Patent Publication Number: US-8992727-B2

Title: Device for removing a protective film off a sheet

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is the US national stage entry of International Application PCT/IT2011/000155 filed on May 17, 2011, which in turn claims priority to Italian Application VE2010A000024, filed on May 25, 2010. The present application may be related to International Application PCT/IB2011/001074 filed on May 18, 2011, the U.S. National Stage of which was entered on even date herewith under U.S. Ser. No. 13/698,275. 
     The present invention relates to a device for removing a protective film off a sheet such as scratch tickets or the like. 
     In the following, for only illustrative purposes, we will refer to the tickets of the above mentioned kind, but without considering this as a limitation of the scope of the invention. 
     As known, after buying the tickets such as scratch tickets, it is necessary to remove the film which partially covers them to see if the ticket is a winning one or not. 
     This operation can be done manually, but to quickly remove the protective film or paint, devices comprising a removal or scraping roll opposite to a drawing or pulling roll, both motorized, are used. 
     The scraping roll; appropriately corrugated, has the specific aim of removing the film, while the drawing roll has the function, together with the scraping roll, to draw the ticket so that the whole ticket passes between the scraping and drawing. roll. 
     Although these devices have undoubted advantages with respect to the manual scraping, however, they have several drawbacks. 
     In fact, it has to be considered that during the operation, the device may jam because for example the ticket gets stuck or does not flow in the right direction. Or else, the device may even break down. Anyway, it requires a standard and regular maintenance considering the remarkable stresses to which it is subjected. 
     In particular, in case of jamming, it is difficult to extract the ticket and, anyway, this operation requires time and energy. Sometimes, although the ticket is strongly pulled, it is impossible to extract it, so it is necessary to dismantle the device, to remove the cause of the jamming and, finally, it is necessary to reassemble the device performing the previous operations in a reverse order. 
     These operations are particularly long and laborious, and also require tools that are not always available, thus further complicating the situation. 
     The operation for reactivating the functionality of the device is time consuming. Moreover, it has to be considered the time when the machine is not functioning, i.e. when the device is completely inactive during the operation of the intervention with the consequent economic loss. 
     In addition, the device may break down, so the repair period is very time consuming and unacceptable, both because the repair operation is more complex, and because it could be necessary to require the intervention of specialized technicians who have to repair the failure. 
     The overall time for repair, also considering the waiting time for the skilled technicians, increases remarkably thus causing a huge economic loss. 
     Finally, it is necessary to provide maintenance operations which must be carried out regularly so as to maintain the device efficiently. Although these operations are planned, they also require that the machine has to be stopped with all the above mentioned disadvantages. 
     The aim of the invention is therefore to make a device in order to obviate all the above cited disadvantages and, in particular, a device which first of all allows to quickly remove the cause of the jam without using tools and without excessive efforts. 
     Furthermore, the repair and maintenance operations of the device must be fast and simple. 
     These aims are achieved by a device of the initially described kind, namely a device for removing a protective film off a sheet such as tickets or the like, comprising at least one removal or scraping roll of said protective film and at least one drawing or pulling roll of said sheet opposite to said at least one scraping roll and between which said sheet passes, characterized in that said device comprises a base and a roll unit including said at least one scraping roll and said at least one drawing roll, said roll unit being mobile or removable with respect to said base and able to take at least two positions, a first operative position wherein said roll unit is inserted or mounted in said base and a second inoperative position wherein said roll unit is displaced or removed from said base. 
     In case of jamming, to restore the operativeness of the device, it is sufficient to displace or remove the roll unit from its base to have access to the working area and, then, easily remove the ticket without any effort, thus eliminating the cause of the jamming and, then, to reinsert or reassemble the roll unit into the original position. Moreover, this operation does not require the use of tools and it is an extremely fast and simple operation. 
     Preferably, said roll unit comprises a first support and a second support spaced apart from each other and between which said at least one scraping roll and said at least one drawing roll extend, said first and second support having guiding profile and said base having two recesses having profiles corresponding to the guiding profiles of said first and second support, so that said first and second support may be inserted in said corresponding recesses of the base, thus making the roll unit removable with respect to said base. 
     So, even in case of failure, the operation occurs very simply and quickly. In fact, all that you need is a spare roll unit so that in case of failure of the rolls, which form the most critical mechanical part, it is sufficient to remove the roll unit and replace it with a new and working one. 
     It is evident that all the normal maintenance or cleaning operations of the device are very easy. 
    
