GB2188073A - Rolling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Fleece-rolling apparatus comprises two endless belts (10, 12) which move relative to each other (A, D) so that a fleece (32) in contact with the surfaces of the two belts is formed into a roll (Z). One of the belts (10) is angularly displaceable by the developing roll (Z) so as to accommodate the increasing diameter of the roll, and idler rollers (26) are provided to restrain the developing roll (Z) against upward movement away from the belts (10, 12). Both the belts may be displaceable by the developing roll Z. The belts are trained about rollers and it is the respective roller 18 or 30 of the belts 10 or 12 which is displaceable to displace the belts. The belts are normally biased to their initial non-displaced positions by means of a pneumatic spring, coil spring or torsion bar. At least one roller of each belt is driven. The belt 12 is shifted to release the developed roll Z. The apparatus may be used for rolling other sheet materials. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Rolling apparatus This invention relates to rolling apparatus and is particularly but not exclusively concerned with a machine for rolling fleeces from animals such as sheep.

Fleeces are more conveniently handled if they are rolled up and secured against unrolling.

Conventionally, fleeces have been rolled up and tied by hand but this is disadvantageous in that it is labour intensive and relatively slow. Machines have been developed for rolling fleeces and are faster than hand rolling. A machine may roll several fleeces into one roll, typically 20--25 fleeces per roll depending on weight. However, fleece-rolling machines have to date relied on forming the roll around a solid or split centre. When the roll is complete and has been removed from the machine, the centre is withdrawn from the roll and placed back in the machine. The requirement for a centre has been found to be disadvantageous as the machine operator has to replace the centre in the machine so that further fleeces may be rolled. The need to replace the centre in the machine for further fleeces slows the fleece rolling operation.Fleeces are usually rolled up with Wool Board approved webbing which is 1 m wide and 25 m long.

It is an object of the invention to overcome the foregoing disadvantages and to provide rolling apparatus which does not require a centre.

A further object is to provide a method for forming centreless rolls of material.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for forming a roll of material comprising first and second surfaces between which, in use, there is relative movement whereby material in contact with the surfaces will be formed into a roll, at least one of the surfaces being displaceable by the formation of the roll to accommodate the increasing diameter of the roll between them.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a roll of material, comprising the steps of placing the material in contact with first and second surfaces, effecting relative movement between the surfaces so as to form the material into a roll, and permitting at least one of the surfaces to be displaced relative to the other to accommodate the increasing diameter of the roll between them.

The movements of the surfaces may have components in opposite directions. At least one of the surfaces may be biased against displacement by the formation of the roll.

The first surface may include a portion which lies adjacent or engages the second surface.

means defining one of the surfaces may be movable into a release position to enable the roll to be released from the apparatus.

The first surface may be arranged to carry the material towards the second surface and means may be provided for urging the material against the first surface.

At least one of the surfaces may be formed by the surface of an endless belt, but preferably both surfaces are formed by the surfaces of endless belts.

A first one of the endless belts may pass around a roller adjacent a material engaging run of the second endless belt, and this roller may be transverse the material engaging run of the second belt. The first belt may have a material engaging run extending transverse to the material engaging run of the second belt.

At least one of the belts may be displaceable angularly whereby the roller remains adjacent the material engaging run of the second belt during the angular displacement.

The second endless belt may be displaceable angularly whereby, during the angular displacement, the roller remains adjacent the second belt. The first surface may include a surface portion which continuously engages the material engaging run of the second belt during formation of the roll. The said portion of the first belt may be a portion which extends around the roller.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic elevation of a fleece-rolling machine according to one embodiment of the invention, and Figure 2 is a schematic elevation of a fleece-rolling machine according to a variant of the embodiment of Figure 1.

With reference initially to Figure 1, afleece-rolling machine comprises first and second belt arrangements 10 and 12 for rolling fleeces. The first belt arrangement includes an endless belt 11 passing around rollers 14, 16, 18. The roller 14 is operatively connected to a motor or manual drive (not shown). The rollers 16 and 18 revolve freely, although they may be driven in conjunction with the roller 14 if desired. As shown, an optional press roller 35 may be provided above the upper run 24 of the belt 11, above the roller 16, to aid the "feed-in" of fleeces and Wool Board webbing. The press roller 35 may be driven or freely rotatable. A freely revolving tensioning roller 20 is in contact with the lower run 21 of the belt 11.A freely-revolving press roller 22 presses against or is almost in contact with the upper run 24 of the belt 11 when the belt 11 is in the initial position shown.

A section of the belt arrangement 10 is pivotable about the axis of the roller 16 such that the axis of the roller 18 describes an arc X. The pivotable portion of the arrangement 10 is normally biassed upwards towards the press roller 22. This upward bias may be achieved by any suitable means such as a pneumatic spring, coil spring, torsion bar, or the like.

Four freely-revolving idler rollers 26 are arranged adjacent the press roller 22, above the upper run 24 of the conveyor belt 11. The rollers 22,26 are suitably mounted on a chassis (not shown) of the machine. Alternatively, the idler rollers may be replaced by a flat or curved surface, or other suitable roll retaining means, mounted on the chassis of the machine.

The second belt arrangement 12 includes a belt 13 which passes around two rollers 28 and 30. The roller 28 is operatively connected to a motor or manual drive (not shown) which may be the same as that used to drive the first belt 11. The roller 30 is freely rotatable, although it may be driven in conjunction with the roller 28.

The belt arrangement 12 is able to pivot about the axis of roller 28 such that the axis of the roller 30 describes an arc Y. The belt arrangement 12 is normally biased in the direction indicated by the arrow B by suitable means such as those used to bias the belt arrangement 10. The belt arrangement 12 may also be moved in the direction indicated by arrow C, by an operator of the machine, into a release position.

