DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to equipment for the producti-,n of rolls of web material (which equipment is designed for making products from which the material can be unwou::! and removed as and when needed, or designed for othe; uses), that offers many advantages over convention\1 solutions, as will be clear from the following text.

The equipment in question basically comprises a revolving mindrel holder capable of intermittent angular movement abcut an axis that is inclined relative to the direction of advance of the web material to be wound; on said mandrel holder there are at least two winding mandrels on inclined or skew axes relative to the axis about which the mandrel holder moves and arranged in such a way that a*, the end of each roll winding cycle an angular movement of said mandrel holder brings a free mandrel into th«» winding position, and brings the or a mandrel with th.. roll formed upon it into a position in which the roll can be taken off the mandrel that formed it. In practise, and preferably, said mandrel holder is designed to rotate about an axis orientated at approximately 45° r.o the direction of advance of the web material.

The revolving mandrel nolder may possess two winding mandrels positioned on opposite sides of the axis of rotation of said mandrel holder. which rotates through an angle of 180° J.n each cycle . Alternatively, said revolving mandrel voider may possess four winding mandrels arranged square to each other, in which case the revolving mandrel holcer rotates through an angle of 90° in each cycle.

In one practical embodiment the mandrels are actuated by a drive comprising members that rotate about

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an axis parallel with but not coinciding with the axis about which said mandrel holder has its interm.v.:tent angular movement. In this way it is possible selecrively to turn only that mandrel on which the web materia. is to be wound to form the roll, while the mandrel for which the roll is to be unloaded is not turned, because the drive is engaged only with the mandrel currently in the winding position. This drive may include a pair of friction drive members or drive members with cyc.'.ical and temporary engagement.

The mandrels may be tubular with perforated walls, in which case channels may be provi ed in the mandrel holder supporting structure, in said mandrel holder and in its mandrels in order to creat s a suction into the interior of that mandrel which is temporarily in the winding position, in ord«r to initiε e winding. Alternatively - or additionally - the equipment may comprise means for placing a tubular core- on a mandrel that is to initiate winding onto that core. An advantageous feature of the equipment according to the invention :.s that it nay include a plurality of production liners positioned side by side, each having its own revolving mandrel holder: the complete assembly occupies little space ar.i is such as to facilitate the unloading of he formed rolls.

A clearer understanding of the invention will be provided by the description and accompanying drawing, the latter showing a practical, non-restrjoting example of said invention. In the drε. ing: Fig. 1 shows in plan view . -. diagram of the equipment according to the invention v Lth a plurality of production lines;

Fig. 2 is a view of Fig. 1 frciΛ line II-II; Fig. 3 is a vi«w of Fig. 1 from line III-III; Fig. 4 is an alternative embodiment in a similar view to that shown i-j Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section essentially on V-V as marked in Fig. ? or in Fig. 4; and

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show an alternative to Fig. 5 and sections on VII-VII and VIII-VIII as marked in Fig. 5.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawing. A, B and C are three production lines positioned side by side to form a multiple equipment assembly that can be made to occupy very little space by adopting the principles of the invention.

With reference to line A, to which lines B and C are perfectly equivalent, 10 is a general reference for an endless conveyor belt system that feeds the web material in the direction of the arrow f so that it can be wound onto a mandrel situated at the end of the conveyor 10. The conveying action is continuous or largely continuous - that is to say in some cases it may be intermittent - and leads to the winding up of continuous web material or of a material made up of a plurality of components, that is products, that are intended to be dispensed and are attached for the winding operation.

At the end of the conveyor system 10 is a mandrel in position 12, onto which the web material N is wound until the roll R is complete. In Figs. 1 and 3, a roll in mid-formation on the mandrel in position 12 is marked RO, while in another position the roll is marked R in its final form. The material N may initially be wound onto the mandrel 12 by the action of pneumatic suction through holes in the tubular walls of the mandrel, or alternatively a tubular core may be placed on the mandrel 12 and the front end of the material N to be wound onto the mandrel may be captured by an adhesive surface present on said core.

