US3452944A - Speed control mechanism for rolled strip material - Google Patents

Description

July 1, 1969 w. L. INGRAM 3,452,944

SPEED CONTROL MECHANISM FOR ROLLED STRIP MATERIAL Filed Oct. so, 1967 Sheet of 2 5 f I I 30 25/ 29 I I IcouNTER \&

PROGRAMER 26 8 I Q FIG.I I

3| TIMER RELAY W m INSULATED RELAY ROLLER CONTROL\32 PANEL ELECTROMAGNETIC PICKUP 28 9 3 l2 POT. WIPER ARM SPRING BIASED DRUM ROTARY -P0TENT|0METER FIG, 2

JERROMAGNETIC 22 BLADES /L .I A 23 I6 INVENTOR WILLIAM L. INGRAM July 1, 1969, w. L. INGRAM 3,452,944

SPEED CONTROL MECHANISM FOR ROLLED STRIP MATERIAL Filed Oct. 50. 1967 I Sheet 2 of 2 i STOP T F DE LU UJ Y I L J 3|2 38 f I ow g I I I 38-1 I J 3l-3 I L 1 1 I MEDIUM 39 I 40-l 47 I I, T 49 l HIGH RESET 4O I I A? 4o-2 L COUNTER -29 FIG. 3

INVENTOR WILLIAM L. INGRAM United States Patent 3,452,944 SPEED CONTROL MECHANISM FOR ROLLED STRIP MATERIAL William L. Ingram, Rte. 2, Box 84, Hebron, Ind. 46341 Filed Oct. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 678,848 Int. Cl. B25h 23/06 US. Cl. 24275.4 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure describes a speed control mechanism for controlling the uncoiling of rolled strip material from an uncoiling machine. The speed control mechanism includes a cylinder and piston arrangement mounted adjacent to the uncoiler machine. The piston includes a roller means for coming in contact with the sheet of material as it is being uncoiled. In addition, transducer means are connected to the piston to sense the location of the roller and to generate signals related to the piston of the roller. The transducer signals are utilized by a control to control the rate of uncoiling of the sheet material.

This invention relates to speed control mechanisms; more particularly, to speed control mechanisms of the electro-mechanical type; still more particulraly, to a speed control mechanism especially adapted to detect the approaching end of the roll of material to which this mechanism is connected, and to automatically reduce the speed of the unwinding of the material and to stop the unwinding mechanism.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a speed control mechanism for rolled strip material that will automatically slow down the uncoiler as the coil of strip material is diminished in diameter, and eventually stop the machine when the coil of material has been completely unrolled.

Another object of this invention is to provide a speed control mechanism for rolled strip material that can be adapted to control the speed of uncoiling of a rolled strip material uncoiler.

Another object of this invention is to provide a speed control mechanism for rolled strip material that is so constructed that the device can be manually operated at any desired time.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a speed control mechanism for rolled strip material, the mechanism having a minimum number of parts, thereby reducing the time required to adjust and, if necessary, repair or replace any of its details.

With these objects in view, and others that will no doubt occur to those skilled in the art, and which will become apparent hereinafter, the mechanism is herein illustrated in a somewhat diagrammatic form that will be understood by those having knowledge of the electrical arts when combined with mechanical devices.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a typical coil unloader and a diagrammatic view of the electrical components of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the two transducers of this invention.

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FIG. 3 is a wiring diagram of the control circuits.

In the several views of the accompanying drawings, like parts of this invention are indicated by like reference numbers.

