EP0132727B1 - Device for automatically cutting and winding webs - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for feeding a traveling sheet of fabric material to one receiver roll for winding thereon until it is full, and then cutting the fabric and feeding it onto another receiver roll without interruption of the fabric travel. The apparatus includes a carriage for movement from one receiver roll to another, and pivoted arms mounted on the carriage for movement toward and away from the receiver rolls during movement of the carriage and during the time the receiver rolls are being wound. Driven feeder rollers are mounted on the arms in spaced relation to define a predetermined path of movement for the fabric directed toward a receiver roll, and a cutting element is disposed intermediate the driven feeder rolls to selectively cut the fabric when a full package has been wound on one receiver roll, and fabric directing means are provided to assure that the cut edge of the traveling fabric is guided along its path of movement to the receiver roll for winding thereon.

Description

The invention relates to a device for automatic cross cutting and winding of webs.

In the manufacture and processing of webs, they are generally passed through various processing stages in an open or flat arrangement, after which predetermined lengths of the webs are wound onto reusable cores for storage and shipping purposes.

For example, it is common practice in the textile industry to print a pattern on a running length of fabric and then pass the fabric through a tenter in which it is heated to promote drying of the color, after which the fabric is received or Bearing roller is wound and cut when a predetermined length of the fabric is wound on the core. During this treatment and rewinding process, the fabric is continuously transported at very high speeds, sometimes above 90 m / min, and there are often difficulties in performing the various steps required by the processing operations without the rapid running speed of the fabric being processed to interrupt.

In devices used to cut and wind up fabrics coming from a tenter frame or similar source, it is generally known to provide a frame which extends over a pair of trestles, each of which carries a core on which the fabric is to be wound. The frame is provided with an arm which is optionally movable on the frame so as to be alternately positioned over one or the other trestle, and the arm can also optionally rotate on the frame about a horizontal axis, so that the the protruding end of the arm can be brought into surface contact with the core of one or the other trestle and can gradually pivot upwards, as the material is wound onto the core and its diameter increases. The frame and arm are equipped with a roller system through which the fabric is guided and transported to the core.

Using this conventional device, the fabric is wound on one of the cores; until this carries a predetermined length of fabric, after which the device is automatically stopped by an appropriate switch. An operator then has to perform a number of manual actions to set up the fabric winding device on the other, empty core. Thus, the operator must first cut the now stopped fabric with a hand-operated shear and then swing the arm up to fully expose the core, move the arm along the frame until it is positioned over the empty core, and then the arm down pivot until the feed roller at its projecting end is in surface contact with the empty core. The operator must next grasp the cut edge of the fabric and manually wind several turns of the fabric around the empty core, after which the device is restarted.

Although the movement of the arm is performed by operator operated motors, it takes a considerable amount of time for the various actions to be performed by the operator, usually between 30 seconds and 3 minutes. During this period, the fabric continues to be fed to the winder from the tenter at the fast feed rate described above, and it has therefore been necessary to use very large fabric buffers to hold the excess fabric during the time that the full core is in the winder exchanged for an empty core. This additional buffer is quite expensive and therefore contributes significantly to the costs associated with using the winder. In some cases, the buffer is not used because of its cost, so that in this case the stenter must be stopped during the core exchange process. Such stopping of the tenter each time a core is fully wrapped not only results in lower production, but can also result in the. Fabric is scorched while remaining in the tenter.

Another disadvantage associated with the conventional rewinder described above is the fact that the operator must grasp the cut edge of the fabric so that it can be wrapped around the empty core, and it sometimes happens that the operator slides the fabric out of his hand de.m Result that the fabric springs back due to its natural elasticity in the direction of the tenter and detaches from the roller system through which it is transported. When this happens, additional time is lost during the re-feeding of the fabric between the rollers, which further exacerbates the problem of handling the fabric fed from the tenter as mentioned above.

From US-A-3 049 311 a device for winding and cross cutting of webs is already known, in which a first and a second driven roller is provided. The first driven roller is assigned an engagement device which can be moved into an operating position in order to forcibly engage the running material web. Cutting elements are also arranged between the first and the second driven roller.

