Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Surface bonding means and/or assembly means therefor – With bending – folding – winding – or wrapping means
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-21
2004-11-09
Osele, Mark A. (Department: 1734)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Surface bonding means and/or assembly means therefor
With bending, folding, winding, or wrapping means
C156S157000, C156S504000, C242S555300, C242S562000, C242S910000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06814123
ABSTRACT:
THE FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for applying a splicing tape to a roll of sheet material. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for lifting a portion of the outer-most layer of sheet material away from a roll of sheet material to form a lifted portion of the outer-most layer, applying a splicing tape to a wound portion of the roll, and applying pressure to the lifted portion of the outer-most layer to progressively place the lifted portion of the outer-most layer in contact with the remainder of the roll and the splicing tape.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With most high volume printing applications, for example printing of newspapers, the sheet material to be printed on (e.g., paper) is provided to a handling station in a large wound roll. During printing, the sheet material is continuously unwound and fed from the roll, via the handling station, to a printing device. Over time, the sheet material supplied by the roll will be depleted, such that the roll must be replaced with a new roll of appropriate sheet material. As would be expected, manufacturers/publishers wish to minimize, as much a possible, the complications and delays associated with changing from a depleted roll to the new roll. To this end, techniques have been developed by which a leading end (or outermost layer) of the new roll is joined to a trailing portion (or innermost layer) of the depleting roll, effectuating a nearly seamless transition from the depleted roll to the new roll at the handling station.
More particularly, splicing tapes can be employed to prepare a joint between the leading end of the new roll and the trailing portion of the depleting roll. The splicing operation can be performed in a static or dynamic mode. In general terms, the static mode entails stopping rotation of the old roll, applying a tape to one or both of the rolls, and then forming a joint there between. Splices that are formed in a static mode are commonly referred to as zero speed splices. Conversely, the dynamic mode prepares a splice without requiring interruption of the continuous production/printing process. That is to say, both the depleting roll and the new roll continue to rotate as the splice is formed. Splices that are obtained in a dynamic mode of operation are usually referred to as flying splices.
A wide variety of splicing tapes are currently available for forming a flying splice. Regardless of the exact form, the flying splice tape is initially adhered to an outer layer of the new roll, with at least a portion of the splicing tape being exposed for subsequent connection to the trailing portion of the depleting roll. A further constraint is that for flying splice applications, the new roll must be provided to the handling station in wound form, so that when the new roll is subsequently rotated in conjunction with the depleting roll, the new roll will not unexpectedly unwind. Thus, the flying splice tape is applied to the new roll in such a way that an outer-most layer of the new roll is secured or otherwise maintained against a second outer-most layer, ensuring that the new roll remains wound prior to splicing.
The particular form of the flying splicing tape typically dictates the manner in which it is initially applied to a new roll of sheet material. For example, some types of splicing tape include destructible nose tabs, such as that described in WO 95/29115, and are applied in a W or V shape. This format is not conducive to automated application. Conversely, the flying splicing tape can assume a form requiring that the leading edge of the outer-most layer be cut at an angle (relative to an axis of the roll), for example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,632.
These, and other types of splicing tapes, have proven to be quite viable. However, improvements are continually being pursued. To this end, flying splicing tapes have been developed that are applied in a straight line (relative to an axis of the roll) along an outer surface thereof. Due to the straight line of application, these types of splicing tapes are conducive to automated application. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,029 describes an automated splicing tape applicator that includes a working carriage that cuts a leading edge of the outermost layer and simultaneously applies spaced adhesive labels and a double sided adhesive splice tape across a width of the roll. As shown in FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,029, the spaced adhesive labels are quite large, and are positioned to secure the wound outer surface onto itself. The splicing tape is formed over the adhesive labels. Due to this particular application, there is little concern for precisely cutting/locating the leading edge relative to a remainder of the roll, as the adhesive labels easily compensate for any alignment errors.
A more recently developed splicing tape is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/770,985, filed Jan. 26, 2001 and entitled “Tape For Flying Splice, Method Of Use, And Method Of Manufacture,” assigned to the same assignee and the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference. The so-described splicing tape is generally referred to as being a “separable splicing tape” as it includes inner and outer tape elements releasably secured to one another by a separable intermediate layer. The inner tape element is secured to the roll at the intersection of the outer-most layer and the second outer-most layer (i.e., beneath the leading edge of the outer-most layer). The leading edge of the outer-most layer is adhered to an outer surface of the outer tape element. More particularly, the leading edge is positioned such that the outer-most layer encompasses a portion of the outer tape element (preferably, though not necessarily, along an entire width thereof), with a remainder of the outer tape element being “exposed”. Subsequently, the trailing portion of the depleting roll is adhered to this exposed portion of the outer tape element, thereby splicing the two rolls. As the outer-most layer of the new roll is pulled away from, or otherwise forcibly unwound from the roll, the outer tape element releases or “separates” from the inner tape element so that the new roll can then be fully unwound.
The above-described separable splicing tape represents a distinct advancement in the flying splice tape art. However, certain application difficulties not otherwise found with many other types of splicing tapes render automatic application of the separable splicing tape difficult, especially on a mass production basis. First, unlike most other splicing tapes, the separable splicing tape must be applied between the leading edge of the outer-most layer and a remainder of the roll. Thus, the outer-most layer must be partially unwound, the splicing tape applied, and then the leading edge pressed into contact with the splicing tape. Second, on a related point, the separable splicing tape is preferably quite narrow. Thus, registration of the leading edge, that is otherwise partially unwound, relative to the location at which the splicing tape is to be applied is highly important. By way of example, the separable splicing tape may have a width on the order of 1½ inch (3.81 cm). Because a portion of this width must be available for subsequent engagement with the trailing portion of the depleting roll, there is little room for error when locating the tape along the roll relative to a point at which the leading edge will be located when subsequently reapplied. Additional concerns, such as removal of at least a section of a release liner sometimes provided on top of the outer tape element, precise cutting of the splicing tape relative to a side of the roll, etc., are also raised by separable splicing tapes.
In light of the above constraints, separable splicing tapes are currently applied manually. After loading the roll into a loading station, a leading section of the outer-most layer is allowed to freely extend or unwind from a remainder of the roll. The leading section is pulled away from the roll s
3M Innovative Properties Company
Osele Mark A.
LandOfFree
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