EP2297013A2

EP2297013A2 - Fibrous-web unwinding arrangement, slitter-winder arrangement and method of unwinding fibrous web

Info

Publication number: EP2297013A2
Application number: EP09772631A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Petri Enwald; Markku JÄRVENSIVU; Kenneth ÅKERLUND
Original assignee: Metso Paper Oy
Current assignee: Valmet Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2008-07-03
Filing date: 2009-07-02
Publication date: 2011-03-23
Also published as: FI20085691A0; FI121303B; CN102083722A; WO2010000944A3; WO2010000944A2; FI20085691A

Abstract

The present invention relates to an unwinding arrangement (10) of a fibrous web for unwinding the fibrous web (w) wound on a winding shaft (15), which comprises two substantially parallel rails or equivalents arranged at a distance from each other for supporting the winding shaft and an unwinding station in connection with the rails, which unwinding station comprises elements for locking the winding shaft on the unwinding station to be substantially stationary during unwinding. The rails (32, 34) are arranged to extend and terminate at a distance substantially horizontally on both sides of the unwinding station.

Description

Fibrous-web unwinding arrangement, slitter-winder arrangement and method of unwinding fibrous web

[001] The invention relates to an unwinding arrangement of a fibrous web according to the preamble of claim 1 for unwinding the fibrous web wound on a winding shaft, which comprises two substantially parallel rails or equivalents arranged at a distance from each other for supporting the winding shaft and an unwinding station in connection with the rails which unwinding station comprises elements for locking the winding shaft on the unwinding station to be substantially stationary during unwinding.

[002] The invention also relates to a slitter-winder arrangement of a fibrous web according to the preamble of claim 8, which comprises an unwinding arrangement, a slitting section and a winding station.

[003] The invention further relates to a method according to the preamble of claim 12 for unwinding a fibrous web on an unwinding station to a slitter-winder arrangement of the fibrous web, which comprises an unwinding arrangement, a slitting section and a winding station.

[004] A fibrous web, e.g. paper, is manufactured in machines which together constitute a paper-manufacturing line which can be hundreds of metres long. Modern paper machines can produce more than 450,000 tons of paper a year. The speed of the paper machine can exceed 2,000 m/min and the width of the paper web can be more than 11 m. In paper- manufacturing lines known from prior art, paper-making takes place as a continuous process. A paper web completing in the paper machine is wound with a winder around a winding shaft i.e. a reel spool into a machine reel the diameter of which can be more than 3.5 m and the weight of which more than 100 tons. The purpose of winding is to modify the continuous paper web manufactured as planar into a more easily processable form. On the winder, the continuous process of the paper machine breaks for the first time and shifts into periodic operation. This periodicity is tried to be made with efficiency as good as possible in order not to waste already done work.

[005] The machine-reel web produced in paper-making is full-width and even more than 100 km long so it must be slit into partial webs with suitable width and length for the customers of the paper mill and to be wound around cores into so-called customer reels before delivering from the paper mill. These slitting and winding take place as known from prior art in an appropriate separate machine i.e. a slitter-winder.

[006] As known from prior art, on the slitter-winder the machine reel is unwound, the wide web is slit in the slitting section into several narrower partial webs which are wound up in the winding section around winding spools, such as cores, into customer reels. When the customer reels are completed, the slitter-winder is stopped and the reels i.e. the so-called set is removed from the machine after which the process is continued as the winding of a new set. These steps are repeated periodically until paper runs out of the machine reel, whereby the machine reel is replaced and the operation starts again as the winding of a new machine reel.

[007] Processes implemented on paper-manufacturing lines thus require transferring machine reels and empty winding shafts from one process to another. Due to the great weight of the machine reels, transferring them in connection with the process occurs according to prior art typically along rails assisted and supported by machine elements arranged in them. For longer distances and particularly cross- directionally in relation to the centre line of the paper machine, transfers are typically made by means of transfer carriages moving along rails fitted on the floor of the machine room. This type of arrangements are very inflexible from the viewpoint of the process e.g. in regard to the handling order of machine reels.

[008] The handling of machine reels and winding shafts bears a great importance in the operation of the manufacturing line. A machine reel unwound substantially empty on the unwinder of the slitter-winder typically comprises a so-called reel bottom end which contains fibrous web unsuited for further processing and which has to be unloaded from the winding shaft before being able to wind a new machine reel on it. Furthermore, the number of the winding shafts is such that they have to be stored temporarily in the manufacturing line either when empty or when being the core of the machine reel.

