The invention also relates to an apparatus suitable for implementing the method.

Rolls of a massive size are handled in the paper industry. During finishing/conver- sion of webs of paper or paperboard, rolls are being transferred by means of different conveyors and moved by pushers whose function can be automated and the control thereof engineered so as to minimize the risk of damage to the rolls during their handling. However, when the rolls are transferred into a storage or loaded onto a transport vehicle, they are handled either as individual rolls or stacks of rolls by means of hoists and lift trucks. In this operation, the transfer of the rolls is not fully controllable. One problem arising herein is that the rolls must be grabbed by their outer periphery by lift attachments or clamp means of a lift truck. The clamps may cause damage to the rolls, either due to human error of the truck operator or incorrect grabbing force of the clamp means, whereby a compressive damage on the roll periphery results or, if the grabbing force is insufficient, the roll may slide in the grasp of the clamp means thus becoming damaged over the roll periphery. For instance, in the loading of a train, the use of a conventional hoist or lift truck is curtailed by an inclined position or swinging of the load, slowed-down movements required, need for suitable loading ramps and exact positioning of the train for accurate loading. Generally, as the length of loading docks on stations and loading bays is limited, only a few railroad cars can be loaded at a time, whereby the entire train or string of cars must be moved every now and then during a single loading session.

Because the rolls must be handled several times during their transportation from the mill to the end user, it is obvious that the quantity of damages and their frequency of occurrence increase in proportion to the number of handling operations per roll. For instance, a typical shipping route may require loading the rolls first as separate rolls on a trailer, wherefrom they are unloaded into a buffer storage of the shipping port and further aboard a ship. At the port of destination, the unloading of the cargo may again need the handling of individual rolls, in conjunction with intermediate storing, and finally once again loading the rolls onto a different vehicle before the cargo is unloaded into a storage at the end user. The shipping route may include railroad transports and even a greater number of transfers between the different transport vehicles. Hence, each leg of the transportation chain includes at least two roll unloading and loading operations, while the number of handling steps may be even higher when intermediate storage is involved. Bulk transport units capable of reducing the required number of handling steps, such as closed containers, flat rack containers, side-loading trailer beds and ferry trailers, have been developed for use aboard ships only, thus making it unavoidable to lift and move rolls individually during road or railroad transports along the shipping route. In addition to the damages caused to the rolls, the reloading, handling and storage operations increase freight costs and extend wait times of the transport vehicles used.

In large mills, also the capacity of lift systems and lift truck transfers may become depleted, particularly if a number of rolls are desired to be loaded atop each other in order to maximally utilize the cargo space of the transport vehicle. Such conventional systems are deficient in the accuracy of roll positioning especially when rapid transfers and superposing of rolls is requested. Hence, conventional roll handling systems are not particularly suited for combining goods into bulk shipping units.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for handling rolls produced by the papermaking industry both at the mill and during their transportation.

The goal of the invention is achieved by way of arranging the rolls at the mill into

bulk shipping units onto a suitable platform and then handling only the bulk shipping units during transportation.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bulk shipping unit formed from a number of rolls is transported from the mill to the end user as a single entity without any intermediate disassembly thereof.

More specifically, the method according to the invention is characterized by what is stated in the characterizing part of claim 1.

Furthermore, the arrangement according to the invention is characterized by what is stated in the characterizing part of claim 6.

The invention offers significant benefits.

By way of combining customer rolls into a bulk shipping unit onto a suitable plat- form, the handling of the shipping unit becomes simpler and faster over that possible in the handling of single rolls. The bulk shipping unit can be grabbed by its platform, thus making it unnecessary to touch the rolls at all during loading and unloading.

Hence, the rolls are protected against damage by improper handling until the instant of their final lift-off from the transport platform of the bulk shipping unit. This gives benefits, particularly in train shipments, inasmuch the transfer of the bulk shipping units onto railroad cars is made faster, and the train can be loaded in the final order of its cars and connected to the locomotive, thus disposing with the need for moving individual cars and strings of cars. The system permits rapid and efficient assembly of bulk shipping units and loading thereof onto different kinds of transport vehicles.

In order to facilitate the assembly of customer rolls into correct bulk shipping units, the roll information must be accurately stored in the roll management system. The sorting of the customer rolls into their respective bulk shipping units can be accom- plished with the help of sorting ramps, thus allowing the roll management system of the papermaking mill to follow the travel of each roll until the roll is placed onto the bulk shipping unit platform, whereby the roll information is tagged to the transport

platform in a form that accompanies the bulk shipping unit down to the unloading thereof. During the transportation, the roll storage and loading data can be updated directly on the basis of the roll information accompanying the bulk shipping unit platform, thus permitting automated follow-up of the platform travel without a need for manual logging of the transport chain events. In this manner, the roll information can be linked to each roll up to the end-use site of the roll, whereby rolls received in a printing house, for instance, can be readily identified A number of the bulk ship- ping units can be loaded above one another, thus permitting optimal usage of any transport vehicle within the constraints of its loading capacity. The system is capable of speeding up shipments so much, particularly in train transportation, that the trans- portation capacity needs are reduced measured as, e. g., the number of cars in a train.

Resultingly, substantial cost savings can be attained.

In the following, the invention will be examined in greater detail by way of making reference to the appended drawings in which FIG.1 shcesoam elevationside view of anxbod ent of a roll auseably an of bulk shipping units ; FIG. 2 shows a top view of the assembly apparatus of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 3 shows a diagrammatic top view of an embodiment of the loading system according to the invention; and FIG. 4 shows a side view of the loading system of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the assembly apparatus of bulk shipping units comprises at least one transfer table 1 and an upender portion, as well as at least one roll assembly platform 5 mountable on the transfer table 1. Advantageously, the roll assembly platform is a flat rack container formed by a planar loading platform and securing/handling means similar to those of a closed container. The upender portion comprises a framework 4 supporting a short-travel conveyor 6 constructed on an

auxiliary framework. The upender conveyor 6 is connected by a pivotal joint 11 to an auxiliary framework 12 of the upender conveyor 6. Additionally, between the auxiliary framework 12 of the upender conveyor 6 and the apparatus framework 4 is adapted a ball screw 8 rotatable by means of a gear motor 9, and the auxiliary framework 12 is connected to the apparatus framework 4 by means of a hub shaft 13 rotatable by means of a drive motor 7. Additionally, to the sides of the upender conveyor are adapted clamp attachments 10 for grabbing rolls 3 being moved by the upender conveyor. The placement of the rolls 2,3 onto the roll assembly platform 5 occurs by means of this upender conveyor. In contrast to a conventional upender, this construction has no bottom plate or receiving conveyor on which the rolls 3 being moved by the upender conveyor 6 could rest, but instead, the extended-size clamp means 10 function as the receiving conveyor. Thence, the leading end of a roll 3 received by the upender conveyor can be lowered directly onto the roll assembly platform 5. Due to the extended width of the clamp means 10, they are capable of handling roll sets inasmuch the clamp means 10 can grab all the rolls of a set simultaneously. The longitudinal dimension of the clamp means 10 is made sufficiently long to hold all rolls of a set tight during the motion of the upender conveyor.

When a roll 3 or set of rolls is delivered to the upender conveyor 6, the roll or set of rolls is/are moved forward until its leading end reaches a correct position in regard to the center of rotation of the upender conveyor 6. Next the set or roll 3 is grabbed by the clamp means 10, thus keeping the set or single roll tight and in a precisely deter- mined position. The gear motor 9 is next started, whereby it rotates upright the upender conveyor 6 with the roll (s) 3 held therein. Now the end of the roll (s) 3 is horizontal and located above the roll assembly platform 5. If the location of the roll (s) in regard to the roll assembly platform 5 by chance is/are correct, the roll (s) can be lowered onto the roll assembly platform 5 by controlling the movements of the upender conveyor 6 and the clamp means 10. However, generally the roll assembly platform 5 must be repositioned after loading of a preceding roll. The positioning is carried out by shifting the two-directionally movable roll assembly platform 5 resting on the transfer table 1. The transfer table 1 is adapted movable,

e. g., on crossed guide tracks or other mechanism permitting two-directional movements. Thus, the movements of the transfer table serve to place the roll (s) in a proper layout on the roll assembly platform. Inasmuch the rolls 2 laid precedingly onto the roll assembly platform 5 may block direct transfer of a new roll into its desired position, the upender conveyor is adapted to rotate supported by a hub shaft 13 thus permitting the upender conveyor 6 with the roll (s) 3 held by its clamp means to be turned laterally about the hub shaft 13 driven by the motor 7. In this fashion the roll (s) can be upendedly manipulated into a pocket formed by two or more precedingly laid rolls on the roll assembly platform 5. After the upender conveyor has lowered its load onto the roll assembly platform 5, the upender conveyor is rotated back into its home position ready for fetching new rolls.

