Method and apparatus for controlling lateral spacings of elongated elements

Claim 2

Web guiding apparatus for acting on an indefinite length of web material traveling longitudinally substantially in a plane and including longitudinal elements of indefinite length, said apparatus comprising: a pair of rolls; a pair of means supporting said rolls one in engagement with each of the edge portions of the material, each of said supporting means mounting a corresponding roll for rotation on a first axis transverse to the length of the material and inclined at a predetermined Angle to the plane of the material, to engage each of said rolls with a surface of the material each with a wrap decreasing from a maximum at the edges of the material to a minimum at the ends of the rolls nearest the center of the length of material; each of said supporting means being pivotally supported on a second axis inclined to said first axis and to the plane of the material, for angular adjusting movement of said supporting means and said rolls about said second axes; means for detecting relative lateral positions of longitudinal elements of the material; and positioning means drivingly connected with said supporting means and operatively connected with said detecting means for response thereto to independently adjust the angular positions of said supporting means and said rolls about said second axes to independently control the lateral pull of each roll on the material and thereby maintain predetermined relative lateral positions of longitudinal elements of the material.

Claim 3

Apparatus as recited in claim 1, each of said second axes extending substantially normal to a corresponding one of said first axes, whereby each of said rolls is angularly adjustable in a plane substantially tangent to its area of engagement with the material.

Claim 4

Apparatus as recited in claim 1, each of said second axes lying in a plane substantially normal to said longitudinal elements of the material.

Claim 5

Apparatus as recited in claim 1, each of said first axes being inclined at a predetermined angle which forms a wrap of the material about said rolls preventing slippage of the material longitudinally on said rolls.

Claim 6

Apparatus as recited in claim 1, said detecting means being constructed and arranged to detect the lateral counts of said longitudinal elements in the vicinities of the opposite edge portions of the material; said positioning means being operative in response to said detecting means to adjust said rolls about said second axes to maintain the lateral counts of said longitudinal elements substantially at equal predetermined values in the vicinities of the opposite edge portions of the material.

Claim 7

Apparatus as recited in claim 1, said detecting means being constructed and arranged to detect the relative lateral spacing of said longitudinal elements in the vicinities of the opposite edge portions of the material; said positioning means being operative in response to detection of increased or decreased spacing, respectively, between said longitudinal elements near either edge portion, to adjust one of said rolls adjacent that edge portion about said second axis thereof to a position in which said one of said rolls applies decreased or increased lateral pull, respectively, on the edge of the material engaged thereby.

Claim 8

Apparatus as recited in claim 1, said detecting means being constructed and arranged to detect the lateral counts of said longitudinal elements in the vicinities of the center and the opposite edges of the material; said positioning means being operative in response to said detecting means to adjust said rolls about said second axes to maintain the lateral counts of said longitudinal elements in the vicinities of said opposite edges substantially equal to the lateral distribution of said longitudinal elements in the vicinity of the center of the material.

Claim 9

Apparatus as recited in claim 1, said detecting means being constructed and arranged to detect the relative lateral spacing of said longitudinal elements in the vicinities of the center and the opposite edges of the material, and to compare the distributions of elements in the center with those of each edge separately; said positioning means being operative in response to greater or lesser spacing, respectively, between said longitudinal elements near either edge portion than between those in the center of the material, to adjust one of said rolls adjacent that edge portion about said second axis thereof to a position in which said one of said rolls applies dEcreased or increased lateral pull, respectively, on the edge of the material engaged thereby.

Claim 10

Apparatus as recited in claim 1, said detecting means being constructed and arranged to detect the lateral positions of longitudinal elements at the opposite edges of the material; said positioning means being operative in response to said detecting means to adjust said rolls to maintain said longitudinal elements at the opposite edges of the material substantially in predetermined lateral positions.

Claim 11

Apparatus as recited in claim 1, together with a second pair of rolls each rotatably supported by a corresponding one of said supporting means and engageable with a surface of the material opposite said first-mentioned surface to nip the edges of the material against said first-mentioned rolls for preventing edge curling.

Claim 12

Apparatus as recited in claim 10, said supporting means mounting each of said second rolls for rotation on an axis extending at an angle to said first axis of a corresponding one of said first-mentioned rolls such that said first and second rolls nip the material with maximum pressure at its edges and with decreasing pressure toward the ends of said rolls nearest the center of the material, to apply a graduated amount of lateral pull on various longitudinal elements of the material gripped between said rolls.

Claim 13

Apparatus as recited in claim 10, said supporting means mounting each of said second rolls for rotation on an axis lying in a common plane with said first axis of a corresponding one of said first rolls, each said common plane being substantially normal to said plane of the material.

Claim 14

Apparatus as recited in claim 10, said second rolls being of shorter length than said first rolls and having ends terminating short of ends of said first rolls nearest the center of the material.

Claim 15

Web guiding apparatus for acting on an indefinite length of web material traveling longitudinally substantially in a plane and including longitudinal elements of indefinite length, said apparatus comprising: a pair of rolls; a pair of means each supporting one of said rolls in engagement with a different edge portion of the material, each of said supporting means mounting one of said rolls for rotation on a first axis transverse to the length of the material and inclined at a predetermined fixed angle of tilt with respect to the plane of the material, to engage each of said rolls with a surface of the material each with a wrap angle decreasing from a predetermined maximum at the edges of the material to a predetermined minimum at the ends of the rolls nearest the center of the length of material; each of said supporting means being pivotally supported on a second axis substantially normal to said first axis and inclined to the plane of the material, for independent canting movement of each said supporting means and roll, in a plane tangent to the area of engagement between the roll and the material, about said second axes, to various cant angles in which said rolls exert various amounts of outward lateral pull on the material; means for detecting relative lateral spacings of longitudinal elements of the material in different laterally-spaced regions thereof; and positioning means drivingly connected with said supporting means and operatively connected with said detecting means for response thereto to independently adjust the cant angles of each of said supporting means and the corresponding said roll to independently control the lateral pull of each said roll on the material and thereby maintain predetermined relative lateral spacings of longitudinal elements of the material in said different regions thereof.

Claim 16

Web guiding apparatus for acting on an indefinite length of web material traveling longitudinally substantially in a plane and including longitudinal elements of indefinite length, said apparatus comprising: a pair of rolls; a pair of means each supporting one of said rolls in engagement with a different edge portion of the material, each of said supporting means mounting one of said rolls for rotation on a first axis transverse to the length of the material and inclined at a predetermined fixed angle of tilt with respect to the plane of the material, to engage each of said rolls with a surface of the material each with a wrap angle decreasing from a predetermined maximum at the edges of the material to a predetermined minimum at the ends of the rolls nearest the center of the length of material; each of said supporting means being pivotally supported on a second axis substantially normal to said first axis and inclined to the plane of the material, for independent canting movement of each said supporting means and roll, in a plane tangent to the area of engagement between the roll and the material, about said second axes, to various cant angles in which said rolls exert various amounts of outward lateral pull on the material; means for detecting relative lateral spacings of longitudinal elements of the material in different laterally-spaced regions thereof; and positioning means drivingly connected with said supporting means and operatively connected with said detecting means for response thereto to independently adjust the cant angles of each of said supporting means and the corresponding said roll to independently control the lateral pull of each said roll on the material and thereby maintain predetermined relative lateral spacings of longitudinal elements of the material in said different regions thereof.

Claim 19

The method recited in claim 15, in which the step of canting said rolls is carried out with said second axes extending substantially normal to said first axes of said rolls, whereby each of said rolls is pivoted in a plane substantially tangent to its area of engagement with the material.

Claim 20

The method recited in claim 15, in which the step of determining the relative positions of elements of the material is carried out by determining the lateral counts of elements in the vicinities of the opposite edge portions of the material, and the step of canting said rolls is carried out in a manner to maintain predetermined substantially equal counts of elements in said vicinities.

Claim 21

The method recited in claim 15, in which the step of determining the relative positions of elements ef the material is carried out by determining the lateral counts of elements in the vicinities of the center and the opposite edge portions of the material, and the step of canting said rolls is carried out in a manner to maintain the counts of elements in the edge portions substantially equal to the count of elements in the center of the material.

Claim 22

The method recited in claim 15, in which the step of determining the relative positions of elements of the material is carried out by determining the lateral positions of elements at the opposite edges of the material, and the step of canting said rolls is carried out in a manner to maintain said elements substantially in predetermined lateral positions.

Claim 23

The method recited in claim 15, in which the step of canting said rolls is carried out with each of said second axes lying in a plane substantially normal to said longitudinal elements of the material.