Abstract: During the feeding of offset continuous collated business form webs to the slow rollers of a burster, it is important to insure that the top web properly passes through the slow roll section. By providing a number of puller wheels having aluminum cores and sawtooth rubber coverings atop conveyor belts passing over crowned pulleys which are oversped relative to the web speed, proper feed to the burster is provided. Form deflecting fingers extending from the puller wheels to the burster also help. In order to prevent the conveyor belts from running off the crowned pulleys an aligner is provided which has a number of vertical dowel pins with plastic sleeves covering and rotatable with respect to the dowel pins, disposed on each side of a conveyor belt associated with a crowned pulley and puller wheel. The aligner is provided immediately upstream of a rubber covered drive roll for the conveyor belts.

Abstract: A tape driving mechanism for a magnetic recording apparatus has a capstan rotated to advance a magnetic tape by pinching the magnetic tape between the capstan and a pinch roller. The pinch roller is pressed onto the magnetic tape against the capstan. The capstan surface is coated with a diamond-like carbon film which is smooth and highly wear-resistant. The difference between the tangential speed of the capstan and the tape transfer speed is almost zero. Thus, the state of contact is static. A static frictional coefficient between the diamond-like carbon film of the capstan and the magnetic tape is almost equal to twice the static frictional coefficient between the metal surface of the capstan and the magnetic tape in the conventional tape driving mechanism. The tape driving force thus remains sufficient even if the pressure exerted by the pinch roller is reduced to half the value employed in the conventional tape driving mechanism. The diamond-like carbon film may be coated on a rough surface of the capstan.

Abstract: A plotter wherein, while a sheet is being moved on a recording surface, figures, characters etc. are automatically depicted on the surface of the sheet, or the contours of figures, characters etc. are automatically cut in the surface of the sheet. In the plotter, both the side edges of the sheet are respectively held between drive rollers and corresponding pinch rollers mounted at both the sideward parts of the recording surface in opposition to each other, and the drive rollers at both the sideward parts of the recording surface are rotated synchronously to each other, whereby the sheet is moved in the rotating direction of the drive rollers on the recording surface. Each of the drive rollers is formed at its peripheral surface with milling or ruggedness for preventing the sheet from slipping.

Abstract: A metallic touch roller for use in an apparatus for manufacturing film rolls. The outer surface of the touch roller has a matte-finish with a plurality of symmetrically formed spiral grooves extending over the length of the roller. A mean surface roughness of the matte-finished surface may be from 0.5 to 2.0 .mu.m and, preferably, from 1.0 to 1.3 .mu.m.

Abstract: An improved layout of the hearth rolls in an annealing furnace comprises a plurality of ceramic coated rolls and a plated rolls. The ceramic coated rolls are arranged in a region in the annealing furnace, where the temperature is higher than 450.degree. C. On the other hand, the plated rolls are arranged in a region where the temperature is lower than or equal to 450.degree. C. The hearth roll is provided a wear resistant coating of chrome plate or sprayed on ceramic of a thickness greater than or equal to 1 .mu.m and less than or equal to 100 .mu.m. In addition, according to the invention, the hearth roll is provided a surface roughness Ra in the range of 4.5 .mu.m to 20 .mu.m.

Abstract: Stretch wrapping apparatus that uses two rollers 17,18 rotating at different speeds to stretch a web or wrapping material has problems of slippage when applied to wrapping grass. These are ameliorated by forming the roller surfaces with projections 32, e.g. by applying a mesh or (better) forming axial corrugations. The surfaces are preferably of metal, particularly aluminum.

Abstract: A feed roller having a hard roller body and a cylindrical resilient cover member fitted onto the hard roller body. The feed roller has internal contact portions formed on an inner surface of the cover member, the internal contact portions being kept in contact with the outer periphery of the roller body when the cover member is fitted onto the roller body; external contact portions formed on an outer surface of the cover member so as to project outwardly in the radial direction of the cover member; and spaces defined between the inner surfaces of the external contact portions and the outer periphery of the roller body. Accordingly, the cover member can easily be attached to the roller body and enables objects to be fed by a small clamping reaction force, thereby preventing the objects from being damaged.

