US3132986A - Apparatus for converting a tubular web to a flat web - Google Patents

Description

J. GOLDMAN May 12, 1964 APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING A TUBULAR WEB TO A FLAT WEB 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 1, 1959 INVENTOR. JosHt/A GGLDMAN BY MQ MM ATTORNEY J. GOLDMAN May 12, 1964 APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING A TUBULAR WEB TO A FLAT WEB 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 1, 1959 ATTORNEY May 12, 1964 J. GOLDMAN 3,132,936

APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING A TUBULAR WEB TO A FLAT WEB Filed Sept. 1, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 iiiiiiiiii'g r INVENTOR. JosHu/l G04 OMAN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,132,986 A?PARATUS EEG (ZQNVEI-ETENG A TUBULAR WEB TU A FLAT WEB Joshua Goldman, Hadlyrne Laboratories, Hadiyme, Conn. Filed Sept. 1, 195 9, Ser. No. 837,485 2 Claims. ((31.156-427) The invention relates to textiles, and more particularly to a method and a machine for making non-woven fabric products.

According to one specific form of the invention, a roll of paper tape having suitable adhesive is fed into a machine which curls the paper web transversely into tubular form. The tubular web passes over a mandrel around which rotates a set of creels, in opposite directions. These creels wrap, helically around the tubular tape, as it progresses, layers of flexible strands which adhere to the tape. At the exit end of the mandrel a cutter slits the sleeve of helically wound strands, at the longitudinal edges of the tubular tape, and the composite product passes over a transformer roll of suitable wavy contour to facilitate change of the composite product from circular transverse shape to straight transverse shape, whence the product is drawn by puller rolls and wound up onto storage rolls.

In said specific form of the invention, the creels have a series of axially-extending reeds having guides for feeding the strands to the tape. The reeds comprise rods inside of helical coils, and the spaces between convolutions constitute the guides for the strands. Suitable adjustment is provided to insure laying down the strands in smooth layers and for varying the width of the layers.

It is an object of the invention to provide a method of and means for producing a web of paper, woven cloth, plastic, etc., in sheet or tape form, reinforced with crossed strands composed of suitable fibers or filaments.

Such reinforced tape has extensive commercial use, for example, for binding packages or shipping containers. In sheet form, it may be also used in tire carcasses, plastic body structures, plane fuselages, boat coverings, hydraulic pipe and many other places requiring reinforced flexible sheets.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and means for producing this reinforced tape continuously and in a shnple and inexpensive manner.

The invention consists generally in steps and means whereby the above-named objects, together with others which will appear hereinafter, are attainable, and the invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate the presently preferred form.

In the said drawings:

FiG. l is a semi-diagrammatic side elevation of the entrance end of the machine according to the invention. The work moves through the machine in the direction of the arrow B.

FIG. 1A is a continuation view of the exit end of the machine of FIG. 1, the matching lines being indicated by AA.

FIG. 2 is a semi-diagrammatic plan view of the machine.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section, taken on the line 3-3' of FIG. 2, showing relationship of forming ring, mandrel, slitter, paper strip and non-woven fabric.

FIG. 4 is a transverse vertical section, taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3, illustrating the support for the mandrel.

FIG. 5 is a transverse vertical section, taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3, illustrating the forming ring.

FIG. 6 is a detail of the drive for driving the creels in opposite directions.

FIG. 7 is a transverse section, taken on the line 7-7 3,l32,98fi Patented -May 12, 1-964 of FIG. 1, illustrating the construction of the creels, showing bobbins, reeds, tension bars, etc.

FIG. 8 is a section, on the line 88 of FIG. 7, illustrating construction of a creel and means for adjustingthe reed to fix the position of the threads and width of a lay of threads.

FIG. 9 illustrates adjustment of the reeds for one width of lay.