[009] Typically, a winding shaft unwound empty is led from the unwinding station of the slitter-winder by means of lifting arms to a winding shaft storage above the unwinding station. The transfer of the winding shaft relates to the change procedure of the machine reel of the unwinder both operationally and structurally and the empty winding shafts are not in practice re-deliverable to the winding until from the winding shaft storage.

[0010] FI20065682 describes a slitter-winder arrangement in which there are two unwinders fitted successively in the machine line of the slitter- winder arranged opposite on the machine level. Between the unwinding stations of the slitter-winders is located a return station i.e. return rails of winding shafts which function as a storage point of winding shafts and as an unloading point of machine-reel bottom ends. The return rails are located substantially on the same level as transfer rails along which the machine reels are transferred from the machine winder and stand-by station of the paper-manufacturing line to be unwound at the unwinding station. Then, empty winding shafts and broke machine reels can be transferred by means of transfer carriages in connection with the rails from the unwinding or from the transfer rails onto the return rails for storing or for unloading broke. This way, the specification describes the structural integration of two separate unwinding stations with each other. Such a procedure is not always necessary or another kind of layout is required. Then, the slitter-winders and their unwinding stations have to be located structurally separate.

[0011] An object of the invention is thus to provide an unwinding arrangement of a fibrous web which allows choosing the layout of the manufacturing line very flexibly.

[0012] An object of the invention is also to provide a method of unwinding a fibrous web on an unwinding station, in which method, the travel of the machine reel and/or winding shaft in the reel change sequence is arranged more advantageous than previously.

[0013] The objects of the invention are mainly achieved with an unwinding arrangement of a fibrous web for unwinding the fibrous web wound on a winding shaft, which comprises two substantially parallel rails or equivalents arranged at a distance from each other for supporting the winding shaft and an unwinding station in connection with the rails which unwinding station comprises elements for locking the winding shaft on the unwinding station to be substantially stationary during unwinding. The unwinding arrangement according to the invention is mainly characterised by that the rails are arranged to extend and terminate at a distance substantially horizontally on both sides of the unwinding station.

[0014] Such an arrangement enables due to its simple structure, among others, more effective use of space and more flexible operation.

[0015] The elements for locking the winding shaft on the unwinding station are arranged to allow leading a machine reel containing web on the rails in a guided and controlled way to the unwinding station. This provides for the advantage, inter alia, that the liftings of the machine reels are minimised.

[0016] The elements for locking the winding shaft on the unwinding station are arranged to allow the removal of a substantially empty winding shaft controllably on the rails from the unwinding station. This provides for the advantage, inter alia, that the liftings of the winding shafts are minimised.

[0017] Furthermore, the rails on the second side of the unwinding station advantageously constitute a storage station of winding shafts.

[0018] The rails of the unwinding station also constitute according to an embodiment a bottom-end unloading station of winding shafts and advantageously the rails of the second side of the unwinding station constitute a bottom-end unloading station of winding shafts at a point before the storage station of winding shafts on the rails of the second side.

[0019] The unwinding arrangement comprises a semiautomatic or automatic crane to transfer the winding shafts and/or machine reels. The unwinding arrangement according to the invention is such that the lifting device operating above has an access to each winding shaft and/or machine reel in every situation. This kind of an unwinding arrangement is particularly suitable for use with a semiautomatic or automatic crane. [002O] A slitter-winder arrangement of a fibrous web according to an embodiment of the invention comprises an unwinding arrangement, a slitting section and a winding station, in which the unwinding arrangement comprises two substantially parallel rails or equivalents arranged at a distance from each other for supporting a winding shaft and an unwinding station in connection with the rails which unwinding station comprises elements for locking the winding shaft on the unwinding station to be substantially stationary during unwinding, and in which slitter-winder the rails of the unwinding arrangement are arranged to extend and terminate at a distance substantially horizontally on both sides of the unwinding station.

[0021] In the slitter-winder arrangement, the web being unwound is arranged to travel from under the storage station to the slitting section according to an embodiment. Then, it is advantageous that a first web guide roll after the unwinding station in the travel of the web is in the range of the rails below the rails at least in some stage of the unwinding.

[0022] Advantageously, the slitter-winder arrangement is fitted in the operating range of a semiautomatic or automatic crane. The automatic crane is advantageously arranged to operate in data transfer communication with a process control arrangement of the slitter-winder arrangement. The unwinding arrangement of the slitter-winder according to the invention is such that the lifting device operating above has an access to each winding shaft and/or machine reel in every situation, whereby the co-operation between the automatic crane and the unwinding arrangement is effective.

[0023] The objects of the invention are also achieved with a method of unwinding a fibrous web on an unwinding station, in which method, a machine reel being unwound in the reel change sequence is led to the unwinding station supported by rails of the first side in connection with it, the machine reel is locked from the winding shaft to the unwinding station, the unwinding is performed, and the winding shaft is removed from the unwinding station and, in which method, the reel change sequence of the unwinder occurs by moving the winding shaft/machine reel on one substantially horizontal level.

[0024] This way, the lifting events of machine reels and/or winding shafts are minimised, thus saving energy and minimising the risks of damage.

[0025] The unwinding is performed at least mainly the machine reel being locked on the unwinding station and, after the reel has emptied totally, or at least so much that the reel bottom on it is no longer unwound, the winding shaft is transferred on the rails onto the rails of the second side of the unwinding station. According to an embodiment, after the reel has emptied so much that the reel bottom on it is no longer unwound, the non-unwound web is removed from the winding shaft and the winding shaft is transferred on the rails onto the rails of the second side.

[0026] In the reel change sequence of the unwinder, the machine reel is led onto the rails in connection with the unwinding station with an automatic or semiautomatic crane and controlled by its control unit.

[0027] In the reel change sequence of the unwinder, the winding shaft is collected from the rails in connection with the unwinding station with an automatic or semiautomatic crane and controlled by its control unit.

[0028] Other additional properties characteristic of the invention will become evident from the enclosed claims and the following description of the embodiments in the figures.

[0029] The invention provides several advantages. Due to the total arrangement, a crane is able to access each winding shaft and/or machine reel. Furthermore, the reel change sequence of the unwinder occurs by moving the winding shaft on substantially one horizontal level, whereby energy is saved considerably in relation to the handling of the reels taking place by lifting the reels onto various levels. Additionally, the unwinding arrangement according to the invention does not require storage rails according to known prior art, typically located above the unwinding station, nor lifter mechanisms used in transferring the winding shafts on the storage rails.

[0030] The invention and its operation will now be described with reference to the accompanying schematic figures in which

Fig. 1 shows an unwinding arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention, and

Fig. 2 shows a slitter-winder arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0031 ] Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of an unwinding arrangement 10 of a fibrous web according to the invention. It is intended for unwinding the fibrous web w wound on a winding shaft 15 into a machine reel 20. The unwinding arrangement comprises an unwinding station 25 which is provided with elements 27, 29 for locking the winding shaft 15 on the unwinding station 25 to be substantially stationary at least during unwinding. In this context, it is evident that locking to be stationary mainly refers to the horizontal motion of the winding shaft and, when being locked, the winding shaft is naturally rotatable supported by bearings arranged at its ends. [0032] The unwinding arrangement 10 comprises two parallel rails or equivalents 32 of the first side arranged at a distance from each other, of which only one is visible in the direction of Fig. 1. In this case, the rails are arranged at a distance from each other in cross-direction in relation to the travel direction of the web such that the machine reel 20 is positioned between the rails. By means of the rails, the machine reel and the winding shaft 15 are supported via bearings arranged at its ends. In practice, the bearing housing of the winding shaft can be supported on the rails via a separate carriage, whereby the winding shaft is moved by transferring the carriage and/or then the winding shaft can be supported from its bearing housing directly on top of the rail, whereby the winding shaft is moved controllably by rolling it on the rails. A combination of these can also be used e.g. such that critical transfers are done using the carriage and others controllably by rolling it.

[0033] Into connection with the unwinding station are arranged in the machine direction, i.e. in the main travel direction of the fibrous web, on both of its sides rails 32, 34 such that the rails 32 of the first side in relation to the unwinding station constitute a reception station of the machine reels of the unwinding station. The rails 34 of the second side in relation to the unwinding station constitute a storage station of winding shafts and in addition to or alternatively a bottom-end unloading station of winding shafts. If required, the storage station also operates as a lifting and/or lowering station for the crane.