The rollers 14, 16,20 and 28 are suitably mounted on the chassis of the apparatus.

In use, the rollers 14 and 28 are driven to cause the conveyor belts 11 and 13 to move in the directions indicated by the arrows A and D. A fleece 32 is initially laid on the upper surface of the run 24 of the moving belt 11 in a substantially flat condition. The fleece 32 may be laid directly onto the belt 11 by hand or it may be fed onto the belt by a feed arrangement, such as an inclined feed table or a conveyor (not shown).

The moving belt 11 carries the fleece 32 under the press rollers 35,22 which further flatten the fleece.

When the leading edge 33 of the fleece 32 contacts the upwardly moving surface 34 of the belt 13, the relative movement between the belts 11 and 13 causes the leading edge 33 of the fleece 32 to roll up, whereby the fleece begins to roll about itself, as indicated at Z.

As the fleece 32 continues to roll up, the diameter of the roll increases and causes the downward displacement of the belt arrangement 10; the axis of the roller 18 follows the arc X, while the second belt arrangement 12 is displaced in the direction indicated by the arrow B. As the belt arrangements 10 and 12 are displaced during formation of the roll, the section of the belt 11 about the roller 18 remains in contact with the belt 13 of the second belt arrangement 12. Upward movement of the roll is prevented by the rollers 22,26.

When the formation of the roll is complete, the fleece 32 continues to roll within the space defined by the rollers 22,26 and the belts 11 and 13 with the belts in the position indicated by the broken lines.

The completed roll is released from the machine by an operator through the movement of the belt arrangement 12 in the direction indicated by the arrow C. Priorto its release, it is preferable that the roll is secured, for example, by ties, sewing or webbing, to prevent unrolling.

The variant of the machine shown in Figure 2 differs from the machine of Figure 1 only in that the second belt arrangement 112 is normally locked in a position corresponding to that shown in broken lines in Figure 1, and in that it employs two idler rollers 26 instead of four.

The components of the variant of Figure 2 which are identical or analogous to those already described with reference to Figure 1 are indicated by the same reference numerals and will not be described below.

In the variant of Figure 2, the belt 113 of the second belt arrangement 112 passes around the two rollers 28 and 30 with a certain amount of slack. The belt arrangement 112 is normally locked in the position shown by continuous lines but is able to pivot about the axis of roller 28 such that the axis of the roller 30 describes an arc Y. This allows the belt arrangement 112 to be moved in the direction indicated by arrow C, into a release position.

The slack in the belt 113 allows its upwardly moving surface 134 to deflect to accommodate the downward movement of the roller 18 and the increasing diameter of the developing roll of fleece.

In use, therefore, the belt 113 is tensioned by the roller 18 and the roll.

Any slack introduced into the belt 11 by the decrease in the length of belt run between the roller 20 and the roller 18 as the roller 18 moves downwardly is taken up by the tensioning roller 20 and by the developing roll of fleece.

In other aspects, the variant of Figure 2 operates in the same way as the machine of Figure 1.

As stated above, an operator releases a completed roll from the machine by unlocking the belt arrangement 112 and moving it in the direction indicated by the arrow C.

Any suitable combination of moving surfaces may be employed instead of the belt arrangements 10 and 12,112 illustrated. For example, at least one of the moving surfaces may be that of a suitably arranged roller.

In the initial position, illustrated by the continuous lines, the belts 11 and 13,113 may tend to rub against one another at the position P, but any resulting wear on the belts can be minimised by placing suitable idler rollers therebetween.

Whilst primarily intended for the rolling of fleeces, the machine of the invention may be used for rolling other suitable sheet materials, such as Wood Board approved webbing. In any event, Wool Board approved webbing may be fed into the machine above or below the fleeces.

Claims (17)

1. Apparatus for forming a roll of material comprising first and second surfaces between which, in use, there is relative movement whereby material in contact with the surfaces will be formed into a roll, at least one of the surfaces being displaceable by the formation of the roll to accommodate the increasing diameter of the roll between them.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, in which the movements of the surfaces have components in opposite directions.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which at least one of the surfaces is biased against displacement by the formation of the roll.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 1, Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which the first surface includes a portion which lies adjacent the second surface.

5. Apparatus according to Claim 1, Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which the first surface includes a portion which continuously engages the second surface.

6. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which means defining one of the surfaces are movable into a release position to enable the roll to be released from the apparatus.

7. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the first surface is arranged to carry the material towards the second surface.

8. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which means are provided for urging the material against the first surface.

9. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which at least one of the surfaces is a surface of an endless belt.

10. Apparatus according to Claim 9, in which both surfaces are surfaces of endless belts.

11. Apparatus according to Claim 10, in which a first one of the endless belts passes around a roller adjacent a material engaging run of the second endless belt.

12. Apparatus according to Claim 11, in which at least one of the belts is displaceable angularly whereby the roller remains adjacent the material engaging run of the second belt during the angular displacements,

13. Apparatus according to any of Claims 10 to 12, in which the second endless belt is displaceable angularly whereby, during the angular displacement, the roller remains adjacent the second belt.

14. Apparatus according to any of Claims 10 to 13, and where the first surface includes a portion which continuously engages the second surface, in which a portion of the first belt passing around the roller continuously engages the material engaging run of the second belt during formation of the roll.

15. A method of forming a roll of material comprising the steps of placing the material in contact with first and second surfaces, effecting relative movement between the surfaces so as to form the material into a roll, and permitting at least one of the surfaces to be displaced relative to the other to accommodate the increasing diameter of the roll between them.

16. Apparatus for forming a roll of material, substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

17. Method of forming a roll of material, substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.