BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a plant providing for the processing of laminated material or in general sheet material coming from a coil of the same material. STATE OF THE ART

Plants are known, which provide for carrying out various processing operations on laminated or sheet material coming from a coil of the same material.

For example, plants are known, which provide for cutting the laminated material according to the shape and sizes required.

These types of plants typically provide for:

- a supply station of the laminated material wound onto a coil, which provides for supporting the laminated material wound onto a coil on a mandrel and for releasing it by unwinding;

- a cutting station of the laminated material, which provides for cutting the laminated material according to the shape and sizes required;

- a storage station of the cut laminated material.

In the case the material is cut longitudinally, the storage station can be a rewinding station onto the coil of the cut material. In this case, the cut laminated material is rewound on a cylindrical core supported by a mandrel.

In each of these stations, electric motors operate to move in rotation the coils and electropumps for the hydraulic circuits that provide to supply the moving members of the coils and the securing members of the coils on the mandrels. Furthermore, electrofans operate, which provide to cool the aforementioned driving electric motors and the fluid of the hydraulic circuits.

The main drawback in such plants is the high energy consumption involved by such plants. This is due to the high masses involved, given the weight of the coils of such material that, in the case of a metal material, may range from several tons to several tens of tons.

In fact, the involved masses force to use electric motors, electropumps, and electrofans having a considerable power, therefore a high electric consumption.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to propose a plant for processing laminated material from a coil, which sensibly reduces the energy consumption involved by such type of plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Such an object is achieved by a plant for processing laminated material or in general sheet material from a coil in accordance with the claim 1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to better understand the present invention, a description of an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment thereof is set forth below, illustrated in the attached drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a plant for processing a metal laminate from a coil, according to the invention;

Fig. 2 schematically shows the control system of the plant of Fig. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The plant illustrated in Fig. 1 is specifically intended to longitudinally cut a steel laminate that is wound onto a coil in the plant and rewound, again onto the coil, once it has been cut.

The illustrated plant provides for a supply station 10, a guiding station 20, a cutting station 30, a swarf winding station 40, a braking station 50, and a rewinding station 60. The supply station 10 provides a mandrel 11 supporting the steel laminate coil A, and further provides a series of hydraulic members of a known type for moving the coil A, not shown. The station 10 further provides a hydraulic control unit 12 having an electropump 13 for supplying the hydraulic members by means of a motor fluid. The motor fluid of the hydraulic control unit 12 is cooled through an electrofan 14 to prevent the overheating thereof. Finally, in order to unwind the coil A, an electric motor 15 that is cooled by an electrofan 16 to prevent the overheating thereof is provided for.

The guiding station 20 comprises a tiltable guide plane 21 and guide rollers. The tiltable guide plane 21 is actuated by the hydraulic control unit 12.

The cutting station 30 comprises opposite circular cutting blades 31 that are interspersed with coaxial rubber rollers for advancing the metal laminate. The circular cutting blades 31 with the rubber rollers are actuated by an electric motor 32 that is cooled by an electrofan 33 to prevent the overheating thereof.

The swarf winding station 40 provides a roller 41 to press the swarf, actuated by an electric motor 42 cooled by an electrofan 43 to prevent the overheating thereof.

The braking station 50 provides a pressing device composed of two planar felt members 51 acting in an opposite manner on the steel laminate. The rewinding station 60 provides a mandrel 61 provided with a cylindrical core on which the longitudinally cut steel laminate is rewound. For winding the coil B of cut steel laminate, an electric motor 62 is provided for, which is cooled by an electrofan 63 to prevent the overheating thereof. Furthermore, a series of hydraulic members of a known type is provided for, for moving the coil B of cut and rewound steel laminate, not shown. For the supply of these hydraulic members, a hydraulic control unit 64 is provided for, having an electropump 65 for the supply of the hydraulic circuit by means of a motor fluid. The motor fluid of the hydraulic control unit 64 is cooled by an electrofan 66 to prevent the overheating thereof.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the electropumps 13,65, the electric motors 15,32,42,62, and the electrofans 14,16,33,43,63,66 are connected to an electronic drive and control unit 100.

