Patent Application
20140070043
The present apparatus and method is directed to winding multiple coils of material strip into a single coil of multiple layers. The system may be used for a wide variety of materials such as metals, plastics and other materials, which may be wound into coils. The apparatus and method may also be used to wind multi layer coils around a single drum to create a coil with a larger number of layers.
Long strips of material often come in coils of a single layer. In some instances, the coils originate from a wider coil of material that has been cut into narrower strips according to the specifications of the customer or the manufacturing process that will use the material. Machines in the prior art typically only create multiple coils of a single layer and do not wind multiple coils of material into a single coil having multiple layers. Therefore, if a customer desires a feed stock of material having multiple layers of material strip, prior art machines do not solve the problem of how to wind multiple coils into a single coil in an efficient or economically feasible way.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,534,988 to Perrault discloses a system for cutting a flexible material into multiple strips and superposing those strips upon each other, creating multiple layered roll. Perrault does not disclose a guide or flanges to retain and orient the strips. Thus, there is risk of the strips winding improperly. In addition, the machine described in Perrault takes a generally horizontal feed stock material, slits that material into narrow ribbons, vertically orients the narrow ribbons and then rolls the ribbons in a vertical orientation. Re-orienting the ribbons could cause too severe of a bend in many materials and would not be appropriate for all material applications. In addition, Perrault does not disclose winding more than four layers around a single drum.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,704,988 to Kenney et al. describes a method of making a continuous laminate coil. Kenney discloses a shaft to receive a plurality of layers of material. The plurality of layers comprised of at least three different types of material. The layers are then diffusion bonded to create a continuous laminate coil. Kenney does not disclose a guide having a slot for each individual coil. Further, Kenney does not disclose any means to guide the individual coils around a single drum. Further, each individual coil is on a different shaft, which requires an entirely new machine to wind a multiple layer coil, rather than a retrofitted guide and flanges on slitting machines.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,140 to Matsunaga discloses a method by which multiple strands of slit metal material are wound around a rotating drum of a recoiler. Frictional contact between the recoiler drum and strands allow relative movement between the recoiler drum and the separate coils. This frictional contact allows for each individual strand to be wound at substantially the same speed. Matsunaga does not disclose any means to guide the individual coils around a single drum. Further, a guide is not disclosed, and flanges around one of the drums are not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,399,155 to Reed et al. discloses a system and method for slitting and recoiling the slit metal material. The metal strip is fed under tension into a slitting machine. Once the metal leaves the slitting machine, it is de-tensioned and fed through a rotary tensioning device. The rotary tensioning device provides constant tension between the metal strip and each individual recoil drum. Reed does not disclose any means to guide the multiple coils around a single drum. Further, Reed does not disclose a guide or flanges to aid in winding multiple coils around a single drum.
It is therefore desired to provide an improved apparatus and method to manufacture a multiple layer coil, which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is further desirable for such an improved apparatus to be retrofitted to existing slitting machines, reducing the capital expenditure required to manufacture a multiple layer coil. Such an apparatus would further overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for winding multiple layers of single layer coil around a single drum to create a multiple layer coil.
Another object of the present invention is to further wind a plurality of multiple layer coils around a single drum to create a coil with even more layers.
Another object of the present invention is to retrofit existing slitting and/or winding with guides and flanges to wind multiple layer coils.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for winding multiple layers of single coil around a single drum to create a multiple layer coil.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for further winding a plurality of multiple layer coils around a single drum to create a coil with more layers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for retrofitting existing slitting machines and/or winding machines with guides and/or flanges to create a machine for coiling multiple layers of material.
Another object of the present invention is to utilize existing coil and clutch assemblies used in slitting machines to create an even tension across each individual strip to aid in an evenly wound multiple layer coil.
The objects of the invention are achieved by a device having two shafts and plurality of coils mounted around the first shaft, each of the plurality of coils having a width. A guide mounted between the first and second shafts has at least one slot, each slot having a horizontal surface and two vertical surfaces. The two vertical surfaces are located adjacent to the horizontal surface. The second shaft has two flanges spaced apart a distance at least as wide as the width of each of the plurality of coils. The slots in the guide receive at least one strip from the plurality of coils, and the slots may receive more than one strip depending on the requirements of the multiple layer coil. The first strip from the first coil extends around the second shaft and between the flanges. A second strip from a second coil extends between the flanges such that the second strip is layered onto said first strip. Each additional strip is layered on top of a preceding strip.
