BR112021004355A2 - method and apparatus for controlling an operation performed on a web of material - Google Patents

Abstract

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING AN OPERATION PERFORMED ON A CONTINUOUS MATERIAL SHEET. The present invention relates to a method for carrying out an operation on a web of board material. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method used to perform high speed operation on a web of board material. The web of board material can subsequently be received by a second system which performs a different operation. In one embodiment, the second system forms the continuous sheet of plate material into rings for container lids. The system may include an internal supply accumulation device and an external supply accumulation device, which allows the system to operate at a variable rate and out of phase with a high speed, coil-fed manufacturing system to which the system can be detachably integrated. The system can determine whether the operation was performed at a predetermined location on a portion of the web.

Description

Invention Patent Descriptive Report for "METHOD

AND APPARATUS TO CONTROL AN OPERATION CARRIED OUT ON A CONTINUOUS MATERIAL SHEET”. Cross Reference to Related Orders

[0001] This application claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) to US Patent Application Serial No. 16/126,936, filed September 10, 2018, which is a continuation application in part of, and claims priority to US Patent Application Serial No. 15/130,319, filed April 15, 2016, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Controlling the Speed of a Continuous Sheet of Material", now US Patent No. 10/073,443, which claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) to Provisional US Patent Application Serial No. 62/149,079 filed April 17, 2015, which are each incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. Field of Invention

[0002] The present invention relates, in general, to the manufacture of container lids. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for controlling the speed of a web of a metallic material, and more specifically a metallic ring plate. The system can operate out-of-phase with a high-speed, coil-fed cap fabrication system in which the ring fabrication and marking system is detachably integrated. background

[0003] As part of container fabrication, or in some cases during container filling or sealing operations, markings can be placed at a number of container locations, including the lid. Markings can have a variety of purposes, including decorating the container, identifying the contents, identifying the place or date of manufacture or use, identifying the manufacturer of the container or container component, the style or materials for the container, providing trade names, advertising, promotion or the like. In some situations, promotional information such as sweepstakes, contests or some other nominations are placed or tagged on containers or container components.

[0004] A variety of devices and procedures have been used to mark containers and container components such as pull rings. Currently, the container body is the primary surface of a container that is marked. However, the bodies of the containers and the markings on them are often obstructed during use of the container, such as by the consumer's hand during consumption of a beverage from a beverage container. The metal rings used to open the containers provide a unique and effective surface for branding advertising and other signs in new and creative ways. Unlike the container body, consumers naturally look to the ring to open the container. In addition, the ring is not normally obstructed or blocked during consumption of a beverage from a beverage container.

[0005] Pull rings, or "rings" as discussed in this document, are formed separately from the container body during a closure manufacturing process. The manufacture of container closures requires a series of processing steps collectively referred to as a converting process. A typical conversion process is illustrated and described, in general, in “How Ball Makes Beverage Ends”, available at http://www.ball.com/images/ball_com/product_options_files/How_Ball_Makes_Beverage_Ends.pdf (last visited on the 16th of March 2015) and US Patent No. 6,533,518, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. During the converting process, an unwinder feeds a sheet of metal plate into a converting press. The converting press turns the sheet metal into rings and interconnects the rings to the cap with a rivet. Various methods of marking container rings and other beverage container components are described in U.S. Patent No. 6,105,806, U.S. Patent No. 7,972,426, U.S. Patent No. 7,638,252 , U.S. Patent No.

8,146,768, US Patent Application No. 2005/0045637, US Patent Application No. 2013/0075401, US Patent Application No. 2013/0270269 and PCT International Publication No. WO 2013/049320, which are incorporated herein by way of reference in its entirety.

[0006] In some cases, stamping or incision processes have been used to mark containers and rings. Stamping or incising, through stamping, may require an undesirably large stock of tools for different types of letters or symbols that form the markings. In addition, stamping or incision processes typically require the need to shut down an assembly line or converting press to disassemble the converting press whenever it is necessary to replace tools for maintenance or repairs or to change the marking being engraved or stamped. Such disconnects are particularly problematic when it is desirable to change the markings relatively high frequency, such as when markings on containers or rings are intended to be used as part of a contest or drawing where there are preferably a relatively large number of different ones. possible markings or indication. Furthermore, it is difficult to accurately control the depth of stamping or nicking, and in some cases stamping or nicking too deep can lead to leakage or container/lid failure.

[0007] Another process that has been used for placing markings on containers and rings has been one or more printing processes. Contact or impression printing is sometimes useful for decorating or tagging containers where you want to place a relatively large number of identical tags on containers. However, contact printing is considered impractical for many components, such as rings, due to the shape or position of the ring. Contact printing is also inefficient when one wants to change the markings relatively frequently due to the need to stop a production line and at least partially dismantle the contact printing device to change the configuration of the markings being printed on the rings.

[0008] In some situations, container components, including rings, can be marked using a non-contact printing process such as an inkjet process. While inkjet equipment can be controlled to provide for marking changes, inkjet equipment and processes are considered relatively unreliable and require frequent maintenance and repair. Inkjet processes are also subject to unwanted placement or placement of ink. For example, inkjet printing can result in an ink mist that can interfere with the printing process, cause unwanted markings on containers, or cause equipment malfunction. In some cases, using an inkjet process can result in the loss of up to 20% or more of potential production time due to the need for cleaning, maintenance and/or repair. It was also considered difficult to achieve reliable adhesion of the paint to containers or container components. In addition, inkjet processes have been difficult to run at high speed without slowing down conversion printing while maintaining print quality to mark letters or other indications without distortion. Finally, inkjet printing and direct contact printing processes provide only surface markings without forming indentations or otherwise altering the containers or their components. Consequently, inkjet and other printing processes are generally unsuitable for use in conjunction with contest sweepstakes or to provide other valuable tokens or indications, as there is an undesirably large potential for counterfeiting or altering markings in an attempt to claim a contest or sweepstakes prize.

[0009] Some or all of the above difficulties in the above container marking systems and methods are particularly problematic for metallic containers or container components, such as typical aluminum alloy beverage containers and rings. Compared to plastic or other container materials, metal containers can be relatively difficult to mark because it can be difficult to adhere paint to metal surfaces, because of the harder surfaces of metal containers and because of the melting point or higher softening of the metallic material of the metallic containers. In addition, marking systems must be able to operate quickly to ensure that downstream production equipment, such as the converting press, can operate at a speed of approximately 750 cycles (or strokes) per minute. Consequently, devices and processes used in conjunction with some container materials are not necessarily applicable to others. Furthermore, in most situations, the functions or purposes of markings placed on metal containers will rarely justify the use of different methods and apparatus that would involve expenses that are substantially higher than those involved with current methods and apparatus or that require operation of the production at a slower speed.

[0010] A known system of decorative rings is described in

U.S. Patent No. 6,498,318, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The system described in U.S. Patent No. 6,498,318 solves the problems described above by using laser light to mark the sheet of metal ring plate used to form a ring. The system marks the ring plate before the conversion press makes the ring plate into rings and interconnects the rings to the caps. However, the system is directly integrated into the converting press and cannot operate out of phase with the converting press. As the system cannot function independently of the feed rate of the converting press, available laser print times are limited and cannot be increased without reducing the speed of the converting press.

[0011] Another method of decorating rings involves coating the rings or ring plate with a lacquer including a coloring agent or a lacquer with photonically active material. A laser then removes the predetermined parts of the lacquers (or alters the appearance of the lacquers) to form an image. These ring marking methods are generally considered inadequate, as lacquers added to the ring unacceptably increase ring production costs far beyond those involved in current processes.

[0012] Other methods describe the use of more powerful lasers to form a desired mark on the ring. For example, one method describes using a 200 Watt or 600 Watt laser. However, the energy required to power lasers with these energies makes them uneconomical to use in a cap manufacturing process, where several hundred thousand or thousands of rings are manufactured daily. For example, at a known cap manufacturing facility, up to 5 million rings are manufactured daily.

[0013] Therefore, there is an unmet need for systems and methods of marking containers and rings that can be removably integrated with a container cap production line and that can operate out of phase with the container cap production line. container lid without decreasing the efficiency, or increasing the costs of current container lid manufacturing processes. Invention Summary

[0014] The present invention provides systems and methods for forming and/or marking continuous sheets of material (including ring plate which is subsequently formed into rings) inexpensively, quickly and reliably. The marked ring plate is subsequently formed into pull rings which can be interconnected to a container lid by a conversion press.

[0015] One aspect of the present invention is to provide a system and method that increases the time available to perform an operation on a web of material without reducing the cycle rate of other equipment in a coil-fed production process. The system can include a servo fed unit that can move the web of material in a zone where the operation is performed at a faster rate than other equipment in the coil fed production process. Thus, more time is provided to carry out the operation without delaying other equipment in the production process. In one embodiment, the operation comprises forming a marking or indication on the web of material. Optionally, a laser can be used to form the marking on the web. Accordingly, by increasing the time available for the laser to form a marking, more complex graphics, letters, numbers, and the like can be formed. Alternatively, by increasing the available time, the laser can form the marking at a lower energy setting, thus reducing operating costs. In another embodiment, the operation comprises one or more of a step of cutting, punching, shaping, and/or forming a predetermined portion of the web of material. In one embodiment, the solid sheet of material is aluminum ring plate.

[0016] In one embodiment, the system may include a sensor to determine the position of the marking or indication on the web of material. In one modality, the sensor is a camera. If the marking is not at a predetermined position on the web of material, the system can adjust a length of the web of material fed to the zone where the operation is performed to ensure proper positioning. More specifically, if the marking is very close to an upstream side of a portion of the web of material, the powered servo unit can feed a decreased length of the web of material to the operating zone. Alternatively, if the marking is too close to a downstream side of the material web portion, the powered servo unit can feed an increased length of the material web to the operating zone. In this way, subsequent tags are formed in the corrected position.

[0017] Another aspect of the invention is to perform any type of operation on a web of material where the speed of the web of material needs to be controlled while the operation is being performed. In one embodiment, the operation may include, but is not limited to, cutting, punching, shaping, or forming the material or marking the material with an indication. For example, the operation may comprise cutting a gap from the web. The gap can subsequently be formed into a lid or a metal cup for a container body. Alternatively, the operation may include forming a cut or an opening in the web of material. The operation may alternatively comprise marking the material with the indication. The material can comprise, but is not limited to, metal, plastic, or paper.

[0018] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a marking system that can be detachably, quickly and efficiently integrated into a coil-fed production process. In one embodiment, the coil-fed production process is a container lid manufacturing process.

[0019] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide improved, economical, and reliable systems and methods for applying indication or markings to predetermined locations of a web of slab material at high speed without delaying downstream production equipment. In one embodiment, the plate material is aluminum ring plate. Optionally, the downstream production equipment can include a container closure converting press. In another embodiment, the plate material is aluminum cap plate and the downstream production equipment may include a capping press and a converting press. In one embodiment, the systems and methods include a camera configured to take a photo of a marking on the web of plate material. If the marking is not at a predetermined location, an increased amount, or a decreased amount, of the web of board material can be moved to a system. In this way, a position of a subsequent marking on the web of board material is set to be at the predetermined location.

[0020] Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide a material marking system and method that can operate out of phase compared to upstream and/or downstream production equipment. The system optionally includes an internal feed accumulation device for the material before the material is marked. The system can also include an external feed accumulation device for material after it is marked. The system is operable to monitor and determine the amount of material in the infeed and outfeed accumulation devices and adjust the cycle rate of at least one of the system, upstream equipment, and downstream equipment. In one embodiment, the upstream equipment comprises a ring plate unwinder which supplies the ring plate to the internal feed accumulation device. The downstream production equipment comprises a container lid converting press which withdraws the marked material from the external feed accumulation device. In another embodiment, the upstream equipment comprises an unwinder for the aluminum cover plate and a nip roller support. The pinch roller holder supplies the cover plate to the internal feed accumulation device. The downstream production equipment comprises a blanket press which withdraws the marked material from the external feed accumulation device.

[0021] It is another aspect of the present invention to provide an apparatus for controlling the input and output speed of a metal ring plate web while providing indication at a predetermined location. The apparatus may include, but is not limited to: (1) an internal feed accumulation device for receiving the metal ring plate web; (2) an inner feed loop sensor for determining an amount of the metal ring plate web in the inner feed accumulation device; (3) a servo unit powered to move a predetermined length of metal ring plate web in a marking area at a predetermined rate; (4) a marking apparatus for forming the indication on a surface of the metal ring plate web; (5) an external feed accumulation device for receiving the metal ring plate web after the marking apparatus has formed the indication on the metal ring plate web; and (6) an external feed loop sensor for determining an amount of the metal ring plate web in the external feed accumulation device. The metal ring plate web may subsequently be formed into rings adapted for interconnection to the container lid.

[0022] In one embodiment, the marking apparatus is a laser unit adapted to form the indication on one or more surfaces of the metal ring plate web. The laser unit is operable to form the indication in less than approximately 60 milliseconds. The indication can be any combination of letters, numbers, symbols, and images arranged in any order or orientation and any size. In another embodiment, the powered servo unit is operable to move the predetermined length of the metal ring plate web to the marking area in less than approximately 35 milliseconds. In another embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus may operate up to or greater than approximately 800 cycles per minute.

