GB2204858A - Winding web - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for controllably winding a web, particularly a paper audit roll, forwards or backwards at fast or slow speed, or stopping the web to be read or marked at a viewing plate, by movement of a single control knob comprises an electric motor (68) driving a sprocket (44), and a single control knob (74) movable in one direction to control the web speed by altering potentiometer (90) by means of a ratchet on a rod (86), and movable in the perpendicular direction to control the direction of web winding by actuating one of two micro-switches (72, 73) to switch on the motor in toward or reverse direction and simultaneously to engage the sprocket (44) with one of two sprockets (42, 43) in the winding module which drive slit winding rods (36, 38) between which the web is wound. <IMAGE>

Description

APPARATUS FOR COMTROt LABLY WINDING A WEB This invention relates to apparatus by which a long web, e.g. of paper1 wound on rollers in the apparatus can be controllably moved forwards or backwards at a desired fast or slow speed by means of a single control.

The apparatus is especially useful in the reviewing and winding of audit rolls produced for checking the transactions on cash-receiving till machines. Hitherto, in order to review such a till roll after it has been removed from the till at the end of a specified number of transactions, it has been necessary to manually unwind the roll and find the desired transaction, with the result that the roll becomes spread out and it is tedious and time-consuming to rewind it into a neat roll for storage again.

It is therefor an object of the invention to provide an apparatus whereby the paper or other web can be conveniently mounted on rollers and can be wound in either forward or reversed direction at a rapid or slow speed, and by means of a single control operable by one hand, leaving the other hand free for writing or marking the web or for making written notes.

According to the invention we provide apparatus for the aforesaid purpose, comprising at least a pair of rollers between which an elongated web can be wound, a drive motor which is connectable by a power transmission train to said rollers, and a control means connected to said power transmission means whereby the web can be wound at a fast or slow speed in forward or reverse direction or the motor can be disconnected so that the web remains stationary.

she apparatus may be made in to parts, which are connectable together, one part comprising the roller elements, which may be made in different sizes to accornodate webs of different widths, and the other comprising the motor and its control means.

Preferably a single 11joy-stick" is provided which projects from the apparatus and provides single handed controls of the foregoing functions.

To provide varying speed output a potentiometer means can be used.

The connection between the motor and the rollers can be by means of a plurality of gear wheels which appropriately intermesh to provide drive in one or other direction.

The invention will now be particularly described with reference to the preferred embodment thereof shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the entire apparatus; Fig. 2 is a top view of the apparatus, the two parts being separated; Fig. 3 is a front view thereof; Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are side views of the two modules from the respective directions A, B, C and D indicated in Fig. 2; Fig. 8 is a view of the interior of the apparatus with the top cover removed; Fig. 9 is a view of the interior of the flap portion shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the control mechanism; Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a disc on the rewind roller shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 12 is a view of the interior of the module as shown in Fig. 5, from direction A; Fig. 13 is a circuit diagram of the printed circuit board and the potentiometer circuit; and Fig. 14 shows the voltage regulator and power supply portion of the circuit.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 12, the apparatus comprises a motor module generally indicated as 10 and a winding module 12 which are designed to be engaged with each other laterally, the correct position of engagement being ensured by means of a projecting strip 14 mounted on the motor module 10 (alternative means such as corresponding pins and holes could be used), and the two modules are then secured together by a bolt 16 screwing into a threaded boss 18. The same motor module 10 can be used with winding modules 12 of differing widths to accomodate paper rolls of corresponding widths.

The winding module has a main cover 20, which is hinged at its rear edge 22 ( Fig. 4), and when opened allows access to the rollers therein; a portion is apertured at 24 (Fig. 2) and this aperture is covered by a transparent cover 26, which may be made of a transparent plastics, e.g. methylmethacrylate and which is itself hinged at 28 (Figs. 1 and 2) onto the main cover 20.

Inside the winding module 12 there are provided (see Fig. 8) three horizontally placed bars, which are referred to herein as rollers, namely a loading roller 30 which at one end is mounted on a hinged plate 32 and its other end fits into a recess 34 in the body of the module. Two driven rollers 36, 38 for winding of the web backwards or forwards each are mounted across the module and terminate on the right hand side each in a knob 40, 41, which can be knurled, for optional manual use, and at the left hand side each roller has a sprocket 42, 43, one or other of which (but not both) is engagable with a corresponding drive sprocket 44 in the motor module, to be further described below.A disc 46 (Figs. 8 and 11) on the roller 36 is slidable, to assist removal of a roll from the roller The right-hand end of the winding up roller 36 fits into a spigot 48 (which is rotatable with the knob 40) and which is mounted on bearing 49 on a small door 50 (Figs. 3, 4, 8) which can be pulled open by the knob 52 fixed thereto and which is hinged at its lower edge at 54; when this door is open the web can be slid off from the roller by sliding the disc 46 to the right as seen in Fig. 8.

