System for joining webs of material

An automatic splicing device comprising:

• a frame;
• mounting means on the frame for sequentially receiving first and replacement rotatable unwinding rolls of a web of material to be spliced, the web of the replacement roll being formed with a leading end provided with adhesive thereon;
• a guide roller mounted on the frame and spaced from the mounting means, the guide roller and a respective one of the unwinding rolls mounted on the mounting means defining a path of the web therebetween and being rotatable in one sense whereby a remainder of the roll and the guide roller lie at one side of the web;
• a splice element mounted on the frame along the path between the guide roller and the respective one of the unwinding rolls and extending substantially across a working width of the web, the splice element comprising:
• a tube having a longitudinal central axis engageable with a side of the web opposite to the one side and rotatable about said axis in a sense opposite to the one sense, said tube being provided with an axial groove;
• cutting means mounted in said groove for cutting the web running off the first roll, thereby forming a trailing end of the web, and
• holding means on the tube for holding the trailing end of the first roll upon cutting of the web, said holding means being located downstream of the cutting means;
• and
• actuating means on the frame for displacing the splice element into a changing position toward a periphery of a replacement roll after mounting thereof on the mounting means, the holding means being urged against the periphery of the replacement roll in the changing position of the splice element thereby pressing the trailing end against the leading end, so that the ends are bonded together.