| 摘要 |
<p>A wrapping apparatus for wrapping a continuous elongated article (26), such as a continuous stack of interfolded paper towels, includes a web supply section (22) that supplies a pair of continuous webs of wrapping material, and a wrapping section for applying the continuous pair of webs about the article. The web supply section (22) includes a pair of web supply stations (28a,28b) for each web of wrapping material (30), and a source of wrapping material, such as a supply roll, is located at each web supply station. The web supply section includes a splicing mechanism (62) for each pair of web supply stations, for splicing together the trailing end of a web from an exhausted supply roll of wrapping material with the leading end of a web from a fresh supply roll of wrapping material, to provide a continuous web of wrapping material to the wrapping section (24). The web supply section includes a festoon-type web storage mechanism in which the web downstream of the splicing mechanism is trained about a series of rollers in a serpentine path. The rollers are movable toward and away from each other, e.g. by mounting one set of rollers to a movable frame, to enable the web to be continuously supplied to the wrapping section during the splicing operation, which maintains the web ends stationary during splicing. The webs (30,34) of wrapping material are applied to the elongated article (26) such that side areas of the webs overlap each other, and adhesive such as hot glue is applied between the overlapping areas of the webs. A pressure application assembly (186) applies pressure to the overlapping areas of the webs (30,34) to even out the adhesive, and the wrapped elongated article is discharged from the wrapping section through a discharge passage (150) which includes a cooling assembly (204) for extracting heat from the seal between the overlapping webs. The wrapped elongated article is then discharged from the wrapping section for subsequent processing. <IMAGE></p> |
