Apparatus and methods for forming a butt splice on a running web
First Claim
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1. A method for forming a butt splice to join a first web of material to a second web of material, comprising:
- cutting a first web of material to form a first edge;
cutting a second web of material to form a second edge, the cutting being performed by a cutting, adhesive applying and curing apparatus, the second edge positioned with respect to and registered with the first edge to define a gap between the first edge and the second edge;
applying a curable adhesive within the gap, the applying the curable adhesive being performed by the cutting, adhesive applying and curing apparatus, the curable adhesive being applied only within the gap so as to provide a splice having a same thickness as each of the first and second webs; and
curing the curable adhesive to form a butt splice that joins the first web of material to the second web of material, the curing being performed by the cutting, adhesive applying and curing apparatus.
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Abstract
Methods are provided for forming a butt splice to join a first web of material to a second web of material is provided. The first web of material is cut or trimmed to form a first edge. The second web of material is cut or trimmed to form a second edge, and the second edge is positioned with respect to and registered with the first edge to define a gap therebetween. A curable liquid adhesive, such as an ultraviolet (UV)-curable liquid adhesive, is dispensed or applied within the gap, and the liquid adhesive is cured to form the butt splice that joins or splices the first web of material to the second web of material.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for forming a butt splice to join a first web of material to a second web of material, comprising:
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cutting a first web of material to form a first edge; cutting a second web of material to form a second edge, the cutting being performed by a cutting, adhesive applying and curing apparatus, the second edge positioned with respect to and registered with the first edge to define a gap between the first edge and the second edge; applying a curable adhesive within the gap, the applying the curable adhesive being performed by the cutting, adhesive applying and curing apparatus, the curable adhesive being applied only within the gap so as to provide a splice having a same thickness as each of the first and second webs; and curing the curable adhesive to form a butt splice that joins the first web of material to the second web of material, the curing being performed by the cutting, adhesive applying and curing apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for forming a butt splice to join together a leading edge of a new web of material and a trailing edge of an expiring web of material as the expiring web runs downstream under tension along a predetermined path of travel, wherein the butt splice is formed using a web splicer configured for a continuous web processing operation, said method comprising:
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securing the new web; securing the expiring web; registering the leading edge of the new web with the trailing edge of the expiring web to define a gap between the leading edge and the trailing edge along a width of new web and a width of expiring web; dispensing a controllable amount of UV-curable liquid adhesive using an adhesive dispensing and curing apparatus, the dispensing supplying the UV-curable liquid adhesive only in the gap between the new and expiring webs so that a splice is formed without increasing a thickness of the web at the splice; and curing the UV-curable liquid adhesive using the adhesive dispensing and curing apparatus to form a bond between the new and expiring webs at the splice. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification