Combined Chiller and Spreader Roller Assembly for Web Flatness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing printing press technologies face challenges in maintaining web flatness and preventing micro-fluting and out-of-plane deformations, especially when handling thin films or substrates, due to issues with chill roll design and web tension, which leads to uneven cooling and substrate deformation.
Innovation Solution
A combined chill and spreader roller assembly with a small diameter, flexible, and cylindrically shaped chill roll that includes a trolley roller to impart deflection and maintain a non-linear axis, along with an actuator to apply force, ensuring effective heat transfer and web spreading while counteracting web loading.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a conventional chill roll is used to cool the web, then cooling function is provided, but web flatness deteriorates and micro-fluting occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two separate functions (chilling and spreading) into a single roller assembly. The roller has a chilled surface for cooling the web while simultaneously incorporating spreading mechanisms (such as bowed shafts or segmented cylinders) to maintain web flatness and prevent micro-fluting during the cooling process.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller assembly is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as both a chill roll for temperature control and a spreader roll for web flatness maintenance. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate chilling and spreading devices, directly addressing the contradiction between cooling effectiveness and web flatness preservation.
2Stability of the object's composition
If web tension is increased to prevent deformations, then web stability improves, but substrate deformation and fluting worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The roller assembly applies localized spreading force through its bowed shaft or segmented cylinder design, creating specific pressure zones that counteract web tension effects precisely where needed. This localized action maintains web stability without applying excessive uniform tension that would cause substrate deformation and fluting.
3Adaptability or versatility
If separate chill roll and spreader roll systems are used, then chilling and spreading functions are provided, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention integrates the chill roll and spreader roll into a single unified roller assembly, reducing the number of separate components and simplifying the overall system. The roller incorporates both chilling capability (through internal cooling channels or chilled surface) and spreading capability (through bowed shaft or segmented cylinder design) in one device.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller assembly is designed as a multi-functional component that simultaneously performs chilling and spreading operations, eliminating the need for multiple separate rolls and reducing system complexity while maintaining adaptability for both functions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively minimizes fluting and maintains web flatness by combining chilling and spreading functions in a single roll, enhancing heat transfer and preventing downstream deformations, thus ensuring uniform cooling and improved printing results.
Implementation Method 1
a trolley roller contacting the roller, the trolley roller configured and arranged to impart a deflection in the roller
Implementation Method 2
a roller for chilling and spreading a web... effectively minimizes fluting and maintains web flatness by combining chilling and spreading functions in a single roll, enhancing heat transfer
Implementation Method 3
an actuator connected to the roller... the actuator causes the trolley roller to impart the sufficient force on the roller to keep the axis of the roller linear under said load
Data Source
AI summary
A roller assembly is provided for spreading and chilling a web in a printing press. The roller assembly includes a roller for chilling and spreading a web and a trolley roller contacting the roller, the trolley roller configured and arranged to impart a deflection in the roller. Also provided is a roller assembly for counteracting web loading on a roller in a printing press. This roller assembly includes a roller for transporting a web, the roller having an axis; a web wrapped partially around the roller and applying a load on the roller transverse to the axis; and a trolley roller contacting the roller, the trolley roller configured and arranged to impart a sufficient force on the roller to keep the axis of the roller linear under said load.