Winding of sheets
United States Patent 1 [111 3,  
 Hornig Apr. 1, 1975 1 WINDING OF SHEETS 3.226.911 1/1966 Vreeland 242/673 R Inventor: Peter g, Berlin Germany 3,445,313 5/1969 Clausen 156/433 [73] Assignee: C.L.P. Fleck Shoe GmbH, Berlin,  
  Germany Primary Examiner-Edward J. McCarthy Filed Nov 19 1973 Aztorney, Agent, or Firm-Mason, Mason &amp; Albright [21] Appl. No.: 417,231  
 [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Nov. 27, 1972 Germany 2258095 Veneer sheets wound mto a roll on a spindle are fed to 52 U.S. Cl. 242/67.l R, 156/433 the Spindle between pp and lower groups of P 51 Int. Cl B65h 17/02 1e! filamentary members- The filamentary members [58] Field Of Search 1. 242/67.1 R, 67.3 R, 67.2; extend between respective spools end the spindle and 15 433 lie between the turns of the roll. The spindle and the spools are carried by a pair of bearing plates. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures 2.533.718 12/1950 Coursey 242/673 R WINDING or SHEETS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.  
 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the winding of sheets, for example veneer sheets, into a roll.  
 2. Description of the Prior Art.  
  German Patent Specification No. 1,244,656 relates to apparatus for winding veneer sheets into a roll comprising a drum rotatably journalled in a frame. A belt is connected to the drum in such a manner that veneer sheets fed to the drum are spirally laid between the in dividual turns of the belt during the winding of the belt on to the drum, or separated from the belt during unwinding. A reversible drivable endless thrust belt extends adjacent the periphery of the drum.  
  A requirement exists in the production of veneers, for storing veneers wound into a roll prior to being fed into a drier.  
  In the apparatus described in German Patent Specification No. 1,244,656, this requirement is fulfilled with great difficulty only and with considerable expenditure of time, inasmuch as the thrust belt must be removed beforehand for removal of the roll from the frame and replacement of this roll by an empty drum. Removal of the thrust belt is relatively complex and timeconsuming. Moreover, the belt which holds the wound veneer sheets onto the drum must be cut through on a full roll, and fastened to the veneer sheets.  
  Another disadvantage of this previously proposed apparatus is that the thrust belt does not apply load to the veneer sheets over the entire periphery of the roll. Unconfined, that is to say load-free, areas are thereby produced, in which the veneer sheets are not held. In these areas, individual veneer sheets may be curled or creased which renders uniform winding impossible and moreover renders these veneer sheets unusable. Narrow veneer sheets, such as may be produced during veneer cutting, are not held securely in these areas, especially in the case of a large diameter roll, and may slip or fall out of the roll so that uniform winding becomes impossible and the later transfer of the roll into the drier is rendered more difficult.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided in apparatus for winding sheets into a roll, bearing plate means, roll means journalled in the bearing plate means, means operative to feed sheets to be Wound on the roll means, first spool means carried by the bearing plate means, first filamentary means wound on the first spool means and extending between the first spool means and the roll means above sheets fed by said feed means such that the filamentary means are laid between the turns ofthe roll during winding, said first filamentary means comprising, parallel filamentary members, second spool means carried by the bearing plate means, second filamentary means wound on the second spool means and extending between the second spool means and the roll means below sheets fed by said feed means, said second filamentary means comprising, parallel filamentary members and lifting frame means, the bearing plates being releasably mounted in the lifting frame means.  
