# US 4,220,077 A · Composite can registration

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- Number: US 4,220,077 A
- Document ID: US4220077A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 05/889,158
- Filed: 1978-03-22
- Granted: 1980-09-02
- Earliest claimed: 1978-03-22
- Assignees: Owens-Illinois, Inc.
- Inventors: Peter S. Miller; Jerry D. Schermerhorn
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US4220077A

## CPC

- B26D 5/32: with the record carrier formed by the work itself
- B31C 3/00: Making tubes or pipes by feeding obliquely to the winding mandrel centre line
- Y10T 83/0519: Cyclically varying rate of tool or work movement
- Y10T 83/4662: To vary an end-product "length" [e.g., "crop cut"]
- Y10T 83/4757: Tool carrier shuttles rectilinearly parallel to direction of work feed
- B26D: CUTTING; DETAILS COMMON TO MACHINES FOR PERFORATING, PUNCHING, CUTTING-OUT, STAMPING-OUT OR SEVERING (for growing crops or plants A01D, A01G; for fodder or straw A01F; for bulk butter A01J; for dough A21C; slaughtering A22B; for tobacco, cigars or cigarettes A24; marking-out, perforating or making buttonholes A41H25/00; manufacturing footwear A43D; brushmaking A46D; surgery A61B; disintegrating, mincing or shredding in general B02C; cutting wire, making pins or nails B21F, B21G; of the kind used formetal B23; cutting by abrasive fluid jets B24C5/02; hand-held cutting tools B26B; perforating, cutting-out, stamping-out or punching, or severing by means other than cutting B26F; for wood B27; for stone B28D; working of plastics or substances in a plastic state B29; making boxes, cartons, envelopes or bags, of paper or similarly worked materials, e.g. metal foil, B31B; article or web delivery apparatus incorporating cutting or line-perforating devices B65H35/00; for leather or upholstery B68, C14B; for glass C03B; making matches C06F; for peat C10F; for sugar C13B45/00; for textile materials D06H; civil engineering, building, mining, see Section E; for light guides G02B6/25; cutting processed photographic material G03D15/04)
- B31C: MAKING WOUND ARTICLES, e.g. WOUND TUBES, OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER
- Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION

## Abstract

An improved control system for the cutting of spirally wound composite can "sticks" with accurate registration. Cutting knives, which cut a wound tube into sticks, are mounted on a servo-driven sled, which is in turn mounted on a reciprocating carriage. The point of cutting is controlled by adjusting the position of the carriage (for long term errors) and the sled (for short term errors). Factors analyzed to determine where the carriage and sled should be positioned include the phase relationship between the label and the carriage, the angle at which the label is wound onto the tube, the point at which the label is wound onto the tube, label stretch, and misprinting of reference marks on the label. Means may be included for automatically rejecting sticks which are out of registration.

