EP0086165B1 - Device for supporting, positioning and driving a tubular support during the winding of a web - Google Patents

Abstract

1. Device for holding, positioning and moving a tubular support over which is to be rolled a continuous material in sheet form, wherein said device is in the form of a jaw constituted in two parts (2, 3), mounted for pivoting one with respect to the other, and defining between them a cage (4) designed to receive the end of the support tube (5), one of said elementary parts (2) being mounted on the shaft (6) controlling the rotation movement, and the other elementary part (3) being mounted for pivoting on the afore-said part and comprising means to ensure the gripping and self-locking of the support tube (5) when the material is being rolled, the part (2) mounted to the driving shaft (6) being in the form of a lower cradle and the pivoting part (3) being in the form of a upper shell, the said shell (3) being held and pivoted with respect to the cradle (2) by way of a casing (8) mounted on said cradle (2) via a pivoting axle (9), characterized by the fact that the shell (3) is mounted inside the casing (8) by way of a small rod (12) which is also mounted for pivoting about a fixed axle (13), integral with the lower cradle (2), the gripping and self-locking means associated to the said shell (3) being constituted by a link-rod (16) whose ends are mounted for pivoting about axles (17, 18) on the casing (8) and the small (12), respectively, and the self-locking being ensured by way of runners (19, 20) mounted eccentrically on the shell (3).

Description

The present invention relates to a device for holding, positioning and driving a tubular support around which must be wound a continuous material, in sheet form, delivered at constant speed or not, according to the preamble of claim 1. Such a device is known from document FR-A-2 443 406.

It relates more particularly to an improved winding device of textile material, such as for example fabrics, knits ... In the following description, the invention will be described for this particular application, but it is obvious that this is not not limiting and that it may also be suitable for winding any form of material in the form of continuous strips, which must be wound on a tubular support during the various stages of their manufacture, for example at the outlet of the device on which they are produced or during the treatments they undergo.

The correct winding of the tissues around a tubular support, support which will be designated in the following description by the expression "tube" is generally carried out either by driving the support tube by tangential contact with at least one driving cylinder or , more generally, by placing the tube on which the material is to be wound on a mandrel actuated directly in rotation (axial drive of said support), this mandrel being generally of square section and being held, at each of its ends, by jaws clamp communicating the rotational movement. Advantageously, the drive speed of the support mandrel is modified as the diameter of the winding increases, so as to have a constant linear speed and an equally constant tension.

One of the problems which arises for the implementation of such a technique is that of the positioning of the support mandrel inside the tube as well as its removal at the end of the winding operation. In addition, the transmission of the rotational movement between the motor jaw and the support mandrel generally causes rapid wear of these elements, taking into account the fact that this transmission is obtained by contact with the ends of the mandrel which are of square section.

To facilitate the installation and removal of the winding, it has been envisaged, as is apparent from document FR-A-2 443 406, to use jaws made in two parts, pivoting one with respect to to the other, so that the ends of the mandrel can be completely released during these operations. These devices do not however eliminate the drawbacks which arise from the use of a support mandrel.

However, we have found, and this is what is the subject of the present invention, an improvement to the jaws serving to hold, position and drive the tubular supports intended to receive sheet material, in particular fabrics, which overcomes the disadvantages of previous solutions.

According to the invention, the device for holding, positioning and driving a tubular support according to the preamble of claim 1 is characterized in that the mounting of the shell inside the housing is achieved by by means of a link also mounted pivoting about a fixed axis, integral with said lower cradle, the tightening and self-locking means associated with said shell being constituted by a link, the ends of which are mounted by means of axes respectively to the housing and the link, the self-locking being ensured by means of rollers mounted eccentrically on the shell.

• - les figures 1 et 2 sont respectivement des vues de face et en coupe selon l'ace X d'un mors réalisé conformément à l'invention en position fermée,
• - la figure 3 est une vue en coupe montrant un tel mors en position ouverte lors de l'enlèvement ou de la mise en place des tubes support,
• - la figure 4 est une vue schématique en coupe montrant un mode particulier de montage d'un mors conforme à l'invention sur le bâti d'une machine d'enroulement,
• - les figures 5, 6 et 7 sont des vues similaires aux figures 1, 2 et 3 montrant une variante d'un tel dispositif adaptable pour des supports tubulaires de section variable, par exemple circulaire, hexagonale, carrée.

