Apparatus for the manufacture of a jacket for a flexible disk for data recording

An apparatus for the manufacture of jackets for flexible magnetic data recording discs, each said jacket on each side thereof comprising a cover of a first material with a lining of a second, non-woven material and being formed by joining a sheet of said first material and a sheet of said second material together, punching the joined sheets out to form a composite blank having longitudinally thereof two substantially mirror-image sections with openings for permitting the disc to be operated within the completed jacket, folding said composite blank and welding said blank in the area of said folds, said apparatus comprising:

• a first stepwise rotatable turntable having a plurality of stations, a transfer device, including vacuum operated gripping means, for placing a sheet of said first material from a stack of said sheets on said turntable in a first of said stations, another transfer device, including other vacuum operated gripping means, for placing a sheet of said second material on top of, and spot welding said second-material sheet to, said first-material sheet in a second of said stations, and means for thermally welding said first-and said second-material sheets together over substantially the entire surface in a third of said stations,
• a magazine for stacking the welded sheets, a vacuum operated holding frame, a further transfer device for transferring the welded sheets to said holding frame, a punching device, and conveying means for moving said holding frame with the welded sheets therein to said punching device, and
• a second stepwise rotatable turntable having a plurality of index positions and having pivotally mounted means and heating and cooling means, for folding with the aid of said pivotally mounted means and of a folding blade, one of said mirror image sections of the composite blank over the other section, and for stabilizing folded areas with the aid of said heating and cooling means.