Winding machine and method for controlling a second nip pressure

Abstract

A winding machine for winding a finishing roll having a radius R of a sheet material on a core having a radius r.sub.c is provided. The winding machine includes: a support drum assembly arranged on a first side of the finishing roll and configured to support the finishing roll from the first side; a rider roll arranged on a second side of the finishing roll opposite to the first side and configured to apply a first nip pressure onto the finishing roll from the second side the finishing roll being supported by the support drum assembly; and a control unit configured to adaptively control the second nip pressure applied by the rider roll onto the finishing roll depending on an ascent rate of the rider roll.

Claims

1. A winding machine for winding a finishing roll having a radius R of a sheet material on a core having a radius re, comprising: a support drum assembly arranged on a first side of the finishing roll and configured to support the finishing roll from the first side; a rider roll arranged on a second side of the finishing roll opposite to the first side and configured to provide a second nip pressure onto the finishing roll from the second side while the finishing roll is supported by the support drum assembly; and an adaptive control unit configured to adaptively control the second nip pressure applied by the rider roll onto the finishing roll depending on an ascent rate of the rider roll, which is proportionate to a derivative of the radius of the finishing roll.

2. The winding machine according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to calculate the rider roll ascent rate based on the radius of the finishing roll, a velocity of the sheet material with which the sheet material is fed to the finishing roll, a thickness of the sheet material and a geometry of the winding machine.

3. The winding machine according to claim 1, wherein a first nip pressure is generated between the finishing roll and the support drum assembly by the first nip pressure and a weight of the finishing roll, and wherein the control unit is configured to adaptively control the first nip pressure to obtain a constant or slightly decreasing first nip pressure.

4. The winding machine according to claim 1, wherein the adaptivity of the control unit is a function of the ascent rate of the rider roll.

5. The winding machine according to claim 1, further comprising an actuator connected to the rider roll and configured to adjust the first nip pressure, wherein the actuator is operably connected to the control unit.

6. The winding machine according to claim 1, wherein the support drum assembly is configured to feed the sheet material to the finishing roll.

7. The winding machine according to claim 1, wherein the support drum assembly includes at least a first drum having a radius.

8. The winding machine according to claim 7, wherein the support drum assembly includes a second drum having a radius and being arranged with a distance to the first drum.

9. The winding machine according to claim 8, wherein the control unit is configured to calculate the ascent rate of the rider roll based on the radius of the finishing roll, a velocity of the sheet material with which the sheet material is fed to the finishing roll, a thickness of the sheet material, a radius of the first drum and the second drum, and a spacing being half the distance between the first drum and the second drum.

10. The winding machine according to claim 8, wherein the accent rate is determined by the following expression (1): $\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{AR}=\frac{d*v}{2**R}*\left(1+\frac{R+r}{\sqrt{{\left(r+R\right)}^2-{\left(r+s\right)}^2}}\right),& \left(1\right)\end{array}$ where d is a thickness of the sheet material, v is a velocity of the sheet material with which the sheet material is fed to the finishing roll, r is the radius of the first drum and the second drum, and R is the radius of the finishing roll, and s is a spacing being half the distance between the first drum and the second drum.

11. A method for controlling a second nip pressure applied by a rider roll onto a finishing roll during winding of a sheet material on the finishing roll, comprising: supporting the finishing roll by a support drum assembly arranged on a first side of the finishing roll and configured to support the finishing roll from the first side; and adaptively controlling, via an adaptive control unit, the second nip pressure applied by a rider roll onto the finishing roll, wherein the rider roll is arranged on a second side of the finishing roll opposite to the first side, wherein the second nip pressure is adaptively controlled depending on an ascent rate of the rider roll, which is proportionate to a derivative of a radius of the finishing roll.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the ascent rate of the rider roll is a function of growth rate of the finishing roll relative to the support drum assembly due to the sheet material being wound on the finishing roll.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the ascent rate of the rider roll is calculated based on the radius of the finishing roll, a velocity of the sheet material with which the sheet material is fed to the finishing roll, a thickness of the sheet material and a geometry of the winding machine.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: controlling the second nip pressure applied from the second side to generate a constant or slightly decreasing first nip pressure between the finishing roll and the support drum assembly.

