Method of and apparatus for winding film, method of and apparatus for supplying film roll core, and method of and apparatus for inspecting appearance of film roll

Abstract
A film winding apparatus has a film winding mechanism for rotating a roll core to wind an elongate film around the roll core thereby to produce a film roll, a product receiving mechanism for gripping the film roll while tensioning the elongate film, the product receiving mechanism being displaceable away from the film winding mechanism, and a cutting mechanism for transversely cutting off the elongate film while the elongate film is being tensioned by the product receiving mechanism. The elongate film can be wound highly accurately around the roll core with a simple process and arrangement.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for winding a film, a method of and an apparatus for supplying a film roll core, and a method of and an apparatus for inspecting the appearance of a film roll, which are applied to a film rewinder or a film cutter to wind a film around a roll core.




2. Description of the Related Art




Generally, film rewinders for automatically winding a film around a core or film cutters for cutting a wider film into a narrower film and automatically winding the narrower film around a core employ an arrangement for cutting an elongate film upstream of a film winding station and thereafter feeding the cut film length to the film winding station. For details, reference should be made to Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 10-25043, for example.




According to the above process, the leading end of the cut film is in a free state and is not controlled. Therefore, the film tends to undulate and it is difficult to align an edge of the film at a constant position with an end of a roll core. For example, rolls of photosensitive material such as print paper have a film edge whose shape is highly important for film quality. If a film edge projects axially outwardly from an end of the roll core, then the projecting film edge tends to be damaged while the film is packaged or delivered.




Various proposals have been made to wind a film around a core highly accurately with simple and inexpensive arrangements. For example, Japanese patent publication No. 7-53547 and Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 10-53360 disclose apparatus in which a product with a wound film is discharged using a vertically movable product receiver, then a new core is supplied, and the film is cut while the film is being nipped by the supplied core and a touch roller.




According to the above proposed structures, while the product is being lowered after it has been unchucked, the film is free of any tension. Therefore, if the film passes through a displaced position, then an edge of the film projects from an end of the roll core.




The above film rewinders and film cutters have an automatic core supply device for automatically supplying a core to a circumferential edge of the film winding station and an automatic film winding device for rotating the roll core supplied from the automatic core supply device to automatically wind the film around the roll core. However, since the automatic core supply device and the automatic film winding device have their operating ranges partly interfering with each other, it is difficult to shorten the period of time after the winding of the film has been completed until a film starts being wound around a new core. This is because after the automatic core supply device has place a core in the film winding station, the automatic core supply device is sufficiently retracted from the film winding station, and then the film starts being wound around the roll core. As a result, the entire process of winding the film around the roll core cannot be speeded up, and the apparatus is complex in structure, resulting in a considerably high cost of equipment.




As disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 5-17058, there is known a process of surrounding a new core with an endless belt in a retracted position, moving the endless belt to a winding position after the winding of a web material has been completed in the winding position, and rotating the roll core to wind a new web material therearound.




Since it is difficult to supply the roll core accurately to the winding position with the endless belt only, a member is used to fix the roll core in position. The member needs to be moved back and force by a cylinder, and a time loss is caused to retract the member with the cylinder. In addition, because of the core fixing member used, the endless belt cannot be positioned closely around the roll core fully across its axis, making it difficult to wind the film highly precisely around the roll core.




Rolled film products have end faces whose shapes are important for product quality. For example, rolled film products suffer appearance defects if a rolled film product has a concave conical end face as shown in

FIG. 50

of the accompanying drawings, if a rolled film product has a convex conical end face as shown in

FIG. 51

of the accompanying drawings, if a rolled film product has a film layer projecting an end face thereof as shown in

FIG. 52

of the accompanying drawings, or if a rolled film product has an end face displaced wholly or partly as shown in

FIG. 53

of the accompanying drawings. These appearance defects are responsible for damage to the end faces of the products while they are being packaged or delivered. Accordingly, it is necessary to inspect rolled film products for their end face configuration.




It has been customary to visually or tactually inspect rolled film products for their end face configuration. Other processes of inspecting products other than films for their appearance are disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent publications Nos. 6-24649 (first conventional process), 7-304567 (second conventional process), and 9-58930 (third conventional process).




According to the first conventional process, a parallel slit light beam emitted by an illuminating device comprising a light source and a slit is applied from a side of a spinning package to an edge thereof. The irradiated area is imaged by a CCD camera, and the image is processed to effect pattern matching for comparison with a normal package configuration.




According to the second conventional process, a strip-shaped beam of light emitted from a laser oscillator and dispersed by a cylindrical lens is applied to an edge of a yarn package. A yarn filament is raised from the package edge under electrostatic induction, and an image of the raised yarn filament captured by a CCD camera is converted into a binary image. The boundary between non-irradiated and irradiated areas of the binary image, near the non-irradiated area, is scanned by a line sensor, and compared with a threshold value having a predetermined signal width.




According to the third conventional process, laser displacement meters are vertically disposed respectively against face and back end faces of a yarn bobbin. Based on output signals from the laser displacement meters, distances up to the face and back end faces of the yarn bobbin are measured, and surface irregularities of the face and back end faces of the yarn bobbin are measured for automatically determining contour defects of the yarn bobbin.




Since the conventional processes of inspecting rolled film products for their appearance have been manually performed visually or tactually, the rolled film products cannot be evaluated objectively. Evaluation standards tend to vary from lot to lot, personnel expenses that are required are liable to be high, and the period of time required for the inspection is likely to be long, resulting in a poor productivity.




The first through third conventional processes described above are not aimed at the inspection of rolled film products. If these conventional processes are applied to the inspection of rolled film products, then inasmuch they employ commercially available laser displacement meters and light sources, inspected rolled film products may be exposed to undesirable light.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is a general object of the present invention to provide a method of and an apparatus for winding a film highly accurately and efficiently around a core with a simple process and arrangement.




A primary object of the present invention is to provide a method of and an apparatus for supplying a film roll core to allow a film to be wound quickly and highly accurately around the film roll core, through a simple arrangement.




Another principal object of the present invention is to provide a method of and an apparatus for inspecting the appearance of a film roll accurately within a short period of time without affecting the quality of the film for effectively increasing the production efficiency.




The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown by way of illustrative example.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a schematic side elevational view of a film rewinder incorporating a film winding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a side elevational view of the film winding apparatus;





FIG. 3

is a front elevational view showing a detecting means and an automatic correcting means of the film winding apparatus;





FIG. 4

is a front elevational view of a film winding mechanism of the film winding apparatus;





FIG. 5

is a perspective view, partly in block form, an appearance inspecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, with a photodetector being arranged to image an inspected surface obliquely;





FIG. 6

is a side elevational view of an arrangement of a laser beam source and a photodetector;





FIG. 7

is a side elevational view of another arrangement of a laser beam source and a photodetector;





FIG. 8

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which an elongate film is fed to the film winding mechanism;





FIG. 9

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which the elongate film is wound around a core;





FIG. 10

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which a film roll is received by a product receiving mechanism;





FIG. 11

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which the product receiving mechanism is lowered;





FIG. 12

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which the elongate film is cut off;





FIG. 13

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which the elongate film starts being wound around the roll core;





FIG. 14

is a perspective view, partly in block form, of an appearance inspecting apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, with a photodetector being arranged in confronting relationship to an inspected surface obliquely;





FIG. 15

is a fragmentary perspective view of an inspected product which is rolled well;





FIG. 16

is a view showing a captured image of the inspected product shown in

FIG. 15

;





FIG. 17

is a fragmentary perspective view of an inspected product which has a concave conical end face;





FIG. 18

is a view showing a captured image of the inspected product shown in

FIG. 17

;





FIG. 19

is a fragmentary perspective view of an inspected product which has a convex conical end face;





FIG. 20

is a view showing a captured image of the inspected product shown in

FIG. 19

;





FIG. 21

is a fragmentary perspective view of an inspected product which has a film layer projecting from an end face thereof;





FIG. 22

is a view showing a captured image of the inspected product shown in

FIG. 21

;





FIG. 23

is a fragmentary perspective view of an inspected product which has an end face displaced wholly or partly;





FIG. 24

is a view showing a captured image of the inspected product shown in

FIG. 23

;





FIG. 25

is a diagram showing principles of determining whether an appearance is good or bad with an image processing device;





FIG. 26

is a perspective view, partly in block form, of the appearance inspecting apparatus which inspects the appearance of an end face (inspected surface) of a roll of an inspected sheet while it is being wound;





FIG. 27

is a perspective view, partly in block form, of the appearance inspecting apparatus which inspects the appearance of a side surface of a stack of sheets;





FIG. 28

is a view showing a captured image in inspecting the appearance of a side surface of a stack of sheets;





FIG. 29

is a perspective view, partly in block form, of the appearance inspecting apparatus which inspects the appearance of an upper surface of an inspected plate-like member;