  Further according to the present invention, there is provided a storage unit for a roll of sheets, said unit comprising a pair of opposed bearing plates, roll means journalled in the bearing plates, first spool means carried by the bearing plates, a plurality of parallel upper filamentary members extending between the first spool means and the roll means, second spool means carried by the bearing plates, and a plurality of parallel lower filamentary members extending between the second spool means and the roll means, the upper and lower filamentary members being arranged to support therebetween, sheets fed to the roll means to be rolled thereon such that the upper and lower filamentary members lie between the turns of the roll.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:  
  FIG. 1 is an elevation of apparatus in accordance with the present invention; and  
  FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The apparatus shown in the drawings includes a conveyor belt system 1 comprising a lower conveyor belt 2 and an upper conveyor belt 3 situated above the former. The conveyor belts 2, 3 are arranged one above the other so that veneer sheets 4 can be conveyed forwardly by pressure between the belts.  
  The conveyor belts 2 and 3 of the conveyor belt system l consist of rows of pairs of conveyor belts 2a, 3a to 2f, 3fextending along the conveying direction of the veneer sheets 4. The speed of the pairs of conveyor belts 2a, 3a to 2f, 3f is progressively decreased in the direction of travel of the veneer sheets 4; thus for example, the conveying speed of the pairs of conveyor belts 2b, 3b is lower than the speed of the pairs of conveyor belts 2a, 3a.  
  In order to obtain the different speeds of the pairs of conveyor belts in the separate rows, the speed of the spindles of the pairs of conveyor belts is adjustable by means of a separate driving mechanism in each case. The front deflecting rollers are positively coupled to the spindle of a pair of conveyor belts, this spindle being situated at the left in the drawing, and act as driving rollers, whereas the rear deflecting rollers are freely mounted on the spindle ofa pair of conveyor belts, this spindle being situated at the right in the drawing.  
  Spools 7, 8 on which are wound parallel filamentary members or threads 9, 10, are rotatably mounted in spaced relation on spindles 5 and 6, the spools 7, 8 being located respectively above and beneath the conveyor belts 2, 3 adjacent the downstream end portion of the conveyor belt system 1. The spindles 5 and 6 are each mounted in bearing plates 11, one situated at each side of the conveyor belt system 1. The parallel threads 9, 10 run over guide rollers 12, 13 which extend coaxially with the spindles corresponding to the pair of conveyor belts 2f, or which are alternatively arranged behind the front belt pulley of the pair of conveyor belts 3f, the spindles of the rollers 12, 13 likewise being carried by the bearing plates 11. The threads 9, 10 are fed over the guide rollers l2, 13 to a winding spindle or roll 14 on which the veneer sheets are wound into a roll 14a and to which are secured the threads 9, 10. Mechanical braking and driving mechanisms 15, 16 are arranged on the spindles 5, 6 for tensioning and rewinding the threads 9, 10.  
  The winding spindle 14 is rotatably coupled with the bearing plates 11 and is releasably carried within a lifting frame 17. The frame 17 serves to lift the winding spindle l4 and thereby also the bearing plates 11 coupled thereto, and the spindles 5 and 6 with the spools 7 and 8, as the roll 14a increases in size. The winding spindle 14 and the bearing plates 11, with the spindles 5 and 6, form a unit which can be withdrawn from the frame 17 as soon as the roll 14a has reached the required size and be replaced by an empty unit.  
  The winding spindle 14 is driven by means of an adjustable driving system 18 the driving speed of which in relation to the speed of the pairs of conveyor belts 2f, 3f is controlled in dependance on the diameter of the roll 14a in such a manner that the speed at the periphery of the roll 14a is constant.  
 The apparatus operates as follows:  
 The veneer sheets 4 are fed in spaced relationship to the conveyor belt system 1 by means of a discharge mechanism (known per se). These veneer sheets 4 travel in unrolled form to the pairs of conveyor belts 2a, 3a which transfer the veneer sheets 4 to the next pairs of conveyor belts 2b, 3b. From the pairs of conveyor belts 2b, 3b the veneer sheets 4 then reach the following pairs of conveyor belts 20, 3c and 3d, 3d and 2e, 3e. Upon reaching the last pairs of conveyor belts 2f, 3f, the veneer sheets 4 are positioned close to each other, the distances between the veneer sheets 4 having been reduced to a minimum value ofa few millimetres. This is accomplished by the fact that the speed of the successive pairs of conveyor belts is progressively reduced so that when the veneer sheets 4 are entrained by the successive pairs of conveyor belts, the veneer sheets 4 automatically have their leading edge set straight and are decelerated to the speed corresponding to the pairs of conveyor belts in question.  