Finally, DE-A-3 318 803 discloses a device for continuously winding a material web onto roll cores, the material web also being fed continuously and cut off in connection with a change in position of the roll cores. The material web is guided in this device during the winding process over several deflecting rollers, which are mounted between a pair of first levers pivotable about a pivot point and from there in the web transport direction via a combined pressure, deflection and connecting roller, which can be pivoted in one to the first lever attached bracket is provided. The roller, the diameter of which increases continuously, pivots the first levers by rotating about the pivot point, while the first roller core is in a first position in a roller holder which can be rotated about a pivot point. As soon as the roller has approximately reached its final diameter, the first levers must be pivoted out of contact with the roller. The roll holder is then pivoted about its pivot point, so that a second empty roll core, which must have an adhesive coating, takes the position of the first roll core in the first position. Meanwhile, winding onto the first roll continues in a second position, during which phase the web of material is guided on the holder by contact with the deflection rolls located between the first levers and with the combined first roll. The second roll core must then be accelerated to a circumferential speed corresponding to the web speed before the first levers are pivoted in the direction of the second roll and the holder is pivoted such that a knife mounted in it cuts off the material web at substantially the same time that the Combined roller and a brush or a similar elastic element which is provided in the holder in the space between the combined roller and the knife, press the cut material web against the second roller core, which carries the adhesive coating. As a result, the front end of the material web is to be immediately wound up into a new roll on the second roll core, while the cut-off rear end of the web is wound onto the first roll.

The invention has for its object not only to simplify such a device significantly in terms of its structure, but also to ensure with the device that the new web start arising from the cross cutting of the web is simply forced to the scope of the following take-up roller.

This object is achieved on the basis of a device of the generic type mentioned in the preamble of claim 1, which corresponds to the prior art resulting from US-A-3 318 803 - with the features which are specified in the characterizing part of the same claim.

Because the first and the second roller are driven in a manner known per se and the first roller is assigned an engagement device which can be moved into an operating position, the running material web can be arranged on both sides of the between the first and the second driven roller Hold the cutting member inevitably during cutting and guide the web after cutting along the predetermined path of movement so that the cutting edge of the web is securely guided onto the surface of the take-up roller.

In one embodiment of the present invention, selectable engagement means include first and second transport means, one of which is engaged with the first drive means to hold the moving material therebetween as it is steered along the predetermined path of travel described above, and the other optionally to one Position movable, which extends along this predetermined movement path and in the direction of the second drive device to guide the material after the cut along the movement path and to guide it in a direction of rotation of the pick-up roller.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the transport device which is engaged with the second drive device is selectively movable to a position which is adjacent to a surface region of the second drive device in order to guide the running material onto the take-up roll in the opposite direction of rotation of the roll.

In a third embodiment of the present invention, the web of material is normally passed over an idler roller held on the movable arms and a driven feed roller is supported on the movable arm at a distance from the idler roller, with the automatic cutter between the idler roller and the driven feed roller and the driven one Feed roller is arranged on the arms to form a nip in engagement with the pickup roller when the arm is moved toward the pickup roller. A driven engagement roller is located near and normally spaced from the idler roller and the idler roller is placed on the arm for optional movement in an operating position where the running material is inevitable between the idle roller and the driven engagement roller just before the running material is cut by the automatic cutter. In this embodiment, the predetermined path of movement of the material is oriented substantially vertically to the pick-up roller.

• Fig. 1 einen Rahmen und einen bewegbaren Arm, die eine Ausführungsform der vorliegenden Erfindung bilden;
• Fig. 2 eine geänderte Anordnung des bewegbaren Armes, der eine zweite Ausführungsform der vorliegenden Erfindung bildet und
• Fig. 3 einen weiteren geänderten bewegbaren Arm, der eine dritte Ausführungsform der vorliegenden Erfindung bildet.

In the drawing, side views of three exemplary embodiments of the device according to the invention are shown. Show it:

• 1 shows a frame and a movable arm which form an embodiment of the present invention;
• Fig. 2 shows a modified arrangement of the movable arm which forms a second embodiment of the present invention and
• Fig. 3 shows another modified movable arm which forms a third embodiment of the present invention.

