Elastic band applicator and sheet folder

Apparatus for applying elastic bands to the laterally spaced apart margins of a longitudinally moving sheet, such as a sheet that is part of a diaper, comprising:

• first and second parallel cylindrical members spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the moving sheet, the second cylindrical member being located downstream of the first one and the sheet running in the same plane on the members under longitudinal tension,
• shoe means extending laterally of the sheet and having a length from end-to-end that is less than the width of said sheet, said shoe means having a side for interfacing with the sheet and being positioned between the first and second cylindrical members for pressing against the sheet to deflect laterally extending central region of the sheet and put said region under lateral tension while letting opposite laterally spaced apart margins of the sheet beyond the ends of the shoe means remain free and untensioned,
• nozzle means preceding said shoe means to apply longitudinally extending stripes of glue that are wider than the elastic bands to be attached to said margins of the sheet,
• said side of the shoe means interfacing with said sheet having passageways wider than the glue stripes through which said glue stripes pass and into which said elastic bands, respectively, of lesser width than the glue stripes are fed onto said sheet over the glue stripes, and
• folding means next downstream from said shoe means, said folding means being constructed and arranged for folding said sheet margins over said glue stripes on the sheet to effect adhesion of the margins to the sheet with the glue stripe margins remaining on each side of the bands.