Apparatus for dispensing individually predetermined lengths of a web material

• US 6,328,245 B1
• Filed: 03/05/1998
• Issued: 12/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Jan Sterup, Jens Reumert
• Original Assignee: Jan Sterup, Jens Reumert
• Inventors: Nielsen, Bent, Kastfelt, Svend-Ove, Sterup, Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, JOHN QUOC
• Application Number:
  US08/952,803
• Time in Patent Office: 1,377 Days
• Field of Search: 242/420.3, 242/563.2, 242/564.5, 242/566, 242/563
• US Class Current: 242/420.3
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 16/005 Dispensers, i.e. machines for unwinding only parts of web roll
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 16/08 parallel rollers type
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 16/106 in which power is applied to web roll
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 20/12 by suction roller
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/41726 by conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/114 Remaining length of web roll
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 35/0066 this length being adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

An apparatus for automatically dispensing individually predetermined lengths of a web material, such as textile, from a bolt of same. An inclined transport surface conveys a bolt introduced by a customer towards a flip-over mechanism including rods on chains, the textile thereby being unwound from the bolt, the length of the unwound textile being measured by a rotative measuring device, the predetermined length of textile being severed by a severing device. The separated length is delivered to the customer for removal from the apparatus in folded condition together with the bolt in a receptacle displaceable along rails.

Claims

1. An apparatus for dispensing a predetermined length of a web material from a roll of wound web material, said apparatus comprising:

a housing;

unwinding means for unwinding web material from the roll, the unwinding means comprising an unwinding surface for reception and support of the roll, and unwinding conveying means for unwinding web material from the roll when positioned on the unwinding surface with the roll axis transversely to a conveying direction of the unwinding conveying means;

severing means for separating web material from the roll; and

conveying means for capturing a leading free end of unwound web material hanging by gravity downstream from said unwinding surface and for conveying said unwound web material from the unwinding means to the severing means, said conveying means including;

a pivotable frame pivotally attached to said housing and pivotable about a first pivot axis;

rotary measuring means attached to said pivotable frame for automatically engaging the web material and for measuring a predetermined length of web material conveyed to the severing means;

a rocker arm pivotally attached to said pivotable frame and pivotable about a second pivot axis;

pressure means attached to said rocker arm for pressing the web material against the rotary measuring means and for automatically bringing the unwound web material into forced operating engagement with the rotary measuring means so that the predetermined length of unwound web material can be automatically conveyed to the severing means, the severing means and the conveying means being adapted to cooperate with the rotary measuring means, so that the predetermined length of web material can be separated from the roll, said pressure means being displaceable from a first position to a second position, said rotary measuring means and said pressure means being spaced-apart and located on opposite sides of a path of the leading free end of the unwound web material hanging by gravity downstream from said unwinding surface when said rotary measuring means and said pressure means are in said first position, and said pressure means pressing the unwound web material against said rotary measuring means when said rotary measuring means and said pressure means are in said second position;

sensing means for sensing the presence of the leading free end of the unwound web material in said path;

displacing means for pivoting said rocker arm about said second pivot axis to move said pressure means from said first position to said second position to capture the leading free end of the unwound web material between said pressure means and said measuring means, and for pivoting said pivotable frame about said first pivot axis to move said measuring means together with said pressure means to a third position spaced horizontally downstream from said unwinding surface; and

control means for actuating said displacing means to displace said pressure means from said first position to said second position upon detection of the leading free end of the unwound web material in said path by said sensing means, and to displace said pivotable frame about said first pivot axis to move said measuring means together with said pressure means to said third position.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising restraining means located adjacent to the unwinding surface for restraining movement of the roll.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the restraining means are arranged to interact intermittently with the roll.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the restraining means comprise at least one influencing element arranged to intermittently intersect the path of the roll conveyed by the unwinding conveying means.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein at least one of said at least one influencing element is arranged for movement in a closed trajectory positioned such that the movement of the influencing element at a point of the trajectory intersecting the path of a roll conveyed by the unwinding means has a vertical component.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the restraining means comprise inhibiting means inhibiting movement of the roll in the conveying direction of the unwinding conveying means.

7. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the restraining means comprise influencing means influencing the roll in a direction generally opposite the conveying direction of the unwinding conveying means.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the influence on the roll by the influencing means has a vertical component.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unwinding surface constitutes at least a part of the unwinding conveying means.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein there is provided, downstream from the unwinding surface, at least one roller and means to influence the web material in a direction selected from the group consisting of

a direction against at least one first portion of the cylindrical surface defined by the rotation of the surface of the roller, and

a direction away from at least one second portion of the cylindrical surface.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure means are rotatable about an axis of rotation parallel to an axis of rotation of the rotary measuring means.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the unwinding surface is inclined upwards in the conveying direction of the unwinding conveying means.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the surface of the unwinding conveying means engaging the web material and the roll have a configuration adapted for frictionally engaging the web material.

14. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the unwinding conveying means comprise a plurality of spaced, flexible endless strips having an upper portion extending along and defining the unwinding surface and extending around and engagingly cooperating with a first roller and a second roller, the first roller defining an upstream edge of the unwinding surface, the second roller defining a downstream edge of the unwinding surface, the surface of the flexible strips facing the web material having a configuration adapted to frictionally engage the web material.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising means to influence the web material in a direction selected from the group consisting of

a direction against at least one first portion of a cylindrical surface defined by the rotation of the surface of the second roller, and

a direction away from at least one second portion of said cylindrical surface.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the second roller is hollow and is provided with apertures forming a connective passage with at least one region in the interior thereof, said region connecting with means for changing the air pressure in that region.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the second roller is rotatably journalled on a fixed hollow inner cylinder provided with sealing means extending parallel to the rotary axis of the second roller and sealingly engaging the inner surface of the second roller, said sealing means defining at least one first region and at least one second region between the inner surface of the second roller and the outer surface of the inner cylinder, the inner cylinder having sealing means in the interior thereof defining at least one third region and at least one fourth region, the third region connecting with the first region through apertures in the inner cylinder, the fourth region connecting with the second region through further apertures in the inner cylinder, the inner cylinder further being closed at each end by closure members, at least one of said closure members having at least one first aperture and at least one second aperture, the first aperture connecting the third region with suction means, and the second aperture connecting the fourth region with blowing means.

18. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a vertical space is defined between two vertical planes substantially perpendicular to the horizontal component of the conveying direction of the unwinding conveying means in a region downstream from the unwinding surface, the conveying speed of the web material upstream from said vertical space being controlled in such a manner with relation to the conveying speed of the web material downstream from the vertical space that a buffer bulge of web material is formed and maintained in the vertical space.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the rotary measuring means comprise means for measuring the peripheral movement of the rotary measuring means.

20. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the sensing means are adapted to activate controlling means for controlling the conveying speed of the web material upstream from the vertical space.

21. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the sensing means are adapted to activate controlling means for controlling the speed of the web material downstream from the vertical space.

22. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotary measuring means comprise an electrical pulse generator for generating an electrical pulse each time the rotary measuring means has rotated through a certain angle.

23. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising layering means located downstream from the rotary measuring means for depositing the web material in layers in a receptacle, the layering means comprising at least one displacing element for displacing a vertical portion of the web material in a substantially horizontal direction substantially at right angles to the transverse dimension of the web material.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, further comprising receptacle displacing means for displacing the receptacle from a first folding position substantially vertically below the layering means to a second emptying position at a height which allows for manual emptying thereof.

25. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising roll measuring means for measuring the amount of web material in the roll.

26. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising programmable data processing means.

27. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising web material roll identification means for identifying each roll, the roll identification parameters including at least one of the group of identification parameters comprising web material type, web material price and the length of the web material originally in the roll.

28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the identification means comprise:

a programmable electronic element fixedly attached in a predetermined position on each particular roll;

means to program said electronic element with at least one of the roll identification parameters;

remote sensing means to remotely sense the electronic element for sensing the programmed roll identification parameters and the position of the electronic element means to indicate incorrect positioning of the roll on the unwinding surface based on the position of the electronic element; and

transmission means to transmit the sensed roll identification parameters to programmable data processing means.

29. The apparatus according to claim 28, further comprising manual operating means for manually measuring and severing lengths of web material.

30. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the manual operating means comprise:

input means for manually registering the longitudinal dimension of the length of web material severed from the roll;

remote sensing means to remotely sense the electronic element for sensing the roll identification parameters;

transmission means to transmit the sensed roll identification parameters to the programmable data processing means; and

printing means for printing identification parameters comprising at least one of the group of identification parameters comprising web material type, web material unitary price, dimension of the length of severed web material and the total price of the length of severed web material.

31. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

input means for manually registering the longitudinal dimension of the length of web material to be severed from the rolls; and

display means for displaying information, the information at least comprising an indication as to whether the roll contains said required length of web material.

32. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising web material length identification means for identifying each severed length of web material.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32, wherein the web material length identification means comprise printing means for printing web material length identification parameters comprising at least one of the group of identification parameters comprising web material type, web material unitary price, dimension of the length of severed web material and the total price of the length of severed web material.

34. The apparatus according to claim 33, wherein the web material length identification means further comprise:

printing means for printing on tamper-evident labels; and

means for attaching the labels to the severed lengths of web material.

35. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a stock controlling system for a stock of the web material wound on rolls, said system comprising at least one programmable data processing means comprising a database and communicating with and receiving data from data input and generating means associated with at least one of:

roll content checking means,

dispensing means for dispensing individually predetermined lengths of the web material from the rolls,

a cash register for recording sales of said lengths of web material, and

a stock replenishing order placement system for ordering new supplies of web material.

36. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotary measuring means is located below said unwinding conveying means when in said first position.

37. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a portion of said conveying means is located below said unwinding conveying means.

38. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a motor for rotatably driving said rotary measuring means.

39. An apparatus for dispensing a predetermined length of a web material from a roll of wound web material, said apparatus comprising:

unwinding means for unwinding web material from the roll, the unwinding means comprising an unwinding surface for reception and support of the roll, and unwinding conveying means for unwinding web material from the roll when positioned on the unwinding surface with the roll axis transversely to a conveying direction of the unwinding conveying means;

separating means for separating web material from the roll;

conveying means for conveying unwound web material from the unwinding means to the separating means;

rotary measuring means for automatically engaging the web material and for measuring a predetermined length of web material conveyed to the separating means;

pressure means for pressing the web material against the rotary measuring means and for automatically bringing the unwound web material into forced operating engagement with the rotary measuring means so that the predetermined length of unwound web material can be automatically conveyed to the separating means, the separating means and the conveying means being adapted to cooperate with the rotary measuring means, so that the predetermined length of web material can be separated from the roll; and

restraining means located adjacent to the unwinding surface for restraining movement of the roll, the restraining means comprising inhibiting means inhibiting movement of the roll in the conveying direction of the unwinding conveying means, the restraining means arranged to interact intermittently with the roll, the restraining means comprising at least one influencing element arranged to intermittently intersect the path of the roll conveyed by the unwinding conveying means,

wherein the at least one influencing element comprises at least one rod which is longer than the maximum possible width of the web material.

40. An apparatus for dispensing a predetermined length of a web material from a roll of wound web material, said apparatus comprising:

unwinding means for unwinding web material from the roll, the unwinding means comprising an unwinding surface for reception and support of the roll, and unwinding conveying means for unwinding web material from the roll when positioned on the unwinding surface with the roll axis transversely to a conveying direction of the unwinding conveying means;

separating means for separating web material from the roll;

conveying means for conveying unwound web material from the unwinding means to the separating means;

rotary measuring means for automatically engaging the web material and for measuring a predetermined length of web material conveyed to the separating means;

pressure means for pressing the web material against the rotary measuring means and for automatically bringing the unwound web material into forced operating engagement with the rotary measuring means so that the predetermined length of unwound web material can be automatically conveyed to the separating means, the separating means and the conveying means being adapted to cooperate with the rotary measuring means, so that the predetermined length of web material can be separated from the roll;

layering means located downstream from the rotary measuring means for depositing the web material in layers in a receptacle, the layering means comprising at least one displacing element for displacing a vertical portion of the web material in a substantially horizontal direction substantially at right angles to the transverse dimension of the web material; and

receptacle displacing means for displacing the receptacle from a first folding position substantially vertically below the layering means to a second emptying position at a height which allows for manual emptying thereof,

wherein the displacement path of the receptacle between said first position and said second position is such that the roll may be deposited in the receptacle when the conveying direction of the unwinding conveying means is reversed after a separation operation.

41. The apparatus according to claim 40, further comprising a housing, and wherein said conveying means comprises a sliding frame slidably attached to said housing and supporting said rotary measuring means.