GB2334514A - An accumulation station to stabilise the supply rate of a feedstock - Google Patents
An accumulation station to stabilise the supply rate of a feedstock Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2334514A GB2334514A GB9803470A GB9803470A GB2334514A GB 2334514 A GB2334514 A GB 2334514A GB 9803470 A GB9803470 A GB 9803470A GB 9803470 A GB9803470 A GB 9803470A GB 2334514 A GB2334514 A GB 2334514A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- accumulation
- station
- supply
- feed
- loop
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H43/00—Use of control, checking, or safety devices, e.g. automatic devices comprising an element for sensing a variable
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H23/00—Registering, tensioning, smoothing or guiding webs
- B65H23/04—Registering, tensioning, smoothing or guiding webs longitudinally
- B65H23/042—Sensing the length of a web loop
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H23/00—Registering, tensioning, smoothing or guiding webs
- B65H23/04—Registering, tensioning, smoothing or guiding webs longitudinally
- B65H23/06—Registering, tensioning, smoothing or guiding webs longitudinally by retarding devices, e.g. acting on web-roll spindle
- B65H23/08—Registering, tensioning, smoothing or guiding webs longitudinally by retarding devices, e.g. acting on web-roll spindle acting on web roll being unwound
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2553/00—Sensing or detecting means
- B65H2553/30—Sensing or detecting means using acoustic or ultrasonic elements
Landscapes
- Controlling Rewinding, Feeding, Winding, Or Abnormalities Of Webs (AREA)
Abstract
An accumulation station 7, provided in-line between a feed reel 6 and a processing station 8 allows the fluctuations in the velocity of a feedstock 5 at the processing station to be evened out, leading to a more uniform rate of feedstock supply. The accumulation station may take the form of a loop passing around a buffer roller 9 whose position may be monitored using a sensor 12, linked to a control apparatus 13, allowing the average speed of the feedstock to be optimised.
Description
"MATERIAL FEED METHOD AND APPARATUS"
Field of the Invention This invention provides a method of feeding a flexible material in an industrial process, and apparatus therefor, and has been devised in particular, though not necessarily solely, to provide a method and apparatus for unwinding material from a feed reel as further processing is applied, on an intermittent basis, to the unwound section of material.
Background
Many industrial processes involve drawing material from a feed reel, on an intermittent basis, and performing another task, for example printing or stamping, on part of the unwound section of material, while the material is temporarily static. At the completion of each individual task, the material is advanced by unwinding a further increment from the reel.
The unwinding action may be effected by applying a drawing tension to the material drawn from the reel or may be effected by driving the reel. Whichever method is chosen, a braking force is typically applied to the reel to allow the unwinding action to be controlled between task cycles.
The above system works adequately for low speed operations but, at higher speeds, reel inertia influences the situation and it becomes harder to control the unwinding process. As speeds increase, the forces required to exercise control over the moving elements may exceed the tensile forces which the material being unwound, can tolerate with the result that the material breaks.
Thus, keeping the loads within tolerance necessarily limits machine speed.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of feeding a material, and apparatus for use in the performance of the method, which will address the aforementioned problems, or which will at least provide a useful choice.
Summary of the Invention
Accordingly, in one aspect, the invention provides a method of controlling the feed of flexible material from a supply of said material to a processing station, said method including the steps of forming an accumulation of said material between said supply and said processing station; and continuously supplying material into said accumulation whilst drawing material, at a non-constant rate, from said accumulation.
The method preferably further includes continuously monitoring said accumulation and, in response to a change in a selected parameter of said accumulation, changing the speed of supply of said material into said accumulation. The speed of supply into said accumulation is, in turn, linked to the processing cycle according to a fixed ratio.
More preferably, the accumulation is preferably in the form of a loop, the method involving continuously monitoring the position of a point on the loop so as to gauge a change in length of the loop. Ultrasound is conveniently used to monitor the position of the said point.
