EP-4739604-A1 - A TURRET WINDER, AND METHOD

Abstract

The winder comprises a turret winder rotatable around a horizontal axis, on which two rotation members are supported to engage and rotate winding spindles on which reels of web material are formed. The winder further comprises, for each rotation member, a respective support roller that is maintained in contact with the reel or reels being wound on the respective rotation member (25, 27), so as to transfer at least part of the weight of the reel and to reduce the vibrations of the winding spindle.

Inventors

• ACCIARI, GIUSEPPE

Assignees

• A.Celli Nonwovens S.P.A.

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20240627

Claims (20)

1. 1. A turret winder comprising a revolving unit, adapted to rotate around a horizontal rotation axis; wherein the following are arranged on the revolving unit: a first rotation member, adapted to support and rotate a first spindle around a first winding axis parallel to the rotation axis of the revolving unit; and a second rotation member, adapted to support and rotate a second spindle around a second winding axis parallel to the rotation axis of the revolving unit; wherein by rotation of the revolving unit the first rotation member and the second rotation member are sequentially and sequentially positionable in a winding position and in an unloading position; a first support roller, combined with the first rotation member; wherein the first support roller is arranged with an axis thereof parallel to the rotation axis of the revolving unit; a second support roller, combined with the second rotation member; wherein the second support roller is arranged with an axis thereof parallel to the rotation axis of the revolving unit; a first supporting device of the first support roller, adapted to modify the position of the first support roller with respect to the revolving unit and with respect to the first rotation member; a second supporting device of the second support roller, adapted to modify the position of the second support roller with respect to the revolving unit and with respect to the second rotation member.
2. 2. The winder of claim 1, wherein the first support roller, the first supporting device, the second support roller, and the second supporting device are configured to maintain the first support roller and the second support roller in contact with reels being wound on the first rotation member and on the second rotate member, to transfer at least part of the weight of the reel being wound on the respective support roller.
3. 3. The winder of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first support roller, the first supporting device, the second support roller, and the second supporting device are configured to maintain the first support roller and the second support roller in contact with reels being wound on the first rotation member and on the second rotate member, to reduce the vibrations of the respective winding spindle.
4. 4. The winder of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the first supporting device is adapted to maintain the first support roller below the first rotation member, in any angular position of the revolving unit, and to modify the distance between the axis of the first support roller and the winding axis of the first rotation member as a function of the diameter of a reel being wound; and wherein the second supporting device is adapted to maintain the second support roller below the second rotation member, in any angular position of the revolving unit, and to modify the distance between the axis of the second support roller and the winding axis of the second rotation member as a function of the diameter of a reel being wound.
5. 5. The winder of one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the first support roller and the second support roller are motorized to rotate around the respective axes.
6. 6. The winder of one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the first supporting device comprises a first mechanical member rotating, with respect to the revolving unit, around the first winding axis and to which the first support roller is supported; wherein the second supporting device comprises a second mechanical member rotating, with respect to the revolving unit, around the second winding axis and to which the second support roller is supported; and wherein the first mechanical member and the second mechanical member are connected to mechanisms that cause a rotation of the first mechanical member and of the second mechanical member with respect to the revolving unit as a function of the angular position of the revolving unit, so as to maintain the first support roller below the first rotation member and the second support roller below the second rotation member in any angular position of the revolving unit.
7. 7. The winder of claim 6, wherein the first mechanical member is adapted to modify the distance between the axis of the first support roller and the first winding axis; and the second mechanical member is adapted to modify the distance between the axis of the second support roller and the second winding axis.
8. 8. The winder of any one of the preceding claims, comprising a winding roller with a movable axis, arranged in the winding position; and wherein in an initial step of each winding cycle, the support roller in the winding position and the winding roller form a cradle in which a respective spindle engaged by the rotation member located in the winding position is positioned.
9. 9. The winder of claim 8, wherein the winding roller is motorized.
