US3158522A

US3158522A - Configured web-cutting apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3158522A
Application number: US144782A
Authority: US
Inventors: John A Dreher
Original assignee: General Cigar Co Inc
Current assignee: General Cigar Co Inc
Priority date: 1961-10-12
Filing date: 1961-10-12
Publication date: 1964-11-24
Anticipated expiration: 1981-11-24

Description

Nov. 24, 1964 J. A. DREHER CQNFIGURED WEB-CUTTING APPARATUS 3 Shee'tsr-Sheem 1 Filed; 0611.. 121,. 1961 INVENTOR.

JOHN A. DREHER AGENT Nov. 24, 1964 J. A. DREHER 3,158,522

CONFIGURED WEB-CUTTING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 12, 1961 l 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W WWHH" INVENTOR.

JOHN A. DREHER AGENT Nov. 24, 1964 D EHER CONFIGURED WEB-CUTTING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed. Oct. 12. 1961 INVENTOR JOHN A. DREHER AGENT United States Patent 3,158,522 CQNFIGUREE) WEB-'EUTTING APPARATUS .iohn A. Dreher, Trucksville, Pa assignor to General Cigar (10., Inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 12, 1961, Ser. No. 144,782 6 Claims. (Cl. 156-519) This invention relates to web feeding and is more particularly concerned with the feeding of webs having repeating or recurrent designs or indicia imprinted thereon and adapted to be severed into a plurality of labels, wrappers, bands or the like. While not necessarily limited thereto, the invention is more specifically concerned with a method and an apparatus for feeding a continuous web of the character indicated which is adapted to be severed into bands of predetermined length for application to cigars and the like.

In many packaging operations, such as wrapping or labeling, it is generally desirable to feed sheet material in the form of a web or strip withdrawn from a source of supply, such as a roll. However, it has long been a problem to obtain positive or proper registry of the strip or web so that the individual wrappers or labels will be of uniform length and will contain the same pattern of printed matter at substantially the same location on each individual wrapper or label element. In some present day commercial practices, units of food-stuffs, such as butter or bread, are enclosed in wrappers which are fed from a roll or web on which the printed matter has been placed in a so-called repetitive or hit-ormiss pattern, so that, regardless of the length of the wrappers severed from the web, the printed matter will appear completely at least once on each wrapper, but not necessarily at the same location on the wrapper. This practice is followed because, in the usual feeding and severing methods commonly employed, it has not been found practicable to sever and apply individual wrapper lengths which are uniform and which are so controlled that they may be uniformly applied to the objects to be wrapped. Overrunning or underrunning of the Web sections with respect to the cut-off device is an ever-present problem. The change in position between the line of severance and the printed matter may be due to many reasons, of which perhaps the most important are shrinkage or expansion of the paper due to climatic conditions, change of tension in the sheet, differences in paper surface smoothness, and similar factors, all of which may cause a considerable variation in the rate of paper feed.

While the individual error over a short length of the strip will be minute and therefore negligible, the build-up of this error as the roll is used will destroy the initial registry of the indicia at the cutting station and the accumulated error will become very substantial, amounting at times to a 100% error.

While such operations can be tolerated in the case of some articles, particularly when they are of relatively large size, so that the pattern is repeatedly present on each article, the problem is particularly serious in the case of the cutting of cigar bands, or the like, from a continuous web where the recurrent pattern is usually present only once in each severed hand. If this pattern is not centered on the band, the article to which it is appliedis unattractive, giving the entire product a poor appearance, with decreased sales appeal, and the intended purpose of the band is actually defeated.