Abstract: A high temperature dyeing apparatus of the type operating in an open chamber on an endless rope of fabric to be dyed, the rope being drawn by mechanical and hydraulic devices, wherein within a cylindrical body (4) having curved end walls (4a) there is disposed an even number of open treatment and storage chambers (25), cylindrical body (4) having at the top thereof in one of its upper sectors a cylindrical turret (26). In the interior of turret (26) is mounted horizontally a drive winch (2) having a cylindrical core (38) and two circular flanges (39) between which are disposed pairs of rods (34) covered on the upper side with a nonslip material (34a) having a knurled configuration.Inside turret (26) below winch (2) is provided a low pressure jet (22) inside a closed cavity (35) comprised by two spaced truncated cones (36), (37) and flow divider walls or thereon.

Abstract: The paper feeder incudes an upstream friction roller pair for single sheet feeding, a pushing tractor for endless sheet feeding, and a common downstream (behind the platen) friction roller pair. Each pair has one roller mounted on a pivot lever and the two levers linkedly held in a spring biased linkage such that consistently the downstream roller pair exert a smaller friction force while rotating at a higher speed.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for use at an airport for drawing in and paying out an electric cable, which reliably grips the cable even when it is covered with a slippery anti-freeze fluid used at airports. The apparatus includes a motor-driven traction wheel against which the cable is pressed, with the periphery of the wheel being concave and having a radius of curvature about the same as the cable so the cable can closely nest in it. The wheel has closely spaced treads that press through fluid on the cable to grip it, and has a circumferentially extending groove through which fluid can drain. The cable is pressed against the wheel by rollers that have concave peripheries to also closely surround the cable.

Abstract: A pressure image forming apparatus in which a sheet S of photo-sensitive and pressure-sensitive material is exposed to an original image, a sheet C of image fixing material is overlaid on the sheet S, and the image on the sheet S is transferred by a pair of pressure rolls 304, 312. One of the rolls is a hard roll having a multiplicity of small projections on its surface which rupture microcapsules on the sheet S to effect the image transfer to sheet C.

Abstract: In a printer having a pen movable in an X-direction, a platen, and a sheet feeder for feeding a recording sheet in a Y-direction and displaced from the platen in the Y-direction, the platen comprises a platen roller rotatable around a center axis thereof. A pen is opposite to the platen with the recording sheet interposed therebetween and is brought into contact with the recording sheet to press the recording sheet against the platen roller, each time when recording is carried out. The platen roller is rotated by frictional force which occurs between the recording sheet and the platen roller. The platen roller may forcibly be rotated in the same direction as a driving roller included in the sheet feeder. Preferably, the driving roller has a knurling portion along an outer peripheral surface.

Abstract: A freely rotatably mounted roll body couplingly engageable with a brake shaft comprises an exchangeable thread brake liner. The rotatable roll body carrying the thread brake liner in a groove is exchangeably mounted between stationary guide discs which extend radially beyond the roll body on both sides and form a radial continuation of walls of the roll body, laterally defining a thread groove with their radially protruding portions and between which the roll body is exchangeably arranged.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a tape drive member is provided which comprises forming a shaft from an alloy of a soft metal material and a hard metal material, subjecting part of the shaft to sand blasting for roughening, and chemically treating the roughened surface in a solution which is capable of dissolving the soft metal material. A tape drive member manufactured by this method is also provided.