[0023] In one embodiment, the apparatus optionally includes a sensor for determining the position of the indication on the metal ring plate web. In another modality, the sensor is a camera. If the indication is not at a predetermined position on the metal ring plate web, the apparatus can adjust the predetermined length of the metal ring plate web fed to the marking area. In yet another embodiment, the powered servo unit is operable to change the predetermined length of the metal ring plate web moved to the marking area to adjust a location of the indication formed on the metal ring plate web by the marking apparatus. More specifically, if the indication is too close to an upstream side of a segment or a portion of the metal ring plate web, the powered servo unit can feed a decreased length of the metal ring plate web to the marking area . Alternatively, if the indication is too close to a downstream side of the metal ring plate web portion, the powered servo unit can feed an increased length of the metal ring plate web to the marking area. In this way, subsequent indications are formed in the predetermined position.

[0024] In one embodiment, the predetermined rate of the fed servo unit can be changed to adjust the length of the metal ring plate web in one or more of the internal feed and external feed accumulation devices. In another embodiment, a period of time for the marking apparatus to form the indication may be changed to adjust the length of the metal ring plate web in one or more of the infeed and outfeed accumulation devices.

[0025] In one embodiment, the inner feed loop sensor measures a distance to a predetermined portion of the metal ring plate web in the inner feed accumulation device. The predetermined portion of the metallic ring plate web may optionally comprise one or more of: (i) a lower portion of the metallic ring plate web, and (ii) a transition point between a portion in general. , linear from metallic ring plate web and through metallic ring plate web. Additionally, or alternatively, the internal feed loop sensor may comprise a first sensor in a first part of the internal feed accumulation device and a second sensor in a second part of the internal feed accumulation device. In one embodiment, the first sensor is aligned with a position of an insufficient amount of metallic ring plate web and the second sensor is aligned with a position of an excessive amount of metallic ring plate web. Accordingly, when the predetermined part of the metallic ring plate web inside the internal feed accumulation device is between the first sensor and the second sensor, a sufficient amount of metallic ring plate is inside the internal feed accumulation device . In another embodiment, the first sensor is configured to determine when an insufficient amount of metal ring plate web is in the internal feed accumulation device. Continuing this example, the second sensor is configured to determine when an excessive amount of metal ring plate web is in the internal feed accumulation device.

[0026] In another embodiment, the external feed loop sensor measures a distance to a predetermined portion of the metal ring plate web in the external feed accumulation device. The predetermined portion of the metallic ring plate web may optionally comprise at least one of: (i) a lower portion of the metallic ring plate web; and (ii) a transition point between the generally linear portion of the metal ring plate web and across the metal ring plate web. Additionally or alternatively, the external supply loop sensor may comprise a first sensor in a first part of the external supply accumulation device and a second sensor in a second part of the external supply accumulation device. The first sensor is aligned with a position of an insufficient amount of the metallic ring plate web and the second sensor is aligned with a position of an excessive amount of the metallic ring plate web. Accordingly, when a predetermined part of the metallic ring plate web inside the external supply accumulation device is between the first sensor and the second sensor, a sufficient amount of metallic ring plate is inside the external supply accumulation device .

[0027] Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide a first apparatus that performs a first operation on a continuous sheet of metallic material. The first apparatus may include, in general, but is not limited to: (1) a servo unit that operates to move the web of metallic material to the first apparatus at a predetermined rate; (2) an apparatus operable to perform the first operation on at least a portion of the web of metallic material within a predetermined period of time; (3) an external feed device for accumulating the web of metallic material after the first operation is carried out; and (4) an external feed sensor for measuring a length of the web of metallic material in the external feed device. In one embodiment, a rate of the first operation is adjustable to provide (or accumulate) a predetermined length of web in the external feed device. In one embodiment, a second apparatus operable to perform a second operation at a second rate receives the web of metallic material from the external feed device.

[0028] Optionally, the first apparatus may further comprise one or more of: (i) an internal feed device for accumulating the web of metallic material before the first operation is performed, and (ii) an internal feed sensor for measuring a length of the web of metallic material in the internal feed device. The rate of the first operation is adjustable to accumulate a predetermined length of web in the internal feed device. The first apparatus may optionally include a control system operable to adjust the rate of the first operation in response to a change in the second rate of the second apparatus.

[0029] In one embodiment, the apparatus may further include a sensor to collect an image of the operation performed on the web of metallic material. The sensor may comprise a camera or other device capable of determining an indication of the operation performed on the web of metallic material. In one embodiment, the operation comprises forming an indication on the web of metallic material, the sensor being operable to collect an image of the indication. Optionally, the sensor is able to determine a location of the indication formed on the web of metallic material. In another embodiment, the servo unit is operable to change a length of the web of metallic material moved to the first apparatus. In one embodiment, the servo unit is operable to shorten the length of the metallic material web moved to the first apparatus when data collected by the sensor shows that the indication is very close to an upstream side of the metallic material web portion. In another embodiment, the servo unit is operable to increase the length of the metallic material web moved to the first apparatus when the data collected by the sensor shows that the indication is too close to a downstream side of the metallic material web portion.

[0030] Optionally, the first apparatus is operable to perform the first operation on a first surface of the web of metallic material and a different operation on a second surface of the web. In another embodiment, the first apparatus comprises a laser unit which forms an indication on a predetermined part of the web of metallic material. The laser unit may optionally comprise a first laser unit to form an indication on the first surface and a second laser unit to form an indication on the second surface. In one embodiment, the indication comprises any combination of letters, numbers, symbols and images arranged in any order or orientation and any size. In yet another embodiment, the continuous sheet of metallic material comprises aluminum ring plate. The aluminum ring plate can subsequently be formed into cap rings by a converting press.

[0031] In addition, or alternatively, measuring the length may comprise measuring a change in a distance between the external feed sensor and the predetermined part of the web of metallic material in the external feed device. In one embodiment, the predetermined portion measured by the external feed sensor comprises the lower portion of the web of metallic material. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the predetermined part measured by the external feed sensor comprises a transition point between the generally linear part and through the web of metallic material.

[0032] In another embodiment, the external power sensor comprises a first external power sensor in a first part of the external power device and a second external power sensor in a second part other than the external power device. Accordingly, measuring the length comprises determining that a predetermined part of the web of metallic material is between the first external feed sensor and the second external feed sensor. If the predetermined part of the web is not between the first and second sensors, an excessive or insufficient length of the web is in the external feed device. Optionally, the first external feed sensor is aligned with a position of an insufficient amount of the metallic material web and the second external feed sensor is aligned with a position of an excessive amount of the metallic material web.

[0033] It is yet another aspect of the present invention to provide a method for controlling an input rate and an output rate in a web of metallic material. The method generally comprises: (1) accumulating a first length of slack in the web of metallic material before a first apparatus performs a first operation; (2) performing the first operation with the first apparatus on the web of metallic material; (3) accumulating a second length of slack in the web of metallic material after the first apparatus performs the first operation; (4) monitor the first slack length and the second slack length; and (5) adjusting a rate of the first operation performed by the first apparatus to change at least one of the first slack length and the second slack length. The first apparatus can optionally perform the first operation at a variable rate. Optionally, the first operation performed by the first apparatus may include performing an operation on one or more of a first surface and a second surface of the web of metallic material.

[0034] In one embodiment, the laser unit forms a marking on the web of metallic material during the first operation. The laser unit may optionally comprise a first laser unit operable to form a marking on the first surface and a second laser unit operable to form a marking on the second surface. In one embodiment, the marking can comprise any combination of letters, numbers, symbols, and images arranged in any order or orientation and any size.

[0035] In one embodiment, an internal feed sensor monitors the first gap length in the web of metallic material. An external feed sensor monitors the second gap length in the metal web. In one embodiment, the infeed and outfeed sensors measure a distance to a predetermined portion of the web of metallic material in the first and second gap lengths. The predetermined portion of the web of metallic material may optionally comprise at least one of: (i) a lower portion of the web of metallic material; and (ii) a transition point between the generally linear part and through the continuous sheet of metallic material.

[0036] In one embodiment, the method further comprises collecting an image of the continuous sheet of metallic material after the first apparatus performs the first operation. In one modality, the image is collected by a camera. The method may further comprise determining whether the first operation has been carried out on a predetermined part of the web of metallic material. If the first operation has not been performed on the predetermined part, the method may optionally include adjusting a length of the web of metallic material moved to a first apparatus by a servo unit. In one embodiment, when the first operation has been performed at a position upstream of the predetermined portion (e.g., very close to an upstream side of a portion of the metallic material web), the method may include decreasing the length of the web. of metallic material moved to the first device by the servo unit. Alternatively, in another embodiment, when the first operation has been performed in a position downstream of the predetermined portion (e.g., very close to a downstream side of the metallic material web portion), the method may include increasing the length of the continuous sheet of metallic material moved to the first apparatus by the servo unit.

[0037] Additionally, or alternatively, the method may include adjusting the amount of time for the servo unit to move a predetermined length of the web of metallic material to the first apparatus. In one embodiment, the servo unit can move the predetermined length of web of metallic material to the first apparatus in less than about 35 milliseconds. In one mode, the first apparatus can perform the first operation at a rate of up to or greater than approximately 800 cycles per minute. In another embodiment, the first device can perform the first operation in less than approximately 60 milliseconds.

[0038] In another embodiment, a second apparatus that performs the second operation on the web of metallic material receives the web of metallic material from the second gap length. The second apparatus may perform the second operation at a different second rate which is not matched by the rate of the first operation performed with the first apparatus. In yet another embodiment, the second apparatus comprises the converting press which forms the continuous sheet of metallic material into rings adapted for interconnection to a container lid.

[0039] One aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for providing indication at a predetermined location of a metal ring plate web. The apparatus may generally include, but is not limited to: (1) an internal feed accumulation device operable to receive the metal ring plate web; (2) a powered servo unit operable to move a predetermined length of metal ring plate web in a marking area; (3) a marking apparatus operable to form the indicia on the metal ring plate web; (4) an external feed accumulation device operable to receive the metal ring plate web after the marking apparatus has formed the indication; and (5) a camera operable to collect an image of the indication formed on the metal ring plate web. In one embodiment, the metal ring plate web may subsequently be formed into rings adapted for interconnection to container lids.

[0040] The marking apparatus may be a laser unit adapted to form the indication. In one embodiment, the marking apparatus comprises one or more of: (i) a first laser unit for forming the indication on a first surface of the metal ring plate web; and (ii) a second laser unit for forming the indication on a second surface of the metal ring plate web.

[0041] The apparatus may optionally include a control unit operable to determine whether the indication in the image collected by the camera is at the predetermined location. In one embodiment, the control unit is operable to send an instruction to the powered servo unit to increase the predetermined length when the indication in the image is too close to a downstream side of a segment or part of the metal ring plate web. Additionally or alternatively, the control unit is operable to send an instruction to the powered servo unit to decrease the predetermined length when the indication in the image is very close to an upstream side of the metallic ring plate web portion. Optionally, the control unit can also determine the magnitude (or an amount) of an error at an indication location. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the control unit can determine the magnitude of an error at a location of the indication and to send an instruction to the powered servo unit to change the predetermined length when the indication is not at the predetermined location.

[0042] In one embodiment, the control unit is operable to send an instruction to the powered servo unit to change the predetermined length after determining that a predetermined indication number is not at the predetermined location. In one embodiment, the control unit may wait to send the instruction until it determines that three consecutive indications are not at the predetermined location. Additionally, or alternatively, the control system may send the instruction after determining three indications out of a sample of ten indications are not at the predetermined location. Optionally, the control unit can generate a user interface. The user interface can be displayed on an output device associated with the control unit. In one embodiment, the user interface can indicate a position of the indication formed on the metal ring plate web. Additionally, or alternatively, the user interface may optionally include one or more visual indications of the magnitude of the error at the location of the indication. More specifically, the user interface may include a graphical device, such as a box, that indicates the magnitude of the error of the indication relative to an upstream portion or a downstream portion of a visual representation of a portion of the metallic ring plate.

[0043] In one embodiment, the powered servo unit is operable to change the predetermined length of the metal ring plate web moved to the marking area to adjust a location of the indication formed on the metal ring plate web by the marking apparatus . Optionally, the powered servo unit changes the predetermined length in response to a signal from the control unit.

[0044] Another aspect of the present invention is a non-transient computer-readable medium comprising a set of instructions stored therein that, when executed by a processor of a control unit, causes the processor to adjust the components of an apparatus it performs an operation on a continuous sheet of metallic material. The instructions include one or more of, but are not limited to, an instruction to: (1) signal a servo unit to move a predetermined length of web of metallic material to the apparatus; (2) receiving an image collected by a sensor of an indication formed on the web of metallic material; (3) determine whether the indication in the image is at a predetermined location; (4) prepare an instruction for the servo unit to change the predetermined length when the indication is not in the predetermined location; and (5) send the instruction to the servo unit. The servo drive instruction can make servo drive powered to change the predetermined length when the indication is not at the predetermined location. In one embodiment, the sensor is a camera or other device capable of forming an image of the indication formed on the web of metallic material. In another embodiment, preparing the instruction may include determining the magnitude of an error at an indication location. Optionally, the continuous sheet of metallic material is the metallic ring plate. In one embodiment, the converting press subsequently forms the metallic ring plate into rings adapted for interconnection to a lid for a metallic container, such as a beverage can.