[0034] Thus, the unwinding can be implemented with the unwinding arrangement according to the invention such that, during the unwinding sequence, the machine reel 20 being unwound is led onto the rails of the first side in relation to the unwinding station and the machine reel is transferred supported by the rails to the unwinding station. The unwinding takes place at least mainly the machine reel being locked on the unwinding station and, after the reel has emptied totally, or at least so much that the reel bottom on it is no longer used, the winding shaft is controllably transferred on the rails onto the rails 34 of the second side. The rails of the second side thus receive the emptied machine reel from the unwinding station. Then, the primary travel direction A of the winding shafts is from the rails 32 of the first side to the rails 34 of the second side via the unwinding station. This kind of procedure i.e. the reel change sequence of the unwinder occurs by moving the winding shaft on substantially one horizontal level, whereby energy is saved considerably in relation to the handling of the reels taking place by lifting the reels onto various levels. In the reel change sequence, the direction of the winding shafts can naturally be also from the rails of the second side to the rails of the first side depending on the case.

[0035] For moving the machine reels and/or winding shaft, the unwinding arrangement comprises transfer carriages 36 in connection with both (driving side/tending side) rails movably fitted in the direction of the rails. According to a first embodiment of the invention, the structure of the transfer carriages is such that, by means of the transfer carriages, the machine reel/winding shaft can be rolled on the rails as desired and thus the transfer occurs mainly on one horizontal level. According to a second embodiment of the invention, the structure of the transfer carriages is such that the winding shaft is non-rotatably supported of its bearing housing to the transfer carriage, whereby the machine reel/winding shaft can be transferred by means of the transfer carriages on the rails supported by the transfer carriage.

[0036] A length L of the rails 34 of the second side measured from the centre of the winding shaft located at the winding station extends at least at the distance of the radius of the full machine reel according to the machine-reel size used in the process + the radius of the winding shaft. This way, at least one empty winding shaft can always be fitted on the rails of the second side. Advantageously, the length L of the rails 34 on the second side is at the maximum about 5 m.

[0037] Fig. 2 shows a slitter-winder arrangement 50 of a fibrous web which comprises an unwinding arrangement 10 according to the invention. The slitter-winder arrangement further comprises a slitting section 55 and a winding station 60. On the slitting section 55, a full- width web w is slit into partial webs w' of which customer reels 70 are formed on the winding station. The slitting section and the winding station are in this presented embodiment on a lower horizontal level than rails 32, 34 of the unwinding arrangement 10, i.e. the horizontal level on which the reel change sequence of the unwinding takes place.

[0038] Irrespective of the position of the slitting section 55 and/or the winding station 60 in relation to the unwinding station, the web w is arranged to travel at least partially below a storage station constituted by the rails 34 of the second side of the unwinding station. For enabling this, a first web guide roll 75 after the unwinding station in the travel of the web w is in the range of the rails 34 of the second side below the rails 34. Differing from the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, e.g. the slitting section 55 can also be fitted directly below the storage station.

[0039] The unwinding arrangement and/or slitter-winder arrangement of a fibrous web according to the invention can be further developed by providing it with an automatic or semiautomatic crane 100 or by fitting it in the operating range of an automatic or semiautomatic crane. An automatic crane refers to such a crane arrangement which is arranged to operate automatically under the control of the main process or based on data received of the main process thus providing for the material traffic of the main process. A semiautomatic crane differs from an automatic crane mainly in that, with it, a desired part of the operations are performed by manual control. The automatic crane comprises a control unit 110 which is arranged in data transfer communication with a control unit 40 of the unwinding arrangement. The automatic crane is able to operate automatically controlled by a program saved in its control system and/or by external commands. Naturally, the operating range of the automatic crane is such that it can lead machine reels from the storage or e.g. from the windup of the preceding process section and return the empty winding shafts e.g. to said windup.

[0040] This combination accelerates the automatic machine reel/winding shaft traffic by the low structure and by that the smaller vertical lifting requirement. Furthermore, leading the machine reel onto the rails 32 and collecting the winding shaft from the rails 34 are simple to implement with the automatic crane, because the rails allow some following error in the run accuracy of the delivery and collecting point. Furthermore, the low lifting height decreases the work and energy consumption of the automatic crane.

[0041] It should be noted that only a few of the most advantageous embodiments of the invention were described above. Thus, it is evident that the invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but it can be applied in many ways within the scope defined by the enclosed claims. It is also possible that features described in connection with different embodiments are used within the scope of the basic idea of the invention in connection with other embodiments and/or combine various units of the described features, if so required and technical possibilities for this existing.