FIG. 10 is a view corresponding to FIG. 9 showing reed adjustment for a different width of lay.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary side elevation,.partly in section of a removable mounting for a bobbin.

FIG. 12 is a section on the line Iii-12 of FIG. 11.

In the following description and in the claims various details will be identified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be as plication as the art Will'perim't.

In the drawings (where like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures) and in this description, certain specific disclosure of the invention is made for purposes of explanation, but it will be understood the details may be modified in various respects without departure from the broader aspects of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1, 1A and 2,,the travel of the Work through the machine will first be described. It will be understood that the several rolls, creels and other operating parts are supported and journaled on a suitable frame work 39 which may be of any necessary or desired form.

The pre-formed backing web it may be of any woven or felted cloth or of paper, and the continuous strands 3'1, 32 wrapped around the web may be continuous filaments, single or multiple; or yarns of staple fibers. The materials from which the felted or woven cloth, paper and strands are made, may be any of the common materials used for these purposes, such as natural or artificial fibers: cotton, wool, linen, etc.; plastic, such as nylon; glass, metal, etc. In the specific form described'for purposes of illustration, the web 10 is apaper tape.

The fiat tape 1 which is subsequently reinforced. by the strands, unrolls from a supply roll 11 and is fed through guiderrolls 12 thence over a first transformer roll 12' to a tube-forming ring 13 (FIG. 5) which, as the tape 10 advances, shapes it into a tube with the'edges '14 in close proximity on the under side of the thus formed tube. The tube '10 advances to surround a hollow cylindrical mandrel 15 with the adjacent edgesjld separating enough to pass the thin mandrel supports 16.

Means for the continuous advance of the tape 10 is provided by a power-driven set of puller rolls 17 at the opposite or exit end of the apparatus, as shown in'FIG. 1A, which rolls grip by pinching the tape It between their cylindrical surfaces.

The tube 10 continues to advance along the mandrel 15 through the rotating creels 118 and 19 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 7 and 8, which creels wind layers of strands successively about the tube in opposite directions as hereinafter described. The layers of strands are denoted generally by 20.

During the winding or laying on operations, the tube 10 with the wound-on strands 26 may be spnayed or otherwise treated by devices (not shown) with suitable adhesive such as a thermosetting resin or the like to bond the strands 20 to the tape. If one side of the tape (i.e. the side which becomes the convex surface of the tube) is precoated with a. film of adhesive, as for example, pressure sensitive adhesive or the'rmosetting adhesive, it may not be necessary to use the spray or like treatment. To assist the setting of the adhesive, heat may be supplied to the mandrel 15 by any suitable means.

As the tube 10, which is now wound with layers of diagonal, substantially transverse strands 2t continues to generic in their apadvance, the strands, which now are an integral part of the tube, are slit at the bottom of the tube between edges 14 by a slitter 21, in order that the composite tube may subsequently be flattened out into a strip or narrow sheet 10, 20.

From the point of slitting, the tube 10, 2t begins to open up to subsequently flatten out, as shown in FIG. 2, as the tape passes over a second or transformer roll 22 and thence to the flat shape finally produced by the straight cylinders comprising the puller rolls 17. Leaving the puller rolls '17 the composite tape 10, 20 is coiled on a buncher roll 23. The rolls of finished tape are now in convenient form for handlingeither for storage or use.

The forming ring 13, shown especially in FIGS. 3 and 5, shapes the tape into a tube and guides it for subsequent treatment on the mandrel '15. The ring has a rounded edge 24 to ease entry of the tape and to let it slide easily along while changing from fiat to tubular form.

The mandrel (FIG. 3) is located immediately following the shaping ring 13 and supports the tube '10 during the winding operation. The outside cylindrical surface of the mandrel is smooth to permit the easy passage of the tube 10 along its length. The mandrel 15 is hollow and has its ends closed with suitable fittings to allow pipe connections 26, 27 to be attached to enable circulation of a heated fluid to assist in curing the adhesive used to secure the strands 2.0 to the surface of the tube 10. Other heating means maybe employed such as electric heating coils (not shown) placed inside of the mandrel. The mandrel 15 is secured at each end by narrow supports 16 and 16' to permit the edges 14 of the shaped tube to pass.

