Cleaning Web Cutting Control With Stop Position Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manufacturing methods for cleaning web members face challenges in accurately cutting continuous web members due to thermoplastic fiber fusion, leading to inaccurate intermittent transport and precision issues during cutting, especially when detecting marks or distinctively-shaped portions with similar colors or small shape differences.
Innovation Solution
A method involving intermittent transport and imaging to measure displacement amounts of predetermined regions on the continuous web member, generating planar image data, and adjusting transport amounts based on this data to ensure accurate cutting and precision, using a sensor and control system to suspend and align the web member during cutting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If shearing is used to cut thermoplastic fibers, then fiber fusion is prevented, but transport must be suspended causing intermittent transport and reduced productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by suspending the transport of the continuous web member before cutting to ensure precise positioning. The web member is transported to a predetermined position, stopped, and then cut by the cutter mechanism. This preliminary positioning ensures that the cutting operation can be performed with high precision without fiber fusion, while the transport suspension is minimized to maintain productivity.
2Extent of automation
If phototube is used to detect marks for transport control, then intermittent transport can be controlled, but detection accuracy decreases when mark color is similar to surrounding portions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by using a light-receiving element that detects not only color differences but also shape differences of marks. When the mark color is similar to the surrounding portions, the system can detect the distinctively-shaped portions of the mark based on their geometric characteristics. This allows the automated transport control to maintain high detection accuracy even when color contrast is low.
3Extent of automation
If phototube detects distinctively-shaped portions, then transport control can be achieved, but detection fails when shape difference is small
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing the light-receiving element to perform multiple detection functions: detecting both color differences and shape differences of marks. This multi-functional detection capability ensures that the automated transport control system can reliably identify marks regardless of whether they have high color contrast or distinct shapes, thereby maintaining high detection accuracy across various mark designs.
4Manufacturing precision
If continuous web member is transported intermittently, then cutting can be performed with suspended transport, but transport position precision is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by using the light-receiving element to detect the position of marks on the continuous web member during intermittent transport. The detected position information is fed back to the transport control mechanism, which adjusts the transport amount to ensure that the web member stops at the precise target position for cutting. This closed-loop feedback control maintains high stop position precision despite the intermittent nature of transport.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
There is provided a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a cleaning web member by intermittently cutting a continuous web member at a product pitch in a transport direction, the continuous web member having a base sheet continuous in the transport direction and a fiber bundle placed on and secured to the base sheet with a direction of fibers being along the transport direction. The manufacturing apparatus includes: an intermittent transport mechanism that intermittently transports the continuous web member in the transport direction; a cutter mechanism that is disposed downstream from the intermittent transport mechanism in the transport direction, and that produce a downstream end portion of the continuous web member as the cleaning web member by cutting and separating the downstream end portion from the continuous web member while transport of the continuous web member is suspended; a sensor that measures a displacement amount of a stop position of a predetermined region of the continuous web member from a target stop position, while transport of the continuous web member is suspended, the measurement being performed at a measurement position which is a position upstream from the intermittent transport mechanism in the transport direction; and a control section that controls a transport amount related to the intermittent transport by the intermittent transport mechanism based on information of the displacement amount output from the sensor.