Abstract: A method and apparatus for sealing the tail of a convolutely wound log which include a longitudinally extending path, an infeed station and a sealing station in the path, equipping the infeed station with a pair of spaced-apart, rotatable rollers, providing one of the rollers with vacuum ports in the periphery thereof, feeding logs sequentially into the nip space between the pair of rollers, rotating the rollers, orienting the log tail to a position over the ports in the one roller, rotating the rollers to unwind the tail, and rolling each log in the path into the sealing station; the unwinding being either (a) triggered by a mark on the tail such as a UV ink stripe or (b) using an air blast.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for transferring a web to a mandrel to form a coreless, convolutely wound roll which includes an enveloping roller, first and second mandrels, a transfer roller and a cutoff mechanism in the path of travel of a web to be wound, advancing a web in partial enveloping relation with the enveloping roller and toward the first mandrel, moving the second mandrel to a position adjacent the web, orienting the enveloping roller and transfer roller to positions defining a pocket with the second mandrel in the pocket to define a nip between the second mandrel and enveloping roller, rotating the transfer roller in a direction opposite to the direction of advance of the web, and severing the web to provide a leading edge portion.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for sealing the tail of a convolutely wound log which includes the steps of providing a turret rotatably mounted in a frame and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart three-roll clusters, feeding a log into a first cluster while positioning an immediately previously fed log with a draped tail in another cluster adjacent glue apparatus and while ejecting an even earlier fed log now rewound from still another cluster, and providing a log infeed mechanism adjacent the turret and including a pair of relatively movable rollers, feeding logs sequentially into the pair of said rollers, rotating the infeed rollers to orient the log tail in a predetermined position, by providing a mark on said log prior to the feeding step, and detecting said mark to orient the tail in a predetermined position.

Abstract: A surface winder and method employing recycled mandrels wherein a frame provides a winding path, a first winding drum for continuously advancing a web in the path and positioned on one side of the path, a mandrel inserter for introducing mandrels sequentially into the path for contact with the web, a second winding drum on the frame on the other side the path for coacting with the first winding drum in developing a log and a stripper on the frame for stripping each mandrel sequentially out of its associated log.

Abstract: Apparatus for folding spaced segments of web material such as diapers having intermediate side flaps overfolded in the crotch portion making use of a vacuumized continuously moving belt system for gripping one surface of a planar web except for the flap portions and a frictionalized belt system aligned with the vacuumized belt system for engaging the other surface of the web to progressively fold the flap portions.