[0045] In one embodiment, the instruction causes the servo unit to increase the predetermined length when the indication in the image is very close to a downstream side of a part of the web of metallic material. In another embodiment, the instruction causes the servo unit to decrease the predetermined length when the indication in the image is too close to an upstream side of a portion of the web of metallic material.

[0046] The instructions may include an instruction to count a predetermined number of indication which is not in the predetermined location before sending the instruction to the servo unit. In one embodiment, the instructions cause the processor to wait until it determines that a predetermined number of consecutive indications are not in the predetermined location before the instruction is sent to the servo unit. Additionally, or alternatively, the instructions may cause the processor to wait until after determining that a predetermined number indication is not at the predetermined location in a sample of the predetermined number indication before the instruction is sent to the servo unit. In one embodiment, the processor may wait until after determining that three indications are not at the predetermined location in a sample of ten indications before the instruction is sent to the servo unit. Optionally, the processor may wait until it determines that at least approximately 40 percent of the indication in a sample of a predetermined indication number is not in the predetermined location before sending the instruction to the servo unit.

[0047] Optionally, after sending the instruction to the servo unit, the instructions can cause the processor to wait a predetermined number of instrument cycles before sending a second instruction to the servo unit to change the predetermined length.

In one embodiment, the processor may wait two to sixty instrument cycles before sending a second instruction to the servo unit.

[0048] In one embodiment, the computer-readable medium further comprises instructions for at least one of: (i) monitoring a quantity of the web of metallic material in an external feed device; and (ii) sending an instruction to a marking apparatus to change a rate at which the indication is formed to accumulate a predetermined length of web of metallic material in the external feed device.

[0049] In addition, the computer-readable medium may further include instructions for generating a user interface. The user interface can be displayed on an output device associated with the control unit. In one embodiment, the user interface may indicate a position of the indication formed on the web of metallic material. Additionally, or alternatively, the user interface may optionally include one or more visual indications of the magnitude of the error at the location of the indication. More specifically, the user interface may include a graphical device, such as a box, that indicates the magnitude of the error of the indication relative to an upstream or downstream portion of a visual representation of a portion of metallic material.

[0050] Yet another aspect is a method for controlling an apparatus that performs an operation on a web of metallic material, comprising one or more of: (1) accumulating a first length of slack in the web of metallic material before the apparatus perform the operation; (2) feeding a predetermined length of web of metallic material into the apparatus; (3) performing the operation on a first part of the web of metallic material by the apparatus; (4) accumulating a second length of slack in the web of metallic material after the apparatus performs the operation; (5) determining whether the apparatus performed the operation at a predetermined location on the first part of the web of metallic material; and (5) adjusting the predetermined length of the metallic material web fed to the apparatus so that the apparatus performs operation at a predetermined location of a second portion of the metallic material web. In one embodiment, the continuous sheet of metallic material comprises ring plate. Optionally, the converting press subsequently forms the metallic ring plate into rings adapted for interconnection to a lid for a metallic container, such as a beverage can. In one embodiment, the operation comprises forming an indication. The indication can optionally be formed by a marking unit, such as a laser, which does not come into contact with the web of metallic material.

[0051] The method may further include increasing the predetermined length of the web of metallic material fed to the apparatus when the apparatus has performed the operation in close proximity to a downstream side of the first part of the web of metallic material. Additionally, or alternatively, the method may include decreasing the predetermined length of the metallic material web fed into the apparatus when the apparatus has performed the operation in close proximity to an upstream side of the first portion of the metallic material web.

[0052] Optionally, in one embodiment, the method may include counting a predetermined number of errors at the locations of operations performed by the apparatus before setting the predetermined length of the web of metallic material fed to the apparatus. In one embodiment, a predetermined number of consecutive errors at locations can be observed before setting the predetermined length. In one embodiment, the method may include waiting until after three consecutive errors in locations are observed before setting the predetermined length. Alternatively, in another embodiment, a predetermined number of errors at locations in a sample of a predetermined number of operations may be observed before setting the predetermined length. In one embodiment, the method may include waiting until after determining that three operations include in-place errors out of a sample of ten operations before setting the predetermined length.

[0053] In one embodiment, after adjusting the predetermined length, the method may include waiting a predetermined number of cycles of the apparatus before adjusting the predetermined length a second time. The method can include waiting 2 to 60 cycles before setting the predetermined length a second time. Optionally, the method can include waiting 30 to 60 cycles before setting the predetermined length a second time.

[0054] In one embodiment, a control unit performs the operation to determine whether the apparatus performed the operation at the predetermined location. The control unit can optionally receive an image collected by a sensor of an indication of the operation performed on the first part of the web of metallic material. The control unit can use the image data to determine if the apparatus performed the operation at the predetermined location. Specifically, in one modality, the control unit determines whether the apparatus performed the operation at the predetermined location based on an image collected by a sensor, such as a camera. Optionally, the control unit can also determine magnitude (or a quantity) of an error at a location where the operation was performed when the operation was not performed at the predetermined location. In one embodiment, an indication is formed by the operation and the control unit can determine whether the apparatus has performed the operation at the predetermined location based on a location of the indication in the first part of the web in the image collected by the sensor.

[0055] Optionally, a powered servo unit associated with the apparatus feeds the predetermined length of the web of metallic material to the apparatus. Additionally, or alternatively, the method may optionally include sending a signal by the control unit to the powered servo unit to adjust the predetermined length of the web of metallic material fed to the apparatus, when the operation has not been performed at the predetermined location. The signal can cause the powered servo unit to increase the predetermined length when the operation has been carried out very close to a downstream part of the web of metallic material. Alternatively, the signal from the control unit can cause the powered servo unit to decrease the predetermined length when the operation has been carried out in close proximity to an upstream part of the web of metallic material.

[0056] Optionally, the method may further include generating, by the control unit, a user interface. The user interface can be displayed on an output device associated with the control unit. In one embodiment, the user interface can indicate a position of the operation performed on the sheet of metallic material. Additionally, or alternatively, the user interface may optionally include one or more visual indications of a magnitude of an error at the location where the operation was performed. More specifically, the user interface may include a graphical device, such as a box, that indicates the magnitude of the operation location error relative to an upstream or downstream portion of a visual representation of a portion of the data plate. metallic ring.

[0057] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the method and apparatus of the present invention can be used to perform an operation of any kind on a web of any material including without limitation aluminum, tin, steel, plastic, paper, and their combinations. Furthermore, the method and apparatus of the present invention can be used in any coil-powered manufacturing process to allow a first apparatus to operate out of phase with other components of the coil-powered system and without checking the operating rate of a second. device.

[0058] The expressions "at least one", "one or more" and "and/or" as used herein, are expressions of open meaning that are conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B, and C”, “at least one of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B, or C", and "A, B, and/or C" means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.

[0059] Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities, dimensions, conditions and so on used in the specification and claims are to be understood to be modified in all cases by the term "about". Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities, dimensions, conditions, proportions, ranges and so on used in the specification and claims may be increased or decreased by approximately 5% to obtain satisfactory results. Furthermore, all ranges described herein can be reduced to any sub-range or portion of the range, or to any value within the range without departing from the invention.

[0060] The term "a" or "an" entity, as used herein, refers to one or more entities. Thus, the terms "a" (or "a"), "one or more" and "at least one" may be used interchangeably here.

[0061] The use of "which includes", "which comprises" or "which has" and its variations herein is intended to cover the items listed below and their equivalents, as well as additional items. Accordingly, the terms "which includes", "which comprises" or "which has" and variations thereof may be used interchangeably herein.

[0062] It is to be understood that the term "means", as used herein, is to be given its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C., Section 112(f). Accordingly, a claim that incorporates the term “means” must encompass all structures, materials or acts set forth herein and all their equivalents. In addition, structures, materials or acts and their equivalents must include all those described in the Summary of the Invention, Brief Description of Drawings, Detailed Description, Summary and in the Claims themselves.

[0063] The term “automatic” and its variations, as used in this document, refers to any process or operation done without material human input when the process or operation is performed. However, a process or an operation can be automatic, even if the performance of the process or operation uses material or immaterial human input, if the input is received before the process or operation is performed. Human input is material if such input influences how the process or operation will be carried out. Human input that consents to process performance or operation is not considered “material”.

[0064] The term "bus" and its variations, as used in this document, may refer to a subsystem that transfers information and/or data between various components. A bus refers, in general, to the collection communication hardware interface, interconnects, bus architecture, standard and/or protocol that define the communication scheme for a communication system and/or communication network. A bus can also refer to a piece of communication hardware that interfaces the communication hardware with other components of the corresponding communication network. The bus can be for a wired network, such as a physical bus, or a wireless network, as part of an antenna or hardware that couples communication hardware to the antenna. A bus architecture supports a defined format in which information and/or data is organized when sent and received over a communication network. A protocol can define the format and communication rules of a bus architecture.

[0065] A "communication modality" can refer to any defined protocol or standard or specific communication session or interaction, such as Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol ("VoIP), cellular communications (eg IS-95, 1G, 2G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, 4G/IMT-advanced standards, 3GPP, WIMAX®, GSM, CDMA, CDMA2000, EDGE, 1xEVDO, iDEN, GPRS, HSPDA, TDMA, UMA, UMTS, ITU-R and 5G ), Bluetooth®, text or instant messaging (eg AIM, Blauk, eBuddy, Gadu-Gadu, IBM Lotus Sametime, ICQ, iMessage, IMVU, Lync, MXit, Paltalk, Skype, Tencent QQ, Windows Live Messenger® or Network Microsoft (MSN) Messenger®, Wireclub, Xfire and Yahoo! Messenger®), email, Twitter (eg tweeting), Digital Service Protocol (DSP) and the like.

[0066] The term "communication system" or "communication network" and its variations, as used in this document, may refer to a collection of communication components capable of one or more transmission, retransmission, interconnection, control or otherwise manipulate information or data from at least one transmitter to at least one receiver. As such, communication can include a range of systems to support point-to-point or transmission of information or data. A communication system can refer to the individual collection communication hardware, as well as the associated interconnects and connecting the individual communication hardware. Communication hardware can refer to dedicated communication hardware or it can refer to a processor coupled to a communication medium (ie, an antenna) and running software capable of using the communication medium to send and/or receive a signal within the communication system. Interconnect refers to some type of wired or wireless communication link that connects various components, such as communication hardware, within a communication system. A communication network can refer to a specific configuration of a communication system with the collection of individual communication hardware and interconnections with some definable network topography. A communication network can include wired and/or wireless network that has a pre-configured ad hoc network structure.

[0067] The term "computer readable medium" as used herein refers to any tangible storage and/or transmission medium that participates in providing instructions to a processor for execution. Such medium can take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile medium, volatile medium, and transmission medium. Non-volatile media include, for example, non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) or magnetic or optical disks. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory. Common forms of computer readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape or any other magnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, read-only memory (ROM), a compact disk read-only memory ( CD-ROM), any other optical media, punched cards, paper tape, any other physical media with hole patterns, a random access memory (RAM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM) and programmable read-only memory erasable (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM, a solid-state medium such as a memory card, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave, as described below, or any other medium by which a computer can perform the reading. A digital file attachment to an email or other standalone information file or set of files is considered a means of distribution equivalent to a tangible storage medium. When the computer-readable medium is configured as a database, it should be understood that the database can be any type of database, such as relational, hierarchical, object-oriented and/or similar. Therefore, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storage medium or distribution medium and recognized prior art equivalents and successor, in which the software implementations of the present disclosure are stored. It should be noted that any computer-readable medium other than a signal transmission may be considered non-transient.

[0068] Display terms and variations thereof, as used in this document, may be used interchangeably and may be any panel and/or area of an output device that can display information for an operator or usage. Display screens may include, but are not limited to, one or more control panel(s), instrument compartment(s), indicator(s), meter(s), light(s), computer(s), screen (s), display screen(s), HUD unit(s) with alert monitor and graphical user interface(s).

[0069] The term "screen", "touch screen" or "touch screen" refers to a physical structure that allows the user to interact with the computer by touching areas on the screen and provides information to a user by through a display screen. The touch screen can detect user contact in a number of different ways, such as by a change in an electrical parameter (eg resistance or capacitance), acoustic wave variations, infrared radiation proximity detection, electrical variation detection. light and the like. In a resistive touch screen, for example, the normally separated conductive and resistive metallic layers on the screen pass an electrical current. When a user touches the screen, the two layers make contact at the contact location, whereby a change in the electric field is observed and the coordinates of the contact location are calculated. In a capacitive touch screen, a capacitive layer stores electrical charge, which is discharged to the user upon contacting the touch screen, causing a decrease in charge in the capacitive layer. The decrease is measured and the contact location coordinates determined. In a surface acoustic wave touch screen, an acoustic wave is transmitted through the screen and the acoustic wave is disturbed by user contact. A receive transducer detects the user's contact instance and determines the contact location coordinates.

[0070] The terms "determine", "calculate" and "compute" and their variations, as used in this document, are used interchangeably and include any type of methodology, process, mathematical or technical operation.