The first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. It comprises a frame 10 with a plurality of supports 12 which support horizontal slideways 14, along which a conventional carriage 16 can be moved, which is movable by a chain 18 guided around disks 20, the chain being optionally driven by a motor 22, to move the carriage 16 backwards and forwards between its positions shown in solid and dashed lines. A pair of parallel, movable arms 24, one of which is visible in Fig. 1, are mounted on the carriage 16 by an articulated shaft 26, and a chain 28 is connected at one end to an arm 24 while the other end of the chain 28 is connected to a sprocket 30 which sits on the piston rod 32 of a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 34, the sprocket 30 holding the arm 24. The movement of the arms 24 in the horizontal direction is controlled by the movement of the carriage 16 along the slideway 14 and the vertical movement of the arms 24 by the cylinder 34.

At one end of frame 10, a wide web of fabric is fed to the frame from a tenter frame or other known source (not shown) and passes over an idle roller 38 to be fed to a conventional compensator 42 which controls the speed of the fabric, such as it is wound on the rotating take-up roll or core 40 to compensate for changes in the peripheral speed of the take-up roll 40 during winding. This compensator 42 is well known in the art and, briefly described, includes a freely movable feeler roller 44 which is arranged for vertical movement in a trough 46, the feeler roller 44 being guided on a chain 48 which extends around a sprocket 50. When the speed of the running fabric 36 changes, the position of the feeler roller 44 is controlled to move the chain 48 and one of the sprockets 50 actuates a speed control potentiometer (not shown) to drive the rotational speed of the driven stock rollers on the arms 24 controls; which is described below.

After the fabric 36 has left the feeler roller 44, it is passed around an idle roller 52 on the frame 10 and guided in the direction of the arms 24. The arms 24 have an idle roller 54 disposed between them and a first driven roller 56 and a second driven roller or charging roller 58 disposed between the projecting ends of the arms 24. The fabric 36 therefore runs in a predetermined trajectory from the surface of the second driven roller 58 and around the second driven roller 58 toward the surface of a driven take-up roller 40. An automatic cutter is on the arms 24 in a position between the driven rollers 56 , 58, the cutting device comprising a cutting plate 60 and a rotatable cutting element 62, which is driven by a drive motor (not shown) with clutch and brake, in order to make one revolution during the cutting cycle and thus to cut off the running material 36 along a line, which is transverse to the direction of travel of the fabric between the driven rollers 56, 58. This cutter is described in more detail in US-A-3,721,396. When used in the present invention, the cutting member 62 rotates during the cutting cycle at a peripheral speed that corresponds to the speed of the running fabric 36 to perform a clean cut without interfering with the normal movement of the fabric 36.

A short conveyor belt 64 is on the arms 24 for optional movement under the control of a solenoid 66 between a first position shown in phantom in FIG. 1, at a distance from the surface of the first driven roller 56, and a second position, in which a stretch of the conveyor belt 64 inevitably holds the fabric 36 engaged between itself and the surface of the first driven roller 56. The position and extent of the conveyor belt 64 are such that, in its second position or operating position, the material 36 leaving the conveyor belt 64 is guided along the predetermined path of movement of the material 36. A second conveyor belt 68 is actuated by a solenoid 70 and moves between a first position (shown in dashed lines in FIG. 1) in which its distances are at a distance from the second drive roller 58 and a second position in which a distance is around extends a substantially arcuate portion of the second driven roller 58 so that the fabric inevitably is engaged therebetween, and is guided towards the surface of the take-up roller 40 when it leaves the second transport device 68.