In a second aspect the invention provides a method of drawing flexible material from a feed supply for delivery to a processing station, said method including the steps of continuously directing said material from said feed supply into an accumulation; and controlling one or more parameters of said accumulation whilst drawing material, at a non-constant rate, from said accumulation for delivery to said processing station.
The said accumulation advantageously takes the form of a loop in the material, the method preferably including the step of controlling the length of the loop. In order to control the length of the loop, the position of a point on the loop is monitored and the speed of material supply into the accumulation adjusted in response to any change in the said position so as to maintain said position substantially constant.
In a third aspect the invention provides apparatus for transferring flexible material from a supply of said material to a processing station, said apparatus including an accumulation station at which, in use, an accumulation of said material is formed; feed means operable to, in use, continuously feed said material from said supply to said accumulation station; and delivery means operable to, in use, draw said material, at a nonconstant rate, from an accumulation formed at said accumulation station and to deliver said material to said processing station.
In a fourth aspect the invention provides control means for apparatus having: a supply station having feed means to, in use, continuously feed flexible material from said supply station; an accumulation station at which, in use, material is received from said supply station and an accumulation of said material is formed; a processing station at which, in use, a process is imparted to said material; and delivery means operable to draw material from said accumulation, at a non-constant rate, and deliver said material to said processing station, said control means including: monitoring means operable to monitor said accumulation and feed control means responsIve to said monitoring means to control said feed means in response to at least one parameter of said accumulation.
The apparatus is preferably constructed and arranged to create an accumulation in the form of a loop in said material and the control means is preferably operable to monitor and control the length of this loop. Monitoring of the length is preferably achieved by selecting a point on the loop and continuously monitoring this point for any change in position. An ultrasound sensor is preferably used for monitoring. Should any change in position be detected, the feed means is adjusted to restore the point on the loop to its intended position.
In a fifth aspect the invention provides control means for apparatus having: a supply station having feed means to, in use, continuously feed flexible material from said supply station; an accumulation station at which, in use, material is received from said supply station and an accumulation of said material is formed; and a processing station at which, in use, a process is imparted, cyclically, to said material; said control means being operable to link the speed of said feed means and the cycle speed of said process according to a set ratio.
In a sixth aspect the invention provides apparatus for effecting an intermittent process on a flexible material including the control means as hereinabove defined.
Brief Description of the Drawing
One form of the invention will now be described with reference to the appended drawings in which:
Figure 1A: shows a plot of speed against time for the
processing side of apparatus including a control
system according to the invention;
Figure 1B: shows a plot of speed against time for the feed side
of apparatus including a control system according
to the invention; and
Figure 2: shows a schematic view of apparatus including a
control system according to the invention.
Description of Working Embodtrnent In essence the invention provides a method of, and apparatus for, feeding a flexible material to a processing station, at which station an intermittent process is applied to the material.
Examples of processes which might be applied include printing and stamping. Typically the material is fed from a feed reel which is started and stopped as an unwound section of the material is temporarily halted during the processing operation.
This starting and stopping generates loading and wear on the equipment, especially at higher speeds. Indeed, at higher speeds, the loads generated by the starting and stopping typically determine the upper speed limit of the apparatus.
The present invention seeks to overcome the start/stop problem by separating out the feed and processing functions, maintaining feed on a continuous basis, and inter-relating feed and processing functions according to a set ratio so that the machine components operate in an optimal, or near optimal, manner. This is achieved by the feed side of the apparatus feeding material, on a continuous basis, into an accumulation.
The processing side draws, intermittently, or at least at a nonconstant rate, from the accumulation. By continuously monitoring the accumulation and observing when growth or contraction limits are approached or exceeded, adjustments can be made to the rate of feed into the accumulation. Since demand is linked to feed according to a set ratio, the size of the accumulation can be tightly controlled.
Referring to Figures 1A and 1B, plots of speed against time for the material are shown. On the demand or processing side, the material web is accelerated between zero and a constant speed between successive processing steps, during which the web is, of course, static. On the feed side, the material web moves at a substantially constant speed. The objective is to control the feed speed so that, over time, the area under plot 1A is substantially the same as that under plot 1B. In this way, the accumulation between the feed and processing sides remains substantially constant in size and there is minimal loading applied to the machine components. This, in turn, allows a considerable increase in processing speed to be achieved.
