US3804312A

US3804312A - Paper tape supply

Info

Publication number: US3804312A
Application number: US00361712A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Lagergren
Original assignee: International Business Machines Corp
Current assignee: International Business Machines Corp
Priority date: 1973-05-18
Filing date: 1973-05-18
Publication date: 1974-04-16
Anticipated expiration: 1991-04-16
Also published as: DE2422957A1; FR2229635A1; GB1417661A; FR2229635B1; JPS5011602A

Abstract

A paper tape supply for drawing paper tape off a supply roll including a flatted pressure roll adapted to have a nip with a feed roll on peripheral surfaces of the pressure roll exclusive of its flat, to grip the tape in the nip of the rolls. A trip lever holds the pressure roll with its flat opposite the feed roll to release the paper tape, and a leaf spring acts on the pressure roll and tends to move it against the trip lever. As an outgoing loop of tape from the rolls shortens, it releases the trip lever with respect to the pressure roll to allow the leaf spring to rotate the pressure roll into its nipped relation with the feed roll to draw the tape off the supply roll and lengthen the outgoing loop of the tape.

Description

United States Patent 1 1 [111 3,804,312 Lagergren Apr. 16, 1974 PAPER TAPE SUPPLY Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher h Ed [75] inventor 221:2; er SEK Attorney, Agent, or FirmKeith T. Bleuer [73] Assignee: International Business Machines [57] ABSTRACT Corporatlon Armonk A paper tape supply for drawing paper tape off a sup- [22] Filed: -May 18, 1973 ply roll including a flatted pressure roll adapted to have a nip with a feed roll on peripheral surfaces of [21] Appl 361712 the pressure roll exclusive of its flat, to grip the tape in the nip of the rolls. A trip lever holds the pressure roll [52] US. Cl 226/35, 226/44, 226/117, with its flat pp h f roll to release he paper 226/154 tape, and a leaf spring acts on the pressure roll and ['51] Int. Cl B65h 17/20 tends to move i g inst h rip lever. As an outgoing [58] Fi ld f S h 226/3 5 44, 1 17, 154, 155 loop of tape from the rolls shortens, it releases the trip lever with respect to the pressure roll to allow the leaf [56] Refere Cit d spring to rotate the pressure roll into its nipped rela- UNITED STATES PATENTS tion with the feed roll to draw the tape off the supply 3,625,447 12 1971 Hank 226/44 and lengthen the Outgomg loop of the tape 3,700,152 l0/l972 Warren 226/54 6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PAPER TAPE SUPPLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to tape supplies and more particularly to mechanisms for drawing paper tape off a supply roll.

It is important in connection with some tape processing machines, such as tape printers, for example, that the tape be supplied substantially no drag to the operating mechanism, such as the printing mechanism per se, so that the operating mechanism may function uniformly and satisfactorily. Tape is commonly carried in roll form on a mandrel; and, particularly when the supply rolls of tape are quite large in diameter and weighty, substantial force is required for unreeling the tape. Previous mechanisms have been proposed for drawing the paper tape off a supply roll for subsequent processing, such as, for example, magnet driven feed and pressure rolls, under such electrical control that the tape is fed off the supply roll at the same average speed as the tape is processed by the subsequent mechanism; however, such tape mechanism, including the necessary controls, is relatively expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved tape supply which is relatively simple and inexpensive and provides tape for subsequent processing in a positively controlled manner.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved tape supply which draws tape off of a supply roll as the tape is required for subsequent processing, with a loop of the tape being effective to unlatch power driven mechanism for pulling the tape off its supply roll. The subsequent processing of the tape is then done only against the impeding action of a loose loop of the tape located in the path of tape travel just subsequent to this power driven mechanism.

In a preferred form, the tape supply of the invention includes a pressure roll having a flat on its periphery which is located stationary at times just opposite to a feed roll. When the pressure roll is rotated slightly to bring its cylindrical peripheral surface opposite the feed roll, there is a resulting nip between the two rolls for drawing paper tape or the like ofi a supply roll against the relatively large impeding force caused by rotation of the supply roll located on a supporting mandrel. The pressure roll is held in its position with the flat located opposite the feed roll, so that there is no driving action by the two rolls on the tape, by the action of a trip lever; and a leaf spring is effective on the pressure roll tending to rotate it against the action of the trip lever. The tape subsequent to the two rolls in the tape path makes a loop; and, as this loop decreases in length, the loop trips the trip lever, allowing the leaf spring to rotate the pressure roll slightly to bring its cylindrical peripheral surface into nipped relationship with respect to the feed roll; to draw the paper tape off the supply roll in a direction and manner so as to increase in size the loop of the paper tape subsequent to the two rolls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the tape supply of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a top plane view of the tape supply.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, the tape supply may be seen to comprise, in general, a mandrel 10 for holding a roll of paper tape 12 or the like, feed rolls l4 and 16, a pressure roll 18 adapted to have a nip with the feed roll 14, a pressure roll 20 having a nip with the feed roll 16 and a trip lever 22 for initiating rotation of the pressure roll 18.

