British-american Tobacco Company Limited

William Lumsden

Wladyslaw H Krywiczanin

Apparatus for measuring the stiffness of creases of a packet blank comprises first and second spaced apart guides, on which a flat blank may be supported, and a plunger which is movable between the guides to deform the blank about a crease(s). The plunger brings part of the blank into contact with a bearing surface, and a panel(s) bent relatively of that part rests against force measuring means. The force measuring means provides a signal indicative of the resistance to bending of a crease about which the panel(s) has been bent.

Measurement of the stiffness of packet blank creases

Apparatus for supplying web material from reels thereof to a web-utilizing machine comprises a reel changer including a reel store, means for advancing reels in the store in succession to a reel-unwinding location, a web-transport system for feeding and guiding to the machine a web extending from a reel at that location, which system comprises at least one air mover, means for sensing the absence of web from a portion of the extent of the system and control means responsive to signals from said sensing means to activate air-supply to the air movers, whereby a leading end of a web length extending from a said reel is fed to the outlet end of the system. The web path of the transport system may include at least one curved portion defined by an air bearing. When the web is running through the transport system, air is supplied to the air bearing or bearings but not to the air mover or movers and, when a web end is being advanced to the utilizing machine, air is supplied to the air mover or movers, but not to the air bearing or bearings. A storage and advancing unit in the reel changer may comprise a hollow mandrel, means for advancing reels along the mandrel to the unreeling location and means operable at that location for coupling the reel to a rotatable shaft. There may be two reel changers associated with respective air movers which can be selectively brought into operative relation with an onward-going further air mover.

Feeding web material

Apparatus for capturing the outer end of a web to be unreeled from a reel comprises rotatable reel-holding means, driving means adapted for rotating a reel in the reel-unwinding direction and in the contrary direction, an elongate air mover operable for moving the web and so mounted that the inlet end thereof is movable nearer to and further from the axis of rotation of the reel-holding means to permit the maintenance of the said inlet end in close proximity to the periphery of a reel, held by the said holding means, over a range of reel radii. The air mover suitably has a pivotal mounting at the outlet end and rests at its inlet end in contact with the reel, descending under gravity as the reel is unwound and thus accomodating its position to the decreasing radius of the reel. Sensing means may operate to detect the capture of a web end at the said inlet end and to produce a signal for changing the direction of reel drive to the unwinding direction from the contrary direction. There may be two said reel-holding means each associated with a respective air mover, the air movers having a common pivotal axis at their closely located outlet ends.

Web-splicing apparatus comprises a web splicer and, associated therewith, an air mover and web-presentation means operable to present to the inlet end of the air mover the leading end of a first web extending from a reel and the leading end of a second web extending from another reel, which air mover is operable to feed the leading end of said first web from said presentation means to and through a splicing zone, to serve as a guide for subsequent continuous passage of that web and further operable to feed the leading end of the second said web from said presentation means to said splicing zone during continuous passage of the first web through the air mover. Web-severing means may be disposed for operation in the splicing zone and web-withdrawal means, suitably further air-mover means, downstream of that zone. Splicing-patch supply means comprises a continuous backing strip carrying spaced adhesive patches, means for advancing the said strip past patch-detachment means, a movable vacuum-supplied holding element for receiving detached said patches, and a vacuum-supplied stationary element on the side of the web path remote from said movable element, a detached patch being pressable onto a web by movement of the first-named element towards the second-named element.

Growing community of inventors

Winchester, United Kingdom

William Lumsden