Coreless winder

A winder for winding strips of plastic film into coreless rolls, said winder comprising:

• winding assembly means comprising a plurality of spindle means, each spindle means having a surface onto which the plastic film may be wound;
• conveying means for conveying said strips of plastic film to said winding assembly means;
• transfer means for transferring the leading edge of said strip of plastic film from said conveyor means to one of said spindle means, said transfer means consisting essentially of three rollers coupled by drive ropes, a first roller of said rollers being movable between a first position and a second transfer position, wherein said three rollers are in a generally linear configuration when said first roller is in said said first position and are in a generally triangular configuration when said first roller is in said second transfer position, the other two of said rollers being stationary, said drive ropes contacting a large portion of the surface of said spindle means to effectuate transfer of the plastic film from said conveying means to said spindle means when said first roller is in said second transfer position;
• means for driving said conveyor means;
• means for driving said transfer means and means for driving the spindle means of said winding assembly means.

A winder for winding elongate strips of pliable material into coreless rolls, said winder including:

• (1) winding assembly means comprising
• (a) a generally round rotatable turret means and at least three spindle means extending perpendicularly therefrom and being arranged equidistant from one another about the periphery of said turret means, and
• (b) each spindle means of said plurality of spindle means including
• (i) elongate, collapsible shell elements semicircular in cross-section having a plurality of wedge-shaped plates mounted to the inside walls of said shell elements and bolt means attached to and extending between said plates, said shell elements being movable between a first open position and a second collapsed position, and
• (ii) a rotatable shaft surrounded by said shell elements containing a plurality of L-shaped slots therethrough, said L-shaped slots allowing said bolt means to slidably move therein, and said L-shaped slots being oriented such that the first end of each of said slots is longitudinally closer to said turret and radially further from the axis of said shaft than the second end of said slot and such that when said elongate shell elements are in said first open position, said bolt means rest in the first end of said L-shaped slots and when said elongate shell elements are in said second collapsed position, said bolt means rest in the second end of said L-shaped slots, and
• (2) conveyor means for conveying said strips of pliable material to said winding assembly means;
• (3) transfer means for transferring the leading edge of said strips of pliable material from said conveyor means to one of said spindle means;
• (4) means for driving said conveyor means;
• (5) means for driving said transfer means and means for driving said spindle means of said winding assembly means.