As a result, elaborate procedures and devices, generally.

cuits, have been proposed and used in an effort to feed such webs uniformly to the cutting operation so that the cut is made at the desired point each time and each severed piece contains the same design or indicia as all other severed pieces. Thus, it has been proposed to utilize a photoelectric system which varies the rate of paper feed in a degree dependent upon the amount a spot on the paper becomes out of register with the light beam of the photoelectric control system. This variation in the paper feed velocity is effected by changing the speed of the feed rolls. Some of these arrangements have operated satisfactorily, but, in general, they involve very complicated apparatus assemblies, including switches, control mechanisms, and the like, which tend to detract from their dependability of operation apart from necessitating a high installation cost. As an example of the complexities involved, it has been proposed in the photoelectric control unit referred to above to employ a vacuum tube amplifier between the photoelectric tube and the grid controlled rectifier. It has also been proposed to energize the rectifier with direct current and to insert in the plate circuit of the rectifier a time relay or other form of switch to open circuit the rectifier after correction of the feed roll speed has been attained. In an effort to insure maximum accuracy, such systems have been made more and more complex. However, even such complex and expensive systems are far from foolproof, and failure of a component, or interruption in the current actuating the synchronizing system, or other mishap, can cause complete failure of synchronization and, unless the entire machine is immediately stopped and the difficulty corrected, the desired synchronization will soon be lost and the undesired uneven cutting of the web will take place. Stopping the machine and repairing the synchronization system not only obviously involves loss in production time but it interrupts related operations in the production of the article being wrapped or labeled, as Well as any subsequent packaging operations. There is, therefore, an important need for a web-feeding and cutting synchronization system which is accurate and effective, which is essentially foolproof, and which avoids the complexities of systems which have heretofore been proposed for this purpose.

It is, accordingly, an object of the presentinvention to provide a method for feeding a web carrying designs or other indicia thereon to a cutting device which insures that the web will be severed at the same point in relation to the design or indicia at each cutting operation.

It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus which will feed a web of the character indicated in accurate synchronization with a cutting device to insure repeated cutting of the web at the same point in relation to the recurrent design or indicia carried by the web.

It is a further object of the inventionto provide an.

apparatus of the character described which does not rely upon electronic systems for its operation and which is free from the complexities of prior synchronization devices for web feeding. 1

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved, relatively simple, highly eflicient method and means to control the feeding of a web for the delivery of substantially uniform, predetermined sections of the web to a point where the web sections are acted upon for severance from the web.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved web feed control unit which can be conveniently installed .for use with an existing machine, such as acigar wrapping machine.

In accordance with the present invention, the web to be fed is formed with uniformly recurrent lateral irregularities, which may take the form of indentations or projections, or both, and the web is fed to rotatable means which his a circumferentially extending recess. in"

its periphery having a configuration conforming to the lateral or transverse. configuration of the web, the Web Patented Nov. 24, 1964 being fed so that a plurality of the web units to be severed are simultaneously engaged with the rotatable means. The Web leaving the rotatable means is fed to a severing device and the severed portion of the web is moved to the operation in which it is to be used, e.g., a wrapping operation. The rotatable means and the severing device are driven in mechanically synchronized relationship, suitably from a common power source, and both have imparted to them intermittent motion of the desired extent, each intermittent movement of the rotatable means corresponding to the feeding of a length of the web equal to the length of the unit to be severed from the web.

The apparatus of the invention thus comprises the Combination of a web supply means, a rotatable web guiding and feeding means having a periphery formed with a circumferentially extending recess having a lateral or transverse configuration corresponding to the lateral or transverse configuration of the web, meshing means for maintaining in engagement with the rotatable means a portion of the web equal to a plurality of web units to be severed, severing means downstream of the web-guiding and feeding means, and mechanical interconnection for intermittent movement of the severing means and the web-guiding and feeding means to feed a predetermined length of the web at each intermittent movement of the feeding means and to effect severing of the web after each such movement.

It is a feature of the invention that the web-feeding apparatus provided relies solely on mechanical means for insuring synchronization of the web with respect to the severing device.

It is another feature of the invention that the web to be severed is fed from a continuous roll to the severing device while engaged with rotatable means effecting synchronization by direct mechanical engagement with the web, without interposition of photoelectric means or other electronic components.

