GB2232146A

GB2232146A - Web feed

Info

Publication number: GB2232146A
Application number: GB8911722A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tadayoshi Masuko
Original assignee: MASUKO INTERNATIONAL CORP
Current assignee: MASUKO INTERNATIONAL CORP
Priority date: 1989-05-22
Filing date: 1989-05-22
Publication date: 1990-12-05
Anticipated expiration: 2009-05-22
Also published as: GB2232146B; GB8911722D0

Abstract

A hole pattern for use in feeding web material comprises a series of regularly spaced holes adapted to receive pins from a co-operating drive sprocket, a portion of these holes being elongated and are spaced periodically therealong. A number of either the elongated or non-elongated holes are shaped so as to be bi-laterally non-symmetrical, eg 100, 102, 104 such that the directionality of these holes is visually distinguishable. <IMAGE>

Description

WEB MATERIAL HAVING EDGE HOLE PATTERNS FOR SPI?xOuET DRIVING This invention relates to web material having hole patterns that are adapted to fit onto drive sprockets in a sign making machine, and more particularly to hold patterns that allow the web to be easily and correctly visually aligned onto the drive sprockets and also that given an indication of the directional orientation of the web material.

Web material related to the present invention is used in sign making machines, such as GERBER, Canadian Patent No.

1,197,874, granted 10 December 1985 to Gerber Scientific Products Inc., for a "Web Construction and Method of Making Web". The web is a long and narrow functionally continuous sheet of material that is fed through the machine longitudinally. The web is held in place and fed through the machine by a pair of drive sprockets. The web has two series of small regularly spaced holes, a first series along one edge of the web and a second series along the other edge, for receiving a series of pins that are located around the perimeter of each drive sprocket and are adapted to fit through the holes in the web.

It is necessary to align the web material in the machine properly so that it is oriented straight and so that it feeds through the machine properly and without mishap. In order to do this reasonably quickly, using visual inspection, it is necessary to have some sort of markings on the web that allow it to be aligned properly in the machine. One possible method of marking the web is to adapt both series of holes along the sides of the web such that one or more distinctive - hole shapes is used on a regular interval. Such distinctively shaped holes would occur in both the first and second series of holes such that each distinctively shaped hole in either series of holes would have a corresponding distinctively shaped hole located perpendicularly across the web from it. It is possible, however, that some distinctively shaped holes would not have such corresponding holes.Furthermore, these corresponding distinctively shaped holes need not be the same shape as each other.

These distinctively shaped holes are intended for use as markers for each side of the web as well as for allowing the web to be properly placed onto the two drive sprockets of the machine.

In the GERBER SCIENTIFIC patent No. 1,197,874, a hole pattern used to locate the holes properly on the drive sprockets is disclosed. This hole pattern includes a series of regularly spaced holes along each side of the web, and a pair of extra holes in association with each Nth hole of the regularly spaced holes, where N is an integer, and the distance between any two adjacent N holes is equivalent to the circumference of the drive sprocket. These extra holes allow proper alignment of the web onto the sprockets to be made in one of two ways. Firstly, it marks the paper in such a way that each of the two Nth holes associated with the corresponding extra holes can be placed onto a particular pin such as a marker pin of the drive sprocket, thus allowing the web to be properly aligned on the drive sprockets.

Such marker pins are usually of a different colour than the other pins. Secondly, some drive sprockets have an extra pin on each drive sprocket that is associated with one of the regularly spaced pins, and is adapted to fit into the extra hole. If the paper is not aligned such that the pin is aligned with this extra hole, the pin will merely press on the span of paper between two holes, and it will be apparent that the paper is not aligned onto the drive sprocket correctly. The GERBER patent also teaches that it is possible to place the web onto the drive sprockets in one of two directions, so that either end of a sheet of web can be fed into the machine.In order to accommodate this, the hole pattern in the web has two extra holes in association with every Nth main hole, with each extra hole being the same distance from the main hole such that the extra pin can fit into either of these main holes depending on the orientation of the web.

One problem with the web hole pattern as taught by GERBER, is that the spacing between the main hole and the extra hole, and the spacing between the main pin on the drive sprocket and the extra pin, must be equal to one another. Thus, only one particular configuration of drive sprocket can be accommodated by each type of paper and vice versa. In order to overcome this problem, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company has introduced a web with a hole pattern that has one elongated hole in place of the one main hole and two juxtaposed extra holes.

This allows an extra pin to be located anywhere near the main hole up to a maximum distance away as defined by the size of the hole.