The main purpose of the device described above is to first build a complete bobbin on one of the take-up rolls 40, then move the arm 24 to a position near an empty take-up roll 40, cut the fabric and wind the fabric onto the empty take-up roll 40 begin, all automatically and without interrupting the runway during these operations. In Fig. 1, the arms 24 are shown in dashed lines in the position that they would take just before a complete bobbin is wound on the right take-up roller 40. At this point, via a control panel 74, the cylinder 34 is actuated, which swivels the arms 24 high enough for the full body to be removed, and the motor 22 actuates, which moves the carriage 16 and the arms 24 to the left, after which the cylinder 34 is actuated again to lower the arms 24 into the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 1, the second driven roller 58 coming into contact with the empty pick-up roller 40. During this movement of the carriage 16 and the arms 24, the fabric continues to be wound onto the right take-up roller 40, as shown in part by the partially dotted line 76. When the arms 24 have been brought into the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 1, the control panel 74 actuates solenoids 66, 70 which actuate the first and second transport devices 64, 68 - as shown in solid lines in FIG. 1 - bring into contact with the first and second driven rollers 56, 58 so that the running material inevitably comes into engagement between the driven rollers 56, 58 and the transport devices 64, 68. The control panel 74 then actuates the cutting element 62, which cleanly cuts the running fabric as described above, and the portion of the fabric below the cut is drawn through the right take-up roller 40 to complete this winding body. The cutting edge of the moving fabric continues to be fed through the first driven roller 56 and the first conveyor 64 along the predetermined predetermined path of travel of the fabric until the fabric reaches the nip formed between the second driven roller 58 and the second conveyor 68 where it engages therethrough, wrapped around the surface of the driven roller 58 and guided toward the nip formed between the second driven roller 58 and the empty take-up roller 40 which is driven in a counterclockwise direction of rotation. The pickup roller 40 may have a roughened surface or an adhesive material may be applied thereon to aid in winding the fabric thereon. If desired or required, guide rails 78 can be attached to the arms 24 on either side of the insert 60 to aid in guiding the fabric along its predetermined path of travel after the cut. As soon as the fabric begins to wind onto the empty take-up roller 40, the transport devices 64, 68 are returned to their original positions shown in dashed lines by the control panel 74, and the fabric continues to be wound onto the take-up roller 40 with the arms 24 upward about their pivot axis 26 pivot until the left bobbin is substantially complete, after which the above procedure is repeated to move the arms 24 and carriage 16 to the right and actuate the right take-up roller, which is empty and ready to take-up.

At the time of cutting of the running material by the cutting element 62, the material for this cut is kept under tension by the inevitable engagement between the driven rollers 56, 58 or the transport devices 64, 68 in order to increase the cleanliness of the cut. Since the fabric is always under a certain tension during its movement, the end of the fabric above the cut would still tend to spring back towards the compensator, which would mean re-inserting the fabric and downtime for the device. However, since the fabric is inevitably engaged between the driven roller 56 and the transport device 64, it is held against its tendency to spring back and instead is guided along its predetermined path of movement. Therefore, as set forth above, the apparatus of the present invention provides for automatic transfer of speed from a full take-up roller to an empty take-up roller without stopping the stock run and without manual operation of the fabric or device.

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2, which shows a modified arm 124 that would replace the arm in the device of FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the arm 124 guides the fabric onto an empty take-up roller 140 which is driven in a clockwise direction as opposed to the counterclockwise direction of the empty roller 40 in FIG. 1. The arm 124 carries a first driven roller 156 which is selectively engaged with a first transport 164 which is movable by a solenoid 166 and which is between an operating and engagement position shown in solid lines and a second position shown in broken lines in FIG Distance from the driven roller 156 is movable. A second driven roller 158 is disposed at the end of arm 124 and a second conveyor belt 168 is selectively movable by a solenoid 170 between a broken line position and a solid line operating position. In the operating position of the second conveyor belt 168, one of its paths is arranged along the predetermined path of movement of the material 136 in order to guide and move the material along the path in the direction of the surface of the empty take-up roller 140. A cutting member 162, which is identical to the cutting member 62 in FIG. 1, is arranged along the predetermined path of movement of the fabric and between the driven rollers 156, 158. The arms 124 are actuated in a substantially same manner as that described above in connection with FIG. 1 so that they are moved from a substantially full pickup roller to an empty pickup roller 140, whereupon the solenoids move the conveyor belts 164, 168 to positively engaging the fabric and the fabric is cut by the cutting member 162. The cut edge of the fabric is then guided along its predetermined path of travel until it reaches the tare pickup roller 140 at a point near the nip formed by the driven roller 158 where it is wound onto the pickup roller 140 as it is driven clockwise . The advantages described above, as they are achieved with the device according to FIG. 1, can - as can be seen - also be achieved with the modified embodiment as shown in FIG.