A further roller 56 is mounted above the drive rollers so as to guide part of the web.

Beneath the aperture 24 is a flat plate 58 (Figs. 8, 12) to support the portion of the web being viewed and to allow the web to be marked if desired; this plate has a guide 60 at each edge, spaced slightly above the plate 58 so as to retain the web thereon, and at its front edge there is a roller 62 over which the web passes. This roller 62 and the plate 58 are together mounted on lateral strips 64 which are hinged upon the guide roller 56 (see Figs. 8 and 12) so that the viewing plate can be moved upwards and forwards to allow access to the roller 38 for the loading of a web. The roller 38 has a longitudinal slot 66 (Fig. 8) to receive the end of a web.

The motor module contains (see Fig. 8) a mains input socket 62 (see also Fig. 7), an on-off switch 64 (Fig.

2), a voltage transformer 66, a motor 68, a printed circuit board 70, and a pair of microswitches 72 (Figs. 2, 13) each having a leats 73 contacted by the rod 74 of a "joy-stick" control, the terminal knob of which 76 is seen in Figs.

1, 2 and 3.

The joystick is movable in a U-shaped path in an aperture 78; the base of the rod 74 is hinged at 80, as shown in Fig. 10, to allow movement in two directions.

As it is moved in the direction X-Y, it engages with one or other of a pair of rods 82 (Fig. 10) which moves an arm 84 connected to the motor 68 and upon which is mounted the drive sprocket 44 referred to above, so that movement in the direction X engages drive sprocket 44 with sprocket 42 of winding up roller 36, and movement in the direction Y engages the sprocket 44 with sprocket 43 of the winding roller 38. As also seen in Fig. 10, movement of the rod 74 of the joy-stick in direction Z (Figs. 2 and 10) moves an arm 92 connected to the joy-stick at a universal joint 88, so as to rotate a potentiometer 90 by means of a cog and ratchet mechanism 91, 93, the ratchet moving within a sleeve 86.

The potentiometer 90 controls the speed of the motor, and a suitable wiring diagram is shown in Figs. 13 and 14.

The microswitches 72, have to be actuated by movement of the joy-stick in direction X or Y and then Z, before the motor 68 will operate. Thus a single control knob 76 which is operable with one hand allows the control of both speed and direction of movement of a web mounted in the winding module 12.

The mains input can be transformed, e.g. to 12 volts, and rectified to direct current which energises the coil of the relay RS. Alternatively battery operation can be provided for the motor module.

When the on-off switch 64 is switched to the on position, the voltage regulator 94 is energised and also the microswitches energise relays RF or RR, (Fig. 13) allowing the motor to rotate clockwise or anticlockwise when the drive sprocket 44 is meshed with a drive sprocket 42 or 43; thus the motor 68 will not turn until a proper mesh of these sprockets has been established. The speed of rotation of the motor and thus the speed of rotation of the web is controlled by the movement of the joy-stick in direction Z thus altering the resistance of the potentiometer 90 and varying the output of the motor.

The operation of the apparatus is now described.

A winding module of appropriate width is selected, and is placed with the motor module and after opening the lid 26 the modules are engaged by the screw means 16, 18.

The power switch 64 is switched on, and the loading roller 30 is pulled out of its recess 34 and hingedly moved to the vertical position, and a web to be examined is placed thereon, and the roller returned to its original position. The viewing plate assembly 58, 60, 62, 64 is moved upwards and backwards, and the free edge of the roll of web is pulled forward and inserted into the slot 60 in the winding up roller and the web is tightened thereon by turning the knob 41 manually. The viewing plate assembly is pulled forward to its normal position and the sides of the web are carefully engaged under the guides 60 ; the joy-stick knob, 76 is moved in direction Y to wind the web forward. The speed of movement can be increased by movement of the knob further in direction Z.At any point the movement can be stopped by returning the knob to its rest position as shown in Fig. 2, and the transparent cover 26 can be raised to allow markings to be made through the aperture 24 on to the web.