Referring now to Figure 2, a web 5 of material is drawn, on a continuous basis, from feed reel 6 and directed into an accumulation 7. The web 5 is withdrawn, intermittently, from the accumulation 7 for delivery to processing station 8.
In the form shown, the accumulation comprises a loop which is defined by buffer roller 9 in combination with an outfeed roller 10. The buffer roller is able to oscillate along a vertical axis.
Given that the feed into the accumulation 7 is continuous, and that the demand from the accumulation, is intermittent, the length of the accumulation varies over short time increments causing the buffer roller to oscillate up and down. By continuously monitoring a set point on the accumulation loop, any expansion or contraction of the loop can be observed, and minor adjustment of the feed speed effected so as to restore the accumulation to its predetermined, and desired, state.
In the embodiment shown, the lower limit 11 of the loop is monitored continuously, preferably by use of an ultrasound sensor 12. The sensor 12 outputs into a control unit 13 which adjusts the speed of feed roller 10 so as to ensure that the means level of the limit 11 remains substantially constant over time.
The controller 13 is preferably an electronic controller and, more preferably, one which uses a proportional integral derivative (PID) loop to create an output ratio which interrelates speed of feed reel 6 and the cycle of the process at 8, from an input of loop height as determined by sensor 12. The
PID may be performed by a programmable machine controller such as, for example, PTS or MINI Pl S manufactured and sold by ourselves.
The use of an programmable controller such as those described above, has particular setting-up benefits in that use of either eliminates the need to input specific data when it is desired to change the cycle amplitude at the processing station. In this event the following steps are taken: (i) The operator ensures the buffer roller 9 is at its lowest
position and sets the controller in calibration mode; (ii) the operator pulls out the required length of material for a
cycle of the next product run.
(iii) The drive roller is then rotated so as to restore the buffer
roller 9 to the position set at (i). The ratio is then set.
It will thus be appreciated that the present provides a relatively simple, yet effective, means of machine control which compensates for differences in material feed rate and demand rate whilst minimising reversal loads on the drive systems incorporated into the machine.
Claims (16)
- Claims 1) A method of controlling the feed of flexible material from a supply of said material to a processing station, said method including the steps of forming an accumulation of said material between said supply and said processing station; and continuously supplying material into said accumulation whilst drawing material from said accumulation at a non-constant rate.
- 2) A method as claimed in claim 1 further including continuously monitoring said accumulation and, in response to a change in a selected parameter of said accumulation, changing the speed of supply of said material into said accumulation.
- 3) A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the speed of supply into said accumulation, and the cycle of a process operating at said processing station are maintained to a set ratio.
- 4) A method as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the accumulation is in the form of a loop, said method involving continuously monitoring the position of a point on the loop so as to gauge a change in length of the loop.
- 5) A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein ultrasound is used to monitor the position of the said point.
- 6) A method of drawing flexible material from a feed supply for delivery, at a non-constant rate, to a processing station, said method including the steps of continuously directing said material from said feed supply into an accumulation; and controlling one or more parameters of said accumulation whilst drawing material from said accumulation, at a non-constant rate, for delivery to said processing station.
- 7) A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein said accumulation takes the form of a loop in the material, said method including the step of controlling the length of the loop.
- 8) A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein, in order to control the length of the loop, the position of a point on the loop Is monitored and the speed of material supply into the accumulation adjusted in response to any change in the said position so as to maintain said position substantially constant.
- 9) Apparatus for transferring flexible material from a supply of said material to a processing station, said apparatus including an accumulation station at which, in use, an accumulation of said material is formed; feed means operable to, in use, continuously feed said material from said supply to said accumulation station; and delivery means operable to, in use, draw said material, at a non-constant rate, from an accumulation formed at said accumulation station and to deliver said material to said processing station.
