Web-splicing apparatus

Apparatus for handling rolls of material wrapped around a hollow core without the use of a core shaft through the center of the roll, which comprises:

• means for supporting parallel first and second pivot shafts, each of which support two pivoting arms;
• a spaced first and second pivoting arm means, each arm being independently movably hinged at one end of the shaft about a first pivot shaft, each arm having a chuck parallel to said pivot shaft at the other end for rotatably supporting the first and second ends of a first web supply roll, said first arm being the operator side arm, which is the side of the apparatus through which the new web roll is inserted, and the second arm being on the other end of the roll being the drive side arm;
• a spaced third and fourth pivoting arm means, each arm being independently movably hinged at one end thereof about a second pivot shaft, each arm having a chuck parallel to the said pivot shaft at the other end for rotatably supporting the first and second end of a second web supply roll, said third arm being a operator side arm and said fourth arm being a drive side arm;
• a chucking means, attached to each of the four pivoting arms, which may be inserted into the ends of a hollow core of a roll and which operatively grips the internal surface of the central core of the roll and may also engage the ends of the core and roll;
• a roll loading position located between said pivot shafts;
• a computer means for determining, which pair of pivoting arms are not currently in use holding a web roll which will be used to engage a new web roll, the appropriate axial position of each of said pair of pivoting arms which are to be used to engage a specific web roll, which is responsive to the web supply roll width, roll diameter and the desired axially positioning of said roll;
• means for determining the diameter and center of a newly loaded roll, and lifting means to position the center of the drive side chuck at the same elevation as said roll center;
• operative means for independent axial positioning of each of the four pivoting arm means along its respective pivot shaft, responsive to said computer means;
• motor means for selectively driving and braking the new roll to a rotational velocity such that the surface velocity of the new roll corresponds to the velocity of the exiting web;
• computer controlled lifting and positioning of the operator side chuck co-axial to the drive side chuck and insertion and engagement of the operator side chuck into the new roll;
• lifting means to position said first and second arms responsive to the diameter of the first new supply roll which they are rotatably supporting, so disposed as to position the surface of the new roll in proximal juxtaposition to the surface of the expiring web to facilitate automatic splicing in the conventional manner;
• and
• lifting means to position said third and fourth arms responsive to the diameter of the second web supply roll which they are rotatably supporting, so disposed as to position the surface of the new roll in proximal juxtaposition to the surface of the expiring web for automatic splicing in the conventional manner.