The mandrel 10 is rotatably mounted with respect to any suitable support, and the tape 12 may be unwound simply by pulling it off its roll with resulting rotation of the mandrel 10. The feed rolls l4 and 16 are driven from any suitable prime mover, such as a motor M and a speed reducing transmission T, and the feed roll 14 is thereby driven at a faster peripheral speed than the feed roll 16. A tape guide 24 extends from a place adjacent to the mandrel 10 to the feed roll 16 and is in the form of a loop and has the roll 14 extending through a slot provided in the guide 24. Another tape guide 26 extends from the periphery of the pressure roll 18 to the pressure roll 20 and is disposed opposite the guide 24 to provide a substantial space 28 between the

guides

24 and 26. The pressure roll 20 is disposed on a lever 30 that is actuated by a spring 32 to move the roll 20 toward the feed roll 16 so as to have a pressure nip with the roll 16.

A flat 34 is provided on the pressure roll 18, and

studs

36 and 38 are provided on opposite ends of the roll 18. A leaf spring 40 which is fixed at one end is adapted to bear against the stud 36. The leaf spring 40 exerts a turning force on the roll 18 in the direction A, with the roll 18 being in its position shown in FIG. 1 and with the flat 34 being directly opposite the feed roll 14', since the stud 36, on which the spring 40 is bearing, is to the right of the center of rotation of the roll 18 under these conditions. The trip lever 22 is swingably mounted at one end on a pin 42 and is provided with an abutment surface 44 on its other end which is adapted to be in abutting relationship with respect to the stud 38. The lever 22 has a downwardly depending arm 46 which extends into the space 28 between the

guides

24 and 26 and which has a curved surface 48 on its lower extremity.

When the paper tape supply is in operation, the roll 20 has a pressure nip with the feed roll 16 so that the tape 12 is fed in the direction B between the rolls l6 and 20. The tape 12 may then be operated on by any suitable mechanism, such as a printer (not shown), for example. The roll 18 may be assumed to be in its illustrated disposition, with the flat 34 located opposite the roll 14; and the roll 14 therefore exerts no propelling force on the tape 12 at this time. The leaf spring 40 bears on the stud 36, tending to rotate the roll 18 in the direction A; however, this rotation is prevented by the trip lever 22 which is in its illustrated position and has the stud 38 bearing against the abutment surface 44 on the end of the lever 22.

As the rolls l6 and 20 continue to propel the tape 12 in the direction B, and with no driving effect being exe'rted by the rolls l4 and 18 on the tape 12; the paper tape 12 is in the form of a loop within the space 28 which continuously becomes shorter, approaching the guide 26. Eventually, the loop of tape 12 within the space becomes so short that the tape moves against the lower curved surface 48 of the lever 22 and swings the lever 22 upwardly so as to disengage the lever with respect to the stud 38. At this time, the leaf spring 40 is effective on the stud 36 to rotate the roll 18 slightly to move the flat 34 out of facing relationship with respect to the feed roll 14; and, as the cylindrical outer surface of the roll 18 comes opposite the roll 14 due to the force from spring 40, the roll 18 with this cylindrical surface has a pressure nip with the roll 14. The roll 18 then continues to rotate with the roll 14, and the

rolls

14 and 18 grip the tape 12 between them and move the tape 12 into the space 28 to have a greater loop within the space 28. As the roll 18 completes its movement in the direction A to again bring the flat 34 opposite the feed roll 14, the tape 12 has been moved into the space 28 to such an extent that it has a loop adjacent the guide 24. it will be understood that the peripheral speed of the roll 16 is considerably less than that of the roll 14 so that this relatively large loop of the tape 12 forms at this time in the space 28. During this time, the roll 18 is driven in the direction A by virtue of its pressure nip with the feed roll 14; and, as the roll 18 completes its 360 of rotation, the stud 36 moves underneath the leaf spring 40 and flexes the spring upwardly (away from the center of rotation of roll 18), and eventually the stud 36 is again in its illustrated position at the end of the 360 movement of the roll 18. As the loop of tape 12 lengthens within the space 28, the tape 12 comes out of engagement with the curved surface 48 of the lever 22; and the lever 22 drops back into its illustrated position. Therefore, as the roll 18 completes its 360 of rotation, the stud 38 again abuts against the surface 44 of the lever 22 so that the lever 22 again holds the roll 18 against any further rotation in the direction A under the impetus of the spring 40.

