A device for cutting a roll

Abstract: The present invention discloses a roll cutter. The roll cutter has a housing (12) to which there is attached a platform (20), an adjustable cutter assembly (34), and an adjustable hoist assembly (50). The hoist assembly is mounted on a telescoping tower (60) allowing the user to engage a roll (100) and move it onto the platform (20). The cutter assembly (34) having a cutting tower (30), a cutting arm (32), and a saw blade (48) can be placed at the desired level of cut. The saw blade (48) can then but away toll to the desired width. A sanding blade can be used to sand the end face of the roll.

Description: The present invention relates to a device for cutting a roll, and particularly a paper roll. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that paper rolls tend to be very large, heavy and bulky, and are not very easy to manoeuvre and to handle. It will be further appreciated by those skilled in the art that such rolls made often become damaged at their ends. Also, such rolls may be too wide to be fed into a press to create the desired size of product. For example, a user may wish to have an 800mm wide sheet when the only roll width available is 1m. As a result, at the end of many rolls is wasted and cannot be otherwise used. Presently, a known method of cutting paper is to lug the paper roll onto a band saw and to let the band saw slowly work its way through the paper. Unfortunately, this necessitates the roll being placed on its side for a long period of time thereby possibly warping the roll to assume a non-circular cross-section. DE-C-44 39 605 discloses a device according tot he preamble of claims 1 and 18. The roll is held by rollers on its side, in a horizontal position. A circular saw is used. What is required is a system for cutting rolls of material such as paper, which is capable of cutting rolls very efficiently and easily. This device must be capable of easily handling bulky and heavy paper rolls. It must be capable of converting wide rolls into narrower rolls and must also be capable of sanding or finishing the end face of a roll. Such a device is presently lacking in the prior art. The present invention, which is defined by Claim 1, concerns a roll cutter having a housing. To the housing there is attached a base, a cutter assembly and possibly a hoist assembly. The optional hoist assembly is a telescoping tower which allows the user to engage a roll using a hoist. The hoist can then pick up the roll and move it onto a stand. Otherwise, the roll may be located using external moving devices such as a fork lift truck. Once the roll is located end-on and upright on the stand, the cutting assembly having a cutting tower, a cutting arm and a saw, can be placed at the desired level of cut. A saw can then be used to cut the end region of a roll to the desired width. The saw blade may have a sanding face, or a sanding wheel can replace the saw blade after the roll is cut to length to sand the end surface of the roll. An object of the present invention is to provide a cutter which has a stand which can easily receive a roll. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for moving and handling a roll. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which can be adjusted to cut the roll to the desired width. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system which is economical, easy to use and easy to manufacture. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for sanding or finishing an end face of a roll. According to the present invention, there is provided a device for cutting a roll in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the roll, comprising a housing, means attached to said housing for receiving said roll, and means attached to said housing for cutting said roll; characterised in that the roll is received by said means for receiving it in an end-on and substantially upright position. An embodiment of the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a roll cutter made in accordance with the invention;. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the roll cutter cutting a roll from a lower saw mount; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the roll cutter showing a saw arm mounted on the lower saw mount; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the roll cutter showing the saw being mounted on the lower saw mount and cutting the core of a roll; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the roll cutter showing the cutter arm attached to an upper saw mount and cutting the core of the roll. Referring now to Fig. 1. there is shown generally at 10 the roll cutter of the present invention. Roll cutter 10 has a housing 12 which is preferably mounted to, or placed on, the ground. A roll to be cut is received on a platform 20 which is attached to the housing 12. Platform 20 stands on a column 22 which is attached to the housing 12. Preferably, extending from the platform 20 are arms 26 which are supported by bracing members 28 extending one between each arm and the base of column 22. In the preferred embodiment, column 22 is capable of rotation with respect to the housing 12 and the platform 20 preferably lies centrally on the housing 12. In order to move a roll, there is provided a hoist assembly 14 having a hoist tower 60 preferably attached to one corner or peripheral region of the housing 12. Hoist tower 60 preferably consists of lower section 62 and an upper section 64 which is telescopically interconnected. Upper section 64 is thus capable of being raised with respect to lower section 62 and held in place by a pin 66 placed in a hole 68 in lower section 62 and one of a number of orifices 70 in upper section 64 for adjustment purposes. At the top of upper section 64 there is provided a hoist 50 which has a winch 52 controlling a cable 54. The cable runs over a pulley 56 to raise and lower a hook 58. The cable 54 can be placed around a roll or through its core. If no hoist assembly 14 is provided then a