[0071] The Summary of the Invention is not intended, nor should it be construed, as being representative of the full extent and scope of the present invention. Furthermore, references herein to the "present invention" or aspects thereof are to be understood to mean certain embodiments of the present invention and are not necessarily to be construed as limiting all embodiments to a specific description. The present invention is presented in various levels of detail in the Summary of the Invention as well as the accompanying drawings and the Detailed Description and no limitation on the scope of the present invention is intended by the inclusion or non-inclusion of elements or components. Additional aspects of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the Detailed Description, particularly when considered in conjunction with the drawings. Brief Description of Drawings

[0072] The attached drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute a part of the descriptive report, illustrate the embodiments of the invention and, together with the Summary of the Invention given above and the Detailed Description of the drawings given below, serve to explain the principles of these modalities. In certain cases, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the disclosure or details that make other details difficult to understand may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the present invention is not necessarily limited to the specific embodiments illustrated herein. As will be noted, other embodiments are possible using, alone or in combination, one or more of the features set forth above or described below. For example, it is noted that various features and devices shown and/or described in relation to one modality or aspect may be combined or replaced with features or devices from other modalities or aspects, regardless of whether such combination or replacement is specifically shown or described here. Also, it should be understood that drawings are not necessarily to scale.

[0073] Figure 1 is a schematic flow diagram of a system of an embodiment of the present invention that includes an apparatus that performs an operation on a web of material, the apparatus being removably integrated with an unwinder and a press. conversion of a manufacturing system cover;

[0074] Figure 2 is a side elevation view of an embodiment of an unwinder for a web of material of the present invention;

[0075] Figure 3 is a partial top plan view of a portion of a web of material that is partially marked in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0076] Figure 4A is a side elevation view of an embodiment of an apparatus of the present invention illustrating an insufficient length of a web of material in an external feed accumulation device of the apparatus;

[0077] Figure 4B is a side elevation view of the apparatus of Figure 4A illustrating an excessive length of the web of material in the external feed accumulation device of the apparatus;

[0078] Figure 5A is a side elevation view of an apparatus of the present invention illustrating a first position of the web of material in an internal feed accumulation device and an external feed accumulation device during a cycle of the apparatus;

[0079] Figure 5B is a side elevation view of the apparatus of Figure 5A illustrating a second position of the web of material in the internal feed and external feed accumulation devices during the cycle of the apparatus;

[0080] Figure 5C is a side elevation view of the apparatus of Figure 5A illustrating a third position of the web of material in the internal feed and external feed accumulation devices during the cycle of the apparatus;

[0081] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a control system of the present invention;

[0082] figures 7A and 7B are partial top plan views of parts of a web of material that is partially marked and illustrate the indication that is formed at incorrect locations on the web of material;

[0083] Figure 8 is a schematic view of a user interface generated by a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention

[0084] Figure 9 is a process diagram of a method for performing an operation on a web of material according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0085] Similar components and/or features may have the same reference number. Components of the same type can be distinguished by a letter after the reference number. If only the reference number is used, the description is applicable to any of the similar components with the same reference number.

[0086] To aid in understanding an embodiment of the present invention, the following list of components and associated numbering found in the drawings are provided here: Component Number 2 System 4 Material web 5 Lower part of web 6 Unwinder for the continuous sheet 7 Transition point of the continuous sheet 8 Apparatus 10 Conversion press 14 Loop holder

18 Control System 20 Dust Control System 22 Encoder 26 Web Web Coil 28 Internal Feed Accumulation Device 30 Internal Feed Loop Sensor 31 Internal Feed Loop Sensors 32 Servo Feed Unit 34 Stabilizing Roller 35 Length predetermined web of material 36 Part or segment of sheet material 37 Width of sheet material 38 Unit carrying out operation 39A Upstream side of sheet part 39B Downstream side of sheet part 40 Unit carrying out operation 41 First distance 42 Second distance 43 Arrow indicating direction of movement 44 External power accumulation device 46 External power loop sensor 47 External power loop sensors 48 Alignment system 50 Operating zone 52 Cooling system 54 Top position 56 Position bottom 58 Camera 60 Ring 62 Ring front edge

64 Clamping part 66 Opening on ring 68 Marking or indication on ring 70 Balancer 72 Equipment to mxz\|||||ZXte 74 Cover 76 Rivet 78 Cuts 80 Ripping panel 82 Serving opening 86 Packer 90 Method 92 Starting operation 94 Enable system 96 Receive signal from converting press 98 Control system sends unwind rate of unwinder 100 Servo feed unit moves or drags web to position 102 Operation performing unit performs operation 103 Determine if operation was performed in position correct 104 Adjust material web input length 105 Determine if sufficient web length is available 106 Adjust cycle rate 108 Continue performing operations 110 Final operation 112 Bus 114 Processing units or CPUs

116 Input Device 118 Output Device 120 Storage Device 122 Computer Readable Storage Media Reader 124 Communication System 126 Working Memory 128 Processing Acceleration Unit 130 Database 132 Network 134 Remote Database 136 Operating System 138 Other code or programs 140 User interface 142 Representation of a sheet part 144a Upstream side of sheet representation 144b Downstream side of sheet representation 146 Indication image 148 Inner box 150 Middle box 152 Outer box 154 Increase length icon 156 Decrease length icon 160 Increase cycle time icon 162 Decrease cycle time icon Detailed Description

[0087] The present invention has significant benefits in a wide spectrum of endeavors. It is the Applicant's intention that this descriptive report and the appended claims be granted to the extent that the scope and spirit of the invention are being disclosed, despite what may appear to be limiting language imposed by the requirements for reference to the specific examples disclosed. To familiarize those skilled in the pertinent techniques most closely related to the present invention, a preferred embodiment illustrating the now contemplated best mode of putting the invention into practice is described herein by and with reference to the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification. The exemplary embodiment is described in detail without attempting to describe all the various forms and modifications in which the invention may be embodied. As such, the embodiments described herein are illustrative and, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be modified in various ways within the scope and spirit of the invention.

[0088] Although the following text sets out a detailed description of several different modalities, it should be understood that the detailed description is to be interpreted as an example only and does not describe all possible modalities, as describing all possible modalities would be impractical if not impossible. Numerous alternative modalities can be implemented, using current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still be within the scope of the claims. To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to herein in a manner consistent with a single meaning, this is for the sake of clarity only, so as not to confuse the reader, and such claim term is not is intended to be limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning.

[0089] Now, with reference to Figure 1, a system 2 for performing an operation on predetermined parts of a web of material 4 is illustrated according to an embodiment of the present invention. System 2 is removably integrated with an unwinder 6 and a second apparatus 10. Unwinder 6 is operable to unwind a 26 (shown in Figure 2) of a web of material 4. In one embodiment, the web of material comprises a metallic material such as ring plate. In one embodiment, the second apparatus comprises a press converting 10 of a cap manufacturing process. Although system 2 and its components are integrated with a converting press 10, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that system 2 of the present invention can be used with any coil-fed manufacturing system. More specifically, the present invention could be used in any manufacturing process where the speed of a web of material is controlled while an operation is being performed on a selected portion of the web of material. Thus, the invention could be used on coils of metallic, plastic, or paper material, and where punching, cutting, forming, or marking operations are being carried out at a certain speed and location.

[0090] The system 2 may include, in general, one or more than one apparatus 8 that performs a predetermined operation on the web of material 4, a loop holder 14, a control system 18, a dust control system 20 , a cooling system 52, and an encoder 22 associated with downstream equipment 10, such as a converting press. System 2 receives a web of material 4 from reel 6. Reel 6 unwraps web of material 4 at a rate determined by control system 18 of system 2, as described in more detail below. The unwind rate can be cut (or adjusted) by a position arm (not shown) of the unwinder 6. Suitable unwinders 6 are known to those skilled in the art and are available from a variety of suppliers including, for example, ASC Machine Tools, Inc., and Perfecto Industries, Inc., among others. One embodiment of an unwinder 6 is illustrated in figure 2.

Unwinder 6 may receive one or more spools 26 of web material 4. Each spool 26 typically has a length of approximately 9,000 feet or more of sheet material. The continuous sheet of material 4 can be formed from an aluminum alloy or any other suitable material including, without limitation, steel, tin, plastic, paper and any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the continuous sheet of material 4 is formed of an aluminum alloy commonly referred to by those skilled in the art as 5042 aluminum.

[0092] The apparatus 8 may include, in general, one or more of an internal feed accumulation device 28, at least one internal feed loop sensor 30, 31, a powered servo unit 32, a stabilizer roller 34, at least a unit 38, 40 which performs operation on the web of material, a cooling system 52, an external feed accumulation device 44, one or more external feed loop sensors 46, 47, a camera 58, and a system of alignment 48

[0093] The loop holder 14 receives the web of material 4 from the unwinder 6 and aligns the web of material with the apparatus 8. The web of material enters the internal feed accumulation device 28 of the apparatus 8. In one embodiment, the infeed accumulation device 28 is up to about 18 inches wide, up to about 24 inches long, and has a height of up to about 75 inches. In another embodiment, the infeed accumulation device 28 is about 13 inches wide, about 18 inches long, and the height is about 75 inches. In yet another embodiment, the width is about 12 inches, the length is about 16 inches, and the height is about 50 inches.

The infeed loop sensor 30 measures a distance from the sensor 30 to at least a predetermined portion 5, 7 of the web of material 4 in the infeed accumulation device 28. The infeed loop sensor 30 can be a camera. In one embodiment, the internal power loop sensor 30 can include a laser. The sensor 30 receives the reflected laser energy from the web and uses the reflected laser energy to measure the distance to the predetermined portion 5, 7 at any angle. In one embodiment, the sensor 30 measures the distance to a lower portion 5 of the web of material 4 in the internal feed accumulation device 28. In one embodiment, the lower portion 5 comprises a passage of the web of material 4 in the accumulator device. accumulation of internal feed 28. In another embodiment, sensor 30 measures a distance between sensor 30 and a transition point 7 from a generally linear portion of web of material 4 to the passage. In one embodiment, sensor 30 is positioned to detect an inner portion of a concavity formed by the web of material as illustrated in Figure 1. However, it will be appreciated that sensor 30 may be arranged differently. For example, in another embodiment, sensor 30 can be positioned to detect an outside portion of the concavity formed by the web of material. More specifically, although sensor 30 is illustrated in Figure 1 positioned above the bottom 5 of the web of material, the sensor 30 may optionally be positioned below the bottom.

5. Accordingly, in one embodiment, sensor 30 detects a first side of the web of material 4. In another embodiment, sensor 30 detects a second side of the web of material.

[0095] Additionally, or alternatively, sensors 31A, 31B can be arranged to monitor the position of the web of material 4 in the internal feed accumulation device 28. Sensor 31A provides a first signal to the control system 18 when the 31A sensor detects the web of material. Continuing this example, when sensor 31A does not detect the web of material, sensor 31A provides a second signal to control system 18. Similarly, sensor 31B in a different part of internal feed accumulation device 28 also provides a first signal when the web of material is detected and a second different signal when the web of material is not detected. Sensors 31A, 31B can optionally include a laser. Sensors 31A, 31B can be positioned to receive laser energy reflected from the predetermined portion of the web of material 4 to determine the amount of web of material in the internal feed accumulation device. In another embodiment, one or more of sensors 31A, 31B are cameras.

[0096] The control system 18 receives the information associated with the position of the web of material 4 in the infeed accumulation device 28 from one or more infeed loop sensors 30, 31. Using the information a from sensors 30, 31, the control system 18 can determine the length of the web of material 4 in the internal feed accumulation device 28. For example, the control system can determine whether there is an excessive length, a sufficient length, or an insufficient length of the web of material in the internal feed accumulation device 28. The control system 18 may then send a signal to the unwinder 6 to increase the rate of unwind if an insufficient length of the web of material 4 is detected in the internal feed accumulation device 28. Alternatively, the control system 18 may send a signal to the unwinder 6 to decrease The unwind rate if an excessive length of the web of material 4 is detected in the internal feed accumulation device 28. In one embodiment, the control system 18 sends signals to the unwinder 6 to adjust the unwind rate to maintain the length of continuous sheet of material in the infeed accumulation device 28 is substantially constant.

[0097] In one embodiment, the control system receives a distance between the sensor 30 and the predetermined part of the web of material. In one embodiment, the predetermined portion comprises the lower portion 5 of the web of material 4 in the internal feed accumulation device 28. In another embodiment, the predetermined portion comprises the transition point 7 of the web of material 4 in the accumulation device internal power supply 28.

[0098] Optionally, in another embodiment, when the sensor 31A in a first part of the internal feed accumulation device 28 does not detect the web of material and sends the second signal to the control system, the control system may determine that a Insufficient length of the web of material 4 is detected in the infeed accumulation device 28. Similarly, when the sensor 31A detects the web of material and the sensor 31B in a second part of the infeed accumulation device 28 does not detects the web of material, the control system can determine that the bottom 5 of the web of material 4 is between sensors 31A and 31B. Accordingly, the control system can determine that a sufficient length of web of material is in the internal feed accumulation device 28. Continuing this example, when sensor 31B detects the web and sends the first signal to the control system, the control system can determine that too long a length of the web of material 4, or an excessive length, is detected in the internal feed accumulation device 28.