The upender conveyor and the movable transfer table according to the invention facilitate accurate positioning of rolls. Firstly, the upender conveyor keeps the rolls precisely in the position controlled by the upender conveyor 6 and the clamp means 10 and, secondly, by way of controlling the roll assembly platform 5 with the help of the transfer table 1 accurately in regard to the position of the upender conveyor, rolls can be laid rapidly and precisely in a desired position. Not even superposed rolls present any problems inasmuch they are tightly held in a horizontal/vertical end-to- end abutting set during the entire transfer operation. In regard to the construction of the upender conveyor, it is essential to the keep the rolls tightly grabbed by the upender conveyor during upending so that no slipping of the rolls can occur before the clamp means are released from the rolls and the rolls have been lowered onto the roll assembly platform. In practice, the rolls must be grabbed by their periphery inasmuch the clamp means has to provide both support for sets of rolls and, at the same time, not to cover the lowermost roll end intended to be lowered onto the roll assembly platform when the roll or set of rolls is being laid onto the platform. In this fashion, the roll (s) is/are supported during the transfer by the clamp means and a backing surface that in the construction is the upender conveyor 6.

The bulk shipping unit formed onto the roll assembly platform 5 can be loaded as such onto a transport vehicle such as an open-top railroad car of the SIM type that

can accommodate two flat rack containers in an end-to-end manner. For transport on trailers or flatbed railroad cars, the flat rack container must be protected by a separate weather cover thus making the external dimensions of the bulk shipping unit compatible with those of a conventional trailer container. When the bulk shipping unit reaches the destination port, it can be hoisted as such onto the driveway deck of the ship, whereby the flat rack container provides a sufficiently high footing against water possibly floating on the deck. These units may further be placed two units end to end onto ferry trailers in ro-ro loading or, alternatively, onto a cassette in sto-ro type of loading. The use of a flat rack container gives the benefit of easy accessibility of these containers and utilization thereof for return freight in overseas shipments.

The bulk cargoes assembled onto the platform can be optimized in a desired manner either according to the loading order of the departure port terminal, the loading order of the destination port terminal or even according to the end user customer if the entire content of the roll assembly platform is destined to a single customer. As necessary, the securing of the cargo can be made with the help of a stringing net, tarpaulin or other suitable means.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 is illustrated a loading system suited for laying rolls according to the invention onto roll assembly platforms and then transferring the same onto a train, for example. The system is based on a similar combination of devices described above, herein comprising an upender conveyor 14, a conveyor track 15 for transfer of roll assembly platforms and a lift apparatus 16. In this layout, the transfer conveyor track 15 roll assembly platforms is made rectangular with one of its long sides parallel to a railroad track 17. The length of the side aligned parallel to the railroad track 17 is so long that conveyor track covers a string of plural railroad cars 18 and roll assembly platforms 5. Running along this length of the side aligned parallel to the railroad track 17, a lift apparatus 16 is adapted operative moving along tracks 19,20 over the entire length of the loading bay. Incoming rolls are received by the system via a sorting ramp area 21 whereto the rolls are transferred by a conveyor.

After sorting of the rolls into a desired order that optimizes the shipment of customer orders, the sorted rolls are taken by a conveyor 23 to a rotating device 24 thqt feeds the rolls to an upender conveyor 14. As such a handling/sorting technique of rolls is

well known in the art, a detailed description thereof can be omitted herein. With the help of the upender conveyor 14, the rolls are combined into a bulk shipping unit on the roll assembly platforms 5 in the manner already described above.

In FIG. 4 is shown a preferred embodiment of lift apparatus for transferring roll assembly platforms 5 into railroad cars 18. The lift apparatus 16 is constructed as a half-gantry lift having its one rail 20 running along the loading dock, displaced so far laterally apart from the railroad track 17 that the bulk shipping units loaded onto the roll assembly platforms 5 can pass between the vertical column 28 of the lift appa- ratus 16 and the railroad car 18. On the opposite site relative to the railroad track 17, there is adapted a rail 19 for supporting the free end of a horizontal top beam 29. The lifting of roll assembly platforms 5 and transfer of the same into railroad cars 18 is performed with the help of a lift fork 26 connected to the vertical column 25 so that the fork is controlledly movable by means of conventional drive machinery along a vertical guide track. The horizontal movements in the car loading direction take place supported by a top beam carriage 30 of the lift apparatus, while movements in the direction of the railroad track 17 occur along the rails 19,20 of the lift apparatus. Of course, different mechanical constructions of the lift apparatus are also feasible with the provision that the lift movements take place controlledly in all directions so that no swaying of the load is possible. Advantageously, the rails of the lift apparatus are made so long that the entire length of the loading bay can be utilized without any need to move the train.

The actual loading of the roll assembly platforms 5 into the train takes place as follows.

For loading, a freight train comprising a string of SIM cars is located at the side of the loading dock and a first half-side 27 of the cars is opened. If an empty roll assembly platform 5 is found in the car, the platform is first taken onto the track 15 of the transfer conveyor for reloading. The transfer conveyor track 15 is made very long so as to extend the conveyor along the entire length of the loading dock, whereby the transfer conveyor track also forms a buffer storage for the roll assembly

platforms 5. If the number of roll assembly platforms already existing in the train or on the transfer conveyor track is found short of the need, additional platforms may be introduced onto the transfer conveyor track. Herein, however, a separate transfer table 1, if used for supporting the roll assembly platforms, must be provided for each platform. The loaded roll assembly platforms acting as the bulk shipping units are transferred along the transfer conveyor track 15 until coinciding with the cars, and the lift apparatus 16 is aligned with a given bulk shipping unit facing a given car, whereby the lift fork 16 can be passed into the lift holes of the roll assembly platform for elevating the platform, the platform is moved into the car, lowered down and the fork is withdrawn from the car. Subsequently, the lift apparatus can be aligned in a similar manner with the next bulk shipping unit facing the open door of the next car.

The half-sides 27 of the cars can be opened and closed in the same pace with the progress of the loading of bulk shipping units into the cars. After all cars along the loading dock are loaded, the train can be moved so as to align new unloaded cars along the dock. If the manufacturer of the rolls has enough rolls for loading a complete train, the loading operation can be performed extremely quickly in this fashion without any need for uncoupling the cars of the train or the locomotive.

In addition to those described above, the invention may have alternative embodi- ments.

Instead of using a sorting ramp, the necessary sorting of rolls can be accomplished through the use of a greater number of parallel-operating loading stations, whereby the rolls are individually directed in the system onto their correct roll assembly platforms. Conventional crane, lift truck and conveyor means can be used for handling the roll assembly platforms during the different transfer steps. The entire system may be controlled automatically by means of a computer, and each load placed on a roll assembly platform can be complemented with necessary documenta- tion for further processing. The system is highly compatible with the use of rewritable tag memory devices that may be located in the flat rack container, for instance. This facility contributes to a substantial improvement in the automation of

shipping-lot specific follow-up in a shipping chain that typically needs plural people to document goods passing through check points.

Instead of using the transfer table for positioning the rolls, the upender conveyor may be designed movable or, alternatively, both apparatuses can be movable so that the lateral movement of the roll assembly platform is implemented by means of the upender conveyor, while the movement along the longitudinal axis of the platform is performed by means of the transfer table. Herein, it is essential to provide a sufficiently high positioning accuracy and a fast cycle time so that even a large number of rolls can be handled. The conveyor portion of the upender conveyor may be free-rolling or driven or even a simple sliding surface or a roller track. A motor- driven conveyor, however, gives the benefit of easier positioning of the rolls, whereby the outer surface thereof is subjected to a minimized stress. Instead of the flat rack containers mentioned above, also other types of loading platforms can be used as roll assembly platforms. One possibility is to use purpose-designed platforms involving a cost penalty to the roll manufacturer from their recycling. However, if purpose-designed platforms are adopted, they can be adapted to move along the transfer conveyor track without support by transfer tables. In road transportation, it may be advantageous to use standard-size closed containers with a side door, whereby the upender conveyor must be equipped with an extensible boom to facilitate loading of rolls into the container. Depending on the capacity need, the number of upender conveyors 14 and lift apparatuses 15 used for loading can be increased and their mechanical construction varied.

Obviously, the invention is also suited for loading goods into other types of vehicles.

For instance, trailer transportation could be managed by first driving the trucks alongside a loading dock in a row similar to that of a string of railroad cars, whereby the loading can take place as described above. If the transfer conveyor track and the lift apparatus are omitted, the trailers may be loaded by the bulk shipping units with the help of conventional lift trucks, for instance. The bulk shipping units may also be temporarily stowed in a buffer storage at the roll manufacturer's mill until, e. g., convenient shipping capacity becomes available. Then, the bulk shipping units must

be moved from the upender conveyor area to the buffer storage area. In certain cases it may not be necessary to fully utilize the loading capacity of a roll assembly platform as to its maximum volume or maximum weight. While different sizes of roll assembly platforms could be used, the benefits of standard-size containers are undeniable in the management of transports.