Apparatus and method for producing logs of sheet material

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus and a method for forming and ejecting logs from the winding cradle of a surface-driven rewinder comprising a winding cradle formed by a plurality of parallel rollers having gaps there between and wherein at least one of the rollers is moveable relative to the others thereby forming first and second gaps of variable length. The rewinder further includes a first driver that is operatively connected to and controls the rotational speed of at least one of the rollers, and a second driver that is operatively connected to and controls the rotational speed of at least one of the rollers, and wherein the rollers driven by the first driver are different than the rollers driven by the second driver. The rotational speed and/or direction of one or more of the rollers can be varied whereby a log of sheet material formed within the winding cradle can be ejected through either the first or second gap.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.