FIGURE 1 illustrates a vertically disposed air cylinder 5 that is part of an uncoiling machine on whose mandrel is placed a coil of strip material 6 that is to be unrolled by the strip material passing over the top of a flexing roller 7 and between pulling rollers 8 and 9. A housing 10, located on top of the air cylinder 5, receives compressed air via an air intake pipe 11 from any desired source. The housing 10 allows the compressed air to enter the top of the air cylinder 5. A second housing 12 covers an air tight chamber 13 (FIGURE 2) in which is located a horizontally disposed rotatable shaft 14 that is supported by a stand 15 which extends air tightly into the chamber 13. The stand 15 is supported in turn by a horizontally disposed base 16. One end of the shaft 14 is provided wth a plurality of radially disposed blades 17. The periphery of each blade passes a stationary magnetic pick-up 18 when the shaft 14 revolves. The manner of construction just described results in an electromagnetic transducer whose output wire is indicated in the accompanying drawings by the reference number 28. A rotary potentiometer 20 is suitably attached to the outer end of the aforesaid blades 17, which may be called turbine blades, so that the wiper of the potentiometer mover when the turbine blades rotate. Looking now at the opposite end of the horizontally disposed shaft 14, it is seen that a spring biased drum 21 is mounted on that end of the shaft. An insulated electrical conducting cable 22 has one end wound around the drum and secured thereto while the other end of the cable 22 extends vertically downward through an air tight grommet 23 mounted in an opening in the lower and horizontally disposed surface of the air tight chamber 13. The other end'of the insulated cable 22 passes on downward (FIGURE 1) through the center of a piston 24 and its supporting member 25 which may be said to be equivalent to a piston rod and terminates by being suitably connected to a spring-loaded insulated roller 26 which rests against the upper surface of the strip of material as the material is being uncoiled. The insulated roller 26 is insulated from the uncoiling machine housing while being in electrical contact with the roll 6 of material to be uncoiled. The lower end of the aforesaid supporting member 25 is suitably secured to a back-up roller 27 forming a part of this invention.

It will be seen from FIGURE 1 that output wire 28 leads from the stationary magnetic pick-up 18 to a counter 29 which is part of a card programmer 30. The counter 29 is also connected to a timer 31 which in turn is connected to both a relay control panel 32 and a relay 33. The relay 33 is also connected to the top of the rotary potentiometer 20 via wire 19.

Having now described in some detail the electrical and electro-mechanical par-ts of this invention, with the exception of the wiring diagram of the control relay panel illustrated in FIGURE 3, the actual method of oper-' ation of this novel invention will be stated. However, before doing so, it is herein stated that since the wiring diagram of the aforesaid control relay panel is of a type that will be known to those experienced in the electrical arts upon their examination of FIGURE 3 of the accompanying drawings, few of the detailed parts of the control panel are described in this specification nor indicated by reference numbers in the accompanying drawings. More specifically, only those electrical elements necessary for an understanding of the operation of the invention are illustrated in FIGURE 3 and hereinafter described.

Method of operation The coil of strip material 6 that is to be uncoiled is placed on the horizontally disposed mandrel 34 that is connected to a drag generator 41 through a gear box 43. After the coil 6 of strip material has been placed on the mandrel 34, and the free end of the strip is threaded between the two pulling rollers 8 and 9 and the uncoiler is activated in the usual manner that is known to those experienced in the art, the initial unwinding of the coil of strip material starts at a relatively slow speed which accelerates as the diameter of the coil decreases. The regulated pressure of the air entering the top of the air cylinder through the air intake pipe 11, moves the piston 24 downward as the coil unwinds, thereby causing the member 25 (piston rod) to move downward thus continuously pressing the back-up rollers 27 against a processing roller 35 which in turn presses down against the strip material as it is being uncoiled. This same action of the member 25 also causes the insulated roller 26 to press downward against the strip of material as has already been previously explained in this specification.