The slitter 21 comprises a conventional rotatable disc having its periphery ground to a sharp cutting edge. It is moimted on a shaft and driven in any desired way such as a separate electric motor 28. The slitter 21 is located at the exit end of the mandrel 15, the mandrel having a suitable clearance recess 29 at the bottom. The slitter cuts the strands 20 at a point where the adhesive has sufiiciently set to firmly adhere the layers of strands 20 to the tape 16 without danger of separation or unravelling.

The strand winding mechanism, or creels 18, 19, are designed to wind a plurality of parallel strands 20 in layers around the tube formed by the tape 16. The first layer 31 is wound in one direction (counterclockwise, FIG. 7) and the second layer 32 in the opposite direction, so that the strands in the second layer substantially cross those in the first layer. Each subsequent layer, if more than two creels are used, is wound in the opposite direc tion to the layer immediately under it.

Since the creels 18, 19 are of similar construction, it is only necessary to describe one in detail. Creel 13, as shown indetail in FIGS. 7 and 8, comprises two discs 33 and 34 held in spaced relation by spacer- tie rods 35, 36. Rods 35 are held in place by screws 37; rods 36 are held in place by nuts 37' fitting on the reduced end of the rods.

Discs 33, 34 rest on flanged rollers 38 on which the assembled creel rotates. Rollers 38 are suitably journaled in the frame 39 of the machine. Attached to one disc of the creel, as shown also in FIG. 1, is a sprocket wheel 40 connected by a sprocket chain 41 to a driving sprocket 42..

It will be noted in FIG. 7 that the spacer- tie rods 35, 36 are arranged in pairs. These pairs of spacer tie rods are separated a sufiicient distance to permit threading a strand 31 between them in such a manner that the strand 31 leaving the bobbin 43 passes over the outside tie rod 65, then in between the two rods 35 and 36 and around a portion of the inside tie rod 36, thence to the reed generally referred to as 47. This arrangement of threading permits just enough tension to develop to wind the strands on the tube 10 and also to prevent the bobbin 43 from too freely unwinding so that no additional tension or brake mechanism is required.

The function of the reed 47 is to guide the strands 31 to their proper location on the web tube so that there is always the proper amount of space between the strands. This function becomes complicated when several parallel strands are laid at one time from each of the several reeds on the same creel.

Four reeds are shown on each creel although five or any other suitable number may be used. Since the reeds are of similar construction, it is only necessary to describe one. he reed assembly 47 comprises a helical stiff wire coil 48 surrounding a cylindrical rod or core 49 and forming therewith a series of slots 56 between the convolutions of the coil. One end Stlof rod 49 is reduced and threaded into disc 34. The other end of rod 49 has a square head 51 for engagement by a wrench to remove and replace the reed assembly.

Spacing collar 52 of predetermined thickness holds the coil 48 the required distance from disc 33. The other end of coil 48 is anchored in a hole 55 in adjustable collar 53 held in place by set screw 54.

The reed assembly is susceptible of a number of adjustments. Spacing collar 52 may have dilferent thicknesses for the different reeds, to stagger the strands leaving the several reeds. The adjustable collar 53 may be fixedly positioned at different points along rod 49 to vary the effective length of the reed, as will be seen by comparing FIGURES 9 and 10. And coil 48 (and collar 53) may be rotated about its axis to properly position the slots 56.

The effects of'these adjustments are explained more in detail below.

