Laminating machine, and a method for laminating sheets of a material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10717258-B2
Application number	US-201716344400-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 12, 2017
Priority date	Nov 3, 2016
Publication date	Jul 21, 2020
Grant date	Jul 21, 2020

Abstract

A laminating machine has at least one material source, configured as a sheet feeder, for sheets of a material to be laminated. The laminating machine also has at least one imbricating device for arranging un-laminated sheets in an imbricated manner with respect to one another. The laminating machine further has at least one laminating unit for producing a laminated material web from the sheets. At least one thickness control device is arranged in a transport path which is provided for the laminated material web downstream of the at least one laminating unit. A control region of the thickness control device intersects, at least partially, with the transport path which is provided for the laminated material web.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A laminating machine ( 01 ), wherein the laminating machine ( 01 ) has at least one material source ( 100 ) for sheets ( 03 ) of a material ( 02 ) to be laminated, configured as a sheet feeder ( 100 ), and wherein the laminating machine ( 01 ) has at least one shingling unit ( 200 ; 206 ; 207 ; 208 ) for placing non-laminated sheets ( 03 ) in a shingled arrangement relative to one another, and wherein the laminating machine ( 01 ) has at least one laminating unit ( 310 ) for producing a laminated material web ( 02 ) from the sheets ( 03 ), characterized in that downstream of the at least one laminating unit ( 310 ) along a transport path provided for the laminated material web ( 02 ), at least one thickness monitoring device ( 354 ) is provided, the monitoring zone of which overlaps at least partially with the transport path provided for the laminated material web ( 02 ).

2. The laminating machine according to claim 1 , characterized in that downstream of the at least one laminating unit ( 310 ) along the transport path provided for the laminated material web ( 02 ), the laminating machine ( 01 ) has at least one separating device ( 400 ) for separating sections ( 04 ) from the laminated material web ( 02 ).

3. The laminating machine according to claim 2 , characterized in that the laminating machine ( 01 ) has a machine controller, and in that at least one drive of the at least one separating device ( 400 ) is connected in terms of circuitry to the machine controller of the laminating machine ( 01 ), and in that the at least one thickness monitoring device ( 354 ) is connected in terms of circuitry to the machine controller of the laminating machine ( 01 ) in such a way that the control and/or regulation of the at least one drive of the at least one separating device ( 400 ) can be influenced by means of signals originating from the thickness monitoring device ( 354 ).

4. The laminating machine according to claim 1 , characterized in that the laminating machine ( 01 ) has a machine controller, and in that at least one drive provided for transporting the laminated material web ( 02 ) is connected in terms of circuitry to the machine controller of the laminating machine ( 01 ), and in that the at least one thickness monitoring device ( 354 ) is connected in terms of circuitry to the machine controller of the laminating machine ( 01 ) in such a way that the control and/or regulation of the at least one drive provided for transporting the laminated material web ( 02 ) can be influenced by means of signals originating from the thickness monitoring device ( 354 ).

5. The laminating machine according to claim 1 , characterized in that the laminating machine ( 01 ) has a machine controller, and in that at least one drive of the at least one shingling unit ( 200 ; 206 ; 207 ; 208 ) is connected in terms of circuitry to the machine controller of the laminating machine ( 01 ), and in that the at least one thickness monitoring device ( 354 ) is connected in terms of circuitry to the machine controller of the laminating machine ( 01 ) in such a way that a control and/or regulation of the at least one drive of the shingling unit ( 200 ; 206 ; 207 ; 208 ) can be influenced by means of signals originating from the thickness monitoring device ( 354 ).

6. The laminating machine according to claim 1 , characterized in that the laminating machine ( 01 ) has a machine controller, and in that the at least one thickness monitoring device ( 354 ) is connected in terms of circuitry to the machine controller of the laminating machine ( 01 ), and in that the laminating machine ( 01 ) has at least one transport roller ( 311 ; 312 ; 341 ; 353 ; 407 ; 408 ; 429 ) provided for transporting the laminated material web ( 02 ), and in that at least one angular position monitoring device is provided, by means of which the angular position of the transport roller ( 311 ; 312 ; 341 ; 353 ; 407 ; 408 ; 429 ) with respect to the rotational axis of the transport roller ( 311 ; 312 ; 341 ; 353 ; 407 ; 408 ; 429 ) can be detected, and in that the at least one angular position monitoring device is connected in terms of circuitry to the machine controller of the laminating machine ( 01 ).

7. The laminating machine according to claim 1 , characterized in that the at least one thickness monitoring device ( 354 ) has at least one ultrasonic sensor and/or at least one optical sensor, and/or in that the thickness monitoring device ( 354 ) is configured at least to distinguish between an anticipated thickness of the laminated material web ( 02 ) and a thickness which is greater than the anticipated thickness.

8. The laminating machine according to claim 1 , characterized in that the at least one thickness monitoring device ( 354 ) has at least one overlap sensor ( 354 ).

9. The laminating machine according to claim 3 , characterized in that the machine controller is equipped with an electronic master axis, and information regarding the precise location of sheets ( 03 ) and/or sections ( 04 ) and/or the time at which sheets ( 03 ) and/or sections ( 04 ) are to arrive at a specific location is available at all times to the machine controller.

10. The laminating machine according to claim 2 , characterized in that the separating device ( 400 ) has at least one forward clamping device ( 406 ) having at least one forward clamping point ( 401 ), and has at least one rear clamping device ( 404 ) having at least one rear clamping point ( 402 ), and has at least one first stretching element ( 403 ), and in that by moving at least the at least one first stretching element ( 403 ) between at least one first traversing position and at least one first separation position, the separating device ( 400 ) can be switched between at least one traversing mode and at least one separation mode.

11. The laminating machine according to claim 2 , characterized in that at least one separation sensor device ( 463 ) is provided for detecting a gap between the material web ( 02 ) and the most recently separated section ( 04 ).

12. A method for laminating sheets ( 03 ) of a material ( 02 ) by means of a laminating machine ( 01 ), wherein the sheets ( 03 ) are moved by means of a shingling unit ( 200 ; 206 ; 207 ; 208 ) into a position in which they overlap one another only partially, and wherein the sheets ( 03 ) are fed to a laminating unit ( 310 ) of the laminating machine ( 01 ), where they are laminated in the mutually overlapping position by bonding to at least one laminating material ( 321 ; 331 ), and are joined to form a laminated material web ( 02 ), and wherein the thickness of the laminated material web ( 02 ) is monitored by means of a thickness monitoring device ( 354 ), and wherein, if the thickness of the laminated material web ( 02 ) is greater than the anticipated thickness, the thickness monitoring device ( 354 ) sends at least one thickness signal, characterizing said thickness that is greater than the anticipated thickness of the laminated material web ( 02 ), to a machine controller of the laminating machine ( 01 ).

13. The method according to claim 12 , characterized in that the laminated material web ( 02 ) is divided into sections ( 04 ) by means of a separating device ( 400 ) of the laminating machine ( 01 ), and in that separating signals are signals that characterize a movement of at least one drive of the separating device ( 400 ), and in that a joint evaluation of separation signals and thickness signals is performed.

14. The method according to claim 13 , characterized in that, if the relative sequence of separation signals and thickness signals deviates fr

Assignees

• Koenig & Bauer Ag

Inventors

• Meckelein Philipp
• Scheller Michael

Classifications

• B32B41/00

  Arrangements for controlling or monitoring lamination processes; Safety arrangements · CPC title

• B32B2041/04

  Detecting wrong registration, misalignment, deviation, failure · CPC title

• B32B37/22 Primary

  involving the assembly of both discrete and continuous layers · CPC title