10. 10. The winder of one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the revolving unit comprises a first side wall and a second side wall, between which the first rotation member, the second rotation member, the first support roller and the second support roller are arranged.
11. 11. The winder of claim 10, wherein: the first supporting device comprises a pair of first guides, one of said first guides being mounted on the first side wall and the other of said first guides being mounted on the second side wall; the second supporting device comprises a pair of second guides, one of said second guides being mounted on the first side wall and the other of said second guides being mounted on the second side wall; the first support roller is supported by a pair of first slides, slidably engaged with said first guides; and the second support roller is supported by a pair of second slides, slidably engaged with said second guides.
12. 12. The winder of claim 11, comprising a first motor for controlling the movement of the pair of first slides along the first guides and a second motor for controlling the movement of the pair of second slides along the second guides; wherein the first motor and the second motor are each connected to a respective pair of reducers for controlling the movement of the first slides and of the second slides along the pair of first guides and the pair of second guides, respectively.
13. 13. The winder of claim 11, wherein each slide is associated with a respective actuator adapted to translate the respective slide along the guide on which the slide is slidably engaged.
14. 14. The winder of any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the first supporting device comprises a first mechanism adapted to rotate the pair of first guides around the first winding axis, with respect to the revolving unit, as a function of the rotation angle of the revolving unit, so as to maintain the pair of first guides below the first winding axis and preferably in a vertical position; and wherein the second supporting device comprises a second mechanism adapted to rotate the pair of second guides around the second winding axis, with respect to the revolving unit as a function of the rotation angle of the revolving unit, so as to maintain the pair of second guides below the second winding axis and preferably in a vertical position.
15. 15. The winder of claim 14, wherein the first mechanism comprises a first four-bar linkage mechanism, with a fixed element integral with a supporting structure of the revolving unit and a movable component integral with at least one of said first guides; and wherein the second mechanism comprises a second four-bar linkage mechanism, with a fixed element integral with the supporting structure of the revolving unit and a movable component integral with at least one of said second guides.
16. 16. The winder of claim 15, wherein each of said first four-bar linkage mechanism and second four-bar linkage mechanism comprises a four-bar linkage.
17. 17. The winder of claim 15 or 16, wherein the first four-bar linkage mechanism is placed on a first side of the winder, outside the first side wall, and the second four-bar linkage mechanism is placed on a second side of the winder, outside the second side wall.
18. 18. The winder of one or more of claims 15 to 17, wherein the first four-bar linkage mechanism and the second four-bar linkage mechanism support respective cable guides, housing cables and/or pipes for supplying the actuators supported on the revolving unit and which rotate therewith around the rotation axis of the revolving unit.
19. 19. The winder of claim 14, wherein: the first mechanism adapted to rotate the pair of first guides around the first winding axis, with respect to the revolving unit, comprises a first gear train, comprising a fixed central gear, coaxial to the rotation axis of the revolving unit; at least one intermediate idler gear; and a peripheral gear, keyed onto a first support coaxial to the first winding axis and integral with at least one of said first guides; the second mechanism adapted to rotate the pair of second guides around the second winding axis, with respect to the revolving unit, comprises a second gear train, comprising a fixed central gear, coaxial to the rotation axis of the revolving unit; at least one intermediate idler gear; and a peripheral gear, keyed onto a second support coaxial to the second winding axis and integral with at least one of said second guides.
20. 20. The winder of claim 10, wherein: the first supporting device comprises a pair of first articulated arms, mounted on the first side wall and a pair of second articulated arms, mounted on the second side wall; the second supporting device comprises a pair of third articulated arms, mounted on the first side wall and a pair of fourth articulated arms, mounted on the second side wall; the first support roller is supported at distal ends of the pair of first articulated arms and of the pair of second articulated arms; the second support roller is supported at distal ends of the pair of third articulated arms and of the pair of fourth articulated arms; and the first pair of articulated arms, the second pair of articulated arms, the third pair of articulated arms and the fourth pair of articulated arms are associated with actuators that control a pivoting movement of the articulated arms such as to control the mutual distance between the first support roller and the first winding axis and between the second support roller and the second winding axis, and such as to maintain the first support roller below the first winding axis and the second support roller below the second winding axis in any angular position of the revolving unit.

