METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR FORMING A GROUP OF ROLLS

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and arrangement for forming a group of rolls of at least two rolls of a paper, board or cellulosic material web, said method comprising the steps of separating apart from each other the rolls (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) of a roll set received from said slitter-winder (1), and combining desired rolls (3, 4, 5) of the roll set into a multi-roll pack. At least one of the desired rolls (3, 4, 5) to be included in the multi-roll pack is taken apart from the other rolls (6, 7) of the roll set resting on a conveyor (8, 9) and is moved to a waiting station (10) and is then moved back from the waiting station (10) onto the conveyor (9) in a manner allowing the desired rolls (3, 4, 5) of the multi-roll pack to be sorted into a desired order having the adjacent ends of the rolls facing each other.

Description: Method and arrangement for forming a group of rolls The present invention relates to a method according to the preamble of claim 1 and an arrangement according to the preamble of claim 13 for forming a group of rolls from at least two rolls of a paper, board or cellulosic material web. In paper mills, the rolls exiting the paper machine are slit at a slitter-winder into rolls of narrower width according to customer order. The widths of the narrowest customer rolls vary in the range of 100-500 mm. For instance, in mills making printing paper grades, the roll widths of narrow rolls are typically from 180 mm to 400 mm, in cardboard mills from 350 mm to 500 mm and in the manufacture of roll cores from 100 mm to 300 mm. Narrow rolls are delivered to the customer either individually wrapped or, typically, as two- or multi-roll packs containing 2-4 rolls protected by a common wrapper. The ratio of the roll maximum diameter to the roll width of the separately wrapped narrow rolls is typically about 2.5, because a higher diameter-to-width ratio would cause instability in the handling and shipping of the rolls. In practice, the narrowest width of single rolls is typically about 300-400 mm and the maximum diameter depending on the paper or board grade is about 1000-1800 mm. In the delivery of two/multi-roll packs, the rolls are advantageously wrapped end-to-end together immediately after they leave the slitter-winder, because their handling and shipping in bundled form is much easier. One method of connecting the rolls to be packed together is to insert through their center bores a common inner core that holds the rolls of the pack together. Another commonly used method is to thread a reinforced plastic band through the roll center bores and about their perimeter, thus strapping the rolls into a tight pack. Damage to the edges of the outer rolls of the pack can be prevented by placing protective corner pieces under the angles of the strap. A still further method to combine rolls into a pack is to enclose the roll pack in a stretch-film wrap. Board rolls may also be bundled together using a self- adhesive tape wrap. If the rolls to be bundled are picked from separate sees cf rolls, the adjacent rolls in pack may have different outer diameters, which can cause problems in the insertion of the connecting inner core as well as in the transport, wrapping and truck handling of the roll pack. Therefore, the rolls having a larger diameter are often calibrated by stripping off outer layers from the periphery cf the roll prior to their bundling into multi-roll packs. A two- or multi-roll pack can be formed from adjacent rolls of a single set received from the slitter-winder, from rolls nonaά; acer.t in the single set or from the rolls of a plurality of different sets. Hence, the rolls to be bundled must be taken apart from the other rolls of a set and sorted into the desired order of rolls to be bundled. Conventionally, the rolls to be taken apart from a roll set are pushed aside and then later combined into a desired order using, e.g., carts moving on the floor level . As a mechanized or automated handling system of rolls has been rarely applied in the art, the manual transfer of rolls still remains a heavy task requiring plenty of manpower and time. Moreover, the manual handling of rolls is a risk job particularly in front of the slitter-winder. It is an object cf the present invention to provide a method and