GB2232691A

GB2232691A - Single facer in corrugator

Info

Publication number: GB2232691A
Application number: GB9011327A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Eiichi Isowa; Toshihiko Yasui
Original assignee: Isowa Industry Co Ltd
Current assignee: Isowa Industry Co Ltd
Priority date: 1989-06-15
Filing date: 1990-05-21
Publication date: 1990-12-19
Anticipated expiration: 2010-05-21
Also published as: JPH077148Y2; DE4017436A1; GB9011327D0; IT9020627A0; JPH039828U; GB2232691B; IT1248732B; IT9020627A1

Abstract

Disclosed is a single facer having a first fluted roll unit 22 consisting of a pair of upper and lower rolls 18, 20, a second fluted roll unit 25 also consisting of a pair of similar upper and lower rolls 24, 26 and a press roll 12, wherein the press roll 12 is designed to be operated selectively in combination with any of the two units 22, 28 before forming operation; characterized in that the first unit 22 is disposed diagonally above press roll 12 relative to the perpendicular line (P) crossing the axis of press roll 12, and the second unit 28 is disposed vertically below press roll 12 along perpendicular line (P), and that the upper and lower rolls with a larger fluting than that of the rolls set in the first fluted roll unit 22 are set in the second fluted roll unit 25. <IMAGE>

Description

-, -e-'- ---3:.=: L-, =J 1 SINGLE FACER IN CORRUGATOR

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a single facer in corrugator (an apparatus for forming a single-faced corrugated board) which can selectively form a singlefaced corrugated board with one of different types of corrugations or flutes in an apparatus.

There has been known a single facer which forms a single faced corrugated board by allowing a corrugating medium to have a corrugation with a predetermined pitch size, and pasting said medium with a liner at the crests of corrugation using a glue. The single facer comprises an upper fluted roll and a lower fluted roll both having a wavy flute on the circumference and rotatably supported on a frame in such a way that their fluted circumferences may be engaged in a vertical relationship, and a press roll which is designed to be brought into press contact with the lower fluted roll through the corrugating medium and liner. The corrugating medium is allowed to have predetermined flutes or corrugation as it is fed between the upper fluted roll and the lower fluted roll under engagement of their fluted^circumferences, and also a glue is applied to the crests of corrugation by a gluing roll provided in a gluing mechanism. The linear being fed from the opposite side of the corrugating medium through the press roll is bonded to the crests of the corrugating medium being pressed against the lower fluted roll as it passes therebetween to form a single-faced corrugated board.

1 k_ Single-faced corrugated boards are generally classified into Flute A, Flute B, Flute C, Flute E, Nos. 4 and 5 Flutes, etc. depending on the depth of the Wutes to be formed on the corrugating medium and the standard number of crests per 30 cm. Such flute type can be selected depending on the shapes of the fluted circumference of the upper and lower fluted rolls to be disposed in the single facer.

As described above, there are many flute types in the singlefaced corrugated board and the corrugation type is dependent upon the shape of the flutes formed on the surface of the upper and lower fluted rolls incorporated in the single facer. Accordingly, in order to form different types of single-faced corrugated boards in one single facer, there has been employed a constitution, in which a plurality of single facers are arranged in the corrugator line to make selective shifting to the desired single facer.

In this case, however, the installation of a plurality of single facers involve various problems for practical applications including the installation area, workability and incidental equipments, while it is without saying that the cost of the apparatus is almost doubled. Moreover, the combination of the types of single-faced corrugated boards with different types of corrugations selectively made in the production is not random but decided, for instance, a combination of Flutes A and E, or Flutes B and E, or Flutes C and E, etc. Then, various types of machines for making several kinds of single-faced corrugated boards with different types of corrugation are proposed, in which two pairs of fluted rolls units each having fluted rolls with different types of flutes disposed in one single facer to form different flute types 91 j of single-faced corrugated boards.

For instance, there is a preceding patent application made by the present applicant entitled: "Single facer" of Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 58881/1986. In the apparatus according to said invention, as disclosed in the drawings published, the first fluted roll unit consisting of a pair of fluted rolls and the second fluted roll unit composed of a pair of fluted rolls are arranged diagonally above and below relative to the press roll, respectively, that can selectively be used commonly for said two fluted roll units, and the combination of either said press roll and the first fluted roll unit or said press roll and the second fluted roll unit is selected before operation to form the single-faced corrugated boards with a different form of corrugation.

