US2013344A - Method and apparatus for manipulating stretchable sheet material - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 3, 1935. F. D. FOWLER 2,013,344

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING STRETCHABLE SHEET MATERIAL Filed June 8, 1934 Patented Sept. 3, 1935 warren STATES METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANIPU- LATING STRETCHABLE SHEET MATERIAL Fred D. Fowler, Newton, Mass., assignorto Hood Rubber Company, Inc., Watertown, corporation of Delaware Mass., at

Application June 8, 1934, Serial No. 729,723

16 Claims.

This invention relates to the manipulation of stretchable and tacky sheet material, such for example as the rubberized stcckinette used in the manufacture of rubber footwear.

In unrceling such material from the rolled form in which it is handled, difiiculty has been encountered in pulling the easily stretched material to break its adhesion with the next underlying convolution without distorting it obiectionably or stretching it to an undesirable degree. In the distorted and stretched condition it is difficult to cut and maintain it in the desired shapes, and its stretchability in use is objectionably lessened.

The chief objects of the invention are to provide for drawing the material from its roll without objectionable distortion of it, and to provide for restoring to the material the stretchability that it may have lost by virtue of the drawing force.

These and further-objects will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a vertical section of apparatus constructed according to and embodying the invention in its preferred form.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of a sheet of stretchable material to be manipulated.

The stretchable sheet material chosen for illustrationconsists of a layer IU of highly stretchable stockinette having a surface coating ll of tacky rubber. After the rubberizing procedure this material is ordinarily handled in the form of a roll !2, of which the convolutions are ordinarily disposed with their fabric face outward.

The tacky rubber face causes adhesion of the convolutions and some pulling force is required to separate them.

For un-rolling the material, apparatus is provided comprising a frame support l4 formed with slots 83 in which the arbor of the roll I2 is guided as shown. Below the roll are journaled a pair of pulleys l5 and 16 having mounted upon them a belt I! which has an outer face-of card cloth I8. As the tips of the card teeth are disposed radially outward from the neutral axis of the belt, these teeth accelerate in linear speed through a short range and spread apart as their course is changed by the pulley, and these tips decelerate and move closer together again when the belt passes from the pulley into its straight reach.

The pulleys l5 and I6 are mounted in suchrelation to the roll I2 that the card teeth of the upper reach of the belt, moving in the direction of the arrow, engage the sheet material at the bottom of the roll somewhat before the direction of these teeth is changed by the pulley l5.

Preferably the roll I2 is so guided that it rests upon the card teeth and its weight assists in engaging the teeth in the cloth. The arbor guiding slots l3 are directed toward the axis of the pulley 15 as shown so that as the roll becomes smaller it will continue to maintain its proper relation to the card teeth.

After the material is drawn from the roll, it remains in engagement with the card teeth until somewhat after the belt passes from the pulley l5 into its lower reach. It is then drawn downwardly from the card teeth and is guided by a pair of rollers l9 and 20 onto a conveyor belt 2! which passes over a pulley 22, all mounted in the frame support. The several pulleys and roll ers may be driven by any suitable means, for example by the sprocket chain drives shown connected with a suitable source of power (not shown).

In operation, the parts being driven in the direction of the arrows, the material is progressively drawn from the roll l2 and fed onto the conveyor 2| to be carried to cutting or other operating stations for making the desired articles.

Owing to the fact that the card teeth l8 engage the stockinette somewhat before the belt starts its passage upon the pulley l5 the material is well engaged by the teeth before the latter are accelerated and moved apart by the curving of the belt upon the pulley. The arrangement is such that the card teeth start their accelera tion just as or preferably slightly before the line of separation of the material from the roll is reached, so that the slight stretching of the material occurs at the line of separation to overcome most effectively the adhesion of the material and the frictional resistance of the roll mounting. I V

As the card teeth are continually in simultaneous engagementwith both stripped and unstripped portions of the sheet material at the two sides of the line of separation, the operation is entirely controlled, and the stripping is effected without objectionable jerking and with the imparting of a small determinate degree of stretch to the material. The degree of stretch is always the same, being determined by the amount of separating movement of the card teeth with relation to each other as they pass onto the pulley.

