Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Wound storage package – Convolute coil
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-09
2001-04-03
Jillions, John M. (Department: 3653)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Wound storage package
Convolute coil
C242S531000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209814
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to winding and, more particularly, to winding plastic tape on cores.
Plastic tape has become commonplace in a number of products including electrical products such as wire, cable, conduit, transformers and other electrical components, as well as in packaging. The use of plastic tape as ties in plastic garbage and storage bags has grown significantly. Manufacturers utilize plastic tape in the form of rolls in automated machinery to produce a wide range of these products.
Rolls of plastic tape are normally wound on cores to aid in winding and provide improved stability of the roll. They are sometimes wound as a single “pancake” package which comprises a single roll having a width equal to the width of the plastic tape or film. Such a roll has the disadvantage of becoming unstable at large roll outer diameters, especially if the tape is narrow. The single roll package also limits the length of plastic tape, requiring frequent stopping of the machinery for roll changes.
Another winding method for roll packages utilizes a helical winding method, similar to winding a reel of line or string. This method produces a roll package with a width greater than the tape width and provides additional capacity of the roll package as compared to the “pancake” roll package. This winding method suffers the disadvantage of instability, especially near the roll package ends. Use of spools with end discs improves the stability, but increases the complexity, cost and weight of the package.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,817 discloses a tape package comprising a winding method which incorporates a plurality of axially spaced wind positions. The wind positions are made up of a plurality of separate spiral windings of at least one turn. Helical windings connect spiral windings to adjacent positions. The spiral winding groups of the end positions have twice the windings of intermediate positions. Although this method has some advantages over other winding methods, roll density is reduced due to frequent helical winding transitions or steps, and end stability still limits wind diameter.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore an object of the present invention is to provide a roll package for plastic tape comprising multiple roll segments with reduced transition steps on the outer roll segments, especially the end roll segments.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a roll package having a high wrapping density, increasing the length of tape in a given package outer diameter.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a roll package which may be wrapped to larger roll diameters, increasing the capacity of the roll package.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a roll package with improved mechanical stability, reducing the reject rate of roll packages due to damage.
Surprisingly, it has been found that the helical transition windings between the spiral winding groups in prior art roll packages de-stabilize the roll segments, especially the end segments. This is believed due to non-uniformities introduced in the tape resulting from the stresses on the tape as the winding is stepped or axially displaced to an adjacent roll segment. The non-uniformities also reduce the winding density of the roll segments.
The roll package of the present invention comprises a single length of plastic tape wrapped on a core in a plurality of roll segments. In the preferred embodiment, the tape is continuous between the beginning of the tape at the core to the end at the segment outer diameter of the last roll segment. The roll segments are the approximate width of the tape. Each roll segment is made up of a plurality of concentrically disposed spiral winding groups. The winding groups comprise a plurality of continuous and non-interrupted spiral tape windings. The spiral winding groups of a roll segment are connected to spiral winding groups on adjacent roll segments by helical windings produced as the winding process “steps” to the next roll segment as the roll package is built up.
The roll segments of the roll package include two end roll segments and a plurality of inner roll segments. The inner roll segments of the preferred embodiment comprises at least two intermediate roll segments positioned adjacent to the end roll segments and axially displaced towards the center of the roll package, and at least one center roll segment positioned adjacent to an intermediate roll segment and axially displaced towards the center of the roll package. The spiral winding groups of the end roll segments have more individual tape windings than the spiral winding groups of the intermediate roll segments. At least a portion of the spiral winding groups of the intermediate roll segments have more individual tape windings than the spiral winding groups of the center roll segment(s).
In one of the embodiments, the spiral winding groups of the end roll segments comprise at least twice the number of windings as the spiral winding groups of the intermediate roll segments. At least a portion of the spiral winding groups of the intermediate roll segments comprise at least twice the number of windings as the spiral winding groups of the center roll segment(s).
In a preferred embodiment, the spiral winding groups of the end roll segments comprise approximately three to four times the number of windings as a first portion of spiral winding groups of the intermediate roll segments. The spiral winding groups of the end roll segments comprise approximately eight times the number of windings as a second portion of spiral winding groups of the intermediate roll segments. The first portion of the spiral winding groups of the intermediate roll segments comprise at least twice the number of windings as the spiral winding groups of the center roll segment(s).
The roll package structure of the present invention results in the end roll segments having less than half the number of spiral winding groups (or roll segment visits) as compared to the spiral winding groups of the center roll segments. In the preferred embodiments, the number of spiral winding groups making up the end roll segments is less than one fourth, more preferably less than one sixth, and most preferably approximately one eigth of the number of spiral winding groups as the center roll segments. The reduced number of spiral winding groups of the end roll segments increases the winding density of the end roll segments and improves the stability of the end roll segments by reducing the number of helical winding transitions and the resulting non-uniformity of the tape windings.
In the preferred embodiments, the end spiral groups comprise at least 2.5 times the number of wrappings as the center spiral groups. In the more preferred embodiments, the end spiral groups comprise at least 3 times the number of wrappings as the center spiral groups. In the yet more preferred embodiments the end spiral groups comprise at least 4 times the number of wrappings as the center spiral groups, and in the still more preferred embodiments, the end spiral groups comprise at least 6 times the number of wrappings as the center spiral groups. In the most preferred embodiments, the end spiral groups comprise at least 8 times the number of wrappings as the center spiral groups.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2432270 (1947-12-01), Asbill, Jr.
patent: 2604275 (1952-07-01), Hull
patent: 2650703 (1953-09-01), Hagen
patent: 2912102 (1959-11-01), Scott
patent: 3025015 (1962-03-01), Mix
patent: 4603817 (1986-08-01), O'Connor
patent: 6007016 (1999-12-01), Helton
Jillions John M.
Tricon Conversion, LLC
Watkins, Jr. Kenneth S.
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