Other objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and of illustrative embodiments thereof, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein,

FIG. 1 is an end perspective view of an apparatus assembly embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a right side elevational view of the apparatus assembly of FIG. 1 showing the web-supply roll and the related mechanical components as seen along the line 22 of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the web-supply roll illustrated in FIG. 2 as seen from the reverse side;

FIG. 4 is a detailed and enlarged elevational view of the feed roll assembly shown in FIG. 1 as seen from the left side;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged end elevational view of the feed roller showing the registering relationship between the roller surface and the web;

FIG. 6 is a right rearward and enlarged perspective view of. the severing and heat-sealing mechanism seen in FIGS. 1 and 2; and I FIG, 7 is a further enlarged perspective view of a portionof the severing mechanism seen in PEG. 6.

Referring to thedrawings, and more. particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the'supply roll it) of the web 11 to be V web-guiding and feeding roll 18, the guide roller 16 suitably directly engaging the roll 18 for concurrent rotation with it. As will be described in more detail below, the periphery of the roll 18 is formed with a continuous circumferential recess 2t) which has a transverse 'or lateral configuration which'mates and registers with the corresponding transverse configuration of the web asit. varies in repeating units longitudinally, ,i.e., each support arm 44 so that braking pressure is applied to the t edge of the recess 20 has a repetitively varied edge contour which mates with the repetitively van'ed edge contour of the web. On leaving the roll 18, the web is fed past a cutting unit designated generally at 22 which severs the individual bands or units 11a from the web. Suitably, a guide assembly designated generally at 23 is employed, this assembly having opposed guiding sur-; faces which channel the web in its passage from the webguiding and feeding roll 18 to the cutting unit. If desired, the web 11 may be combined with a second Web 25. This second web may, for example, be a sheet of cellophane, or the like, adapted to have the label unit applied to it before the wrapping operation. For this purpose, the printed surface of the web 11 may be bonded to the cellophane web by passing these two elements.

between the jaws of a heat-sealing device 27. The heat sealing device may be of any conventional construction, and, in itself, forms no part of the present invention.

The second web is suitably fed laterally from a supply roll (not shown), the web suitably passing around a guide roll 28. The second web may be of any desired width and may be disposed in any desired relationship with respect to the cutting unit 22 so that it may be partially cut or nicked by the cutting unit to provide a tearstrip or the like, as will be described below, or it may avoid the cutting unit entirely. It will be understood, however, that the present invention is primarily concerned with the feeding of the web 11 to the cutting device in such manner that accurate cutting with respect to the design or indicia on the web will occur at each severing operation, and the invention is not necessarily concerned with any other operation such as the heatsealing step in which the fed web is combined with a second web, referred to above. These operations have been indicated by way of example to show how the feeding device of this invention may be conveniently used in conjunction with other operations because, as mentioned above, it is a feature of the apparatus of this invention that it may be installed on or adjacent any conventional wrapping or labeling machine (not shown), e.g., for the wrapping of cigars, the'severed label, or the cellophane web having the severed label secured to it, being introduced into the feed end of the conventional wrapping or labeling machine.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the supply roller 12 is suitably rotatably carried on a bracket 31 mounted on the machine frame. As seen in FIG. 2, the shaft of the roller 12 receives, on one side, a removable plate 32 which has fingers 34 extending from it to confine the web roll 10. The plate 32 is removable to permit mounting of fresh web rolls upon the supply roller. As seen in FIG. 3, the opposite side of the roller 12 is provided with I a second plate 36 which is rigidly secured to the roller 12 and is provided with fingers 37 similar to the fingers 34.

