US2925270A - Web feed apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Feb.f1s, 1960 R. 1-HOLLIS `2,925,270

WEB FEED APPARATUS Filed March 14, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet' l fuman L 5 Jo ef 55 2 55 4 fi 28 7' 71 7 15 74 1 7l Il u as l az u av 6/ l l Il ll I l l l 79 ,w 5 5 m 9 9 ff; f/s /f/ /09 fzs I M 117 A f/fp 1 25 K fzs /a'l 39 /35' 55 l fsf A vfav 4*l" vl /lVyE/Ysf {Mfr/*54u05 E Feb. 16, 1960 R. F.4HoLLls 'I 2,925,270

' l WEB FEED APPARATUS Filed March14, 1957 E l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 wrdn/.cya

w I sarne-t1me to maintain, on'the.;

5 g; #Othferbject's becomeapparenttothos thejar't theglight of the followingescript accompanying)drawing.i `v 1- n In accordance4 ith this` invention-*generally stated, vanV 'o'at'ing rolls around the underside'of'successiv Y. -a `web passes. `The oatinglrolls arev grat/ity ,blaserl*by*y one or more weights medately connected to tliefroll'sfv 2,925.27@ WEB'FEED APPARATUS f' Robert F. Hollis, Alton, lllnassignorto Alton Box fBoard Qompnyilton, Ill., a corporation of. Delaware Y Y the input ofweb to the infeed device, to restore the rollsto a' preset zero positionVVV when A they have moved 1in response -to a` tension. iin-'- fbalanceintheweb. Y

In the drawing: #Figure 1 is a View inside elevation, diagrammatic charactenof an illustrative embodiment of an infeecljv f device ofthis'invention in faweb processing apparatus;

Figure 2 is v anenlarged sectional-.view in side `elevations This inventionrelates to machinery for the substan' tially continuous processing of a web.,

l' 'I`he'. apparatus off th's inventionwill be. described in l connection with the'processing.ofpaperboard It is to be understood however, thatthey device has application vto any web` of sheet materialfsu'ch asfplastic, rubber. steel, brass, various nietal Vf )ils,:and the like,

l I1`1 amtary printer .and b1 making machines, a web ofpaperboard is pulled `from a large unwind roll ofpaperboard. AsV yone unwind Jroll is.ftnchaiisfted,v a new one is p ut vintoposi-tion and the treel wbend .bf the new rllf'sdoined t0 the .qldlwehjf'The printers andjblankersaifegso constructed that allaplsplice have -tvoibe stoppedv andstar'ted agains; v

Heretofore 'devices lhave'been used so that the printingA and blanking machinery fdoes not n which are .exelnf pljied byFigure 1 of a patent torE. E@C arretggINo.` 2 606,l3)6.r` 'l`ypic ally, these prior-art devices have utif lizd afreeloop or" webbetwee11 the unwindmroll and feed rolls to the press. unit tofseparate'thexpress unit from the splic'eriand storage device, .whicl1-inj- Garrett the form of atower. Nonefofthese prior .art'denkerjfor paperboardL box;y

Yillustrative'embodiment of this invention.

I-ligure 4 -is Va fragmentary ltakenalong i the line 4 -4jof Figur e 2;-

i v I f Figure 5 iis a -fragmentary sectional View 'takenjalong view l inside elevation of the de vice of thisinvention in Athe ourse of responding to a tension'V imbalance inthe f rv`Referring, no'wto the] drawing for an illustrative em` bodiment of invention; reference numeral 1 indi-' cate's`an-infeedunit constructed in accordance with an The 'infeed' uni t- 1 is .positioned .between an automatic splicer' 2 and f theiirstgunitrofa rotary paperboard box printing press 3.'

:1 In the illustrative application of this' unitshown in the drawings( aweb of paperboard 5 is pulled from an u'n-l "ofl arrangement bev made whichQjwill permit vthe printer andyblainlerto be operated whilegthe splice is being made,

mountedonreel stand 9. In the situation ligurel,v theunwind rollf7 from whieh theweb en pulled is nearly exhausted Landia second-"webi rllj'l' TheLWeligor iw bs tend from' thei unwind rolli -r mediatelyr beyond the splicerZ are primary infeedpull; Y y rolls 15; g lromzi-the primary infeed =rolls 151the wehren- 1 tenths uniti. The fwebis puuedfromz-the;uniti' y press pull .rolls 17.

shown in Figures '1fand'f 2,; th e web leaving` )unltliand enteringgtherotary press 3 isunder tension.:

