The present invention relates to a method of buffering and controlling the tension of a web substrate, and in particular of a web substrate moving through a print cycle of a web press.
In a semi rotary printing process the web substrate moves during image transfer at a printing process speed, decelerates, stops and moves backwards and accelerates for the next printing image. The change in velocity and resulting changes in the tension of the web substrate cause problems, particularly when printing a number of repeating images of a particular size, for example as labels. Variations in substrate tension will cause stretching and contraction of the web substrate and result in images of varying sizes. This process therefore requires a buffering system to compensate for variations in the web flow velocity and a system for controlling the tension of the web. A known passive system is the use of vacuum boxes at the web feed and exit sections of the printing system, in which the vacuum applies tension to the web substrate by pulling a loop of the web substrate towards the back of the vacuum box so that the length of the loop pulled into the box varies to accommodate slack and maintain the tension in the web. However, in such a system there is a varying degree of friction between the walls of the vacuum box and the web substrate that is dependent on the direction of flow of the substrate.
The present invention provides a method of buffering and controlling the tension of a print substrate moving through a web press with a sequence of variations in substrate velocity during a printing cycle, using a control system comprising a chassis, a movable roller and a motor, the method comprising: supporting a loop of the print substrate on the movable roller; controlling translational movement of the roller with the motor; and controlling the motor output to achieve a sequence of roller movements arranged to control tension of the substrate during the sequence of variations in velocity.
Preferably, the method further comprises receiving a user input, determining a sequence of roller movements on the basis of the user input and controlling the roller to follow the sequence of roller movements. The roller may be mounted on a movable cradle driven by the motor.
The method may comprise measuring the position of the cradle and controlling the output of the motor in response to the measured position to control the velocity of the cradle to achieve the predetermined sequence of roller movements. This, combined with computing and compensating for the dynamics of the movable cradle, provides an active closed loop method of tension control.
The motor output may be controlled on the basis of a factor, which depends on the required tension. The motor output may also be controlled on the basis of a factor, which depends on the acceleration of at least the cradle. Alternatively, or additionally, the motor output may be controlled on the basis of a factor, which varies with at least one of the position and velocity of the cradle to compensate for changes in friction. The method may comprise sensing the position of the motor to measure the position of the cradle.
The method may comprise moving the control system through a calibration cycle, during which the system learns a sequence of variations of friction as a function of at least one of the position and velocity of the roller and learns the inertia of the system, and determining a plurality of functions describing movements in the system/The sequence of roller movements may be determined using the plurality of functions. The motor output may be controlled by controlling a current supplied to the motor.
The method may further comprise sensing the temperature of the motor and controlling the current applied to the motor in response to changes in temperature to maintain the motor torque at a desired or target level.
Preferably, the tension of the print substrate may be controlled on both an input side and an output side of the web press.
The method may further comprise monitoring the supplied current to detect irregularities that may be indicative of a fault.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a control system for buffering and tension control of a length of print substrate passing through a web press, the control system comprising a chassis, a movable roller arranged to support a loop of the print substrate, a cradle arranged to hold the movable roller, a motor arranged to drive the cradle to produce translational movement of the roller, measuring means arranged to measure the translational position of the roller and control means arranged to control the motor to achieve a sequence of roller movements to maintain tension during a sequence of variations in substrate velocity.
Preferably, the system further comprises a user input, wherein the control means is arranged to receive the user input and calculate a sequence of roller movements on the basis of the user input.
The control means may be arranged to control a current supplied to the motor to control the output of the motor. Preferably, the system further comprises a temperature sensor arranged to sense a temperature of the motor, wherein the control means is arranged to control the current supplied to the motor in response to variations in the temperature of the motor to maintain the motor output.
The cradle may be supported on the chassis and the control means may be arranged to control the motor output on the basis of at least one of a first factor which depends on the tension of the substrate, a second factor which varies with the acceleration of at least the cradle and a third factor which varies with at least one of the position and the velocity of the cradle so as to compensate for any changes in friction.
