Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6276628
-
Patent Number
6,276,628
-
Date Filed
Friday, February 5, 199925 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, August 21, 200123 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 242 5591
- 242 5594
- 242 5332
- 414 427
- 414 428
- 414 648
- 414 911
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
Apparatus for handling reels (10) by means of a vertical reel conveyor (15). The latter is provided with a lifting head (18) which can be moved up and down on a vertical bearing column (17) and has a projecting conveyor journal (19) for moving into a centre opening (11) in a reel (10) which is to be picked up. The reels (10) are arranged one above the other in the region of a stock of reels (13), with their centre openings (11) running vertically. The lifting head (18) or part of this head can be rotated in order to transfer the reel (10) to the working journal (16).
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for handling reels, i.e. wound material webs, in particular of packaging material, such as paper, cardboard, tin foil or film, a reel conveyor feeding the reels individually from a stock of reels to a working journal which moves into a centre opening formed by the reel, preferably in conjunction with a packaging machine.
Thin packaging material, such as paper, tin foil or film, is provided for a packaging machine in the form of large, heavy reels. Reels are to be fed to a working journal arranged on the packaging machine, i.e. rotatable bearing journals on which the reel is mounted with its centre opening so that the material web can be drawn off as the reel revolves.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is based on the object of simplifying the automatic mechanical transfer of reels from a stock of reels to a working journal, on the one hand with regard to the arrangement of the reels in the stock of reels and on the other hand with regard to the handling and transfer of the reels to the working journal.
In order to achieve this object, the apparatus according to the invention is characterised by the following features:
a) the reels are positioned above one another in the region of the stock of reels, with their centre openings running vertically,
b) the reel conveyor has a lifting head which can be moved up and down in order to take hold of in each case one reel,
c) a reel bearing member for taking hold of a reel in a positively-locking and/or non-positively-locking manner is arranged on the lifting head,
d) after it has picked up a reel from the stock of reels, the lifting head or the reel bearing member can be rotated in such a manner that the reel can be fed to the working journal in the vertical position with the centre opening oriented horizontally.
The way in which the reels are delivered means that it is better to position them with their centre openings centred in the vertical direction. The reels are handled using a reel conveyor which is designed according to the invention and has a reel bearing member, in particular a conveyor journal, which can be moved up and down on a vertical bearing device and moves in a positively-locking and/or non-positively-locking manner into the centre opening in the top reel, then lifts this reel off the stack by moving upwards and by rotating it by 90° moves it into the transfer position in front of the working journal of the packaging machine.
One special feature of the invention lies in the handling of the lifting head with the reel bearing member for the reel. The lifting head can be moved up and down by means of a single vertical conveyor, preferably by means of an endless toothed belt. The lifting head is rotated automatically at the top end region of its upward movement by having the vertical movement translated into a rotational movement of the lifting heads by means of the corresponding actuating members.
The transfer of the reel from the conveyor journal to the working journal is also carried out mechanically, specifically by means of a slide which is arranged on the conveyor journal, can be moved in the axial direction and pushes the reel off the conveyor journal and onto the working journal.
Further features of the invention relate to the configuration and operating method of the lifting head and of the reel conveyor as well.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
An exemplary embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1
shows a perspective view of a reel conveyor with a stock of reels,
FIG. 2
shows the reel conveyor in accordance with
FIG. 1
when transferring a reel onto a working journal,
FIG. 3
shows a side view of the reel conveyor in the position in accordance with
FIG. 1
,
FIG. 4
shows an enlarged perspective view of part of a lifting head with reel,
FIG. 5
shows a vertical section through the reel conveyor, and
FIG. 6
shows a horizontal section through the reel conveyor, in the sectional plane VI—VI from
FIG. 5
, on an enlarged scale.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The details illustrated in the drawings relate to the handling of reels
10
, i.e. wound webs of packaging material, such as paper, tin foil, film, etc. The reel
10
is provided with a centre opening
11
which is formed by a cylindrical reel core
12
. The latter is made from cardboard, plastic or possibly metal.
The reels
10
are transported, namely moved essentially upwards and, in the process, turned. In the starting position, the reels are positioned in such a way that the reel core
12
and hence the centre opening
11
are arranged vertically. A stock of reels
13
is formed by a plurality of reels
10
positioned above one another. The centre openings
11
and the reel cores
12
are arranged coaxially. The stock of reels rests on a baseplate
14
.
A reel conveyor
15
picks up in each case one reel
10
, specifically the top reel from the stacked stock of reels
13
, conveys the reel
10
in question upwards while rotating it into a vertical plane—in which the centre opening
11
is oriented precisely or approximately horizontally—and transfers the reels
10
to a receiving member, in this case to a working journal
16
of a packaging machine.
