Claims
- 1. A reel change device (1) for feed devices (2) supplying strip material (3) to a user machine; the reel change device (1) comprising a first (21) and second (22) unwinding station for a first (7b) and second (7a) reel of respectively first (3b) and second (3a) strip material; said first strip material (36) having a free end: strip guide means (34,35) for guiding the strip material and defining a path along which the strip material (3) is fed in a given unwinding direction; and cutting means (42) and splicing means (46) located along said path, for cutting and splicing the strip material (3); the strip guide means comprising a first (34) and second (35) conveyor in series with each other, the first conveyor upstream from the second conveyor in said unwinding direction, and closely adjacent to each other at a transfer station (36) at which the strip material (3) is transferred from the first (34) to the second (35) conveyor, the conveyors (34, 35) respectively defining substantial first and second contiguous portions of said path, and being arranged on opposite sides of said path; strip material disposing means (64) at the transfer station (36); and first (40) and second (41) selectively-activated retaining means respectively extending along said first and second path portions, for respectively retaining the strip material (3) on the first (34) and second (35) conveyor; the cutting means (42) being located along said path at a cutting station along the first (34) conveyor, the splicing means being located along said path at a splicing station along the second (35) conveyor; said disposing means (64) comprising a cavity (65) for receiving said first strip material (3b), a disposal channel (66) extending from said transfer station (36) and communicating with said cavity (65), the disposal channel being substantially tangent to the first portion of the path at the transfer station (36) and extending on the same side as the first portion in relation to the second portion of said path, and pneumatic advancement means (68) for force feeding said first strip material (3b) forwards along said disposal channel (66) and into said cavity (65): said path being shaped to enable the free end of said first strip material (3b) to be fed, in use, to said disposal channel (66) by passing between the first retaining means (40) and the second strip material (3a).
- 2. A device as claimed in claim 1,
- wherein the first and second retaining means (40, 41) are suction retaining means; the first (34) and second (35) conveyors being permeable to air.
- 3. A device as claimed in claim 1,
- wherein said first and second portions of said path respectively extend beneath the first conveyor (34) and over the second conveyor (35).
- 4. A device as claimed in claim 1,
- wherein the first (34) and second (35) conveyors respectively comprise a first (34) and second (35) suction roller substantially tangent to each other at said transfer station (36).
- 5. A device as claimed in claim 1,
- further comprising first (53) and second (50) drive means for said first (34) and second (35) conveyors; the second drive means (50) imparting a second substantially constant speed (V1) to the second conveyor (35); and the first drive means (53) imparting to the first conveyor (34) a first speed (V2) ranging between a first value other than that of said second speed (V1), and a second value equal to that of said second speed (V1).
- 6. A device as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a synchronizing means (71) for controlling said first drive means (53); said synchronizing means (71) detecting a difference in timing of reference marks (5) equally spaced along the first (3b) and second (3a) strip material.
- 7. A device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means (55, 56, 59) for supporting said reel (7) in said second unwinding station (22); and means (20) for transferring said reel (7) from the first (21) to the second (22) unwinding station.
- 8. A reel change device for supplying strip material to a user machine, the reel change device comprising:
- a) a first and second unwinding station for use in unwinding a first and second reel of respectively first and second strip material;
- b) conveyor means for conveying the second strip material in an unwinding direction along an unwinding path comprising first and second contiguous portions and for concurrently conveying the first strip material along the first portion of the unwinding path, with the first strip material in overlapping relation to the second strip material, without conveying the first strip material along the second portion of the unwinding path when the first and second strip material are in said overlapping relation, said conveyor means comprising first and second conveyors and a transfer station at which at least the second strip material is transferred from the first conveyor to the second conveyor, the first and second conveyors being disposed in series with respect to one another with the first conveyor upstream from the second conveyor in said unwinding direction and being disposed on opposite sides of said unwinding path, said first conveyor defining at least a part of said first contiguous portion of the unwinding path and said second conveyor defining at least a part of said second contiguous portion of the unwinding path, the first and second conveyors being closely adjacent to one another at the transfer station;
- c) cutting means located at a cutting station along said first portion of the path for cutting the first and second strip material and for thereby forming along said first portion of the path a disposable first strip and a sliceable first strip from the first strip material and a disposable second strip and a sliceable second strip from the second strip material; said conveyor means including traction means for conveying the sliceable second strip cut by the cutting means to the transfer station and along the second portion of the path without also conveying the disposable first strip to the transfer station or along the second path portion;
- d) disposal means for removing the disposable first strip cut by said cutting means from said unwinding path; said disposal means comprising a cavity for receiving said first strip material, a disposal channel extending from said transfer station and communicating with said cavity, the disposal channel being substantially tangent to the first portion of the path at the transfer station and extending on the same side as the first portion in relation to the second portion of said path, and pneumatic advancement means for force feeding said first strip material forwards along said disposal channel and into said cavity; said disposal means being disposed relative to said path such that a free end of said first strip material to be disposed passes to said disposal channel between the first retaining means and the second strip material.
- e) first retaining means along the first portion of the path for retaining said sliceable first strip on said first conveyor whereby said first conveyor can convey the sliceable first strip to the transfer station after the first strip material has been cut;
- f) second retaining means along said second portion of the path for drawing the sliceable first strip from said transfer station to said second conveyor only after a trail end of the sliceable second strip is conveyed past the transfer station whereby the sliceable first strip and the sliceable second strip do not overlap on the second conveyor, and for retaining said first and second sliceable strips on said second conveyor without overlap; and
- g) splicing means located at a splicing station along said second portion of the path for joining said sliceable first and second strips along the second conveyor.
- 9. A reel change device according to claim 8 further comprising control system means for selectively activating said cutting means, disposal means, and first and second retaining means and for synchronizing a relative speed of said first and second conveyors so as to cause said first and second spliceable strips to be transferred to said second conveyor in end-to-end relationship for splicing.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
BO93A0141 |
Apr 1993 |
ITX |
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Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/224,326 filed on Apr. 7, 1994 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2453095 |
Oct 1980 |
FRX |
513066 |
Feb 1971 |
CHX |
2243599 |
Jun 1991 |
GBX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
224326 |
Apr 1994 |
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