'. That isv to s ay, there is no loop of untensioned'web 'bev vices has been capable of'operating at the fullspeed at 'whichprinter and blanket;V units can `be run. lor exrnplegif 4the ifulljratedspeed is 960; feetper minute, the]` rlitticultl-traelrin'g` problems since v:the ,web is neC e'fs's'aril uncontrolledQwhenthereis no tension in infeed device,v and Y'inltermittennt recess of the device,'a constant `substantially unifornftension inthe `we b.

iiifiedA device is ppvided'yvith @minpunt of by springs' in such .fa way as 'topermit limitedlyindepen tweenfthe unity and the Vpress pull rolls 17 The infeedunit 1v inj the embodimentshownf'fis.sup@

ported lby. Qajstanchionz madeupof legs -21 connected The stanchion 20 `carries a madevjup of.; a of horizontally spaced.:

pillow biockafzozin:

present in the web when it reachestheQ infeedv device; k-

they reach the limits nof their i and between the lower rails 26 directly below the roll 64 next to the centerV column 32 in the left section 47. A right section guide roll 91, mounted for rotation between and below the lower rails 26, lies directly below the roll 64 next to the center column 32 in the right section 45.

Each of the spindles 88 of the rolls 71 through 86 projects beyond its bearing 59 on either side and carries on each of its projecting en ds a link-carrying bearing 93, from which a link 95, in the form of an eye bolt, depends. A spring 97 hangs from each of the links 95.`

All of the rolls 71 through 86 are inter-'connected mediately, the links 95 and springs 97 being the last or quaternary stage, in the overall linkagesystem.V

The springs carried by the spindles of the rolls 71 and 72 are connected to the opposite ends of a quaternary or Q-link V1511. Rolls 73 and 74 are coupled through 4a Q-link 103; rolls 75 and 76, through a Q link 105; rolls 77 and 78 through a Q-link 107; rolls 79 and tl'through a Q-link 109; rolls 81 and S2 through a Q-link 111; rolls 83 and 84 through a Q-link 113; and rolls 85 and 86 through a Q-link 115. Springs 117 are pivotallysuspended from the center of each of the Q-links and in turnsuppoit tertiary links, to which 'they are pivotally connected at the ends of the tertiary links. Thus, Q-links 101 and 103 are coupled to the ends of a tertiary'or T-link 121; Q-links 105 and 107 are coupled to a-.T-link 1-23; Q-l'inks 109 and 11, to T-l-'ink 125 and Qilinks 113 and. 115, to yT-link 127. VA spring 129 is pivotall'y suspended from thecenter of eachof the '1T-links. kThe spring 129 suspended from the T-link l121 iis pivotally` connected to onerend of a secondary or S-link 1371, to the other end of which the spring 129 from the T-'link 123 is pivotally connected. Similarly, the springs 129 from the T- links 125 and 127 are connected to opposite ends of an S-link 133. A spring 135 is `piv'otally suspended from the center of each of the S-links -131 and 133. The springs 135 are pivotally connected to opposite? ends of a primary link 137.

u rollrvand passes through `the nip between the pull rolls 1-5.' F-romthe nipto the pull rol-ls 15 the vweb extends substantially vertically past the guide roll 90 to the upper roll 64 next to the center column 32 in the left section 47 of the unit 1. The web makes a turn of 180 around the roll 64 and passes down around the lower half'of the floating roll 71; thence upto ,the next upper roll 64 and down to the iloating roll 72 and so on until, after leaving the iloating roll',78, it passes around `the outside of the roll 64 farthest from the center rollV 62 in the left section 47. From therethe web extends over the top of the center column roll. 44 to the top of the roll 64 farthest from the center column 32 in the right section 45; thence down around the oating roll 79, up to the next roll 64 While as has been pointed out heretofore, the-*illustra- In the embodiment shown, weightsY 139, inthe formV of lead plates, are bolted toleach of the primary links -137 the two linkage systems to level thev rolls l'71Y through 86.*` The crossbar 141 is connected by meansV of a exible cable 145 Vto a sensing'device orlevel control 147.? The 'sensingdevice v147 whichin the v.embodiment shown, is mounted on one leg 21 of the stanchion 20,1;"rnaybea` standard commercial deviceV of the character of thedifferential transformers, soldlunder they trade-namesfAtcotran and VSS. Such differential transformers .sense not only a change invertical position Vof the .cross-bar 14,1'but the amount tof that change. Thesensingdevice Y 147 lis connected through its circuit 148,:shown/ dia.- grammatically, to a motor 149 which :drives the primary infreed pull-rolls 15. In theembodiment shown,;the motor 149,-,drives the pull rolls .15; positively through 'gears -1'5-1. In practice, the travel. ofthe flexible cable 145 is'too great-for direct connection -to the differential transformer, and suitable proportional reduction is provided.

