Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Unwinding – With attachment to preceding material
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-11
2004-12-28
Rivera, William A. (Department: 3654)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Unwinding
With attachment to preceding material
C242S559000, C242S560100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06834826
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a film connecting/feeding apparatus to be incorporated into a wrapping system. More particularly, the invention relates to a film connecting/feeding apparatus which makes it possible to continuously feed a film by connecting a trailing end of a film delivered from a film roll and a leading end of a spare film roll.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally known film connecting/feeding apparatuses of this type include those disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications Nos. 4-338056, 6-278921, 5-97122, and
5-112326.
Among others, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications Nos. 4-338056 and 6-278921 disclose conventional apparatus having features in a conveying unit of the film roll.
As shown in
FIG. 17
, the web feeding apparatus
200
(film connecting/feeding apparatus) in 4-338056 comprises a rewinding position
202
, a standby position
204
and a feeding position
205
, and has a configuration in which the trailing end of a web
201
a
delivered from a web roll
201
held at the rewinding position
202
and the leading end of a web
203
a
delivered from a spare web roll
203
held at the standby position
204
are connected at the connecting position
205
.
The web feeding apparatus
200
has an annular driving belt
206
travelling around between the rewinding position
202
and the standby position
204
, and three bearings
207
are attached to the annular driving belt
206
at equal intervals. These bearings
207
can rotatably support web rolls, respectively.
When one
207
of these bearings
207
is moved to the rewinding position
202
and arranged there, another bearing
207
is moved to the standby position
204
and arranged there. The remaining bearing
207
is in standby at the middle among the positions.
As shown in
FIG. 18
, the web connecting/feeding apparatus
300
disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-278921 has swinging levers
304
and
305
. One
304
of the levers rotatably holds a spare web roll
303
a
at the tip thereof, and the other lever
305
rotatably holds a delivery web roll
303
b
. The levers
304
and
305
are driven by driving mechanisms
306
and
307
, respectively.
When all the web is delivered from the delivery web roll
303
b
, the lever
305
swings counterclockwise in
FIG. 18
, and excludes the roll core remaining at the tip of the lever
305
. Subsequently, the levers
304
and
305
oscillate in synchronization, and the web roll
303
a
held at the tip of the lever
304
is passed to the tip of the lever
305
.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications Nos. 5-971122 and 5-112326 disclose conventional apparatuses characterized by spare film leading end holding means at a connecting position.
The automatic connecting apparatus of a wrapping film disclosed in 5-97122 has a configuration in which the leading end of a film is held by vacuum sucking to bring the same into standby at the connecting position.
The paper connecting apparatus disclosed in 5-112326 has a configuration in which the leading end of a web is held by means of an adhesive tape to bring the same into standby at the connecting position.
As described above, the web feeding apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 4-338056 has a configuration in which the bearing
207
is provided directly on the annular driving belt
206
travelling around between the rewinding position
202
and the standby position
204
, and the web rolls
201
and
203
are held at the individual positions
202
and
204
by means of this bearing
207
. The bearing
207
rotatably supporting the web rolls should have a strong structure capable of withstanding the load and rotating force of the web rolls.
A plurality of such bearings
207
having a strong structure as described above are necessary. In addition, in order to support these bearings
207
by an annular driving belt
206
such as a chain or a belt, it is necessary to impart a strength sufficient to resist to the action of a considerable load to the annular driving belt
206
. Comprehensive satisfaction of these requirements poses a problem of a very high manufacturing cost.
Also in the web connecting/feeding apparatus
300
disclosed in 6-278921, provision of driving sections
306
and
307
for the levers
304
and
305
holding the web roll leads to troublesome control and poses the problem of a high manufacturing cost of the apparatus.
In the apparatus disclosed in 5-97122 and 5-112326, the film (web) leading end is held at the connecting position by an adhesive tape or vacuum sucking. These holding means use a large holding force in general acting on the film. This may cause a positional shift of the film from the delivery track when stripping off the film from the connecting position after connection of the film, thus impairing stable continuous delivery of the film.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was developed in view of these circumstances, and has an object to ensure stable continuous delivery of the film with a low manufacturing cost.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, the film connecting/feeding apparatus has a configuration in which there are set a delivery position where a delivery film roll is held; a standby position where a spare film roll is held; and a connecting position where a leading end of a film delivered from the spare film roll is held, and the leading end and a film delivered from the delivery position are connected; the apparatus comprising delivery supporting means, provided at the delivery position, which rotatably supports the axial core of a delivery film roll, and standby supporting means, provided at the standby position, which supports the axial core of the spare film roll; and an endless belt member which is put around a rotary member and circumferentially travels, and roll conveying means which comprises a conveying member which is attached to this endless belt member, and holds the axial core of the film roll; wherein the roll conveying means receives a spare film roll by means of the conveying member from the standby supporting means, conveys the film roll to the delivery position, and passes the same to the delivery supporting means.
According to the present invention in which there are provided delivery supporting means and standby supporting means which support the film roll, respectively, at the delivery position and the standby position, the necessity is eliminated to impart a function for supporting the film roll to the roll conveying means accounting for a particularly large ratio among items of parts cost of the apparatus. It is therefore possible to achieve a simpler configuration of the roll conveying means and thus to reduce the manufacturing cost for the apparatus as a whole.
Since the roll conveying means has a configuration in which the endless belt means is wound around the rotary members and the conveying member is attached to this endless belt member, it is possible to cause a circumferential movement of the conveying member by the rotational driving force by rotating the rotary member with a single driving source. It is not therefore necessary to provide a plurality of driving sources, thus permitting reduction of the number of driving sources, leading to a lower cost of the apparatus.
The film connecting/feeding apparatus of the invention may further comprise a discharge path for discharging the axial core having delivered the film; wherein the conveying member of the roll conveying means further receives an axial core having delivered the film, remaining at the delivery position from the delivery supporting means, and conveys the same to the discharge path.
According to this configuration, an axial core of which the film has been delivered to the delivery position never remains, and it is thus possible to pass a film roll without any trouble to the delivery supporting means by the conveying member.
The apparatus of the invention may have a configuration
Hosono Tomoo
Nobuta Kiyoshi
Okabe Tuyoshi
Tamayama Ryosuke
Rivera William A.
Tokyo Automatic Machinery Works Ltd.
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