Hoists may be used to move materials from staging areas to their appointed location within a converting process. In such situations, the materials may be provided on a roll, and be taken from a staging area and placed upon a spindle for use in a converting process by an operator.
While hoists and roll handlers exist for such applications, they may not always be entirely satisfactory. For example, certain roll handlers may be able to accommodate material rolls of a particular size, but may not be able to accept rolls of widely varying weights. Thus, with space in a manufacturing environment often at a premium, having several material handling devices for each type of material is an undesirable option. As a result, one material handling device is often used to handle several different configurations of material rolls. However, in order to accommodate several roll configurations, this single device is often not well suited for any one particular roll of material, leading to possible safety issues. For example, the device may include a chuck that is used to engage the rolls via the core of the roll. However, to accommodate varying roll sizes, the device may be sized such that it may not fully and securely engage a wide roll, but when the same device is used in connection with a smaller roll, the size of the device may cause it to unintentionally engage multiple rolls rather that just a single roll. Either situation presents a safety hazard and could potentially lead to material contamination if a roll were to accidentally slip off of the chuck.
Further, ergonomic considerations of the user are often compromised with certain roll handling devices. For example, problems that have been encountered in the past include the physical strain associated with the need to at least partially push rolls of material off poorly adapted roll handling devices and to their appointed destination, particularly if the destination is located at an elevation. Further, it may be difficult to readily move some roll handling devices in an x-y plane. In situations where a material handling device has been suspended from above, such as with an I-beam and trolley combination, the material handling device could be awkward for an operator to use since such designs have at times been prone to swinging in addition to requiring an undesired level of exertion to move through a limited range of motion.
In response to the difficulties and problems discussed above, a new roll handling hoist has been discovered.
Explanation of the drawings
The illustrated hoist 20 includes a rigid vertical support assembly 30. The support assembly 30 defines a vertical axis 28. The hoist 20 also includes a chuck assembly 40 that is movably joined to the vertical support assembly 30 and is configured to move up and down in the vertical direction 22. In a particular aspect, there may be a slide rod 34 joined to each of the frame members 32 for improved performance and steadiness of the chuck assembly in use. The slide rods 34 of the hoist 20 may be provided by extruded aluminum or steel rails.
In addition, the hoist 20 may further include a user control assembly 90 mounted in a fixed position that allows the operator to direct the various features of the hoist 20.
The illustrated roll handling hoist 20 includes a pair of handles extending from the frame members 32 of the vertical support assembly 30.
The winch 80 may be capable of raising and lowering the chuck assembly 40 in the vertical direction 22. As such, the hoist 20 may be capable of moving a material roll up and down from one elevation to another.
The chuck assembly 40 of the various aspects of the present invention is the portion of the hoist 20 that engages the material or item to be transferred from a first location to a second location. In the case of a roll of material, the chuck assembly 40 may include a chuck 50 that extends substantially in the horizontal direction 24 from a chuck frame 58.
In one aspect, the chuck 50 may be an open chuck. That is, as representatively illustrated in Fig. 1, the chuck 50 may have an incomplete circular shape having an arcuate top surface 56 but otherwise having substantially rectilinear shaped surfaces. In such a configuration, the chuck 50 may advantageously be capable of securely engaging rolls having a larger core diameter, yet since the overall cross-sectional dimension of the chuck is smaller than what it would have been had the chuck 50 been completely circular, the chuck 50 also provides the hoist 20 with the ability to engage rolls having a smaller core diameter.
In addition, an open chuck design provides the hoist 20 a chuck assembly 40 that is configured to engage off-vertical rolls.
As has been discussed above, material rolls may come in numerous diameters and roll widths and weights. The adjustment of the hoist 20 for rolls of varying size and weight may be accomplished by including a backing plate system 41 in the chuck assembly 40 that can adjust the free length of the chuck 50. Thus, if a narrow roll of material were to be engaged by the chuck 50, the backing plate system 41 may operate to extend the backing plates 42 to shorten the free length of the chuck 50. Likewise, if a wider roll of material were to be engaged by the chuck 50, the backing plate system 41 may operate to retract the backing plates 42 to then enlarge the free length of the chuck 50.
Subsequently, upon transporting the material to the desired location, the backing plate 42 may then be extended by the backing plate system 41 up to or just beyond the full length of the chuck 50 to push the material off of the chuck 50 to the desired destination. In such an arrangement, the backing plate system 41 may include a backing plate 42 mounted to at least one linear actuator that may be programmed for a variety of roll sizes and weights.