, decreasing lviolence and theA subsequent' rolls `Will 'b'e The travel of theweb `through the unit 1 is asfollows:`

Fromlthe splicer 2, `the web 5 .extends belowV thelower of `ther pull Vrolls 15,'make`s a turn of .180 around the' lower jam pads.

ately to the rolls.

tivel application shown yand describedherein isl only one of many in which theV device of thisinvention maybe used and the dimensions even of a unit for use with paperboard may be varied, the following description of' the operation of the device illustrated will be describedV with reference to a specific unit in a specific situation to illustrate just what can be accomplished by the use ofthe device.

In -the following description, the device will: be vassumed to have the following dimensions:V the upper and lower rails are about 12 feet long and are spaced vertically 5 feet. Thus, each of the sections '45 and 47 is 6 feet long and 5 feet high. T he rails 267and-30 are spaced horizontally approximately; 31/2 feet; i'flheY rolls 64 and '71 through 'S6 are-approximately l/r-inches in diameter at their crowns, and arerrnounted on ,8 inchy centers. TheyV are preferably made'of aluminum and weigh approximately 35 pounds apiece. v

The weights 139v and 143 total approximately `300` pounds.

Y The web 5 of paperboard from `unwind roll 7 is thirty six inches wide. It will also be assumed thatthe iroll 7 has been dropped so thatrit 'has in it humps which would normally -interferewith its smooth'feed into the printer, and-the 'caliper ofthe paper varies. The web is being fed into the printer at the rate of 960 feet per minute. With the vweight of the rolls 71 through 86, the floating bearing blocks 59, kthe linkage system and the' weights `139 and 143, the tension on thev web *'5 when the system is in equilibrium, y'with .the floating rollvs71 through 36 lifted abovetheV jam padsj 61 on the upper side of the rails 26, is approximately 50 .'pounds."` In the normalrunning (zero) position, theprolls 71 through'f86'will be approximately 6'inches aboveth'e' y The tension on the web through the infee'd unit 1 is enough to ensure proper tracking over the crowned rollers in spite .of thecaliper variation.

Generally, even'a poor offset mill'splice lwhich may;

shown up Yfrornthe roll 7 0will pass Athrough the .infeed cienttobreak the web at the splice.

.- unit without trouble because the low tensionV is insuf-- ing. rolls 71' through 78` will react with progressively quiet 'as the pulses in the' web are smoothed out by the action of the springs connected immediately and medi- O'rdinarily, pulses and jolts will be damped'by the rst four rolls 71 through 74'. Thus, even before the webleaves the left section 47 it will be feeding smoothly. Y.

Assume'now thatthe web 5 is being fed Vto'the printer and blanket 3 Vat 960 feet per minute, and the System y i is in equilibrium. The unwindroll 7 isnearingexllaus? tion anda newroll 7' is swung intomposition with its web 5' tending from it.,` Vflhegfeed fromthe 111,655, 12u11 l the` e 41,1"fr1al,v position l of the' floatin a' process which normally takes-approXimateKly-two sec otitis;A Afbutt splice is made-hy `the spliceKrfZ, which v 'may vbe either vsemi-ai'itoniatic or completely faiutomatric.,` The splice is made whilethe Webs andf'jSl -are'stationary in Ktlie-'Vsplicer 2. Y' The g splicing'. "operationy take'sa'n' kaddif tional'qtvvotsecond's." Theprima'ry infe'edjrolls 15 are thenfstarted'fupand brought up"to"spe`ed,fwhich ,requires another twofsecodsffSo farI sfthe press pullrolls 17;

anjecoricerned, there has beeiofclange during the en# the unit 1 atffull speed 'andY 'atV substantially theequilibriumf tension." 4

begin to *rise` Kas Yindicatedjjir'r'Figurer '6, During they splicingtime, the rolls 861through179 progressively lrise until they 'sequentially hit the jam* pads 61 on thejiinlerfY Y side of theupper rails 30. V`As the iioatingroll 79K'KriKses,Kf

the roll 78'i1'iftheleft` section 47 begins tof,1ise andI aK similar pattern of sequential rising 'Koflthe iloating rollsj 78 through; 7-1 takesplace. v

As the primary infeed'frolls115 areV again-K.speeded'u"p`,lfY

thejlloating rolls will continue to rise until the primary pull rolls 1f7.K.v YThe primary 'infeefd rolls are then'over-` drivenwwith respect tothe press 'p ulljrolls, '17, and ithe order fromV that in 'which they rose.

