Sheet roll producing apparatus, sheet roll discharging apparatus, and core supplying apparatus

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6592698
  • Patent Number
    6,592,698
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, June 6, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, July 15, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
A method of forming sheet rolls made of a heat transfer recording sheet having a transfer ink layer on a surface of a base by winding the recording sheet around the outer peripheries of a plurality of cores. The method includes supplying a web heat transfer recording sheet, cutting a portion thereof corresponding to a region between two adjacent sheet rolls to form cut ends, placing a non-adhesive waste sheet and a pair of adhesive tapes attached to the waste sheet ends between the transfer recording sheet, the tapes having an adhesive portion, an outside-exposed portion, and a portion attached to a cut end of the recording sheet, winding the sheet around a core outer periphery, positioning the waste sheet between winding apparatus and a discharging portion, and cutting the waste sheet so positioned.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a sheet roll producing apparatus for forming a sheet roll by winding up a heat transfer recording sheet, mainly used in forming bar codes, around an outer periphery of a core, and a core supplying apparatus.




2. Related Background Art




The heat transfer recording sheet is presently used for forming bar codes. This recording sheet is also called a donor, wherein a hot melt ink layer consisting of a binder of wax, resins, etc., and a color agent is laid on one surface of a thin, plastic film base, for example, of polyester. The ink layer of the recording sheet is overlaid on paper, and the back face of the recording sheet is heated by a heating means such as a thermal head to transfer ink to the paper, thereby effecting printing.




The heat transfer recording sheet as described above is wound up in a roll form around a core, and the sheet roll is used in bar code forming apparatus. Here, the heat transfer recording sheet is wound around the outer periphery of the core to form a sheet roll. The sheet roll of this type is formed in the following manner by a winding apparatus. First, a plurality of cores are arranged at equal intervals on a shaft, and the shaft is rotated by a rotation drive portion to wind the heat transfer recording sheet around the outer peripheries of the cores, thus obtaining sheet rolls. In this case, the cores need to be supplied to the shaft and the plurality of cores need to be arranged at equal intervals on the shaft, but a core supplying apparatus capable of meeting those needs has yet to be developed.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention has been accomplished taking account of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet roll producing apparatus and a core supplying apparatus which can supply a plurality of cores to a shaft and which can surely set the cores at constant intervals on the shaft.




A first feature of the present invention is a sheet roll producing apparatus for producing a sheet roll by winding a heat transfer recording sheet, obtained by forming a transfer ink layer on one surface of a base, around an outer periphery of a core, comprising: a supplying apparatus for supplying a weblike heat transfer recording sheet; a waste sheet part forming apparatus, disposed on a downstream side of the supplying apparatus, for cutting a portion corresponding to a region between sheet rolls in the weblike heat transfer recording sheet and interposing a waste sheet part having a pair of adhesive portions located on both cut end sides, between the cut ends of the heat transfer recording sheet; and a winding apparatus disposed on a downstream side of the waste sheet part forming apparatus and having a winding portion for winding the heat transfer recording sheet around an outer periphery of a core to form a sheet roll, a discharging portion for holding the sheet roll thus formed before discharging it, and a cutting portion, provided between the winding portion and the discharging portion, for cutting the waste sheet part extending between the winding portion and the discharging portion.




A second feature of the present invention is a sheet roll discharging apparatus for discharging a sheet roll formed by winding up a heat transfer recording sheet, obtained by forming a transfer ink layer on one surface of a base, around an outer periphery of a core, comprising: a cantilever shaft supporting a plurality of wound sheet rolls and having a rotation drive portion; a tray provided below the cantilever shaft; and a stopper for pushing a rotation-drive-portion-side end of a sheet roll located on a rotation drive portion side out of said plurality of sheet rolls.




A third feature of the present invention is a core supplying apparatus for supplying a core to a winding apparatus for forming a sheet roll by winding a heat transfer recording sheet, obtained by forming a transfer ink layer on one surface of a base, around an outer periphery of a core, comprising: a cantilever shaft supporting a plurality of cores and having a rotation drive portion; a tray disposed below the cantilever shaft so as to be movable up and down and to move in a direction of an axis of the cantilever shaft as carrying a plurality of cores; and core stoppers provided at constant intervals corresponding to the cores on the tray and pushing the cores when the cores on the tray are made to be set on said cantilever shaft from the free end of the cantilever shaft.