    
     
       These and other advantages of the present invention will be more evident from the following detailed description of one of its embodiments given merely by way of example with no limitation and which refer to the following drawings wherein: 
         FIGS. 1 and 2  are two perspective views of a device according to the present invention represented in two different positions; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the device of  FIGS. 1 and 2  where the upper mobile portion has been removed; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the base and the roll unit of the device of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the inside components of the device of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of the device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 7 and 8  are respectively a perspective view and a side view of the roll unit showing an element used to prevent the jamming of the sheet to be scratched. 
     
    
    
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show a device  10  for removing a protective film off a sheet such as a ticket (for example a scratch ticket), a coupon, a card, or others. 
     The device  10  comprises a base  20 , a removable roll unit  70  and a movable upper portion  51 . 
     The base  20 , as better illustrated in  FIG. 3 , comprises a lower base plate  22  from which a first and a second vertical wall  24 , 26  parallel and opposite to each other extends vertically. 
     A first electric motor  30  is mounted between the two walls  24 , 26  on the entry side  12  of the ticket, and it is coupled to a toothed wheel  32  mounted outside the first vertical wall  24 . The first toothed wheel  32  meshes with a second toothed wheel  34  which in turn meshes with a third toothed wheel  36 . 
     The electric motor  30  and the toothed wheels  32 , 34 , 36  form a first motorization for rotating the scraping rolls of the roll unit  70  which will be described below. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the movable upper portion  51  is hinged on the base  20  by means of pins  53 . The upper portion  51  comprises two walls  55 A, 55 B between which a second electric motor  50  coupled to a first toothed wheel  52  is mounted and which meshes with a second toothed wheel  54 . 
     The electric motor  50  and the toothed wheels  52 , 54  form a second motorization for rotating the drawing rolls of the roll unit  70 , which will be described below. 
     From  FIG. 4 , we see that two rectangular recesses  40 ,  42  are made in the base  20  respectively at the top centre part of the two vertical plates  24 , 26 , which allow the roll unit  70  to be inserted into the base  20 . 
     A longitudinal projection is made along two parallel and opposite vertical edges of the rectangular recesses  40 , 42  whose purpose is explained below. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the roll unit  70  comprises a first and a second support  72 , 74  spaced apart between them. The two supports have sizes corresponding to those of the two recesses  40 , 42  made in the base  20 . 
     Two scraping rolls  76 , 78  of the protective film which covers the scratch tickets are rotatably mounted at the their respective ends on the lower part of the two supports  72 , 74  and arranged parallel to each other. Each scraping roll  76 , 78  is coupled to a respective pinion  80 , 82  mounted on the outside of the first support  72  and which mesh both with the third toothed wheel  36  of the first motorization when the roll unit  70  is inserted into the base  20 . 
     Two drawing rolls  90 , 92  of the ticket are rotatably mounted at their respective ends on the upper part of the two supports  72 , 74  and arranged parallel to each other and opposite to the two scraping rolls  76 , 78 . The drawing rolls  90 , 92  are spaced apart from the scraping rolls  76 , 78  to an extent so as to allow the passage of the ticket between them and, at the same time, to allow the drawing rolls  90 , 92  to draw the ticket, so that the scraping rolls  76 , 78 , by pressing against the respective drawing rolls  90 , 92 , can remove the film which covers the tickets. 
     Each drawing roll  90 , 92  is coupled to a respective pinion  94 , 96  mounted on the outside of the second support  74  which both mesh with the second toothed wheel  54  of the second motorization when the roll unit  70  is inserted into the base  20  and the upper portion  51  placed on the base  20 . 