The cradle may be arranged to slide along the chassis on linear bearings and the system may further comprise at least two fixed rollers, wherein the movable roller is arranged to tension the substrate against the fixed rollers. Preferably, the system further comprises at least one energy absorber at each end of travel of the cradle and may further comprise at least one limit switch arranged to detect the end of travel of the cradle.
Preferably, the system is arranged to control the tension and velocity of a substrate on an input side of a web press and further comprises a second system including a movable roller arranged to control the tension and velocity of the substrate on an output side of the web press.
The control means may include a memory having stored therein a plurality of different control settings for use with respective substrate types.
The chassis may be orientated substantially vertically, or alternatively may be orientated substantially horizontally, or at any angle between the horizontal and vertical.
Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.
Referring to
At a second end 14 of the chassis 2 are two fixed rollers 16, 18, which extend across the width of the chassis. The two rollers 16, 18 are spaced apart and extend parallel to each other and parallel to the movable roller 8. The second fixed roller 18 is supported above the first fixed roller by a support frame 20 mounted on the chassis 2.
A second buffering system including a second movable roller is mounted underneath the chassis 2 and corresponds to the first control system.
The chassis 6 is substantially horizontal. However, since the system does not rely on gravity, it will be appreciated that the chassis 6 may be orientated at an alternative angle, for example vertically.
In use, a web substrate 22 is fed into the buffering system turning through 90° round the first fixed roller 16, runs along the length of the chassis 2 and is fed under the movable roller 8. The web 22 passes upwards turning through 180° around the movable roller 8, runs back along the length of the chassis and is fed under the second fixed roller 18, turns through 90° around the second fixed roller 18, and from there is fed into the printing press. The movable roller 8 tensions the web substrate 22 against the two fixed rollers 16, 18 and the arrangement forms a web loop, the size of which can be changed by driving the movable cradle 6 along the rails 4 to control the amount of web substrate accommodated in the loop. For example, driving the cradle along the rails towards the fixed rollers 16, 18 decreases the length of the web loop and driving the cradle back away from the fixed rollers 16, 18 increases the length of the web loop.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
A number of functions describing movements in the system are derived from the kinematics of the system, taking into account the geometry of the web press parts, and are stored in a memory. A user input 42 provides a request for a specific print job and this request defines the parameters of that printing job. A controller 38 receives the user input 42 that defines the parameters of the print job and inputs these parameters into the stored functions. The controller 38 then performs calculations to provide an output of the functions that defines the motion profile of the movable roller required to maintain the tension of the web substrate 22 within a particular range for that printing cycle. This sequence of roller movements is stored in the memory and the output of the motor 10 is controlled to achieve this stored sequence of roller movements. The current supplied to the motor 10 is controlled to control the torque of the motor to achieve the required motor output at any one time.
The current supplied to the motor 10 to achieve the required motion profile is controlled on the basis of a number of factors. A first component of the required current is defined as the current that is required to apply a certain amount of tension to the web substrate 22, assuming the cradle 6 is static and frictionless. A further component of the current is defined as the current required to apply a force to accelerate the cradle at the desired rate to achieve the desired movement within the desired sequence, and compensates for the inertia of the roller 8 and other associated moving parts of the system. This component can be calculated by solving the dynamics equations of the system, taking into account the acceleration of the drive belt, the web substrate and roller 8, as well as the cradle and any other associated moving parts.
An additional consideration is the friction of the system. The current must be controlled to include a friction component to overcome friction in the system. However, a component of the total frictional force varies with position of the cradle 6 as it moves through the predetermined sequence of movements. Of particular significance is friction from the continuous bending of the drive belt about the pulleys, the friction between the cradle 6 and the rails 4, friction in the motor 10 and in the idler pulley shaft. The current supplied to the motor 10 is therefore also controlled on the basis of this factor, which varies with the position and velocity of the cradle to compensate for changes in friction along the travel.
