Patent Grant
10974919
The invention relates generally to rollers, and more specifically to rollers having a sinusoidal layer for enhancing alignment of material sheets in machines that use, handle or process material sheets that roll on rollers.
As an example, the printing, conveyor, and converting industries utilize rollers for guiding material sheets through the machines and systems they use. However, these rollers often do not keep the material sheets as aligned or centered as necessary for the machine to perform well or for the material sheet to be processed at a high quality or handled with high accuracy. As an example, web converters, industrial printing machines, and belt/roller conveyors cause miniature vibrations during their handling processes due to the many moving components of the system. However, these miniature vibrations cause many issues for printing, web converting, and other material handling or processing applications. As an example, in printing and converting applications, these vibrations cause misalignment of the printed text and misalignment of the finished web rolls, respectively. In another example, in the context of belt conveyors, misalignment of the belt on the rollers can cause faster wearing of the belt.
Currently, attempts are made to counteract these vibrations by tension being applied to the sheet of material. Tension is applied by stretching the printing paper and webbing medium for example, but this can cause issues, such as printing quality issues or other material issues such as for the material to rip.
Further, in most of these machines, the contact between the material sheet and roller(s) have a high amount of friction between them, which is typically amplified by tension being applied, and that may also contribute to the possibility of ripping the material. In an example, the entire process performed by the machines is slowed down due to high friction and tension needed for centering the tensioned materials. Therefore, there is a need to solve the problems described above by proving a device and method for efficient and more accurate printing, web converting, and other material handling or processing applications in which centering the material while in motion is important.
The aspects or the problems and the associated solutions presented in this section could be or could have been pursued; they are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches presented in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their presence in this section of the application.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key aspects or essential aspects of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, this Summary is not intended for use as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In an aspect, a material centering device that limits the effects of vibrations or other misalignment causes during the printing, converting, or other material handling or processing applications is provided, the device having a sinusoidal layer associated with rollers on which the material runs. The sinusoidal layer enables oscillations that allow for better alignment and less slippage off of the roller even with decreased amount of tension. Thus, an advantage is more precise printing, converting, or other material handling or processing applications. Another advantage is not needing to use a high amount of tension, which can cause undesirable stretching and even ripping of the material.
In another aspect, the material centering device allows for a decrease in friction because of the minimized contact between the roller and the sheets of material due to the sheets of material being able to rest on the sinusoidal protrusions of the device alone. This decrease in friction allows for the machines to run (e.g., print) faster. Thus, an advantage is the increase of speed, making the jobs more time efficient, which leads to an increase of profitability.
The above aspects or examples and advantages, as well as other aspects or examples and advantages, will become apparent from the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.
For exemplification purposes, and not for limitation purposes, aspects, embodiments or examples of the invention are illustrated in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:
What follows is a description of various aspects, embodiments and/or examples in which the invention may be practiced. Reference will be made to the attached drawings, and the information included in the drawings is part of this detailed description. The aspects, embodiments and/or examples described herein are presented for exemplification purposes, and not for limitation purposes. It should be understood that structural and/or logical modifications could be made by someone of ordinary skills in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined by the accompanying claims and their equivalents.
It should be understood that, for clarity of the drawings and of the specification, some or all details about some structural components or steps that are known in the art are not shown or described if they are not necessary for the invention to be understood by one of ordinary skills in the art.
For the following description, it can be assumed that most correspondingly labeled elements across the figures (e.g., 102 and 202, etc.) possess the same characteristics and are subject to the same structure and function. If there is a difference between correspondingly labeled elements that is not pointed out, and this difference results in a non-corresponding structure or function of an element for a particular embodiment, example or aspect, then the conflicting description given for that particular embodiment, example or aspect shall govern.
As shown in
In a printing context, this tension may be necessary for alignment and printing precision because, without the rolling sheet of material 103 being pulled tight in tension, the miniature vibrations cause ghosting, which is when the printed words are layered or look like each letter has a shadow. However, the large amounts of tension that are needed to subdue these effects may cause the rolling sheet of material 103 to be undesirably stretched out or possibly rip. The rollers 102 also may cause high amounts of friction between its surface and the rolling sheet of material 103 because of the full contact between the surface of the rollers 102 and the paper 103, which contributes to the possibility of ripping. This friction is further exacerbated by the high tension within the material sheet 103.