fork lift or other external mechanism may be used to place a roll on the platform. Generally shown at 16 is the cutting assembly of the present invention. This assembly has a lower portion 36 preferably attached to the housing 12 in a peripheral region thereof and at a position remote from the hoist tower 60 a cutter tower 30 is adapted to raise and lower an upper portion 35 with respect to the lower portion 36. Such movement is performed by a fluidic piston and cylinder assembly 38. The upper portion 35 preferably has an upper saw mount 44 and a lower saw mount 46. A cutter arm 32 is releasably attached selectively to the upper and lower saw mount 44 or 46 using standard means of attachment such as screws, brackets and the like. Cutter arm 32 carries a slide bracket 42 for attachment of a saw 34 to the cutter arm 32. The bracket 42 may be fixed to the arm 32 or slidably adjustable thereon. A standard saw blade 48 is connected to the saw 34. The lower face of the saw blade 48 or its peripheral region may be of an abrasive nature thus to act as a sanding face. Alternatively, the blade 48 may be replaced by a sanding blade after a cutting operation has been performed. Referring now to Fig. 2, there is shown a roll cutter as described in relation to Fig. 1 wherein the cutter arm 32 is attached to the lower saw mount 46 thus to enable an end region 106 of a paper roll 100 to be cut. Referring now to Fig. 3, there is shown more clearly the cutter arm 32 attached to the lower saw mount 46 as opposed to the upper saw mount 44 as in Fig. 1. Referring now to Fig. 4 there is illustrated a saw blade 48 cutting a core 104 at the upper end of a paper roll 100. Referring now to Fig. 5, there is illustrated a roll cutter in the process of cutting a wide or tall roll 100 wherein the cutter arm 32 is, in this case, attached to the upper saw mount 44 as in Fig. 1. The piston and cylinder assembly 38 may be hydraulically or pneumatically operated and the saw 34 may be driven by a hydraulic or pneumatic motor. Furthermore, the winch 52 may be hydraulically or pneumatically operated. Preferably, the hoist 50 is rotatably mounted on the top of the upper section 64 of the hoist tower 60, and the cutter tower 30 is rotatably mounted on the lower portion 36 and is capable of being driven relative thereto to enable the cutter to move inwardly towards the centre of a roll to be cut. It is not intended to limit the invention to the above example only, many variations such as might readily occur to one skilled in the art, being possible without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Claims: A device for cutting a roll in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the roll, comprising: a housing (12) b. means (26) attached to said housing for receiving said roll; and c. means (48) attached to said housing for cutting said roll, characterised in that the roll is received by said means for receiving it in an end-on and substantially upright position. A device according to Claim 1, further comprising means attached to said housing for moving a roll. A device according to Claim 1, wherein said means attached to said housing for receiving said roll comprises a stand attached to said housing. A device according to Claim 3, wherein said stand comprises: a. a column attached to said housing; b. a rotatable platform attached to said column; c. arms attached to said platform; and d. supports attached to said arms. A device according to Claim 1, wherein said means attached to said housing for cutting said roll comprises a cutter assembly. A device according to Claim 5, wherein said cutter assembly comprises: a. a cutter tower extending from said housing; b. a cutter arm attached to said cutter tower; c. a rotatable saw blade attached to said cutter arm, and d. means to enable the saw blade to move inwardly towards the centre of a roll to be cut. A device according to Claim 6, wherein said cutter tower is telescopically extendible. A device according to Claim 6, wherein said cutter tower comprises: a. a lower portion attached to said housing; b. an upper portion telescopically attached to said lower portion; and c. means attached to said lower portion for raising and lowering said upper portion. A device according to Claim 8, wherein said means attached to said lower portion for raising and lowering said upper portion comprises a piston and cylinder assembly. A device according to Claim 6, wherein said cutter arm is rotatably attached to said cutter tower. A device according to Claim 6, wherein said saw blade is slidably attached to said cutter arm. A device according to Claim 5, wherein said cutter tower has an upper saw mount and a lower saw mount to which the cutter arm may be selectively attached. A device according to Claim 2, wherein said means attached to said housing for moving said roll comprises a hoist assembly. A device according to Claim 13, wherein said hoist assembly comprises a driven hoist consisting of a cable and winch. A device according to Claim 14, wherein the driven hoist is mounted on a height adjustable hoist tower. A device according to Claim 1, further comprising means for sanding an end face of said roll. A device according to Claim 16, wherein said means for sanding said end face of said roll comprises a blade having a sanding edge. A device for cutting a roll in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the roll, comprising: a. a housing b. means attached to said housing for receiving said roll; c. means attached to said housing for cutting said roll; d. characterised by means attached to said housing for sanding an edge of said roll; and in that the roll is received by said means for receiving,it in an end-on and substantially upright position. A device according to Claim 18, further comprising means for moving said roll.

Inventors: WALLACE MARCUS T, WALLACE, MARCUS T.
Applicants: NORKOL FIBRECORE INC, NORKOL/FIBRECORE INC.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B26D3
IPC codes: B28D1, B23D45, B26D1, B26D3