Handling: hand and hoist-line implements – Grapple – Load shifting
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-20
2004-05-11
Chin, Paul T. (Department: 3652)
Handling: hand and hoist-line implements
Grapple
Load shifting
C294S067210, C294S067220, C294S067500, C242S559100, C414S911000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06733058
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a winding roll lifting device, or simply a lifting device. The winding roll carries sheet materials, such as synthetic resin film, paper, film laminate paper and the like, that are wound around its winding shaft, and the lifting device may be operated so that it can move the winding roll that is initially placed in its vertical or horizontal position toward its horizontal position or vertical position. The present invention also relates to a winding roll holding device, or simply a holding device, that may be used in conjunction with the lifting device, wherein in a situation in which the winding roll being lifted by the lifting device, with its chuck member being inserted into a central recess provided on the winding roll, is slipping out of the lifting device, the holding device may be operated automatically so that it can engage the inner wall of the central recess on the winding roll more firmly.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, a plurality of parallel winding rolls (e.g. four to five winding rolls), each of which carries sheet materials, such as synthetic resin film, paper, film laminate paper and the like, that are wound around its winding shaft, are placed in their vertical positions onto a transport pallet. Those winding rolls may be traveling on the transport pallet toward the workstation, where the winding rolls are repositioned from the vertical state to the horizontal state, and are then mounted on a machine. In this prior art, the primary considerations are to assure the quality of the sheet materials carried by the winding rolls and to utilize the available space effectively.
Generally, the winding roll lifting device that is used in moving the winding roll from its vertical position into its horizontal position has a chuck member that may engage a central recess provided on the winding roll by being inserted into the central recess, when it is initially placed in its vertical position. Actually, when the winding roll is to be moved from its vertical position to its horizontal position, the chuck member may be inserted into or engage the central recess from the top, and may then be turned pivotally into its horizontal position, causing the winding roll to be raised into its horizontal position.
In the conventional winding roll lifting device described above, the part of the lifting device that dynamically acts as a point of force (which usually corresponds to the hook member in the lifting device) is initially located just above the center of gravity of the winding roll, and is aligned with the center of gravity along the vertical line. As the winding roll is being lifted by the lifting device toward its horizontal position, however, the distance between the position of a vertical line along which the force point is located and the position of a vertical line along which the gravity point of the winding roll is located becomes greater. In general, the location along the vertical line of the hook member of the lifting device acting as the force point is fixed, and the location along the vertical line of the center of gravity of the winding roll may move further away from the location of the force point, as the winding roll is being lifted into its horizontal position. Thus, the prior art lifting device has a problem in that the pivotal movement of the chuck part from its vertical position to its horizontal position cannot occur with stability. The problem that causes the distance between the vertical line position where that part of the lifting device that dynamically acts as the force point (which corresponds to the hook member of the lifting device) is located and the vertical line position where the center of gravity of the winding roll is located to become gradually greater may become more serious when elongated objects, such as winding rolls, that are massive or have a greater width than diameter are being lifted from the vertical position into the horizontal position. This may also cause the instability problem to become worse when such objects are being lifted by the chuck member from the vertical position into the horizontal position.
Because the winding roll that carries sheet materials, such as synthetic resin film, paper, film laminate paper and the like wound around its winding shaft, is massive, the instability problem, coupled with the problem that causes the distance between the vertical line location of the force point (which corresponds to the location of the hook member) and the vertical line location of the center of gravity of the winding roll to become greater, may introduce another problem in that the mounting operation of the winding roll in its horizontal position onto a machine cannot be performed with high safety, and the operation cannot proceed with high speed.
As described, the winding roll may be moved from its vertical position into its horizontal position as it is held by the chuck member. To do this, the chuck member includes an inflatable member around its outer surface into which compressed air may be introduced. After the chuck member is inserted into the central recess of the winding roll, the compressed air may be introduced into the inflatable member, which may enlarge the external diameter of the chuck member so that the chuck member can engage the inner wall of the central recess of the winding roll more firmly.
It should be noted, however, that for the massive winding roll, the frictional force between the chuck member and the inner wall of the central recess may not be able to overcome the weight of the winding roll gradually until the winding roll is finally slipping out of the chuck member, even if a large amount of compressed air is introduced into its inflatable member. This may also cause the instability problem when the winding roll is being lifted.
This instability problem may become more apparent when the winding roll is placed in its vertical position, as the total weight of the winding roll acts in the vertical direction.
In light of the problems associated with the winding roll lifting device of the prior art that occur when the winding roll is lifted from its vertical position into its horizontal position, the present invention proposes to provide a winding roll lifting device, or simply a lifting device, that allows the winding roll in its vertical position to be lifted into its horizontal position with high safety and with high speed. The present invention also proposes to provide a winding roll holding device, or simply a holding device, that prevents the winding roll from slipping out of the chuck member while it is being lifted by the chuck member. This holding device may be used in conjunction with the lifting device of the present invention or the lifting device of the prior art described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the problems described above, and solves the problems by allowing the vertical line position of that part of the winding roll lifting device that dynamically acts as a point of force (which usually corresponds to the hook member in the lifting device) to move in the same direction as the direction in which the vertical line position where the center of gravity of the winding roll is located is moving, thereby keeping the distance between the vertical line position of the force point and the vertical line position of the center of gravity as small as possible when the winding roll is being lifted by the lifting device from its vertical position into its horizontal position.
The problems may also be solved by providing a winding roll holding device, or simply a holding device, that includes an eccentric cam member. If a situation where the winding roll being lifted by the lifting device with its chuck member being inserted into the central recess on the winding roll is slipping out of the chuck member should occur, the holding device may be operated automatically so that its eccentric cam member may be forced against the inner wall of the central recess, thereby engaging the
Chin Paul T.
Himecs Corp.
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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