Honing.1011sy will beginL to move. down .in .the reverse it normal" Position though, since `lKsfis Y about K6 ,.lhe .capacity oi the unit in "practicKeis approximate totalftime elapsing inthe splicing ,operationgis' 6s'e conds.f

Thus, with the webniling at` 960 feet pe`rmini1 te,96` feetof vWeb would be pulled from the infeeddevice. if. theprirn'ary infee'd'rolls ,were `stopped; instantaneously;

, rollsithemselv's-aemadeas light yveightfas possihl springs take upany momentary jo1ts, andtheioating rolls; jK i.

'are free to rise and Vfall within' their guideways.: K 1 K `Ify lthe"pre ss`is slowed down for some reason, o'r even ,Y if the apressrisfsuddenly stopped' dead, as*` Ain anfemer-K `gency,theinfeedjdevice will act; to keep the tensionqin Y i the Webconstant'at the press pull roll. Further-moreun-j l like-thef'complicated tower mechanism f ofA gears andvr clutches of the' prior'artfthe infeed unit of the present in- 1(K)fventio"nv cannotbedamaged byavery sudden stop. The

primary infed Krolls 'stopwith' the press, 'and their drive f lisbuiltfto withstandsuch a shock. There is' nothing i K-the v'infeedun'itfitself to `:be damaged.

fffwithin' the infejed device', whenthe primary inifeedr rolls 15 are stopped, the"'floatingV rolls 8K61'through 79' zof -The fact at' the {printer and blanker may beoperated continuously*atauniformfspeed vand tension with the infeedru'nit ofjthe; present invention yis of great importance, not only in thatit allows for greater-:production in the same lengthV of time,'but also in that it eliminates rnan'y -registryproblems and the like vvhich have resulted vvhen -tKhe webhas hadto be slowed down for each splice; `Forexarn'ple, :register is affected by the change of rolling frictionofthe web on the intaglio cylinders. A constant e speed eliminatesthis problein. 'At the'same time, the

- infeed rolls have reached the sarrre speedasfthepress ally, since thejprimar'yfinfeed,.rolls slow downto lst'p; andspeed up to, full ."speeddur'ing k,that'siir second period, only.` about. 6K4 feet-o'flvveh ,is-pul1'ed froith'e vinfeed; device. fr

Ywith ,suitable simpleeledtrieiiipcircuifs the; perafdii heeft:

Seqne, bia

frei y14,7,gradually slowsrhejmoforglisuhtil, when 111ev A Than-',141 has reahe'dh'rhe. normar or, zerogporsvirion,

the ninagyjinfeed `rouis have pesngbropght smoothly;Y intovsynchronizatiorn withthepress pull-rolls V17, and the ijldtingrolls ,11`.througl 1} Y86y 1arefin equilibrium position.

1 1;i Kcanbe seen' thatsincethev total Kn/eight onf,.Kthe vveb Y thrug-h'gthefv infKeedldevK,iceremainsl constant, the.k floating the 'W;eb,.as.. it.,comes .from the device remain. 'sub1 stantially'constant.4 'Ifherewill ofcourse be ,some change whilef'thej lioating A.rolls K- are fin- Vthe process l oKKfKA moving veri tically,`but that changevvill be relatively small, since the,

device lit 'this invention permits the splice to be made on'- a'stationaryy web, which simplifies the design of the splicerV and makes possible a strong, neat splice. f l

`Numerous variations'in thev construction of the'f device of this invention Within the scope ofthe appended vclaims will" occrfto thoseskilled inthe art in the light of, the foregoingv disclosure. ForY exarriple, the l top rolls -64 need notbejurnaledin lrigidly'iixedbearings butmaybe'` spring suspended'or `.tllerwi'se cushionedto assist inttheiV` damping` f.-p'ulses1inV the vWeb,"Withoutfinterfering withvv theslb'stantially runiform tension*y iny the"Vr vvfebe resulting K requipped-vv-ithKa,sofcalledftension;dynamoineter,,sotliatt theiiactualvtension'=in1fthe web"emay?belcheckedf1K1While thenarrangementof linkages shown is' the preferredjone becau'sethefaction -ofl all the rolls/K is;y integrated," andeoni trolled by'one level control, the lioating'V rolls inthe rightv section v need not )be connected tothe lioating rollsin` .the left-section' 47..1 The secondary l1'n l:s"1317and.133@K` may be providedwyith Weights.' Cer-tain of the connecting v springs canne-eliminated; ,Forexample', the springs'l'SS' may be;replced Vsolidliriltsybecause much ofthe work' of damping iwillrvbe. accomplished by' the springs .--SVfandKV 1157.V ,Ther number ofrolls maybe increased or decreased,v