There is another problem, however, that the hole configuration used by Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing does not solve; and that is the problem of orientation of the web. It is sometimes necessary to insert the web into the machine in a certain orientation, especially if the web has been inserted into the machine previously, worked on and subsequently removed.

It is then necessary to insert the web in the same orientation as it was first inserted. It is possible to visually examine the web, to determine the orientation; however, this does not guarantee that correct orientation will be realized, because of the real possibility of human error. More importantly, such visual inspection could be reasonably difficult since it necessitates the unrolling of the piece of web material. This can be undesirable if any of the patterns cut into the web material are delicate and easily damaged, especially if the roll of web is to be significantly unrolled and handled. In order to make it easy for an operator of the machine to determine which orientation of the web material is desired, it is necessary to have some sort of mark or indication on the web material that distinguishes one end of the web material from the other.

The present invention provides a hole configuration that accommodates guide wheels having extra pins set at various distances from a corresponding main pin, by providing an elongated hole that encompasses the area covered by the main pin and the one or two associated extra pins, wherein the hole configuration includes means for distinguishing the directionality of the holes by being non-symmetrical longitudinally. It is important to be able to distinguish the directionality of the web if it must be replaced into the machine after having been worked on previously.

The invention also provides a hole configuration that precludes the hole from becoming tattered and subsequently torn.

Precluding the holes from becoming damaged may be important depending on the type of material that is being used for the web.

It is also possible that the configuration of holes that provides the best means for discerning directionality, does not provide for the best tear resistance, and therefore the exact choice of hole shape is somewhat dependent on the type of material used for the web.

This invention will now be described in association with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a pair of hole configurations comprising a series of holes, having elongated and directionally distinguishable holes every tenth hole with one series of holes being associated with a first side of the webbing and a second series of holes being associated with the second side of the webbing; Figure 2 shows one of the elongated holes of Figure 1, on a greatly enlarged scale; Figure 3 is similar to Figure 2, but shows three pins from the drive sprocket within the hole; Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment to the hole of Figure 2; Figure 5 shows a further alternative embodiment to the hole of Figure 2;; Figure 6 shows a hole configuration having elongated holes in a variety of shapes as shown in Figures 2, 4, and 5, on a larger scale than Figure 1 and a smaller scale from Figures 2 through 5; and Figure 7 shows a hole configuration similar to Figure 1, except on a larger scale, including a non-elongated hole that is directionally distinguishable.

Reference is now made to Figure 1, in which a series of regularly spaced holes 20 are spaced apart by a distance D, and are thereby adapted to fit onto correspondingly regularly spaced pins on a co-operating drive sprocket. Periodically spaced along the regularly spaced series of holes are elongated holes 22.

Typically, holes occur at a periodic interval equal to the circumference of the co-operating drive sprocket. As shown in Figure 1, the elongated holes 22 are spaced periodically every 10 holes. The co-operating drive sprocket has one or two extra pins associated with one of the regularly spaced main pins, all pins being located such that they are adapted to fit through the same elongated hole.

It is also possible to include identical or similar elongated holes in between the regularly spaced elongated holes 22. Such extra holes would also have to be regularly spaced with the same periodicity as elongated holes 22, which is every ten holes as shown in Figure 1. If such extra holes are spaced halfway between the regularly spaces elongated holes 22, the hole pattern created is equivalent to merely spacing the regularly space elongated holes 22 at an interval equal to one half the circumference of the co-operating drive sprocket. The inclusion of these holes would allow the extra pin or pins to be accommodated by the hole pattern more frequently than every ten holes. Such. accommodation allows less web to be wasted during use.

Figure 2 shows an enlarged view of one elongated hole 22, having a trailing end portion 30, comprising a rounded edge 32, a leading end portion 34 comprising a pair of straight edges 36 and 38 defining a V-shaped edge 40, and a middle portion comprising a first longitudinal edge 42 and a second longitudinal edge 44. The rounded edge 32 is substantially semi-circular with one end thereof terminating at the first longitudinal edge 42 and the other end thereof terminating at the second longitudinal edge 44. The first and second longitudinal edges 42, 44 in turn each terminate at one of the straight edges 36, 38. This V-shaped edge at one end causes the elongated hole 22 to represent somewhat of an arrowlike figure, thus giving the hole visibly discernable directionality.

The elongated holes of the preferred embodiment (and of the embodiments shown in Figures 3 through 6), are shaped such that they are not longitudinally symmetrical -- the leading end portion 34 and the trailing end portion 30 are not mirror images of one another. This causes the two end portions to be visibly distinguishable from one another, thus allowing a machine operator distinguish the direction of orientation of the elongated hole. Typically, the tapered end portion 32 is used to indicate the usual forward direction of travel of the web in the machine when beng unreeled from a feed roll of web material in the first instance.

