Systems for processing material, taping stations to apply tape to one or more rolls of material, and methods of processing material

1. A system for processing material, the system comprising:

a winding station including a winder to wrap material around a mandrel of the winder to produce one or more rolls of material; and

a taping station arranged downstream of the winding station to receive the one or more rolls of material therefrom and apply tape to the one or more rolls of material in a circumferential direction, wherein the taping station includes a plurality of tape head assemblies supported for translation relative to one another in a longitudinal direction transverse to the circumferential direction that are configured to apply tape to the one or more rolls of material at multiple locations along an axial length of each of the one or more rolls of material, and wherein in use of the system, the plurality of tape head assemblies is supported for linear translation relative to one another in the longitudinal direction along a plurality of guide rails of the taping station.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the taping station includes a plurality of material support rollers to support the one or more rolls of material for rotation during a taping operation;

each of the plurality of tape head assemblies includes a tape hub to support a roll of tape during the taping operation; and

each of the plurality of tape head assemblies includes a plurality of guide rollers spaced from one another in a vertical direction to guide tape from the roll of tape supported on the tape hub circumferentially around the one or more rolls of material during the taping operation.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein:

the plurality of guide rollers each have a first circumferential side and a second circumferential side arranged opposite the first circumferential side;

the plurality of guide rollers include a first guide roller, a second guide roller arranged beneath the first guide roller in the vertical direction relative to the one or more rolls of material supported by the plurality of material support rollers, and a third guide roller arranged beneath the second guide roller in the vertical direction relative to the one or more rolls of material supported by the plurality of material support rollers;

in a first taping configuration, the plurality of guide rollers cooperate to guide tape over the first circumferential side of the first guide roller, the second circumferential side of the second guide roller, and the first circumferential side of the third guide roller to permit clockwise application of tape by at least one tape head assembly to the one or more rolls of material supported by the plurality of material support rollers; and

in a second taping configuration, the plurality of guide rollers cooperate to guide tape over the second circumferential side of the first guide roller, the first circumferential side of the second guide roller, and the second circumferential side of the third guide roller to permit counterclockwise application of tape by at least one tape head assembly to the one or more rolls of material supported by the plurality of material support rollers.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of tape head assemblies comprises:

a housing located at a lowermost end of the tape head assembly in the vertical direction;

a cutting arm pivotally coupled to the housing that includes a blade; and

an actuator housed by the housing that is coupled to the cutting arm to drive rotation of the cutting arm relative to the housing to selectively cut tape with the blade during a taping operation.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein when each of the plurality of tape head assemblies applies tape in a clockwise direction to the one or more rolls of material in a first taping configuration, the actuator is configured to drive rotation of the cutting arm relative to the housing between a home position, in which the cutting arm is at least partially covered by a first cover aligned with the housing in the vertical direction to resist tape from being cut with the cutting arm, and a cutting position, in which the cutting arm is not covered by the first cover to allow tape to be cut with the cutting arm.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein when each of the plurality of tape head assemblies applies tape in a counterclockwise direction to the one or more rolls of material in a second taping configuration, the actuator is configured to drive rotation of the cutting arm relative to the housing between a home position, in which the cutting arm is at least partially covered by a second cover aligned with the housing in the vertical direction and arranged opposite the first cover to resist tape from being cut with the cutting arm, and a cutting position, in which the cutting arm is not covered by the second cover to allow tape to be cut with the cutting arm.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of tape head assemblies comprises:

a tape hub to support a roll of tape during a taping operation;

a plurality of guide rollers to guide tape from the roll of tape supported on the tape hub circumferentially around the one or more rolls of material during the taping operation that includes a first guide roller, a second guide roller arranged beneath the first guide roller in a vertical direction relative to the tape hub, and a third guide roller arranged beneath the second guide roller in the vertical direction relative to the tape hub; and

a plurality of air nozzles arranged in close proximity to the third guide roller.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein:

each of the plurality of air nozzles includes a plurality of discharge ports to expel air to draw tape fragments, contaminants, or debris away from the one or more rolls of material during the taping operation; and

the plurality of air nozzles include first and second air nozzles arranged opposite one another relative to the third guide roller.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of tape head assemblies comprises:

a backing plate having a front surface and a back surface arranged opposite the front surface;

an actuator coupled to the back surface of the backing plate;

a plurality of guide tracks coupled to the front surface of the backing plate;

a main plate to support a roll of tape during a taping operation that is coupled to the backing plate and the actuator; and

a plurality of guide blocks affixed to the main plate such that each of the plurality of guide blocks receives one of the plurality of guide tracks to permit translation of the main plate relative to the backing plate in the vertical direction along the plurality of guide tracks.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the actuator drives vertical translation of the main plate relative to the backing plate between a raised position, in which the tape head assembly is spaced apart from the one or more rolls of material, and a lowered position, in which the tape head assembly is positioned in close proximity to the one or more rolls of material to facilitate application of tape to the one or more rolls by the tape head assembly.