  Upon leaving the pairs of conveyor belts 2f, 3f, the veneer sheets 4 arranged close to each other in a line pass between the threads 9 and 10 to the winding spindle l4 whereon these veneer sheets 4 which are combined into a (closely coupled) coherant web of veneer as a result of the double guiding action of the threads 9, 10 are wound into a roll 14a.  
  After veneer sheets 4 from several tree trunks have been wound on the winding spool and the roll 14a has reached its maximum diameter of approx. 900 mms., the roll is withdrawn from the frame 17 by mechanical means together with the bearing plates 11, and is conveyed to suitable storage means. The veneer sheets 4 can then be subject to a natural drying process or be made ready immediately for the charging of a drier, according to requirements During unwinding and charging of the drier for forced drying of the sheets, the operations described above occur in reverse, the driving mechanisms 15 and 16 driving the spools 7 and 8 in such manner that the threads 9 and 10 are wound up again as a function of the speed of the drier which also governs the transfer of the veneer sheets 4 to the feed belts of the drier.  
  After the unwinding of the last sheet of veneer, the winding spindle 14 is ready for a subsequent winding operation.  
 In the apparatus particularly described it is possible to wind optional as well as different sheet widths in the lengths obtained at maximum output from current veneer cutting machines, to store these and to deliver them to further processing stages, for example into the drier, without manual intervention.  
  To this end, the winding spindle is so constructed that it may be removed from the frame easily as well as rapidly, and conveyed onwards for subsequent processing, e.g. transfer of the veneer sheets into the drier, or for storage.  
  Another advantage is that the bearing system of the spools or reels for the threads is positively connected to the bearing plates. This means that the threads are wound on the corresponding spools again during the unwinding of the veneer sheets, so that after the unwinding of the veneer sheets and insertion of the winding spindle into the frame, the spindle is ready for winding again immediately, without the threads having to be fastened to the spindle again. Rapid replacement of the winding spindle and thus a rapid mode of operation, are thereby ensured.  
  Due to the individual drive of the spools, it is possible to make use of the threads again after the winding operation. By virtue of this fact, the empty winding spindle may be inserted again into the frame immediately together with the corresponding threads, and is then ready for use.  
 veyor belt system ensures that the veneer sheets are always positively held either between the conveyor belts or between the threads and that no unsupported areas which as known represent the cause of veneer sheet rolling or slipping, can occur.  
 What is claimed is: 1. In apparatus for winding sheets into a roll, bearing plate means, roll means journalled in the bearing plate means, means operative to feed sheets to be wound on the roll means, first spool means carried by the bearing plate means, first filamentary means wound on the first spool means and extending between the first spool means and the roll means above sheets fed by said feed means such that the filamentary means are laid between the turns of the roll during winding, said first filamentary means comprising, parallel filamentary members, second spool means carried by the bearing plate means, second filamentary means wound on the second spool means and extending between the second spool means and the roll means below sheets fed by said feed means, said second filamentary means comprising, parallel filamentary members, and a frame, said frame releasably mounting the bearing plate means for movement in an upwards direction. 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising,  
 guide rollers means, said guide roller means guiding the first and second filamentary means. 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising means for driving the spool means, and means for braking the spool means. 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further compris ing variable speed drive means for&#39;driving the roll means.  
  5. A storage unit for a roll of sheets, said unit comprising roll means a pair of opposed roll supports. said roll means being 7 journalled in the roll supports first spool means carried by the roll supports a plurality of parallel upper filamentary members extending between the first spool means and the roll means,  
 bers lie between the turns of the roll.