- 10) Control means for apparatus having: a supply station having feed means to, in use, continuously feed flexible material from said supply station; an accumulation station at which. in use, material is received from said supply station and an accumulation of said material is formed; a processing station at which, in use, a process is imparted to said material; and delivery means operable to draw material from said accumulation, at a non-constant rate, and deliver said material to said processing station. said control means including: monitoring means operable to monitor said accumulation and feed control means responsive to said monitoring means to control said feed means in response to at least one parameter of said accumulation.
- 11) Control means as claimed in claim 10 wherein said apparatus is constructed and arranged to create an accumulation in the form of a loop in said material, said control means being operable to monitor and control the length of this loop.
- 12) Control means as claimed in claim 11 wherein monitoring of the length is achieved by selecting a point on the loop and continuously monitoring this point for any change in position.
- 13) Control means as claimed in claim 12 including an ultrasound sensor for monitoring.
- 14) Control means for apparatus having: a supply station having feed means to, in use, continuously feed flexible material from said supply station; an accumulation station at which, in use, material is received from said supply station and an accumulation of said material is formed; and a processing station at which, in use, a process is imparted, cyclically, to said material; said control means being operable to link the speed of said feed means and the cycle speed of said process according to a set ratio.
- 15) Control means when constructed arranged and operable substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
- 16) Apparatus for effecting an intermittent process on a web like material including the control means as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 14.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9803470A GB2334514A (en) | 1998-02-19 | 1998-02-19 | An accumulation station to stabilise the supply rate of a feedstock |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9803470A GB2334514A (en) | 1998-02-19 | 1998-02-19 | An accumulation station to stabilise the supply rate of a feedstock |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB9803470D0 GB9803470D0 (en) | 1998-04-15 |
| GB2334514A true GB2334514A (en) | 1999-08-25 |
Family
ID=10827225
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9803470A Withdrawn GB2334514A (en) | 1998-02-19 | 1998-02-19 | An accumulation station to stabilise the supply rate of a feedstock |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2334514A (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN110963353B (en) * | 2019-12-06 | 2021-06-25 | 比勒(上海)自动化技术有限公司 | Anti-vibration adjusting device |
Citations (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB1415079A (en) * | 1972-12-22 | 1975-11-26 | Dornier Gmbh Lindauer | Storage apparatus for a web of material |
| GB1557165A (en) * | 1975-06-26 | 1979-12-05 | Masson Scott Thrissell Eng Ltd | Accumulators for flexible webs |
| US4589580A (en) * | 1985-01-23 | 1986-05-20 | Young Engineering, Inc. | Web handling and accumulation system |
| GB2194517A (en) * | 1986-08-27 | 1988-03-09 | Polygraph Leipzig | Web feed regulating apparatus |
| US5622330A (en) * | 1993-06-10 | 1997-04-22 | Asc Machine Tools, Inc. | Self-adjusting feed stock accumulator system |
| WO1998005580A1 (en) * | 1996-08-06 | 1998-02-12 | The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company | Adjustable length conveyor system |
-
1998
- 1998-02-19 GB GB9803470A patent/GB2334514A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB1415079A (en) * | 1972-12-22 | 1975-11-26 | Dornier Gmbh Lindauer | Storage apparatus for a web of material |
| GB1557165A (en) * | 1975-06-26 | 1979-12-05 | Masson Scott Thrissell Eng Ltd | Accumulators for flexible webs |
| US4589580A (en) * | 1985-01-23 | 1986-05-20 | Young Engineering, Inc. | Web handling and accumulation system |
| GB2194517A (en) * | 1986-08-27 | 1988-03-09 | Polygraph Leipzig | Web feed regulating apparatus |
| US5622330A (en) * | 1993-06-10 | 1997-04-22 | Asc Machine Tools, Inc. | Self-adjusting feed stock accumulator system |
| WO1998005580A1 (en) * | 1996-08-06 | 1998-02-12 | The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company | Adjustable length conveyor system |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB9803470D0 (en) | 1998-04-15 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |