# US 5,699,710 A · Slotter wheel mechanism having selectively rotatable slotter blade > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 5,699,710 A - Document ID: US5699710A - Status: Granted - Kind: A - Application number: 08/837,659 - Filed: 1997-04-22 - Granted: 1997-12-23 - Earliest claimed: 1995-08-10 - Assignees: Lawrence Paper Company - Inventors: David E. Creaden - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5699710A ## CPC - B26D 7/2642: {for slotting cutters} - B26D 3/14: Forming notches in marginal portion of work by cutting (by punching B26F1/12) - B26D 5/02: Means for moving the cutting member into its operative position for cutting - B31B 50/006: {Controlling; Regulating; Measuring; Improving safety} - B31B 50/146: {using tools mounted on a drum} - Y10T 83/4798: Segmented disc slitting or slotting tool - Y10T 83/4836: With radial overlap of the cutting members - Y10T 83/7868: Tool element selectively operative - Y10T 83/9408: Spaced cut forming tool - 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) - B31B: MAKING CONTAINERS OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER (making wound articles, e.g. wound tubes, B31C; combined making and filling B65B) - Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION ## Abstract An improved slotter wheel apparatus (10) designed for use in the formation of box blanks is disclosed. The apparatus (10) includes a rotatable drive shaft (22), a slotter blade (16) supported on the drive shaft (22) and blade coupling structure (20). The slotter blade coupling structure (20) is operable for selectively coupling the slotter blade (16) with the rotating drive shaft (22) so that the slotter blade (16) is rotated by the shaft (22) and slots blanks passing under the apparatus (10). The slotter blade coupling structure (20) is also operable for selectively decoupling the slotter blade (16) from the drive shaft (22) to prevent the slotter blade (16) from slotting blanks passing under the apparatus (10). In a preferred construction of the invention, the slotter blade coupling structure (20) includes a clutch assembly (76), a brake assembly (78), and a controller (82) for controlling the operation of the clutch and brake assemblies. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A slotter wheel apparatus for slotting box blanks at selectively variable locations along the length of the blanks as the blanks are transported along a path of movement through the apparatus, said slotter wheel apparatus comprising: a rotatable drive assembly including an elongated rotatable drive shaft extending in a direction generally transverse to the path of movement of the blanks, said shaft presenting a longitudinal axis; at least one slotter blade presenting a cutting edge; blade support means for supporting said slotter blade on the drive assembly for rotation about the longitudinal axis of said drive shaft; and blade coupling means for selectively coupling said slotter blade with said drive assembly so that said slotter blade is rotated by said drive shaft through the path of movement of the blanks, and for selectively decoupling said slotter blade from said drive assembly for rotation of said drive shaft relative to said slotter blade for preventing said slotter blade from rotating through the path of movement of the blanks during continued rotation of said drive shaft, said blade coupling means including structure for effecting said coupling and decoupling without stopping the rotation of said drive assembly and during passage of said blanks through the apparatus, and for selective rotation of said drive shaft through a full 360 degrees of rotation relative to the decoupled balde. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, said rotatable drive assembly further including a drive wheel operably coupled with said drive shaft for rotation therewith, said drive wheel presenting an outer circumferential edge. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The apparatus as set forth in claim 2, further including a rotatable blade wheel for holding and securing said slotter blade thereon, said rotatable blade wheel being positioned along the longitudinal axis of said drive shaft adjacent said drive wheel. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The apparatus as set forth in claim 3, said blade support means including a circular track coupled with said drive wheel. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, said blade support means further including a plurality of blade wheel rollers coupled with said blade wheel, wherein said rollers are operable for engaging said track for allowing said blade wheel to rotate about said drive shaft. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The apparatus as set forth in claim 3, said blade coupling means including a clutch assembly operably coupled with said drive wheel and said blade wheel, said clutch assembly being selectively shiftable between an engaged position for coupling said blade wheel with said drive wheel so that said blade wheel rotates with said drive wheel and a released position for decoupling said blade wheel from said drive wheel so that said blade wheel rotates independently of said drive wheel. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The apparatus as set forth in claim 6, said blade coupling means further including a brake assembly operably coupled with said blade wheel, said brake assembly being selectively shiftable between a braked position for stopping the rotation of said blade wheel and an unbraked position for allowing rotation of said blade wheel. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The apparatus as set forth in claim 7, said blade coupling means further including control means for controlling the shifting of said clutch assembly between said engaged and released positions and for controlling the shifting of said brake assembly between said braked and unbraked positions. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The apparatus as set forth in claim 8, said control means being operable for simultaneously shifting said clutch assembly to said engaged position and said brake assembly to said unbraked position for coupling said slotter blade with said drive shaft so that said slotter blade is rotated by said drive shaft and slots blanks passing through the path of movement of said apparatus. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The apparatus as set forth in claim 8, said control means being operable for simultaneously shifting said clutch assembly to said released position and said brake assembly to said braked position for decoupling said slotter blade from said drive shaft and braking rotation of said slotter blade to prevent said slotter blade from being rotated through the path of movement of the blanks during continued rotation of said drive shaft. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The apparatus as set forth in claim 8, said blade coupling means further including a spring assembly, said spring assembly including an elongated spring having opposed ends, wherein one spring end is attached to said drive wheel and the other spring end is attached to said blade wheel so that when said clutch assembly is in said released position and said brake assembly is in said braked position, said spring becomes stretched, and when said clutch assembly is in said released position and said brake assembly is in said unbraked position, said spring recoils and causes said blade wheel to rotate faster than said drive wheel. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The apparatus as set forth in claim 11, said spring assembly further including a snubber coupled with said blade wheel and a spring stop coupled with said drive wheel, said snubber and said spring stop being cooperatively positioned so that when said clutch assembly is in said released position and said brake assembly is in said unbraked position, said snubber and said stop limit the rotational travel of said blade wheel relative to said drive wheel. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further including rotatable anvil means spaced a distance from said rotatable drive assembly and defining a region therebetween for receiving the box blanks for slotting. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The apparatus as set forth in claim 13, said anvil means including an opening for reception of said slotter blade. ### Claim 15 A slotter wheel apparatus for slotting box blanks at selectively variable locations along the length of the blanks as the blanks are transported along a path of movement through the apparatus, said slotter wheel apparatus comprising: a rotatable drive assembly including an elongated rotatable drive shaft extending in a direction generally transverse to the path of movement of the blanks, said shaft presenting a longitudinal axis, and a drive wheel operably coupled with said rotatable shaft for rotation therewith; at least one blade wheel positioned along the longitudinal axis of said drive shaft adjacent said drive wheel; a slotter blade coupled with said blade wheel and presenting a cutting edge; blade support means for supporting said blade wheel and said slotter blade on the drive assembly for rotation about said drive shaft; and blade coupling means including clutch assembly operably coupled with said drive wheel and said blade wheel, said clutch assembly being selectively shiftable between an engaged position for coupling said blade wheel with said drive wheel so that said blade wheel rotates with said drive wheel, and a released position for decoupling said blade wheel from said drive wheel so that said blade wheel rotates independently of said drive wheel for rotation of said drive wheel relative to said blade wheel, a brake assembly operably coupled with said blade wheel, said brake assembly being selectively shiftable between a braked position for stopping the rotation of said blade wheel, and an unbraked position for allowing rotation of said blade wheel, and control means for controlling the shifting of said clutch assembly between said engaged and released positions and for controlling the shifting of said brake assembly between said braked and unbraked positions for selectively rotating said slotter blade between cutting and non-cutting positions, said blade coupling means operable for effecting said coupling and decoupling without stopping the rotation of said drive assembly and during passage of said blanks through said apparatus, and for selective rotation of said drive wheel through a full 360 degrees of rotation relative to the decoupled blade wheel. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The apparatus as set forth in claim 15, said blade support means including a circular track coupled with said drive wheel. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The apparatus as set forth in claim 16, said blade support means further including a plurality of blade wheel rollers coupled with said blade wheel, wherein said rollers are operable for engaging said track for allowing said blade wheel to rotate about said drive shaft. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The apparatus as set forth in claim 15, said blade coupling means further including a spring assembly, said spring assembly including an elongated spring having opposed ends, wherein one spring end is attached to said drive wheel and the other spring end is attached to said blade wheel so that when said clutch assembly is in said released position and said brake assembly is in said braked position, said spring becomes stretched, and when said clutch assembly is in said released position and said brake assembly is in said unbraked position, said spring recoils and causes said blade wheel to rotate faster than said drive wheel. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The apparatus as set forth in claim 18, said spring assembly further including a snubber coupled with said blade wheel and a spring stop coupled with said drive wheel, said snubber and said spring stop being cooperatively positioned so that when said clutch assembly is in said released position and said brake assembly is in said unbraked position, said snubber and said stop limit the rotational travel of said blade wheel relative to said drive wheel. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The apparatus as set forth in claim 15, further including rotatable anvil means spaced a distance from said rotatable drive assembly and defining a region therebetween for receiving the box blanks for slotting. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The apparatus as set forth in claim 20, said anvil means including an opening for reception of said slotter blade when the slotter blade is moved to said cutting position. ### Claim 22 A slotter wheel apparatus for slotting box blanks at selectively variable locations along the length of the blanks as the blanks are transported along a path of movement through the apparatus, said slotter wheel apparatus comprising: a rotatable drive assembly including an elongated rotatable drive shaft extending in a direction generally transverse to the path of movement of the blanks and defining a longitudinal axis about which the shaft is rotatable; a slotter blade presenting a cutting edge; blade support means for supporting said slotter blade on the drive shaft for rotation relative to the drive shaft about the longitudinal axis; and a gear assembly for selectively rotating said slotter blade with said drive shaft so that said slotter blade rotates through the path of movement of the blanks and slots the blanks, and for selectively stopping the rotation of said slotter blade, said gear assembly including a servo motor having a rotatable gear shaft, means including a drive belt coupled with said rotatable gear shaft for rotation therewith, and a toothed blade wheel coupled with said drive belt and attached to said slotter blade for rotating said slotter blade upon rotation of said rotatable gear shaft. ### Claim 23 Slotter wheel apparatus for slotting of a box blank traveling along a path of travel through the apparatus and comprising: an elongated shaft oriented transverse to said path of travel; a blade support mounted for rotation about said shaft; a slotter blade operatively coupled with said blade support; motive means coupled with said support and blade for rotation of said support and blade about and relative to said shaft through a full 360 degrees rotation around the shaft; and control means coupled with said motive means for selectively rotating the support and blade around the shaft into slotting engagement with said blank, and for selectively stopping rotation of the support and blade at an idle position permitting passage of portions of said blank through the apparatus without slotting thereof, whereby said blank may be slotted at spaced apart locations with any desired distance between the slots. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The apparatus as set forth in claim 23, said motive means including a motor having a rotatable motor shaft supporting a rotatable shaft-driven pulley, and belt means operably coupled between said shaft-driven pulley and said blade support. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) The apparatus as set forth in claim 24, said motor comprising a servo-motor. ### Claim 26 (depends on 24) The apparatus as set forth in claim 24, said blade support presenting a series of teeth on the periphery thereof, said belt means drivingly engaging said blade support teeth. ### Claim 27 (depends on 26) The apparatus as set forth in claim 26, said motive means further including a pair of idler pulleys adjacent said shaft-driven pulley, said belt means being continuous and trained about said shaft-driven pulley and said idler pulleys, said peripheral teeth on said blade support engaging said belt means between said idler pulleys. ### Claim 28 (depends on 23) The apparatus as set forth in claim 23, said control means including a programmable electronic controller. ### Claim 29 (depends on 23) The apparatus as set forth in claim 23, including a second slotter blade, said second slotter blade mounted for rotation with said elongated shaft.