Reference is now made to Figure 3, which shows the elongated hole 22 of Figure 2, having received three pins, a main pin 50 andes two extra pins 52, 54 from a co-operating drive sprocket. The main pin 50 is located in the middle area of the elongated hole 22. The two extra pins 52, 54 are located one at each end area of the elongated hole 22, with pin 52 being located at the leading end portion 56 of the elongated hole and pin 54 being located at the trailing end 57. Extra pin 52 contacts both of the straight edges of the leading end portion as indicated by 58 and 59. Force is transmitted from pin 52 of the drive sprocket to the web at these locations 58 and 59, when the web is being moved in a forward direction.When the web is being moved in a rearward direction, force is transmitted from pin 54 to the web along a substantial portion of the trailing end of the elongated hole. Usually, only one of the pins 52 and 54 is present, together with pin 50, and not both of pins 52 and 54.

Reference is now made to Figures 4 and 5, which show alternative embodiments to the elongated hole as shown previously. As shown in Figure 4, the elongated hole 60 has three distinct areas where the pins of the drive sprocket are received.

These areas are the leading end portion 62, the middle portion 64, and the trailing end portion 66. The leading end portion 62 has a V-shaped leading edge 63, substantially as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The middle portion 64 and the trailing end portion 66 have similar, but truncated, V-shaped leading edges 65 and 67.

The trailing end portion 66 has a rounded trailing egde 68, substantially as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The middle portion 64 and the leading end portion 62 have similar, but truncated, rounded trailing edges 69 and 70.

Figure 5 shows an elongated hole 80, similar to Figure 4, except that the leading end portion 82 and middle portion 84 have trailing edges that comprise a pair of substantially straight edges 86 and 88, which give an overall shape to each area similar to an arrow head. The trailing edge 90 of the trailing end portion 92 is substantially squared to the longitudinal edges 94 and 96, which allows for a pin received in that area to transmit force directly to the web without deforming it, thereby moving the web in a reverse direction.

These holes as shown in Figures 4 and 5 generally allow the directionality of the web to be more readily and easily determined than the elongated hole of Figure 1, by being somewhat more distinctive. There is a drawback, however, in that they can only receive pins therein in three distinct areas, as indicated by numeral 62, 64 and 66 in Figure 4, and by numeral 82, 84 and 92 in Figure 5.

In the elongated holes of Figures 1 through 5, tattering and subsequent tearing are minimized in two ways. Firstly, the holes are no wider than necessary, with the maximum width of the holes being substantially equal to the diameter of a pin to be received. Secondly, the leading and trailing edges of the elongated holes are straight or concave, not convex nor jutting, such that pressure applied by the extra pins does not cause the web around the area of contact between the web and the pin to deform in any substantial manner.

Figure 6 shows an alternative embodiment that combines the hole shapes 100, 102 and 104, also shown in Figures 1 through 5, into one hole pattern. As in Figure 1, the elongated holes repeat every tenth hole, which is of course dependent on the number of pins on the co-operating sprocket. Hole patterns such as this can be used to identify pairs of opposed elongated holes from adjacent pairs of elongated holes, which makes it much easier for a user to visually distinguish the two elongated holes that make up a pair of opposed elongated holes.

Figure 7 shows an alternative embodiment that teaches the use of a supplementary hole 110 having directionality characteristics, in that it has a V-shaped leading edge 112 which points in the same direction as the V-shaped leading edge 114 on elongated hole 116. It is conceivable that the directionality of the paper could be indicated solely by a hole similar to that of hole 110 and that the elongated holes would have no directionality component to their shape. This however is not as desirable as having the elongated holes indicate directionality since these elongated holes are larger and therefore easier to spot, and also may contain more directionality indicating edges.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A web for use in a machine adapted to receive and retain such web witli a pair of opposed drive sprockets that advance such web longitudinally through said machine, comprising: a web member having substantially parallel first and second edges, and a first and second series of regularly spaced holes associated with said first and second edges, respectively, wherein said first and second series of holes are adapted to receive guide pins from said pair of opposed drive sprockets; wherein each of said first and second series of regularly spaced holes is associated with and located near to the respecgive first or second one of said edges, with the centres of said holes being substantially co-linear with one another and substantially equidistant from the respective said edges;; wherein the spacing of said holes is the centre-tocentre distance of any consecutive pair of said regulary spaced holes; wherein the spacing of said regularly spaced holes corresponds to the spacing of the pins on said drive sprockets, so as to fit thereon; wherein every Nth hole, with N being an integer, in said first series of holes is elongated so as to accommodate a main guide pin and at least one extra guide pin therein, so as to serve as a visually identifying marker for positioning said web on one of said sprockets, wherein every Nth hole, with N being an integer, in said second series of holes is elongated so as to accommodate a main pin and at least one extra pin therein, so as to serve -s a visually identifying marker for positioning said web on aid sprockets; and wherein each Nth hole in said first series of holes is of a shapes such that it is not bi-laterally symmetrical and therefore is visually distinguishable as to its orientation, thereby allowing the longitudinal directionality of said web to be distinguishable.