an arrangement suited for handling rolls to be packaged into twc- cr multi-roll packs by automatically picking desired rolls apart from other rolls of a set, sorting the desired rolls into a desired order and placing said rolls abutting end-to-end each other prior to their bundling into a multi-roll pack. In an embodiment according to the invention, the rolls leaving the slitter-winder are first separated from each other, e.g., by means of stop gages on the downward ramp following the slitter-winder or, alternatively, at the cross-over point of two conveyors located after the slitter-winder, whereupon at least some of the narrow rolls to be bundled into two- or multi-roll packs are taken apart from the other rolls of the sequence of rolls transported by the conveyor system and directed to a waiting station which is located alongside the conveyor and from which the rolls are transferred at a desired instant back onto the conveyor. Another function of the waiting station is to serve in the sorting of the rolls into a desired order. Next, the rolls can be combined into a pack, e.g., in a separate grouping station. From the grouping station, the bundled pack of rolls continues its travel in the packaging system. More specifically, the method according to the invention is characterized by what is stated in the characterizing part of claim 1. Furthermore, the arrangement according to the invention is characterized by what is stated in the characterizing part of claim 13. The invention offers significant benefits By virtue of the invention, the tedious and time-consuming task of manual handling of rolls to be bundled into a two- or multi-roll pack can be eased substantially. Simultaneously, the capacity of the roll handling system is increased and risk situations in mill operation are reduced. Furthermore, the entrance to the slitter-winder can be protected by a fence, for instance, inasmuch human attendance within the slitter-winder area becomes unnecessary under normal conditions. In the following the invention is described in greater detail with reference to the appended diagrams. Figs. 1-15 show an embodiment according to the invention in its different operating phases. Fig. 16 shows a side view of the waiting station cradle of an embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention . Referring to Fig. 1, therein a set cf rolls coming from a slitter-winder 1 is shown being received at a roll set stop 2. The roll set comprises narrow rolls 3, 4, 5 to be packaged into a multi-roll pack and wide rolls 6, 7 to be packaged individually. The narrow rolls 3, 4, 5 are situated at the center and both ends of the roll set. In Fig. 2 is shown the first narrow roll 3, which is to be included in a multi-roll pack, being taken apart from said set of rolls traveling at the cross-over point of conveyors 8, 9 by means of stopping the conveyor 8 when the desired roll 3 reaches the cross-over point, whereby the roll 3 continues its travel on the conveyor 9 while the other rolls 4, 5, 6, 7 of the sec remain resting on the conveyor 8. In Fig. 3 the roll 3 is shown being moved from the conveyor 9 onto the cradle of a waiting station 10, e.g., by means of a pusher located alongside the conveyor 9. Simultaneously, the conveyor 8 is started, whereby the wide roll 6 is taken apart from the rolls 4, 5, 7 at the cross-over point of the conveyors 8, 9. Next, the conveyor 8 is stopped, whereby the roll 6 proceeds to travel on the conveyor 9. In Fig. 4 the second narrow roll 4 to be included in the pack is shown being taken apart from the other rolls 5, 7 resting on the conveyor 8 at the cross-over point of the conveyors 8, 9 in the above -described manner. The wide roll 6 is transferred past the waiting station 10 and the grouping station 11 of the system to a conveyor 12. In Fig. 5 the roll 4 is shown being moved into a position facing the second cradle of the waiting station 10. In Fig. 6 the rcll 4 is shown being pushed onto the cradle of the waiting station 10 and a second wide roll 7 is taken apart from the roll 5. The roll 7 continues its travel on the conveyor 9, while the roll 5 remains waiting at the cross-over point of the conveyors 8, 9. In Fig. 7 the wide roll 7 is shown being transferred past the waiting station 10 and the grouping station 11 to the conveyor 12. The roll 3 is transferred back onto the conveyor 9 from the cradle of the waiting station 10. In Fig. 