Claims

1. An unwinding arrangement (10) of a fibrous web for unwinding the fibrous web (w) wound on a winding shaft (15), which comprises two substantially parallel rails (32, 34) or equivalents arranged at a distance from each other for supporting the winding shaft (15) and an unwinding station (25) in connection with the rails which unwinding station comprises elements (27) for locking the winding shaft on the unwinding station to be substantially stationary during unwinding, characterised in that the rails (32, 34) are arranged to extend and terminate at a distance substantially horizontally on both sides of the unwinding station (25).

2. An unwinding arrangement according to claim 1 , characterised in that the elements (27) for locking the winding shaft on the unwinding station are arranged to allow leading a machine reel containing web on the rails (32) of the first side controllably to the unwinding station (25).

3. An unwinding arrangement according to claim 1 , characterised in that the elements (27) for locking the winding shaft on the unwinding station are arranged to allow removing a substantially empty machine reel on the rails (34) of the second side controllably from the unwinding station (25).

4. An unwinding arrangement according to claim 1 , characterised in that the rails (34) of the second side of the unwinding station constitute a storage station of winding shafts (15).

5. An unwinding arrangement according to claim 1 , characterised in that the rails (32, 34) of the unwinding station constitute a bottom-end unloading station of winding shafts (15).

6. An unwinding arrangement according to claim 5, characterised in that the rails (34) of the second side of the unwinding station constitute a bottom-end unloading station of winding shafts (15) in a point before the storage station of winding shafts on the rails (34) of the second side.

7. An unwinding arrangement according to claim 4, characterised in that the unwinding arrangement comprises a semiautomatic or automatic crane (100) arranged to transfer winding shafts (15) and/or machine reels (20).

8. A slitter-winder arrangement (50) of a fibrous web, which comprises an unwinding arrangement (10), a slitting section (55) and a winding station (60), characterised in that the unwinding arrangement (10) is an unwinding arrangement according to any one of preceding claims.

9. A slitter-winder arrangement according to claim 8, characterised in that the web (w) being unwound is arranged to travel below a storage station constituted by rails (34) of a second side to the slitting section.

10. A slitter-winder arrangement according to claim 8, characterised in that a first web guide roll (75) after the unwinding station in the travel of the web (w) is in the range of the rails (34) of the second side below the rails at least in some stage of the unwinding.

11. A slitter-winder arrangement according to claim 8, characterised in that the slitter-winder arrangement is fitted in the work range of a semiautomatic or automatic crane (100).

12. A slitter-winder arrangement according to claim 11 , characterised in that the automatic crane (100) is arranged to operate in data transmission communication with a control unit (110) of the process control arrangement of the slitter-winder arrangement.

13. A method of unwinding a fibrous web on an unwinding station (25), in which method, a machine reel (20) being unwound in the reel change sequence is led to the unwinding station (25) supported by rails (32) of a first side in connection with it, the machine reel is locked from a winding shaft to the unwinding station (25), the unwinding is performed, and the winding shaft is removed from the unwinding station, characterised in that the reel change sequence of the unwinder occurs by moving the winding shaft/machine reel on one substantially horizontal level (32, 34).

14. A method according to claim 13, characterised in that the unwinding is performed at least mainly the machine reel being locked on the unwinding station (25) and, after the reel has emptied totally, or at least so much that the reel bottom on it is no longer unwound, the winding shaft is transferred on the rails onto rails (34) of a second side which are arranged on the opposite side in relation to the unwinding station (25) on the rails of the first side.

15. A method according to claim 13, characterised in that the unwinding is performed at least mainly the machine reel being locked on the unwinding station (25) and, after the reel has emptied so much that the reel bottom on it is no longer unwound, the non-unwound web is removed from the winding shaft and the winding shaft is transferred on the rails onto the rails (34) of the second side which are arranged on the opposite side in relation to the unwinding station (25) on the rails of the first side.

16. A method according to claim 13, characterised in that, in the reel change sequence of the unwinder, a machine reel is led onto the rails (32) in connection with the unwinding station with an automatic or semiautomatic crane (100) and controlled by its control unit (110).

17. A method according to claim 13, characterised in that, in the reel change sequence of the unwinder, a winding shaft (15') is collected from the rails (34) of the second side in connection with the unwinding station with an automatic or semiautomatic crane (100) and controlled by its control unit (110).