When the roll has completely wound onto the winding up roller 36, its free end (which was originally inside the roll of web when first loaded) is inserted in a slot 37 in the rewind roller 38, and the joy-stick knob is moved in the direction X to wind the roll back onto the rewind roller while the web can be viewed and stopped and marked as desired. When the original web outside edge is again outside, the knob 52 is pulled to open the side door 50 of the roller module, and the disc 46 is pushed to the right hand side as seen in Fig. 8, whereby the rewound web can be removed in a convenient tightly rolled up form.

The disc 46 should then be slid back to its original position.

Suitable values of electrical components in Fig. 13 are: The voltage regulator can be a LM 317T chip C1=2200 pF C2=0.1 pF R1=5K SL (potentiometer), R2=240Q , and Transformer 66 produces 12v, 1 amp current.

For use with an audit roll, the apparatus of the invention has the following advantages: 1. Allowing one operator to insert an audit roll easily into the machine.

2. Enabling audit roll transactions to be clearly "viewed" through a window display.

3. Once the transaction has been found, permitting written entries to be made onto the audit roll (against a firm writing area).

4. Winding the audit roll at varying speeds, either in forward mode, or reverse.

5. On completion producing a tightly wound audit roll which will not immediately unravel once removed from the machine.

6. Operating by mains or battery power.

The apparatus may however also be used for examining other webs, e.g. a roll of raw paper, printed wall paper or textile fabric in order to check for defects.

The invention is not limited to the particular embodiment shown but suitable equivalent means may be used if convenient.

Thus if the web is light-weight, friction wheels might be used in place of the sprockets 42, 43, 44 (Figs. 5, 8).

The "web" can be a narrow band or strip provided it can be wound up as a roll. To allow webs of different widths to be wound, slidable straight-sided elements such as the disc 46 (Figs. 8 and 11) can be used on the left-hand (in Fig. 8) edge of rollers 30, 36 and 38 in place of winding modules 12 of different widths.

Claims (17)

CLAIMS:

1. Apparatus for controllably winding an extended web, which comprises at least a pair of rollers between which the web can be wound, a drive motor which is connectable by a power transmission train to said rollers, and a single control means connected to said power transmission means in such a manner that the web can be wound at a fast or slow speed in forward or reverse direction or the motor can be disconnected so that the web remains stationary.

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the motor is driven electrically, and the apparatus includes a power connection to said motor through a potentiometer the resistance of which is altered by movement of said control means so as to correspondingly alter the speed of said motor.

3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein said power transmission train comprises gear or friction means on the end of each of said rollers and a drive gear or friction element engagable by said control means with one or other of the gear means of said rollers.

4. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said control means comprises a single control element movable by one hand of the operator, and which is movable in a first direction to alter the speed of the drive motor and in a second direction to connect the drive motor with one or other of said rollers.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, which comprises a first portion containing said drive motor and a power supply thereto, all contained in a first housing, and a second portion comprising a second housing containing said rollers and having an aperture through which a portion of the travelling web can be viewed and/or marked, the two portions being engagable together for use so that the transmission train is completed.

6. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 5, wherein a plurality of portions of the second type are provided, of differing widths to accommodate webs of correspondingly differing widths.

7. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, which includes an element having a face perpendicular to that of the roller and which is slidable along one of said rollers to assist removal of a rewound web from said roller, and an aperture being provided at -one end of a housing in which said roller is mounted, the aperture being of a size sufficient to allow removal of a wound-up roll of web therethrough.

8. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, which also includes a further roller or spindle, which is hinged at one end to allow the loading of a roll of web thereon, and from which said web can be transferred to one of said driven rollers.

9. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, which includes a plate which can be positioned beneath the web during the winding thereof, to support the web and allow marking thereon.

10. Apparatus for controllably winding a web, substantially as hereinbefore described.

11. A method for controllably winding and inspecting an elongated web, which comprises attaching one end of said web to one of the rollers of apparatus according to any preceding claim, and the other end of the web to another of said rollers, controlling the speed and direction of movement of said web by means of said control means, and viewing the web during its travel and making markings thereon if desired.

12. A method as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the direction and speed of said movement of the web is effected by operation of said control means with one hand of the operator.

13. A method as claimed in Claim 11 or 12, wherein the web is rewound into its criginal conf y-ùratlon ann is removed from the apparatus in tightly rolled up form.

14. A method as claimed in Claim 11, 12 or 13, wherein said web is made of paper, fabric or plastics material.

15. A method as claimed in Claim 14, wherein said web is an accounting audit roll.

16. A method as claimed in Claim 11, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A web which has been reviewed and marked by use of apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 10 or by a method as claimed in any of Claims 11 to 16.