The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for preparing rolls of previously wound material to be placed on an unwinding machine for further processing into finished product. More particularly, industrial robots are used to improve the apparatus and process by which rolls of sheet material and the like can be loaded in preparation for unwinding and then, when a previously loaded roll has been unwound, disposing of the remaining core.
Many products are manufactured from elongated sheet or stock material that is shipped and stored in the form of a roll or coil. Continuous strips or webs of thin, flexible material are commonly provided on storage rolls that are subsequently unwound for production of items made from these materials. Examples of these materials are plastic film, metal foil, tissue and paper.
During the manufacture of paper products such as napkins, newspapers, and magazines, for example, very large storage rolls of paper are used to provide the stock material from which the paper items are produced. The storage rolls are then unwound for further processing such as cutting, folding or printing.
Unwinding machines receive large rolls of sheet material wound on a tubular core and unwind the sheet material for processing. The rolls may have a length of up to about 300 inches (750 cm) and a weight of up to about 8,000 lbs (3600 kg). Processing on machines such as printing machines or laminating machines to which the sheet material is supplied by the unwinding machine usually require the sheet material to be supplied at a constant speed and tension. When nearly all the sheets on a roll have been unwound from the core, it is necessary for the machine to stop unwinding sheet from the almost empty roll and to commence unwinding sheet from a new roll without any interruption in the supply of sheets to the processing machine. It is thus necessary for the sheet to be cut from the nearly empty roll and to be secured to the sheet on the new roll to ensure a continuous supply of sheet.
We have developed a unique way to use industrial robots to quickly change out the unwinding machine with a new roll once the previous roll is spent. The robots accept stand-by rolls of stock material ready to be plugged and prepared for quick movement into an unwinding position. This is highly desirable because of the savings in time that such a machine can provide. The stand-by roll can be quickly prepared for processing and then moved by a crane into position for unwinding. After unwinding the crane remove the spent roll from the unwind machine and the industrial robot remove the plugs.
The industrial robots are programmable robots operable to engage a selected transfer plug and position the transfer plug into the tubular core of a large roll of sheet material. The programmable, robot includes a microprocessor and software configured to sequentially plug and unplug full rolls and spent cores. The robot preferably includes an arm with an end effector. The core plug connects to the end effector. The end effector is configured to engage a multiplicity of plugs designed to fit a variety of sizes of tubular cores.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings.
The invention is intended to be presented in a variety of alternative embodiments in an effort to adapt the primary crux of the invention to a variety of workplace and manufacturing layouts. As such, the figures provide alternative representations adapting the invention in a variety of applications.
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The above detailed description of the present invention is given for explanatory purposes. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the whole of the foregoing description is to be construed in an illustrative and not a limitative sense, the scope of the invention being defined solely by the appended claims.
This application is a conversion of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/192,462, filed Sep. 18, 2008. The subject matter of the '462 application is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61192462 | Sep 2008 | US |