FIG. 30

is a view showing a captured image in inspecting the appearance of an upper surface of an inspected plate-like member;





FIG. 31

is a schematic side elevational view of a film winding apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 32

is a side elevational view showing the manner in which an elongate film is cut off after a film roll has been produced by the film winding apparatus;





FIG. 33

is a side elevational view showing the manner in which the elongate film, which is cut off in

FIG. 32

, is wound around a new core;





FIG. 34

is a schematic side elevational view of a film cutter which incorporates a film roll core supplying apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 35

is a plan view of a film winding apparatus and the film roll core supplying apparatus of the film cutter;





FIG. 36

is a side elevational view of the film roll core supplying apparatus;





FIG. 37

is a fragmentary perspective view of the film roll core supplying apparatus;





FIG. 38

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which an elongate film is wound around a core;





FIG. 39

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which a lifter table is elevated after the elongate film has been wound;





FIG. 40

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which an end of the elongate film is cut off after a film roll has been produced;





FIG. 41

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which the film roll core supplying apparatus that grips a new core after the elongate film has been cut off is moved to a film winding position;





FIG. 42

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which first and second block wrappers of the film roll core supplying apparatus are opened;





FIG. 43

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which the first and second block wrappers are retracted and the elongate film is wound around the roll core;





FIG. 44

is a schematic side elevational view of a film cutter which incorporates a film roll core supplying apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 45

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which an elongate film is wound around a core in the film roll core supplying apparatus according to the fourth embodiment;





FIG. 46

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which a lifter table is elevated after a film roll has been produced in the film roll core supplying apparatus according to the fourth embodiment;





FIG. 47

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which the film roll is lowered in the film roll core supplying apparatus according to the fourth embodiment;





FIG. 48

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which the elongate film of the film roll is cut off;





FIG. 49

is a schematic side elevational view showing the manner in which the elongate film is wound around a new core;





FIG. 50

is a fragmentary perspective view of a rolled film product having a concave conical end face;





FIG. 51

is a fragmentary perspective view of a rolled film product having a convex conical end face;





FIG. 52

is a fragmentary perspective view of a rolled film product which has a film layer projecting an end face thereof; and





FIG. 53

is a fragmentary perspective view of a rolled film product which has an end face displaced wholly or partly.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS





FIG. 1

schematically shows a film rewinder


12


incorporating a film winding apparatus


10


according to a first embodiment of the present invention.




As shown in

FIG. 1

, the film rewinder


12


generally comprises a film delivery apparatus


18


for rotating a rolled photosensitive material


14


(hereinafter referred to as “film roll


14


”) comprising a PET film, a TAC film, a PEN film, or a print sheet or the like as a base, to unwind and deliver an elongate film


16


, a feed apparatus


20


for feeding the elongate film


16


successively through subsequent processing stages, an edge cutting apparatus


26


for cutting off opposite edges


22


of the elongate film


16


fed by the feed apparatus


20


to produce an elongate film


24


having a predetermined width, and a film winding apparatus


10


for winding the elongate film


24


around a roll core


28


and thereafter cutting off the elongate film


24


to a predetermined length for thereby producing a product (film roll)


30




a.






The film delivery apparatus


18


has a delivery shaft


32


on which the film roll


14


is supported and which is coupled to a rotary actuator (not shown) and controlled by a variable brake


34


. The feed apparatus


20


has a main feed roller


36


such as a suction drum or the like and a plurality of rollers


38


. The edge cutting apparatus


26


has a pair of upper and lower rotary cutters


40


and a pair of edge winding units


42


for winding the severed edges


22


.




As shown in

FIG. 2

, the film winding apparatus


10


comprises a film winding mechanism


50


for holding and rotating the roll core


28


to wind a predetermined length of the elongate film


24


around the roll core


28


for thereby producing a film roll


30


, a product receiving mechanism


52


for gripping a circumferential surface of the elongate film


24


wound around the roll core


28


under tension, the product receiving mechanism


52


being displaceable away from the film winding mechanism


50


, a cutting mechanism


54


for transversely cutting the elongate film


24


while the elongate film


24


is being tensioned by the product receiving mechanism


52


, and a supply apparatus


56


for automatically supplying the roll core


28


to the film winding mechanism


50


.




The film winding mechanism


50


has an upper frame


58


which supports thereon a path roller


60


that is positionally adjustable in the directions indicated by the arrow A by a slide means


62


. A rotary actuator (not shown) is coupled to the path roller


60


for rotating the path roller


60


in the direction indicated by the arrow B at a peripheral speed higher than the speed at which the elongate film


24


is fed by the main feed roller


36


.




A nip roller


64


is positioned for movement into and out of rolling contact with the path roller


60


. The nip roller


64


can be moved toward and away from the path roller


60


by a cylinder


66


. When the nip roller


64


is pressed against the path roller


60


with the elongate film


24


sandwiched therebetween, a predetermined tension is applied to the edge cutting apparatus


26


while the elongate film


24


downstream of the nip roller


64


is not being tensioned. The slide means


62


, which supports the path roller


60


and the nip roller


64


thereon, is positionally adjustable in the directions indicated by the arrow A depending on different (e.g., two) core diameters.




As shown in

FIGS. 2 through 4

, the film winding mechanism


50


has a pair of winding chucks


68




a,




68




b


for holding the respective opposite ends of the roll core


28


and rotating the roll core


28


. The winding chucks


68




a,




68




b


are movable toward and away from each other in the directions indicated by the arrow C by a slide means


70


. To the winding chuck


68




a,


there is connected a torque-controllable servomotor


72


for tensioning the elongate film


24


after the elongate film


24


has been wound around the roll core


28


.




As shown in

FIG. 4

, the slide means


70


has a pair of base members


76




a,




76




b


that is positionally adjustable along a guide rail


74


. A first movable base


80


a that is movable back and forth by a first cylinder


78




a


is mounted on the base member


76




a.


The first movable base


80




a


supports thereon a servomotor


72


having a drive shaft


82


that is operatively coupled to a rotatable shaft


86




a


of the winding chuck


68




a


by a belt and pulley mechanism


84


. The rotatable shaft


86




a


is rotatably supported on the first movable base


80




a


by a bearing (not shown).




A second movable base


80




b


that is movable back and forth by a second cylinder


78




b


is mounted on the base member


76




b.


The winding chuck


68




b


has a rotatable shaft


86




b


rotatably supported on the second movable base


80




b


by a bearing (not shown).




As illustrated in

FIG. 2

, the film winding mechanism


50


also has a movable nip roller


90


for holding the elongate film


24


against the peripheral surface of a new roll core


28


when the elongate film


24


is cut off, and a movable guide roller


92


for guiding the end of the severed elongate film


24


onto the peripheral surface of the roll core


28


. The nip roller


90


is rotatably supported on the tip end of a rod


96


that extends horizontally from a first drive cylinder


94


. The guide roller


92


is swingably supported by a leaf spring


102


on the tip end of a rod


100


that extends horizontally from a second drive cylinder


98


. The cutting mechanism


54


has a movable base


106


movable back and forth along a guide rail


104


in directions across the elongate film


24


, and a disk cutter


108


rotatably mounted on the distal end of the movable base


106


. The cutting mechanism


54


is disposed above a suction box


112


that is movable back and forth horizontally by a third drive cylinder


110


. A path changing roller


114


is rotatably supported on an upper portion of the suction box


112


. The path changing roller


114


functions to direct the elongate film


24


substantially perpendicularly to a straight line that interconnects the axis of the roll core


28


and the axis of the nip roller


90


when the elongate film


24


begins to be wound around the roll core


28


.




The product receiving mechanism


52


has a lifter table


120


vertically movable along a guide rail


118


on a side surface of a base


116


. The product receiving mechanism


52


also includes a main assembly


124


mounted on the lifter table


120


and movable back and forth in directions across the elongate film


24


by an automatic correcting means


122


. The main assembly


124


includes a torque motor


126


having a drive shaft


128


that is operatively coupled to a tensioning roller


134


by a first belt and pulley mechanism


130


and a second belt and pulley mechanism


132


. The tensioning roller


134


is drivably supported on the distal end of a first swing arm


136


.




The first swing arm


136


is swingably supported on a shaft to which a first gear


138


is coaxially fixed. The first gear


138


is held in driving mesh with a second gear


140


that is coaxially fixed to the shaft of a second swing arm


142


. The second swing arm


142


supports a free roller


144


rotatably on its distal end. A tension spring


146


is connected between substantially central portions of the first and second swing arms


136


,


142


.




A slide base


148


is mounted on a side surface of the main assembly


124


for movement in directions across the elongate film


24


. A motor


150


mounted on the slide base


148


is operatively coupled to a swingable arm


154


by a belt and pulley mechanism


152


, and a rider roller


156


is rotatably supported on the upper end of the arm


154


. A conveyor


158


for discharging a rolled film product


30




a


is disposed between the first and second swing arms


136


,


142


.