The invention and the advantages which it brings will however be better understood thanks to the exemplary embodiments given below by way of indication but not limitation and which are illustrated by the appended diagrams in which:

• FIGS. 1 and 2 are respectively front and sectional views along the area X of a jaw produced in accordance with the invention in the closed position,
• FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing such a jaw in the open position when the support tubes are removed or put in place,
• FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing a particular method of mounting a jaw according to the invention on the frame of a winding machine,
• - Figures 5, 6 and 7 are views similar to Figures 1, 2 and 3 showing a variant of such a device adaptable for tubular supports of variable section, for example circular, hexagonal, square.

In the following description, the same references will be used to designate the same elements of the two exemplified embodiments.

If reference is made to the appended figures, the jaw according to the invention, designated by the general reference (1), and which is capable of being used on any material making it possible to wind a sheet material on a tubular sopport , consists essentially of two elementary parts (2-3) articulated with respect to each other. These two elementary parts (2-3) define between them a cage (4) intended to receive the end of the support tube (5) around which the material is to be wound. In the following description, the part (2) of the jaw will be designated by the expression "lower cradle" while the articulated part (3) will be designated by the expression "clamping shell".

In this embodiment, the lower cradle (2) is mounted at the end of the driving axis (6), shown only in FIG. 4, to ensure the rotation of the jaw. This axis (6) is supported by a bearing (7), a particular embodiment of which will be seen in more detail in the following description, and is rotated by any suitable means, for example by a motor (not shown ).

According to the invention, the shell (3) is pivotally mounted on the lower cradle (2) and comprises means ensuring the tightening and the self-locking of the end of the support tube during winding. In the illustrated embodiment, the retention and articulation of the shell (3) relative to the lower cradle (2) is obtained by means of a housing (8) mounted on the cradle (2) via 'a pivot axis (9). This case has an open face (10) and a window (11) on its rear face, allowing it to pivot relative to the fixed lower cradle (2). The mounting of the upper shell (3) inside this box (8) is carried out by means of a connecting rod (12) also pivotally mounted around a fixed axis (13) also integral with the lower cradle.

As is clear from FIG. 1, the cage (4) intended to receive the ends of the tube (5) consists of two circular sectors (or other shape) complementary (14) and (15), one (14 ) formed on the cradle (2), the other (15) on the shell (3). Preferably, the internal faces of these spans (14) and (15) are coated with a layer of protective felt material for example.

As said previously, the shell (3) comprises means ensuring the tightening and self-locking of the support tube during the winding of the material. These clamping and self-locking means are constituted, in this embodiment, by the rod (16) whose ends are mounted, by means of pins (17-18), respectively to the housing (8) and to the link (12). The self-locking is ensured by means of rollers (19-20) mounted eccentrically on the shell (3) which, in the closed position, come to bear on the periphery of the support tube (5). Furthermore, a clamping force adjustment system, constituted for example by a threaded rod (21) mounted on the shell (3), rod which cooperates with a nut (22) integral with the link (12), can be envisaged in order to better define the respective positions between the cradle (2) and said shell (3).

The implementation of such a device is as follows. When fitting (or removing) the support tube, the jaw is in the open position as shown in FIG. 3. To obtain this position, it suffices to exert a force F ₂ on the housing (8 ), which causes its rotation and, consequently, the pivoting of the shell (3) backwards. This pivoting makes it possible to completely release the top of the cradle (2) and as a result, the support tube can be put in place (or removed) easily. In normal operation, that is to say when the material is wound, the shell (3) is brought back into the closed position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. For this, a force F is exerted on the part upper case (8), which causes it to pivot about the axis (9). When the link (16) is in the extension of the axis A (see Figure 2), the two bearing surfaces (14-15) enclose the end of the tube (5) and ensure its nipping. To ensure final blocking, an additional pressure is applied to move the link (12) so that its axis (18) is located in the plane B (see Figure 2) in front of the plane A. As a result, the forces which are exerted during the winding and which would tend to cause the opening of the device, will have an action such that they will on the contrary tend to ensure a greater pinching of the end of the tube (5). When closing, of course, the two eccentrics (19-20) come to bear on the periphery of the tube (5). When the drive is performed, these two eccentrics tend to press against the periphery of the tube and therefore ensure its blocking effectively.

