US2348355A - Apparatus for moving and storing sheet material - Google Patents

Description

P. L. MILLER 2,348,355

APPARATUS FOR MOVING AND STORING SHEET MATERIAL May 9, 1944.

.3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 8, 1945 P. L. MILLER May 9, 1944.

APPARATUS FOR MOVING AND STORING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Jan. .8, 1943 3 She ets-Sheet 2 Th 4 m M A fro/m5 YS May 9, 1944. P. MILLER APPARATUS FOR MOVING" AND STORING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Jan. 8, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 O z i INVENTOR. L/V///er Patented May 9, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR MOVING AND STORING SHEET MATERIAL Paul L. vMiller, Clear-water, S. C., assignor to United Merchants & Manufacturers, Inc., Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application January 8, 1943, Serial No. 471,766

2 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus adapted for the transportation and storage of sheet material during the processing thereof.

One of the applications of th invention is in.

the transportation and storage of sheet material such as textiles during the manufacture thereof. In textile operations the fabrics may be subjected to a large number of operations or treatments and it is necessary in many case to accumulate and store the material after one treatment and while it is waiting to be subjected to a subsequent treatment.

The apparatus for effecting the movement of the material involves a pair of rollsto which the material is feed and from which it is delivered.

It is desirable that the material be fed to the rolls and delivered away from them in a satisfactory manner. Frequently the material, instead of being so delivered, tends to wind around the roll, a phenomenon which may occur as a result of the development of static electricity which causes one of the rolls to attract the delivered sheet material, or as a result of other attractive forces. For example, sheet material in wet condition tends to cling to one of the rolls instead of being delivered away therefrom.

' material to this space and it packs therein in In accordance with the present invention means 7 I are provided to overcome the problem thus presented. Such means include a pair of cylindrical rotatably mounted rolls, at least one of which has a plurality of annular grooves arranged in spaced relation on the surface thereof. Cooperating with these grooves there is provided guide means which are received in the grooves and are adapted to guide the sheet material away from the grooved roll. The guide means may comprise a plurality of fingers suitably mounted as, for example, on a bar extending parallel to the axis of the' grooved roll, the fingers being arranged in spaced relation and extending transversely of the axis of the roll into the annular grooves. By this means sheet material, as for example textile fabric whether in wet or dry condition, may be fed to the rolls and satisfactorily delivered therefrom without danger of clinging to the rolls. In many cases it will be suflicient to provide one of a pair of rolls with the guide means described.

The invention includes the combination of a pair of rolls equipped with suitable guide means agabove described, with receiving and storage meanswhereby sheet material delivered from the rolls may be efllciently confined and stored pending the subjecting of said stored material to a subsequent operation. Such combination pleated form.

The principles of the invention will be defined in the claims and illustrative embodiments thereof will be described in conjunction with the v accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a pair-of rolls one of which is grooved as above described;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary yiew of a portion of Fig. 1; I v

Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1

showing means for feeding sheet material to the rolls and delivering it therefrom to a storage basket, together with means for driving the lower roll;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the rolls illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a view showing the combination of a pair of rolls equipped with guide means, with a storage compartment elongated vertically;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6oexcept that the storage compartment is elongated horizontally; and I Fig. 8 is a view of apparatus a part of which differs from that shown in Fig. '7 in respect of one of the guide rolls and guide means associated, therewith,

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the roll I is provided with trunnions 2 rotatably mounted in bearings 3 carried by upright end supports 4 and 5. Each of these supports has upright guide portions 6 and I in which bearings II) are mounted to slide vertically. In these bearings are rotatably mounted trunnions I2 secured to and carrying the upper roll I l. The upper roll therefore rests by gravity on or floats upon the lower roll I. A pulley I5 is suitably secured to the lower roll I and is driven by the belt I6 which passes over the pulley I! on the roll I and the pulley I1 secured to the shaft 18 of the motor I9. Therefore, as between the rolls I and ll, the former is the driving roll and the latter the driven roll.

As more clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5. the lower roll I is provided with a plurality of annular grooves 20, these grooves having axes which lie in planes perpendicular to the axes of the rolls and the grooves being in spaced rela-' tion, as shown. Cooperating with the grooves 20 are a series of fingers, pins or flange 2| which may be integrally secured to and mounted upon a bar 22 extending between the end vertical supports 4 and 5 and secured thereto. These fingers extend into and are received by the slots or grooves and may terminate, as shown, in portions 24 in spaced relation to the base or bottom of the grooves. The end portions 26 of the fingers 2| may have a contour of substantially the same characteras that of the opposed surface of the bottom of the groove into which the finger 2| extends. The forward or leading vertical edge 26 of the finger 2| may be arranged substantially tangential to the cylindrical surface of the roll I although it may be offset from such tangential position, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

The surface of the roll I may advantageously be made of somewhat resilient material, as for example hard rubber or various synthetic plastic compositions, particularly wherethe upper roll M, which may be a steel roll, rides upon the lower roll I and one method oi building the roll I including the grooved surface will be described asses in connection with Fig. 5. The trunnions 2 are secured to cast metallic heads 21 upon and to which there is secured, as for example by shrinking, a hollow steel cylinder 28, to which in turn is secured a surface coating 29 of rubber or other plastic material. In this surface coating 23 the annular grooves are then cut to a depth of, say,

extend at an angle to the diameters A, B of th rolls 36 and 36 shown in Fig. 6, so that the leading edges of the fingers 2| lie in planes which are divergent in respect of each other. Adjacent the bars 22 of the compartment 46, there is provided in the latter an opening 42 through which the sheet material may be delivered from the rolls 36 and '36 in the said compartment 46 for storage p p ses. I

In the operation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 6, the sheet material 32 is fedbetween rolls 36 and 36 which are rotated in the direction of the arrows in order to deliver the sheet material away from the rolls after passage therebetween and to the space between the fingers 2|. The two sets of fingers serve to guide the sheet material through the opening 62 into the compartment 46. As the material accumulates in the compartment 66 the accumulationthereof offers a certain amount of resistance to the delivery of the sheet material by the rolls into said compartment, as a result of which the sheet material assumes a pleated form therein. It will be seen that this phenomenon makes it possible to store or pack a relatively large volume of sheet material into a relatively small space. The compartment 46 may be as long as desired and the continuous feeding of the sheet material 32 by the rolls 36 and 36 will cause a continuous advancement of the pleated, stored material upwardly in the direction of the arrows shown therein.