Abstract: The self-centering feeding device (20') for elongated objects such as logs includes a conveyor means (30) carried by a parallel mechanism having a vertical stationary part. The parallel mechanism is connected to a mechanical engagement means (26) and is controlled by a driving means (28) activated when an object on the conveyor means reaches a predetermined position, and is then kept activated the whole time during which the object is fed-through. The object is thus firmly clamped between the conveyor means and the engagement means and has no possibility to rotate about its longitudinal axis. The conveyor means may therefore be much shorter than the object. The invention is suitable for general application, but in particular for application in the log processing industry.

Abstract: A transport roller for a record carrier in a printer, for example, an ink jet printer, is composed of at least two laterally adjoining, hollow, cylindrical roller sections. Each roller section is connected to its hub by means of at least one carrier portion. The roller sections are adjacently arranged on a shaft by way of the hubs by which they are locked against rotation. At a first lateral end of each roller section a groove opens towards this first end, in which groove there is arranged a toroidal ring. The laterally open groove is closed by the second lateral end of the roller section which adjoins this first lateral end.

Abstract: A tube pulling apparatus is made up of a frame for receiving a tube, a pair of arm assemblies movably supported by the frame, and a pair of tube gripping assemblies rotatably supported by the arm assemblies and carried by the arm assemblies for movement into and out of engagement with the tube. The tube pulling assembly further comprises motive apparatus connected to each of the arm assemblies for moving the arm assemblies to move the tube gripping assemblies into engagement with the tube, and a spring is connected to the arm assemblies for biasing and urging the arm assemblies to move the tube gripping assemblies out of engagement with the tube. A drive assembly is connected to the tube gripping assemblies for rotating the tube gripping assemblies to pull the tube.

Abstract: A sheave for guiding and supporting stranded wire rope. The sheave includes a plurality of circumferential grooves, with treaded elastomeric inserts being disposed in the grooves. The walls which define the treads are disposed at a predetermined angle relative to the circumferential axis of the insert, selected such that they will be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a strand, as each strand of the wire rope contacts and extends across a tread. The treads are thus fully compliant with the incremental changes in strand length due to the differential in rope tension on the two sides of the sheave.

Abstract: A tape guide having a surface over which a tape is guided. The surface is formed by a coherent network of intersecting ridges whose tops form a smooth continuous surface having a regular pattern of discrete recesses in the surface.

Abstract: A self-tailing winch for use on a sailboat comprising a rotatable drum and a clamping pulley attached to and axially aligned with the upper end of the drum. The pulley has a rigid upper jaw and a flexible lower jaw formed from elastomeric material. There is a recess under the material of the lower jaw to permit it to flex into the recess and at least partially close it so as to afford an additional degree of flexibility to the lower jaw.

Abstract: A tape drive capstan has a porous ceramic matrix in the form of a cylindrical shell using spherical ceramic particles bonded together to form a network of interstitial pores which are substantially uniform in size and interconnected. A urethane elastomer is impregnated into the pores to form a tape driving surface on the outside surface of the cylinder. The outer surface of the capstan is finish-ground to an outside diameter suitable for use in a tape drive apparatus. The particles occupy approximately 70% of the internal volume of the shell and the elastomer occupies the remaining 30%. The shell is attached by an epoxy to an outside surface of a drive shaft suitable for driving the capstan.

Abstract: A high speed yarn feeding apparatus for feeding yarn from a yarn supply source to a yarn take-up apparatus is disclosed which is capable of being threaded by conventionally employed suction nozzles. The yarn feeding apparatus employs at least one stepped godet roller having a small diameter portion on which the travelling yarn is initially threaded. A yarn hooking means is provided on the peripheral surface of the stepped side of the large diameter portion of the stepped roller. Means is provided upstream of the stepped roller for shifting the travelling yarn from a position aligned with the small diameter portion to a position aligned with the large diameter portion of the stepped roller. The yarn hooking means can take various conformations and more than one hooking means can be provided on a single stepped godet roller.

