Method and apparatus for joining two webs of material

2:

• The method according to claim 1, wherein the starting section (4) is folded upward by a deflection strip (7) in the course of the vertical movement component.

3:

• The method according to claim 1, wherein the starting section (4) and the end section (3) are bonded to one another in a tension-resistant way within the two-layer material web section by a weld bond.

4:

• A device for bonding the outgoing end section (3) of a first material web (1), which extends in a horizontal transport plane (T) along a horizontal transport direction (t) over a web-processing machine, to the incoming starting section (4) of a second material web (2), which is located in a reserve area (27), an intake device (9) being provided, in which an end section (3) of the first material web (1) implemented as a free end is held horizontally at the end, the intake device (9) being equipped below the transport plane (T) with a bonding device (10) movable parallel to the transport direction (t) for the tension-resistant bonding of the end section (3) to the starting section (4), which is pressed flatly overlapping against the end section (3), wherein a pre-tensioning unit (8), which is pivotable using a vertical movement component, is provided in the reserve area (27), in which a starting section (4) of the second material web (2) implemented as a free end is held at the beginning, the pre-tensioning unit (8) being movable from a first pivot position, in which it is spaced apart from the intake device (9), using a downwardly directed pivot movement into a second pivot position, in which it is located adjacent to the intake device (9) and the starting section (4) presses flatly overlapping against the end section (3).

5:

• The device according to claim 4, wherein the intake device (9) is provided with a vertically projecting deflection strip (7), which is situated in the movement path of the starting section (4) during the downwardly directed pivot movement of the pre-tensioning unit (8).

6:

• The device according to claim 4, wherein the bonding device (10) is a welding unit (10) having a welding strip (20).

7:

• The device according to claim 6, wherein the pre-tensioning unit (8) is provided with a vertical anvil plate (19), which is located in the movement path of the welding strip (20) in the second pivot position.

8:

• The device according to claim 4, wherein the intake device (9) is vertically adjustable.

9:

• The device according to claim 4, wherein the second material web (2) is wound on a material roll (25) in the reserve area (27), which is mounted in a support frame (26) so it is rotatable around a support axis (H), and the pre-tensioning unit (8) is connected to the support axis (H) of the material roll (25), the material roll (25) being situated so it is pivotable around a further pivot axis (D) parallel to its support axis (H), preferably with further material rolls (25) situated in parallel.