PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20110049210A1
• Filed: 02/04/2009
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Inventors: Kameda, Noritomo
• Application Number:
  US12/920,341
• Publication Number:
  US 20110049210A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 226/46
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/15764 Transferring, feeding or handling devices; Drives
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/15804 Plant, e.g. involving several steps
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 20/24 by looping or like devices
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/4491 transforming movement from continuous to intermittent or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/4493 intermittent
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2403/20 Belt drives
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2408/2171 the position of the movable roller(s), i.e. the web loop, being positively actuated
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2408/2174 belt or similar device for carrying web through the accumulator

Abstract

A processing apparatus includes: a work carrying section that carries a continuous belt-like work; and a processing section within a travel path and processing while the work is being intermittently halted. The work carrying section includes an entering-side buffer mechanism within the travel path on an upstream side of the processing section; an exit-side buffer mechanism within the travel path on a downstream side of the processing section; an interlocking section that moves first and second moving elements for performing a reciprocating movement in an interlocked manner; an intermittent sending section that comes into contact with the work; an endless annular element that is wrapped around the carry rolls and the first and second moving elements; and a first drive roll that applies a rotational force to the carry rolls and a moving force to the first moving element and the second moving element.

Claims

1. A processing apparatus comprising:

a work carrying section that carries a continuous belt-like work by wrapping the work around a plurality of carry rolls and forming a travel path for the work; and

a processing section that is provided within the travel path and that performs processing while the work is being intermittently halted;

wherein the work carrying section includes

an entering-side buffer mechanism that is provided within the travel path on an upstream side of the processing section and that can accumulate the work carried from upstream by wrapping the work around a first moving element that is guided to be able to perform a reciprocating movement,

an exit-side buffer mechanism that is provided within the travel path on a downstream side of the processing section and that can accumulate the work having been processed and to be carried downstream by wrapping the work having been processed around a second moving element that is guided to be able to perform a reciprocating movement,

an interlocking section that moves the first moving element and the second moving element in an interlocked manner in such a manner that a motion of the entering-side buffer mechanism for increasing or decreasing an accumulation amount of the work accumulated thereby and a motion of the exit-side buffer mechanism for increasing or decreasing an accumulation amount of the work accumulated thereby are opposite from one another and in such a manner that an amount of change in the accumulation amount of the work of the entering-side buffer mechanism and an amount of change in the accumulation amount of the work of the exit-side buffer mechanism are equal,

an intermittent sending section that comes into contact with the work which has passed through the entering-side buffer mechanism and that repeats a halt motion for intermittently halting the work and a sending motion for sending out the work to the processing section,

an endless annular element that is wrapped around the carry rolls, the first moving element, and the second moving element in such a manner that the endless annular element lies along the work within the travel path, and

a first drive roll that, by circulatingly driving the endless annular element, applies a rotational force to the carry rolls and also applies a moving force to the first moving element and the second moving element for achieving the reciprocating movement thereof; and

wherein the first drive roll continuously drives the endless annular element circulatingly at a predetermined speed while the intermittent sending section intermittently halts the endless annular element in synchronization with the halt motion of the work in such a manner that the endless annular element is subjected to the same travel motion and accumulation motion as those of the work within a range where the endless annular element lies along the travel path.

2. A processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the first moving element of the entering-side buffer mechanism is a roll that rotates followingly;

the second moving element of the exit-side buffer mechanism is a roll that rotates followingly; and

the rolls rotate by receiving the rotational force caused by circulatingly driving the endless annular element.

3. A processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a seesaw member as the interlocking section, the seesaw member oscillating about a predetermined axis;

wherein the first moving element and the second moving element are mounted on the seesaw member; and

wherein the axis is located at a midpoint between a position where the first moving element is mounted and a position where the second moving element is mounted, and an oscillating motion of the seesaw member causes the reciprocating movement of the first moving element and the second moving element.

4. A processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the seesaw member includes a plurality of the first moving elements for wrapping the work around the first moving elements in a zigzag form, and a plurality of the second moving elements for wrapping the work having been processed around the second moving elements in a zigzag form.

5. A processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the predetermined speed of the endless annular element is a speed at a contacting position where the first drive roll comes into contact with the endless annular element; and

the predetermined speed is equal to

a travel speed of the work on a side upstream of the entering-side buffer mechanism or

a travel speed of the work having been processed on a side downstream of the exit-side buffer mechanism.

6. A processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the intermittent sending section is a second drive roll that carries the work to the processing section by being driven to rotate while winding the work from the entering-side buffer mechanism around an outer circumferential surface of the roll; and

the endless annular element is also wound around the second drive roll.

7. A processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

while the halt motion of the work is cancelled, the intermittent sending section performs, in parallel, an increasing motion for increasing the accumulation amount of the exit-side buffer mechanism and a decreasing motion for decreasing the accumulation amount of the entering-side buffer mechanism; and

the increasing motion and the decreasing motion are achieved by making a travel speed of the work between the entering-side buffer mechanism and the exit-side buffer mechanism faster than both

a travel speed of the work on a side upstream of the entering-side buffer mechanism and

a travel speed of the work having been processed on a side downstream of the exit-side buffer mechanism.