Advancing material of indeterminate length – With material-responsive control means – To position material laterally
Patent
1998-10-20
2000-05-16
Mansen, Michael R.
Advancing material of indeterminate length
With material-responsive control means
To position material laterally
226 21, 226 3, 198807, 19881003, B65H 4300, B65G 3916
Patent
active
060624531
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention concerns the art of methods and apparatuses for guiding strip components on a conveyor system, arid more specifically to methods and apparatuses for electronically sensing and dynamically shifting and steering the strip components to a desired transverse position.
BACKGROUND ART
In the past, when a strip component was conveyed by a conveyor, the conveyor system either did not guide the component to align it with the conveyor, or the conveyor system had guides that kept the component aligned with the conveyor. If the component was not guided, it was possible that the component would not be aligned with the conveyor when the component reached its destination. If physical guides such as side guide rails were used, the sides of the component were subject to damage due to contact with the guide rails.
Although guiding a strip component carried by a conveyor is not the same as guiding a belt, a belt roller, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,696 to Thurston, utilized an assembly of angled disks rotatably mounted on a rotatable shaft to maintain the position of a belt. When the shaft was rotated, the angle of engagement of the disks with the belt surface was changed. One embodiment of the invention used a sensing device to measure belt displacement. However, the problem was that this assembly of angled disks was unable to provide an instantaneous lateral adjustment. Lateral movement of the assembly was not necessary because the belt was wrapped around a significant portion of the disks which allowed more contact time with the belt to steer the belt. In a conveyor system for strip components, such an apparatus would contact the strip component to be guided along a small portion of each disk, thereby reducing the contact time for guiding and seriously limit the steering capability of the system.
In most other guiding systems the sheet or strip to be guided was required to be in web tension which is not desirable especially with extruded unreinforced sheets or strips of elastomeric material used in the manufacture of tires. Guidance systems also required extensive space consuming equipment whereas in tire building equipment space is limited.
Applicants recognized the need for a steering apparatus that could provide an instantaneous shifting adjustment as well as a prolonged steering action without using guide rails that could damage the strip component being conveyed.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved guiding system which is compact, simple in design, effective in use, and solves the problem by overcoming the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a new and improved guiding system is provided which optically senses and dynamically steers strip components to a desired position.
More particularly, in accordance with the present invention, a conveyor system for steering an associated strip or sheet component to a desired transverse position is provided that has a conveyor apparatus for conveying the associated strip component from an initial longitudinal and transverse position to a desired transverse position, the conveyor apparatus conveying the associated strip component in a longitudinal direction; a sensor for sensing the location of the associated component relative to the conveyor apparatus; a shaft being located between the conveyor apparatus and the desired position, the shaft being rotatable about an axis and positioned with the axis perpendicular to the direction of motion of the conveyor apparatus; and a plurality of guide disks rotatably mounted about the shaft, each of the guide disks having an inner circumferential surface and an outer circumferential surface, the associated component passing over the outer circumferential surface, the inner circumferential surface rotatable on the shaft, each of the guide disks having a diametrical axis, each of the guide disks being mounted such that each of the diametrical axes are at
REFERENCES:
patent: 3225988 (1965-12-01), Drenning
patent: 3244418 (1966-04-01), Henderson
patent: 3273696 (1966-09-01), Thurston
patent: 3300114 (1967-01-01), Jacobsen
patent: 3731864 (1973-05-01), Ott, Jr.
patent: 3915282 (1975-10-01), Remensperger
patent: 4155496 (1979-05-01), Houck
patent: 5244435 (1993-09-01), Billett
patent: 5407190 (1995-04-01), Hehn
Murray Thomas Alan
Ring Ralph Damon
Lacher Frederick K
Mansen Michael R.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
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