The bobbins 43 carrying the strands 31 rotate on axles 6i) easily removable for replacement of fresh bobbins. A single bobbin, as shown, or a plurality of bobbins, may be mounted on the same axle 60. A plurality of strands may be wound on a single bobbin, similar to a conventional warp beam in a conventional loom.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, each axle is mounted on two stub shafts 61, each mounted on its particular disc 33 and 34. The shaft 60 bridges the stubs 61. Shaft 60 is tubular and has each end half cut away to form a half cylinder trough 62. Troughs 62 rest on stubs 61. A collar 63 surrounds the interfitted trough and stub, a set screw 64 engaging stub 61 opposite trough 62 to hold shaft 60 centered with respect to stubs 61.

It will be understood that the bobbin 43 has a small axial play on its shaft 60 to permit axial shift of the collars 63 for removal of the shaft 60 and bobbin 43.

The work is propelled through the machine by puller rolls 17, one of which is driven by a sprocket 65 mounted on roller shaft 66. Sprocket 65 is driven by an electric motor 67 which drives suitable reduction gear 68. Gear 68 has an output shaft 69 supporting a sprocket which drives chain 70 which drives puller roll sprocket 65.

Output shaft 69 also drives chain 74 which drives creel sprocket 75 (see also FIG. 6). Sprocket 75 drives a bevel gear 76 which drives bevel gears 77, 78 in opposite directions. Bevel gear 77 drives gear 42 for driving creel 18 in one direction, and bevel gear 78 drives gear 79 for driving creel 19 in the opposite direction.

The buncher roll 23 rests on a pair of rolls 80, 81, the latter being driven by a suitable motor 82. The buncher mechanism, which is of conventional construction, acts to rotate roll 23, to wind the finished composite tape 10, 20 thereon.

The effect of reed adjustment will be briefly discussed. The machine is susceptible of adjustment due to requirements in practice, which may be caused by the different materials handled and the desired end product. Among the variables are speed of backing web, speed of rotation of creels, the number of strands per inch, the closeness of he Strands in any particular layer of strands, the number of layers it is desired each creel to lay, the width of a lay, etc.

For example, the faster the speed of the creels with respect to the speed of the backing web, in general the shorter the effective length of the reeds. Suitable provision (not shown) may be made for varying the relative speed of puller rolls 1'7 and creels 1d, 19 to vary the pitch of the helical layers laid down by the creels on the preformed Web.

The spacing washers S2 of different width and the rotative adjustment of the coils 48 are used to avoid tracking, i.e. to avoid laying any strand parallel to and on top of a strand already laid. By thus staggering the strands from the several reeds, the reeds lay down their strands alongside of, and in proper relation to, strands laid down by other reeds.

Due to the relatively great separation of the strands laid down by any particular reed, it is desired to have the several reeds lay their particular strands alongside of strands from other reeds, in order to get uniform spacing of strands in a single layer of strands.

The function of the transformer roll 22 will be briefly discussed. The web It 20 is circular in cross-section Where it leaves mandrel 15 at line X-X, and is straight in cross-section at the bite of the puller rolls 17 at line Y-Y.

It is impossible, theoretically, at least, to transform the web from transverse circular form to straight form without stretching the web, although such stretching can be minimized by separating the points X-X and YY a considerable distance. But it is uneconomical in a plant to use great distances. Furthermore, in the case where the web is part or all paper, which has little stretch, the problem of transforming from circular to straight transverse sections is greater than with a more stretchable material.

In transforming from circular to straight transverse form, the paper web has certain areas relatively taut and others relatively loose or full. Tests, have shown that this difficulty can be minimized by permitting the web to gather or bunch at the slacker areas to permit the tauter areas to transform without being subject to stretching stress which may cause tearing.

The variable diameter contoured transformer roll 22 assists in transformation, by providing lower portions for the tauter areas and higher portions for the fuller or longer areas. In the form shown, end areas 87 have the smallest diameter; areas 89 on either side of the midpoint have the largest diameter; and the midpoint area 88 has a diameter intermediate areas 87 and 89.