As shown in

FIG. 3

, a detecting means


160


for detecting whether the elongate film


24


is positionally displaced in its transverse directions indicated by the arrow C or not is positioned in the vicinity of the film winding mechanism


50


. The automatic correcting means


122


, which serves to automatically correct the position of the elongate film


24


based on a signal from the detecting means


160


, is incorporated in the main assembly


124


. The detecting means


160


has a sensor


162


for detecting an edge of the elongate film


24


. The sensor


162


comprises an optical sensor, e.g., an infrared sensor such as an LED, a laser, or the like.




The automatic correcting means


122


has a servomotor


176


that is controlled by a feedback signal based on a detected signal from the sensor


162


. The servomotor


176


is connected to a ball screw


178


extending in the direction indicated by the arrow C and rotatably supported on the lifter table


120


. The lifter table


120


supports thereon a pair of rails


180




a,




180




b


on which the main assembly


124


is supported for back-and-forth movement in the directions indicated by the arrow C. A holder


184


is fixed to the main assembly


124


and has an internally threaded surface (not shown) that is threaded over the ball screw


178


. Therefore, when the ball screw


178


rotates about its own axis, the main assembly


124


moves horizontally along the rails


180




a,




180




b.






As shown in

FIG. 2

, the supply apparatus


56


has a core support base


190


for supporting a roll core


28


. The core support base


190


is vertically movable between a core receiving position and a core transferring position by a vertical cylinder


192


. A suction box


193


that is connected to a vacuum source (not shown) is mounted on the core support base


190


. A core feeding means


194


is disposed at the core transferring position and has a block wrapper


196


that is movable back and forth horizontally.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, the film rewinder


12


has an appearance inspecting apparatus


200


for inspecting the appearance of the product


30




a


. The appearance inspecting apparatus


200


comprises a laser beam source (irradiating means)


204


for irradiating at least one inspected surface (end surface)


202


of the product


30




a


with a linear laser beam L (straight laser beam in the first embodiment) in a wavelength range to which the photosensitive material is not sensitive, a photo-detector (imaging means)


206


for capturing an image of a reflected beam Lr from the inspected surface


202


that is irradiated with the laser beam L, and an image processor (inspecting means)


208


for inspecting whether the appearance of the product


30




a


is good or bad based on the image of the reflected beam Lr captured by the photodetector


206


. To the image processor


208


, there is connected a display monitor


210


for the operator to view the image of the reflected beam Lr.




The wavelength range to which the photosensitive material is not sensitive is upward from 900 nm. The photodetector


206


may comprises a black-and-white CCD television camera which is sensitive to a near-infrared range. As shown in

FIG. 5

, the inspected surface


202


of the rolled film product


30




a


is an upper end surface of the rolled film product


30




a.






As shown in

FIG. 6

, the laser beam source


204


and the photodetector


206


may be angularly related to each other such that an angle θ


1


formed between the optical axis of the laser beam source


204


and the inspected surface


202


ranges from 45° to 60°, and an angle θ


2


formed between the central line of the imaging surface of the photodetector


206


and the inspected surface


202


ranges from 45° to 60°. Alternatively, as shown in

FIG. 7

, the laser beam source


204


and the photodetector


206


may be angularly related to each other such that the angle θ


1


formed between the optical axis of the laser beam source


204


and the inspected surface


202


ranges from 45° to 60°, and the angle θ


2


formed between the central line of the imaging surface of the photodetector


206


and the inspected surface


202


is approximately 90°.




The relative angular relationship between the laser beam source


204


and the photodetector


206


it not limited to the examples shown in

FIGS. 6 and 7

, but may be determined on the basis of the resolution of the image in the image processor


208


and the contrast of the image displayed on the display monitor


210


.




Operation of the film rewinder


12


thus constructed will be described below in connection with the film winding apparatus


10


according to the first embodiment.




As shown in

FIG. 1

, the film roll


14


mounted in the film delivery apparatus


18


is unwound upon rotation of the delivery shaft


32


, and an elongate film


16


unreeled from the film roll


14


is guided to the main feed roller


36


of the feed apparatus


20


. The main feed roller


36


comprises a suction drum, for example, and is controlled according to a predetermined speed pattern by an AC servomotor (not shown).




The elongate film


16


whose speed has been adjusted by the main feed roller


36


is sent to the edge cutting apparatus


26


in which the opposite edges


22


of the elongate film


16


are cut off by the upper and lower rotary cutters


40


, thus producing an elongate film


24


having a predetermined width. The edge cutting apparatus


26


feeds the elongate film


24


to the film winding apparatus


10


. The edges


22


severed from the elongate film


16


are wound by the edge winding units


42


according to a predetermined tension pattern.




For the film winding apparatus


10


to start winding the elongate film


24


for a first film roll, as shown in

FIG. 8

, a roll core


28


is held in a film winding position by the winding chucks


68




a,




68




b


of the film winding mechanism


50


and the block wrapper


196


of the supply apparatus


56


. The elongate film


24


is delivered vertically downwardly by the nip roller


64


and the path roller


60


upon rotation of the path roller


60


, and the leading end of the elongate film


24


is automatically or manually brought into a position where it is attracted and held by the suction box


112


.




The edges of the elongate film


24


are positionally controlled by guides (not shown) that are positioned in ganged relationship to the winding chucks


68




a,




68




b


. The elongate film


24


is supported by the path changing roller


114


, so that the elongate film


24


extends and is held in a direction perpendicular to the straight line that interconnects the axis of the roll core


28


and the axis of the nip roller


90


. Then, the disk cutter


108


of the cutting mechanism


54


moves in a direction across the elongate film


24


to cut off the elongate film


24


transversely.




The second drive cylinder


98


is actuated to displace the guide roller


92


toward the roll core


28


. The guide roller


92


now brings the leading end of the severed elongate film


24


into contact with the peripheral surface of the roll core


28


for an angular interval of 90°. The distance between the roll core


28


and the disk cutter


108


is selected such that the distal end of the elongate film


24


can be inserted into the block wrapper


196


.




After the guide roller


92


has reached its stroke end, as shown in

FIG. 4

, the servomotor


72


is energized to cause the belt and pulley mechanism


84


to start rotating the winding chuck


68




a.


The roll core


28


is now rotated to wind the elongate film


24


around the roll core


28


for a length to keep the elongate film


24


under tension, preferably, two or three turns around the roll core


28


. Thereafter, the block wrapper


196


is retracted, and the first and second drive cylinders


94


,


98


are actuated to move the nip roller


90


and the guide roller


92


away from the roll core


28


.




As shown in

FIG. 9

, when the elongate film


24


has been wound to a predetermined length around the roll core


28


by the film winding mechanism


50


, producing a film roll


30


, the product receiving mechanism


52


is elevated to cause the rider roller


156


, the tensioning roller


134


, and the free roller


144


to hold the film roll


30


(see FIG.


10


). When the film roll


30


is held by the rider roller


156


, the tensioning roller


134


, and the free roller


144


, the torque of the servomotor


72


has been controlled to impart a certain tension to the elongate film


24


of the film roll


30


. The rider roller


156


, the tensioning roller


134


, and the free roller


144


constitute the product receiving mechanism


52


.




The torque motor


126


is then energized to cause the first and second belt and pulley mechanisms


130


,


132


to rotate the tensioning roller


134


in the direction indicated by the arrow D in FIG.


10


. Therefore, the elongate film


24


is given a predetermined tension by the tensioning roller


134


.




The servomotor


72


of the film winding mechanism


50


is de-energized, and the first and second cylinders


78




a,




78




b


of the slide means


70


are actuated to release the winding chucks


68




a,




68




b


from the opposite ends of the film roll


30


, thereby unchucking the film roll


30


. The film roll


30


, while being tensioned by the tensioning roller


134


and the free roller


144


, is transferred to the product receiving mechanism


52


, which is then lowered to a product discharging position.




At this time, since an upper portion of the elongate film


24


is immovably held by the path roller


60


and the nip roller


64


, as shown in

FIG. 11

, when the product receiving mechanism


52


is lowered, the film roll


30


rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow and is lowered while unwinding the elongate film


24


from its outer circumference. At this time, the torque motor


126


is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow D in

FIG. 10

at a torque to impart a tension smaller than the tension of the elongate film


24


.




When the film roll


30


is lowered, while the outer circumference of the film roll


30


is being held by the rider roller


156


, the tensioning roller


134


, and the free roller


144


, the film roll


30


may be lowered to pull the elongate film


24


from between the path roller


60


and the nip roller


64


, i.e., the film roll


30


may be lowered while it is being fixed against rotation. At this time, the torque motor


126


is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow D in

FIG. 10

at a torque to impart a tension greater than the tension of the elongate film


24


.