The object of this invention is to control the slow down and stopping of the roll of strip material by using the already described transducers, located on top of the vertically disposed air cylinder 5, to generate signals representing the position of the piston 24 and its associated parts with respect to the uncoiler mandrel. The counter 29 is preset by the operator of the uncoiler, the setting depending on the gauge of the material to be uncoiled. Or, the presetting can automatically be done by means of the aforesaid card programmer 30, if desired. In operation, when the rotary potentiometer transducer 20 reaches a low resistance, the relay 33 is energized and closes contact 36 in the DE circuit. The electromagnetic transducer, which is in effect the aforesaid magnetic pick-up 18, sends out electrical pulses to the aforesaid counter 29. At the predetermined time, established by the operator or the automatic card programmer 30, the counter 29 energizes the timer 31. Timer 31 times in and closes the normally open contact 31-2 in the low speed circuit and open the normally closed contacts 31-1 and 31-3 in the stop, medium, and high speed circuit that is indicated by the reference numbers DE, 38, 39, and 40, respectively, in FIGURE 3 of the accompanying drawings. The uncoiler is now operating at low speed and continues to do until the coil of material has completely unwound, left the mandrel 34, and thereby lost contact with the insulated roller 26. At this time an open circuit situation occurs because the roller is no longer grounded through the strip of material and the delay timer drops out, opening the contact 331 in the stop circuit DE and thus stopping the uncoiler from further operation. Normally closed contacts 332 in the relay 33 close and recycle the counter 29. The unwinding mechanism can be stopped at any time by opening manual stop switch 37. Similarly, low, medium and high speed operation of the uncoiler can be manually achieved by operating the low, medium and high speed manual switches 45, 47, and 49, respectively. Air pressure is then applied to the bottom of the aforesaid cylinder 5 in the usual manner and the piston 24 is forced upward to its extreme vertical position. The uncoiler is then ready to receive another coil of strip material and the electric circuit is ready to repeat the operation of the uncoiler.

From the foregoing, it is seen that I have herein provided a speed control mechanism for roller strip material that fulfills all of the objects of this invention and others'such as the ability of this invention to be adapted to uncoilers of Wire and other strand-like material.

What I now claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A rolled strip material uncoiler including a speed control mechanism comprising:

a strip uncoiler including a mandrel having disposed thereon a coil of strip material to be uncoiled, the inner end of said mendrel adapted for connection to a drag generator through a gear box;

an air cylinder mounted on said strip uncoiler, said air cylinder including a piston attached by a rod to a roller, said roller attached so as to come in contact with a strip of material to be uncoiled and remain in contact due to air pressure against said piston;

an electromagnetic transducer mounted adjacent said air cylinder so as to sense the movement of said piston, rod, and roller;

a linear transducer mounted adjacent said air cylinder to sense when said piston, rod, and roller are in a predetermined position; and,

a control connected to said electromagnetic and linear transducers, to receive signals therefrom, and to said strip uncoiler to slow down said uncoiler when said material nears being unrolled and stop said uncoiler when the coil of material becomes unrolled.

2. A rolled strip material uncoiler as claimed in claim 1 including:

a timer having its input connected to the output of said electromagnetic transducer; and

a relay connected to said timer to be operated by said timer said relay having contacts connected in the circuit of said linear transducer.

3. -A rolled strip material uncoiler as claimed in claim 2 including a counter connected between said electromagnetic transducer and said timer so as to count pulses generated by said electromagnetic transducer and apply a signal to said timer after a predetermined number of pulses have been counted.

4. A rolled strip material uncoiler as claimed in claim 3 including a control relay panel connected to said timer and to said strip material uncoiler to control the slowing down and stopping of the uncoiler.

5. A rolled strip material uncoiler as claimed in claim 4 wherein:

said strip uncoiler includes a pair of vertically disposed and spaced pulling rollers for pulling said strip of material from said coil;

said roller rests on top of a strip material at a point located between said coil and said pair of pulling rollers;

said roller is secured to the lower end of said rod and said rod is vertically disposed inside of said air cylinder; and

a backup roller forming a portion of said uncoiler is included, said backup roller being connected to said rod and pressing against said material at a point prior to said roller.

6. A rolled strip material uncoiler as claimed in claim 5 including a cable adapted to mechanically and electrically connect said electromagnetic and linear transducers to said insulated roller.

7. A rolled strip material uncoiler as claimed in claim 6 including:

an air tight chamber secured on the upper end of said air cylinder;

a rotatable horizontally disposed shaft mounted in said air tight chamber;

a drum secured to one end of said shaft and connected to said cable so that said drum rotates as said cable moves;

an air tight grommet mounted in said air tight chamber radially disposed blades mounted on said shaft and a magnetic pickup mounted adjacent the periphery of said blades, said magnetic pickup being connected to said counter; and

said linear transducer comprises a rotary potentiometer having its shaft connected to said horizontally disposed rotatable shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Wheelbarger 24275.4 Michel 24275 .4 Carter 24275.4 Fitzgerald et a1. 24275.4 X Drenning 24275.4

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