## Claims

### Claim 1

In a method for producing spirally wound containers wherein a plurality of layers of material are spirally wound onto a mandrel to form a tube, the outside layer of said material being a label having a repeating pattern which includes a plurality of generally equally spaced apart reference marks located along its length, wherein sections of said tube are severed in register with said pattern by cutting means connected to a reciprocating carriage which moves parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tube, and wherein registration is controlled by maintaining the long term phase relationship between the motion of the carriage and the sensing of the passage of said reference marks past a reference point, an improved method wherein said cutting means are carried by a movable sled connected to said carriage and movable parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tube comprising the steps of:
generating a residual registration error signal;
generating a position change signal which is a function of said residual registration error signal,
positioning said sled relative to said carriage before cutting, in response to said position change signal so as to minimize registration error with respect to said repeating pattern
determining the registration error remaining at the time cutting occurs;
comparing said remaining registration error with preset limits; and
rejecting the section of tube which was cut off if said remaining registration error exceeds said preset limits.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The improved method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating said residual registration error signal includes the step of determining short term error in the phase relationship between the motion of the carriage and the passage of the reference marks past said reference point.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The improved method of claim 2 wherein said step of determining the short term phase error includes the step of generating a signal which is a function of the amount of carriage motion occurring between the time a predetermined reference mark was expected to be sensed and the time said predetermined reference mark was actually sensed.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The improved method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating said residual registration error signal includes the step of determining registration error as a function of movement of the label wrap point along the longitudinal axis of said mandrel.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The improved method of claim 4 wherein the step of determining registration error as a function of movement of said wrap point includes the steps of:
measuring, at two spaced apart points, the distance from the edge of the label to a nominal wrapping line; and
determining, as a function of said two distance measurements, the change in the position of said wrap point with respect to a nominal position of said wrap point included on said nominal wrapping line.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The improved method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating said residual registration error signal includes the step of determining registration error as a function of variations in the angle at which said label is wrapped onto said mandrel.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The improved method of claim 6 wherein said determination of said wrap angle registration error includes the steps of:
continuously measuring, at two spaced apart points, the distance from the edge of the label to a nominal wrapping line;
continuously measuring, at two spaced apart points, the distance from the edge of the mandrel to a nominal mandrel position line;
determining instantaneous registration error as a function of said distance measurements; and
determining the average of said instantaneous registration error with respect to the length of the section of said tube between a nominal wrap point on the longitudinal axis of said tube and a nominal cut point on the longitudinal axis of said tube.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The improved method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating said residual registration error signal includes the step of determining registration error as a function of variations in the spacing between said reference marks.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The improved method of claim 8 wherein the step of determining registration error as a function of variations in the spacing between reference marks includes the steps of:
sensing the passage of a first reference mark past a first reference point which is along the path of travel of said reference marks;
sensing the passage of a second reference mark, which is adjacent to said first reference mark, past a second reference point which is located along the path of travel of said reference marks and a distance from said first reference point which is equal to the nominal spacing between reference marks;
measuring the amount of label travel during the time between the sensing of the passage of said first and second reference marks, said label travel representing the difference between the nominal spacing and the actual spacing between said first and second reference marks;
determining instantaneous registration error as a function of the measured amount of label travel; and
determining the average of said instantaneous registration error with respect to the length of the section of said tube between a nominal wrap point on the longitudinal axis of said tube and a nominal cut point on the longitudinal axis of said tube.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The improved method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating said residual registration error signal includes the step of determining registration error as a function of errors in the phase relationship between the motion of said carriage and the motion of said label occurring between the sensing of the passage of a predetermined reference mark and the cutting of the tube.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The improved method of claim 10 wherein the step of determining registration error as a function of the phase relationship between the motion of said carriage and the motion of said label includes the steps of:
sensing the passage of said predetermined reference mark past said reference point;
measuring the instantaneous difference between the amount of travel of the carriage and amount of travel of the label from the time said predetermined reference mark is sensed; and
determining registration error as a function of the instantaneous difference between the amount of travel of said carriage and said label.

### Claim 12

In a method for producing spirally wound containers wherein a plurality of layers of material are spirally wound onto a mandrel to form a tube, the outside layer of said material being a label having a repeating pattern and equally spaced reference marks located along its length, wherein sections of said tube which include a plurality of container bodies defined by said pattern are severed in register with said pattern by cutting means connected to a reciprocating carriage which moves parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tube, wherein registration is controlled by maintaining the long term phase relationship between the motion of said carriage and the sensing of the passage of said reference marks past a reference point, and wherein said sections of the tube are later recut into individual container bodies having a fixed length, an improved method wherein said cutting means are carried by a movable sled connected to said carriage and movable parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tube comprising the steps of:
determining a first residual registration error as a function of variations in the length of said sections of the tube;
determining a second residual registration error as a function of factors other than variations in the length of said sections of the tube;
generating a position change signal corresponding to one-half of said first residual registration error and all of said second residual registration error; and
positioning said sled with respect to said tube in response to said position change signal shortly before cutting, so as to minimize the registration error with respect to said container bodies.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12 further comprising the steps of:
generating a sled travel signal as a function of the amount of travel of said sled which has occurred before cutting begins;
generating a repositioning error signal which represents the difference between said position change signal and said sled travel signal;
comparing said repositioning error signal to preset limits; and
rejecting the section of tube which was cut off if said repositioning error signal exceeds said preset limits.