According to the second feature, the tray with the stopper attached thereto ascends relative to the cantilever shaft supporting the plurality of wound sheet rolls. When the tray next moves to the free end side of the cantilever shaft, the stopper pushes the rotation-drive-portion-side end of a sheet roll on the rotation drive portion side. By this, the stopper pushes all sheet rolls to the free end side of the cantilever shaft, whereby the sheet rolls are successively mounted onto the tray.




According to the third feature, the tray moves in the direction of the axis of the cantilever shaft from the free end side of the cantilever shaft to the rotation drive portion side, whereby the plurality of cores mounted on the tray are successively set on the cantilever shaft from the free end thereof. In this case, the cores are pushed by the core stoppers provided at equal intervals on the tray, so that the cores can be arranged at constant intervals with accuracy on the cantilever shaft by the core stoppers.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view to show a heat transfer recording sheet;





FIG. 2

is a cross section along II—II line in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a schematic drawing to show a sheet roll producing apparatus according to the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a drawing to show the operation of a winding apparatus in the sheet roll producing apparatus;





FIG. 5

is a drawing to show the operation of the winding apparatus in the sheet roll producing apparatus;





FIG. 6

is a drawing to show the operation of the winding apparatus in the sheet roll producing apparatus;





FIG. 7

is a drawing to show the operation of the winding apparatus in the sheet roll producing apparatus;





FIG. 8

is a drawing to show the operation of the winding apparatus in the sheet roll producing apparatus;





FIG. 9

is a drawing to show the operation of the winding apparatus in the sheet roll producing apparatus;





FIGS. 10A and 10B

are drawings to show a waste sheet provided in a waste sheet part forming apparatus;





FIGS. 11A and 11B

are schematic drawings to show a sheet roll discharging apparatus;





FIGS. 12A and 12B

are drawings to show an ascent state of a discharge tray in the sheet roll discharging apparatus;





FIG. 13

is a drawing to show a state in which the discharge tray is moving to the right in the sheet roll discharging apparatus;





FIG. 14

is a drawing to show a state in which the discharge tray is rocking in the sheet roll discharging apparatus;





FIG. 15

is a drawing to show a state in which the discharge tray is located on the right side in a core supplying apparatus;





FIG. 16

is a drawing to show a state in which the discharge tray is located immediately below a cantilever shaft in the core supplying apparatus;





FIG. 17

is a drawing to show a descent state of the discharge tray in the core supplying apparatus;





FIGS. 18A and 18B

are drawings to show a state in which sheet rolls on discharge trays are being discharged in the core supplying apparatus;





FIGS. 19A and 19B

are drawings to show a state in which cores are being fed onto the discharge trays in the core supplying apparatus;





FIGS. 20A and 20B

are drawings to show a state in which cores are being fed to core stockers in the core supplying apparatus;





FIGS. 21A and 21B

are drawings to show a state in which cores are being fed to the core stockers in the core supplying apparatus; and





FIGS. 22A and 22B

are drawings to show a state in which cores are being fed to the core stockers in the core supplying apparatus.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Sheet Roll Producing Apparatus




First, the heat transfer recording sheet is described referring to FIG.


1


. As shown in

FIG. 1

, the heat transfer recording sheet drawn out from a core


2


is pulled in the direction of arrow A and a small amount of sheet remains on the core


2


side. Here, the core


2


is a roll shaft for the heat transfer recording sheet, which is made of plastic or paper.




As shown in

FIG. 2

, which is a cross section along line II—II in

FIG. 1

, the heat transfer recording sheet


1


has a base film


1




a


, and a hot melt ink layer


1




b


, provided on one face of the base film


1




a


, for recording of copy as aimed, by heat transfer among them, the base film


1




a


is made of a plastic such as polyester, polypropylene, cellophane acetate, or polycarbonate, or a paper such as condenser paper or paraffin paper. Among them a polyester base film


1




a


is preferred. The hot melt ink layer


1




b


is made of a mixture of a known pigment, a synthetic resin, and a wax. This hot melt ink layer has a thickness of 3 to 8 microns.




The sheet roll producing apparatus is next described referring to

FIG. 3

to FIG.