As shown, the sine waves (e.g., sinusoidal protrusions) 218 may be uniformly spaced and may be attached to the base layer 219. The sinusoidal layer 217 may have sine waves 218 running parallel to each other along, for example, the entire length 205 of the top surface of the base layer 219. It should be noted that a base layer 219 is not always needed, such as when the sine waves 218 are machined into the rollers 202 or otherwise (e.g., by mold casting) made integral to the rollers 202.
It should be observed that, when the sine waves 218 are sinusoidal protrusions (see e.g.,
The roller 202 is shown with the sinusoidal layer 217 wrapped around it. Again, the sinusoidal layer 217 may have sine waves 218 that are parallel to one another with the peak of one sine wave being parallel to the peak of an adjacent sine wave, and so on, as shown in
It should be understood that, instead of sine wave shapes, other similar shapes could possibly be used, such as alternating arches.
It should also be understood that the sinusoidal “layer” may be implemented in various ways, such as in the form of an adhesive tape or a sleeve attached to the roller 202, or, an integrated machined or casted layer.
In an example, the base layer 219 can be made up of a top and bottom surface, with each surface having adhesive to allow the bottom surface to be adhered to the rollers 202, and the different sine waves 218 and 408 configurations adhered to the top side of the base layer 219. The base layer 219 is formable for allowing it to wrap around and thus enhance the rollers 202 that are currently being used. In another example, the sine waves 218 may be integral to the base layer 219.
In another example, a sleeve 202a, having the sine waves 218, can be used to associate the sine waves 218 to rollers 202.
It should be understood that irrespective of the method of association of the sine waves 218 to the rollers 202, the sine waves 218 could be used to cover only a portion of the rollers 202, such as for example covering a central portion of the roller 202 or a pair of portions, one on one end of the roller 202 and one on the opposing end of the roller 202.
It should be noted that, preferably, the rolling sheet of material 103 would run “parallel” to the sine waves 218 (i.e., paper 103 moving forward in
It is believed that this back and forth (i.e., left and right, when referring to
This sinusoidal layer 217 has the ability to be applied to any roller making the process to begin utilizing the layer more efficient. In an example, the sinusoidal layer 217 would be attached around the roller in the printer, converter, or conveyor and then the machine would be used as it typically is. The user would feed the material sheet 103 through the wrapped roller 202 and then begin the material processing at a lessened tension and a higher speed because of the benefits of the sinusoidal layer 217. Again, the sine waves 218 may preferably repeat over the length 205 of the roller 202 or sleeve 202a.
Again, in another example, the sinusoidal layer 217 may be integral to the roller 202. This may be achieved for example by machining the protrusions onto the roller. It can also be achieved by casting the part with the protrusions 218. This allows the existing roller without any protrusions to be replaced by a roller with sinusoidal protrusions 218, which provides the benefits as previously described. The cylinder, or roller with protrusions 202 may be installed into the machines 101 and begin centering the material sheets 103.
As shown in the cross-section view of
The protrusions 318 may also be integral or attached to a sleeve (202a in
This sinusoidal protrusion layers 317 may be applied to rollers 302 in these applications to help align paper in a printing machine or other types of web in a converter. In another example, the material sheets may be a belt in a conveyor belt. The apparatus disclosed herein can be used in other similar applications in which the moving materials need to stay centered within the running machines.
It should be understood that this sinusoidal layer in the opposing wave pattern may be an adhesive tape, sleeve, or machined or casted protrusions, but could also be done by other similar means.
The roller 402 is shown in
In an example, as with the sinusoidal roller 202 from
In another example, the sinusoidal layer 407 may be integral to the roller 421. This may be achieved for example by machining the protrusions onto the cylinder. It can also be achieved by casting or other similar processes. This allows the existing roller 402 without any protrusions to be replaced by a roller with sinusoidal protrusions 408 in an opposing pattern, which provides the benefits as previously described. The sinusoidal protrusions 408 may repeat over the length 405 of the roller or sleeve 402.