15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: feeding the sheet material to the finishing roll by the support drum assembly.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments. The accompanying drawings relate to embodiments of the disclosure and are described in the following:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a winding machine according to embodiments; and

(3) FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method for controlling a first nip pressure according to embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(4) Reference will now be made in detail to the various embodiments of the disclosure, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the figures. Within the following description of the drawings, the same reference numbers refer to same components. Typically, only the differences with respect to individual embodiments are described. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the disclosure and is not meant as a limitation of the disclosure. Further, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used on or in conjunction with other embodiments to yield yet a further embodiment. It is intended that the description includes such modifications and variations. Unless otherwise stated herein, a percentage for a specific element in a chemical composition shall refer to a mass percentage of that element in the chemical composition.

(5) FIG. 1 shows a winding machine 100. The winding machine 100 can wind a finished roll 110 of sheet material M. In particular, the winding machine 100 can wrap or wind sheet material M on a core 115. For instance, the core 115 can be a hollow pipe or tube, which may be made, e.g., of cardboard. The core 115 can have a radius r.sub.c. The finishing roll 110 can have a radius R. The radius R can be the sum of the radius r.sub.c of the core 115 plus a thickness of a wound sheet material A. The wound sheet material A can be the sheet material M that is wound on the core 115 to form the finishing roll 110. Specifically, the finished roll 110 includes core 115 and/or can be removed from the winding machine 110 together with the core 115.

(6) The finishing roll 110 and/or the core 115 can define a first side and a second side opposite to the first side. As the finishing roll 110 and/or the core 115 can rotate within the winding machine 100, the first side and the second side may not be understood as being fixed with respect to a certain circumferential portion of the finishing roll 110 and/or the core 115, and hence rotate together with the finishing roll 110 and/or the core 115. Rather, the first side and the second side can be understood as relating to the first side and the second side of the finishing roll 110 and/or the core 115 with respect to the winding machine 100. Accordingly, the first side can be understood as a portion of the winding machine that is on one side of the winding machine with respect to a center of the finishing roll 110 and/or the core 115. Whereas the second side can be understood as a portion of the winding machine 100 that is on the other side of the winding machine 100 with respect to the center of the finishing roll 110 and/or the core 115.

(7) A support drum assembly 120 can be arranged on the first side. The support drum assembly 120 can be configured to support the finishing roll 110 from the first side. A rider roll 130 can be arranged on the second side. The rider roll 130 can be configured to apply a second nip pressure onto the finishing roll 110 from the second side. Specifically, the finishing roll 110 can be supported by the support drum assembly 120 while the rider roll 130 applies the second nip pressure onto the finishing roll 110.

(8) That is, the rider roll 130 can press the finishing roll 110 from the second side. According to embodiments, a physical weight of the rider roll 130 can be so high that an actuator 150 is provided, which lifts the rider roll 130 or reliefs weight of rider roll 130. As a result the nip pressure below rider roll 130 is less than the one that would be caused by the weight of rider roll 130. Anyway, the resulting pressure can be understood as nip pressure, regardless if the weight of the rider roll 130 is increased or relieved. According to embodiments described herein, the actuator 150 can be connected to the rider roll 130 and/or configured to adjust the nip pressure. Further, the actuator 150 can be operably connected to the control unit 140.

(9) Further, a control unit 140 can be provided. The control unit 140 can be configured to adaptively control the second nip pressure applied by the rider roll onto the finishing roll 110 depending on an ascent rate AR of the Rider roll.

(10) As outlined above, recent methods use a dependence on a diameter of the finishing roll which however does not provide sufficiently good results in all situations. According to embodiments described herein, the control of the nip pressure can be based on the ascent rate AR of the rider roll 100. The ascent rate AR of the rider roll 130 can be a function of a growth rate of the radius R of the finishing roll 110. Further, the machine geometry can define the rider roll ascent rate AR. From a mathematical point of view, the rider roll ascent rate AR can be considered as the most correct way to determine the optimal control of the second pressure. In practice, adaptive control can be provided that is capable to provide optimal results in all different situations.