Description

A TURRET WINDER, AND METHOD DESCRIPTION TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to the field of machines for winding web materials in reels. Embodiments described herein relate to improvements to turret winders. BACKGROUND ART [0002] In many industrial sectors there is the need to wind one or more strips of web material, coming from a production or converting line, into reels. Typically, in the field of nonwoven production, the use is known of continuous machines that produce, continuously and at high speed, a nonwoven web, which must be wound in reels for subsequent use in converting lines, for example for the production of sanitary towels, nappies or other articles utilizing nonwoven in reels as semi-finished product. [0003] To roll up, i.e., to wind, one or more strips of web material into reels turret winders are used in some cases, which allow high speed winding of reels of web material, without interruptions and at a substantially constant linear speed, where linear speed is meant as the feed speed of the web material. Normally, these winders comprise a revolving unit that supports two pairs of motorized tailstocks, adapted to support and rotate respective winding spindles. A winding motor for each pair of motorized tailstocks imparts the rotation and winding motion to respective spindles supported by the motorized tailstocks. While a reel or a series of axially aligned reels is wound on a spindle engaged with a first pair of tailstocks in a winding position, the other pair of tailstocks is located in an unloading position to unload the reel, or the series of reels, wound in the preceding cycle. A peripheral winding roller usually presses against the reel being formed in the winding position. [0004] When the reel or series of reels is complete, the revolving unit, or turret, rotates around its horizontal rotation axis and exchanges the position of the two pairs of tailstocks, to carry a new spindle into the winding position and the reel or the series of reels previously formed into the position for unloading the reels and loading new spindles. [0005] An example of a turret winder of the type indicated above is disclosed in US2005/0127231. This winder is designed in particular for winding plastic film. It is provided with a turret that carries two winding assemblies for winding reels of film in sequence. Each winding assembly comprises a guide roller of the film to be wound. The guide roller has the function of maintaining the necessary tension of the plastic film, to prevent air from being trapped between adj acent turns of the plastic film during winding. In particular, according to the description provided in the introductory part of US2005/0127231, in winders of this type the tension of the film is insufficient to prevent air from being trapped between superimposed turns of the reel of film being formed. To prevent this problem, which is typical of plastic film winding machines, US2005/0127231 proposes equipping the winder with a guide roller for each winding assembly. The guide roller is placed in contact with the winding core, or at a slight distance from the winding core at the start of winding, and subsequently in contact with the outer surface of the reel during winding, or at a slight distance therefrom. In this way, the tension of the film being wound is controlled and this prevents air from being trapped between winding core and film, and between consecutive turns of plastic film wound on the reel. [0006] In general, and above all if the winder is enslaved to a continuous production machine, which feeds a web material at a substantially constant speed, the winding spindle on which the reel or the series of aligned reels must start to wind must be accelerated to a very high rotation speed, above the first critical speed of the spindle. This causes strong vibrations in the winding spindle, above all when its rotation speed passes through the critical speed, both during acceleration and during deceleration, i.e., when the rotation speed of the spindle during winding must decrease to maintain the linear winding speed constant, while the diameter of the reel being formed gradually increases. [0007] The weight of the reel or of the series of reels being formed around the spindle in winding position, or which is transferred from the winding position to the unloading position by means of rotation of the revolving unit, can reach high values, due to the amount of wound material. This weight tends to deform the winding spindle and can cause serious problems and irregularities in the operation of the winder. [0008] These two mechanical phenomena lead to defects in the finished product and can result in faults in the winder, caused by deformations, wear or breakages of mechanical members. [0009] Therefore, in the field of turret winders it would be useful to have a winder that completely or partially overcomes the drawbacks of winders of the prior art, referred to briefly above. SUMMAR