As shown in

FIGS. 9 and 10

, when the elongate film


24


is wound around the roll core


28


by the film winding mechanism


50


, a new core


28


is attracted to the suction box


193


on the core support base


190


of the supply apparatus


56


, elevated from the core receiving position to the core transferring position,, and then gripped by the block wrapper


196


of the core feeding means


194


. After the elongate film


24


has been wound to a predetermined length around the roll core


28


, producing a film roll


30


, and the film roll


30


has been held and lowered by the product receiving mechanism


52


, the block wrapper


196


holds the new core


28


and places the new core


28


in the film winding position, as shown in FIG.


12


.




As shown in

FIG. 2

, the third cylinder


110


is actuated to bring the path changing roller


114


into abutment against the elongate film


24


thereby to hold the elongate film


24


in the vertical direction. At this time, as shown in

FIG. 3

, the sensor


162


of the detecting means


160


detects whether the elongate film


24


is positionally displaced in the transverse direction indicated by the arrow C or not.




If the sensor


162


detects that elongate film


24


is positionally displaced in the transverse direction, then the film rewinder


12


is deactivated or the automatic correcting means


122


corrects the position of the elongate film


24


. Specifically, the servomotor


176


is controlled by a feedback signal based on an output signal from the sensor


162


, e.g., a linear length sensor using a laser beam. The ball screw


178


is rotated to move the main assembly


124


in unison with the holder


184


in the direction indicated by the arrow C, so that the film roll


30


held by the product receiving mechanism


52


moves in the direction indicated by the arrow C to correct the transverse position of the elongate film


24


.




Then, the torque motor


126


of the product receiving mechanism


52


is energized to tension the elongate film


24


, and the first drive cylinder


94


is actuated to project the nip roller


90


to hold the elongate film


24


against the outer circumference of the roll core


28


. The disk cutter


108


of the cutting mechanism


54


is actuated to cut the elongate film


28


transversely thereacross. When the guide roller


92


is moved toward the roll core


28


by the second drive cylinder


98


, the leading end of the elongate film


24


that is in a free state between the nip roller


90


and the cutter


108


is applied to the circumferential surface of the roll core


28


by the guide roller


92


.




If an elongate film


24


which can relatively easily be broken is employed, then it may be cut off by the cutting mechanism


54


after the torque motor


126


has been de-energized, or alternatively, the torque motor


126


may be de-energized while the elongate film


24


is being cut off by the cutting mechanism


54


.




After the elongate film


24


has been wound around two or three turns around the roll core


28


by the film winding mechanism


50


, the block wrapper


196


, the nip roller


90


, and the guide roller


92


are retracted, and then the elongate film


24


is wound a predetermined length around the roll core


28


(see FIG.


13


).




In the product receiving mechanism


52


, the tensioning roller


134


is rotated to rotate a film roll


30




a


in the direction in which the elongate film


24


has been wound, thus winding the trailing end of the severed elongate film


24


to a suitable length. The film roll or rolled film product


30




a


is transferred from the product receiving mechanism


52


to the conveyor


158


, which then discharges the rolled film product


30




a


. A tape applying mechanism (not shown) for fastening the trailing end of the elongate film


24


on the rolled film product


30




a


with a tape may be disposed near the product receiving mechanism


52


.




In the first embodiment, as described above, after the elongate film


24


has been wound around the roll core


28


by the film winding mechanism


50


to produce the film roll


30


, the film roll


30


is transferred to the product receiving mechanism


52


, which is lowered to lower the film roll


30


, and then the elongate film


24


is transversely cut off by the cutting mechanism


54


. During this time, the elongate film


24


is kept under tension.




Consequently, when the film roll


30


is unchucked from the film winding mechanism


50


, the elongate film


24


is not released from the tension, and is hence prevented from being displaced from its proper path. As a result, the film roll


30


is prevented from suffering winding defects, such as an edge of the elongate film


24


on the roll core


28


projecting from an end of the roll core


28


. Accordingly, it is possible to efficiently produce a high-quality rolled film product


30




a


with a simple process and arrangement.




The product receiving mechanism


52


has the tensioning roller


134


whose torque is controlled by the torque motor


126


, and the rider roller


156


for reliably transmitting the drive power from the tensioning roller


134


to the rolled film product


30




a.


Thus, before the film roll


30


is unchucked from the film winding mechanism


50


, a predetermined tension can be applied to the film roll


30


, and the product receiving mechanism


52


is effectively simplified in its overall construction.




The distance between the tensioning roller


134


and the free roller


144


can be varied by the spring


146


engaging and extending between the first and second swing arms


136


,


142


. Therefore, the tensioning roller


134


and the free roller


144


can reliably grip film rolls


30


having various different diameters.




In the first embodiment, as shown in

FIG. 3

, the film rewinder


12


has the detecting means


160


for detecting whether the elongate film


24


is positionally displaced in its transverse directions and the automatic correcting means


122


for positionally correcting the elongate film


24


in the transverse directions. Therefore, even if the elongate film


24


is positionally displaced when the film roll


30


is transferred to the product receiving mechanism


52


or while the elongate film


24


is being wound, the position of the elongate film


24


can automatically detected and corrected when a new core


28


is supplied. Therefore, the elongate film


24


can highly accurately be wound around the roll core


28


at all times.




The principles of an inspecting process carried out by the appearance inspecting apparatus


200


will be described below. It is assumed that the laser beam source


204


and the photodetector


206


are angularly related to each other such that the angle θ


1


ranges from 45° to 60° and the angle θ


2


is approximately 90°, as shown in

FIGS. 7 and 14

.




As shown in

FIG. 14

, the laser beam source


204


applies a linear laser beam L (straight laser beam) in a wavelength range to which the photosensitive material is not sensitive obliquely downwardly to the inspected surface


202


of the rolled film product


30




a.


At this time, a reflected beam Lr from the inspected surface


202


that is irradiated with the linear laser beam L is detected by the photodetector


206


. If the rolled film product


30




a


has a good rolled state, as shown in

FIG. 15

, then a captured image


222


of the reflected beam Lr extends as a straight image in an image


220


of the inspected surface


202


, as shown in FIG.


16


.




However, if the rolled film product


30




a


has a poorly rolled state, e.g., if the inspected surface


202


has a concave conical shape, as shown in

FIG. 17

, then a captured image


222


of the reflected beam Lr extends as a line, but is bent at the center of the image


220


of the inspected surface


202


, and has a V shape whose arms are tilted toward the laser beam source


204


, as shown in FIG.


18


.




If the inspected surface


202


has a convex conical shape, as shown in

FIG. 19

, then a captured image


222


of the reflected beam Lr extends as a line, but is bent at the center of the image


220


of the inspected surface


202


, and has an inverted V shape whose arms are tilted away from the laser beam source


204


, as shown in FIG.


20


.




If the rolled film product


30




a


has a film layer


224


projecting from the inspected surface


202


, as shown in

FIG. 21

, then a captured image


222


of the reflected beam Lr extends generally as a line, but includes jagged irregularities


226


corresponding to the projecting film layer


224


, as shown in FIG.


22


.




If the rolled film product


30




a


is displaced wholly or partly, as shown in

FIG. 23

, then a captured image


222


of the reflected beam Lr extends generally as a line, but includes zigzag shapes corresponding to the projecting film layer


224


, as shown in FIG.


24


.




The image processor


208


judges the inspected surface


202


as “normal” if the image


222


of the reflected beam Lr is a straight image as shown in

FIG. 16

, and judges the inspected surface


202


as “defective” if the image


222


of the reflected beam Lr is not a straight image as shown in

FIGS. 18

,


20


,


22


, and


24


.




For example, as shown in

FIG. 25

, the image processor


208


determines successive midpoints


230


between a first boundary line


222




a


and a second boundary line


222




b


at the respective opposite ends of the transverse extent of the image


222


of the reflected beam Lr. Then, the image processor


208


judges the inspected surface


202


as “normal” if a line


232


made up of the successive midpoints


230


falls within a predetermined range Re, and judges the inspected surface


202


as “defective” if a portion of the line


232


falls outside of the range Re.




In the appearance inspecting apparatus


200


, as described above, the inspected surface


202


of the rolled film product


30




a


which is made of the photosensitive material is irradiated with the linear laser beam L in the wavelength range (upward from 900 nm) to which the photosensitive material is not sensitive. Therefore, the rolled film product


30




a


is protected against unwanted exposure to radiations. Since the reflected beam Lr from the inspected surface


202


is imaged, and the appearance of the rolled film product


30




a


is inspected on the basis of the captured image


222


of the reflected beam Lr. Consequently, the process of inspecting the appearance of rolled film products can be automatized thereby to increase the efficiency with which to manufacture products of the photosensitive material. The process of inspecting the appearance of rolled film products is highly accurate because all the rolled film products can be inspected according to objective evaluating standards.




