Abstract: The circular housing of a fiberizer mill has a rotationally driven shaft on which there is a disk haivng a conical face and spaced apart rows of teeth. A stationary disk has on its face a multiplicity of annular grooves which define teeth. There is a small gap between the tips of the rotary teeth and the tips of the stationary teeth. The gap extends at an acute angle relative to vertical plane passing perpendicular to the shaft axis so that particles being disintegrated experience a horizontal component of force. The result is that particles, after having been exploded by striking the teeth on the stationary disk, are emitted generally radially outwardly from the gap. Hammer bars on the periphery of the rotary disk are surrounded by a toothed circular breaker plate member concentric to the orbital path of the hammers on the rotary disk.

Abstract: A pair of closed loop chains running in parallelism have uniformly spaced apart paddles on them for transporting an article such as a pad between each paddle to a pad ejection station. A shaft orbits about an axis which is parallel to the direction in which the paddle conveyor is moving. The shaft carries a plurality of ejector rods which are mounted on a sleeve that is slidable reversibly axially on the orbiting shaft. After the orbiting rods collectively eject a series of pads from the paddles, the shaft continues its orbital movement until it reaches the back side of the pads again. While the rods are passing through the paddles to eject the number of pads composing a stack, the sleeve on the orbiting shaft is translated axially in the same direction and at the same speed as the paddle conveyor is moving. The sleeve is shifted by having a cam follower thereon come into contact with a stationary cam when the rods begin their passage through the spaces between the paddles.

Abstract: Oblong pads are fed horizontally on an input conveyor with their long axes pointed in the direction of movement. A support plate on a rotationally driven shaft carries several equiangularly spaced swinging levers having a long arm on one side of the swing axis and a short arm on the other. Followers on the short arms engage a stationary cam whose profile surrounds the shaft. As the levers revolve, the cam positions them so they meet incoming oblong pads squarely and sweep them around so their minor axes are pointed in the direction of movement as they drop onto an output conveyor which moves them in parallelism with the line of the input conveyor.

Abstract: Apparatus for converting bales of wood pulp sheets to fluff. There is a non-rotating horizontal bed plate having a port through which the cutter tips of a cutting mill project from below. A cylindrical casing is journalled on its lower rim for rotation above said bed plate about a vertical axis that is perpendicular to the bed plate. Sets of guide means are mounted to the interior of the casing. Each guide means set holds a bale such that the bales are prevented from centrifuging radially outwardly but can settle on the bed plate. The guide means are located so they keep all portions of the areas of the bales offset or radially spaced from the casing axis in which case the bales are driven in an orbital path as they are swept over the cutting mill.

Abstract: To make diapers having elasticized regions, unstretched segments of elastic ribbon are deposited on a first rotating roll which has vacuum holes in its periphery for attracting the body of a segment and a mechanical element for temporarily securing one end. The first roll rotates segments successively to a place adjacent a second roll which has a larger radius and, hence, higher peripheral velocity than the first roll. The second roll has grippers spaced apart by an amount substantially equal to the desired stretched length of the segments. The leading end of each segment on the first roll is engaged by a gripper on the second higher speed roll so the segment stretches after which a lifter on the first roll releases the trailing end for it to be engaged by a gripper to hold the stretched segment on the second roll. Quick setting glue is applied to the stretched segments and the top porous sheet material comprising the diaper is run in contact with the segments to pick them up.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for applying adhesive attaching tapes to pads, such as diapers, in which an elongated strip of adhesive tape having an adhesive face and a non-adhesive back is folded longitudinally about a hinge line to form tape wings having their non-adhesive backs together and their adhesive faces facing away from each other. A release liner is applied to the adhesive face of one of the wings, leaving the adhesive face of the other wing exposed. Discrete folded tape segments are severed from the folded strip and are transferred from the vicinity of the severing tool to the vicinity of the pad by drawing the lined wings of the folded tape segments by vacuum against a vacuum drum. The adhesive face of the exposed wing faces outwardly of the drum. The drum is rotated to adhere the adhesive face of the exposed wing to a portion of the pad in the course of drum rotation.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for loading a fresh bale of stacked wood pulp sheets into a continuously rotating bale milling cradle of a fluff generator, usually on top of a partially exhausted bale. A bale loader cradle is mounted above the bale milling cradle and is provided with mechanism for selectively holding the bale loader cradle stationary while the bale milling cradle continues to rotate and while a fresh bale is loaded into the bale loader cradle. When it is desired to transfer the fresh bale into the bale milling cradle, the two cradles are driven in synchronism with the cradles aligned. The floor of the bale loader cradle is then retracted and gravity transfers the fresh bale from the loader cradle into the bale milling cradle. After transfer has been completed, the bale loader cradle is stopped in alignment with a bale delivery conveyor to ready it to accept another fresh bale.

Abstract: A fluff distributor comprises a fluff chamber, two or more vacuum screens in said chamber and onto which screens fluff is laid in batts. The screens have separately controllable drive mechanism whereby each screen can be independently driven at a desired rate of speed. Accordingly, the volume of fluff output from said chamber for each screen is similarly separately controllable. Each screen supplies fluff to one of several converting machines. The converting machines can operate at different rates of speed requiring different volumes of fluff and by reason of the separate control for each distributor screen, the same fluff distributor can supply fluff to different converting machines operating at different demand levels for fluff.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for applying adhesive attaching tapes to pads, such as diapers, in which an elongated strip of adhesive tape having an adhesive face and a non-adhesive back is folded longitudinally about a hingeline to form tape wings having their non-adhesive backs together and their adhesive faces facing away from each other. A release liner is applied to the adhesive face of one of the wings, leaving the adhesive face of the other wing exposed. Discrete folded tape segments are severed from the folded strip and are transferred from the vicinity of the severing tool to the vicinity of the pad by drawing the lined wings of the folded tape segments by vacuum against a vacuum drum. The adhesive face of the exposed wing faces outwardly of the drum. The drum is rotated to adhere the adhesive face of the exposed wing to a portion of the pad in the course of drum rotation.