In one embodiment of the invention, the system further comprises a temperature sensor 40 arranged to sense the temperature of the motor. A change in the temperature of the motor results in a change in the moment coefficient of the motor, which, at a constant current supply, affects the torque of the motor. The controller is therefore arranged to control the current supplied to the motor in response to measured variations in the temperature to compensate for the resulting changes in the moment coefficient and maintain the desired motor torque.
The total current supplied to the motor can be described using the expression:
I=[IT+Ia+If(p,v)]*Motor Temperature Factor
where IT is the current component dependent on tension which is desired to be maintained in the substrate;
The sensor 30 is arranged to continuously measure the position of the motor and thereby continuously measure the translational position of the roller 8. The system operates as a closed loop velocity control system and continuously controls the current supplied to the motor 10 using the controller 38 in response to the factors discussed above to control the torque required to achieve the desired change in cradle 6 velocity, and hence the desired change in roller 8 velocity to maintain the desired tension in the web substrate 22.
When first used, the system moves through a calibration cycle, in which the system learns how the friction varies as a function of position and velocity, learns the inertia of the system, and learns the required variations to the motor output torque to compensate for these. The design of the system is such that the friction does not change significantly over time and this calibration cycle need not be carried out frequently.
The cradle is supported on linear bearings (not shown) that slide on the rails 4, that minimise the friction and noise of the system and that are suitable for the high velocity operation of the new generation of web presses. This minimisation of friction, together with the compensation for any changes in friction as described above, significantly reduces any tension variability in the web substrate 22.
The moving parts of the system, such as the cradle 6, are selected to have a very low mass to minimise forces transmitted to other parts of the web press due to inertial forces produced. The minimal mass of the moving parts also reduces the size of motor that is required. The movable roller 8 is designed to have a low rotational inertia but also has a diameter that is large enough to support the handling of a variety of substrates including paper, plastic materials, metals and magnetic materials of varying substrate thickness. For example, the system is able to support a substrate thickness in the range of 12 microns to 700 microns. Additionally, the stiffness of the roller and the accuracy of alignment of the cradle to move in a straight line with respect to the chassis minimises impairments to the web substrate flow.
In one embodiment the controller has different control settings arranged for use with different substrates. This is because different materials and thicknesses of substrate will have different weights and frictional characteristics, and therefore the torque required from the motor to produce a given speed or acceleration of the movable roller will be slightly different. These different settings are learnt at the calibration cycle and may include different control loop parameters accordingly.
The system includes limit switches 32 that detect the end of travel of the cradle 6 along the rails 4. The limit switches are mounted onto the chassis 6 on each side of the first end 12 and the second end 14 such that those at the first end detect the end of travel of the cradle in a direction towards the first end of the chassis and those at the second end 14 detect the end of travel of the cradle 6 in a direction away from the first end 12 of the chassis 2. Referring to
The bi-directional movement of the web substrate 22 through the web press results in variations in the web flow velocity both at an input side and an output side of the web press. Accordingly, the system ideally includes the buffering and tension control system described above at both the input and output sides of the web press. The two buffering system can be mounted onto separate chassis. Alternatively, the input buffering system and output buffering system can be mounted onto the upper side and underside of a single chassis. For example, referring to
The current supplied by the controller 38 to the motor can be monitored, for example by the controller 38 to detect irregularities. Any irregularities may be indicative of a fault and this monitoring can therefore be used in fault detection, diagnostics and troubleshooting.
It will be appreciated that variations may be made to the embodiments described above within the scope of the invention. For example, the position of the roller 8 may be determined using any suitable sensing means such as a light sensor or potentiometer. The current supplied to the motor may be controlled to maintain the torque of the motor in response to variations in additional parameters not described above. For example, the system may include a sensor arranged to directly measure the tension of the substrate and variations in the tension of the substrate and the controller may operate as a closed loop tension control system to control the motor torque in response to changes in the measured tension thereby to maintain the tension at a target level.
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