Abstract: Polyester yarns spun from spinnerets are delivered to bobbins held on a bobbin holder in a winding apparatus through godet rollers which have mirror finished surfaces and axially grooved surfaces. Upon threading the yarns on the bobbins, the yarns are moved to the axially grooved surface from the mirror finished surfaces by means of a yarn displacing guide disposed upstream of the uppermost godet roller. The change in the tension in the yarn caused by the threading operation of the yarn is transmitted beyond the godet rollers, and entanglement of the yarn around the godet roller does not occur.

Abstract: A fiber glass mat making process is described which utilizes an improved method of transferring unbonded mat from a mat forming chain to a bonding station on a continuous basis.The system involves passing the unbonded mat from a continuous conveyor surface to a roll which has on its surface a draped conveyor chain rotating around the roll but driven by the roll on which it is draped. By permitting the draped chain to hang freely below the roll and to rotate with the roll stray strands falling between the conveyor surface and the roll are returned on the draped chain to the feed end of the bonding station. Means are also provided to maintain the draped chain centered to insure that mat is delivered to the bonding station in a straight line from the conveyor surface.

Abstract: A ticket dispenser includes a drive roller and an idler roller so that power rotation of the drive roller advances tickets between them; the drive roller is movable toward and away from the idler roller and is so disposed and supported that a manual pull on the tickets to withdraw them when the power is off will serve to bind the tickets firmly between the rollers and prevent them from being pulled out.

Abstract: A device for supporting and guiding a folded workpiece to the stitching needle of a sewing machine by advancing the same between a pair of cylindrical members mounted on the machine for rotation in opposite directions. Each of the cylindrical members is provided with circumferential grooves on their peripheral surfaces with the grooves of each being in general alignment with those of the other. The configuration of the grooves in combination with the spacing between the cylindrical members causes the folded workpiece being advanced therebetween, to become deformed to the extent where portions thereof enter the grooves to effectively support its weight while accurately guiding it along the level of its intended path of travel.

Abstract: A recording and/or reproducing apparatus, such as a video tape recorder, comprises a drum having a peripheral surface on which a magnetic tape can be wrapped, and at least one head for recording signals on, reproducing signals from, the magnetic tape by helically scanning it. Grooves are formed in the peripheral surface of the drum to inhibit formation of a thin layer of water between the surface of the drum and the magnetic tape. The lengths of the grooves are substantially parallel to the direction of transport of the magnetic tape and each groove includes a wall portion disposed at an angle greater than 3 degrees to a line joining the crests of the grooves and normal to the direction of transport of the magnetic tape.

Abstract: Tubular wire comprising a calcium-containing solidified core in a thin steel sheath is fed between successive sets of resiliently-engaging pinch and feed rollers having aligned V-shaped indented peripheries. A wide range of wire diameters from about 3 to 8 mm are accommodated between a feed roller having an indented relatively sharp obtuse angle of about 120.degree. and a pinch roller having an indented relatively shallow obtuse angle of about 150.degree.. The peripheral walls of the feed rollers have staggered serrations for gripping the wire and a grooved channel between them for removing debris. The pinch rollers of a pair of successive sets are positioned slightly outboard of the feed rollers to keep the wire straight. Simultaneous feeding of two or more wires is provided through a plurality of sets having a common axis of rotation for the feed rollers.

Abstract: A vacuum roller assembly for feeding sheet material such as finishing paper, carton, foil and the like, wherein a resilient roller shell is provided with a plurality of suction ports for drawing the sheet material into non-slip contact with the roller assembly. A plurality of deformable slit-like openings extend into the resilient shell, with the slits being in vacuum communication with the suction ports to provide a suction network over the roller and adaptable for providing suction to only that portion of the vacuum roller in contact with the sheet material.

Abstract: An idler roll adapted to engage a moving textile strand is comprised of a plurality of substantially parallel, spaced apart cylindrical rods positioned along a base circle wherein the diameter of the base circle, the diameter of the cylindrical rods and the distance measured along the base circled between the center lines of adjacent rods are determined according to specific predetermined relationships.