In order for the material of the reel
10
to be processed, this reel is arranged rotatably on the working journal
16
or can be rotated by this journal. In the process, the web of material is pulled off the reel and fed to processing units of a packaging machine or of some other machine, in particular for the production of blanks.
The reel conveyor
15
comprises a vertical bearing column
17
. In the present example, this column is positioned on the common baseplate
14
, specifically at the edge of the latter. A conveyor member for the reels
10
, namely a lifting head
18
, is arranged movably on the bearing column
17
. This bearing head can move up and down along the bearing column
17
. A reel bearing member, which in the present exemplary embodiment is a conveyor journal
19
, is arranged on the lifting head in order to take hold of a reel
10
. This conveyor journal moves into the centre opening
11
in the top reel
10
of the stock of reels
13
from above and is anchored in the centre opening
11
or on the reel
10
. The lifting head
18
is then moved upwards together with the reel
10
. During the upwards movement or at the end of this movement, the lifting head
18
or part of the latter is pivoted through 90°. During this movement, the reel
10
is moved into the vertical position and, at the same time, advanced towards the working journal
16
of the packaging machine. In the process, the conveyor journal
19
is positioned so that it is aligned axially in front of the working journal
16
(FIG.
2
). The reel
10
can then be pushed in the axial direction off the conveyor journal
19
and onto the working journal
16
.
The design of the lifting head
18
and the arrangement of the conveyor journal
19
on the latter are such that the conveying movement, namely the upwards movement of the lifting head
18
and the rotation, causes the reels
10
to carry out an upwards movement, a rotational or tilting movement and a sideways movement until they are in the transfer position in front of the working journal
16
.
The lifting head
18
is designed as a bearing arm which is angled off and projects from the bearing column
17
, with a limb
20
which in the bottom position is oriented obliquely downwards and a bearing limb
21
which adjoins the former limb and is oriented horizontally. The reel bearing member, namely the conveyor journal
19
, is arranged on this bearing limb
21
. The said conveyor journal is arranged at the free end of the bearing limb
21
, projecting freely in the transverse direction with respect to the latter.
The lifting head
18
is connected to a guide member on or in the bearing column
17
, specifically to a carriage
22
which can move up and down. This carriage runs on a vertical guide
23
in the bearing column
17
, which is U-shaped in cross section (FIG.
6
). The guide, which is designed as a rail, is arranged on a side wall
24
of the bearing column
17
.
The carriage
22
and hence the lifting head
18
can be moved up and down by an endless conveyor, specifically by a toothed belt
25
. The latter also runs inside the bearing column
17
, via a top deflection roller
26
and a bottom drive roller
27
. The carriage
22
is attached to a vertical strand
28
of the toothed belt
25
.
In order for the lifting head
18
to carry out the rotational or pivoting movement, it is connected to a pivot bearing
29
arranged on the carriage
22
. The lifting head
18
is arranged offset with respect to the pivot bearing
29
and is connected to the pivot bearing
29
via an intermediate carrier, namely via a bearing bracket
30
. The bearing bracket
30
acts in the manner of a single-armed lever which can be pivoted through in each case 90° about the pivot bearing
29
. The bearing bracket
30
is arranged outside the bearing column
17
, specifically in front of the latter, and is connected to a pivot pin
31
which is mounted in the pivot bearing
29
. The carriage
22
is guided, on the side of the pivot bearing
29
, in a further guide
32
which is arranged on a side wall
33
of the bearing column
17
which lies opposite the side wall
24
. In the present reel conveyor
15
, the rotational movement of the lifting head
18
takes place at the upper end of the lifting movement. This is arranged in such a way that the pivoting movement positions the reel
10
in question immediately in front of the working journal
16
in order for the reel to be transferred to the latter. The pivoting movement is carried out mechanically, namely by an actuating lever
34
which is arranged on the pivot pin
31
, specifically at an end, inside the bearing column
17
, which is opposite to the bearing bracket
30
. The actuating lever
34
is controlled by means of a connecting link guide. A cam rail
36
is arranged on a rear wall
35
of the bearing column
17
. This rail has a guide groove
37
in which there runs a contact roller
38
which is connected eccentrically to the actuating lever
34
. The guide groove
37
runs predominantly vertically (FIG.
5
). A top end of the guide groove
37
forms a stop
39
for the contact roller
38
. The latter runs up against the stop
39
, with the result that continued upwards movement of the lifting head
18
or of the carriage
22
pivots the actuating lever
34
in the clockwise direction (FIG.
5
). This pivoting movement of the actuating lever
34
brings about a corresponding rotational or pivoting movement of the lifting head
18
together with the reel
10
. In the process, the contact roller
38
is diverted into a lateral groove
40
of the guide groove
37
.