10


B. First, as shown in

FIG. 3

, the sheet roll producing apparatus


10


is provided with a supplying apparatus


11


for supplying a weblike heat transfer recording sheet W. Also, a waste sheet part forming apparatus


12


is disposed on the downstream side of the supplying apparatus


11


. This waste sheet part forming apparatus


12


is arranged to cut a part corresponding to a region between sheet rolls


26


as detailed later in the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W and to interpose a waste sheet


30


(

FIGS. 10A and 10B

) between cut ends of the heat transfer recording sheet W.




On the downstream side of the waste sheet part forming apparatus


12


there is a slit apparatus


13


provided for cutting the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W in the longitudinal direction into a plurality of strips, and on the downstream side of the slit apparatus


13


there are winding apparatus


15


arranged in two steps up and down for forming sheet rolls


26


(FIG.


4


). Among them, for example, the winding apparatus


15


in the upper step is arranged to wind up strips of the heat transfer recording sheet


1


in odd columns, out of the heat transfer recording sheets


1


after being separated in the longitudinal direction, around outer peripheries of cores


2


, and the winding apparatus


15


in the lower step is arranged to wind up strips of the heat transfer recording sheet


1


in even columns around outer peripheries of cores


2


. Further, each winding apparatus


15


has a winding portion


16


for winding up the heat transfer sheets


1


separated in the longitudinal direction around the outer peripheries of cores


2


to form sheet rolls


26


, and a discharging portion


17


for holding the sheet rolls


26


thus formed before discharging them.




On the downstream side of each winding apparatus


15


there is provided a discharge tray


20


for receiving the sheet rolls


26


discharged from the discharging portion


17


. Further, below the winding apparatus there is a disposal sheet winding apparatus


21


provided for winding both side portions cut off in the longitudinal direction by the slit apparatus


13


from the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W. Conveying rollers provided between the waste sheet part forming apparatus


12


and the winding apparatus


15


are, for example, silicone rubber rollers to prevent sticking tape


31


, as described later, from adhesive thereto.




A waste sheet


30


provided by the sheet part forming apparatus


12


is next detailed referring to

FIGS. 10A and 10B

. As shown in

FIG. 10A

, the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W is cut in the portion corresponding to the region between the sheet rolls


26


in the waste part forming apparatus


12


, as described above, and the cut ends of the heat transfer recording sheet W thus cut are slightly separated from each other. Next, between the heat transfer recording sheets W there are a lead sheet


32


, an adhesive tape


31


, a transparent waste sheet


30


, an adhesive tape


31


, and a lead sheet


32


attached in order from left to right in FIG.


10


A. The pair of lead sheets


32


are attached with respective adhesive tapes


33


to the heat transfer recording sheet W (FIG.


10


B).




The pair of adhesive tapes


31


each have their adhesive portions


31




a


exposed downward between the waste sheet


30


and the lead sheet


32


. The left adhesive portion


31




a


of the waste sheet


30


is for terminating a sheet roll


26


after being wound, and the right adhesive portion


31




a


of the waste sheet


30


is for sticking the distal end of the heat transfer recording sheet


1


to the core


2


.




The winding apparatus


15


is next described in further detail referring to

FIG. 4

to FIG.


9


.

FIG. 4

to

FIG. 9

are drawings to show the winding apparatus


15


. A retaining roller


29


is provided between the winding portion


16


and the discharging portion


17


, and a nip roller


27


for holding the heat transfer recording sheet


1


between the nip roller


27


and the retaining roller


29


is provided above the retaining roller


29


so as to be movable up and down. Guide plates


25




a


,


25




b


are provided on either side of the retaining roller


29


, and a stop plate


24


for stopping the heat transfer recording sheet with the guide plate


25




b


between them is attached to the nip roller


27


.




Further, a cutting portion


28


having a cutter


28




a


is provided between the winding portion


16


and the retaining roller


29


so as to be movable up and down. Below the cutting portion


28


there is provided a press portion


28




b


for attaching an adhesive tape


31


to the core


2


introduced to the winding portion


16


. Beside the winding portion


16


a touch roller


22


is provided for pushing the heat transfer recording sheet


1


against the core


2


in the winding portion


16


, and above the discharging portion


17


a terminal roller


23


is provided for attaching the adhesive tape


31


to the sheet roll


26


for terminal processing of sheet roll


26


held in the discharging portion


17


, as being movable up and down.