     Two grooves  72   a ,  74   a , having a corresponding profile to that of the longitudinal projections  40   a ,  42   a  made on the edges of the recesses  40 , 42  of the base  20 , are made along two parallel and opposite vertical edges of the two supports  72 , 74 . 
     To insert the roll unit  70  into the base  20 , it is then sufficient to raise the movable upper portion  51  with respect to the base  20 , insert the two supports  72 , 74  into the corresponding recesses  40 , 42  of the base  20  by sliding the longitudinal projections  40   a ,  42   a  of the edges of the recesses  40 , 42  inside the grooves  72   a ,  74   b  of the edges of the supports  72 , 74  and, finally, lower the movable upper portion  51  until it just rests on the base  20 . 
     A first and a second support plate  60 , 62  of the ticket are respectively positioned on the entry side  12  and on the exit side  14  of the base  20  for the ticket. 
     For the operation of the device, it is sufficient to insert the roll unit  70  into the base  20  as explained above, to start both the electric motor  30  for the motorization of the scraping rolls and the electric motor  50  for the motorization of the drawing rolls. 
     At this point, it is sufficient to insert the ticket to be scratched on the entry side  12  positioning it on the first support plate  60  and wait until the ticket comes out from the opposite side  14  completely scratched resting on the second support plate  62 . 
     In this way, in case of jamming of the device  10 , it is sufficient to raise the movable upper portion  51 , to grasp and lift the roll unit  70  so as to disengage the supports  72 , 74  from the corresponding recesses  40 , 42  of the base  20 , remove the cause of the jamming and carry out the previous operations reversely in order to reassemble the roll unit  70  into the base  20 . 
     Even the maintenance and cleaning operation of the device  10  occurs simply and quickly operating as described above, namely by removing the roll unit  70 . 
     Furthermore, in case of breakage of the rolls, which form the most critical part of the device, the repair is very simple and even immediate if a substitutive roll unit is available. 
     So the device  10  can have two positions: one operative position of working where the roll unit  70  is inserted into the base  20  and an inoperative or maintenance position where the roll unit  70  is completely separated from the base  20 . 
       FIGS. 7 and 8  show a roll unit provided with an anti jamming element  100  of the sheet to be scratched. 
     The anti jamming element  100  comprises a first bar  102  with a triangular section which extends along the entire length of the scraping rolls  76 , 78  and it is positioned between these two rolls so as to create a continuous passage of the sheet so that the end of the sheet can go straight through preventing it from accidentally sliding between the two scraping rolls  76 , 78 . 
     Similarly, the anti jamming element  100  comprises a second bar  104  with a triangular section which extends for the entire length of the drawing rolls  90 , 92  and it is positioned between these two rolls so as to create a continuous passage of the sheet so that the end of the sheet can go straight through preventing it from accidentally sliding between the two rolls  90 , 92 . 
     It is evident that any change which is conceptually or functionally equivalent falls under the scope of the present invention. 
     For example, the roll unit  70  may also be connected to the base  20  by means of a hinge so that the roll unit  70  is hinged to the base  20 , while still allowing a quick reactivation of the functionality of the device  10  in case of jamming or a fast maintenance and/or cleaning operation. 
     In practice, the interchangeable roll unit  70  is always mobile, namely it is movable and therefore can simply be moved with respect to the base  20 , or removable and thus can be completely removed from the base  20 . 
     Moreover, it is also possible to eliminate the movable upper portion  51  providing that the motorization of the scraping rolls  76 , 78 , i.e. the motor  50  and toothed wheels  52  and  54 , is mounted on the base  20 .