The plate 36 has an axial extension in the form of a braking drum 38 which is engaged by a brake band 40 secured at one end to an arm 42 rigidly mounted on the bracket 31. Pivoted on the bracket 31, is a supporting unit defined by a support arm 44 and an integral tension arm 45 which is resiliently urged in the direction of the bracket 31 by a tension spring 46 havingits opposite ends fastened to bracket 31 and arm 45. The tension roller 14, which is suitably in the form of a pulley with a flat internal surface for receiving the web 11, is supported on the free end of the support arm 44 and the web 11 passes over it under the traction which is exerted downstream of the tension roller 14 by the feed roller 18. As a result, the tension roller 14- tends to be moved downwardly, but

this downward movement is resisted by the spring 46,. It will also be seen that the brake band 40 is secured to the braking drum 38 when the roller 14 rises and is released when the roller 14 descends. Thus, when downstream traction on the web 11 is increased, the roller 14 tends to 1 descend and thebraking action on the roller 12 is released. Similarly, when downstream traction is decreased, the roller 14 tends to rise and braking action is exerted on the roller 12 so that uniform feed of the web 11 is insured at all times without buckling or breaking of the web.

Referring now to FIG. 4, which is a view of the apparatus from the side corresponding to FIG. 3 and opposite the side shown in FIG. 2, it will be seen that the guide rollerv 15, to which the web passes after leaving the tension roller 14, is rotatably mounted on a bracket 48 connected to the machine frame in any convenient manner. Also rotatably mounted on the bracket 48 is the web-guiding and feeding roll 18, and the second guide roller 16 is rotatably supported on an arm 50 which, in turn, is pivoted to the bracket 48. The guide roller 16 is resiliently maintained in engagement with the surface of the feed roll 18 by any convenient means, such as the spring 52, which is suitably connected to the bracket 48 and arm 50. The guide roller 15 is, like the tension roller 14, advantageously in the form of a pulley with a flat internal guiding surface.

It is a feature of the invention that the web-guiding and feeding roll 18 positively cooperates with the web 11 to insure accurate feeding of the web to the cutting unit. As indicated in FIG. 5, the web, in addition to having a repetitive design imprinted on it, is formed with lateral extensions or indentations or preferably, as illustrated, with both. Thus, the web 11 is shown with extensions 54 which are regularly spaced apart longitudinally, and recesses 55 which are spaced between the extensions 54 and are regularly spaced apart longitudinally. Each repetitive design of the web is thus associated with a repetitive pattern of extensions, recesses, or both. As seen in FIG.

5, the central recessed portion of the feed roll 18 is similarly formed with the same repetitive pattern found on the web 11 except, of course, that the feed roll is formed with extensions 57 to mate with the recesses 55 of the web and with recesses 58 to mate with the extensions 5d of the web. This positive interrelationship occurs throughout the periphery of the feed roll and, as the web 11 is fed into the recess 20 of the feed roll from the second guide roller 16, it automatically interengages with the sides of the recess at all times. To facilitate engagement in the recess, the second guide roller 16 has a central ridge 60 which fits into the recess 28 of the feed roll. The lateral portions of the roller 16 are of a smaller diameter than that of ridge 60 and directly engage the lateral portions of the roll 18 for concurrent rotation with it.

Thus, as the web 11 is fed from the roll over the tension roller 14 and the

guide rollers

15 and 16, any tendency for the web to move out of registry longitudinally is automatically cancelled as it engages the webguidingand feeding roll 18 and becomes seated in the recess 20. As a result, the web 11 leaves the roll 18 in perfect registry with the cutting unit 22 which is adapted to have its cutting element or knife reciprocated into and out of engagement with the web to effect the cutting operation.

As seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the cutting unit 22 in the embodiment illustrated is defined by a stationary portion 65 having a central guideway 66 to receive the web being fed, and a reciprocat ng blade 68 which is slidable in the stationary portion. As seen more particularly in FIG. 7, the blade 68 is formed with a transverse slot 69, one side of which is defined by an oblique cutting edge 78 which cooperates with an edge 97a on the stationary portion adjacent the guideway 66. In FIG. 7, the blade 68 is shown in its retracted, inactive position, and the strip or web 11'is shown passing through the guideway 66 and the knife slot 69. When the blade 68 is actuated, the cutting edge 70 will move toward the web 11 and sever it to form the web unit 11a, and the blade will then return to its inactive position illustrated in FIG. 7under the action of a spring 64. The leading edge of the web 11 which is left upon the severance of the web unit 11a will then be in position to enter the knife slot 69 upon the next intermittent feeding of the web. V