11. A taping station to apply tape to one or more rolls of material, the taping station comprising:

a plurality of material support rollers to support the one or more rolls of material for rotation in a circumferential direction during a taping operation; and

a plurality of tape head assemblies supported for translation relative to one another in a longitudinal direction transverse to the circumferential direction that are configured to apply tape to the one or more rolls of material supported by the material support rollers at multiple locations along an axial length of each of the one or more rolls of material during the taping operation,

wherein during the taping operation, the plurality of tape head assemblies is supported for linear translation relative to one another in the longitudinal direction along a plurality of guide rails of the taping station, and

wherein each of the plurality of tape head assemblies includes a housing located at a lowermost end of the tape head assembly in a vertical direction, a cutting arm pivotally coupled to the housing that includes a blade, and an actuator housed by the housing that is coupled to the cutting arm to drive rotation of the cutting arm relative to the housing to selectively cut tape with the blade during the taping operation.

12. The taping station of claim 11 , wherein when each of the plurality of tape head assemblies applies tape to the one or more rolls of material during the taping operation, the actuator is configured to drive rotation of the cutting arm relative to the housing between a home position, in which the cutting arm is at least partially covered by a cover aligned with the housing in the vertical direction to resist tape from being cut with the cutting arm, and a cutting position, in which the cutting arm is not covered by the cover to allow tape to be cut with the cutting arm.

13. The taping station of claim 11 , wherein the taping station is positioned downstream of a winding station to receive the one or more rolls of material from the winding station.

14. The taping station of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of tape head assemblies comprises:

a tape hub to support a roll of tape during the taping operation; and

a plurality of guide rollers spaced from one another in the vertical direction to guide tape from the roll of tape supported on the tape hub circumferentially around each of the one or more rolls of material during the taping operation that includes a first guide roller, a second guide roller arranged beneath the first guide roller in the vertical direction relative to the tape hub, and a third guide roller arranged beneath the second guide roller in the vertical direction relative to the tape hub.

15. The taping station of claim 14 , wherein:

each of the plurality of tape head assemblies includes a plurality of air nozzles arranged in close proximity to the third guide roller;

each of the plurality of air nozzles includes a plurality of discharge ports to expel air to draw tape fragments, contaminants, or debris away from the one or more rolls of material during the taping operation; and

the plurality of air nozzles include first and second air nozzles arranged opposite one another relative to the third guide roller.

16. The taping station of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of tape head assemblies comprises:

a backing plate having a front surface and a back surface arranged opposite the front surface;

an actuator coupled to the back surface of the backing plate;

a plurality of guide tracks coupled to the front surface of the backing plate;

a main plate supporting a roll of tape during the taping operation that is coupled to the backing plate and the actuator;

a plurality of guide blocks affixed to the main plate such that each of the plurality of guide blocks receives one of the plurality of guide tracks to permit translation of the main plate relative to the backing plate in the vertical direction along the plurality of guide tracks; and

a plurality of guide rollers supported by the main plate and including a first guide roller, a second guide roller, and a third guide roller to guide tape from the roll of tape supported by the main plate circumferentially around the one or more rolls of material during the taping operation.

17. The taping station of claim 16 , wherein the actuator drives vertical translation of the main plate relative to the backing plate between a raised position, in which the tape head assembly is spaced apart from the one or more rolls of material, and a lowered position, in which the tape head assembly is positioned in close proximity to the one or more rolls of material to facilitate application of tape to the one or more rolls by the tape head assembly.

18. A method of processing material, the method comprising:

wrapping material around a mandrel of a winder to produce one or more rolls of material;

conveying the one or more rolls of material to a taping station arranged downstream of the winder;

supporting a plurality of tape head assemblies of the taping station for translation relative to one another in a longitudinal direction; and

applying tape to the one or more rolls of material in a circumferential direction transverse to the longitudinal direction with the plurality of tape head assemblies at multiple locations along an axial length of each of the one or more rolls of material,

wherein supporting the plurality of tape head assemblies for translation relative to one another in the longitudinal direction comprises supporting the plurality of tape head assemblies for linear translation relative to one another in the longitudinal direction along a plurality of guide rails of the taping station.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein applying tape to the one or more rolls of material with the plurality of tape head assemblies comprises:

securing rolls of tape with tape hubs of the plurality of tape head assemblies; and

guiding tape from the rolls of tape secured by the tape hubs circumferentially around the one or more rolls of material.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein guiding tape from the rolls of tape secured by the tape hubs circumferentially around the one or more rolls of material comprises guiding tape over a first guide roller, a second guide roller, and a third guide roller to permit clockwise or counterclockwise application of tape by the plurality of tape head assemblies to the one or more rolls of material, wherein the first guide roller, the second guide roller, and the third guide roller are spaced from one another in a vertical direction and aligned along a vertical axis.