Appeal No. 2002-1053 Page 10
Application No. 09/702,981
may occur between the sheet material and the power rollers, thereby effectively
reducing the feed rate at which the incoming sheet material is advanced by the
power rollers.
In a steady state of operation, an equilibrium would be reached with some
slippage occurring between the sheet material 20 and the power rolls 118 and 120. In
addition, in a steady state, there would be some tension in the web downstream of the
power rollers 118 and 120. The amount of the tension can be controlled by the tension
in the spring 154, which can be made adjustable by any suitable means. As illustrated,
there is a series of holes in the side panel 106 which can be used to secure the end of
the spring.
During start up, the infeed unit 12 will dampen the tension acting on the sheet
material which arises from having to overcome the inertial of the stationary sheet roll.
Most likely, the dancer arm will initially oscillate to some extent. However, whenever
the tension in the web of sheet material 20 rises above a preset level (determined by
the setting of the spring 154), the dancer arms 148 and 150 bring the pressure roller
134 and 136 into contact with the power rollers 118 and 120 to quickly feed sheet
material into the loop 126 and attain a steady state feeding condition.
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Last modified: November 3, 2007