Back to results
US 6,227,541 B1Granted
Multiple conveyor assembly and method for rotating and placing a strip of material on a substrate
AssigneeKimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
InventorsJack L. Couillard, Brian K. Rhodes
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A conveyor assembly and method for rotating a strip of material via one or more transfer elements angularly disposed relative to the initial orientation of the strip of material and placing the rotated strip of material toward a continuously moving surface.
Claims32
An assembly comprising:
- a conveyor including at least a first conveyance surface on which a strip of material is conveyed in a first direction and
- a transfer subassembly including at least a first transfer element angularly disposed at a first selected degree of angular rotation relative to the first direction and effective to secure the strip of material from the first conveyance surface and deposit the strip of material on a first adjacent moving surface moving at the first selected degree of angular rotation, the transfer subassembly also including a second transfer element angularly disposed at a second selected degree of angular rotation relative to the first selected degree of angular rotation and effective to secure the strip of material from the first adjacent moving surface and deposit the strip of material on a second adjacent moving surface moving at the second selected degree of angular rotation and wherein at least one of the first and second transfer elements comprises a vacuum roll.
An assembly comprising:
- a conveyor including at least a first conveyance surface on which a strip of material is conveyed in a first direction and
- a transfer subassembly including at least a first vacuum transfer roll angularly disposed at a first selected degree of angular rotation relative to the first direction and effective to secure the strip of material from the first conveyance surface and deposit the strip of material on a first adjacent moving surface having a conveyance direction orientated at the first selected degree of angular rotation and a second vacuum transfer roll angularly disposed at a second selected degree of angular rotation relative to the first selected degree of angular rotation and effective to secure the strip of material from the first adjacent moving surface and deposit the strip of material on a second adjacent moving surface having a conveyance direction orientated at the second selected degree of angular rotation,
- wherein the first conveyance surface and the first vacuum transfer roll have conveyance velocities with similar magnitude components in the first direction and wherein the first adjacent moving surface and the second vacuum transfer roll have conveyance velocities with similar magnitude components in the conveyance direction of the first adjacent moving surface.
A method for rotating a strip of material and placing the rotated strip of material in surface contact with a moving surface comprising:
- providing at least one strip of material having a first axis in a first angular orientation on a first continuously moving conveyance surface,
- securing the at least one strip of material from the first conveyance surface onto a first transfer element angularly disposed at a first selected degree of angular rotation relative to the first angular orientation,
- transferring the at least one strip of material from the first transfer element onto a first adjacent moving surface,
- securing the at least one strip of material from the first adjacent moving surface onto a second transfer element angularly disposed at a second selected degree of angular rotation relative to the first selected degree of angular orientation and
- transferring the at least one strip of material from the second transfer element onto a second moving surface,
- wherein at least one of the first and second transfer elements comprises a vacuum roll.
3 more elements
An assembly comprising:
- a conveyor including at least a first conveyance surface on which a strip of material is conveyed in a first direction and
- a transfer subassembly including at least a first transfer element angularly disposed at a first selected degree of angular rotation relative to the first direction and effective to secure the strip of material from the first conveyance surface and deposit the strip of material on a first adjacent moving surface moving at the first selected degree of angular rotation, the transfer subassembly also including a second transfer element angularly disposed at a second selected degree of angular rotation relative to the first selected degree of angular rotation and effective to secure the strip of material from the first adjacent moving surface and deposit the strip of material on a second adjacent moving surface moving at the second selected degree of angular rotation and wherein at least one of the first and second selected degrees of angular rotation is about 40 to about 50 degrees.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.