8 the roll 3, which has been transferred from the waiting station 10 back onto the conveyor 9, is shown being transferred on the conveyor 9 onto support rolls 13 of the grouping station 11. In Fig. 9 the roll 3 is shown being elevated by means of the support rolls 13 of the grouping station 11 up from the conveyor 9 and, simultaneously, the roll 4 is transferred from the waiting station 10 back onto the conveyor 9. In Fig. 10 the roll 4 is shown being transferred by means of the conveyor 9 into a position facing the roll 3 resting on the support rolls 13 of the grouping station 11. In Fig. 11 the support rolls 13 of the grouping station 11 are shown being lowered down and the roll 4 being moved onto the support rolls 13, whereupon rolls 3, 4 are elevated by means of the support rolls 13 up from the conveyor 9. In Fig. 12 a third narrow roll 5 is shown being transferred by means of the conveyor 9 into a position facing the roll 4 resting on the support rolls 13 of the grouping station 11. Simultaneously, a new set of rolls leaving the slitter-winder 1 is stopped by means of a roll set stop gage 2. In Fig. 13 the support rolls 13 of the grouping station 11 are shown being lowered down, whereby the roll 5 is moved to rest on the support rolls 13. Next, the support rolls 13 are lifted up and the rolls 3, 4, 5 are packaged into a multi-roll pack. In Fig. 14 the support rolls 13 of the grouping station 11 are shown being lowered down and a first narrow roll of a new roll set to be included in a new multi-roll pack is taken apart from the other rolls of the new set at the cross -over point of the conveyors 8, 9. In Fig. 15 the multi-roll pack formed by the rolls 3, 4, 5 is shown continuing its travel in the system on the conveyor 12 and the first narrow roll of the new roll set is shown being transferred by means of the conveyor 9 to the waiting station 10. The cradle of the waiting station 10 shown in Fig. 16 may be formed, e.g., as a V-shaped plane 14 which is hingedly mounted by its end closest to the conveyor 9, whereby the roll can be moved onto the cradle with the help of a pusher 15 located alongside the conveyor 9. The roll can be moved back onto the conveyor 9 from the cradle by tilting the cradle with the help of an elevating actuator 17 adapted to the opposite end of the cradle in respect to the cradle hinge 16. In addition to those described above, the invention may have alternative embodiments. The rolls to be combined into a multi-roll pack at the grouping station 11 may obviously be picked from any desired point of a roll set or different sets of rolls. It is also possible to separate the rolls of a set from each other by means of stop flaps which are located on the exit ramp of the slitter-winder 1, in front of the roll set stop gage 2. In this arrangement, the first conveyor 8 next to the stop gage 2 can be made longer because the rolls need not anymore be separated from each other at the cross-over point of the two conveyors 8, 9. The location, number and width of the cradles of the waiting station 10 can be selected relatively freely. The cradles can be located on either side of the conveyor 9 or, alternatively, on both sides of the conveyor 9. Instead of the support rolls 13, the grouping station 11 can be provided with an idle roller set located between the two conveyors. When necessary, the rolls 3, 4, 5 may also be calibrated by stripping off their outer layers to reach equal roll diameter prior to their packaging. Furthermore, the rolls 3, 4, 5 may also be brought into a multi-roll pack by stopping the conveyor 9 so that the roll being picked can be moved from the waiting station 10 on to the conveyor 9 into a position immediately facing either end of another roll resting on the conveyor 9. After the rolls 3, 4, 5 to be included in a multi-roll pack have thus been sorted into a desired order on the conveyor 9, the rolls 3, 4, 5 can be bundled into a pack. The rolls 3, 4, 5 to be bundled may also be first moved onto adjacent cradles of the waiting station 10, after which the rolls 3, 4, 5 are moved from the cradles back onto the conveyor 9 and subsequently bundled into a pack. In both arrangements, the rolls 3, 4, 5 can be combined into multi-roll packs on the conveyor 9, thus obviating the need for a separate grouping station 11. Besides paper web rolls, also board and cellulosic web rolls can be handled by virtue of the invention.