The blade 68 is intermittently actuated in any convenient manner and suitably, as illustrated, by means of a cam. Thus, as seen in FIG. 6, an arm 71 is mounted upon a pivoted assembly 72 which is pivotable about the axis 73 and carries a cam follower 74 held in engagement with the surface of a cam 75 by means of a spring 76, the cam being rigidly connected to a shaft 77. The upper end of the arm 71 is formed with an adjustable finger 78 which engages the back of the carriage 80 upon which the blade or knife 68 is mounted. Upon pivoting movement of the arm 71 toward the cutter unit 22 in response to movement of the cam follower 74, the finger 78 is caused to engage the blade carriage and to impart the severing movement to the blade 68.

The web 11 is advantageously automatically and positively guided into the guideway 66 of the cutting unit, and for this purpose there is suitably provided a guide plate 82 having a face which merges with the guideway 66. The face of the plate 82 is formed with two lateral guides 83 which define between them a flat feed channel 84 of sufiicient width to permit the free vertical passage of the web but to guide it against undesired lateral displacement. The front of the channel is closed at its lower end by a plate 85 which also defines one side of the guideway 66. Above plate 85 is a hinged arm 86 which serves to close the upper portion of the channel 84 but is movable away from the plate 82 to facilitate initial feeding of the web into the guiding assembly. Thus, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the web 11 passes from the feed roll 18 into the channel 84 and then into the guideway 66 of the cutting unit. The arm 86 is weighted in such manner that irregularity in feeding such as bunching of the web in the channel 84, will cause it to swing away from the channel and warn the operator. A limit switch (not shown) may also be actuated by the arm to stop the machine, if desired.

When it is desired to effect heat-sealing of the web unit 11a being severed to a second web 25, e.g., a cellophane web, suitable heat-sealing units of any conventional type are mounted below the cutting unit. Thus, as seen in FIG. 6, the anvil or stationary portion of the heat-sealing unit is shown at 88 and the heated hammer or movable portion is shown at 90. The portion 90 is heated electrically in conventional manner and is suitably mounted upon the arm 71 so that it is moved into and out of heat-sealing relationship with the web units being heat-sealed in response to the movements of the arm 71.

When the web 11 is used to form web units which are to serve as cigar bands or the like and which are heatsealed to cellophane or other web to be wrapped around the cigar or other article, the web unit 11a can be advantageously utilized as a tear strip. For this purpose, the end of the web unit is positioned to extend slightly beyond the edge of the second web 25, as will be the. case in the use of the construction shown in FIG. 7 wherein the edge of the web 25 is guided in the block which I forms part of the lower portion of the cutting unit 22.

Use of the tear strip is facilitated by providing short cuts inwardly from the edge of the second web 25 on either side of the web unit 11a severed from the main web 11.

To form such cuts, vertical blades 96 are mounted on the knife carriage 80, the block 95 being suitably slotted to accommodate these blades, the opposite block 97 also being correspondin ly slotted as shown in FIG. 7. Thus, when the knife carriage 80 is reciprocated in response to the movements of the arm 71, the leading portionof the web 11 is heat-sealed to the web 25, this leading portion is severed from the web 11 to define the desired web unit 11a, and the upper edge of the web 25 is slit on either side of the severed unit 11a.