Furthermore, in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, the jaw according to the invention is mounted on the drive shaft (6) by means of a bearing (7) of particular shape which, automatically , allows to position said jaw so that the lower cradle (2) is necessarily in the low position when it is desired to set up (or remove) the support tube. For this, the bearing (7) has an inclined front face whose base (23) serves as a fulcrum for the cradle (2), as well as the housing (8) when it is in the closed position. The cutaway (24) of this bearing makes it possible to define the position of the housing (8) in the open position and consequently, to limit the pivoting of the shell (3) to the desired value allowing the positioning and removal of the tube (5). Given this particular embodiment, the opening and closing can only be carried out with the cradle (2) in the low position. Such a bearing shape also makes it possible to ensure very high operating safety of the assembly, taking into account that if, by mistake, the assembly is caused to rotate while the jaw is open, the cutaway will have tendency to automatically cause the shell to close.

The above example clearly shows the advantages provided by the present invention, in particular the fact that, thanks to such a type of jaw, it is possible to drive, without support mandrel, any tube can be used for winding sheet material. . Of course, these tubes can be in different forms, be full or hollow. Thus, FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate a variant in accordance with the invention making it possible to use a single device for tubes of variable section, for example of circular, hexagonal, square shape (references 5a, 5b, 5c to Figure 5) and this, at the cost of a simple and quick adaptation to achieve. This is achieved by making the lower cradle (2) not in a single piece as in the example illustrated in fi gures 1, 2 and 3, but by providing an attached element (2a) forming the cradle proper and whose shape is adapted according to the shape of the tube to be clamped. This part (2a) is fixed by a conventional bolt and pin system (30). Depending on the tube to be clamped, the articulated part (3) (clamping shell) will have a corresponding shape.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the handling of the assembly is facilitated by providing a peripheral flywheel (31) at the rear of the housing (8). In addition, the immobilization of the tube and especially in the case of cardboard tubes, can be improved by providing on the internal surface of the lower cradle (2) small pins which penetrate inside said tube without however the deteriorate. Finally, the facing faces (32-33) of the cradle (2) and of the shell (3) may not be smooth and have complementary raised surfaces which interpenetrate (see FIG. 6) and avoid any relative displacement of two elements with respect to each other.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above but it covers all the variants produced in the same spirit. Thus, it could be envisaged to associate with the rollers ensuring the self-locking of the abutments intended to limit their penetration into the support tube, which allows them to also play the role of torque limiter.

Compared to previous solutions, such a device makes it possible not only to avoid the use of an internal support mandrel, but moreover, ensures very high operating safety while being of particularly simple and effective use.

Claims (5)

1. Device for holding, positioning and moving a tubular support over which is to be rolled a continuous material in sheet form, wherein said device is in the form of a jaw constituted in two parts (2, 3), mounted for pivoting one with respect to the other, and defining between them a cage (4) designed to receive the end of the support tube (5), one of said elementary parts (2) being mounted on the shaft (6) controlling the rotation movement, and the other elementary part (3) being mounted for pivoting on the aforesaid part and comprising means to ensure the gripping and self-locking of the support tube (5) when the material is being rolled, the part (2) mounted to the driving shaft (6) being in the form of a lower cradle and the pivoting part (3) being in the form of a upper shell, the said shell (3) being held and pivoted with respect to the cradle (2) by way of a casing (8) mounted on said cradle (2) via a pivoting axle (9), characterized by the fact that the shell (3) is mounted inside the casing (8) by way of a small rod (12) which is also mounted for pivoting about a fixed axle (13), integral with the lower cradle (2), the gripping and self-locking means associated to the said shell (3) being constituted by a link-rod (16) whose ends are mounted for pivoting about axles (17, 18) on the casing (8) and the small (12), respectively, and the self-locking being ensured by way of runners (19, 20) mounted eccentrically on the shell (3).

2. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the gripping and self-locking means are associated to a system for adjusting the gripping force, which system is constituted by a threaded pin (21) mounted on the shell (3) and cooperating with a nut (22) mounted to the small rod (12).

3. Device as claimed in claims 1 and 2, characterized by the fact that the bearing (7) supporting the driving axle (6) has an inclined front face, the cut side (24) of said bearing permitting to define the position of the casing (8) in the open position and ensuring automatically the closure of the jaw when set in rotation.

4. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the runners (19, 20) mounted eccentrically on the shell (3), are associated to stop means designed to limit their penetration into the support tube.

5. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterized by the fact that the lower cradle (2) comprises a removably added part (2a).

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