versed,jorv the processes onihoth'sides can Ybe 'continuousV or lintermittentgri In any event, the Yinfeedv .devicev will serveafunctionzfif.thereislan opportunity-for the process i, onf-.one'side, tojA loennsynchronized with 4the process 0,11 theKoth r side.`V -If'rit istcontemplated thatithegprocess;

outgoing side of 'theinfeedf uuKit is to; be slowed orwtoppedwith respect to the'processon the incomingA f;the-jinfKeedfunit,` then the'. normal or zero .POsi-` the floating. rolls Vrnustfbenear the upper limit l of` travel of Vtheoating rolls rather than nearthe-lovver` e .limit of travel.. yInnany'e'vent, theinfeed. device isolatesV e -onefline ofinachinery. For 'example oneinfeed Vnnitg the process yon the'outgoing side fromthe process. j.m theA incomingI side While maintaining tensionKon-the web suf- KKKVY Kf ficientfto ensure propel-Kl tracking and Vcontrol over Vthe-Kweb;` K

.Twoor morefof thel infeed devices may be2used'vin celibe vgsitig'ed between' the unwind m11. andthe' pril ingv section off a rotary printer andhlanker as hasbreen 7 described, and another can be.- nositioned; between the printingsection and blankingsection, not only to-danrn the pulsations :fromthe'blanking sectionl but to isolate.. the printing and blanking sections'from one` another so that the registry problems in the two vsections, can be handled independently. Y

The control ofV the tension in the web which is rexer-r cised by the level control may be exercised in any ,num-v ber of suitable ways. For example, a pull roll lon, they outgoing side can be speeded up to increase web tension, or rolls on the incoming side may be braked to accomplish the same result. The advantage of the preferred method, of controlling the speed of rotatiQll Of the pri,- mary infeed rolls, in the application shown lies in the fact that the press roll speedr may be maintained C 01.1- stant, and no actual braking is necessary. so that the prob` lems of over-heating and grabbing of brakes is not encountered.

It can be seen that the particular linkage. system of the illustrative example is only possible when there are sixteen floating rolls. By using a different number of rolls, the system can be weighted either in favorof or against particular sets of rolls. For example, if six oating rolls are used in the left section 47 and pairs of successive rolls are joined as in the illustrative 1embodiment, there will be three Q-links instead of four. If the two Q-links farthest from the center column `32 are connected by a T-link and that T-link is in turn connected to one end of an S-link, while the Q-link next to the center column 32 is connected directly to the other end of the S-link, the violent reaction of the two rolls next to the center column in response to pulses from the unwind roll Vwill be reflected in the S-link and the primary link to a much greater degree than if the Q- link next to the center link were connected through a T-link to the next successive Q-linkV and the Qflink farthest from the center column 32 were connected directly to one end of an S-link. In Vthe latter case the motion of the oating rolls next to the column 32 would be minimized as that motion is reected in the primary link. The weighting is, of course, even greater when an odd roll is connected directly through its spring 97 to one end of a T or S-link. It can also be seen that to connect thirty-two oating rolls together in pairs, a set of quintary links must be provided, pairs of which will be connected to a quaternary link, and so on, but the principle of their operation is the same.

Numerous other variations in the vconstruction and arrangement of the infeed device, within vthe scope of the appended claims, will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure. For example, in. order to facilitate feeding of'the web through the infeed device, the spindles 88 of the rolls 71 through 86 may be extended beyond the link-carrying bearings 93 and provided at their ends with capsule bearings. The capsule bearings, one *on each end of each spindle, are positioned to rest on top of an .I beam when the I beam is elevated. The I beam is constructed and arranged to be elevated and lowered horizontally by means ofl jack screws driven by a reversible motor. Thus, when it is desired to thread the infeed device, it is Vonly necessary to raise the beam by means of the jack screwsl until the beam contacts the capsule bearings and then, with .con-