The inspected surface


202


of the rolled film product


30




a


may not be irradiated with the laser beam L, but may be irradiated with a slit light beam from an LED (Light-Emitting Diode) in the wavelength range (upward from 900 nm) to which the photosensitive material is not sensitive.




In the above embodiment, the end face (inspected surface)


202


of the product


30




a


which comprises a roll of a photosensitive sheet is inspected for its appearance. However, the appearance inspecting apparatus


200


may be used to inspect the appearance of a circumferential surface of the rolled film product


30




a


while the rolled film product


30




a


is rotating, for accurately and quickly detecting a bulge in


20


the circumferential surface, particularly on an edge thereof, due to film layer displacement or the like.




As shown in

FIG. 26

, the appearance of the end face (inspected surface)


202


of the film roll


30


may be inspected while the elongate film


24


of the film roll


30


is being wound. According to this modification, when the appearance of the inspected surface


202


is judged as defective while the elongate film


24


is being wound, the winding of the elongate film


24


is interrupted, and the elongate film


24


can be retrieved or wound again. Therefore, the cost of the material and the loss of time and labor in the operation of the apparatus may be smaller than if the film roll


30


is inspected after the elongate film


24


has been completely wound.




The appearance inspecting apparatus


200


may be applied to the inspection of the appearance of a side surface


244




a


of a stack


244


of photosensitive sheets


242


cut to a rectangular shape. In this application, a laser beam L from the laser beam source


204


is applied obliquely to the side surface


244




a


of the stack


244


, and a reflected beam Lr from the side surface


244




a


is detected by the photodetector


206


. The appearance of the side surface


244




a


of the stack


244


is inspected on the basis of a captured image of the reflected beam Lr.




Specifically, if one of the sheets


242


has an edge projecting from the side surface


244




a,


then a captured image


222


of the reflected beam Lr in an image


246


of the side surface


244




a


extends generally as a line, but includes a jagged irregularity


226


corresponding to the projecting sheet


242


, as shown in FIG.


28


. The appearance inspecting apparatus


200


is thus capable of inspecting the appearance of the side surface


244




a


accurately and quickly.




The appearance inspecting apparatus


200


may also be used to inspect the appearance of an upper surface of the stack


244


of photosensitive sheets


242


. In such an application, the appearance inspecting apparatus


200


is capable of accurately and quickly detecting a bulge in the upper surface, particularly on an edge thereof.




As shown in

FIG. 29

, the appearance inspecting apparatus


200


may be applied to the inspection of the appearance of an upper surface


250




a


of a photosensitive plate-like member


250


. If the plate-like member


250


has a bulge


254


on an edge thereof, then an image


222


of the reflected beam Lr in an image


256


of the inspected surface


250




a


extends generally as a line, but includes a jagged irregularity


226


corresponding to the bulge


254


, as shown in FIG.


30


. The appearance inspecting apparatus


200


is thus capable of inspecting the appearance of the plate-like member


250


accurately and quickly.




In the first embodiment, the film winding apparatus


10


is incorporated in the film rewinder


12


. However, the film winding apparatus


10


may be incorporated in a cutter. While the supply apparatus


56


employs the block wrapper


196


in the first embodiment, the supply apparatus


56


is also applicable to the automatic winding of an elongate film using the nip roller


90


and a belt wrapper.





FIG. 31

schematically shows a film winding apparatus


300


according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in

FIG. 31

, the film winding apparatus


300


comprises a film winding mechanism


302


, a product receiving mechanism


304


, a cutting mechanism


306


, and a film winding mechanism


308


. Those parts of the film winding apparatus


300


which are identical to those of the film winding apparatus


10


according to the first embodiment are denoted by identical reference numerals, and will not be described in detail below.




The product receiving mechanism


304


has a slide means


310


for horizontally moving a film roll


30


after it has received the film roll


30


. The slide means


310


has a motor


312


and a ball screw


314


operatively coupled to the motor


312


and extending horizontally in threaded engagement with a main assembly


316


. The film winding mechanism


308


has a movable base


318


that is fixed to the main assembly


316


. Therefore, the movable base


318


is movable back and forth in unison with the main assembly


316


in the directions indicated by the arrow E.




A first block wrapper


320


and a guide roller


92


are vertically movably mounted on the movable base


318


. A second block wrapper


322


and a movable guide


324


are movably disposed in the vicinity of the film winding mechanism


302


.




In the film winding apparatus


300


thus constructed, as shown in

FIG. 31

, a roll core


28


is rotated by the film winding mechanism


302


to wind an elongate film


24


to a predetermined length therearound, thus producing a fill roll


30


. With the elongate film


24


kept under a predetermined tension, the product receiving mechanism


304


is actuated to hold the film roll


30


while the elongate film


24


is being tensioned by the tensioning roller


134


.




After the film winding mechanism


302


has unchucked the film roll


30


, the motor


312


of the slide means


310


is energized to move horizontally the film roll


30


that is held by the tensioning roller


134


, the free roller


144


, and the rider roller


156


(see FIG.


32


).




In the film winding mechanism


302


, a new roll core


28


is supplied from a standby position


330


by a supply means (not shown), and the elongate film


24


is held against the outer circumference of the new core


28


by the nip roller


90


. The cutting mechanism


306


is actuated to cut the elongate film


24


transversely, after which, as shown

FIG. 33

, the guide roller


92


is lifted to guide the leading end of the elongate film


24


onto the outer circumference of the roll core


28


. The rider roller


156


is released from the rolled film product


30




a


, which is discharged.




When the elongate film


24


starts to be wound around the new core


28


, the movable guide


324


and the second block wrapper


322


are positioned over the roll core


28


. After the elongate film


24


has been wound a predetermined number of turns around the roll core


28


, the movable guide


324


and the second block wrapper


322


are retracted from the roll core


28


.




In the second embodiment, therefore, a certain tension is applied to the elongate film


24


at all times after the film roll


30


has been produced by the film winding mechanism


302


and held and moved horizontally by the product receiving mechanism


304


until the elongate film


24


is cut off by the cutting mechanism


306


. Consequently, the elongate film


24


is not made tension-free during this process, so that it is possible to efficiently produce a high-quality rolled film product


30




a,


as with the first embodiment.





FIG. 34

schematically shows a film cutter (or film rewinder)


412


which incorporates a film roll core supplying apparatus


410


according to a third embodiment of the present invention.




The film cutter


412


generally comprises a film delivery apparatus


418


for rotating a rolled photosensitive material (hereinafter referred to as “film roll


414


”) comprising a PET film, a TAC film, or a PEN film as a base, to unwind and deliver an elongate film


416


, a feed apparatus


420


for feeding the elongate film


416


successively through subsequent processing stages, a cutting apparatus


426


for transversely cutting the elongate film


416


fed by the feed apparatus


420


to produce elongate films


424




a


,


424




b


each having a predetermined width, a pair of winding apparatus (film winding mechanisms)


430


for winding the elongate films


424




a,




424




b


around cores


428


, a pair of supply apparatus


410


for automatically supplying cores


428


to the winding apparatus


430


, a pair of cutting mechanisms


432


for cutting off the elongate films


424




a,




424




b


to a predetermined length, and a product discharging apparatus


436


for automatically discharging film rolls


434


which comprise the elongate films


424




a,




424




b


wound around the respective cores


428


.




The film delivery apparatus


418


has a pair of delivery shafts


438




a,




438




b


on which respective film rolls


414


are supported and which are mounted on a turret


439


. The feed apparatus


420


has a main feed roller


440


such as a suction drum and a plurality of roller


442


. The cutting apparatus


426


has a pair of laterally spaced rotary cutters


444


.




Two separation rollers


446




a,




446




b


for separating the severed elongate films


424




a,




424




b


away from each other in different directions are disposed below the cutting apparatus


426


. The cutting mechanisms


432


are disposed downstream of the separation rollers


446




a,




446




b


with nip rollers


448




a,




448




b


interposed therebetween. The winding apparatus


430


are disposed below the cutting mechanisms


432


with nip rollers


449




a,




449




b


interposed therebetween.




As shown in

FIGS. 34 and 35

, each of the winding apparatus


430


has a pair of winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


for holding the respective opposite ends of the roll core


428


and rotating the roll core


428


. The winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


are movable toward and away from each other in the directions indicated by the arrow C by a slide means


452


. The winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


have respective larger-diameter portions next to respective tapers


451




a,




451




b,


and the larger-diameter portions have an outside diameter H smaller than the outside diameter of the roll core


428


. To the winding chuck


450




a,


there is connected a torque-controllable servomotor


454


for tensioning the elongate films


424




a,




424




b


after the elongate films


424




a,




424




b


have been wound around the roll cores


428


.




The slide means


452


has a pair of base members


458




a,




458




b


that is positionally adjustable along a guide rail


456


. A first movable base


462




a


that is movable back and forth by a first cylinder


460




a


is mounted on the base member


458




a.


