the axis or roller 114 with respect to the condition of parallelism with respect to the axis or roller 116. To this end one of the ends of the roller 114 (which is selected only for example since the same reasoning holds true for the other roller 116 or even for both rollers 114 and 116) is mounted within a bracket 55, by means of a block 57, the bracket 55 being displaceable parallelly to the adiacent shoulder of the basement 112 by means of a fine adjustment screw 119, anchored to the basement 112 and which can be locked in the desired position by means of tightening nuts 59. From figure 9 it can be readily appreciated that the displacement of the bracket 55 by means of the screw 119 causes the roller 114 to abandon the parallel condition with respect to the roller 116, whereby the belts 124, depending on their spacing from the fixed end, shall have a an increase length cross-wise with respect to the device and the resulting loop shall be deeper with the technical consequences already described. The figure 10 and 11 schematically shown what happens by staggering the roller 114 with respect to the roller 116. According to the embodiment shown in figure 12 the same technical result is achieved by staggering the single belts 124 with respect to the position of mutual parallelism: this result is achieved by displacing the sprockets 120 along the respective axis (114, 116), whereby the assembly of the belts 124 takes a trapezoidal shape starting from the original rectangular one. From the above specification it is clear that the purposes of the present invention are achieved in simple and effective manner. The invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, it being meant that modifications and variations conceptually and mechanically equivalent are possible and foreseable without falling out of its scope. Likewise the roller assembly and the related actuating mechanism may found equivalent solutions, such as for example a roller assembly adapted to engage from the underside the upper reach of the unwinding belts, temporarily eliminating the loop or cradle A and bringing the reel 10 at the floor level. In that case, obviously, the rollers of the assembly shall be positioned perpendicularly to the translation direction of the unwinding belts. Moreover it is possible to substitute for the sprockets pulleys having variable and adjustable pitch in the same manner as the motion transmission belts of cars, whereby by adjusting the pitch of the pulley the length of the belt available to form the loop or cradle housing the reel B is determined.

Claims: Unwinding device for paper reels (10,110) comprising at least one belt (24,124) of a material having some elasticity, the reel (10,110) to be unwound abutting with a predetermined force against a surface of said belt, and means (16,18,22;116,122) for driving said at least one belt with a translation motion having predetermined and adjustable speed, said surface of said belt contacting with friction a predetermined surface portion of said reel, the free edge of the paper band (C) forming said reel being directed in the translation direction of said at least one belt, said belt (24,124) forming a closed circuit and provided with at least a pair of end rollers (20,22;120,122) one first (22,122) of which is coupled to said motor driving means, whereas the second roller (20,120) is idle, characterized in that the distance between the rollers (20,22;120,122) of said pair being less than half the whole length of each belt (24,124) by a predetermined amount so as to form a loop or cradle (A) within which said reel (10,110) is freely abutting, said predetermined amount being selected as a function of the elasticity of the material forming said belts and of the friction coefficient between the belt surface and the paper forming the reel, abutment means (32,34,40,42;133,135) being provided sidewise positioned with respect to said parallel belts (24,124), said abutment means being engageable only in abutment from said reel, whereby the latter is supported without constraint. Unwinding device according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one belt (24,124) consists in a number of parallel and spaced belts. Unwinding device according to claim 1, characterized in that between said parallel belts (24,124) roller means (26,126) are interposed, said roller means having axis parallel to the motion direction (F) of said belts (24,124) and being freely rotatable, said roller means being displaceable between a first rest or lowered position, in which the upper generating line of the roller means is at a height less than the lowest point of said cradle (A) formed by said belts (24,124), and a second operating raised position in which said reel (10,110) is raised by said roller means, it being thus disengaged from the upper surface of said belts, and means (28,30;128,130) for the displacement of said roller means between said two positions. Unwinding device according to claim 3, characterized in that said roller means (26,126) are displaceable between said two positions by means of cylinder and piston assemblies. Unwinding device according to claim 1, characterized in that said side abutment means (32,34,40,42) consist of bars (32,34) parallel to said belts and provided with pushers (40,42) adjustable in a direction parallel to the axis of the reel. Unwinding device according to claim 2, characterized in that the number and width of said belts (24,124) is such that their whole cross dimension is greater than the maximum foreseable paper (C) size. Unwinding device according to claim 1, characterized by comprising a basement or frame (12,112) adapted to be embedded in the floor. Unwinding device according to claim 1, characterized in that the surface defined by said elastic belts is inclined towards one side orthogonally to the translation direction of said belts (24,124) whereby the paper reel (10,110) abutting within the loop or cradle (A) formed by said surface is pushed towards the same side. Unwinding device according to claim 8, characterized in that said inclination of said surface defined by said belts (24,124) is obtained by sequentially varying the length of said belts from one side of the device to the other, the belt of greater length corresponding to the maximum depth of the said loop (A). Unwinding device according to claim 8, characterized in that said inclination of said surface of the said belts (24,124) is obtained by staggering one end of at least one roller (20,22;120,122) of said pair of rollers with respect to the parallelism with the other roller of said roller pair. Unwinding device according to claim 10, characterized in that said staggering is obtained by means of an adjustment screw (119) controlling the displacement of a bracket (55), supporting said end of said one roller, said displacement taking place parallelly to the adjacent side of the device and to the translation direction of said belts. Unwinding device according to claim 8, characterized in that said inclination is obtained by displacing one end of each belt with respect to the opposite one, whereby the belts (24,124) take a trapezoidal contour. Unwinding device according to claim 1, characterized in that said predetermined force is the weight of the reel freely abutting within said loop or cradle.

Inventors: MESCHI LUCIANO, MESCHI, LUCIANO
Applicants: MESCHI IND GRAFICA, INDUSTRIA GRAFICA MESCHI S.R.L.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B65H19
IPC codes: B65H16, B65H23