(11) According to embodiments described herein, the control unit 140 can be configured to calculate the rider roll ascent rate AR based on geometric properties of the winding machine 100 and the sheet material M, and a velocity v of the sheet material, with which the sheet material M can be particularly fed to the finishing roll 110. According to embodiments, the control unit 140 can be configured to calculate the rider roll ascent rate AR based on the radius R of the finishing roll 110, a velocity v of the sheet material M with which the sheet material M is fed to the finishing roll 110, a thickness d of the sheet material 110 and a geometry of the winding machine 100.

(12) Specifically, the first nip pressure can be controlled by means of the second nip pressure. When the rider roll nip pressure control is on, on the second side of the finishing roll, the control can be best optimized to fit with various process requirements when relying on the ascent rate of rider roll, rather than only on web speed or roll diameter. When practicing embodiments, the second nip pressure can be controlled in such a manner that the first nip pressure stays the same. Specifically, the difference to recent winding machines may be how stable the control of the second nip pressure can be realized in abnormal, unexpected situations, like in web brakes and high machine and roll vibrations. In practice, worst case scenarios in which the rider roll instability can evolve to huge material damages and personal hazards, if stability is lost, can be avoided.

(13) According to embodiments described herein, the control unit 140 can control a flow control valve, as it is commonly used in winding machines, to control the first nip pressure.

(14) When practicing embodiments, the finishing rolls can be wound better and a more uniform tightness profile can be obtained. Further, there is a smaller probability to have finishing roll throw-outs at running speed, which events may lead to further machinery damage and production losses. Furthermore, in roll throw-outs there is always a security risk too, when breaking parts may fly to the working areas. Moreover, an increased reeling capacity can be obtained by allowing higher running speeds and faster accelerations without compromising the functional or machine safety.

(15) According to embodiments described herein, the control unit 140 can use control values to adaptively control the second nip pressure. For instance, the control unit can include an adaptive control unit for controlling the second nip pressure. The adaptive control unit can be, e.g., a PI (proportional-integral) controller, which can use PI values to adaptively control the second nip pressure.

(16) According to embodiments described herein, a first nip pressure can be generated between the finishing roll 110 and the support drum assembly 120 by the second nip pressure and a, specifically increasing, weight of the finishing roll 110. The control unit 140 can be configured to adaptively control the second nip pressure to obtain a constant or slightly decreasing first nip pressure.

(17) Specifically, the rider roll 130 may press the finishing roll 100 from the first side. An aim of embodiments described herein may be to obtain an approximately constant or slightly decreasing first nip pressure between the finishing roll 110 and the support drum assembly 120. This first nip pressure can be generated by the support of the finishing roll 110 by the support drum assembly 120. As the finishing roll 110 is growing up, the weight of the finishing roll 100 may increase the first nip pressure. Accordingly, the second nip pressure may be decreased to obtain an approximately constant or slightly decreasing first nip pressure.

(18) In order to ensure proper nip pressure, not only the reference may be taken into account, but also an active control of the second nip pressure. It may be particularly beneficial in practice when the control is adaptive. Normally, the use of fixed Gain and Integral time values in the control unit 140 are not sufficient to overcome hazardous situations (like vibrations and web breaks). By using the adaptive control described herein, the behaviour of the control unit (the sensitivity or responsiveness) can be adapted in operation.

(19) In particular, an optimal adaptivity in the control of the second nip pressure (e.g. in P and I-values) can be achieved as a function of the ascent rate AR of the rider roll 130, particularly when the rider roll 130 is moved upwards (along an increase of the radius R of the finishing roll 110) and/or in changing the relief force (along an increase of the radius R of the finishing roll 110). According to embodiments described herein, the adaptivity of the control unit 140 can be a function of the ascent rate AR of the rider roll 130.

