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AssigneeIndustrial Nucleonics Corporation
InventorJohn Francis Donoghue
Estimating the term…
A sheet material characteristic monitoring apparatus is provided for use in processes involving the production and contouring of sheet material. In a preferred embodiment, the sheet material characteristic is measured at two or more stationary cross direction locations of the sheet. A digital computer computes a regression equation between the measured values of the sheet characteristic and their respective locations, which equation is evaluated between limits representing the sheet edges to provide a data profile comprising estimated values of the sheet characteristic across the width of the sheet. The data profile may be derived substantially instantaneously. The data profile may further be evaluated between limits representing one or more desired transverse dimensions of the sheet.
A method of controlling a machine direction characteristic of a sheet comprising measuring a property of a sheet related to the characteristic at a plurality of locations across the sheet to derive an indication of the property at each of a plurality of discrete, spaced cross sheet points, responding to the indications and a predetermined mathematical expression relating values of the property to cross direction location to derive a signal representing a continuous, analytic equation that approximates the values of the property as a function of cross direction location substantially across the entire sheet width, deriving a machine direction control indication by integrating the signal representing the equation over a cross direction interval of the sheet that is substantially across the entire sheet width, and controlling the characteristic uniformly across the sheet width in response to the control indication.
A method of controlling a cross direction characteristic of a sheet comprising measuring a property of the sheet related to the characteristic at a plurality of locations across the sheet to derive an indication of the property at each of a plurality of discrete, spaced cross sheet points, responding to the indications and a predetermined mathematical expression relating values of the property to cross direction location to derive a signal representing a continuous, analytic equation that approximates the values of the property as a function of cross direction location substantially across the entire sheet width, deriving a cross direction control indication by separately integrating the signal representing the equation over a plurality of zones extending across the sheet, adjacent one of the said zones having abutting boundaries and each of said zones including one of said points, in response to the separate integration in each of the zones deriving a separate control indication for each of the zones, and activating a controller for the sheet characteristics in each of the zones in response to the separate indications for each of the zones.
An apparatus for deriving an output signal useful in the control of a machine direction or cross direction characteristic of a sheet comprising means for measuring a property of the sheet related to the characteristic at a plurality of locations across the sheet to derive a first signal indicative of the property at each of a plurality of discrete, spaced cross sheet points, means for storing a second signal indicative of a predetermined mathematical expression relating values of the property to cross direction location, means responsive to the first and second signals for deriving a third signal representing a continuous, analytic equation that approximates the values of the property as a function of cross direction location substantially across the entire sheet width, and means responsive to the signal representing the equation for integrating the signal over a cross direction interval of the sheet to derive the output signal.
A method of using apparatus for deriving an output signal useful in the control of a machine direction or cross direction characteristic of a traveling sheet, said apparatus comprising first means for measuring a property of the sheet related to the characteristic at a plurality of locations across the sheet, second means for storing signals, third means responsive to signals, and fourth means responsive to signals, comprising the steps of said first means deriving a first signal indicative of the property at each of a plurality of discrete, spaced cross sheet points, said second means storing a second signal indicative of a predetermined mathematical expression relating values of the property to cross direction location, said third means responding to the first and second signals for deriving a third signal representing a continuous, analytic equation that approximates the values of the property as a function of cross direction location substantially across the entire sheet width, said fourth means responding to the signal representing the equation for integrating the signal over a cross direction interval of the sheet to derive the output signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.