A sheet-feeding system includes a holding part which holds an end portion of a sheet, a nozzle part for discharging an adhesive agent for joining sheets to each other, and a nozzle moving unit which supports the nozzle part such that the nozzle part is made movable within a region including both temporarily holding parts, in which when a sheet joining condition is established where a remaining amount of the sheet on one original sheet roll becomes equal to or below a predetermined remaining amount, an end portion of the sheet on the other original sheet roll is conveyed to the temporarily holding part by the holding part and, thereafter, the nozzle part is moved to the temporarily holding part, and the adhesive agent is discharged to the end portion of the sheet from the nozzle part.

A sheet conveying device includes: a holding mechanism configured to hold suction members; and a driving device including a rotary shaft which is rotatable about a second axis parallel to the first axis and a connecting mechanism configured to connect the rotary shaft and suction members to each other; and a support mechanism configured to support the holding mechanism and the drive device. The connecting mechanism is connected to the suction members in a state where the suction members are movable in a radial direction of the circle about the first axis. The support mechanism supports the holding mechanism and the drive device such that the holding mechanism and the drive device are relatively movable from each other in a direction orthogonal to the first axis.

An apparatus for splicing comprises a first web support surface configured to support a traveling web thereon and a second web support surface configured to support a replacement web thereon. The first traveling web travels in a machine direction. The splicing assembly also comprises a first web sensor and a web joiner. A controller is configured to determine, via the first web sensor, a position of a trailing end of the traveling web and to, in response to determining the position of the trailing end, cause a leading end of the replacement web to be positioned adjacently to the trailing end. The computer is also configured to control the web joiner to create a joint coupling the trailing end to the leading end.

A configurable cutting and transfer apparatus includes a cutter mechanism to cut an incoming web of material into a plurality of discrete articles and a transfer mechanism operable with the cutter mechanism to transfer and rotate the discrete articles from a web receiving location to an article placement location. The transfer mechanism includes a drive shaft rotatable about a transfer axis, a carriage plate mounted to the drive shaft so as to rotate therewith about the transfer axis, and a segmented puck wheel comprising a plurality of carriage units securable to, and repositionable on, the carriage plate so as to rotate therewith to travel along a transfer path about the transfer axis from the web receiving location to the pad placement location, each of the carriage units including a puck operable to provide a rotating and re-pitching of the articles between the web receiving location and the pad placement location.

A machine for producing disposable products anticipates when a current run of a product size is coming to an end, and therefore begins loading of material rolls intended for the next product size or code that will be run. An integrated production facility layout automatically orders and stocks raw material based on production plans, and commands a production machine to produce specific products of differing configurations, and automatically loads appropriately sized raw materials into the process.

A method and apparatus for producing absorbent sanitary articles including an absorbent body having two front oblique sides and two rear oblique sides, and two longitudinal elastic bands attached to the absorbent body along said oblique sides, where each of said elastic bands includes a front section and a rear section separated from each other by transverse cuts and joined together by refastenable closure formations.

An apparatus and method for applying a first web to a base web in a nonlinear pattern as the base web is advanced in a machine direction in contact with a back-up roller are disclosed. The apparatus can include a guide roller and a guide roller translations system. The guide roller can be configured to define a nip with the back-up roller. The guide roller translation system can be configured to allow the guide roller to move with respect to the back-up roller to control the position of the nip to allow the first web to be applied to the base web in the non-linear pattern in the machine direction.

When a remaining amount of a sheet on one original sheet roll is equal to or less than a predetermined remaining amount, a pair of holding pads is brought into a first posture where holding surfaces are opened, and the holding surface of one holding pad is pressed to a joining end portion from the outside of the original sheet roll in a radial direction of another original sheet roll. Further, the holding pad is moved such that the joining end portion is separated toward the outside of the original sheet roll in the radial direction. Further, the posture of the pair of holding pads is changed into a second posture where the holding surfaces approach each other, and the joining end portion is conveyed to a joining part in a state where the joining end portion is sandwiched between the holding surfaces of the pair of holding pads.

An apparatus and a method for transferring articles from a pick-up area to a delivery area, wherein there is provided a guide element having a guide surface which moves along a closed path at a base speed, and wherein there are provided a plurality of transfer elements, each of which is provided with a gripping surface for holding an article and is movable with respect to the guide surface with a relative speed, so that, with respect to a stationary reference system, each of the transfer elements moves along the closed path with a compound speed given by an algebraic sum of the base speed and the respective relative speed.

A carousel for transporting articles includes: a body rotated by a motor around a main axis, a stationary cam around the main axis and a plurality of transfer units mounted on the body to rotate around the main axis. Each unit includes a transfer element having a radially external portion to retain or release an article. The element is pivoted on the body around an auxiliary axis radial to the main axis and is coupled to the body to move along the auxiliary axis. The element is coupled to the stationary cam to rotate around the auxiliary axis. A pair of auxiliary cams is coupled to the element and integral with the body and auxiliary cam-followers are interposed between the element and the auxiliary cam to move on the auxiliary cams during rotation of the element around the auxiliary axis and move the element along the auxiliary axis.