Apparatus and process for aligning materials during a splice
First Claim
1. An apparatus for splicing a first material to a second material comprising:
- a first unwind station for unwinding a first roll of material into a processing line in a machine direction;
a second unwind station for unwinding a second roll of material into the processing line in the machine direction;
a splicing device positioned to receive the first material from the first unwind station and the second material from the second unwind station, the splicing device including a material holding device for holding the first material at a determined location, the splicing device further comprising a material joining device that is selectively engageable with the first and second materials, the material joining device being configured to attach the first and second materials together;
a shifting device connected to the splicing device, the shifting device being configured to move the splicing device in a cross machine direction, wherein the lateral position of the first material is changed during movement of the splicing device when the first material is being held by the material holding device;
a sensor for sensing the position of the second material in the cross machine direction; and
a controller in communication with the sensor and the shifting device, the controller being configured to compare the position of the first material at the determined location with the position of the second material based upon information received from the sensor and, based on the comparison, to align the first material with the second material by controlling the shifting device.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A splicing device is disclosed for splicing a first material to a second material in order to continuously feed the materials into a processing line. The apparatus includes a first roll letoff for unwinding a material into a processing line and a second roll letoff for holding a new material that is to replace the first material. The apparatus includes at least one sensor that indicates the position of one of the materials in the cross machine direction. A controller is used to compare the position of one material to the position of another material. If the materials are out of alignment in the cross machine direction, a shifting device shifts one of the materials until the materials are in alignment. The shifting device, for instance, may shift the splicing assembly itself while one of the materials is anchored to the splicing assembly.
46 Citations
28 Claims
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1. An apparatus for splicing a first material to a second material comprising:
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a first unwind station for unwinding a first roll of material into a processing line in a machine direction;
a second unwind station for unwinding a second roll of material into the processing line in the machine direction;
a splicing device positioned to receive the first material from the first unwind station and the second material from the second unwind station, the splicing device including a material holding device for holding the first material at a determined location, the splicing device further comprising a material joining device that is selectively engageable with the first and second materials, the material joining device being configured to attach the first and second materials together;
a shifting device connected to the splicing device, the shifting device being configured to move the splicing device in a cross machine direction, wherein the lateral position of the first material is changed during movement of the splicing device when the first material is being held by the material holding device;
a sensor for sensing the position of the second material in the cross machine direction; and
a controller in communication with the sensor and the shifting device, the controller being configured to compare the position of the first material at the determined location with the position of the second material based upon information received from the sensor and, based on the comparison, to align the first material with the second material by controlling the shifting device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus for splicing a first material to a second material comprising:
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a first unwind station for unwinding a first roll of material into a processing line in a machine direction;
a second unwind station for unwinding a second roll of material into the processing line in the machine direction;
a splicing device positioned to receive the first material from the first unwind station and the second material from the second unwind station, the splicing device comprising a material holding device for holding the first material at a determined location while the second material is being fed into the processing line, the splicing device further comprising a material joining device that is selectively engageable with the first and second materials for attaching the first and second materials together;
a shifting device in operative association with either the first material or the second material, the shifting device being movable in the cross machine direction for changing the position of the first material or the second material respectively in the cross machine direction;
a sensor for sensing the position of the second material in the cross machine direction; and
a controller in communication with the sensor and the shifting device, the controller being configured to compare the position of the first material at the determined location when engaged by the material holding device with the position of the second material based upon information received from the sensor and, based on the comparison, to align the first material with the second material in the cross machine direction prior to splicing the two materials together by controlling the shifting device. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A process for splicing a first material to a second material comprising:
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unwinding a first roll of material into a processing line from a first unwind station;
supplying a second material to a splicing device, the splicing device holding the second material at a determined location;
sensing the position of the first material in comparison to the position of the second material in the cross machine direction;
aligning the first material with the second material in the cross machine direction proximate to the splicing device, the first material being aligned with the second material by changing the cross machine position of the first material or the second material; and
splicing the first and second materials together using the splicing device. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification