METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING IRREGULARITIES ON A MATERIAL STRAND

1 . A method for detecting joints in a sealing profile strand made of an elastomeric material, comprising the steps of:

providing the sealing profile strand which defines a longitudinal axis along which the sealing profile strand is to be conveyed;

bringing a detection element in contact with the sealing profile strand, wherein at least one of (i) the detection element being movably mounted in a direction of deflection transverse to the longitudinal axis and (ii) a force can act on the detection element in a force direction,

setting up a relative movement between the detection element and the sealing profile strand along the longitudinal axis; and

using at least one of (i) a travel sensor for detecting a deflection of the detection element in the deflection direction and (ii) a force sensor for detecting a force acting on the detection element in the force direction, so as to detect a joint in the sealing profile strand, when a sensor signal produced by at least one of the travel sensor and the force sensor exhibits a peak.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the detection element is mounted on a bearing block, wherein at least one of a deflection of the bearing block in the deflection direction and a force exerted on the bearing block by the sealing profile strand is detected in order to detect irregularities in the sealing profile strand.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the detection element is a roller element which is mounted on a bearing block, wherein the roller element is rotatable about a roller axis which is aligned transversely to both the longitudinal axis and at least one of the deflection direction and the force direction.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the deflection and the force is continuously detected and compared with a previously stored characteristic.

5 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein at least one of the deflection and the force is stored in the form of at least one of a displacement profile and a force profile.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a peak is detected using a threshold value, wherein a joint is recognized if the sensor signal exceeds the threshold value.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the threshold value is a basic value plus 10%, wherein the basic value of the sensor signal is the value of the sensor signal when no joint is detected.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a joint is detected if the axial length of the peak is in a range of 0.5 mm to 80 mm.

9 . A method for applying a sealing profile strand strip on a body portion, comprising the steps of:

providing a sealing profile strand assembly including a sealing profile strand which might have one or more joints,

un-storing the sealing profile strand from the sealing profile strand assembly, wherein a detection element is brought into contact with the sealing profile strand, wherein at least one of (i) the detection element being movably mounted in a deflection direction transverse to a longitudinal axis and (ii) a force may act on the detection element in the deflection direction,

detecting a joint in the sealing profile strand by:

bringing the detection element in contact with the sealing profile strand,

setting up a relative movement between the detection element and the sealing profile strand along the longitudinal axis, and

using at least one of (i) a travel sensor for detecting a deflection of the detection element in the deflection direction and (ii) a force sensor for detecting a force acting on the detection element in the force direction, so as to detect a joint in the sealing profile strand, when a sensor signal produced by at least one of the travel sensor and the force sensor exhibits a peak, and

cutting off a sealing profile strand strip which has a predefined length, from an end of the sealing profile strand, if no joint has been detected between the end of the sealing profile strand and a cutting location determined by the predefined length.

10 . A method for detecting irregularities on a material strand made of an elastomeric material, comprising the steps of:

providing the material strand which defines a longitudinal axis along which the material strand is to be conveyed;

bringing a detection element in contact with the material strand, wherein at least one of (i) the detection element being movably mounted in a direction of deflection transverse to the longitudinal axis and (ii) a force can act on the detection element in a force direction,

setting up a relative movement between the detection element and the material strand along the longitudinal axis; and

detecting at least one of (i) a deflection of the detection element in the deflection direction and (ii) a force acting on the detection element in the force direction, so as to detect irregularities in the material strand.

11 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the detection element is mounted on a bearing block, wherein at least one of a deflection of the bearing block in the deflection direction and a force exerted on the bearing block by the material strand is detected in order to detect irregularities in the material strand.

12 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the detection element is a roller element which is mounted on a bearing block, wherein the roller element is rotatable about a roller axis which is aligned transversely to both the longitudinal axis and at least bone of the deflection and the force direction.

13 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the at least one of the deflection and the force is continuously detected and compared with a previously stored characteristic.

14 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein the at least one of the deflection and the force is stored in the form of a at least one of a displacement profile and a force profile.