When the roll is finished it is important to remove the formed roll as fast and as compactly as possible and bring in a mandrel ready to receive the front end of the material N as it again advances in the direction of arrow f, in order to begin making the new roll as soon as a winding mandrel has been moved into

position. The means by which these operations are performed must also be such as to occupy a limited amount of space in order that a plurality of production lines such as A, B and C can be installed very close together. Another consideration is the convenience of being able to unload and remove the rolls easily as they are formed.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawing, the handling of the finished roll and the presenting of a mandrel in the winding position at the end of the conveyor system 10 is accomplished by means of a mandrel holder 16 capable of rotating about an axis X-X that is inclined relative to the axis of the mandrel in position 12, in the plan view, and also relative to the direction f of advance of the web material to be wound. The mandrel holder 16, which is designed for intermittent rotation about its axis X-X, may be made up of components 16A, 16B and 16C; this last component 16C is a sleeve mounted for rotation about a fixed tubular support 18 which is integral with fixed supporting means bearing the general reference 20. Teeth 22 receive an intermittent movement of rotation in the direction indicated by arrow f22 about the axis X-X for the purposes indicated below; this intermittent rotation in accordance with the example of Fig. 3 is an angular movement of 180" in each cycle, whereas in the alternative embodiment shown in Fig. 4 the intermittent angular movement is of 90°. The mandrel holder 16 in the example shown in Fig. 3 is fitted with two mandrels, one of which is the mandrel 12 already referred to and the other a mandrel 12A which is mounted in a symmetrical position opposite the mandrel 12 relative to ^■ a plane passing through the axis X-X. The axis of the mandrel in position 12 in the drawing lies at 45° to the axis X-X and is at right angles - as already noted - to the direction of advance of the web material N in the direction of arrow f; in the same way the mandrel in position 12A is inclined at 45° relative to the axis X-X. The axes of the mandrels may in principle and as an alternative be skew relative to the axis X-X, provided

they are in such positions that the 180° rotation brings each mandrel into the position in which the other had been previously. Each of the mandrels 12, 12A is supported by the mandrel holder 16 and rotates in bearings 24, 24A, which are sketched in in Fig. 5. A shaft 26 rotates inside the tube 18 independently of the tube 18 and receives its motion through a gear coupling 28; said shaft 26 may be slightly out of alignment with the axis X-X so that it will only turn the mandrel present in position 12, via a conical friction wheel 30 and that one of the two conical friction pinions 32 and 32A which is integral with the mandrel present in position 12. An axial thrust means bearing the general reference 34 ensures adhesion between the drive members 30 and 32 (or 32A) for the purpose of turning the mandrel in position 12. The members 30, 32, 32A may also be toothed, in which case the thrust means acts as a shock absorber and facilitates the initial engagement.

In the example shown in Fig. 5, each of the mandrels is designed to attract the front end of the web material N pneumatically. To this end the mandrels, such as 12, 12A, are of tubular construction with suction apertures 12X and a fixed connection 36 is provided to the support 20 where the mandrel is in position 12; in turn, this connection 36 is connected to a manifold 38 formed within the revolving mandrel holder 16 leading away from the cavity of the tubular mandrel present at position 12; in this way only the mandrel in position 12 is subjected to a partial vacuum by a source connected to the connection 36, with the result that the front end of the web material N is captured in the initial forming of the roll RO that is being formed on the mandrel in position 12 with the feed as described. When a mandrel moves from position 12 to position 12A the suction action ceases because the connection 36 and the manifold 38 are separated from each other. When a mandrel reaches position 12A, this manifold 38 may be in line with a connection similar to the connection 36 but fed with

compressed air to facilitate removal, that is axial withdrawal from the mandrel in position 12A "by expansion" of the roll formed upon it, as is indicated by arrow fA in the case of roll RA in the process of being taken off (see Fig. 1).