### Claim 14

In an apparatus for forming spirally wound containers from a plurality of spirally wound layers of material, the outside layer of which is a label having a repeating pattern which includes a plurality of generally equally spaced apart reference marks located along its length, wherein means are provided for spirally winding said material onto a mandrel to form a tube, wherein cutting means connected to a reciprocating carriage which moves parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tube are provided for severing sections of said tube in register with said pattern, and wherein registration is controlled by means for maintaining the long term phase relationship between the motion of the carriage and the sensing of the passage of the reference marks past a reference point, the improvement comprising:
a movable sled located on said carriage and carrying said cutting means, said sled being movable parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tube;
means for determining a residual registration error;
means for generating a position change signal which is a function of said residual registration error;
means for generating a sled travel signal as a function of the amount of travel of said sled which has occurred before cutting begins;
means for generating a repositioning error signal representing the difference between said position change signal and said sled travel signal;
means for comparing said repositioning error signal to preset limits;
means for positioning said movable sled with respect to said tube before cutting in response to said position change signal so as to minimize the registration error with respect to said pattern; and
means for rejecting the section of tube which was cut off if said repositioning error signal exceeds said preset limits.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The improvement of claim 14 wherein said means for determining said residual registration error includes means for determining short term error in the phase relationship between the motion of the carriage and the passage of the reference marks past said reference point.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The improvement of claim 15 wherein said means for determining short term phase error includes means for generating a signal which is a function of the amount of carriage motion occurring between the time a predetermined reference mark was expected to be sensed and the time said predetermined reference mark was actually sensed.

### Claim 17 (depends on 14)

The improvement of claim 14 wherein said means for determining residual registration error includes means for determining registration error as a function of movement of the wrap point of the label along the longitudinal axis of said mandrel.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The improvement of claim 17 wherein said means for determining said wrap point variation error includes:
means for measuring the distance, at two spaced apart points, from the edge of the label to a nominal wrapping line; and
means for determining as a function of said two distance measurements, the change in wrap point with respect to a nominal wrap point included on said nominal wrapping line.

### Claim 19 (depends on 14)

The improvement of claim 14 wherein said means for determining said residual registration error includes means for determining registration error as a function of variations in the angle at which said label is wrapped onto said mandrel.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The improvement of claim 19 wherein said means for determining wrap angle variation registration error includes:
means for continuously measuring, at two spaced apart points, the distance from the edge of the label to a nominal wrapping line;
means for continuously measuring, at two spaced apart points, the distance from the edge of the mandrel to a nominal mandrel position line;
means for determining instantaneous registration error as a function of said distance measurements; and
means for determining the average of said instantaneous registration error with respect to the length of the section of said tube between a nominal wrap point on the longitudinal axis of said tube and a nominal cut point on the longitudinal axis of said tube.

### Claim 21 (depends on 14)

The improvement of claim 14 wherein said means for determining residual registration error includes means for determining registration error as a function of variations in the spacing between said reference marks.

### Claim 22 (depends on 21)

The improvement of claim 21 wherein said means for determining spacing variation registration error includes:
means for sensing the passage of a first reference mark past a first point;
means for sensing the passage of a second reference mark, which is adjacent to said first reference mark, past a second point, said first and second point being located along the line of travel of said reference marks and a distance apart from each other which is equal to the nominal spacing between reference marks;
means for measuring the amount of label travel during the time between the sensing of the passage of said first and second reference marks past their respective sensing points, so as to determine the difference between the nominal spacing and the actual spacing between said adjacent pair of reference marks;
means for determining instantaneous registration error as a function of said difference between said nominal and actual spacing; and
means for determining the average of said instantaneous registration error with respect to the length of the section of said tube between a nominal wrap joint on the longitudinal axis of said tube and a nominal cut point on the axis of said tube.

