Maintaining a level of tension on material as it is processed in a manufacturing operation assists in the processing of the material. The tension of the material as it is fed through a process station is maintained by a material sag portion, such as an unsupported portion of the material extending between a roll of the material and the process station. The formation of the sag portion and the loading of the material forming the sag portion are automated and adjusted with a system having a material storage retrieval system, a shuttle, a tensioning device, and/or a processing station.

To provide a spindle supporting a roll body on which a sheet-shaped medium is wound and rotationally driving the roll body. The spindle includes a shaft member to be inserted into the roll body, a gear fixed on a tip side of the shaft member in an axial direction, a spacer member contacting both of the shaft member and the gear, and a coupling member coupling the shaft member to the gear. In the axial direction of the shaft member, a contact area of the spacer member and the gear is larger than a contact area of the shaft member and the spacer member. The gear is coupled to the coupling member in the axial direction and the shaft member is coupled to the coupling member in an intersecting direction intersecting the axial direction.

A fixing structure for fixing a reel is disclosed. The fixing structure includes a shaft having a first end having a first plurality of protrusions, and a second end having a second plurality of protrusions, wherein each of the first plurality of protrusions and one of its adjacent protrusions have a first recess therebetween, and each of the second plurality of protrusions and one of its adjacent protrusions have a second recess therebetween; and a supporting device, including a first supporting portion supporting the first end, and having a first protruding portion abutting the first recess; and a second supporting portion supporting the second end, and having a second protruding portion abutting the second recess.

A device for expanding and dispensing expandable slit sheet paper includes a pair of support members for a roll of expandable slit sheet paper. The roll of expandable slit sheet paper has an interior core member and a roll of expandable slit sheet paper wound on said interior core member. The interior core member has an axial length that is greater than the width of said slit sheet paper that is wound on said interior core member and has end regions that extend beyond the roll of expandable slit sheet paper. Pressure means is provided for pressing a first end region against its core support member and applying a frictional rotation resistance to the core member end region. The roll of expandable slit sheet paper is mounted on the device by positioning one end region under the pressure means and in a support relationship with its core support member while the roll of expandable slit sheet paper is inclined with respect to the device. The other end region is then moved into its supported position with its core support member. An adjustable downward pressure is exerted on the paper core end region and causing the paper core end region to be pressed against its support member as the paper is pulled. The downward pressure creates the friction required to enable the unexpanded slit sheet to be unwind and fed while simultaneously expanding.

A core chuck system (10) comprising a core chuck (11) and a spindle (12) onto which the core chuck (11) is lockable, which core chuck system (10) comprises a ball locking mechanism, a locking button (15) and a cone connection (C).

Provided is a medium supply device including a spindle that supports a medium having a roll shape, a supplying portion that supplies the medium supported by the spindle toward outside, a plurality of support rollers that support the medium in positions between the spindle and the supplying portion, a moving roller that, in a contact position between the support rollers, is capable of coming into contact with a bridging medium extending across the support rollers in a state where a load is applied to the bridging medium and that is capable of moving from the contact position to a non-contact position of non-contact with the bridging medium, and a moving mechanism configured to move the moving roller from the contact position to the non-contact position.

A printer includes: a container configured to contain a roll into which a belt-shaped print medium is wound, the roll being inserted through an opening; a guide configured to guide the roll, the guide being disposed in the container and having a pair of abutting faces that abut on both side faces of the roll; a holding part that is movable between a first position where the holding part protrudes inwardly from the abutting face and a second position where the holding part does not protrude inwardly from the abutting face, the holding part being biased from the second position to the first position and holding the roll rotatably at the first position; and a displacement part configured to be displaced with motion of the holding part. At least a portion of the displacement part is exposed when a user sees the displacement part through the opening, such that the displacement part is recognizably displaced in a different position depending on whether the holding part is at the first position or at the second position.

Disclosed is an unwinder with system for loading and unloading reels. The unwinder includes a rotating support with a rotation axis and provided with engaging members for engaging the reels. The unwinder further includes a positioning system for loading the reels onto the rotating support and an unloading system for unloading the reels from the rotating support. The positioning system includes a first conveyor for the reels and a pusher configured and arranged to push the reels from the first conveyor towards abutment members defining a pick-up position where the reel is taken by the rotating support. The positioning system and the unloading system are arranged at opposite sides of the rotating support.

Support pin for supporting reels of paper material, comprising an outer side (PX) and an inner side (PN), with the inner side (PN) that is adapted to be inserted into a reel (1) of paper material and with the outer side (PX) that remains on the outside of the same reel (1) when the inner side (PN) is inside the reel (1), said outer side (PX) being provided with a hooking portion (3) adapted to be engaged by means (CP) adapted to vertically move the pin (P). The outer side (PX) of the pin (P) is constituted by a shank (2) whose longitudinal axis coincides with the longitudinal axis (x-x) of the pin (P) and said hooking portion comprises an eyelet formed on the shank (2) and delimited by two parallel arms (30) that emerge radially from the shank (2) and are joined by a body (31) parallel to said longitudinal axis (x-x).

The unwinder includes an unwinding station, in which to arrange a reel to be unwound. In the unwinding station there is arranged a series of guide rollers, defining a feed path of the web material. There are also provided: a cutting member adapted to cut a web material coming from an exhausted reel; and splicing members to splice a trailing edge of a first web material coming from an exhausted reel to a leading edge of a second web material coming from a new reel. A pick-up device is configured to pick up the leading edge of the second web material from a temporary retaining element, carried by a transfer unit to transfer reels to the unwinding station.