In accordance with the invention, the movements of the web-guiding and feeding roll 18 and the movements of the cutting unit 22' are synchronized so that intermittent incremental movement of the web to the cutting unit is effected and the blade 68 is actuated between each such incremental movement of the web. Thus, referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, it will be seen that the feed roll 18 is driven through a Geneva gear of known type, the driven wheel 1% of the Geneva movement being secured to the roll 18 and the driving wheel 1192 being mounted upon shaft 194 supported in the machine frame which also carries the shaft 106 upon which the Web-guiding and feeding roll 18 is mounted. The Geneva gear component 102 is driven from any convenient power source such as the motor 110 through a series of sprocket gears and chains, including the sprocket wheel 111 carried by the shaft 114, the

sprocket wheels

116 and 117 carried by the shaft 77, and the sprocket wheel 113 of the motor 110, the power being transmitted through the

sprocket chains

120 and 121. Thus, upon continued actuation of the motor 110, gear wheel 112 on the same shaft 114 with sprocket wheel 111 rotates and causes meshing gear wheel 113 to rotate. Thus, gear wheel 113 which is on the same shaft 194 with Geneva gear component 162- causes the Geneva component 102 to rotate continuously and regular intermittent movement is transmitted to the feeding roll 18 through the Geneva gear wheel 1%. The gear wheel 1% is formed to impart an incremental mov ment to the feeding roll 13 equal to the longitudinal length of the element 11a to be severed from the web 11 so that, upon each movement of the roll 18, the web 11 is moved past the blade 68 a distance equal to the length of the element 11a to be out. Because of the continued accurate registry of the web with respect to the webguiding and feeding roll 18, by reason of the relative relationships referred to above, the same portion of the repetitive design or indicia on the web is engaged by the cutting blade 68 upon each actuation, and uniform and accurate cutting of the web is insured continuously during the operation of the machine.

As previously mentioned, the blade .68 of the cutting unit 22 is actuated in synchronism with the movement of the Web so that it engages the web in the time interval between each incremental movement of the web. Thus, advantageously, as shown, the cutting unit is powered from the motor 110 and for this purpose the shaft 77 which carries the cam '75 is the same shaft which carries the sprocket wheel 116 and is driven from the motor 115). The cam 75 is formed with a suitable configuration to effect the desired reciprocation of the knife blade 68 in timed relationship with the movements of the web-guiding and feeding roll 18. However, the blade 68 may be actuated by other means, if desired, and may be actuated from a power source other than motor 116.

It will be apparent that various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiment of the invention described above and shown in the drawings without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the patent claims. It is intended, therefore, that all matter contained in the foregoing description and in the drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not as limitative of the invention.

What is claimed is: p

1. An apparatus for accurately cutting a continuous first web having a repetitively varied transverse configuration into web units of equal length and of uniform relationship to said transverse configuration and for applying the web units to a second continuous web, which comprises the combination :of web-supply means, a rotatable web-guiding and feeding drum having a circumferential recess with a transverse configuration corresponding to said transverse configuration of said web, said drum being positioned to receive said first web in a first direction and to feed said first web in said first direction, cutting means downstream of said rotatable drum to cut said web, means for feeding a second web in a direction transverse to said first direction and to feed said second web to place said second web ad3aC6nt said 8 i first web with said first web in overlying relationship with respect to said second web, and activating means for intermittent rotary movement of said rotatable drum to feed one of said web units with each said movement of said rotatable drum and for intermittent operation of said cutting means to cut said web unit from said web after each said movement while said first web overlies said second web with a portion of the web unit extending beyond the edge of said second web, and means for sealing said web unit to said second web, said last-named means being mounted to be actuated in synchronism with said cutting means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the activating means comprises a Geneva gear.

, 3. An apparatus for accurately cutting a continuous first web having a repetitively varied transverse configuration into web units of equal length and of uniform relationship to said transverse configuration and for applying the web units to a second continuous web, which comprises the combination of web-supply means, a rotatable web-guiding and feeding drum having a circumferential recess with a transverse configuration corresponding to said transverse configuration of said web, said drum being positioned to receive said first web in a first direction and to feed said first web in said first direction, guide means for maintaining in engagement with said rotatable drum a portion of said web of a length greater than one of said web units, cutting means downstrewi of said rotatable drum to out said web, means for feeding a second web in a direction transverse to said first direction and to feed said second web to place said second web adjacent said first web with said first web in overlying relationship with respect to said second web, and activating means for intermittent rotary movement of said rotatable drum to feed one of said web units with each said movement of said rotatable drum and for intermittent operation of said cutting means to out said web unit from said web after each said movement while said first web overlies said second web with a portion of the web unit extending beyond the edge of said second web, and means for sealing said web unit to said second web, said last-named means being mounted to be actuated in synchronism with said cutting means.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the guide means comprises an idler roll riding in the circumferential recess of the rotatable drum and wherein the activating means comprises a Geneva gear.