It is not necessary for the web to contact all points of the profile of the transformer roll to be effective but only suflicient contact is required to guide the tighter elements and to spread the web sufficiently to permit smooth entry into the puller rolls 17.

The transformer roll 22 may be sectional, i.e. it may comprise a series of individual discs or rolls mounted to rotate freely on transformer shaft 90, and independently of each other. The transformer roll 12' changing the web from straight to circular is constructed generally similar to roll 22.

Thus a method and machine has been provided which makes a reinforced flexible web in an expeditious and inexpensive manner. The product in one specific form comprises the pre-formed tape to which the crossed strands are adhesively bonded. The angle of the crossed strands with respect to the longitudinal axis of the tape, as shown, is 45 degrees. This angle is obtained by making the longitudinal speed of the tape through the machine equal to the linear speed of the creels as measured at the surface or" the tape. The angle of the strands may be varied by changing the relative speeds of tape and creels.

The creel arrangement with reeds extending parallel to the axis of rotation simplifies the laying down of the several lays of strands. The adjustments of efiective reed length and of spacing between strand slots or guides 56; and the provision for staggering the strands from the several reeds-all give the machine considerable versatility for handling different materials and for making different products. 7

While certain novel features of the invention have been disclosed herein, and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for processing a web, means for passing said web longitudinally through the machine, a tubular mandrel to support, and to impart an annular cross section to, said web, a set of puller rolls, the line of bite of said puller rolls being transverse to the axis of said mandrel and offset therefrom, said puller rolls imparting a straight transverse configuration to said web, a transformer support having a transformer surface between said mandrel and puller rolls, said transformer support being so disposed with respect to said line of bite and to said mandrel axis that the web describes a substantial bend around said transformer surface, said transformer surface having, in a direction transversely of the web, spaced relatively high points over which pass those portions of the web located between the center and margins of the Web, a relatively low point over which passes the center of the web, and relatively low points over which pass the margins of the web.

2. In the machine of claim-1, said transformer support comprising a roll made up of a series of circular disks independently rotatable, said disks having varying diameters.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,132,635 Subers Mar. 22, 1915 2,002,091 Jabouley May 21, 1935 2,021,095 Ball Nov. 12, 1935 2,059,404 Skedgell Nov. 3, 1936 2,680,469 Ahier et al. June 8, 1954 2,696,243 Holland Dec. 7, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS $167,150 Australia Mar. 5, 1956

Claims (1)

1. IN A MACHINE FOR PROCESSING A WEB, MEANS FOR PASSING SAID WEB LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH THE MACHINE, A TUBULAR MANDREL TO SUPPORT, AND TO IMPART AN ANNULAR CROSS SECTION TO, SAID WEB, A SET OF PULLER ROLLS, THE LINE OF BITE OF SAID PULLER ROLLS BEING TRANSVERSE TO THE AXIS OF SAID MANDREL AND OFFSET THEREFROM, SAID PULLER ROLLS IMPARTING A STRAIGHT TRANSVERSE CONFIGURATION TO SAID WEB, A TRANSFORMER SUPPORT HAVING A TRANSFORMER SURFACE BETWEEN SAID MANDREL AND PULLER ROLLS, SAID TRANSFORMER SUPPORT BEING SO DISPOSD WITH RESPECT TOSID LINE OF BITE AND TO SAID MANDREL AXIS THAT THE WEB DESCRIBES A SUBSTANTIAL BEND AROUND SAID TRANSFORMER SURFACE, SAID TRANSFORMER SURFACE HAVING, IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSELY OF THE WEB, SPACED RELATIVELY HIGH POINTS OVER WHICH PASS THOSE PORTIONS OF THE WEB LOCATED BETWEEN THE CENTER AND MARGINS OF THE WEB, A RELATIVELY LOW POINT OVER WHICH PASSES THE CENTER OF THE WEB, AND RELATIVELY LOW POINTS OVER WHICH PASS THE MARGINS OF THE WEB.

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