The conveyor journal
19
is anchored in the centre opening
11
in order to pick up a reel
10
. In the present exemplary embodiment, holding members, specifically clamping jaws
41
, which can be extended laterally or in the radial direction, are provided on the conveyor journal
19
. These jaws are pressed against the inside of the reel core
12
so that the reel
10
is held on the conveyor journal
19
by clamping action or by the frictional force applied. To transfer the reel
10
onto the working journal
16
, the holding members or clamping jaws
41
are disengaged, i.e. retracted in the radial direction.
A further special feature is the transfer of the reel
10
from the conveyor journal
19
onto the working journal
16
. When the working journal
16
and conveyor journal
19
are aligned coaxially, the reel is transferred onto the working journal
16
by a slide
42
. The slide
42
is designed as a ring which surrounds the conveyor journal
19
. In the retracted starting position, the slide
42
lies next to the bearing limb
21
of the lifting head
18
or on this limb. In order to transfer the reel
10
onto the working journal
16
, the slide
42
is moved in the axial direction until it reaches the free end of the conveyor journal
19
(FIG.
4
).
When a reel
10
is being removed from the stock of reels
13
, the movement of the lifting head
18
causes the conveyor journal
19
to move into a position precisely above the centre opening
11
in the top reel
10
. The slide
42
is in this case expediently in the push-off position and bears in a centring manner against the top side of the reel or against the reel core
12
(FIG.
3
). As the lifting head
18
moves further downwards, the conveyor journal
19
moves into the centre opening
11
and, in the process, is moved through the annular slide
42
.
An actuating member, namely a (telescopic) cylinder
43
, is arranged on the lifting head
18
for the purpose of actuating the slide
42
. This cylinder is arranged on the bearing limb
21
, parallel to the conveyor journal
19
, and is laterally connected to the slide
42
. The cylinder
43
comprises a multiplicity of telescopic parts which ensure a precise extension and retraction movement for the slide
42
to be actuated appropriately.
A movable energy chain
44
in which power-supply lines are arranged is arranged in the bearing column
17
in order to supply power to the components arranged on the lifting head
18
, namely the clamping jaws
41
of the conveyor journal
19
and the cylinder
43
. These power-supply lines are guided to the conveyor journal
19
or to the cylinder
43
via the lifting head
18
.
A special feature of the apparatus is the controlled nature of movement. When the reels
10
are transferred to the working journal
16
, the sequence of movements of the lifting head
18
in the top limit position reliably ensures that the transfer position is reached. For a reel
10
to be picked up from the stock of reels
13
, the conveyor journal
19
is introduced into the centre opening
11
by the downwards movement of the lifting head
18
. The movement sequencers are initiated or terminated by means of stops and/or sensors. The same also applies to the actuation of the clamping jaws
41
and of the slide
42
.
Claims
- 1. Apparatus for handling reels (10), comprising wound material webs of packaging material selected from the group consisting of paper, cardboard, tin foil or film, comprising a reel conveyor (15) for picking-up the reels (10) individually from a stock of reels and feeding the reels to a working journal (16) and which moves into a center opening (11) formed by each reel (10), in conjunction with a packaging machine, including the following features:a) the reels (10) are positioned above one another in the region of the stock of reels (13), with their center openings (11) extending vertically; b) the reel conveyor (15) has a lifting head (18) structured to be moved up and down in order to take hold, in each instance, of one reel (10); c) a reel bearing member for taking hold of a reel (10) in a positively-locking and/or non-positively-locking manner arranged on the lifting head (18); d) after it has picked up a reel (10) from the stock of reels (13), the lifting head (18) or the reel bearing member are structured to be rotated whereby the reel (10) can be fed to the working journal (16) in the vertical position with the center opening (11) oriented horizontally; e) after the rotational movement of the lifting head (18), the lifting head (18) is located in an upper end position and positioned directly adjacent to the working journal (16), the reel (10) adapted to being transferred by means of axial movement from the lifting head (18) to the working journal (16); f) the lifting head being structured to be moved up and down by means of a single vertical drive and adapted to being rotated in the upper end position by a vertical movement; and g) during upward movement of the lifting head, in the region of an upper end position, the lifting head (18) runs against a stop (39) whereby rotational movement is accomplished by virtue of the continued upward movement of the lifting head (18) after reaching the stop (39).
- 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pivot pin (31) with a transverse actuating lever (34) is arranged on the lifting head and is adapted to be conveyed in order to accomplish the rotation of the lifting head (18) as a result of the upward movement against the stop (39).
- 3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the actuating lever (34), along with a contact roller (38) attached to an end of the actuating lever, runs in a guide groove (37) which forms at the upper end of the stop (39) against which the actuating lever strikes.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
198 06 432 |
Feb 1998 |
DE |
|
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Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
5487638 |
Salsburg et al. |
Jan 1996 |
|
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