In the case where a fluted roll with a different flute shape is set in the machine to form the aforesaid combination of two different single-faced corrugated boards, the frequency of using the rolls with a larger flute shape increase in most cases. As a result, these larger flutes on the rolls wear off in a short period. Namely, the frequency of exchanging the rolls with a larger flute shape increases.

In the aforesaid single facer, when the rolls with a larger flute are set in the first fluted roll unit disposed above the press roll, operation of the first fluted roll unit which is more freqently used becomes inconvenient because it is located at a high position. Further, the replacement of its rolls becomes a work accompanied with danger, and the rolls have to be frequently replaced at a high position, causing the workers to suffer an increased mental stress during the - 4 replacement work. Further, since the first fluted roll unit is disposed diagonally relative to the press roll, the removal and installation of the rolls 1-, said to be a troublesome work, and this is also pointed out as 5 disadvantage of the prior art single facer.

In addition, another problem is pointed out that when rolls with a large fluting is set in the second fluted roll unit disposed below the press roll, the replacement of these upper and lower rolls become extremely troublesome, requiring much labor and time, because the unit is located tilted below the gluing mechanism of the first fluted roll unit. Moreover, the replacement of these rolls has to be done frequently, increasing the operation loss time at each replacement and reducing the production efficiency.

To describle in detail, the above-mentioned single facer involved a problem that the fluted rolls of which replacement frequency is especially high and their replacement in a short time would not be done easily when they are set in the first or the second fluted roll unit. This has been a new problem to be solved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention has been proposed to solve the abovementioned problems involved in the prior art single facers comprising, as mentioned above, a pair of corrugating units for producing a plurality of single-faced corrugated boards with different types of corrugations. In view of these problems, the object of this invention is to provide a single facer enabling the replacement of fluted rolls to be done more efficiently.

1 l- - 5 In order to solve the above problems and achieve the intended object more suitably, this invention provides a single-facer having a first fluted roll unitconsisting of a pair of upper and lower rolls, a second fluted roll unit also consisting of a pair of similar upper and lower rolls and a press roll, wherein the press roll is designed to be operated selectively in combination with any of the two fluted roll units before forming operation; characterized in that the first fluted roll unit is disposed diagonally above the press roll relative to the perpendicular line crossing the axis of the press roll, and the second fluted roll unit is disposed vertically below the press roll along said perpendicular line, and that the upper and lower rolls with a larger fluting than that of the rolls set in the first fluted roll unit are set in the second fluted roll unit.

Thus, the single facer according t-D this invention can easily meet the need of producing a single-faced corrugated board with different types of corrugation or flutes. Compared with the conventional cases where a plurality of machines with the same constitution are arranged, however, the machine according to this invention only has the basic structure in which an additional upper and lower rolls are added in the conventional single facer. Therefore, the installation area required is only that for a single machine, which contributes to effective utilization of the installation space.

Further, since the fluted roll unit disposed below the press roll is arranged vertically below it, the replacement of the rolls can be done easily. Further, the fluted rolls with a higher replacement frequency (with a larger fluting) are set in the lower corrugating unit, realizing the shortened required time for replacing the fluted rolls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWIbIGS

Fig. 1 schematically shows a constitution of single facer according to an embodiment of this invention; Fig. 2(a) shows the state of the single facer in Fig. I in which the first fluted roll unit is combined with the press roll to make single-faced corrugated boards while the second fluted roll unit is on standby; and Fig. 2(b) is a view for illustrating the state of the same in Fig. 1 in which the second fluted roll unit is combined with the press roll to make single-faced corrugated boards while the first fluted roll unit is on standby.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT CF THE INVENTION