Each of the mandrels 12 and 12A when placed in position 12 is spun in the manner indicated by the drive 26, 30, 32 (or 32A) by the pinion 28 which receives its motion from a fixed structure. The gear 22 brings about the intermittent movements of the mandrel holder 16 about the axis X-X in such a way that in each cycle a mandrel in position 12 is brought into position 12A following the arrow f22 to enable the formed roll to be unloaded, while the mandrel with no roll, currently in position 12A, is moved into position 12 to commence the forming of a new roll. With this arrangement it is possible to remove the newly formed roll from the mandrel that has formed it and is now moving to position 12A; the roll is withdrawn in direction fA, i.e. axially, rather than in the same direction as the direction of advance of the web material N, i.e. in the direction of arrow f, or axially from the mandrel still in position 12, because both of these possibilities are very complicated; the arrangement illustrated is also fast when it comes to putting a new mandrel in position 12 to begin forming a new roll. The arrangement of the mandrel holder 16 with the mandrels such as 12, 12A moving in succession into the two positions not only has the advantages indicated above but also saves space transversely relative to the advancing movement of the web material in direction f on the advancing systems 10. This means that many lines such as A, B, C may be arranged very close together and parallel with each other to allow parallel operation, while the amount of floor space required is very small. In the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 and 5 only two mandrels 12, 12A are provided: these take the place of each other every time the mandrel holder 16 makes its intermittent angular movement into the two

positions illustrated, with an angular stroke of 180°. In the alternative version shown in Fig. 4, not only are there two mandrels in positions 12 and 12A, but also two other mandrels in positions 12B and 12C in a square arrangement relative to mandrels 12, 12A, forming a cross in the axial view shown in Fig. 4. In this embodiment the intermittent angular movement in the direction of arrow f22 is just 90° rather than 180°.

With the "revolver cylinder"-like movement of the mandrel holder 16 through angular strokes of 180° or 90° it is possible to achieve very fast replacement of the mandrel in position 12, that is in front of the advancing system 10. The angular movements of the mandrel holder 16 can be synchronized with both the operation of suitable means for cutting the web material N when a roll has been fully wound, and appropriate interruptions to the advancing or activating of accumulator means (festoons) for temporarily interrupting the winding by means of devices already known per se. In the direction of arrow fA, means will be provided for collecting and forwarding the already formed rolls, and similar arrangements will be provided at each of the other production lines such as B and C indicated in Fig. 1 for the rolls formed there. Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show an alternative embodiment in which the mandrels such as 12 and 12A are replaced with mandrels 112 and 112A. Each of these mandrels comprises a perforated box section 114 which, like the mandrel 12, can apply both partial vacuum and extra pressure; fitted around this section 114 are two opposite channel sections 116 that are secured by pins 118 through slots 120 slanting in opposite directions and that have slanting ends 116A. A centre 122 can engage with the mandrel in position 112: by advancing axially in the direction fl22, this centre acts on the edges 116A and pushes axially on the sections 116 which expand radially; the result is to form the reel RO, as in the previous case. When the mandrel holder 16 is to be turned, the

centre 122 is withdrawn axially and the two sections 116 can close together again; the result is that when the mandrel 112 reaches position 112A, the reel RA can easily be slid off in the direction fA. As an alternative to the system of suction capture by the mandrel in position 12 in front of the conveyor system 10, the roll can be formed around a tubular core, in which case an adhesive surface will be provided for the front end of the web material when the material begins to be wound around a roll. If this approach is adopted, a core can be fitted either onto the mandrel as it arrives in position 12 or onto the mandrel as soon as its roll is removed in position 12A, or yet again - in the case of Fig. 5 - onto the mandrel waiting in an intermediate position between position 12A and position 12, for example in the downward-pointing position.