The first movable base


462




a


supports thereon a servomotor


454


having a drive shaft


464


that is operatively coupled to a rotatable shaft


468




a


of the winding chuck


450




a


by a belt and pulley mechanism


466


. The rotatable shaft


468




a


is rotatably supported on the first movable base


462




a


by a bearing (not shown). A second movable base


462




b


that is movable back and forth by a second cylinder


460




b


is mounted on the base member


458




b.


The winding chuck


450




b


has a rotatable shaft


468




b


rotatably supported on the second movable base


462




b


by a bearing (not shown).




As shown in

FIG. 34

, the product discharging apparatus


436


has a pair of lifter tables


474


vertically movable along respective guide rails


472


on respective opposite side surfaces of a base


470


. Rollers


476


,


478


that are rotatable by a respective rotary actuator (not shown) are rotatably supported on each of the lifter tables


474


. A conveyor


479


for delivering a film roll


434


to a next processing stage is disposed between the rollers


476


,


478


.




The supply apparatus


410


are disposed one on each side of the winding apparatus


430


, and have respective slide bases


482


disposed for back-and-forth movement on respective guide rails


480


that extend toward the winding apparatus


430


in the directions indicated by the arrow A. The supply apparatus


410


also have respective chuck mechanisms


484


disposed on the slide bases


482


for positional adjustment in directions perpendicular to the guide rails


480


.




As shown in

FIGS. 35 through 37

, each of the chuck mechanisms


484


has a plurality of chuck units


488


disposed on rail members


486




a,




486




b


disposed on the slide base


482


and extending in directions perpendicular to the guide rails


480


. Each of the chuck units


488


can be moved in the axial direction of the roll core


28


, indicated by the arrow C, by an actuating means


490


which includes a rack


492


fixedly mounted on the slide base


482


. The rack


492


extends a predetermined length on the slide base


482


, as with the rail members


486




a,




486




b.






Each of the chuck units


488


has a movable base


494


movably placed on the rail members


486




a,




486




b


. The actuating means


490


also includes an AC servomotor


496


with an absolute value encoder which is fixedly mounted on the movable base


494


. The AC servomotor


496


has a drive shaft


498


to which there is connected a pinion


502


by an electromagnetic clutch


500


of a holding means. The pinion


502


is held in driving mesh with the rack


492


.




A support base


504


is mounted on the movable base


494


, and first and second block wrappers (block bodies)


506


,


508


are mounted on the support base


504


for angular movement about a pivot shaft


510


. The first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


have a dimension or width H


1


in the axial direction of the roll core


428


, and have respective first and second curved surfaces


512


,


514


, partly of an arcuate shape, that are disposed in confronting relationship to each other and extend in the directions indicated by the arrow C. When the first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


are closed, the first and second curved surfaces


512


,


514


jointly make up a curved surface whose diameter is slightly greater than the outside diameter of the roll core


428


.




On the first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


, there are mounted a plurality of rotatable rollers (roller members)


516


,


516




a,




518


,


518




a


having portions projecting inwardly from the first and second curved surfaces


512


,


514


. At least surfaces of the rollers


516


,


516




a,




518


,


518




a


are made of metal, synthetic resin, or rubber depending on the type of the elongate films


424




a,




424




b.






The rollers


516


,


516




a


are rotatable only in a predetermined position of the first block wrapper


506


for positioning the axis of the roll core


428


. The rollers


518


,


518




a


are capable of pressing the roll core


428


under the bias of a spring (not shown), and are movably mounted on the second block wrapper


508


. The roller


516




a


on the first block wrapped


506


is coupled to a motor (not shown) for gripping the leading end of the elongate film


424




a,




424




b


in coaction with the roller


518




a


and smoothly guiding the leading end of the elongate film


424




a,




424




b


to the roll core


428


.




As shown in

FIG. 36

, an opening and closing means


520


comprises first and second cylinders


522


,


524


having respective ends swingably supported on the movable base


494


. The first and second cylinders


522


,


524


have respective projecting rods


522




a,




524




a


coupled respectively to the first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


.




As shown in

FIG. 34

, a suction cup


526


that is vertically movable by a cylinder


528


is disposed above each of the chuck mechanisms


484


for delivering one roll core


428


, at a time, fed by a conveyor (not shown), to the chuck mechanism


484


. The cylinder


528


has a vertically movable cylinder rod


530


which supports the suction cup


526


fixedly on its distal lower end.




Operation of the film cutter


412


thus constructed will be described in connection with the film roll core supplying apparatus


410


according to the third embodiment.




As shown in

FIG. 34

, a film roll


414


loaded in the film delivery apparatus


418


is unwound by the delivery shaft


438




a


as it rotates, delivering an elongate film


416


to the main feed roller


440


of the feed apparatus


420


. The main feed roller


440


, which comprises a suction drum, for example, is controlled in its speed according to a predetermined speed pattern by the AC servomotor. The elongate film


416


whose speed has been adjusted by the main feed roller


440


is sent to the cutting apparatus


426


, and cut by the rotary cutters


444


into elongate films


424




a,




424




b


each having a predetermined with. The elongate films


424




a,




424




b


are separated from each other by the separation rollers


446




a,




446




b,


and then sent vertically downwardly by the nip rollers


448




a,




448




b,




449




a,




449




b.






As shown in

FIG. 38

, a roll core


428


is held by the winding apparatus


430


, and the elongate film


424




a


(the arrangement which handles the elongate film


424




b


in the same manner as the elongate film


424




a


will not be described below) fed to the winding apparatus


430


is wound around the roll core


428


. In the supply apparatus


410


, the second block wrapper


508


is swung in the opening direction by the second cylinder


524


, and a new roll core


428


attracted by the suction cup


526


is disposed above the first block wrapper


506


.




The cylinder


528


is actuated to lower the suction cup


526


to deliver the roll core


428


attracted by the suction cup


526


into the first block wrapper


506


, as indicated by the two-dot-and-dash lines in FIG.


38


. Then, the suction cup


526


releases the roll core


428


, and is retracted upwardly, and the second cylinder


524


is actuated to swing the second block wrapper


508


in the closing direction about the pivot shaft


510


. The chuck mechanism


484


has its rollers


516


,


518


supporting the outer circumference of the roll core


418


while centering the roll core


418


coaxially with the chuck mechanism


484


.




As shown in

FIG. 39

, substantially at the same time that the roll core


418


is coaxially centered by the chuck mechanism


484


, the winding apparatus


430


completes the winding of the elongate film


424




a.


The lifter table


474


of the product discharging apparatus


436


is elevated along the guide rail


472


. The film roll


434


, which comprises the elongate film


424


a wound around the roll core


428


, is supported by the rollers


476


,


478


on the lifter table


474


. The first and second nip rollers


448




a,




449




a


are closed to hold the elongate film


424




a,


which is then transversely cut off by the cutting mechanism


432


.




As shown in

FIG. 40

, after the elongate film


424




a


wound around the roll core


428


is cut off, the lifter table


474


supporting the film roll


434


is lowered vertically, and the chuck mechanism


484


with the new roll core


428


coaxially held thereby is moved toward the winding apparatus


430


, placing the roll core


428


in the film winding position. In the film winding position, as shown in

FIG. 35

, the first and second cylinders


460




a,




460




b


of the winding apparatus


430


are actuated to displace the winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


toward each other until the winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


are inserted into the respective opposite ends of the roll core


428


whose circumferential surface is held by the chuck mechanism


484


.




The rollers


518


of the second block wrapper


508


are pressed by the tapers


451




a,




451




b


of the winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


and retracted into the second block wrapper


508


against the bias of the spring (not shown). Since the larger-diameter portions of the winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


have the outside diameter H smaller than the outside diameter of the roll core


428


, the winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


can smoothly be inserted between the first block wrapper


506


and the second block wrapper


508


.




The electromagnetic clutch


500


of the holding means is deactivated and the chuck unit


488


is movable in the axial direction of the roll core


428


. When the winding chucks


450




a


,


450




b


grip the roll core


428


, the roll core


428


moves in unison with the chuck unit


488


to absorb an axial displacement thereof.




The servomotor


454


is energized to cause the belt and pulley mechanism


466


to rotate the winding chuck


450




a


(see FIG.


41


). After the elongate film


424




a


is wound two or three turns around the roll core


428


, the first and second cylinders


522


,


524


are actuated to swing the first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


in the opening direction about the pivot shaft


510


, and the chuck unit


488


of the chuck mechanism


484


is moved away from the winding apparatus


430


(see FIG.


42


).




While the elongate film


424




a


is being wound around the roll core


428


, the first and second nip rollers


448




a,




448




b


are open, and the film roll


434


disposed on the lifter table


474


is discharged to a next processing stage by the conveyor


479


.




After the chuck unit


488


is retracted to a predetermined position, the AC servomotor


496


thereof is energized to cause the pinion


502


and the rack


492


to correct the position of the chuck unit


488


. The first cylinder


522


is actuated to bring the first block wrapper


506


into a position for receiving a new roll core


428


(see FIG.


