Cutting – With means to deform work temporarily
Reexamination Certificate
1995-12-11
2001-05-08
Peterson, Kenneth E. (Department: 3724)
Cutting
With means to deform work temporarily
C083S368000, C083S454000, C083S456000, C083S465000, C083S557000, C083S562000, C083S563000, C083S949000, C083S614000, C242S523100, C242S527000, C242S562000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06227088
ABSTRACT:
CLAIM FOR PRIORITY
Applicants claim priority, under 35 USC § 119, to European Patent Application 94810716.4, filed Dec. 12, 1994.
1. Field of Invention
The present invention pertains to a method and device for opening wound rolls of a supple material, such as paper or fabric. Such rolls are formed by spirally winding the material in superimposed layers, often on a separate support shaft. The roll has a top layer which can serve as a protection layer, the free or “loose” end of which may be attached to the layer directly beneath it, frequently by means of glue.
The roll has two parallel sides formed by the edges of the wound material. The method and the device according to the invention are particularly useful for relatively narrow rolls, namely, those delivering a strip having a maximum width of the order of several centimeters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various disclosures, in particular U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,018,535, 4,995,406 and 5,169,082, describe different methods and devices which open a roll of paper or other material to be fed into a manufacturing machine and those disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.
These publications generally provide for a cutting blade that is perpendicular to the unwinding direction of the strip and is applied to the top layer of the roll in order to cut it. Since the cutting blade is pressed onto the top layer with a certain force and/or is inserted a certain distance into the roll, several layers of the roll generally are cut simultaneously, with no way of verifying how many layers have been cut.
With these systems, it often happens that the next layer directly below the last cut layer is damaged by the blade, thus making a weak point that could cause the strip to break at that location at some future time. A break of this type requires a shutdown of the machine which uses the roll of wound material, resulting in a loss of productivity.
In certain cases, the top layer of the roll is covered with a protection band made of a material that can be different from that of the roll. In the following description, the “top layer” of the roll refers to any of: this protection band (if present), the first layer or layers of the roll, or to the protective band and the first layer or layers of the roll.
Application DE 3,215,355 describes a device with a support bar on which are mounted a cutting blade and a layer separating blade. The separating and cutting actions are controlled simultaneously by the movement of the support bar. This device unfortunately makes it impossible to adjust the distance between the support bar and the separating blade, and it is fairly difficult to minimize the height travel setting for the separating blade. As a result of this difficulty, an excessive number of layers must be cut leading to waste.
Furthermore, if the force of the separating blade spring decreases after long use, there can be insufficient compressive force between the support bar and the separating blade, and thus it is possible that one or several layers between the support bar and the separating blade might not be severed properly.
Regarding the paper on the roll itself, since the support bar rests directly on the top layers, the latter is compressed, making it more difficult to insert the separating blade. Also, because the advancing movements of the support bar against the upper layer and those of the separating blade are simultaneous with the cutting movement, the layers to be cut are shifted, causing damage to the layer directly beneath the separating blade and preventing a clean cut of the layers.
Moreover, this device is not capable of making multiple cutting passes, and the fact that the cutting blade is attached to the support bar makes it difficult to replace a worn blade. Furthermore, this device does not have any means of relaxing the tension of the top layers of the roll if said layers are tightly rolled, in which case it is impossible to use the device.
DE 3,918,552 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,971 describe devices for opening wide rolls. The problems encountered in this case are essentially different from those which the present invention solves. In particular, devices in these disclosures cannot insert the layer separating blade across the entire width of the roll.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The device according to the present invention provides a method for opening a roll without damaging the layers which underlie the outer layer of the roll. A flat blade is inserted between the outer layer to be cut and the center of the roll, and the cutting action stops at the flat blade. In one embodiment, the novel device contains a gripping mechanism which grips the top layer or layers of a roll and draws the surface together to form an arched space under that layer. A flat blade is provided for insertion into the roll, preferably at an arched space as described above, and a cutting blade is provided which cuts the top layer, and at the end of its cut is stopped by the flat blade. The layers may also be separated by a jet of air or other gas to ease the insertion of the blade, and the roll may optionally be turned.
One object of the invention is to provide a method compatible with conventional roll handling methods, but which does not have the disadvantages of the prior art and which ensures that the layer directly below the last cut layer is absolutely intact and damage-free, even if the top layer of the rolls are tightly wound.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device for opening a roll with a minimum of damage to the layers, which device can be adapted to a known device for roll opening and that preserves intact the layer directly below the last layer to be cut, even if the top layers of the roll are tightly wound.
An additional object is to provide a device and method for opening a sealed roll which is compatible with cigarette manufacturing machines.
These objects are achieved by the device and method of the present invention.
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Cestonaro Jean
Christen Pascal
Vuilleumier David
Glenn Charles E. B.
Goodman Charles
Hallman, Jr. Clinton H.
Osborne Kevin B.
Peterson Kenneth E.
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