(20) According to embodiments described herein, the support drum assembly 120 can be configured to feed the sheet material M to the finishing roll 110. In particular, the support drum assembly 120 can be configured to feed the sheet material M to the finishing roll 110 with a velocity v. Specifically, it can be a motor control unit that calculates the rider roll ascent rate AR. The ascent rate AR can be transferred to the adaptive control unit for adaptive control of the second nip pressure. That is, the control unit 140 can include several sub-units, which may be configured for different purposes and cooperate with each other.

(21) According to embodiments described herein, the support drum assembly 120 can includes at least a first drum 122 having a radius r. The first drum 122 can be configured to feed the sheet material M to the finishing roll 110. Specifically, the first nip pressure can be applied between the finishing roll 110 and the first drum 122.

(22) According to embodiments described herein, the support drum assembly 120 can include a second drum 124 having a radius r and being arranged with a distance 2s to the first drum. Specifically, the first drum 122 and the second drum 124 can have the same radius r. Alternatively, the first drum 122 and the second drum 124 can have different radius. For instance, the first drum 122 can have a radius being smaller than the radius of the second drum 124. Alternatively, the first drum 122 can have a radius being larger than the radius of the second drum 124. In case the drum assembly 120 includes the first drum 122 and the second drum 124 a first nip pressure can be applied between the finishing 110 and the first drum 122 as well as between the finishing roll 110 and the second drum 124.

(23) According to embodiments described herein, the control unit 140 can be configured to calculate the rider roll ascent rate AR based on the radius R of the finishing roll 110, the velocity v of the sheet material M with which the sheet material M is fed to the finishing roll 110, a thickness d of the sheet material M, the radius r of the first drum 122 and the second drum 124, and a spacing s being half the distance 2s between the first drum 122 and the second drum 124.

(24) According to embodiments described herein, the accent rate AR of rider roll can be determined by the following expression (1):

(25) $\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{AR}=\frac{d*v}{2**R}*\left(1+\frac{R+r}{\sqrt{{\left(r+R\right)}^2-{\left(r+s\right)}^2}}\right),& \left(1\right)\end{array}$

(26) where d is the thickness of the sheet material M,

(27) v is the velocity of the sheet material M with which the sheet material M is fed to the finishing roll 110,

(28) r is the radius of the first drum 122 and the second drum 124, and

(29) R is the radius of the finishing roll 110, and

(30) s is a spacing being half the distance 2s between the first drum 122 and the second drum 124.

(31) Specifically, the ascent rate can be determined as follows: 1. The radius R of the finishing roll 110 as a function of a web length 1 in the finishing roll 110. Area A on roll side:

(32) $\begin{array}{cc}\{\begin{array}{c}A=*R^2-*r_C^2\\ A=l*d\end{array}& \left(i\right)\\ R=\sqrt{l*\frac{d}{}+r_C^2}& \end{array}$ where l is the web length in the finishing roll 110. 2. Rate of change in the radius R(t) of the finishing roll 110 as a function of web speed (v) and the radius (R) of the finishing roll 110: Both length (l) and radius (R) are functions of time:

(33) $\begin{array}{cc}l\left(t\right)=\frac{}{d}*{R\left(t\right)}^2-\frac{}{d}*r_C^2,\mathrm{to}\mathrm{be}\mathrm{differentiated}\mathrm{with}\mathrm{respect}\mathrm{to}\left(t\right)& \left(\mathrm{ii}\right)\\ l^{}\left(t\right)=2*\frac{}{d}*R\left(t\right)*R^{}\left(t\right),\mathrm{hereinafter}R\left(t\right)=R& \\ l^{}\left(t\right)=\mathrm{change}\mathrm{in}\mathrm{length}=\mathrm{web}\mathrm{speed}v\left(t\right)=v& \\ l\left(t\right)=v\left(t\right)*t,.fwdarw.l^{}\left(t\right)=v\left(t\right)=v{R}^{}\left(t\right)=\mathrm{rate}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{change}\mathrm{in}\mathrm{roll}\mathrm{radius}& \\ R^{}\left(t\right)=\frac{d*v}{2**R}& \\ E.g.R^{}\left(t\right)=\frac{\left(0.0001m*40m\text{/}s\right)}{\left(2**0.5m\right)}=1.27\mathrm{mm}\text{/}s& \end{array}$ 3. Trigonometry allows us to solve a height (h) of the core 115:
h.sup.2+(r+s).sup.2=(r+R).sup.2
h={square root over ((r+R).sup.2(r+s).sup.2)}(iii) 4. The ascent rate of the core h (R) as a function of a growth of the radius of the finishing roll 110. The core height (h) is a function of roll radius (R). Taking the first derivative of the first one with respect to (R) (implicit function)
h(R).sup.2=(r+R).sup.2(r+s).sup.2
h(R).sup.2=R.sup.2+2rR2rss.sup.2, first derivative
2*h(R)*h(R)=2R+2r, hereinafter h(R)=h

