Apparatus and method for winding paper

An apparatus for winding a web of paper material into a roll, said apparatus comprising:

• a rotatably mounted reel spool;
• a drive motor for rotating said reel spool and winding a web of paper material thereon to create a roll of increasing diameter;
• a rotatable reel drum comprising;
• an axle;
• a cylindrical outer shell supported on said axle for rotation and defining a predetermined cylindrical path of travel, said shell being flexible and positioned adjacent to said reel spool to engage the web against said reel spool during winding such that said outer shell is deflected from the predetermined cylindrical path of travel by an amount relative to the amount of paper material wound on said reel spool;
• and
• a deflection sensor mounted to said axle adjacent to the inner surface said outer shell, said deflection sensor being arranged to measure the amount of deflection of said outer shell from said predetermined cylindrical path of travel;
• an actuator for positioning said reel spool relative to said reel drum;
• a load sensor associated with said actuator for sensing the load exerted on the paper roll by the outer shell;
• and
• a controller connected to said deflection sensor, load sensor and actuator and being selectively operable in a deflection control mode wherein the amount of deflection of said outer shell is used to control the position of the reel spool relative to the reel drum and a load control mode wherein the amount of load exerted on the paper roll is used to control the position of the reel spool relative to the reel drum.

A reel drum for winding a web of paper material onto a reel spool, said reel drum comprising:

• an axle;
• a cylindrical outer shell supported on said axle for rotation and defining a predetermined cylindrical path of travel, said shell being flexible and positioned adjacent to the reel spool to engage the web against the reel spool during winding such that said outer shell is deflected from the predetermined cylindrical path of travel by an amount relative to the amount of paper material wound on said reel spool;
• and
• a deflection sensor mounted to said axle adjacent to the inner surface of said outer shell, said deflection sensor being arranged to measure the amount of deflection of said outer shell from said predetermined cylindrical path of travel.

A method of winding a web of paper material to form a roll, said method comprising the steps of:

• engaging a rotatable reel drum against a reel spool, said reel drum having a flexible outer shell such that said outer shell is deflected from a predetermined cylindrical path of travel;
• rotating the reel spool;
• rotating the reel drum with the reel spool to create a nip;
• advancing the web of paper material into the nip and directing the web around the reel spool to form a roll of increasing diameter;
• sensing the amount of deflection of the outer shell by the roll as the diameter of the roll increases;
• and
• positioning the reel spool and the reel drum relative to each other in response to said sensing step to vary the amount of deflection of the outer shell of the reel drum.

A method of winding a web of paper material to form a roll, said method comprising the steps of:

• engaging a rotatable reel drum against a reel spool, said reel spool having a flexible outer shell such that said outer shell is deflected from a predetermined cylindrical path of travel;
• rotating the reel spool;
• rotating the reel drum with the reel spool to create a nip;
• advancing the web of paper material into the nip and directing the web around the reel spool to form a roll of increasing diameter;
• operating the reel drum in a deflection control mode including the steps of;
• sensing the amount of deflection of the outer shell by the paper roll;
• and
• positioning the reel spool and the reel drum relative to each other in response to said deflection sensing step to vary the amount of deflection of the outer shell of the reel drum, and
• operating the reel drum in a load control mode including the steps of;
• sensing the amount of load exerted on the paper roll by the reel drum;
• and
• positioning the reel spool and the reel drum relative to each other in response to said load sensing step to vary the amount of load exerted on the paper roll by the reel drum.