A preferred_embodiment of the single facer according to this invention will hereinafter be described referring to the accompanying drawings. In this specification, the term of "the upper roll" and "the lower roll" does not indicate the rolls disposed in any spatial upper or lower position, but the term "lower roll" shall mean the roll pressed against the press roll via the liner and corrugating medium.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a constitution of a single facer according to this invention, wherein the reference number 12 shows a press roll for guiding a liner 14, and bonding it to the glued crests of a corrugating medium 16. Diagonally above the press roll 12 disposed is a first fluted roll unit 22 comprising a pair of fluted rolls, i.e. an upper fluted roll 18 and a lower fluted roll 20; 1 - 7 r, whereas below said press roll 12 disposed is a second fluted roll unit 28 also comprising a pair of fluted rolls, i.e. an upper roll 24 and a lower fluted roll 26. On the circumference of the above upper and lower rolls 18 and 20 (24 and 26), a flute 44 with a wavy flute is formed, respectively, to form a predetermined flute on a corrugating medium 16 with an engagement of both flutes 44.

The first fluted roll unit 22 located above the press roll 12 is disposed diagonally above the press roll 12 at the left side of the perpendicular line P passing through the axis of the press roll 12. The second fluted roll unit 28 located below the press roll 12 is disposed just below it along the perpendicular line P. To describe in detail, the upper and lower rolls 24 and 26 constituting the second fluted roll unit 28 are vertically arranged just below the press roll 12, and not located below the gluing mechanism 36 (to be described later) of the first fluted roll unit 22, which can make the replacement work of the upper and lower rolls 24 and 26 of the second fluted roll unit 28 easy and shorten the time required for replacing said rolls.

A gluing mechanism 36 comprising a gluing roll 30, a doctor roll 32 and a glue pan is disposed in the first fluted roll unit 22 and the second fluted roll unit 28, respectively. The gluing mechanism 36 disposed at the side of the first fluted roll unit 22 scoops up the glue stored in the glue pan 34 with the gluing roll 30 and transfers it to the corrugating medium 16. Its basic structure is already known. For instance, as shown in Fig. 1, the gluing roll 30 and doctor roll 32 are horizontally provided in parallel with each other at the left side of the lower roll 20 in the first fluted roll unit 22, with the glue pan 34 storing a certain amount of glue being located below these rolls 30 and 32. Further, the lower end of the gluing roll 30 is immewed in the glue stored in the glue pan 34.

Therefore, when the gluing roll 30 is turned in the desired direction (clockwise), it can scoop up the glue, which is then evenly smoothened by the doctor roll 32 and made an even glue film cove.Hng the gluing roll 30. This glue film is transferred to the corrugating medium 16 when it passes between said lower roll 20 and the gluing roll 30.

On the other hand, the gluing mechanism 36 disposed at the side of the second fluted roll unit 28 has a doctor roll 32 arranged diagonally below the gluing roll 30 which is brought into contact with the lower fluted roll 26. Further, a glue pan 34 is disposed to the right (the side opposite to the fluted roll 26) of the doctor roll 32, and a part of the glue stored in this glue pan 34 is stored in a trough portion formed at the place where the gluing roll 30 is brought into contact with the doctor roll 32. Therefore, the glue stored at this trough part is evenly pressed between the two rolls 30 and 32 into a glue film on the gluing roll 30.

In this basic configuration, the press roll 12 can selectively be moved relative to the first and the second fluted roll units 22 and 28, and can realize the production of single-faced corrugated boards through the combination of the press roll 12 and the first fluted roll unit 22 and through the combination of the press roll 12 and the second fluted roll unit 28.

As shown in Fig. 1, the press roll 12 is pivotally 1 supported at an end of a lever 38, and the center of said lever 38 is supported by the fixed frame (not shown) via a pin 40. The other end of the lever 40 is connected with a piston rod 42a of a hydraulic cylinder 42 so as to be urged to rotate around said pin 40. In other words, the hydraulic cylinder 42 can be urged to move up and down the piston rod 42a and move the press roll 12 to the position where it can contact the lower roll 20 of the first fluted roll unit 22 (see Fig. 2(a)) and to the position where it can contact the lower roll 26 of the second fluted roll unit 28 (see Fig. 2 (b)).