Inasmuch as the card teeth are not disengaged from the fabric until after they have passed from the pulley into the straight lower reach of the belt, and have thereby been decelerated and moved to their closer relationship again, they exert during such deceleration a progressive compacting force on the sheet longitudinally thereof which restores the material substantially to its initial unstretched condition. The pulleys l9 and 20 are rotated at peripheral speeds' equal to the linear speed of the conveyor belt 2| sothat the sheet material is fed onto the conveyor with substantially no loss of stretchability.

I claim:

1. The method of unrolling stretchable sheet material from a roll thereof which comprises contacting the surface of the rolled material in movement compelling relation thereto and advancing the contacted material past the line of separation of it from the roll to unroll it while accelerating the contacted portion of the mate rial to impart a stretching force to it at the line of separation.

2. The method of removing tacky stretchable sheet material from a roll thereof which comprises engaging the sheet material simultaneously along the two sides of the line of separation of the material from its roll and advancing the engaged portions in the direction to unroll the sheet while moving the engaged portions further apart to impart a stretching force to the material at the line of separation.

3-. A method as defined in claim 2 in which the engaged portions of the unrolled material are subsequently moved closer together to impart a compacting force to the material.

4. A method as defined in claim 2 in which the engaged portions are moved further apart by accelerating the leading engaged portion with relation to the following engaged portion for a determinately limited extent to impart a determinately limited amount of stretch to the material.

5. A method as defined in claim 2 in which the engaged portions are moved further apart by accelerating the leading engaged portion with relation to the following engaged portion for a determinately limited extent to impart a determinately limited amount of stretch to the material and the leading engaged portion is subsequently decelerated with relation to the following engaged portion to compact the material the amount it was stretched.

6. The method of removing tacky stretchable sheet material from a roll thereof which comprises engaging the surface of the rolled material with a plurality of engaging elements at positions along the length of the sheet, and advancing the elements past the line of separation of the material from the roll while moving the elements further apart to impart a stretching force to the material at the line of separation.

7. A method as defined in claim 6 in which the elements are moved further apart by moving them from a straight path into a path about an axis to accelerate the leading elements with relation to the following elements.

8. A method as defined in claim 6 in which the stretched material is subsequently compacted by moving the said elements from a path about an axis into a straight path, thereby decelerating leading elements with relation to the following elements.

9. The method of removing stretchable sheet material from a roll thereof which comprises engaging the material with a plurality of engaging elements at positions along the length of the sheet. advancing said elements in the direction to unroll the material and subsequently moving the elements closer together to compact the unrolled material longitudinally.

10. A method as defined in claim 9- in which 1 the elements are moved closer together by moving them from a path about an axis into a straight plurality of engaging elements, and means for moving said elements into engagement with the rolled material at positions along the length of the sheet and for advancing the elements in the direction to unroll the material, the said means including means for moving the elements further apart at the line of separation of the material from the roll to impart a stretching force to the material at the line of separation.

13. Apparatus for unrolling tacky stretchable sheet material from a roll thereof comprising a plurality of engaging elements, and means for moving said elements into engagement with the material at positions along the length of the sheet and for advancing the elements in the direction to unroll the material, the said means including means for moving the elements closer together lengthwise of the unrolled sheet to impart a compacting force thereto.

14. Apparatus for unrolling tacky stretchable sheet material from a roll thereof comprising means including a pulley and a belt passing thereover having a surface of card cloth for engaging the rolled material and for advancing the same to unroll it, and means for maintaining the roll at such a position in relation to the point at which the belt begins its curvature upon the pulley that the acceleration of the card teeth, occurring when the belt passes onto the pulley, imparts a stretching force to the material at the line of separation of the material from the roll.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 comprising means for disengaging the material from the card teeth after the belt passes its point of departure from the pulley, whereby the deceleration occurring at such point imparts a longitudinal compacting force to the material.

16. Apparatus for manipulating stretchable sheet material comprising means including a pulley and a belt passing thereover, said belt hav ing a movement-compelling face comprising card cloth for contacting the material and advancing it past the point of departure of the belt from the pulley, whereby the deceleration of the materialcontacting portions of the belt face occurring at such point imparts a longitudinal compacting force to the material.

FRED D. FOWLER.

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