43


).




In the third embodiment, as described above, the first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


have the dimension or width H


1


in the axial direction of the roll core


428


which is indicated by the arrow C, as shown in FIG.


37


. When the first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


are opened and closed, the entire circumferential surface of the roll core


428


can coaxially be held by the rollers


516


,


518


.




Then, the chuck unit


488


is moved to bring the roll core


428


held by the first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


into the film winding position. Immediately after the opposite ends of the roll core


428


have been held by the winding chucks


450




a


,


450




b


of the winding apparatus


430


, the servomotor


454


is energized to rotate the roll core


428


to start winding the elongate film


424




a


therearound.




In the winding apparatus


430


, since the core


428


coaxially held by the first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


is rotated, the elongate film


424




a


can quickly and efficiently be wound around the roll core


428


. Because the overall circumferential surface of the roll core


428


is axially supported by the first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


, the elongate film


424




a


can reliably be wrapped around the roll core


428


fully over the axial length thereof, without suffering a wrapping failure.




In the third embodiment, the chuck unit


488


is movable along the rail members


486




a,




486




b


axially of the roll core


428


. When the opposite ends of the roll core


428


that is coaxially held by the first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


are gripped by the winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


of the winding apparatus


430


, the electromagnetic clutch


500


of the holding means is deactivated.




Even if the roll core


428


is axially displaced, when it is gripped by the winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


, the chuck unit


488


moves in unison with the roller core


428


in the direction indicated by the arrow C, thus absorbing the axial displacement of the roll core


428


. Consequently, it is possible to prevent a winding failure which would otherwise occur when an edge of the elongate film


424


a projects outwardly from the end of the roll core


428


due to an axial displacement of the roll core


428


.




In the third embodiment, furthermore, the chuck unit


484


has a plurality of chuck units


488


each positionally adjustable in the directions indicated by the arrow C. If the roll core


428


has a different axial length, therefore, a certain number of chuck units


488


corresponding to the axial length of the roll core


428


are juxtaposed in the direction indicated by the arrow C, and the circumferential surface of the roll core


428


can reliably be held fully over its axial length by those chuck units


488


.




For example, it is assumed that the dimension H


1


of the first and second block wrappers


506


,


508


is set to 100 mm and the distance H


2


from a roll core end holder of the winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


to a holder of the rotatable shafts


468




a,




468




b


is set to one half (50 mm) of the dimension H


1


(see FIG.


35


). Preferably, H


1


≧2×H


2


. If the slit width (the width of the roll core


428


) of the elongate film


424




a


is 254 mm, then three chuck units


488


are juxtaposed and operated to hold the roll core


428


.




At this time, the chuck units


488


on the opposite sides overhang the opposite ends of the elongate film


424




a


by 23 mm. However, inasmuch as the distance H


2


from the roll core end holder of the winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


to the holder of the rotatable shafts


468




a,




468




b


is set to 50 mm, the chuck units


488


do not interfere with the winding apparatus


430


. Consequently, the elongate film


424




a


can reliably be wrapped fully around various roll cores


428


having different axial dimensions.





FIG. 44

schematically shows a film cutter (or film rewinder)


562


which incorporates a film roll core supplying apparatus


560


according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Those parts of the film cutter


562


which are identical to those of the film cutter


412


according to the third embodiment are denoted by identical reference numerals, and will not be described in detail below.




The film cutter


562


has an upper frame


564


which supports thereon a path roller


566


that is positionally adjustable in the directions indicated by the arrow D by a slide means


568


. A rotary actuator (not shown) is coupled to the path roller


566


for rotating the path roller


566


in the direction indicated by the arrow E at a peripheral speed equal to or higher than the speed at which the elongate film


424




a


is fed by the main feed roller (not shown).




A nip roller


570


is positioned for movement into and out of rolling contact with the path roller


566


. The nip roller


570


can be moved toward and away from the path roller


566


by a cylinder


572


. The slide means


568


, which supports the path roller


566


and the nip roller


570


thereon, is positionally adjustable in the directions indicated by the arrow D depending on different (e.g., two) core diameters.




The winding apparatus


430


has a movable nip roller


574


for holding the elongate film


424




a


against the peripheral surface of a new roll core


428


when the elongate film


424




a


is cut off, and a movable guide roller


576


for guiding the end of the severed elongate film


424




a


against the peripheral surface of the roll core


428


. The nip roller


574


is operatively coupled to a first drive cylinder


578


, and the guide roller


576


is operatively coupled to a second drive cylinder


580


.




A main assembly


582


that is movable back and forth in directions across the elongate film


424




a


is mounted on the lifter table


474


of the product discharging apparatus


436


. The main assembly


584


includes a torque motor


584


having a drive shaft


586


that is operatively coupled to a tensioning roller


590


by a belt and pulley mechanism


588


. Another tensioning roller


592


is positioned in juxtaposed relationship to the tensioning roller


590


.




A slide base


594


is mounted on a side surface of the main assembly


582


for movement in directions across the elongate film


424




a.


A motor


596


mounted on the slide base


594


is operatively coupled to a swingable arm


600


by a belt and pulley mechanism


598


, and a rider roller


602


is rotatably supported on the upper end of the arm


600


.




The chuck mechanism


484


of the supply apparatus


560


has a plurality of chuck units


488


each comprising a fixed first block wrapper


610


and a movable second block wrapper


612


. The second block wrapper


612


is supported on a distal end of a rod


616


projecting downwardly from a cylinder


614


. The first and second block wrappers


610


,


612


have respective first and second curved surfaces


618


,


620


, partly of an arcuate shape, with rollers


622


,


624


rotatably mounted thereon. The rollers


624


are movable toward and away from the roll core


428


and normally urged by a spring (not shown).




A core support base


626


for delivering a roll core


428


to the first and second block wrappers


610


,


612


is disposed below the chuck mechanism


484


and is vertically movable by a cylinder


528


. A suction box


628


that is connected to a vacuum source (not shown) is mounted on the core support base


626


. A support roller


630


is disposed at a lowered position of the core support base


626


.




Operation of the film cutter


562


thus constructed will be described below in connection with the supply apparatus


560


according to the fourth embodiment.




As shown in

FIG. 45

, when the elongate film


424




a


is wound to a predetermined length around the roll core


428


by the winding apparatus


430


, producing a film roll


434


, the lifter table


474


is elevated to cause the rider roller


602


and the tensioning rollers


590


,


592


to hold the film roll


434


(see FIG.


46


). When the film roll


434


is held by the rider roller


602


and the tensioning rollers


590


,


592


, the torque of the servomotor


454


has been controlled to impart a certain tension to the elongate film


424




a


of the film roll


434


.




The torque motor


584


is then energized to cause the tensioning roller


590


to tension the elongate film


424




a.


The servomotor


454


is de-energized, and the winding chucks


450




a,




450




b


are released from the opposite ends of the film roll


434


, thereby unchucking the film roll


434


. The film roll


434


, while being tensioned by the tensioning rollers


590


,


592


, is transferred to the product discharging apparatus


436


, which is then lowered to the product discharging position (see FIG.


47


).




As shown in

FIGS. 45 and 46

, when the elongate film


424




a


is wound around the roll core


428


by the winding apparatus


430


, a new roll core


428


is attracted and held by the suction box


628


mounted on the core support base


626


, and a lower portion of the new roll core


428


is supported by the support roller


630


. The core support base


626


is elevated in unison with the suction box


628


, lifting the new roll core


428


to the core receiving position to the core transferring position, after which the new roll core


428


is gripped by the first and second block wrappers


610


,


612


of the chuck mechanism


484


.




Then, the elongate film


424




a


is wound to a predetermined length around the roll core


428


, producing a film roll


434


, which is held and lowered by the product discharging apparatus


436


. Thereafter, as shown in

FIG. 48

, the first and second block wrappers


610


,


612


holds a new roll core


428


attracted and held by the suction box


628


, and brings the new roll core


428


into the film winding position.




The first drive cylinder


578


is actuated to project the nip roller


574


to hold the elongate film


424




a


against the outer circumferential surface of the roll core


428


. The cutting mechanism


432


is actuated to cut the elongate film


424




a


transversely, and the second drive cylinder


580


is operated to move the guide roller


576


toward the roll core


428


for thereby winding the leading end of the elongate film


424




a


around the circumferential surface of the roll core


428


.




The winding apparatus


430


is operated to rotate the roll core


428


. After the elongate film


424




a


is wound two or three turns around the roll core


428


, the first and second block wrappers


610


,


612


, the nip roller


574


, and the guide roller


576


are retracted, and then the elongate film


424




a


is wound a predetermined length around the roll core


428


(see FIG.


49


).




