Method and apparatus for dispensing coiled materials

Abstract

Method and apparatus for dispensing flexible materials from multiple coils which are stacked in coaxial alignment upon a rotatable turntable so that the open inner eye of each coil is vertically oriented. For dispensing, the top most coil is clamped between a snubber roll on the outer periphery, and an expandable core which is positioned within the inner eye and activated to provide gripping engagement therewith. Since the expandable core is flexible, it conforms to the shape of the inner eye, thus readily adapting the invention for use with coils which are noncircular or irregularly formed. In a preferred form, the expandable core and snubber roll are coactively connected components of the floating arm assembly which is completely separable from both the turntable and the pay-out assembly. As thus constructed, the floating arm assembly drifts horizontally to follow the irregular motion resulting from rotation of off-centered coils.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.