An expansible chuck for holding hollow cylindrical cores used for winding and unwinding sheet material. A portion of the chuck body nearest the flange is stepped up so that the diameter of the chuck near the flange is slightly larger than the diameter of the rest of the chuck. The stepped up portion centers the chuck within the core which helps the expanding elements to uniformly grip the core.

A sheet conveyor includes: a holder that detachably holds a sheet roll; a rotation measuring device that measures a rotation amount of the sheet roll; a conveyance roller that conveys a sheet pulled out from the sheet roll held by the holder; a tensioner that is provided between the holder and the conveyance roller and that contacts with the sheet pulled out from the sheet roll toward the conveyance roller; a position detector that detects a position of the tensioner; a motor that generates driving force for rotating the conveyance roller; and a controller that controls the motor. The controller estimates a diameter of the sheet roll based on a conveyance amount of the sheet caused by rotation of the conveyance roller, a rotation amount of the sheet roll measured by the rotation measuring device, and a position of the tensioner detected by the position detector.

A system comprising: a source of a tape comprising a material associated with an adhesive and at least one removable liner; an applicator head; a cutting mechanism; at least one drive feeding mechanism configured to index the tape from the source to the applicator head at a controlled rate; wherein the applicator head is controllable to apply the material on a surface or a substrate; and wherein the applicator head comprises a cutting mechanism configured to sever the material while leaving the at least one removable liner intact.

A feeding system configured to transport a material to a tape applicator, the feeding system comprising: a flexible conduit coupled between a spool unloading device and a tape applicator, wherein the flexible conduit receives the material from a source; and a fluid amplifier coupled to the flexible conduit to facilitate movement of the material therein by creating a vacuum effect.

A transport device unwinds a medium from a roll body to which a shaft member is mounted and transports the medium. The transport device includes an accommodation portion configured to accommodate the roll body, a main body portion to which the accommodation portion is mounted, and a roller pair configured to nip the medium. The accommodation portion and the main body portion are relatively movable. The main body portion includes a rack configured to engage with a gear of the shaft member. The rack is engaged with the gear when the accommodation portion moves relative to the main body portion to be pulled out of the main body portion.

An unwinder for rolls of paper web material includes: a support frame; a spindle cylinder, rotationally associated with the frame, supporting a parent roll with a longitudinal axis; unwinder to unwind a paper web from the parent roll; actuator keeping the unwindier contacting the parent roll; a command and control unit; first motor rotating the spindle cylinder; two support and drive rollers; units to measure instantaneous radius of the parent roll, rotational speed of the spindle cylinder, quantity of web unrolled from the parent roll per unit time, and weight unloaded from the parent roll onto the support and drive rollers; second motor synchronously rotating the support and drive rollers; and third motor moving the spindle cylinder vertically. The control unit receives and processes values detected by the measurement unit, causing the motor to maintain the weight force unloaded onto the rollers from the roll as the diameter varies.

Disclosed is a web handling system that includes a spindle having a spindle magnetic coupling portion and a roll core configured for receiving the spindle for mounting thereon and having a roll magnetic coupling portion, wherein the spindle and roll magnetic coupling portions are configured for magnetically attracting each other to hold the roll on the spindle.

A media roll holder assembly for a roll is detachably supported in a printing system. A rotational drive includes a roll engaging element configured for fittingly engaging and driving a drive engaging element of a roller, for example an Oldham coupling. A first guide surface is configured to support and direct the roller in a loading direction. A second guide surface at least partially extends at an angle with respect to the first guide surface, such that movement of the roller over the first guide surface brings the drive engaging element in contact with the second guide surface. The second guide surface directs the drive engaging element into a predetermined orientation, which orientation aligns the drive engaging element with the roll engaging element in a loading orientation, such that further movement of the roller in the loading direction inserts the drive engaging element into the roll engaging element.

A printing apparatus provided with a transportation mechanism for a printing medium includes: a storage configured to store a machine-learned model that outputs a setting value of the transportation mechanism for causing, based on state variables including a print length as a length of a print product printed on the printing medium, the print length to be close to a reference; and a processor configured to perform printing by controlling the transportation mechanism in accordance with the setting value acquired based on the machine-learned model.

A tape lamination head for applying composite tape onto a mold or mandrel amid the formation of a composite workpiece. The tape lamination head is but one component of a larger tape lamination machine and assembly. Among its components, the tape lamination head includes a tape supply reel, a backing paper take-up reel, and a tape tension control system. The tape tension control system has a first dancer roller assembly located downstream of the tape supply reel and has a second dancer roller assembly located upstream of the backing paper take-up reel. The first dancer roller assembly can include a first roller, a first guide, a first actuator, a first lock, and a first position sensor. The second dancer roller assembly can include a second roller, a second guide, a second actuator, a second lock, and a second position sensor.