Claims: Claims : 1. Method of forming a group of rolls from at least two rolls of a paper, board or cellulosic material web, said method comprising the steps of - providing the packaging system with information on roll sets leaving a slitter-winder (1) , - separating apart from each other the rolls (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) of a roll set received from said slitter-winder (1) , - at least one of the desired rolls (3, 4, 5) to be included in said group of rolls is taken apart from the other rolls (6, 7) cf the roll set resting on a conveyor (8, 9) and moved to a waiting station (10) , and - combining desired rolls (3, 4, 5) of the roll set into a multi-roll pack, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that - at least one of the desired rolls (3, 4, 5) taken apart from the roll set is moved at the desired moment back from the waiting station (10) onto the conveyor (9) so as to sort the desired rolls (3, 4, 5) to be combined into a multi-roll pack in a desired order having the adjacent ends of the rolls facing each other. 2. Method according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said rolls (3, 4, 5) are combined into a multi-roll pack at a grouping station (11) . 3. Method according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r - i z e d in that the rolls (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) of the roll set are separated from each other at the cross-over point of the conveyors (8, 9) . 4. Method according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the conveyor (8) is stopped at the instant the roll (e.g., roll 3) to be taken apart from the roll set reaches the cross-over point of the conveyors (8, 9), whereby the roll (e.g., roll 3) taken apart from the roll set can continue its travel on the conveyor (9) , while the other rolls (4, 5, 6, 7) of the roll set remain resting on the conveyor (8) . 5. Method according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the rolls (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) of a roll set are separated from each other by means of stop flaps which are located on the exit ramp of the slitter-winder (1) in front of the roll set stop gage (2) . 6. Method according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by the steps of - moving the desired roll (e.g., roll 5) of the roll set by means of a conveyor (8, 9) ) to the end of the abutting row of the other rolls (4, 5) resting on the support rolls (13) of the grouping station (11), - lowering the support rolls (13) of the grouping station (11) , - moving the roll (5) onto the support rolls (13) to the end of the abutting row of the other rolls (4, 5) picked from the roll set, - elevating the support rolls (13) of the grouping station (11) , and - bundling the abutting row of rolls (3, 4, 5) into a multi-roll pack at the grouping station (11) . 7. Method according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the rolls (3, 4, 5) to be combined into a multi-roll pack are picked from different sets of rolls . 8. Method according to claim 1, 2 or 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the rolls (3, 4, 5) are combined into a multi-roll pack by inserting a common inner core through their inner bores. 9. Method according to claim 1, 2 or 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the rolls (3, 4, 5) are combined into a multi-roll pack by strapping with a reinforced plastic band. 10. Method according to claim 1, 2 or 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the rolls (3, 4, 5) are combined into a multi-roll pack by strapping with a self-adhesive tape . 11. Method according to claim 1, 2 or 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the rolls (3, 4, 5) are combined into a multi-roll pack by strapping with a stretch-film wrap . 12. Method according to any of foregoing claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that at least one of the rolls (3, 4, 5) is calibrated to desired diameter prior to the combination of the rolls into a multi-roll pack. 13. Arrangement for forming a group of rolls of at least two rolls (3, 4, 5) of a paper, board or cellulosic material web, said arrangement comprising at least one conveyor (8, 9) located next to a slitter-winder (1), and at least one waiting station (10) located in the vicinity of said at least one conveyor (8, 9) for receiving the rolls (3, 4, 5) to be combined into a multi-roll pack c h a r a c t e r i z e d by at least one of the desired rolls (3, 4, 5) taken apart from the roll set is arranged to be moved at the desired moment back from the waiting station (10) onto the conveyor (9) so as to sort the desired rolls (3, 4, 5) to be combined into a multi-roll pack in a desired order having the adjacent ends of the rolls facing each other. 14. Arrangement according to claim 13, c h a r a c - t e r i z e d by at least one grouping station (11) located in the vicinity of said at least one conveyor (8, 9), next to said at least one waiting station (10) along the downstream travel of the rolls. 15. Arrangement according to claim 13, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said at least one waiting station (10) comprises a waiting cradle suitable for receiving at least one of said rolls (3, 4, 5) . 16. Arrangement according to claim 14, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said at least one grouping station (11) is equipped with support rolls (13) capable of performing an upright elevating movement . 17. Arrangement according to claim 14, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said at least one grouping station (11) is equipped with an idle roller set.

Inventors: LEHTONEN RISTO, NIEMINEN ESKO, LEHTONEN, RISTO, NIEMINEN, ESKO
Applicants: LEHTONEN RISTO, NIEMINEN ESKO, VALMET CORP, LEHTONEN, RISTO, NIEMINEN, ESKO, VALMET CORPORATION
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B65B35
IPC codes: B65B25