e tinued elevation of the I beam, the -rolls 71'thfroughl 86 will be raised to a position immediately below theyupper rolls 64. The webr'can then easily be threaded through the infeed device, after which the I beam is lowered beyond the lowermost travel of the rolls 71 through 86 so as to be out of the way during the operation of the device. Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. In a rotary paperboard printer wherein a web of paperboard is pulled from an unwind roll and a web of paperboard from a fresh unwind roll is spliced to the Si webtef' paperboard from an exhausted. unwind roiiby a; mechanicalpiicer while.v thev printer continues: t0. Oper:Y ate, the improvement comprising an infeed deviceJ priinfeed pull rnlls between the Sp1icerand-theinind device, and press. pull rolls between the, infeed. device. and the. printer, said. infeed. device comprising a'multiplicity of rolls over which the web travels andbetween which the web` hangs in loops, the niunberl of rolls b eingl such4 that 2, loops are provided, n being an integer greater than one; vertical guideways below said rolls;A a tioating4 roll resting on the web within each of 4the loops, said oating rolls being-journaled in bearings slidably mounted, in said guide ways to permit said rolls to float verti. cally, said oating rolls being biased downwardly-'solely by gravity, whereby the floating rolls respond to varying tension in the web by vertical translation, eachY o f said oating rolls carrying` `on each of `its ends a spring, the springson each respective end. of successive rolls being coupledV Vto opposite ends of a link, said links in turnbeing coupled in pairs to ranother link, and so on until all of the iioating rolls are inter-connected through a comomn link, the common links on both sides of the rolls being V.connected by a crossbar;and a controlresponsive to change in position of the cross-bar and connected to contorl the speedz of rotation of the primary infeed pull rolls, whereby when the cross-bar rises above a preset normal position the primary infeed pull roll is speeded up and vice versa, the vertical reach of the loops and the number of oating rolls being such that the in. feed device contains a -suiiicient length of web to accommodate the demand of the printer during the splicing operation. i'

2. In a line of machinery wherein a web .of material is processed athigh speed, Van infeed device, positioned intermediatethe .ends of Vthe line, comprising amultif plicity of idler rolls over which the web travels in.. ak

- of successive rolls being connected toY opposite ends of a common link, for limitedly independent movementof the individual rolls, whereby the floating rolls respondv to varying tension in the web by vertical translation and whereby the tension impartedV to the web b y the oating rolls'is the same at every position of the floating rolls when the tension in the web is in equilibrium.

i3. In a line of machinery `wherein a web of material is processed and in which the machinery in one part of the line is occasionally run, at a dierent web speedV than the machinery in` another partof the line for a length of time which ,v does not exceed 'a' knownl maximum, an infeed kdevice positioned between the. machinery in,y the Ysaid two parts of the line, said infeed device comprising A, a multiplicity of 4idler rollsover WhCh'thevweb travels inralsingle pass and between which the web hangs in loops, there being at least' four of said loopsga Ailoating roll resting on the web vwithineach of 'the' loops ,said iioatingy rolls'being arrangedto oat vertically and being biased downwardly solely by'gravity whereby the oating rolls respond ,to varying tension in-the web hy vertical translation; and link s, pivotally suspended from adjacent datingrdils'each 0f Said links being Suspended at only two, spaced pointsand .each adjacent link be'ing pivotally connected to and suspending 0a connecting link, each of said connecting links beingsuspended at only two, spaced points, whereby all ofthe said links and said floating rolls are pivotally interconnected, said floating rolls having sufficient vertical'travel andbeing of suicient numberfto provide storage for an amount of web at least equal to the productof thegaveragedifference between the speeds of thek web through ythe niahinery inthe two parts of the line and the said intermediate the ends ofthe line, comprising a multiplicity of idler rolls over which-'thev web travels in a single pass and between which the web hangs in loops;

amultiplicity of oatng rolls, s each resting onttheweb within one of the loops, said floating rolls being ar-` ranged to oat vertically; links, pivotally suspended from said oating rolls, and connecting links, pivotally suspended from said oating roll-suspended links, each of said floating roll-suspended links l' carrying a connecting link, each of said -oating rolls being` connected` toV a Y v to i link, and al1 of` said links being-suspended at only two,

spaced-points.

References Cited in the fiile of this patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 's l Webb Oct. 12, 1926 1,616,363 Gammeter Feb. 1, 1927 1,624,223 Eakin n -..e Apr.l 12,1927 1,631,476 DeMoos June 7, 1927 2,253,076 Jones etal. Aug. 19, 1941 2,280,943. Ferm Apru28, 1942 Lorig June 25, 1957

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