GB950654A - Improvements in or relating to the manufacture of sheets from a reel of paper - Google Patents

Abstract

950,654. Cutting-apparatus. J. E. THOMPSON. Aug. 14, 1962 [May 17, 1961], No. 18019/61. Heading B4B. [Also in Division B6] A method of manufacturing sheets of paper from a reel of paper which is wider than the sheets comprises the steps of unwinding the reel, slitting the paper as it is unwound from the reel at least once to form a strip of the desired width, re-reeling the remainder of the paper, passing the cut strip to a cutting device where the strip is cut into desired lengths, and transferring the lengths for subsequent use, the leading edge of the strip being supported during the cutting and transferring operations. As shown, paper unwound from a reel 1 is cut by a rotary slitter 5 into a strip for feeding into checking and sorting apparatus 2. The slit strip is then arranged to pass over a guide roller 6 and below a loop forming device 7 to a cutting device while the remainder of the paper is rereeled on a reel 8. The cutting device comprises a die 12 reciprocable in the direction of travel of the paper strip, the face of the die arranged to contact the strip being provided with one or more countersunk suckers 15. A knife 16 is reciprocable in the direction of travel of the strip but is also movable normal to the direction of travel of the strip. Two movable sucker arms 17, 18 each carrying one or more suckers 19, 20, respectively, are reciprocable from a position adjacent the knife 16 to a position where they can transfer the cut paper sheet into grippers 3 of the apparatus 2, the grippers being carried on endless chains 4. The arrangement is such that the leading edge of the strip is supported either by the suckers 15 or by one or other of the sucker arms 17, 18, while the leading edge of the cut sheet is also supported by one or other of the sucker arms. When the reel 1 is exhausted, the reel 8 may then be moved along a width equal to that of the cut strip whereupon the paper from the reel may be fed past a rotary slitter 9 to form a strip to be fed to the apparatus 2, the remainder of the paper being re-reeled on the reel 1. Alternatively, a plurality of rotary slitters may be provided in line above the reel so that during the unreeling thereof the paper is divided into strips each of a width for feeding into the apparatus 2, one strip being fed to the apparatus while the remainder are re-reeled for subsequent feeding. The knife 16 and die 12 may be replaced by a rotary knife. Instead of feeding the cut sheets directly into the grippers 3, they may be fed into a further sucker mechanism arranged to feed into the grippers. Alternatively, the sheets may be fed into any other apparatus or even into piles. Specification 950,653 is referred to.