The operation of the present embodiment in the above structure is next explained. As shown in

FIG. 3

, the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W is first fed out from the supplying apparatus


11


, and this heat transfer recording sheet W is sent to the waste sheet part forming apparatus


12


. The heat transfer recording sheet W sent to the waste sheet part forming apparatus


12


is cut in the portion corresponding to the region between sheet rolls


26


as described above, and between the heat transfer sheets W thus separated there are a blue lead sheet


32


, an adhesive tape


31


, a transparent waste sheet


30


, an adhesive tape


31


, and a blue lead sheet


32


attached to the heat transfer sheets in order from left to right in FIG.


10


A. The lead sheets


32


,


32


among them are portions to cover the outside of sheet roll


26


or to be first wound around the core


2


, but the lead sheets


32


,


32


do not always have to be provided. The transparent waste sheet


30


and adhesive tapes


31


,


31


compose the waste sheet part.




Next, the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W is cut in the longitudinal direction into plural columns in the slit apparatus


13


, and both side portions of the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W are also cut off. Both side portions of the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W are wound by the disposal sheet winding apparatus


21


. On the other hand, after the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W is cut in the longitudinal direction into plural columns, it forms heat transfer recording sheets


1


, which are sent to the winding apparatus


15


.




The operation of the winding apparatus


15


is next described referring to

FIG. 4

to FIG.


9


. First,

FIG. 4

shows a state wherein the winding portion


16


in the winding apparatus


15


has formed a sheet roll


26


. On this occasion, the heat transfer recording sheet


1


stops and the waste sheet


30


is located immediately before the touch roller


22


. Also, a core


2


not having a roll of heat transfer recording sheet


1


is set in the discharging portion


17


.




Next, as shown in

FIG. 5

, the touch roller


22


leaves the sheet roll


26


, and a turret mechanism (not shown) rotates the apparatus 180° to bring the wound sheet roll


26


from the winding portion


16


to the discharging portion


17


and to bring the core


2


from the discharging portion


17


to the winding portion


16


. On this occasion, the waste sheet


30


is located between the touch roller


22


and the retaining roller


29


. Next, as shown in

FIG. 6

, the touch roller


22


advances toward the core


2


, and the adhesive tape


31


on the upstream side of the waste sheet


30


is located above the core


2


.




Next, as shown in

FIG. 7

, the terminal roller


23


descends to press the sheet roll


26


and the nip roller


27


also descends to pinch the heat transfer recording sheet


1


(or lead sheet


32


) between the nip roller


27


and the retaining roller


29


. At the same time, the stop plate


24


attached to the nip roller


27


descends to stop the heat transfer recording sheet


1


(or lead sheet


32


) between the stop plate


24


and the guide plate


25




b


. Also, the guide plate


25




a


supports the heat transfer recording sheet


1


(or lead sheet


32


) between the retaining roller


29


and the winding portion


16


.




In this state, the cutting portion


28


descends as shown in

FIG. 8

to cut the waste sheet


30


extending between the retaining roller


29


and the core


2


in the winding portion


16


by the cutter


28




a


. At the same time, the adhesive portion


31




a


of the adhesive tape


31


is pressed against the core


2


by the press portion


28




b


provided in the lower part of the cutting portion


28


, whereby the adhesive tape


31


on the upstream side of the waste sheet


30


is attached to the core


2


. Next, the sheet roll


26


held in the discharging portion


17


rotates, and the terminal roller


23


pushes the adhesive portion


31




a


of the adhesive tape


31


located on the downstream side of the waste sheet


30


to the sheet roll


26


so as to attach the adhesive portion


31




a


to the outer periphery of sheet roll


26


. If the lead sheet


32


is interposed between the waste sheet


30


and the heat transfer recording sheet


1


, the lead sheet


32


covers the heat transfer recording sheet


1


in the sheet roll


26


, and the adhesive tape


31


adheres the end of the lead sheet


32


to the sheet roll


26


.