5. An apparatus for accurately cutting a continuous first web having a repetitively varied transverse configura- ,me ans downstream of said rotatable drum to out said web, channel means for directing said web from said rotatable drum to said cutting means, means for feeding a second web in a direction transverse to said first direction and to feed said second web to place said secondweb adjacent said first web with said first web in overlying relationship with respect to said second web, and

mechanically interconnected means for intermittent rotary movement of said rotatable drum to feed one of said web units with each said movement of said rotatable 3 drum and for intermittent operation of said cutting means to out said web unit from said web afterzeach said movement while said first web overlies said second web with a portion of the web unit extending beyond the edge of said second web, and means for sealing said web unit to said second web, said last-named means being 7 mounted to be actuated in synchronism with said cutting means.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein an idler roll rides in the circumferential recess of the rotatable drum to press the web into engagement with said recess, wherein 5 the mechanically interconnected means comprises a Geneva gear, and wherein the means for sealing the web unit to the second web comprises heat-sealing means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bancroft Apr. 18, Coursen July 16, Ballard Jan. 20, Ranney Feb. 3, Mutti Apr. 20, Hawxhurst Aug. 2,

Claims

1. AN APPARATUS FOR ACCURATELY CUTTING A CONTINUOUS FIRST WEB HAVING A REPETITIVELY VARIED TRANSVERSE CONFIGURATION INTO WEB UNITS OF EQUAL LENGTH AND OF UNIFORM RELATIONSHIP TO SAID TRANSVERSE CONFIGURATION AND FOR APPLYING THE WEB UNITS TO A SECOND CONTINUOUS WEB, WHICH COMPRISES THE COMBINATION OF WEB-SUPPLY MEANS, A ROTATABLE WEB-GUIDING AND FEEDING DRUM HAVING A CIRCUMFERENTIAL RECESS WITH A TRANSVERSE CONFIGURATION CORRESPONDING TO SAID TRANSVERSE CONFIGURATION OF SAID WEB, SAID DRUM BEING POSITIONED TO RECEIVE SAID FIRST WEB IN A FIRST DIRECTION AND TO FEED SAID FIRST WEB IN SAID FIRST DIRECTION, CUTTING MEANS DOWNSTREAM OF SAID ROTATABLE DRUM TO CUT SAID WEB, MEANS FOR FEEDING A SECOND WEB IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO SAID FIRST DIRECTION AND TO FEED SAID SECOND WEB TO PLACE SAID SECOND WEB ADJACENT SAID FIRST WEB WITH SAID FIRST WEB IN OVERLYING RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO SAID SECOND WEB, AND ACTIVATING MEANS FOR INTERMITTENT ROTARY MOVEMENT OF SAID ROTATABLE DRUM TO FEED ONE OF SAID WEB UNITS WITH EACH SAID MOVEMENT OF SAID ROTATABLE DRUM AND FOR INTERMITTENT OPERATION OF SAID CUTTING MEANS TO CUT SAID WEB UNIT FROM SAID WEB AFTER EACH SAID MOVEMENT WHILE SAID FIRST WEB OVERLIES SAID SECOND WEB WITH A PORTION OF THE WEB UNIT EXTENDING BEYOND THE EDGE OF SAID SECOND WEB, AND MEANS FOR SEALING SAID WEB UNIT TO SAID SECOND WEB, SAID LAST-NAMED MEANS BEING MOUNTED TO BE ACTUATED IN SYNCHRONISM WITH SAID CUTTING MEANS.