The second shaft has a drive mechanism for rotating the second shaft, and the first shaft has a brake mechanism for resisting the rotation of the coils. The drive and brake mechanisms are activated such that tension is created along each coil. The guide may be positioned such that said tension along each coil creates a vertical force along the horizontal surface of the guide slot(s).
The guide can also have an angled surface on either side of the horizontal surface. The angled surface is angled down from the horizontal plane. Further, there is an angled surface on either side of the vertical surface. The angled surface is angled out from the vertical plane.
A cover may be removably attached on the top of the guide. Additionally, more than one strips of material may be placed in each guide slot. The device may be retrofitted to existing equipment, such as a slitting machine.
The device can have clutch members mounted between the plurality of coils and on the first shaft. Tension is created when the second shaft is driven to wind the multiple layers of coil and the first shaft resists the rotational force. The clutch members provide frictional slip necessary to equalize the tension in each individual strip of each coil.
The device may also have a second guide having a slot with a horizontal surface and a vertical surface on either side of the horizontal surface. The second guide is located between the first guide and the second shaft. The slot in the second guide receives every strip from the plurality of coils, the strips layered on top of each other. A cover may be removably attached on top of the second guide.
Any of the guides may also be a solid block with the guide slots characterized by a void of material passing through the solid block.
Further objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a method for winding a multiple layer coil. The method uses a number of steps. Mounting a plurality of material coils on a first shaft, feeding each material coil through a guide having a plurality of slots, each slot having a horizontal surface and at least two vertical surfaces, the vertical surfaces located adjacent to each said horizontal surface. Each coil is attached to a second shaft between two flanges. The second shaft is driven such that the shaft rotates. Braking is applied to the first shaft to resist the rotation of the second shaft. The driving and braking produces tension along the strip, this tension creates a vertical force on the horizontal surface of the guide. The second shaft has flanges that align the plurality of coils such that a multiple layer coil is created. Mounting the plurality of coils may include the step of mounting clutch members between the plurality of coils. Further, the same method may be used with a plurality of multiple layer coils mounted to the first shaft, with the method being used to create a multiple layer coil with even more layers.
Other objects of the invention and its particular features and advantages will become more apparent from consideration of the following drawings and accompanying detailed description.
The invention relates to thin-coiled strips of material. The material may be metallic, plastic or other materials. In a preferred embodiment the invention relates to rolled metal coil. Rolled metal coil usually comes in wide widths. Often, it is desirable to have narrower coils of thinner material. The wide material is often fed through a rolling machine, which reduces the thickness. Then, the wide material is fed through a slitting machine, which cuts the wide roll into multiple narrow strips of material. The apparatus and method described herein winds the plurality of coils into a single coil with a plurality of layers. The existing slitting machine may be retrofitted to wind a multiple layer coil.
In some instances, it is desirable to have a material of multiple layers in a single coil. For example, four coils of aluminum could have dimensions of 0.005″ thickness and 1.00″ width. These four coils would be rewound onto a single drum, resulting in a final coil that would, in this example, have a thickness of four sheets (0.020″) and a width of 1.00″. There are many possible configurations for the winding process. Another example would be a guide having four slots and two strips of material passing through each slot. This example would result in a multiple layer coil of eight (8) layers.
To wind the multiple coils into one multiple layer coil, a slitting machine is fitted with multiple coils on one shaft, and a single drum on a second shaft. The strip from the metal coils is fed across the machine from one shaft to the other, and through a guide with multiple slots. The guide directs each strip towards the single drum on the opposite side of the machine.
The single drum has flanges fitted on either side. These flanges are spaced apart to accommodate the width of the strip. The flanges act as an additional guide to ensure that the multiple layers of strip are aligned properly with the drum.
Each strip is attached around the single drum in a layered formation, with one strip on top of the next. The strips are removably attached to the drum. In some embodiments, the first strip is removably attached to the drum and each additional strip is removably attached to the preceding strip. The removable attachment can be with tape, glue, friction winding, clamps or other means known to one of ordinary skill in the art. In some embodiments, the strips may also be wound the single drum either in individual winds or a collective wind. The friction of the winding holds the individual strips on the drum so that the drum can be driven to create tension on the strips to pull the strips through the guide and around the single drum.
In one embodiment of the invention, each slot of the guide has a horizontal surface. There are two surfaces, one on each side of the horizontal surface, these two surfaces are angled down from the horizontal plane. Further, each slot has two vertical surfaces. There is an angled surface on either side of each vertical surface, these angled surfaces are angled out from the vertical plane.
