Resilient Reverse Crown Spreader Roll for Web Wrinkle Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current web processing methods struggle to efficiently handle thin, high-speed web materials with precise control, leading to issues like wrinkling and bagginess, especially when web centerlines and widths vary, requiring frequent adjustments and multiple reverse taper rolls which increase costs.
Innovation Solution
A spreader roll with a reverse crown design covered by a resilient material, featuring a variable diameter that decreases and increases stepwise, allowing for effective web spreading and smoothing, capable of rotating to spread webs in a cross-web direction while conveying them in a downweb direction, reducing wrinkles and bagginess without the need for precise centering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple reverse taper rolls are used to handle web variations, then web handling capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the functions of multiple reverse taper rolls into a single spreader roll with a resilient engagement cover. The resilient material provides the necessary web spreading and centering capabilities that previously required multiple separate rolls, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining web handling capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The spreader roll with resilient engagement cover performs multiple functions simultaneously: web spreading, centering, and wrinkle reduction. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate specialized rolls for each function, reducing overall device complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple reverse taper rolls are used to handle web variations, then web handling capability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the functions of multiple expensive reverse taper rolls into a single spreader roll with a resilient engagement cover, the overall manufacturing cost is reduced. The resilient cover can be applied to existing rolls rather than requiring multiple custom-manufactured rolls.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient engagement cover is a cost-effective component that can be applied to existing rolls. Rather than manufacturing multiple expensive reverse taper rolls, the patent uses an affordable resilient material that provides the necessary functionality without the high cost of precision-machined rolls.
3Manufacturing precision
If precise centering is required for web processing, then web quality is improved, but operational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient engagement cover automatically centers the web through its elastic properties without requiring precise mechanical centering or frequent manual adjustments. The material's resilience allows it to self-adjust to web position variations, maintaining web quality while reducing operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient material changes its physical state in response to web position variations, automatically adjusting to maintain proper web centering. This dynamic response eliminates the need for frequent manual adjustments and maintains manufacturing precision without increasing operational complexity.
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 spreader roll effectively reduces wrinkles and bagginess in webs, allowing for high-speed processing of thin films with minimal defects, accommodating variations in web centerlines and widths, and can be easily integrated into existing web handling systems, reducing the need for multiple reverse taper rolls and associated costs.
Implementation Method 1
an engagement cover comprising a resilient engagement surface, the engagement cover disposed over the major surface of the reverse crown roll
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes a spreader roll (101) that can help spread webs laterally in a web processing operation, in particular to reduce or remove the presence of wrinkles or bagginess in the web. The spreader roll can be a reverse crown roll that is covered with a resilient material (160) to assist spreading the web to remove wrinkles. The surface curvature of the spreader roll (101) can be formed using layers of material such as a tape, to easily and readily approximate the shape of a reverse crown roll.