Next, as shown in

FIG. 9

, the nip roller


27


with the terminal roller


23


and stop plate


24


attached thereto, and the cutting portion


28


each ascend. Then the core


2


in the winding portion


16


rotates, and with the adhesive sheet


31


attached as a leading end to the core


2


, the lead sheet


32


and heat transfer sheet


1


are successively wound around the outer periphery of core


2


, thereby forming a sheet roll


26


in the winding portion


16


.




As described above, because the present embodiment is so arranged such that the heat transfer recording sheet


1


is cut at a certain point and the pair of adhesive tapes


31


and waste sheet


30


are interposed between the cut ends, the waste sheet


30


is cut so that one adhesive tape


31


is attached to the already wound sheet roll


26


and the other adhesive tape


31


to the core


2


, whereby relay of the heat transfer recording sheet


1


can be readily made between the already wound sheet roll


26


and the core.




Sheet Roll Discharging Apparatus and Core Supplying Apparatus




The sheet roll discharging apparatus and core supplying apparatus are next described referring to

FIG. 11A

to FIG.


22


B.




The sheet roll discharging apparatus is first described. As shown in

FIG. 11A

, the winding apparatus


15


is provided with a cantilever shaft


42


movable from the winding portion


16


to the discharging portion


17


, and this cantilever shaft


42


is arranged as further movable to above the discharge tray


20


. As shown in

FIG. 11B

, the cantilever shaft


42


is an air shaft, which increases the diameter thereof when air is supplied to inside thereof, and is arranged to be rotated by a rotation drive portion


43


.




Also, as shown in

FIG. 11B

, above the discharge tray


20


there is a charge and exhaust apparatus


45


for performing charge and exhaust of air into or out of the cantilever shaft


42


when connected to a free end of the cantilever shaft


42


. The charge and exhaust apparatus


45


is arranged as movable in the direction of the axis of the cantilever shaft


42


and rotatable about a rotational axis


45




a.






Further, as shown in

FIG. 11B

, the cantilever shaft


42


supports a plurality of sheet rolls


26


already wound at constant intervals, for example, at equal intervals. The discharge tray


20


shown in

FIG. 11A

is arranged to receive and support sheet rolls


26


, as described previously, and is arranged as movable up and down relative to the cantilever shaft


42


and movable in the direction of the axis of the cantilever shaft


42


. Further, a stopper


41


is mounted on the discharge tray


20


so as to be movable up and down. This stopper


41


is inserted on the side of the rotation drive portion


43


of the cantilever shaft


42


to come into contact with the end on the side of the rotation drive portion


43


, of the sheet roll


26


closest to the rotation drive portion


43


out of the sheet rolls


26


supported by the cantilever shaft


42


(FIGS.


12


A and


12


B).




Further, as shown in FIG.


13


and

FIG. 14

, a discharge conveyor


47


is disposed on the free end side of the cantilever shaft


42


(or beside the discharge tray


20


in FIG.


14


). After moving to the position shown in

FIG. 13

, the discharge tray


20


is arranged as rockable so that the sheet rolls


26


on the discharge tray


20


can be transferred onto the discharge conveyor


47


located beside the tray.




The core supplying apparatus is next described referring to

FIG. 15

to FIG.


22


B. As shown in

FIG. 15

to

FIG. 17

, the core supplying apparatus is comprised of the aforementioned cantilever shaft


42


having the rotation drive portion


43


, and the discharge tray


20


movable up and down relative to the cantilever shaft


42


and movable in the direction of the axis thereof. The cantilever shaft


42


is arranged to support a plurality of cores


2


at predetermined intervals. Also, the discharge tray


20


is so arranged that a plurality of cores


2


can be mounted on the discharge tray


20


. Core stoppers


51


are arranged to project at constant intervals (for example, at equal intervals) on a mount surface of the discharge tray


20


and are arranged to push associated cores


2


toward the cantilever shaft


42


when the cores


2


are brought from the free end side onto the cantilever shaft


42


.




Also, on the free end side of the cantilever shaft


42


(on the right side of

FIG. 15

) there is provided a transferring apparatus for transferring the cores


2


to the discharge tray


20


(

FIGS. 18A

,


18


B to

FIGS. 22A

,


22


B). The transferring apparatus has, as shown in

FIGS. 18A

,


18


B to

FIGS. 22A

,


22


B, a core conveyor


52


for conveying the cores


2


in the direction nearly parallel to the axis of the cantilever shaft


42


and bringing the cores


2


to beside the discharge tray


20


moved to the free end side of the cantilever shaft


42


, and a core stocker


53


for temporarily stocking the cores


2


conveyed on the core conveyor


52


and feeding the cores


2


to the discharge conveyor


20


moved to the free end side of the cantilever shaft


42


.