The strip is placed under tension between the two shafts, and the guide is placed in a location such that the tension along the strip imparts a vertical force on the guide. For example, the position of the guide on the winding machine is such that the metal coil travels across and up to a guide slot and then across and down to the single drum. The position of the guide allows for tension on the strip of metal to hold the individual coils within the individual guide slots during the multiple layer re-winding. This vertical force prevents each strip from coming out of the guide. The vertical surfaces in each guide slot contact the edge of the strip to bring the strip inwards towards the alignment of the single drum.
Although the preceding example references the strip traveling vertically, the machine may be oriented such that the strip travels horizontally, as long as tension on the strip imparts a force on the guide to help keep the strip in the guide slot.
By utilizing the slitting machine to re-wind a multiple layered material, the process can be completed by winding the coils in the reverse direction of the slitting machine immediately after the wide coil has been slit into multiple coils of narrow material. To accomplish this, the full coil is mounted to the payoff and is run through the slitter and re-winder to create multiple narrow coils. Before slitting, narrow coils are mounted on slip clutch tooling to accommodate differing internal tension of the rolled strip. Once the wide material is cut into narrow strips, the slitting cutters are removed and a guide is put in their place. The narrow strips are then fed through the guide and a drum having flanges as described above. This allows for a more continuous process of winding a multiple layer coil than if a specialized machine were used just for the multiple layer winding.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the guide slots are closed on top such that an additional horizontal surface is between the vertical surfaces of each guide slot and opposite the horizontal surface that contacts the strip material.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the guide includes a removable cover that mounts flush with the top surface of the guide. This removable cover allows the operator to place the strips in the guide slots and then place a cover on top to prevent the strips from coming out of the slots.
Each guide slot may accept more than one strip of material. The height of the guide slot or alternatively the depth of the guide slot may need to be adjusted to accommodate two or more strips in a single slot. A guide can also be made with only one slot to accept material. To wind a multiple layer material using a guide having a single slot, the single slot will accept more than one strip of material.
A plurality of winding drums may be mounted to the slitting machine to wind more than one multiple layer coil in one process. For example, eight (8) coils on slip clutch tooling are mounted to one shaft, and two guides are placed in the middle of the slitting machine. The guides each have four slots, and a strip is placed in each slot. The strips from the separate guides are wound around separate drums to create a final product of two coils each having four layers of material. Alternatively, the guide in this example may also be made with eight slots, the first four slots being wound around the first drum and the next four slots wound around the second drum. The groups of four described above should not limit the scope of the invention to multiples of four. The multiples of four are used for example only, and multiples of 2, 3, 4, 5 and up are contemplated in the scope of this invention. A coil of eight (8) layers may also be made with one guide having four (4) slots. Each single layer coil is fed through a guide slot, each guide slot receives two (2) single layer coils. All eight single layer coils are wound around a single drum to create an eight (8) layer coil.
The guide can be made from a material that will minimize scratches on the surface of the metal. The finish on the guide is also designed to minimize scratches on the surface of the metal. In one embodiment of the invention, the guide is made from UHMW Polyethlyene.
The single coil that receives the multiple layers of metal is fitted with flanges on either side. The flanges act as another guide for the multiple layers of metal to ensure alignment of the multiple strips with the drum.
The machine may be fitted with a secondary guide that is also located between the two shafts. This secondary guide has one slot for receiving all layers of material to be wound around the single drum. This secondary guide may further be fitted with a cover on top to help keep the material within the guide slot. The secondary guide is more important as the width of the strip is larger and/or the distance between the two shafts is shorter. A wider strip means that the overall width of the stack of multiple coils is larger, which requires that the outer strip travel inwards to the single drum a greater distance (equivalently a greater angle) than in the case of narrower strips. By using a secondary guide, it can be easier to align multiple strips before winding. The same holds true when the distance between shafts is shorter, the angle that the outer strip must travel is greater, thus a secondary guide can be advantageous.
Since the guide 10 is mounted above the coils 8 and the multiple layers 6 by a distance 18, the tension in the strip 9 creates a downward force on the guide 10. The downward force holds each individual strip in the guide 10 during the rewinding process. As shown in
Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular arrangement of parts, features and the like, these are not intended to exhaust all possible arrangements or features, and indeed many modifications and variations will be ascertainable to those of skill in the art.
