The invention relates to a method for feeding and splicing sheets of material wound in bobbins (20, 21, 22, 23), the method including: providing a rotating wheel (10) having at least a first, a second, a third and a fourth bobbin holder (103, 104, 105, 106) defining a first, a second, a third and a fourth station; unwinding a first sheet of material (201) wound in a first bobbin (20) provided in the first station; detecting the amount of first sheet of material remaining in the first bobbin (20) in the first station; depending on the amount of first sheet of material (201), splicing the first sheet of material (201) unwound from the first bobbin with a second sheet of material (211) unwound from a second bobbin (21) present in the second station; preparing for splicing a third sheet of material in a third bobbin (22) present in the third station including: reading information about the third bobbin (22) contained in a sticker, label or tag; removing the sticker, label or tag from the third bobbin (22); and rotating the wheel (10) so that the substantially empty first bobbin (20) is moved to the fourth station and the third bobbin is moved to the second station. Further, the invention relates to an apparatus for feeding and splicing materials wound in bobbins (20, 21, 22, 23) for conducting the above method.

Disclosed is a method and an apparatus for supplying, staging, and/or handling, and/or for replacing rolls (12, 20) with flat material and/or film material wound thereonto and serving as packaging material (22) for packaging piece goods, bundles, or the like sets of articles. Depleted rolls (20) are removed from at least one installation position (EB1, EB2) of a packaging machine (14), and new rolls (12) are mounted into the particular installation position (EB1, EB2), with new rolls (12) being staged to the packaging machine (14) in a specified feeder device. Each of the installation positions (EB1, EB2) of the packaging machine (14) includes at least one rotatable receiving mandrel (70) for the rotatable reception and holding of the rolls (12). The at least one receiving mandrel (70) is shiftable in its axial direction upon removing a depleted roll (20) and/or upon mounting of a new roll (12).

A film roll replacement device supplies a film roll to a bag making and packaging machine, which has a film-roll-supporting part to support the film roll and which manufactures bags containing articles using the film. The film roll replacement device includes a holding section, the driving unit, and a controller. The holding section is located adjacent to the bag making and packaging machine, and the holding section holds the film roll supplied to the bag making and packaging machine. The driving unit moves the holding section. The controller controls an action of the driving unit to move the holding section to move in a first direction toward the supporting part of the bag making and packaging machine and to transfer the film roll held by the holding section to the supporting part.

A web material dispenser for housing two or more rolls is provided. The web material dispenser includes a housing having a fixed housing portion provided with a first roll support assembly coupled thereto for supporting a first roll of web material. The housing further has a movable housing portion, movable between a closed position and an open position, provided with a second roll support assembly coupled thereto for supporting a second roll of web material. The fixed and movable housing portions defining a housing chamber therebetween when the movable portion is in the closed position, for at least partially enclosing the two or more rolls of web material within the housing chamber. The movable portion is moved to the open position for providing access to the two or more rolls and allowing replacement of at least one of the first and second rolls.

A film roll supporting device comprises a shaft body part, a shaft tip part, and a projection part. The shaft body part extends through a central hole of a film roll and having the film roll mounted thereon. The shaft tip part extends in an axis direction of a shaft from one end of the shaft body part on a side to be inserted into the central hole of the film roll. The projection part extends in a direction intersecting the axis direction of the shaft body part from the shaft tip part. The projection part abuts from below to a core of the film roll provisionally placed on the shaft tip part when the mounting of the film roll is performed. A cutout recessed in a direction intersecting the axis direction of the shaft body part is formed in the projection part.

A reel holder includes: a plate-shaped rotating plate; multiple reel support portions evenly arranged in a circumferential direction about the center of the rotating plate, and supporting the tape reels such that each of the tape reels is rotatable about the center thereof; and a rotating plate support portion supporting the rotating plate such that the rotating plate is rotatable about the center of the rotating plate.

The disclosed supply roll (5) comprises a roll core (6); flat material and/or strip material (8) being carried on the roll core (6) in a multitude of windings; and at least one functional marker (2). The at least one functional marker (2) is placed in a specified relative position at an externally arranged free end section (7) of the flat material and/or strip material (8) such that information about the relative position of the free end section (7) is optically identifiable by way of the at least one functional marker (2).

System for handling cardboard reels to feed machines that produce cardboard tubes, comprising a station (F) for picking up the reels configured to receive a stack (2) of overlapping cardboard reels (1), a station (U) for unwinding of the reels, and handling means (D) for moving the reels (1) along a predetermined path. The means (D) for moving the reels comprise pneumatic means intended to pressurize a space (S) inside the stack of reels, in which said space includes the interface between an uppermost reel of the stack and the underlying reel, and gripping means configured and controlled to perform grip and release of the highest reel in the stack respectively.

System for handling cardboard reels to feed machines that produce cardboard tubes, comprising a station (P) for picking up the superimposed cardboard reels (1), a reel unwinding station (1) comprising at least one unwinding unit (UU) capable of supporting the reels to be unwound, in the unwinding station (U) being also provided splicing means configured to splice a tail portion (TY) of a reel (1 Y) being exhausted with a new reel (1W), and handling means (D) for moving the reels (1) along a predetermined path between the reel pick-up station (P) and the unwinding station (U). Said at least one unwinding unit (UU) comprises several supports (403; 404) mounted on a vertical axis carousel structure (G).

A film-roll supply device improves replacement of a film roll in a bag-making and packaging machine. A film roll replacement device supplies a first film roll to a bag-making and packaging machine. The film roll replacement device is provided with a holding section and a first driving unit. The holding section receives the first film roll to be supplied to the bag-making and packaging machine. The first driving unit changes an orientation of the holding section between a first orientation used when receiving the first film roll and a second orientation used when supplying the first film roll to the bag-making and packaging machine.