This core stocker


53


is disposed between the discharge tray


20


moved to the free end side of the cantilever shaft


42


and the core conveyor


52


and is arranged to take a closed state where the core stocker is bent and an open state where the core stocker is stretched. Namely, the core stocker


53


can temporarily stock the cores


2


fed from the core conveyor


52


when the core stocker


53


is in the closed state; it can feed the cores


2


stocked to the discharge tray


20


by natural drop when the core stocker


53


is in the open state.




On the opposite side to the core stocker


53


with respect to the core conveyor


52


there are pushers


54


for pushing the cores


2


on the core conveyor


52


to the core stocker


53


. There are a plurality of (three in the present embodiment) pushers


54


arranged at constant intervals in the feed direction of the core conveyor


52


.




In

FIGS. 18A

,


18


B to

FIGS. 22A

,


22


B, each figure accompanied with A shows the core supplying apparatus corresponding to the upper-step winding apparatus, and each figure accompanied with B shows the core supplying apparatus corresponding to the lower-step winding apparatus.




The operation of the present embodiment in the above structure is next described. First, as shown in

FIG. 3

, the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W is drawn out from the supplying apparatus


11


, and the heat transfer recording sheet W is sent to the waste sheet part forming apparatus


12


. The heat transfer recording sheet W sent to the waste sheet part forming apparatus


12


is cut in the portion corresponding to the region between sheet rolls


26


, as described previously, and the transparent waste sheet is attached between the heat transfer recording sheets W after cutting.




Then the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W is cut in the longitudinal direction into plural columns in the slit apparatus


13


and both side portions of the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W are also cut off. Both side portions of the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W are wound by the disposal sheet winding apparatus


21


. On the other hand, the weblike heat transfer recording sheet W is cut in the longitudinal direction into plural columns of heat transfer recording sheets


1


, which are sent to the winding apparatus


15


.




The operation in the winding apparatus


15


is next explained referring to

FIG. 11A

to FIG.


14


. First, as shown in

FIGS. 11A and 11B

, three cores


2


are supplied to the cantilever shaft


42


to be preliminarily set at constant intervals equivalent to the length of the cores


2


, for example at equal intervals. This supply and setting operation of cores


2


will be detailed hereinafter. Then the cantilever shaft


42


with the cores


2


set thereon is located in the winding portion


16


in the winding apparatus


15


. In this case, air is supplied into the cantilever shaft


42


, so that the diameter of the cantilever shaft


42


increases to firmly keep the cores


2


thereon.




Next, in this winding portion


16


, the rotation drive portion


43


rotates the cantilever shaft


42


to wind the heat transfer recording sheets


1


around the outer peripheries of cores


2


, thus forming three sheet rolls


26


on the cantilever shaft


42


. Next, the cantilever shaft


42


supporting the three sheet rolls


26


moves from the winding portion


16


to the discharging portion


17


, the sheet rolls


26


are cut at the rear ends thereof while moving to the discharging portion


17


, and the rear ends thus cut are made to adhere to the sheet rolls


26


. Then the cantilever shaft


42


supporting the three sheet rolls


26


moves to the position above the discharge tray


20


.




Next, as shown in

FIG. 11B

, the charge and exhaust apparatus


45


connected to the free end of the cantilever shaft


42


evacuates the air inside the cantilever shaft


42


to decrease the diameter of the cantilever shaft


42


. After that, the charge and exhaust apparatus


45


leaves the cantilever shaft


42


along the axial direction and then rotates about the rotation axis


45




a


to recede from the axis of shaft


42


.




Next, as shown in

FIGS. 12A and 12B

, the stopper


41


and discharge tray


20


ascend relative to the cantilever shaft


42


, so that the stopper


41


comes to be located between the rotation drive portion


43


and the sheet roll


26


on the side of the rotation drive portion


43


. Then the stopper


41


and discharge tray


20


move relative to the cantilever shaft


42


to the free end side of the cantilever shaft


42


(to the right in the FIG.