[t is thus apparent that the tape 12 is fed by the rolls l6 and 18 against only the negligible force required to move the tape 12 from a larger loop in the space 28 to a smaller loop. When the loop of tape 12 within the space 28 becomes sufficiently short, with the feed roll 14 being inoperative at this time to move the tape 12 forwardly into the space 28, the relatively short length of tape loop trips the large pressure roll 18 by moving the lever 22 upwardly against only a relatively light trip lever force which has no disrupting effect on the tape 12 passing between the

rolls

16 and 20. The force required to move the lever 22 upwardly out of latching engagement with the stud 38 is relatively light, since the stud 38 bears on the lever abutment surface 44 only with a force derived from the relatively light leaf spring 40 which in its illustrated position is flexed only slightly. The rolls l6 and 20, due to this mechanism, never are required to pull the tape 12 from its roll on the mandrel which requires a relatively large force and which could be expected to disrupt to some extent the forward motion of the tape between the rolls l6 and with a consequent disruption of the subsequent operation on the tape, such as a printing operation.

The tape supply allows paper tape or the like, or perforated tags in roll form, to be fed uniformly and without a restriction which could be due to the force required to rotate a mandrel with a roll of the tape thereon, whereby subsequent operations on the tape may be uniformly made. The tape supply is a relatively simple mechanical device which is considerably less expensive than alternatives, such as a magnet driven feed and pressure roll, suitably controlled, for pulling paper from a spool.

I claim:

1. A tape supply mechanism including first and second tape feed rolls, pressure means providing a pressure nip with respect to each of said feed rolls so that the feed rolls propel the tape passing across them,

means for driving both of said feed rolls and the driving means being arranged to drive said first feed roll at a faster peripheral speed than said second feed roll, said pressure means for said first feed roll including a pressure roll having a flat thereon,

spring means effective to rotate said pressure roll to move its flat out of registry or out of a position opposite with respect to said first feed roll so as to move the pressure roll from a position in which it has no driving relationship with respect to said tape to a nipped relationship with respect to said first feed roll in which the pressure roll and feed roll propel the tape, and

latching means for holding said pressure roll in a position with its flat opposite said first feed roll with no driving engagement between the pressure roll and said tape and being under the control of a loop of the paper tape between said first and second feed rolls to be unlatched when the loop decreases in length to a predetermined length so as to then allow said spring means to rotate said pressure rolls into nipped relation with said first feed roll so that the pressure roll is then effective with respect to said first feed roll to propel the tape toward said second feed roll.

2. A tape supply mechanism as set forth in claim 1, said spring means effective on said pressure roll including a leaf spring fixed at one end and located adjacent to one end of said pressure roll and a stud carried by the pressure roll acted on by said spring so that the spring tends to rotate the pressure roll to move its flat out of registry with respect to said first feed roll.

3. A tape supply mechanism as set forth in claim 2, said latching means including a trip lever located on one side of said pressure roll and a stud carried by the pressure roll adapted to engage with one end of the lever, the loop of tape between said two feed rolls being effective on said trip lever so as to move the trip lever out of abutting relationship with respect to said last named stud to allow said spring to rotate the pressure roll to move said flat out of registry with respect to said first feed roll.

4. A tape supply mechanism as set forth in claim 1, said pressure means for said second feed roll including a pressure roll having a nipped relationship with respect to said second feed roll.

5. A tape supply mechanism as set forth in claim 1, said pressure applying means for said second feed roll including a pressure roll, said latching means including a trip lever located on one side of said flatted pressure roll and a stud fixed with respect to said flatted pressure roll and adapted to engage said trip lever when said flat is located opposite said first feed roll and the trip lever being under control of a loop of tape between said feed rolls to be tripped with respect to said stud when the loop of tape decreases to said predetermined length.

6. A tape supply mechanism as set forth in claim 5, said spring means including a leaf spring located on one feed roll for feeding the tape and the end of said leaf spring bearing on said second stud and holding said first named stud against said trip lever with said flat located opposite said first feed roll.

Claims

1. A tape supply mechanism including first and second tape feed rolls, pressure means providing a pressure nip with respect to each of said feed rolls so that the feed rolls propel the tape passing across them, means for driving both of said feed rolls and the driving means being arranged to drive said first feed roll at a faster peripheral speed than said second feed roll, said pressure means for said first feed roll including a pressure roll having a flat thereon, spring means effective to rotaTe said pressure roll to move its flat out of registry or out of a position opposite with respect to said first feed roll so as to move the pressure roll from a position in which it has no driving relationship with respect to said tape to a nipped relationship with respect to said first feed roll in which the pressure roll and feed roll propel the tape, and latching means for holding said pressure roll in a position with its flat opposite said first feed roll with no driving engagement between the pressure roll and said tape and being under the control of a loop of the paper tape between said first and second feed rolls to be unlatched when the loop decreases in length to a predetermined length so as to then allow said spring means to rotate said pressure rolls into nipped relation with said first feed roll so that the pressure roll is then effective with respect to said first feed roll to propel the tape toward said second feed roll.

6. A tape supply mechanism as set forth in claim 5, said spring means including a leaf spring located on one side of said pressure roll and fixed on one end and a second stud carried by said pressure roll and adapted to engage said leaf spring and move the leaf spring away from the center of rotation of said flatted pressure roll as said flatted pressure roll rotates along with said feed roll for feeding the tape and the end of said leaf spring bearing on said second stud and holding said first named stud against said trip lever with said flat located opposite said first feed roll.