In yet another alternative, the chuck assembly 40 of the various aspects of the hoist 20 may also include a push-off plate system 45. For instance, the push off plate system 45 may include at least one push-off plate 46 and one push-off plate cylinder 48. This is particularly advantageous where pneumatics are being used in the chuck assembly 40 for reduced complexity.
It may be desirable to control the force with which the push-off plates 46 extend to accommodate rolls of differing weights.
The hoist 20 also includes a user control assembly 90. In a particular aspect, the user control assembly 90 may include an actuator 92. Specifically, in a particular aspect where the chuck assembly 40 is adjusted from a first roll configuration to a second roll configuration using a pneumatic system, the actuator 92 may toggle between different pneumatic set ups to obtain the adjustments necessary.
In a particular aspect, one or any combination of components of the hoist 20 may automatically be adjusted when switching from a first roll configuration to a second roll configuration using an actuator 92. For example, the backing plate system 41 may extend or retract the backing plates 42 to the proper position such that the free length of the chuck 50 is suited for the particular roll. In addition, the push off plate system 45 may also adjust to accommodate the weight of the particular roll that is being moved. That is, in one aspect, the amount of pneumatic pressure may be raised or lowered such that the push-off plate 46 extends with an adequate amount of force to push the roll of material off of the chuck 50. Moreover, the winch 80 may also be adjusted upon the operator making a selection using an actuator 92. That is, the amount of force with which the winch 80 raises or lowers the chuck assembly 40 may be adjusted according to the weight of the roll that the operator selects. Thus, as mentioned, the hoist 20 may be configured to be adjustable between a plurality of roll configurations.
A suitable pneumatic piping schematic is representatively illustrated in Fig. 5. In particular, Fig. 5 illustrates a pneumatic system for use on a hoist that is configured for two different rolls of differing size and weight. As illustrated, the mill air supply 106 provides the compressed air for the system. The system may include at least one dump valve 108, flow control valves 110 and at least one shuttle valve 112 for ease of use and improved performance and safety. That is, in the illustrated embodiment, the operator may make a roll configuration selection at the actuator 92. Provided that the dump valve 108 is closed, the mill air supply 106 will flow through the actuator 92 into the selected piping scheme that is designed for a particular roll configuration. As such, the backing plate system 41 via backing plate cylinders 44 will position the backing plates 42 in the proper position for the roll configuration selected. Optionally, a flow control valve 110 may be used to control the speed with which the backing plates 42 extend or retract. In addition, if desirable in view of the roll configuration selected at the actuator 92, the push-off plate system 45 may also be simultaneously adjusted
In a particular aspect, such a system may be used to configure the chuck assembly 40 for a first roll that is 12 inches wide and approximately 300 pounds and also for a second roll that is 5 inches wide and approximately 50 pounds. In such an arrangement, an operative pneumatic pressure of 70 PSI to 90 PSI may be suitable for the first roll described above, while an operative pneumatic pressure of 30 PSI to 50 PSI may be suitable for the second roll described above. As discussed above, this pressure may be set using regulators 100.
A transfer system 70 may be joined to the vertical support assembly 30 of the hoist 20 and be configured to allow the vertical support assembly 30 to move in the x-y plane 26. Moreover, the transfer system 70 may desirably be configured such that the vertical support assembly 30 may rotate about the vertical axis 28.
Particular embodiments of the roll handling hoist 20 may also include a visual alignment system 60 adjacent to push-off plates 46, 45 and beneath the chuck 56. This is particularly helpful as hoists are generally arranged so that the operator is directing the hoist while located behind the hoist.
The visual alignment system may include a camera joined to the chuck assembly, with a complimentary monitor; or at least one mirror; or a visual alignment system that may include a visual access port located in the chuck frame 58 of the chuck assembly 40.
In addition to the numerous advantages listed above, the hoist 20 may additionally include further safety features. For example, the push-off plates 46 may be rendered inoperative unless the chuck 50 is in contact with the appointed unloading location. Specifically, in one aspect, the chuck 50 may include a sensor 102 (FIG. 5) located on the interior of the chuck 50 adjacent to a notch 54 in the chuck 50. The sensor 102 may be triggered when the desired material destination is reached. In the case where a user is unloading a material roll onto a spindle, the sensor 102 may be located adjacent notch 54 and may be configured to be triggered only when mated with the spindle, then allowing the user to activate the push-off plates 46. For example, the spindle may be fitted with a key that, when the chuck 50 is in the proper position, becomes seated in notch 54, thereby allowing the push-off plates 46 to be activated.
Another safety feature that the hoist 20 may include is a mechanism to prevent materials being inadvertently discharged from the chuck assembly 40, which could result in injury or in a loss of material due to contamination.