12


B). In this case, a small gap is formed between the three sheet rolls


26


and the discharge tray


20


, and thus, the stopper


41


can smoothly push the three sheet rolls


26


to the free end side of the cantilever shaft


42


.




As the stopper


41


and discharge tray


20


move in this manner further to the right of

FIG. 12B

away from the free end of the cantilever shaft


42


, the sheet rolls


26


are pushed by the stopper


41


to be successively mounted on the discharge tray


20


(FIG.


13


). In this case, the three sheet rolls


26


are located at biased positions on the stopper


41


side on the discharge tray


20


. When the stopper


41


and discharge tray


20


come to the position shown in

FIG. 13

, the stopper


41


descends relative to the discharge tray


20


and the discharge tray


20


rocks. In this case, as shown in

FIG. 14

, the sheet rolls


26


on the discharge tray


20


are transferred onto the discharge conveyor


47


located beside the discharge tray


20


. The sheet rolls


26


transferred onto the discharge conveyor


47


are discharged to the outside by the discharge conveyor


47


.




As described above, the present embodiment is so arranged such that the already wound sheet rolls


26


supported on the cantilever shaft


42


can readily and surely be transferred from the discharge tray


20


to the discharge conveyor


47


and can readily be discharged to the outside by the discharge conveyor


47


.




Next explained referring to

FIG. 15

to

FIG. 22B

is the operation for supplying the cores onto the cantilever shaft


42


and setting them on the shaft. The sheet rolls


26


are drawn from the cantilever shaft


42


and the discharge tray


20


moves to the free end side (the right side of

FIG. 15

) of the cantilever shaft


42


. In this case, the sheet rolls


26


on the upper discharge tray


20


and the sheet rolls


26


on the lower discharge tray


20


are transferred onto the discharge conveyors


47


through the rocking motion of the discharge trays


20


. During this period, the upper and lower core stockers


53


are in the close state, and each core stocker


53


temporarily stocks cores


2


. The core conveyor


52


is located beside the upper discharge tray


20


.




Next, as shown in

FIGS. 19A and 19B

, the upper and lower discharge trays


20


rock back to the original positions and the core stockers


53


become open to transfer the cores


2


,


2


stocked on the respective core stockers


53


onto the discharge trays


20


by natural drop.




Then, as shown in

FIGS. 20A and 20B

, the upper and lower core stockers


53


are closed and the cores


2


on the core conveyor


52


located at the upper step are pushed by the plurality of (three in the present embodiment) pushers


54


arranged at constant intervals, in the feed direction of the core conveyor


52


to be temporarily stocked on the core stocker


53


.




After that, as shown in

FIGS. 21A and 21B

, the upper pushers


54


move back and the core conveyor


52


descends to be located beside the lower discharge tray


20


. Then the cores


2


on the core conveyor


52


are pushed by the pushers


54


to be temporarily stocked on the lower core stocker


53


. Thereafter, as shown in

FIGS. 22A and 22B

, the lower pushers


54


move back and the core conveyor


52


ascends.




In this manner three cores


2


are mounted on each of the upper and lower discharge trays


20


, as shown in FIG.


15


. In this case, the cores


2


each are placed adjacent to the core stoppers


51


on the discharge tray


20


.




Next, as shown in

FIG. 16

, the discharge tray


20


moves to the cantilever shaft


42


in the direction of the axis of the cantilever shaft


42


, whereby the three cores


2


mounted on the discharge tray


20


come to fit on the cantilever shaft


42


from the free end thereof. During this period, the cores


2


each are pushed by the core stoppers


51


provided at constant intervals, for example at equal intervals, on the discharge tray


20


and the cores


2


are positioned with good accuracy on the cantilever shaft


42


, whereby the cores


2


are arranged at equal intervals on the cantilever shaft


42


. Then the charge and exhaust apparatus


45


supplies the air into the cantilever shaft


42


to increase the diameter of cantilever shaft


42


, whereby the cantilever shaft


42


firmly holds the cores


2


.




Then, as shown in

FIG. 17

, the discharge tray


20


moves downward relative to the cantilever shaft


42


, thereby completing the setting operation of cores


2


on the cantilever shaft


42


.