[0099] Now, with reference to Figure 6, a control system 18 of an embodiment of the present invention is generally illustrated. More specifically, Figure 6 illustrates, in general, an embodiment of a control system 18 of the present invention operable to control system 2 and apparatus 8 of the present invention. The control system 18 is generally illustrated with hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus 112. The hardware elements can include a central processing unit (CPU) 114; an input device 116 (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, etc.); and an output device 118 (eg, a display device, a printer, etc.). Control system 18 may also include a storage device 120. In one embodiment, the storage device(s) 120 may be disk drives, optical storage devices, solid-state storage device such as random access memory (“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which may be programmable, flash upgradeable, and/or similar.

[00100] The control system 18 may further include one or more of a computer readable storage media reader 122; a communications system 124 (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, etc.); and working memory 126, which may include the RAM and ROM devices as described above. In some embodiments, the control system 18 may also include a processing acceleration unit 128, which may include a DSP, a processor, and/or the like. Optionally, the control system 18 can also include a database 130.

[00101] The computer readable storage medium reader

122 may further be connected to a computer-readable storage medium, together (and optionally in combination with storage device(s) 120) comprehensively representing remote, local, fixed and/or removable storage devices, in addition to storage medium to temporarily and/or more permanently contain the computer-readable information. Communication system 124 may allow data to be exchanged with a network 132 and/or any other data processing. Optionally, control system 18 can access data stored in a remote storage device, such as database 134 by connecting to network 132. In one embodiment, network 132 can be the internet.

[00102] The control system 18 may also comprise software elements shown as being currently located within working memory 126. The software elements may include an operating system 136 and/or other code 138 such as program code which implements one or more methods and aspects of the present invention.

[00103] The skilled person will note that the alternative modalities of the control system 18 may have numerous variations from those described above. For example, custom hardware can also be used and/or specific elements can be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets) or both. In addition, connection to other computing devices such as network input/output devices can be used.

[00104] Suitable control systems 18 are known to those skilled in the art. In one embodiment, the control system 18 is a personal computer, such as, but not limited to, a personal computer running the MS Windows operating system. Optionally, control system 18 can be a smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer, and similar computing devices. In one embodiment, the control system 18 is a data processing system that includes one or more of, but is not limited to: an input device (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, or touch screen); an output device (eg, a display screen, a speaker); a graphics card; a communication device (for example, an Ethernet card or wireless communication device); permanent memory (such as a hard drive); temporary memory (eg random access memory); computer instructions stored in permanent memory and/or temporary memory; and a processor. In another embodiment, control system 18 is a programmable logic controller (PLC). An example of a suitable PLC is a Controllogix PLC produced by Rockwell Automation, Inc, although other PLCs are noted for use with embodiments of the present invention.

[00105] Again, referring to Figure 1, the powered servo unit 32 is operable to receive a signal from the control system 18 to move a predetermined length 35 (shown in Figure 3) of the web of material 4 at a predetermined rate to an operating zone 50. A selected operation is performed on the web of material in the operating zone 50 by one or more units 38, 40. Optionally, in one embodiment, the selected operation comprises a laser marking operation performed by by the minus one of the laser units 38, 40.

[00106] Any suitable 32 powered servo unit may be used with the system 2 of the present invention. Powered servo unit 32 may be adapted either to push or pull web material 4 into operating zone 50. Alternatively, in one embodiment of the present invention, powered servo unit 32 may comprise two or more powered servo units that operate together to pushing or pulling the web of material 4 into the operating zone 50. In one embodiment, the powered servo unit 32 is operable to move the predetermined length 35 of the web of material 4 into the operating zone 50 no more than approximately 35 milliseconds. In a more preferred embodiment, the powered servo unit 32 can move the predetermined length 35 of the web of material 4 to the operating zone 50 in less than approximately 30 milliseconds. Suitable 32 powered servo units are known to those skilled in the art.

[00107] The rate at which the fed servo unit 32 moves the web of material 4 to the apparatus 8 may be faster or slower than the unwind rate of the unwinder 6. The control system 18 can change the input speed of the powered servo unit 32 to change the system cycle rate 2. The powered servo unit 32 generally moves the web of material 4 to the operating zone 50 at a rate faster than the inlet rate of the converting press 10. In this way, the amount of time available for the operation performed by the units 38, 40 can be increased without increasing the cycle time of system 2, ensuring that the converting press 10 can withdraw the web of material 4 without operating in a slower cycle rate. In an embodiment where the operation comprises laser marking the web of material, increasing the time available for marking also allows the laser units 38, 40 to form more complex markings on the web of material 4. In addition or in Alternatively, increasing the time available for marking reduces the amount of energy required by the laser units 38, 40 to form the markings 68 on the web of material 4, reducing the operating cost of system 2.

[00108] The control system 18 can send a signal to the powered servo unit 32 to change the length 35 of the web of material 4 which is moved to the operating zone 50. In this way, the control system can adjust the location of the operation performed on the web of material 4. In one embodiment, the control system 18 may send a signal to the powered servo unit to change the length 35 in response to a signal received from the encoder 22. In another embodiment, the control system 18 can send a signal to change the length automatically. More specifically, the control system 18 can receive data from a sensor 58, such as a camera 58, which indicates that an indication 68 formed on the web of material by a unit 38, 40 is not in a predetermined part. Camera 58 is positioned to take a picture of portions 36 of the web of material 4 after an operation, such as forming a marking or indication 68, has been carried out on the web of material. In one embodiment, a first camera 58A is positioned to take pictures of a first side of the web of material and a second camera 58B is positioned to take pictures of the second side of the web of material. The control system 18 is operable to determine if the indication is at the predetermined location using data, such as photos, received from the camera 58. If the indication is not at the predetermined location, the control system 18 can send a signal to the powered servo unit to change the length of the web of material fed to the operating zone 50. The signal may increase or decrease the predetermined length 35.

[00109] Now, with reference to Figures 7A and 7B, indication examples 68 that are not in a predetermined part of a web of material are illustrated. The direction of movement of the web of material 4 is indicated by arrows 43. The camera 58 is positioned to collect a photo of the indication 68 on each portion 36 of the web of material. The photo taken by camera 58 is transmitted to control system 18. Control system 18 can determine whether indication 68 is at a predetermined position within a sheet portion 36A. For example, the indication 68 illustrated in Figure 7A is very close to a downstream side 39B of the sheet portion 36A. Alternatively, the photo taken by camera 58 may indicate that indication 68 is positioned very close to an upstream side 39A of sheet portion 36C, as generally illustrated in Figure 7B.

[00110] When the control system 18 determines (based on data from camera 58) that indication 68 is too close to the downstream side 39B of sheet part 36 (as generally illustrated in figure 7A), the The control 18 can send a first signal to the powered servo unit 32 to increase the predetermined length 35 of the web of material fed to the operating zone 50 (shown in Fig. 1) of the apparatus 8. In this way, the control system 18 can cut ( or adjust) the position of subsequent indicia 68 formed on the web of material. For example, in response to receiving the first signal, the powered servo unit 32 may increase the predetermined length 35 of a next sheet portion 36B. In one embodiment, the first signal causes the powered servo unit 32 to increase the predetermined length 35 by a first amount. In one embodiment, the first amount is from approximately 0.005 inches to approximately 0.050 inches.

[00111] Similarly, if the control system 18 determines that the indication 68 is too close to the upstream side 39A of the sheet portion 36C (as illustrated in Fig. 7B), the control system 18 may send a second signal which causes the fed servo unit 32 to shorten the predetermined length 35 of the web of material fed to the operating zone. In response to receiving the second signal, the powered servo unit 32 may shorten the predetermined length 35 of a next sheet portion 36D. In one embodiment, the second signal from the control system 18 may cause the powered servo unit to decrease the predetermined length by a second amount to alter or adjust the position of subsequent indicia 68 formed on the web of material. In one embodiment, the second amount is from approximately 0.005 inch to approximately 0.050 inch.

[00112] Signals from control system 18 may optionally specify a magnitude to increase or decrease the predetermined length 35 based on how far indication 68 is from the upstream side 39A or the downstream side 39B of a piece of sheet. In one embodiment, if the indication 68 is within a first distance 41A from the downstream side 39B, as an indication 68A of Figure 7A, the control system 18 may send a third signal to the powered servo unit 32. In one embodiment, the third signal may direct the powered servo unit to increase the predetermined length 35 by a third amount. The third amount, in a modality, is from approximately 0.020 inches to approximately 0.050 inches.

[00113] In another embodiment, when an indication is greater than the first distance 41A, but less than a second distance 42A from the downstream side 39B of the sheet part 36A, as an indication 68B of figure 7A, the control system can send a fourth signal to the powered servo unit. The fourth signal can cause the powered servo unit 32 to increase the predetermined length 35 by a fourth amount. In one embodiment, the fourth amount is from approximately 0.005 inches to approximately 0.020 inches.

[00114] If the control system determines that an indication is within a first distance 41B of the upstream side 39A of the sheet part 36C, as an indication 68E shown in figure 7B, the control system 18 can send a fifth signal to the servo unit fed to shorten the predetermined length by a fifth amount. In one modality, the fifth amount is from approximately 0.020 inches to approximately 0.050 inches. Alternatively, when an indication is between the first distance 41B and a second distance 42B from the upstream side 39A, as an indication 68F of the sheet part 36C, the control system 18 can send a sixth signal to the powered servo unit 32 to decrease the predetermined length by a sixth amount. In one modality, the sixth amount is from approximately 0.005 inches to approximately 0.020 inches.

[00115] The control system 18 can send the signals to the powered servo unit 32 to adjust (i.e., increase or decrease) the predetermined length 35 after determining that one or more indications are not at a predetermined location within a sheet part 36. In one embodiment, the control system 18 may send a signal to adjust the predetermined length after determining that the indication is not at the predetermined location on a predetermined number of sheet pieces 36. In one embodiment, the control system may wait until the indication formed in the correct position is observed on a predetermined number of consecutive sheet pieces 36. More specifically, in one embodiment, the control system 18 may send a signal to adjust the predetermined length after determining that the indication is in close proximity to the upstream side 39A or the downstream side 39B in at least three consecutive sheet parts 36 . In another embodiment, the control system 18 may wait until it determines that the indication 68 is not at the predetermined location on five consecutive pieces of sheet 36.

[00116] Additionally or alternatively, the control system 18 may wait to send a signal until after determining that the indication is formed in the correct position on a predetermined number of sheet parts 36 in a sample of the sheet parts. In one embodiment, the control system 18 may send a signal to adjust the predetermined length after determining that the indication is too close to the upstream side 39A or the downstream side 39B in at least three pieces of sheet 36 in a ten sample sheet parts. In another embodiment, when five parts of sheet 36 in a ten part sheet sample include the indication that it is very close to sides 39A, 39B, the control system can send a signal to adjust the predetermined length. Optionally, the control system may send a signal after determining that at least 50 percent of a sample of a predetermined number of sheet part 36 has the indication that it is formed in close proximity to an upstream side 39A or downstream side 39B . In one embodiment, an operator may use an input device 116 associated with the control system 18 to enter a predetermined number or percent of sheet parts that must be observed with the indication very close to or to the upstream side 39A or to the side to downstream 39B, before the control system can send a signal to adjust the length.

[00117] In one embodiment, after sending a signal to adjust the predetermined length, the control system 18 may wait a predetermined number of cycles from the apparatus 8 before sending another signal to adjust the predetermined length. In one embodiment, the control system may wait between 30 cycles and 80 cycles before sending another signal to the powered servo unit 32 to adjust the predetermined length of the web of material fed to the operating zone. In another embodiment, the control system can wait up to 55 cycles after sending one of the first to the sixth signal before sending another signal to adjust the predetermined length. Alternatively, after sending a signal to adjust the predetermined length, the control system may wait between two cycles and fifty-five cycles before sending another signal to adjust the predetermined length.

[00118] Now, referring to figure 8, in an embodiment of the present invention, the control system 18 can generate the user interface 140 which indicates a position of an indication 68 on a sheet part 36. The user interface 140 may be displayed on an output device 118 of control system 18. In one embodiment, user interface 140 may include representation 142 of the sheet portion that may subsequently be formed into a ring for a cap. An image 146 of the indication 68 at a position detected by the camera 58 can be displayed in the representation

142. User interface 140 can optionally include one or more boxes 148, 150, 152 next to an upstream side 144A and a downstream side 144B of representation 142. Boxes 148A, 150A, 152A, 148B, 150B, and 152B indicate the predetermined distances from the upstream side 144A and the downstream side 144B of the sheet portion representation 142 respectively. Optionally, boxes 148, 150, 152 are the same height. In another embodiment, the boxes 148, 150, 152 may have different heights to indicate different distances from sides 144A, 144B. Although three boxes 148, 150, 152 are shown next to the upstream side 144A and the downstream side 144B, one of skill in the art will note that the user interface 140 can include more or fewer boxes. In one embodiment, the user interface 140 may include from one to six boxes proximate to one or more of the upstream 144A and the downstream 144B sides of the representation sheet portion 142.