As shown in the cross-section view of
In another example, the sinusoidal layer 507 can be applied to the belt conveyor system by a sleeve over the rollers 502 in the system. The protrusions 508 may be integral to a sleeve and the sleeve may be placed on the existing rollers 502. The sleeve may be stretchable to produce friction while on the existing roller 502 to allow the sleeve to stay in place while the machine is running. The sinusoidal sleeve may also have an adhesive layer on the interior to further ensure a strong connection between the sinusoidal sleeve and the roller 502 or cylinder.
This sinusoidal protrusion layer 508 in the opposing pattern may be applied to rollers 502 in these applications to help align paper in a printing machine, other types of web in a converter, and in another example the material sheets may be a belt in a conveyor belt. All the previous mentioned applications need the moving materials to stay centered within the running machines.
As indicated herein, it is preferred to have the sine waves be raised (protrusions) because of the resulting reduced amount of friction between the material and the roller, while the sine waves provide the desired material sheet centering effect. However, it should be understood that other approaches may possibly work comparably well, such as when the sine waves would be flush with the roller, but the sine waves would be made from a high friction material, such as rubber, while the remaining portions of the roller are made of a low friction material, such as a highly polished steel.
It may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used in this patent document. The term “material sheet” should be understood broadly to include material sheets that can be flat on one side, two sides (e.g., a paper sheet) or none of the sides; further, they can be thin (e.g., paper sheet) or thick (e.g., a conveyor belt) and not necessarily of a rectangular cross-section; as long as they have a portion of one side forming a substantially flat surface that can roll on a roller, it is a material sheet for the purpose of this application. The term “couple” and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether or not those elements are in physical contact with one another. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or. The phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like.
Further, as used in this application, “plurality” means two or more. A “set” of items may include one or more of such items. Whether in the written description or the claims, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of,” respectively, are closed or semi-closed transitional phrases with respect to claims.
If present, use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed. These terms are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements. As used in this application, “and/or” means that the listed items are alternatives, but the alternatives also include any combination of the listed items.
Throughout this description, the aspects, embodiments or examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations on the apparatus or procedures disclosed or claimed. Although some of the examples may involve specific combinations of method acts or system elements, it should be understood that those acts and those elements may be combined in other ways to accomplish the same objectives.
Acts, elements and features discussed only in connection with one aspect, embodiment or example are not intended to be excluded from a similar role(s) in other aspects, embodiments or examples.
Aspects, embodiments or examples of the invention may be described as processes, which are usually depicted using a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may depict the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. With regard to flowcharts, it should be understood that additional and fewer steps may be taken, and the steps as shown may be combined or further refined to achieve the described methods.
If means-plus-function limitations are recited in the claims, the means are not intended to be limited to the means disclosed in this application for performing the recited function, but are intended to cover in scope any equivalent means, known now or later developed, for performing the recited function.
Claim limitations should be construed as means-plus-function limitations only if the claim recites the term “means” in association with a recited function.
If any presented, the claims directed to a method and/or process should not be limited to the performance of their steps in the order written, and one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the sequences may be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Although aspects, embodiments and/or examples have been illustrated and described herein, someone of ordinary skills in the art will easily detect alternate of the same and/or equivalent variations, which may be capable of achieving the same results, and which may be substituted for the aspects, embodiments and/or examples illustrated and described herein, without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of this application is intended to cover such alternate aspects, embodiments and/or examples. Hence, the scope of the invention is defined by the accompanying claims and their equivalents. Further, each and every claim is incorporated as further disclosure into the specification.
This application is a continuation-in-part and claims the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 16/181,920, filed Nov. 6, 2018, which is a continuation-in-part application and claims the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 14/953,218, filed Nov. 27, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,118,439, which is a continuation-in-part and claims the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 13/676,790, filed Nov. 14, 2012, which are hereby incorporated by reference, to the extent that they are not conflicting with the present application.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20190367310 A1 | Dec 2019 | US |
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| Parent | 16181920 | Nov 2018 | US |
| Child | 16536072 | US | |
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