As described above, according to the present embodiment, a plurality of cores


2


can readily and surely be supplied to the cantilever shaft


42


, using the discharge tray


20


, and the cores


2


can be set on the cantilever shaft


42


as being positioned with accuracy.




As detailed above, according to the present invention, as set forth in claim


1


, a plurality of cores can readily and simply be supplied to the cantilever shaft, using the tray, and the cores can accurately be set at constant intervals on the cantilever shaft by the core stoppers. Thus, production of sheet rolls can be perfectly automated.




According to the present invention, the waste sheet part extending between the winding portion and the discharging portion is cut by the cutting portion, the downstream adhesive portion is stuck to the outer periphery of the roll sheet in the discharging portion, and the upstream adhesive portion is stuck to the outer periphery of the core, whereby relay of the heat transfer recording sheet can be facilitated between the sheet roll already wound and the core. This assures secure automation in producing a lot of sheet rolls.



Claims
  • 1. A method for producing sheet rolls by winding a heat transfer recording sheet, obtained by forming a transfer ink layer on one surface of a base, around outer peripheries of a plurality of cores, respectively, the method comprising the steps of:supplying a web heat transfer recording sheet; cutting a portion corresponding to a region between two adjacent sheet rolls in the web heat transfer recording sheet to form cut ends thereof; interposing a non-adhesive waste sheet and a pair of adhesive tapes attached to both ends of the waste sheet between the cut ends of the web heat transfer recording sheet, each adhesive tape having an adhesive portion facing the waste sheet, a portion exposed to the outside and a portion attached to the corresponding cut ends of the web heat transfer recording sheet; winding, in a winding portion of a winding apparatus, the heat transfer recording sheet around the outer periphery of one of the cores to form one of the sheet rolls; holding, in a discharging portion of the winding apparatus, the sheet roll thus formed, whereby the waste sheet is positioned between the winding apparatus and discharging portion; and cutting the waste sheet positioned between the winding portion and the discharging portion.
  • 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising discharging the formed sheet roll to the outside and supplying, from a core supplying apparatus, empty cores to the winding apparatus.
  • 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising providing, in said discharging portion, a cantilever shaft for supporting a plurality of wound cores having a rotation drive portion, a tray below the cantilever shaft, and a stopper for pushing a rotation-drive-portion-side end of a sheet roll located on a rotation drive portion side among said plurality of sheet rolls.
  • 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising providing a discharge conveyor on a side of a free end of the cantilever shaft, and a tray which is movable to beside the discharge conveyor and rockakble to transfer the sheet rolls to the discharge conveyor.
  • 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising providing, in said core supplying apparatus, a cantilever shaft supporting a plurality of cores and having a rotation drive portion, a tray below the cantilever shaft movable up and down and in a direction of an axis of the cantilever shaft for carrying a plurality of cores, and core stoppers attached to the tray at equal intervals corresponding substantially to the length of each of the cores and arranged to push the cores when the cores on the tray are to be set on the cantilever shaft from a free end of the cantilever shaft.
  • 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising providing a transferring apparatus for transferring the cores onto the tray on the free end side of the cantilever shaft and at a position apart from an axis of the cantilever shaft.
  • 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising providing in the transferring apparatus a core conveyor disposed nearly parallel to the axis of the cantilever shaft, for conveying the cores, a core stocker, provided between the core conveyor and the tray, for temporarily stocking the cores and then transferring the cores to the tray, and pushers for pushing the cores on the core conveyor to the core stocker.
Priority Claims (3)
Number Date Country Kind
6-304893 Dec 1994 JP
6-322312 Dec 1994 JP
7-2179 Jan 1995 JP
Parent Case Info

This is a Division of application Ser. No. 09/112,240 filed Jul. 9, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,859, which in turn is a division of Ser. No. 08/568,364 filed Dec. 6, 1995, Now U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,966.

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Number Name Date Kind
2430075 Olson Nov 1947 A
2467555 Hombostel et al. Apr 1949 A
3393881 Nash Jul 1968 A
3399096 Ranger Aug 1968 A
3869046 Gerhart Mar 1975 A
5352319 Ishizu et al. Oct 1994 A
5413656 Kuhnhold et al. May 1995 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number Date Country
2 025 472 Mar 1991 CA
2 257 931 Jan 1993 GB