However, when single-faced corrugated card boards are produced by setting each pair of upper and lower rolls with different form of corrugation in the first and the second fluted roll units 22 and 28, the upper and lower rolls with a large fluting are more often used and the flutes 44 on the roll with a larger fluting are worn off in a shorter time, as mentioned previously. In the embodiment, the upper and lower rolls 24 and 26 having larger flutes 44 than those of the upp(r and lower rolls 18 and 20 set in the first fluted roll unit 22 are designed to be set in the second fluted roll unit 28. In other words, the time required for replacing the rolls can be shortened by setting the rolls with a higher replacement frequency in the second fluted roll unit 28 where the rolls can be replaced more easily.

It should be noted that, these flutes have such size relations with one another as Flute A > Flute C > Flute B > Flute No. 4 > Flute No. 5 > Flute E. Therefore, when the combination of the Flutes A and E is selected, the upper and lower rolls 18 and 20 for making the flute E are set in the first fluted roll unit 22, while the upper and lower rolls 24 and 26 for making the flute A are set in the second fluted roll unit 28. When the combination of the Flutes B and E is selected, the upper and lower rolls 18 and 20 for making the flute E are set in t_4e first fluted roll unit 22 and the rolls 24 and 26 for making the 5 flute B are set in the second fluted roll unit 28. Similarly when the combination of the Flutes C and E is selected, the rolls 18 and 20 for making the flute E are set in the first fluted roll unit 22 and the rolls 24 and 26 for making the flute C are set in the second 10 corrugating unit 28.

OPERATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Next, operation of the single facer of the preferred embodiment having such constitution according to this invention will be explained. First, the rolls with a smaller flute compared with the flute on the rolls set in the first fluted roll unit 22 are set in the second fluted roll unit 28 before starting operation.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, when a single faced corrugated board is formed using a combination of the first fluted roll unit 22 and the press roll 12, the press roll 12 is shifted to the position, as shown in Fig.

2(a), where it can press the liner 14 and the corrugating medium 16 having been glued at the crests against the lower fluted roll 20 of the first fluted roll unit 22 with an appropriate pressure. If a single-faced corrugated board with a different form of corrugation (e.g. flute A) is. formed after the completion of the formation of a corrugated board with a certain form of corrugation (e.g., flute E), said press roll 12 is shifted to the position where it can contact the second fluted roll unit 28.

Namely, when the hydraulic cylinder 42 is urged so as to i extend the piston rod 42a, the lever 38 rotates clockwise around the pin 40 as described above, the press roll 12 supported by the end of lever 38 is spaced fr pm the lower roll 20 of the first fluted roll unit 22 and draws near to the lower roll 26 of the second fluted roll unit 28.

Therefore, the corrugating medium 16 is passed between the upper and lower rolls 24 and 26 of the second fluted roll unit 28 for giving the required fluting (e.g., the flute A) on the corrugating medium, at the crests of which are applied glue by the gluing mechanism 36, followed by pressing the medium against the liner 14 supplied along the press roll 12 to form the single- faced corrugated board with a different form of corrugation from that produced previously by said first fluted roll unit 22.

1 In this case, since the upper and lower rolls 24 and 26 which are flutes to be replaced more frequently (flute type with larger flutes 44) are set in the second fluted roll unit 28 where the roll replacement work can more easily be done in a shorter time, the operation loss time caused by the roll replacement can be reduced even if the replacement often occurs, and thus the reduction of production efficiency can be prevented.

12 -

Claims

1. A single facer having a first fluted roll unit consisting of a pair of upper and lower rolls, a second fluted roll unit also consisting of a pair of similar upper and lower rolls and a press poll, wherein the press roll is designed to be operated selectively in combination with any of the two fluted roll units before forming operation; characterized in that the first fluted roll unit is disposed diagonally above said press roll relative to the perpendicular line (P) crossing the axis of said press roll, and the second fluted roll unit is disposed vertically below the press roll along the perpendicular line (P), and that the upper and lower rolls with a larger fluting than that.of the rolls set in the first fluted roll unit are set in the second fluted roll unit.

2. A single facer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Published 1990 atThe Patent Office. State House. 66'71 HighHolborn. London WClR4I?. Further copies maybe obtainedfrom The Patent Off-lee Sales Branch, St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent BR5 3RD. Printed by Multiplex techniques ltd, St Mary Cray, Kent, Con. 1/87