Abstract: Disclosure is made of an apparatus for winding strips, preferably in longitudinal cutting of a tape of separating material for storage battery electrodes, wherein at least two drawing rollers are connected to a drive for their rotation so as to provide for the tape movement through a cutting mechanism; at least two receiving shafts are coupled to said drive by means of a friction clutch, the shaft axes running in parallel with the axes of said drawing rollers; said receiving shafts are provided with a set of spools for winding adjacent strips on said spools of different receiving shafts; said receiving shafts are also provided with longitudinal slots extending along the entire length thereof, and spool is provided with a stop received in the longitudinal slots of the receiving shafts to provide for tensioning of the tape upon slacking.

Abstract: A low-mass, short loop transport wherein the span of tape passing the inter-leaved head assembly is close-coupled and unsupported, with the turn-around points for the tape being at the beginning and end of the span in either direction of travel, thereby reducing head wear, skew, flutter and other undesirable characteristics. The tape is passed from the supply reel through a vacuum tensioning chamber over a pair of relatively large diameter low-mass drums defining the span or section of tape adjacent the head assembly to a second vacuum tensioning chamber and thence to the take-up reel. The drums are directly driven by peripheral contact with a capstan in both the record/read mode and the fast transport lift mode of operation.

Abstract: Pre-twisted multiple wires having N twisted sections per full-twist pitch, where N is a predetermined constant integer, are juxtaposed to a roller which carries plural conformal seat means in a circumferential manner. The arcuate spacing between adjacent seat means is correlated with 1/Nth of the full-twist pitch of the particular twisted wires. Associated with the roller is ratchet means which allows the roller to be indexable in increments correlated with a full-twist pitch of the particular multiple twisted wires. As a result, the twisted wires are fed out in full-twist linear increments and, hence, with the same orientation of the wires for each incrementing step. Moreover, by judiciously seating one of the N possible adjacent twist sections of the twisted wires with respect to the seat means, the twisted wires can be fed out selectively with N possible orientations.

Abstract: The present invention is an improved capstan which is used in a magnetic tape transport system, to accelerate a length of magnetic tape. The capstan includes a cylindrical post, adapted to be connected to a drive shaft of a capstan motor in a magnetic tape transport system, a pair of discs, each of which has a set of outer holes disposed adjacent to and distributed about its periphery and a set of inner holes disposed adjacent to and distributed about its central axis, coupled together by the cylindrical post disposed about their central axes. The capstan also includes a first set of cylindrical posts, coupling the inner holes of one disc to the inner holes of the other disc, and a second set of cylindrical posts, coupling some of the outer holes of one disc to some of the outer holes of the other disc. The capstan further includes a cylindrical tape band, which has a set of grooves running concentrically with the discs and the other edges of which are joined to the peripheries of the discs.

Abstract: A high-speed roller system for transporting webs of sheeting, preferably for coating the same with a magnetic layer, comprising a suction roller for control of the speed of the web, which suction roller has a surface containing grooves, preferably rhombic grooves, in which the perforations for sucking the sheeting are disposed, preferably at the points of intersection, the ratio of the total cross-sectional area of the perforations to the total surface area of the roller being from 0.7 to 3%.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for printing cloths in a rotary screen printing machine comprising a number of driven cylindrical stencils, the cloths being interconnected by intermediate strips formed from uninterrupted warp threads so as to constitute a continuous web; a special feeder is mounted before the printing machine, said feeder having means cooperating with said strips, said means being synchronized with the rotation movement of said stencils.

Abstract: Drive means for moving a flat, thin sheet, belt or tape in a straight path without need for guide devices separate from the drive means to limit horizontal wandering of the driven element.

Abstract: A reel for feeding cloth in rope form is provided that employs a plurality of spaced vanes radially arranged in alternately inclined relation so that their projected profiles cross intermediate their length and the outer vane edges are formed with a gently undulating configuration beyond such crossing for particularly effective feeding action.