Apparatus and method for feeding and collecting continuous web material
AssigneeAcme Visible Records, Inc.
InventorsJames F. Lapp, Thomas F. McGrath
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method for feeding a series of web portions to a high speed web processing machine, such as a high speed printer, utilizing auxiliary equipment positioned adjacent the processing machine. The auxiliary equipment permits continuous splicing of web portions and, thus feeding of a continuous web to the processing machine, and intermittent removal of web portions in such a manner that the processing machine may be run continuously without stoppage for feeding or removing the web.
Claims12
An apparatus for continuously feeding a series of web portions to a high speed web processing machine having web intake and discharge apertures each located in a recessed area of the machine and intermittently removing processed web portions in stacked form from said machine without requiring the web processing to be interrupted comprising
- (a) web portion alignment and splicing means exterior of the machine for aligning web portions in tandem relationship for splicing;
- (b) turn bar means for changing the direction of web travel from the path determined by splicing to successive paths toward and within the intake recess of the machine and thereafter in a path through the intake aperture;
- (c) driving and tension control means for controllably driving the web from the alignment and splicing means to a position adjacent the intake aperture which driving and control means in turn comprise
- (i) a driven roll for contacting the web, said roll having a surface capable of engaging the web with sufficient force to substantially assist in pulling the web from the alignment and splicing means to a position adjacent the intake aperture with the remainder of the force required for web movement being supplied by an internal web moving means located within said web processing machine;
- and
- (ii) drive means for driving the driven roll;
- (d) movable stack support means positioned adjacent said web processing machine which support means is readily movable into the discharge web stack to support an upper portion of the stack permitting removal of a lower portion of stack and said support means being movable out of the stack to allow the upper portion to move down into space left by the removed stack portion.
A process for continuously feeding spliced web portions to a web processing machine and thereafter intermittently removing a series of web portions from a discharge stack of said machine without stopping the web processing comprising
- (a) placing one or more web portions in containers with the web ends of each web portion protruding from the container;
- (b) aligning in tandem relationship a plurality of such containers adjacent said web processing machine;
- (c) splicing the ends of two or more web portions together;
- (d) causing the spliced web to move in the path determined during splicing and thereafter to change direction toward and into said processing machine;
- and
- (e) intermittently removing portions of the discharge stack of the web by temporarily supporting the upper portion of the stack while removing the lower portion.
An apparatus for continuously feeding a series of web portions to a high speed web processing machine having a web intake aperture located in a recessed area of said processing machine, comprising
- (a) web portion alignment and splicing means exterior of said processing machine for aligning web portions in tandem relationship for splicing;
- (b) turn bar means for changing the direction of web travel from a path determined by splicing to successive paths toward and within said intake recess of said processing machine and thereafter in a path through said intake aperture;
- and
- (c) driving and tension control means for controllably driving said web from said alignment and splicing means to a position adjacent said intake aperture, which driving and tension control means, in turn, comprises
- (i) a driven roll for contacting said web, said driven roll having a surface capable of engaging said web with sufficient force to substantially assist in pulling said web from said alignment and splicing means to a position adjacent said intake aperture with the remainder of the force required for web movement being supplied by an internal web moving means located within said processing machine;
- and
- (ii) drive means for driving said driven roll.
A process for continuously feeding spliced web portions to a web processing machine, comprising
- (a) placing at least one web portion in a container in a manner that the forward and rearward end of each web portion protrudes from said container;
- (b) aligning in tandem relationship a plurality of said containers adjacent said web processing machine;
- (c) splicing the ends of two or more web portions together;
- and
- (d) causing said spliced web portions to move as a continuous web along the path determined during splicing and thereafter changing the path of movement toward and into said processing machine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.