The electronic unit 100 provides to manage the electropumps, the electric motors, and the electrofans, and comprises a deactivation section 01 and a timer section 102.

The control system of the illustrated plant further comprises a series of temperature sensors. In particular, temperature sensors 17 and 67 measuring the temperature of the hydraulic fluid of the control unit 13 and of the control unit 65, respectively, are provided for. Furthermore, temperature sensors 18,34,44,68, measuring the temperature of the electric motors 15,32,42,62 respectively, are provided for.

The operation of the plant described and illustrated above is as follows. The steel laminate coil A is loaded and secured onto the mandrel through the special hydraulic members supplied by the control unit 12.

Once the coil A has been loaded, it is unwound through the electric motor 5 to send it to the processing.

The metal laminate, indicated by L, passes on the guide plane 21 and passes through the guide rollers 22 of the guiding station 20.

Then the laminate L is cut longitudinally by the circular blades 31 that are actuated by the electric motor 32. The rubber rollers, mounted coaxially and integrally to the circular blades 31 , provide for pulling the laminate L, thus unwinding the coil A.

The edges of the laminate L are discarded, and the swarf, indicated by S, is collected and pressed by the roller 41 of the winding station 40, actuated by the electric motor 42. After cutting the laminate L, it is rewound, as longitudinally cut, onto the core mounted in the mandrel 61 due to the action of the electric motor 62, to form the coil B.

The output speed of the laminate L from the cutting station 30, and the rewinding speed of the coil B, are adjusted so that at the output from the cutting station 30, the laminate L forms a large loop before entering the braking station 50, to compensate for the thickness differences among the different laminate sections. In the braking station 50, the laminate L is pressed between the two planar felt members 51 , so as to generate the proper stretch to properly rewind the laminate L in the next rewinding station 60.

Once the coil B of longitudinally cut laminate has been formed, the plant is stopped, and the coil B is withdrawn from the mandrel 61 and removed from the plant through the special hydraulic members supplied by the control unit β

The electronic drive and control unit 100 provides for driving and controlling all the sequences of operations described above.

When the electric motors and/or the electropumps are stopped, for example to move the coils A and B, to carry out interventions in the stations, or due to other reasons, the unit 100 detects the stop of one, multiple, or all of the electric motors and/or the electropumps, and through the deactivating means 101 , it provides for deactivating the respective electrofans. As the electric motors and/or the electropumps restart their operation, the unit 00 reactivates the electrofans.

The unit 100 may also use the temperature sensors to detect the temperatures of the electric motors and the hydraulic fluids, and to decide whether to deactivate the electrofans or not, according to the temperature.

The timing operations 102 generate a delay between the moment when an electric motor and/or a electropump stops, and the moment when the respective electrofans are deactivated. This is to avoid deactivating and reactivating the electrofans in a short period of time in the case the motor stops and reactivates again in a short period of time.

This operation logic of the unit 100 allows a considerable electric energy saving. In fact, long downtimes of the plant are typically provided to load a new coil A and/or to unload the coil B of longitudinally cut material, for the preparation of the cutting blades 31 and the rubber rollers, and for the preparation of the braking station 50. During these downtimes, the unit 100 stops those electrofans that have a high power, since they have to cool high power electric motors and high volumes of hydraulic fluid, for the masses involved. Only the same electronic unit 100 remains active, ready to restart the plant, as required. It shall be apparent that this involves an insignificant energy consumption during long downtimes. There is also a considerable reduction of both the acoustic emission of the plant and the wear of the electrofans. This also leads to a lesser consumption of hydraulic fluid.

It shall be apparent that variations and/or additions to what has been described and illustrated above are possible.

The cutting plant may have other and/or different processing stations compared to those described above. The same principles can be applied to plants for cutting other types of materials from a coil, for example, to cut paper.

Generally, the same principles can be applied to plants for any type of processing of laminated material or in general sheet material.

The processed material may not be rewound onto a coil, but stored otherwise, according to the type of processing. For example, when it is cut in single sheets, it can be stacked.