### Claim 23 (depends on 14)

The improvement of claim 14 wherein said means for determining residual registration error includes means for determining registration error as a function of errors in the phase relationship between the motion of said carriage and the motion of said label occurring after the sensing of the passage of a predetermined reference mark before cutting.

### Claim 24 (depends on 23)

The improvement of claim 23 wherein said means for determining residual registration error as a function of the phase relationship between the motion of said carriage and the motion of said label includes:
means for sensing the passage of said predetermined reference mark past said reference point before cutting occurs;
means for measuring the instantaneous difference between the amount of travel of the carriage and amount of travel of the label from the time said predetermined reference mark is sensed; and
means for determining registration error as a function of said difference between amount of travel of the carriage and amount of travel of the label.

### Claim 25

In an apparatus for forming spirally wound containers a plurality of spirally wound layers of material, the outside layer of which is a label having a repeating pattern which includes a plurality of generally equally spaced reference marks located along its length, wherein means are provided for spirally winding said material onto a mandrel to form a tube, wherein cutting means, connected to a reciprocating carriage which moves parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tube, are provided for severing sections of said tube which include a plurality of container bodies defined by said pattern, said sections being severed in register with respect to said pattern and later being recut into individual container bodies, and wherein registration is controlled by means for maintaining the long term phase relationship between the motion of said carriage and passage of said reference marks past a reference point, the improvement comprising:
a movable sled located on said carriage and carrying said cutting means, said sled being movable parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tube;
means for determining a first residual registration error which is a function of variations in the length of said sections of the tube;
means for determining a second residual registration error which is a function of factors other than variations in the length of said sections of the tube;
means for generating a position change signal which corresponds to one-half of said first residual registration error and all of said second residual registration error; and
means for repositioning said sled in response to said position change signal, so as to minimize registration error in each container when said sections are recut into individual containers.

### Claim 26 (depends on 25)

The improvement of claim 25 further including:
means for generating a sled travel signal as a function of the amount of travel of said sled in response to said position change signal which has occurred when cutting begins;
means for generating a repositioning error signal which represents the difference between said position change signal and said sled travel signal;
means for comparing said repositioning error signal to preset limits; and
means for rejecting the section of tube which was cut off if said repositioning error signal exceeds said preset limits.

### Claim 27 (depends on 25)

The improvement of claim 25 wherein said means for repositioning said moveable sled includes a stepping servomotor.

### Claim 28 (depends on 14)

The improvement of claim 14 wherein said means for repositioning said movable sled includes a stepping servomotor.

### Claim 29

In an apparatus for forming spirally wound containers from a plurality of spirally wound layers of material, the outside layer of which is a label having a repeating pattern which includes a plurality of generally equally spaced apart reference marks located along its length, wherein means are provided for spirally winding said material onto a mandrel to form a tube, wherein cutting means connected to a reciprocating carriage which moves parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tube are provided for severing sections of said tube in register with said pattern, and wherein registration is controlled by means for maintaining the long term phase relationship between the motion of the carriage and the sensing of the passage of the reference marks past a reference point, the improvement comprising:
a movable sled located on said carriage and carrying said cutting means, said sled being movable parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tube;
means for determining a residual registration error, including
means for generating a signal which is a function of the amount of carriage motion occurring between the time a predetermined reference mark was expected to be sensed and the time said predetermined reference mark was actually sensed;
means for generating a position change signal which is a function of said residual registration error; and
means for positioning said movable sled with respect to said tube before cutting in response to said position change signal so as to minimize the registration error with respect to said pattern.