US 4,071,178 AGranted

Machine for use with moving webs

OwnerRobert M. Coppinventor

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A machine for interrupting a portion of an otherwise continuously moving web of material to enable one or more manufacturing operations to be performed on the stopped portion of the web while the remaining portions of the web are advanced continuously. The machine is interposed between a pair of other machines in a production line in which one of the machines continuously feeds the web to the interrupting machine and the other machine continuously draws the web from the interrupting machine. The interrupting machine includes means to take up the web fed continuously to the interrupting machine as well as means for storing and paying out a length of web from the outlet end of the machine. The web is advanced and stopped in precisely controlled incremental lengths to insure proper registration of the stopped portion of the web with the manufacturing instrumentalities mounted on the interrupting machine.

Claims11

Dependent claims

An apparatus for temporarily interrupting the movement of a portion of an otherwise continually advancing web of material comprising:

a main frame having a web receiving end and a web delivery end;
a first stationary group of rollers mounted to the web receiving end of the frame;
a second stationary group of rollers mounted to the web delivery end of the frame;
a seesaw loop frame pivotally mounted intermediate its ends to the main frame for free pivotal movement on the main frame, the loop frame having loop rollers rotatably supported at each of the opposite ends of the loop frame, the loop frame and loop rollers being disposed so that when the loop frame is pivoted, one of the loop rollers will move toward its associated group of stationary rollers and the other of the loop rollers will move away from its associated group of stationary rollers;
the loop rollers being constructed and arranged to cooperate with their associated group of stationary rollers to form looped paths for the web;
retaining means for maintaining the loop frame in an initial, web-advancing position, in which the loop roller associated with the first group of stationary rollers is in proximity to said first group of stationary rollers and in which the other loop roller is located distally with respect to the second group of stationary rollers, thereby to define a relatively short loop at the receiving end of the frame and a relatively large loop at the delivery end of the frame;
said retaining means being constructed to release the looping frame and to permit the looping frame to pivot freely and solely in response to movement of the web;
and
brake means mounted to the main frame for engagement with the web at a location in proximity to the web receiving end of the main frame and between the portion of the path of the web which is between the loop rollers for stopping a segment of the web which is disposed between the loop rollers.

6 more elements

An apparatus for temporarily interrupting the movement of a portion of an otherwise continually advancing web of material and for performing an operation on the temporarily interrupted portion of the web comprising:

a frame having a web receiving end and a web delivery end;
a first group of rollers mounted to the web receiving end of the frame;
a second group of rollers mounted to the delivery end of the frame;
at least one of the rollers in each of said groups thereof being mounted for movement toward and away from the other rollers in its associated group and being constructed and arranged to coperate with the other rollers in its associated group to form a looped path for the web;
said movable rollers each being mounted to opposite ends of a seesaw frame, pivotally mounted to the machine intermediate its ends to enable the movable rollers to be moved simultaneously and in opposite directions which will enlarge one of the loops and simultaneously shorten the other of the loops;
resetting means for urging the seesaw frame to a position in which the loop at the web receiving end is in its smallest configuration and the loop at the web delivery end is in its largest configuration;
brake means mounted to the frame for engagement with the web in proximity to the web receiving end of the frame and between the portion of the path of the web which is between the movable rollers for stopping a segment of the web which is disposed between the movable rollers;
control means responsive to advancement of a predetermined length of web through the machine for simultaneously operating the brake means and for releasing the looping frame to enable it to pivot freely in response to continued withdrawal of web material from the loop at the web delivery end;
said frame including means mounting a web operating instrumentality on the frame in a position to perform an operation on the portion of the web which has been interrupted;
control means for delaying operation of the web operating instrumentality until after operation of the brake means and release of the seesaw frame;
said control means further including means for deactivating the web operating instrumentality before deactivation of the brake and reactivation of the seesaw frame resetting means.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.