[00119] In one embodiment, boxes 148, 150, 152 can indicate a magnitude of the error of the position of the indication with the photo taken by the camera 58. For example, the image 146 of the indication shown in figure 8 is too close to the downstream side 144B of the sheet portion symbolized by depiction 142. Figure 146 is shown partially within an inner box 148B. Accordingly, the control system 18 can send a signal to the powered servo unit 32 to increase the predetermined length of the web of material in the next cycle of the apparatus 8. However, because the box 148B is further away from the downstream boxes 148B, 150B , 152B from the downstream side 144B, the control system 18 can send a single drive with only a small increase in the predetermined length. For example, in one embodiment, inner box 148B is associated with the fourth signal, and control system 18 can direct powered servo unit 32 to increase the predetermined length from approximately 0.005 inches to approximately 0.020 inches. If the image 146 is within a median box 150A, 150B, the control system 18 can send a signal that directs an average increase or decrease of the predetermined length, respectively. Similarly, when the control system 18 determines that the image 146 is within an outer box 152A, 152B, the control system may send a signal that directs an increase or decrease in the predetermined length that is greater than when the image 146 is in one of boxes 148, 150.

[00120] In addition, or alternatively, an operator of system 2 may adjust one or more of the cycle time (or inlet time) and the inlet length 35 of the web of material 4 by a user interface or input device. input 116 of control system 18. In one embodiment, user interface 140 may include an icon 154 that may be selected by a user to increase the predetermined length 35. Another icon 156 may be selected by a user to decrease the predetermined length 35. Optionally, the user interface 140 can also include icons 160, 162 that can be selected to increase or decrease the cycle time of the apparatus 8. In another embodiment, the control system 18 can automatically send a signal to the powered servo unit 32 to adjust the cycle time. Accordingly, the control system 18 can advance the web of material 4 automatically, or in response to operator input, to perform an operation, such as forming a marking or indication 68 with a laser, on a predetermined portion of the web of material. material 4. In this way, the marking 68 is suitably positioned on a ring 60 subsequently formed from the web by the converting press 10.

[00121] Although the web of material is moved to the operating zone 50, the stabilizer roller 34 of the apparatus 8 may stabilize the web of material 4. In one embodiment, the apparatus 8 may include a plurality of stabilizer rollers 34 at a variety of locations before or after units 38, 40.

[00122] After the predetermined length 35 of the web of material 4 has been positioned in the operating zone 50, the powered servo unit 32 stops while the units 38, 40 perform the operation on the web of material. For example, in one embodiment, units 38, 40 are laser units that form the markings or indicia 68 on the web of material. Alternatively, any type of operation other than laser could be used to mark, print, form, cut, shape or alter web material. Optionally, a clamping element (not shown) of the apparatus 8 can engage the web of material 4 when the powered servo unit stops, so as to prevent unintentional or inadvertent movement during operations performed by the units 38, 40.

[00123] As the web of material 4 is substantially stationary in the operating zone 50 during operations carried out by one or more of the units 38, 40, the unwinder 6 can continue to unwind the web of material 4, increasing the amount of web of material in the infeed accumulating device 28. Likewise, the downstream equipment 10 can continue to withdraw the web of material 4 at a predetermined rate, thereby decreasing the amount of web of material in the accumulating device external power supply 44, as will be described in more detail here in conjunction with figures 5A-5C.

[00124] Now, referring to figure 3, in one embodiment, the units 38, 40 comprise lasers that mark the predetermined parts 36 of a continuous sheet of ring plate 4 which can be subsequently formed into rings 60 by the press of conversion

10. The markings 68 may be in any orientation and any location within each part 36 of the ring plate 4. In addition, each part 36 may have more than one marking 68 with each marking having a different orientation as illustrated by the part. 36A. Optionally, at least one portion 36B within each length 35 of ring plate 4 can be left unmarked. In one modality, the markings have a height of up to approximately 0.125 inches. The ring plate 4 has a width 37 sufficient for the converting press 10 to form a number of rings 60 from each predetermined length 35 of the ring plate 4. In one embodiment, the ring plate 4 has a width 37 sufficient to three parts 36 within each length 35 which can subsequently be formed into three rings 60. However,

one skilled in the art will note that the width of the ring plate 4 can be increased or decreased to a width sufficient for the converting press 10 to form more or less rings 60 from each predetermined length 35 of the ring plate 4.

[00125] The units 38, 40 can perform operations on one or both sides of the web of material 4 substantially simultaneously. Accordingly, in an embodiment in which the web comprises ring plate material, when the converting press 10 forms a web of material 4 into rings 60, the upper (or outer) ring 60 surface visible to the consumer and the The lower surface of the ring 60 (which is not initially visible to the consumer) both may include one or more markings 68. The markings on the lower surface of the ring 60 may be visible to the consumer after the clamping portion 64 of the ring 60 is raised to perform a cut 78 and lowering a tear panel 80 from the lid 74 to open a serving opening 82.

[00126] Again, referring to Figure 1, the apparatus 8 may include any number of units 38, 40. For example, the apparatus may include any number of units 38 arranged to perform an operation on a first side of the web of material 4. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus may also include any number of units 40 for performing an operation on a second side of the web of material. The number and positions of the tool or unit lasers 38 may be the same as, or different from, the number and positions of the tool or lasers of the unit 40. In one embodiment, the apparatus 8 may include from one to four units of lasers 38 for marking the first side of the web of material. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus may include from one to four laser units 40 for marking the second side of the web of material substantially simultaneously with the first side.

In one embodiment, laser units 38, 40 are operable to mark web of material 4 in less than about 60 milliseconds, and more preferably, less than about 50 milliseconds. Optionally, in one embodiment, the web of material 4 can be advanced one or more times for marking by one or more laser units 38, 40 to complete each marking, or to form more complex markings.

[00127] In one embodiment, laser units 38 may be substantially the same or different from laser units 40. In another embodiment, laser units 38, 40 include one or more Nd:YAG lasers (also known as lasers). yttrium garnet doped with neodymium and aluminum) with a wavelength of approximately 1064 µm. In yet another embodiment, the laser units 38, 40 provide an output of about 40 Watts at about 140 Watts of applied energy, with about 80% of such energy being delivered to a target area of the web of material 4. In yet another embodiment, laser units 38, 40 provide the pulsed or intermittent form of laser light. In one embodiment, the laser units 38, 40 can deliver pulses from approximately 3000 Hz to approximately 65,000 Hz. Preferably, the laser emitting light pulses are relatively stable in the sense that there is relatively little change in the energy of a pulse to the next and substantially all of the pulses have enough energy to vaporize or remove material from the target area of the web of material 4 enough to produce a visible stain or marking. In yet another embodiment, laser units 38, 40 are operable to mark approximately 1,300 characters per second and approximately 50 feet of web material per second. In one embodiment, laser units 40 can be of a different type, or operate at a different power level, then laser units 38. Laser units 38, 40 that can be used in this regard are known to those of skill in the art and are available from a variety of suppliers.

[00128] The apparatus 8 may optionally include a cooling system 52 to keep the units 38, 40 at a predetermined temperature. Suitable cooling systems 52 are known to those skilled in the art and can use a variety of methods to maintain the predetermined temperature of the units 38.

40. In one embodiment, the cooling system 52 is external to the apparatus 8 and the apparatus 8 may include one or more cooling ports for integration with the external cooling system.

52.

[00129] After operations are completed by units 38, 40 or other device, the web material 4 optionally passes through a dust control system 20. The dust control system 20 removes debris from the web of material 4 by any suitable method. In one embodiment, the dust control system 20 uses one or more of a gas stream, a liquid stream, suction, and brushes that contact one or both surfaces of the web of material 4 to clean any debris. The dust control system 20 may be positioned before or after the powered servo unit 32. The apparatus 8 may include a number of ports or openings for interconnecting the dust control system 20. Any dust control system 20 known to those skilled in the art technique can be used with the system 2 of the present invention.

[00130] Optionally, after the units 38, 40 carry out their operations, one or both sides of the web of material 4 can receive a coating of a lubricant from a lubrication system (not shown). In one embodiment, the lubrication system is interconnected to the converting press 10. In another embodiment, the lubrication system is interconnected to apparatus 8. Suitable lubrication systems operable to supply lubricant to the web material 4 range are known to those of skill in the art and may be obtained from a variety of vendors such as, but not limited to, UNIST Inc.

[00131] After the units 38, 40 carry out their operations, the material web 4 accumulates in the external feed accumulation device 44 until it is withdrawn in the conversion press 10. The external feed accumulation device 44 is similar to a balancer in a production process, as will be recognized by the person skilled in the art. The external feed accumulation device 44 can have the same or different dimensions as the internal feed accumulation device 28. In one embodiment, the external feed accumulation device 44 is up to about 18 inches wide, up to about 24 inches long, and has a height of up to about 75 inches. In another embodiment, the external feed accumulation device 44 is about 13 inches wide, about 18 inches long, and the height is about 75 inches. In a more preferred embodiment, the width is about 12 inches, the length is about 16 inches, and the height is about 50 inches.

[00132] One or more sensors 46, 47 of external supply accumulation device 44 may be the same, similar to, or different from sensors 30, 31. In one embodiment, sensors 46, 47 may be disposed in substantially the same positions than sensors 30, 31. Additionally, in embodiments, sensors 46, 47 may include, or be associated with, a laser. The laser can be positioned with a predetermined alignment to the web of material 4. Accordingly, the sensors 46, 47 can be positioned to receive laser energy reflected from the predetermined portion of the web of material 4 to determine the amount of web of material 4 in external feed accumulation device 44. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the sensors 46, 47 may be a camera.

[00133] The external feed loop sensor 46 measures a distance from the sensor 46 to at least a predetermined portion 5, 7 of the web of material 4 in the external feed accumulation device 44. In one embodiment, the sensor 46 measures the distance to a lower portion 5 of the web of material 4 in the external feed accumulation device 44. In one embodiment, the lower portion 5 comprises a passageway of the web of material in the external feed accumulation device 44. In another embodiment, sensor 46 measures a distance between the sensor and a transition point 7 of a generally linear portion of the web of material to the pass. In one embodiment, sensor 46 is positioned to detect an inner portion of a concavity formed by the web of material as generally illustrated in Figure 1. However, it will be appreciated that sensor 46 may be arranged differently. For example, in another embodiment, sensor 46 is positioned to detect an outside portion of the concavity formed by the web of material. Accordingly, although sensor 46 is illustrated in Figure 1 positioned above the bottom 5 of the web of material, the sensor 46 may optionally be positioned below the bottom 5 or in any other position that allows for the length of the sheet. material 4 is measured within external feed accumulation device 44. Accordingly, in one embodiment, sensor 46 detects a first side of the material web. In another embodiment, sensor 46 detects a second side of the web of material 4.

[00134] Alternatively, one or more sensors 47A, 47B may be arranged to monitor the position of the web of material 4 in the external feed accumulation device 44. The sensor 47A provides a first signal to the control system 18 when the sensor 47A detects the web of material. Continuing this example, when sensor 47A does not detect the web, sensor 47A provides a second signal to control system 18. Similarly, sensor 47B in a different part of external feed accumulation device 44 also provides a first signal when the web of material is detected and a second different signal when the web of material is not detected.

[00135] The control system 18 can determine the length of the web of material 4 in the external feed accumulation device 44 from information received from one or more sensors 46, 47. The control system 18 monitors the length of the material web 4 marked on the external feed accumulation device 44 to ensure sufficient and uninterrupted flow of the material web to the converting press

10. The control system 18 can accumulate the web of material 4 in the external feed accumulation device 44 to ensure that the converting press 10 is provided with the web of material by increasing or decreasing the cycle time of the apparatus 8. In this way, the converting press 10 can withdraw the web of material 4 from the external feed accumulation device 44, as needed, without forcing or stretching the web of material.

[00136] The control system 18 can increase or decrease the cycle time of the system 2 to ensure that a sufficient length of the web of material 4 is maintained in the external feed accumulation device 44 to allow the converting press 10 to operate. without delay. In one embodiment, the maximum allowable cycle time for system 2 to perform the selected operation and advance the web of material 4 is approximately 80 milliseconds for a converting press 10 operating at 750 cycles per minute. This allows approximately 30 milliseconds for the servo powered unit 32 to move the material web 4 to the operating zone 50 and approximately 50 milliseconds for the units 38, 40 to perform an operation on the material web 4. Optionally, in one mode, the Powered servo unit can move the web of material to the operating zone in less than about 25 milliseconds, so the units 38, 40 have approximately 55 milliseconds to perform the operation on the web of material. In one mode, system 2 can operate at up to approximately 800 cycles per minute.

[00137] The control system 18 can also receive a variety of signals from the encoder 22 associated with the converting press 10. The signals from the encoder 22 can indicate that the converting press 10 is running, is ready, and /or is not working. The signals may also include the cycle rate (or operating speed) of the converting press and a desired location for operation to be carried out on the web of material 4. Control system 18 may utilize the signals received from the encoder. 22 to change the cycle rate of the apparatus 8 and the length 35 of the web of material 4 moved to the operating zone 50 during each cycle of the apparatus 8.

[00138] Now, referring to Figure 4A, when the material web 4 in the external feed accumulation device 44 is above the predetermined position, e.g. upper position 54, the height of the material web is very high and there is an insufficient length of the web of material in the external feed accumulation device 44. In response, the control system 18 can send a signal to the fed servo unit 32 and the units 38, 40 to increase the cycle rate of the apparatus 8 to be faster than the inlet rate of the converting press 10. In this way, the length of the web of material in the external feed accumulation device 44 is increased.

Increasing the cycle rate of apparatus 8 can decrease the amount of time available for the units 38, 40 to perform their operations on the web of material 4. In one embodiment, the control system 18 can send a signal to the powered servo unit 32 to increase the web of material input speed to reduce the time required to move the web of material to the marking zone 50 to less than about 30 milliseconds.

Accordingly, the cycle rate of the apparatus 8 can be increased without decreasing the time available for the operation performed by the units 38, 40. In this way, when the operation is a laser marking 68 formed on the web of material, the rate of Apparatus cycle can be increased without decreasing the time available for marking by laser units 38, 40 and without decreasing the quality of marking applied to the web of material 4. Alternatively, in another modality, the control system 18 can send a signal to temporarily increase the energy used by the laser units 38, 40 to perform marking 68 to decrease marking time.

The control system can also send a signal to apparatus 8 to decrease the quality or size of markings 68 formed by laser units 38, 40. In this way, markings can be formed in less time to temporarily increase the cycle rate of the apparatus. 8. Optionally, in one embodiment, the control system 18 can send a signal to change the inlet rate, or to stop the inlet, of the web of material 4 by the converting press 10.

[00139] Now, referring to Figure 4B, when the web of material 4 in the external feed accumulation device 44 is below a predetermined position, as generally illustrated by the lower position 56, the distance from the sensor 46 to one or more predetermined parts 5 or 7 of the web of material 4 is too large. Optionally, sensor 47B can send a first signal after detecting the web of material 4 in the position shown in Figure 4B. In response, the control system 18 can determine that there is too much web of material in the external feed accumulation device 44. The control system 18 can send a signal to the fed servo unit 32 and the units 38, 40 to decrease the rate. The cycle rate of the apparatus 8 to be slower than the inlet rate of the converting press 10. Decreasing the cycle rate of the apparatus 8 can decrease the length of the web of material 4 in the external feed accumulation device 44. Optionally , when the cycle rate of the apparatus is decreased, the powered servo unit 32 moves the web of material 4 to the marking zone 50 at the same rate, but the laser units 38, 40 operate at a lower energy level. In this way, the laser units take longer to form the marks 68 on the web of material 4, but the formation of the marks requires less energy. Optionally, in one modality, the energy level of laser units 38, 40 can be adjusted by between 0% and 100%.

[00140] It will be noted by the skilled artisan that positions 54 and 56 may vary (set lower or higher) by a user. In addition, positions 54, 56 can be set at different heights on each of the infeed and outfeed devices 28, 44. In one embodiment, the sensors 31A, 47A can generally be aligned with the upper positions 54 on the infeed and outfeed device 28, 44. Similarly, in another embodiment, then sensors 31B, 47B may be generally aligned with the lower positions 56 on the infeed and outfeed device 28, 44.

[00141] Now, referring to Figures 5A-5C, the movement of the web of material 4 by the internal feed and external feed accumulation devices 28, 44 during one cycle of the apparatus 8 is generally illustrated. An initial position of the web of material 4 is illustrated in the infeed and outfeed accumulation devices 28, 44 in Fig. 5A. The web of material is between the upper position 54 and the lower position 56. Accordingly, there is a sufficient length of the web of material in the devices 28, 44.

[00142] Now, referring to Fig. 5B, after the fed servo unit 32 moves the predetermined length 35 of the web of material 4 to the operating zone 50, the length of the web of material in the internal feed accumulation device 28 may temporarily decrease. The length of the web of material in the external feed accumulation device 44 may temporarily increase. However, as illustrated in Figure 5B, the control system 18 is operable to control the input rate of the fed servo unit 32 so that the length of the web of material in the external feed accumulation device 44 is not too long, when prevent the web of material 4 from crossing below the bottom position 56.

[00143] Now, with reference to figure 5C, as mentioned above, during the operation performed by the units 38, 40, the web of material 4 is held substantially stationary in the operating zone 50 by the stabilizer roller 34. However, the press conversion rate 10 continues to strip the web of material 4 at a predetermined rate. Accordingly, the length of the web of material in the external feed accumulation device 44 may decrease as the units 38, 40 carry out their operations on the web of material 4. The length of the web of material 4 in the device. The build-up of internal feed 28 may increase as the unwinder 6 continues to unwind the unmarked web of material. In one embodiment, the control system 18 can send a signal to stop the unwinder 6, while the units 38, 40 perform operations on the material web 4. internal feed 28 can remain substantially constant. After the units 38, 40 complete their operations on the web of material 4, the control system 18 sends a signal to the powered servo unit 32 to move another predetermined length 35 of the web of material into position in the operating zone 50. The lengths of the web of material in the devices 28, 44 can then be substantially as illustrated in either Figure 5A or Figure 5.

[00144] Again, referring to figure 1, apparatus 8 optionally includes an alignment system 48 to facilitate installation and removal of apparatus 8 between unwinder 6 and converting press 10, as required. Alignment system 48 may include reel locks (not shown) that interconnect connectors located at predetermined positions in the production facility. Alternatively, the connectors can be positioned on the conversion press 10 or on a loop bracket associated with the conversion press 10. The alignment system 48 enables the apparatus

8 is efficiently integrated with the converting press with minimal downtime. When the downstream equipment 10 does not require the operation performed by units 38, 40 of apparatus 8, the apparatus can be quickly removed from system 2. For example, in one embodiment, if a batch of caps 74 does not require marking 68 on the rings 60, apparatus 8 can be quickly removed by releasing the reel locks of alignment system 48. Optionally, when a batch of caps 74 does not require marked rings 60, apparatus 8 can be left in position with laser units 38, 40 and the powered servo unit 32 off or in neutral position. The web of material 4 can then freely pass through the apparatus 8 at a rate equal to the inlet rate of the converting press 10.

[00145] The converting press 10 removes the marked web of material, as needed, from the external feed accumulation device 44. The converting press 10 may include tools operable to form the web of material 4 received from the system. 2 on a ring 60 of any predetermined size or shape. The ring 60 generally includes a leading edge 62 and a clamping portion 64. Optionally, the converting press 10 can form an opening 66 in the clamping portion 64 of the ring 60. However, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the converting press 10 may optionally form ring 60 with a closed mesh on grip portion 64 to provide a larger structure on ring 60 for marking and gripping by a consumer.

[00146] A plurality of markings 68 may be positioned on any predetermined portion of ring 60 in any orientation. It will be appreciated that the markings 68 may be formed anywhere on the ring 60, including the lower surface (not shown) of the ring 60 facing the outer surface of the cap 74. Furthermore, the markings 68 may include any combination of text, numbers. , customer identification information, brand information, usage directions, sweepstakes tokens, images, or any other desired decoration or indication of any size.

[00147] The converting press 10 also receives cover covers (not shown) from a balancer 70. The balancer 70, in one embodiment, is a mechanical sponge that controls the flow of the cover covers to the converting press 10 from other upstream equipment 72, such as a capping press, used in the cap manufacturing process. The Balancer 70 maintains the proper flow velocity of the cap covers to ensure a consistent, uninterrupted flow of cap caps into the conversion press 10. The Balancer 70 can accumulate cap caps to ensure the conversion press 10 is supplied with cover covers if upstream equipment 72 goes offline, for example for maintenance, during unscheduled shutdowns, or when a new coil of sheet metal used to form cover covers is located in an unwinder (not shown).

[00148] The converting press 10 contains multiple progressive die sets that elevate a rivet 76 in the cap 74. Although the rivet 76 is illustrated in Figure 1 substantially centered in the cap 74, one skilled in the art will recognize that the rivet 76 may be located at any predetermined location on cap 74. In one embodiment, rivet 76 is not centered on cap 74. Conversion press 10 also includes the tools to form multiple cuts 78 to define a tear panel 80 that can be opened to create a serving opening 82. After forming the cap 74, the converting press 10 interconnects the ring 60 to the rivet 76.

[00149] The finished lids 74 can then be sent to a packer 86. The packer 86 counts and inserts a predetermined number of lids 74 into packages such as bags or pouches made from any desired material, including paper, plastic , or card.

[00150] Now, with reference to Fig. 9, an embodiment of a method 90 for performing an operation on a web of material 4 is generally illustrated. In one embodiment, the web is subsequently formed into rings 60 that can be interconnected to container lids 74. Although a general order of method 90 is shown in Figure 9, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that method 90 may include more or more fewer operations and can arrange the order of operations differently from that shown in Figure 9. Although the operations of the method can be described sequentially, many of the operations can actually be performed in parallel or simultaneously. In general, method 90 starts with an initial operation 92 and ends with an end operation.

110. Method 90 can be performed as a set of computer-executable instructions executed by a computer system, and encoded or stored on a computer-readable medium. An example of the computer system may include, for example, the control system 18 which is illustrated and described generally in conjunction with the figure. 6. An example of the computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, a memory 120, 126 of the control system 18. In the following, method 90 should be explained with reference to system 2 and components described in conjunction with the figures 1-8.

[00151] In operation 94, system 2 is activated. This may generally include, but is not limited to, control system 18: (1) activating at least one of units 38, 40; (2) optionally activate dust control system 20; (3) determine that the powered servo unit 32 is ready; (4) determine that a sufficient length of web of material is in each of the infeed and outfeed accumulation devices 28, 44 using the information received from one or more of the loop sensors 30, 31, 46 , 47; (5) determine that the optional lubricator is ready; and (6) determining that unwinder 6 is ready. In one embodiment, activating units 38, 40 further comprises ensuring that the lasers of units 38, 40 are at an operating temperature and/or are properly aligned.

[00152] In operation 96, the control system 18 receives information from encoder 22 associated with a converting press 10. The information may include, but is not limited to, the cycle rate of the converting press 10 and a desired position for the operation to be performed on the web of material 4. For example, in one embodiment, information from encoder 22 can be used by control system 18 to position marking 68 formed by a laser at a predetermined position on the sheet. continuous material. Control system 18 can use the information from encoder 22 to determine the position for markings 68 on each portion 36 of the web of material. In operation 98, the control system 18 sends a signal to the unwinder 6 to control the rate at which the web of material 4 is unwound from the web 26 of the web.

[00153] The control system 18 sends a signal, in operation 100, which directs the powered servo unit 32 to move a predetermined length 35 of the web of material to the operating zone 50 at a predetermined rate. In one embodiment, the web of material comprises the ring plate, which can be formed into rings for caps.

[00154] The control system 18 can change the predetermined rate at which the powered servo unit moves the predetermined length 35 into the operating zone. More specifically, the control system can send a signal to the powered servo unit 32 to increase or decrease the rate at which the powered servo unit moves the web of material into the operating zone. In one embodiment, the control system 18 can adjust the predetermined rate of the powered servo unit 32 up to each cycle.

[00155] Units 38, 40 perform the predetermined operation on the web of material 4 in operation 102. In one embodiment, this comprises lasers of units 38, 40 which form a marking 68 on the web. The control system 18 sends signals to the laser units 38, 40 to control the type and position of the markings 68. The length of time available for the laser units 38, 40 to form the markings is also controlled by a signal received from the control system 18. System 2 is operable to provide unique markings 68 on a plurality of rings 60. Accordingly, control system 18 can send a unique design for each marking 68 to laser units 38, 40 during each cycle of system 2.

[00156] In operation 103, control system 18 can determine if the operation was performed in a correct position on the web of material. More specifically, in one embodiment, the control system 18 receives data from a sensor 58, such as a camera. In one embodiment, the data comprises a photo of an indication 68 formed on a portion 36 of the web of material. Control system 18 can determine whether indication 68 is at a predetermined position of sheet portion 36. If control system 18 determines indication 68 is at the predetermined position, method 90 continues with Yes to operation 105. Alternatively , if the control system 18 determines that the indication is not in the predetermined position, method 90 proceeds No to operation 104.

[00157] In operation 104, the control system 18 can determine an amount to increase or decrease the predetermined length of the web of material fed by the servo unit 32 fed to the operating zone. As described in conjunction with Figures 7A, 7B, the control system 18 can send signals to the powered servo unit 32 that cause the powered servo unit to adjust (such as increasing or decreasing) the predetermined length by various amounts based on magnitude of the indication position error. In one embodiment, the control system 18 may wait until a predetermined number of consecutive sheet pieces 36 are determined by the control system 18 to be indicated that it is not at the predetermined location. For example, in one embodiment, the control system 18 may count a predetermined number of consecutive indications that are not at the predetermined location before sending a signal to the powered servo unit to increase or decrease the predetermined length. In one embodiment, the control system 18 may wait until after determining that three consecutive indications are not at the predetermined location before sending the signal. Method 90 then continues to operation 105.

[00158] The control system 18 substantially continuously monitors the length of the web of material in the internal feed and external feed devices 28, 44, as described above, using information received from at least one of the sensors 30, 31, 46, 47. The control system 18 can determine, in operation 105, whether there is an insufficient length, a sufficient length, or an excessive length of the web of material in the infeed and outfeed accumulation devices 28, 44. In one mode, the control system 18 monitors the lengths at the infeed and outfeed devices 28, 44 during each cycle of the system 2.

[00159] If the control system 18 determines that the length of the web of material is insufficient or excessive or at the infeed and outfeed device 28 or 44, method 90 proceeds to NOT operation 106. If the control system 18 determines that there is sufficient length of the web of material in devices 22 and 44, method 90 proceeds YES to operation 108.

[00160] In operation 106, the control system 18 can adjust the cycle rate of system 2 to ensure that a sufficient length of the web of material 4 is held in devices 28, 44. For example, in one embodiment, the system of control 18 may increase or decrease the admission rate of the powered servo unit 32. In another embodiment, the control system 18 may send a signal to increase or decrease the time available for the units 38, 40 to perform the predetermined operation. Alternatively, in one embodiment, control system 18 can send a signal to increase or decrease the energy used by laser units 38, 40. In addition, control system 18 can send a signal to unwinder 6 to adjust the rate. material web unwinding rate 4. Alternatively, the control system 18 can send a signal to the encoder 22 to adjust the feed rate of the web of material by the converting press 10. After the control system 18 adjusts the system cycle rate 2, the method continues to operation 108.

[00161] At any time, the control system 18 can determine whether the system 2 should continue to perform an operation on the material web 4 in the operation 108. If the control system

18 determines that operations should continue, method 90 returns YES to operation 96. Control system 18 can also determine that operations should stop, for example, but is not limited to: when marked rings are not needed by the press conversion 10; when converting press 10 stopped; when the spool 26 of the web of material 4 in the unwinder 6 needs to be replaced; when any component of system 2 sends an error or alarm code; or when the web of material 4 or markings made on the web of material by the laser units 38, 40 are misaligned. When marked rings are not needed by the converting press 10, system 2 can be removed from the cap production system. Alternatively, system 2 can remain integrated with the cap production system and the web of material 4 can freely pass through system 2 without marking by laser units 38, 40. In addition, an operator of system 2 can send a command to stop system 2 for any reason using the control system 18 user interface. If control system 18 determines that operations should stop, method 90 proceeds NO to end 110.

[00162] If the control system 18 determines that operations should continue in operation 108, method 90 returns YES to operation 96. When method 90 returns to operation 103, the control system can again determine whether the operation was held in a correct position on the web of material. When control system 18 determines that the indication is not in the predetermined position, method 90 proceeds to operation.

104. In operation 104, the control system 18 can again determine an adjustment to the length of the web of material necessary to have the operation performed in the correct position. However, if the control system 18 has previously sent a signal to the powered servo unit 32 to adjust the predetermined length, for example, by increasing or decreasing the predetermined length, the powered servo unit 32 may wait a predetermined number of cycles of method 90 before sending another signal to the servo powered unit 32. In one embodiment, the control system 18 may wait from 10 cycles to 80 cycles before sending another signal to the servo powered unit 32 to adjust the predetermined length of the web of material fed to the operating zone .

[00163] The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but it is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting the invention to the disclosed form. Many modifications and variations will be evident to those skilled in the art. The embodiments described and shown in the figures have been chosen and described in order to better explain the principles of the invention, the practical application and to enable those skilled in the art to understand the invention.

[00164] Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it is evident that modifications and changes to these embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, references herein to the "present invention" or aspects thereof are to be understood to mean certain embodiments of the present invention and are not necessarily to be construed as limiting all embodiments to a particular description. It is expressly understood that such modifications and alterations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention as set out in the following claims.

[00165] Although the example aspects, modalities, options and/or configurations illustrated in this document show the various system components placed, certain system components can be located remotely, in distant portions of a distributed network, such as a local area network ( LAN) and/or the Internet, or within a dedicated system. Thus, it should be noted that system components can be combined into one or more devices, such as a personal computer (PC), laptop, netbook, smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet, etc., or placed in a specific node of a distributed network, such as an analog and/or digital telecommunications network, a packet-switched network, or a circuit-switched network. It will be observed from the above description, and for reasons of computational efficiency, that the system components can be arranged at any location within a distributed network of components without affecting the system's operation. For example, the various components can be located in a switch, such as a private branch exchange (PBX) and media server, gateway, in one or more communication devices, in one or more user facilities, or some combination thereof. . Likewise, one or more functional parts of the system may be distributed between a telecommunications device(s) and an associated computing device.

[00166] In addition, it should be noted that the various links connecting the elements may be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof, or any other known or further developed element that is capable of providing and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements. These wired or wireless links can also be secure links and can communicate encrypted information. Transmission media used as links, for example, can be any suitable carrier for electrical signals, including coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, and can take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio waves and infrared data communications.

[00167] Furthermore, although the flowcharts have been discussed and illustrated in relation to a particular sequence of events, it should be noted that changes, additions and omissions to this sequence can occur without materially affecting the operation of the modalities, configuration, and aspects. In addition, a number of variations and modifications to the disclosure can be used. It would be possible to provide some features of the disclosure without providing others.

[00168] Optionally, the systems and methods of this disclosure may be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller, and peripheral integrated circuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor , an electronic or wired logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array such as a PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, special purpose computer, any comparable or similar medium. In general, any devices or means capable of implementing the methodology illustrated in this document can be used to implement the various aspects of this disclosure. Example hardware that may be used for the disclosed modalities, configurations, and aspects include computers, handheld devices, telephones (e.g., cellular, Internet-enabled, digital, analog, hybrid, and others) and other hardware known in the art. Some of these devices include processors (for example, a single or multiple microprocessors), memory, non-volatile storage, input devices, and output devices. In addition, alternative software implementations including, but not limited to, distributed processing or distributed component/object processing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing may also be constructed to implement the methods described in this document.

[00169] In one embodiment, the disclosed methods can be readily implemented in conjunction with software with the use of object or object-oriented software development environments that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of computer platforms or workstation. Alternatively, the disclosed system can be implemented partially or completely in hardware using standard logic circuits or very large scale integration design (VLSI). Whether or not software or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance with this disclosure depends on the speed and/or efficiency requirements of the system, the specific function, and the specific software or hardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems being used .

[00170] In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods can be partially implemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, run on a general purpose computer programmed with the cooperation of a controller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, or the like. In such cases, the systems and methods of this disclosure can be implemented as a program embedded in a personal computer, such as an applet, JAVA®, or computer generated image (CGI) script, as a resource residing on a server or computer workstation. computer, as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurement system, system component, or the like. The system can also be implemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into a software and/or hardware system.

[00171] Although the present disclosure describes components and functions implemented in aspects, modalities and/or configurations with reference to particular standards and protocols, the aspects, modalities and/or configurations are not limited to such standards and protocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein exist and are considered to be included in the present disclosure. In addition, the standards and protocols referenced in this document and other similar standards and protocols not mentioned in this document are periodically replaced by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocols with the same functions are considered equivalents included in the present disclosure.

[00172] Examples of processors described in this document may include, but are not limited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801, Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 610 and 615 with 4G LTE integration and 64-bit computing, Apple processor ® A7 with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7 motion coprocessors, Samsung® Exynos® series, Intel® Core® processor family, Intel® Xeon® processor family, Intel® Atom® processor family, Intel Itanium processor family ®, Intel® Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22nm Haswell, Intel® Core® i5-3570K 22nm Ivy Bridge, AMD® FX®, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300 and FX-8350 32nm Vishera processor family , AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments® Jacinto C6000® automotive infotainment processors, automotive grade Texas Instruments® OMAP® mobile processors, ARM® Cortex®-M processors, ARM® Cortex-A and ARM926EJ-S® processors, other processors industry equivalents, and can perform computational functions. using any support known or developed in the future standard, instruction set, libraries, and/or architecture.

[00173] The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments and/or configurations, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, including various aspects, modes, configurations, modalities, subcombinations and/ or subsets thereof.

Those skilled in the art will understand how to make and use the disclosed aspects, modalities and/or configurations after understanding the present disclosure.

The present disclosure, in various aspects, modalities and/or configurations, includes the provision of devices and processes in the absence of items not represented and/or described herein or in various aspects, modalities and/or configurations, including in the absence of items that may have been used in previous devices or processes, for example, to improve performance, achieve ease and/or reduce the cost of implementation.

Claims (20)

1. Apparatus for providing indication at a predetermined location of a metal ring plate web, characterized in that it comprises: an internal feed accumulation device operable to receive the metal ring plate web; a powered servo unit operable to move a predetermined length of metal ring plate web in a marking area; a marking apparatus operable to form the indicia on the metal ring plate web; an external feed accumulation device operable to receive the metal ring plate web after the marking apparatus has formed the indication; and a camera operable to collect an image of the indication formed on the metal ring plate web, wherein the metal ring plate web is subsequently formed into rings adapted for interconnection to the container lids. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the marking apparatus is a laser unit adapted to form the indication. 3. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the laser unit comprises a first laser unit for forming the indication on a first surface of the metal ring plate web and a second laser unit for forming the indication on a second surface of the metallic ring plate web. 4. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the powered servo unit is operable to change the predetermined length of the metal ring plate web moved to the marking area to adjust an indication location formed on the web of metallic ring plate by marking apparatus. 5. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a control unit operable to determine whether the indication in the image collected by the camera is in the predetermined location. 6. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the control unit is operable to send an instruction to the powered servo unit to increase the predetermined length when the indication in the image is too close to a downstream side of a part of metallic ring plate web. 7. Apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the control unit is operable to send an instruction to the powered servo unit to decrease the predetermined length when the indication in the image is very close to an upstream side of the part of the solid sheet of metallic ring plate. 8. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the control unit is operable to send an instruction to the powered servo unit to change the predetermined length after determining that a predetermined number indication is not at the predetermined location. 9. Non-transient computer-readable medium, characterized by the fact that it comprises a set of instructions stored in it that, when executed by a control unit processor, causes the processor to adjust the components of an apparatus that performs an operation in a continuous sheet of metallic material, by: signaling a servo unit to move a predetermined length of web of metallic material to the apparatus; receiving a camera-collected image of an indication formed on the continuous sheet of metallic material; determine whether the indication in the image is at a predetermined location; preparing an instruction for the servo unit to change the predetermined length when the indication is not in the predetermined location; and send the instruction to the servo unit. 10. Computer readable medium according to claim 9, characterized in that it further comprises: monitoring a quantity of the continuous sheet of metallic material in an external feed device; and sending an instruction to a marking apparatus to change a rate at which the indication is formed to accumulate a predetermined length of web of metallic material in the external feed device. 11. Computer readable medium according to claim 9, characterized in that the instruction causes the servo unit to increase the predetermined length when the indication in the image is very close to a downstream side of a part of the web. metallic material. 12. Computer readable medium according to claim 9, characterized in that the instruction causes the servo unit to decrease the predetermined length when the indication in the image is very close to an upstream side of a part of the web. metallic material. 13. Computer readable medium according to claim 9, characterized in that it further comprises counting a predetermined number of indication that is not in the predetermined location before sending the instruction to the servo unit. 14. Computer readable medium according to claim 9, characterized in that it further comprises, after sending the instruction to the servo unit, waiting for a predetermined number of cycles from the apparatus before sending a second instruction to the servo unit to change the length predetermined. 15. Computer readable medium according to claim 9, characterized in that preparing the instruction includes determining the magnitude of an error at a location of the indication. 16. A method for controlling an apparatus that performs an operation on a web of metallic material, characterized in that it comprises: accumulating a first length of slack in the web of metallic material before the apparatus performs the operation; feeding a predetermined length of web of metallic material into the apparatus; performing the operation on a first part of the web of metallic material by the apparatus; accumulating a second length of slack in the web of metallic material after the apparatus performs the operation; determining whether the apparatus performed the operation at a predetermined location on the first part of the web of metallic material; and adjusting the predetermined length of the metallic material web fed into the apparatus so that the apparatus performs operation at a predetermined location of a second portion of the metallic material web. 17. Method according to claim 16, characterized in that it further comprises increasing the predetermined length of the continuous sheet of metallic material fed into the apparatus, when the apparatus performed the operation very close to a downstream side of the first part of the sheet solid metallic material. 18. Method according to claim 16, characterized in that it further comprises decreasing the predetermined length of the continuous sheet of metallic material fed into the apparatus, when the apparatus performed the operation very close to an upstream side of the first part of the sheet solid metallic material. 19. Method according to claim 16, characterized in that it further comprises counting a predetermined number of errors at the locations of operations performed by the apparatus before adjusting the predetermined length of the continuous sheet of metallic material fed into the apparatus. 20. Method according to claim 16, characterized in that it further comprises, after adjusting the predetermined length, waiting for a predetermined number of cycles of the apparatus before adjusting the predetermined length a second time. Equipment Ring plate upstream unwinder Petition 870210022105, dated 03/08/2021, p. 98/119 Balancer Cooling system- Conversion press 1/10 dust control Control system Packer media reader Petition 870210022105, dated 03/08/2021, p. 104/119 Device(s) Device(s) Input/Output Storage Device(s) Computer Readable Storage Working memory Database Acceleration System(s) 7/10 communication processing Operating system Other code (programs) Network Database camera camera output device Start activate system Receive the time/position signal from the converting press Set unwinder unwind rate Take the predetermined length of web to the operating zone at a predetermined rate Perform the operation on the continuous sheet Fix position? Not Yes Adjust continuous sheet input length Is there enough sheet material in the internal feed and Non-external feed devices? Yes Adjust cycle rate Continue? Yes Not The end