(34) $\begin{array}{cc}{h}^{}\left(R\right)=\frac{R+r}{h}=\frac{R+r}{\sqrt{{\left(r+R\right)}^2-{\left(r+s\right)}^2}}& \left(\mathrm{iv}\right)\end{array}$ h(R) is the ascent rate of the core 115 the in proportion to the growth of the radius of the finishing roll 110. If h(R)=1, then the core 115 will rise at the same rate as R increases. In practice, the core will be faster, because due to geometry the roll rises, i.e. h(R)>1. h(R) is a pure number. 5. The ascent rate (v.sub.c) of the core 115 is:
v.sub.c=R(t)*h(R) 6. The ascent rate (v.sub.RR) of the rider roll 130 is:

(35) $\begin{array}{cc}{v}_{\mathrm{RR}}=v_C+R^{}\left(t\right)=R^{}\left(t\right)*h^{}\left(R\right)+R^{}\left(t\right)& \left(v\right)\\ v_{\mathrm{RR}}=R^{}\left(t\right)*\left(1+h^{}\left(R\right)\right)& \\ v_{\mathrm{RR}}=\frac{d*v}{2**R}*\left(1+\frac{R+r}{\sqrt{{\left(r+R\right)}^2-{\left(r+s\right)}^2}}\right)& \end{array}$

(36) The above determination of the rider roll ascent rate may hold true for the exemplary configuration of the winding machine 100 depicted in FIG. 1. For other configuration of the winding machine 100, the ascent rate AR can be determined and in an analogous manner taking the considerations described herein into account. For instance, the present disclosure can also be applied to the structure in which the second drum is replaced with two smaller rolls with a belt in between.

(37) FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 200 for controlling a second nip pressure applied by a rider roll 130 onto a finishing roll 110 during winding of a sheet material M on the finishing roll 110. In block 210, the finishing roll 110 is supported by a support drum assembly 120 arranged on a first side of the finishing roll 110 and configured to support the finishing roll 110 from the first side. In block 220, the second nip pressure applied by a rider roll 130 onto the finishing roll 110 is adaptively controlled, wherein the rider roll 130 is arranged on a second side of the finishing roll 110 opposite to the first side. Further, the second nip pressure is adaptively controlled depending on an ascent rate AR of the rider roll 110.

(38) According to embodiments described herein, the ascent rate AR of the rider roll 130 can be a function of growth rate of the finishing roll 110 relative to the support drum assembly 120 due to the sheet material M being wound on the finishing roll 110.

(39) According to embodiments described herein, the method includes, a further block, controlling the second nip pressure applied from the second side to generate a constant or slightly decreasing first nip pressure between the finishing roll 110 and the support drum assembly 120.

(40) According to embodiments of the method includes, in a yet further block, feeding the sheet material M to the finishing roll 110 by the support drum assembly 120.

(41) According to embodiments described herein, the ascent rate AR is calculated based on a radius R of the finishing roll 110, a velocity v of the sheet material M with which the sheet material M is fed to the finishing roll 110, a thickness d of the sheet material M and a geometry of the winding machine 100.

(42) While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.