2. The web of claim 1, wherein the Nth holes in said first series of holes is located substantially perpendicularly across from an elongated Nth hole of said second sereis of holes.

3. The web of claim 1, wherein every Nth hole in said first series of holes is of substantially the same shape.

4. The web of claim 1, wherein said Nth holes in said first series of holes holes are of various shapes.

5. The web of claim 3, wherein a portion of each of said th holes has a visually distinguishable V-like shape.

6. The web of claim 4, wherein a portion of each of said Nth holes having a visually distinguishable V-like shape.

7. The web of claim 1, wherein the holes of said first series of holes, other than the Nth holes, are also shaped such that each is not bi-laterally symmetrical and therefore is visually distinguishable as to its orientation, thereby allowing the longitudinal directionality of said web to be distinguishable.

8. The web of claim 1, wherein each Nth hole in said second series of holes is of a shape such that it is not bilaterally symmetrical, and is therefore visually distinguishable as to its orientation, thereby allowing the longitudinal directionality of said web to be distinguishable.

9. The web of claim 1, wherein every Nth hole in said second series of holes is of substantially the same shape.

10. The web of claim 1, wherein said Nth holes in said second series of holes holes are of various shapes.

11. The web of claim 9, wherein a portion of each of said Nth holes having a visually distinguishable V-like shape.

12. The web of claim 10, wherein a portion of each of said Nth holes having a visually distinguishable V-like shape.

13. The web of claim 1, wherein the holes of said second series of holes, other than the Nth holes, are also shaped such that each is not bi-laterally symmetrical and therefore is visually distinguishable as to its orientation, thereby allowing the longitudinal directionality of said web to be distinguishable.

14. The web of claim 1, wherein said elongated holes in said first and second series of holes are each adapted to retain said main guide pin and at least one extra guide pin, with a centre of said guide pins being substantially aligned to the centre line of the corresponding said first or second series of holes.

15. The web of claim 14, wherein said elongated holes are adapted to accommodate said main guide pins and two extra guide pins, wherein the distance from the centre of each of said extra guide pins to the centre of said main guide pin is substantially the same.

16. The web of claim 1, wherein said each elongated hole is shaped so as to have edges having no convex portions, thus minimizing the opportunity for tattering and subsequent weakening and tearing of the paper around the hole.

17. A web for use in a machine adapted to receive and retain sucli web wid a pair of opposed drive sprockets that advance such web longitudinally through said machine, comprising: a web member having substantially parallel first end second edges, and a first and second series of regularly spaced holes associated with said first and second edges, respectively, wherein said first and second series of holes are adapted to receive guide pins from said pair of opposed drive sprockets; wherein each of said first and second series of regularly spaced holes is associated with and located near to the respecgive first or second one of said edges, with the centres of said holes being substantially co-linear with one another and substantially equidistant from the respective said edges;; wherein the spacing of said holes is the centre-tocentre distance of any consecutive pair of said regulary spaced holes; wherein the spacing of said regularly spaced holes corresponds to the spacing of the pins on said drive sprockets, so as to fit thereon; wherein every Nth hole, with N being an integer, in said first ' series of holes is elongated so as to accommodate a main guide pin and at least one extra guide pin therein, so as to serve as a visually identifying marker for positioning said web on one of said sprockets, wherein every Nth hole, with N being an integer, in said second series of holes is elongated so as to accommodate a main pin and at least one extra pin therein, so as to serve as a visually identifying marker for positioning said web on said sprockets; and wherein the holes of said first series of holes, other than the Nth holes, are shaped such that each is not bi-laterally symmetrical and therefore is visually distinguishable as to its orientation, thereby allowing the longitudinal directionality of said web to be distinguishable.

18. A web for use in a machine adapted to receive and retain such web with a pair of opposed drive sprockets Elat advance sucllweb longitudinally through said machine, substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1-3 of the acccmpanying drawings or as modified in any of Figures 4-7.