Apparatus and a method for slitting and winding elongated sheets of material into rolls

An apparatus for winding elongated sheets of material into rolls, which comprises:

• a. a mandrel having a length greater than the width of the material to be rolled;
• b. supporting roller means, comprising a pair of parallel-disposed supporting rollers each having a length greater than the width of the material to be rolled and each being rotatably mounted for rotation about the respective longitudinal axes thereof, for supporting said mandrel upon both of said rollers and in parallel disposition to both of said rollers, for receiving the material to be rolled between a first of said supporting rollers and said mandrel, and then for receiving the material between the second of said supporting rollers and said mandrel;
• c. riding roller means comprising a riding roller having a length greater than the width of the material to be rolled, being rotatably and reciprocably mounted at opposite ends thereof for rotation about the axis thereof, for guiding said riding roller to a first position wherein said riding roller is in longitudinal surface contact with said mandrel distal from said supporting rollers when said mandrel is in longitudinal surface contact with said supporting rollers, for guiding and riding roller distally from said supporting rollers and said mandrel to a plurality of positions wherein the axis of said riding roller is substantially parallel to the axes of said supporting rollers and wherein the axis of said riding roller is disposed aroung the axis of said mandrel by an angle less than 180 degrees from the longitudinal axis of either of said supporting rollers, and for receiving the material to be rolled between said riding roller and said mandrel after said material passes between said second supporting roller and said mandrel;
• d. drive means being operably connected to said first supporting roller for imparting a predetermined rotational speed thereto for receiving the material to be rolled between said first supporting roller and said mandrel and then for transporting the material toward said second supporting roller, and being connected to one of the other of said rollers for applying a force to said other roller to rotate said other roller at a rotational speed a predetermined amount higher than the rotational speed of said first roller and including means for limiting the force applied to said other roller to a predetermined maximum so that said paper is protected against excessive tensional forces on said sheet material between said rollers;
• e. rider roll forcing means being operatively connected to said riding roller means, for resiliently forcing of both ends of said riding roller in a plane substantially orthogonal to the plane through the axes of said supporting rollers, and for controlling the forcing of said riding roller toward and away from said mandrel and said supporting rollers;
• and
• f. guide means for retaining said mandrel between said supporting rollers and said riding roller and for allowing said mandrel to move from said supporting rollers as material is rolled onto said mandrel.