Referring to Fig. 7, the construction of the parts thereof is similar to that shown in Fig. -6. except that the compartment is shown horizontally instead of vertically to illustrate a means of continuously advancing the stored material in the compartment ll! in a horizontal direction. Indeed, the stored material may be advanced in about five-elghths of an inch. The thickness ofthe coating is about seven-eighths of an inch.

In Fig. 3 the roll 36 serves to feed the sheet.

material 32 to the rolls H, and the basket 34 collects the material delivered from the said rolls.

In the operation of the device shown in Figs. 1 to 5, sheet material which may, for example, be textile, material in wet or dry condition, is fed over the roll 30 and between the rolls and I4 by means of pulley l6 driven by the pulley on the motor shaft It. The rolls are rotated in a direction shown by the arrows in Fig. 3 so as to deliver the sheet material away from the rolls and into the basket 34. Any tendency of the sheet material 32 to cling to the roll I is compensated for, by the fingers 2| which effectively act to prevent such clinging action.

Referring now to Figs. 6, 'I and 8, there'will now be described an application of the above described principles in combination with means for temporarily storing sheet material in process. Referring to Fig. 6, each of the rolls 36 and 36 may be constructed similarly to the roll illustrated in Fig. 5. Rolls 36 and 36 are shown in section, the section being one corresponding to that taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Each of said rolls '36 and 36 is provided with annular grooves 20. Cooperating with each of said rolls 36 and 36 is a series of fingers 2 Each series 2| is mounted on a bar 22 secured to the end wall 36 of a storage compartment 46. It will be understood that the fingers 2| shown in Fig.6 are mounted upon the bars 22 in the same general manner that the fingers 2| are mounted upon the bar 22 shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive. extending parallel to a diameter of the rolls as s own in Fig. 3. for e a p the 891? ll may any desired direction.

It is not necessary in all cases that the compartment I! be provided with confining means on all sides thereof. Particularly when said compartment is longitudinally elongated in a direction extending downwardly from the rolls, the top of the compartment may be open.

Referring to Fig. 8, the arrangement here is somewhat different. The compartment III, roll 36, fingers 2| and bar 22 are arranged generally similar to the arrangement shown in Figs. 6 and 7. So also the roll. 36 may be constructed with grooves similar to the rolls 36 and 36 shown in Figs. 6 and 'll=. However, the guide means which are received in the grooves of the roll 36 are different from the ers 2|. As shown in Fig. 8, a roll 43 is rotatably mounted to run loosely in bearings carried by the bracket 44 secured to the compartment". This roll may be provided in any suitable way with a series of annular grooves However, instead of corresponding to the grooves in the rolls 36 and 36. For every groove in the roll 36 there is a corresponding groove in the roll 43 and a series of endless belts 46 are mounted to run in the grooves in the roll 43 and the corresponding grooves in the roll 36. These belts constitute guide means for the roll 36 as dlstinguishedirom the series of fingers 2| which constitute the guide means associated with. the roll 36. In the operation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 8, the sheet material 32 is fed to the rollswhich are rotated in the direction of the arrows, in order to feed the sheet material away from said rolls and to the guidemeans 2|, 6, from which said sheet 'material is delivered to thercompartment 42 wherein it is stored in pleated form snd'advances in the direction of the arrow.

Iclaim: 1. Apparatus .for the transporation and storage of sheet material during the processing thereof,

comprising a pair of rotatably mounted cylindrical rolls mounted side by side, each of said rolls having a plurality of annular grooves in the cylindrical surface thereof and arranged in spaced relation, the axis of the grooves lying in planes perpendicular to the axis of the rolls; guide means associated with each roll; the guide means associated with at least one of said rolls comprising a plurality of fingers arranged in spaced relation, and extending transversely of the axis of said grooved roll and into said annular grooves, said fingers being mounted on a bar extending parallel to the axis 0! said grooved roll; means to rotate said rolls to deliver said sheet material upwardly between said rolls and to said guide means; and vertically elongated receiving and storage means located above said rolls having an end portion, adjacent said guide means, adapted to receive said sheet material, and side portions adapted to confine and store the same in pleated configuration.

2. Apparatus for the transportation and storage of sheet material during the processing there- 0!, comprising a pair of rotatably mounted cylindrical rolls mounted side by side, each of said rolls having a plurality of annular grooves in the cylindrical surface thereof and arranged in spaced relation, the axi of the grooves lying in planes perpendicular to the axis of the rolls; guide means received in the grooves of each roll and adapted to guide said sheet material away from said roll; means to rotate said rolls to deliver said sheet material upwardly between said rolls and to said guide means; and a vertically elongated receiving and storage means located above said rolls having an end portion, adjacent said guide means, adapted to receive said sheet material from the guide means, and side portions adapted to confine and store said sheet material in pleated form. I

PAUL L. MILLER.

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