In the fourth embodiment, as described above, the first and second block wrappers


610


,


612


of the supply apparatus


560


coaxially hold the roll core


428


fully over its entire length. While the first and second block wrappers


610


,


612


is coaxially hold the roll core


428


fully over its entire length in the film winding position, the winding apparatus


430


can rotate the roll core


428


. Therefore, the elongate film


424




a


can efficiently and highly accurately be wound around the roll core


428


while reducing as much time loss as possible, as with the third embodiment.




In the method of and apparatus for winding a film according to the present invention, after an elongate film is wound around a roll core, producing a film roll, the film roll is transferred from the film winding mechanism to the product receiving mechanism, and then the elongate film is cut off. During this time, the elongate film is always tensioned. Therefore, the elongate film is prevented from being positionally displaced, and a high-quality film roll can efficiently be produced with a simple process and arrangement.




In the method of and apparatus for supplying a film roll core, while a roll core is being gripped by the openable and closable chuck mechanism which has a centering function, an elongate film is wound to a predetermined length around the roll core by the film winding mechanism. Therefore, the elongate film can efficiently and highly accurately be wound around the roll core while reducing as much time loss as possible.




In the method of and apparatus for inspecting the appearance of a film roll, the appearance of a rolled film product or inspected object (semi-finished product) can accurately be inspected within a short period of time without affecting the quality of a photosensitive material. The efficiency with which to manufacture products of a photosensitive material can therefore be increased.




Although certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail, it should be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A method of winding a film, comprising the steps of:placing a roll core in a film winding mechanism, and thereafter winding an elongate film to a predetermined length around said roll core thereby to produce a film roll; gripping said film roll tensioned by said film winding mechanism, with a product receiving mechanism, and tensioning a circumferential surface of said elongate film wound around said roll core; releasing said film roll from said film winding mechanism, and thereafter displacing said product receiving mechanism away from said film winding mechanism while gripping a circumferential surface of said film roll with said product receiving mechanism; and transversely cutting off said elongate film while said elongate film is being tensioned.
  • 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:while holding the circumferential surface of said film roll with a tensioning roller of said product receiving mechanism, displacing said product receiving mechanism away from said film winding mechanism while unwinding said film roll.
  • 3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:while holding the circumferential surface of said film roll with a tensioning roller of said product receiving mechanism, displacing said product receiving mechanism away from said film winding mechanism while drawing said elongate film.
  • 4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:detecting whether said elongate film is transversely displaced in position or not before said elongate film is wound around a new roll core.
  • 5. A method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of:if said elongate film is transversely displaced in position, automatically correcting the position of said elongate film.
  • 6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:gripping said roll core with a chuck mechanism having a centering function; positioning said chuck mechanism in association with said film winding mechanism; and while said roll core is being centered by said chuck mechanism, winding said elongate film to a predetermined length around the roll core with said film winding mechanism.
  • 7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:applying a linear light beam in a wavelength range to which a photosensitive material is insensitive, to at least one inspected surface of the film roll; imaging a reflected beam from the inspected surface; and inspecting the appearance of the film roll based on the image of the reflected beam.
  • 8. A method of supplying a roll core to a film winding mechanism for rotating the roll core to wind an elongate film around the roll core thereby to produce a film roll, comprising the steps of:gripping said roll core with a chuck mechanism having a centering function, such that said chuck mechanism directly contacts a circumferential surface of said roll core; positioning said chuck mechanism in association with said film winding mechanism; and while said roll core is being centered by said chuck mechanism, winding said elongate film to a predetermined length around said roll core with said film winding mechanism.
  • 9. A method according to claim 8, further comprising the steps of:when opposite ends of said roll core held by said chuck mechanism are gripped by said film winding mechanism, releasing a holding means which immovably fixes said chuck mechanism in an axial direction of the roll core, thereby to allow said chuck mechanism to move in the axial direction of the roll core.
  • 10. A method of supplying a roll core to a film winding mechanism for rotating the roll core to wind an elongate film around the roll core thereby to produce a film roll, comprising the steps of:gripping said roll core with a chuck mechanism having a centering function; positioning said chuck mechanism in association with said film winding mechanism; while said roll core is being centered by said chuck mechanism, winding said elongate film to a predetermined length around said roll core with said film winding mechanism; if said roll core has a different axial length, positioning of a plurality of chuck mechanisms depending on the axial length of said roll core, in juxtaposed relationship in an axial direction of said roll core; and holding a circumferential surface of said roll core with said plurality of chuck mechanisms.
  • 11. A method of supplying a roll core to a film winding mechanism for rotating the roll core to wind an elongate film around the roll core thereby to produce a film roll, comprising the steps of:gripping said roll core with a chuck mechanism having a centering function; positioning said chuck mechanism in association with said film winding mechanism; while said roll core is being centered by said chuck mechanism, winding said elongate film to a predetermined length around said roll core with said film winding mechanism; when opposite ends of said roll core held by said chuck mechanism are gripped by said film winding mechanism, releasing a holding means which immovably fixes said chuck mechanism in an axial direction of the roll core, thereby to allow said chuck mechanism to move in the axial direction of said roll core; if said roll core has a different axial length, positioning of a plurality of chuck mechanisms depending on the axial length of said roll core, in juxtaposed relationship in an axial direction of said roll core; and holding a circumferential surface of said roll core with said plurality of chuck mechanisms.
  • 12. An apparatus for winding a film, comprising:a film winding mechanism for holding and rotating a roll core to wind an elongate film to a predetermined length around said roll core thereby to produce a film roll; a product receiving mechanism for gripping said film roll while tensioning a circumferential surface of said elongate film, said product receiving mechanism being displaceable away from said film winding mechanism; and a cutting mechanism for transversely cutting off said elongate film while said elongate film is being tensioned by said product receiving mechanism.
  • 13. An apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:a supply apparatus for automatically supplying said roll core to said film finding mechanism.
  • 14. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said film winding mechanism comprises:a movable nip roller for holding said elongate film against the circumferential surface of a new roll core when said elongate film is to be cut off; and a movable guide roller for guiding an end of said elongate film as cut off onto the circumferential surface of the new roll core.
  • 15. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said film winding mechanism comprises:a torque-controllable servomotor for tensioning said elongate film after the elongate film has been wound around said roll core.
  • 16. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said product receiving mechanism comprises:a tensioning roller movable into and out of rolling contact with a circumferential surface of said film roll; and a motor for applying a torque to rotate said tensioning roller.
  • 17. An apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:detecting means for detecting whether said elongate film is transversely displaced in position or not before said elongate film is wound around a new roll core.
  • 18. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said product receiving mechanism comprises:automatic correcting means for automatically correcting the position of said elongate film if said elongate film is transversely displaced in position.
  • 19. An apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:a chuck mechanism for gripping said roll core in a coaxially centered fashion, said chuck mechanism being movable toward and away from said film winding mechanism; said chuck mechanism comprising: a plurality of block bodies for gripping a circumferential surface of said roll core, said block bodies having a predetermined width in an axial direction of said roll core, at least of said block bodies being movable; and a plurality of rollers mounted on said block bodies, for supporting said roll core gripped by said block bodies, rotatably in said coaxially centered fashion.
  • 20. An apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising:light beam applying means for applying a linear light beam in a wavelength range to which a photosensitive material is insensitive, to at least one inspected surface of the film roll; imaging means for imaging a reflected beam from the inspected surface; and inspecting means for inspecting the appearance of the film roll based on the image of the reflected beam captured by said imaging means.
  • 21. An apparatus for supplying a roll core to a film winding mechanism for rotating the roll core to wind an elongate film around the roll core thereby to produce a film roll, comprising:a chuck mechanism for gripping said roll core in a coaxially centered fashion, said chuck mechanism being movable toward and away from said film winding mechanism; said chuck mechanism comprising: a plurality of block bodies for gripping a circumferential surface of said roll core, said block bodies having a predetermined width in an axial direction of said roll core, at least one of said block bodies being movable; and a plurality of rollers mounted on said block bodies, for supporting said roll core gripped by said block bodies, rotatably in said coaxially centered fashion.
  • 22. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said chuck mechanism comprises:a plurality of chuck units each having a plurality of said block bodies; and actuating means for moving said chuck units in the axial direction of said roll core.
  • 23. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said chuck mechanism comprises:a chuck unit having a plurality of said block bodies, said chuck unit being movable in the axial direction of said roll core; and holding means for holding immovably said chuck unit in the axial direction of said roll core.
  • 24. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said chuck mechanism comprises:a plurality of chuck units each having a plurality of said block bodies; and actuating means for moving said chuck units in the axial direction of said roll core.
Priority Claims (3)
Number Date Country Kind
11-175981 Jun 1999 JP
11-182324 Jun 1999 JP
11-220033 Aug 1999 JP
US Referenced Citations (6)
Number Name Date Kind
4676448 Kofler Jun 1987 A
4965931 Suzuki et al. Oct 1990 A
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