A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3, showing modified arms 224 that can be used with the remaining parts of the device of FIG. 1. The arms 224 include a structure 224 'with an idler roller 278 thereon and a driven roller 280 close, but usually at a distance from the idler roller 278 which is selectively movable by a solenoid 282 from its normal spaced position to an operative position against the drive roller 280 to inevitably engage the fabric in between. A driven feed roller 284 is disposed in the structure 224 'and is in contact with the empty take-up roller 240 as shown in FIG. 3. A cutting member 262 and a cutting plate 260 are also arranged in the structure and between the driven roller 280 and the driven feed roller 284, the cutting member 262 being identical to the previously described cutting member 62. Finally, a third driven roller 286 is generally close in structure but is spaced from the feed roller 284.

3, the arms 224 are moved from the substantially complete bobbin to a position where the feed roller 284 is in contact or near the empty take-up roller 240, during which movement the traveling fabric 236 around the third driven roller 286 is guided to continue feeding the fabric to the substantially complete package. Once the arms 224 are in position on the empty take-up roller 240, the solenoid 282 is actuated to bring the idler roller 278 into engagement with the driven roller 280 and the cutter 262 is then actuated to cut the fabric. In the position of the arms 224 shown in Fig. 5, the roller 280 is almost immediately above the feed roller 284 so that the intervening fabric 236 is caused to move in a predetermined trajectory which is in a substantially vertical direction Nip extends, which is formed by the feed roller 284 in contact with the take-up roller 240. As a result, the portion of the fabric 236 between the roller 280 and the cutting member 262 will remain stuck in a substantially vertical direction after being cut and will be carried along in this direction by the roller 280 and the idle roller 278. The cut edge of the fabric is therefore moved directly towards the surface of the feed roller 284 and into the nip formed by it and the take-up roller 240, whereby it is immediately wound onto the take-up roller 240. Preferably, the initial peripheral speed of the pickup roller 240 is slightly higher (e.g., 10%) than the line speed at which the fabric is moving (e.g., 182 m / min to bundle any slope of the fabric as it moves Nip is reached, the pickup roller 240 can then be controlled to run at a peripheral speed almost equal to the line speed of the fabric, and in addition the motion of the arms 224 can be controlled so that the feed roller 284 is initially at a slight rate Distance to the surface of the pickup roller 240 is until the cutting member 262 is actuated, after which the feed roller 284 is brought into contact with the pickup roller 240 by switching on the motor 22 described in connection with FIG. 1.

Thus, the third embodiment of the present invention obtains all of the advantages of the invention described above, and in addition the vertical path of movement of the fabric directed against the pick-up roller 240 eliminates the need to use conveyor belts near the driven rollers and along this path of movement in order to move the Steer the fabric after the cut. To the extent that a fabric may tend to do so. Dodging slightly from its vertical trajectory can be small Air jet nozzles 290 may be placed in structure 224 'immediately above cutting member 262 on opposite sides of the fabric to help hold the fabric in its vertical trajectory after the cut by air jets.

Pressure arms 288, only one of which is visible in FIG. 3, maintain the precise angle of attack to ensure proper contact of the driven roller 284 with the take-up roller 240. Pressure arms also maintain the correct clearance angle when raising arms 224 when pickup roller 240 is wool. The pressure arms 288 are rotatably mounted on the carriage 16 (FIG. 1) and connected to the structure 224 'at one point.

Claims (15)

1. Apparatus for the automatic transverse cutting and winding of a travelling fabric web (36, 136, 236) having a frame (10), arms (24,124, 224) arranged thereon for movement in the direction towards or away from a receiver roll (40, 140, 240), first and second rolls (56, 156, 280 or 58, 158, 284 respectively) which are arranged at a spacing from one another on the arms (24, 124, 224) in entrainment connection with the fabric web (36, 136, 236), in order to conduct the latter along a predetermined path of movement, and a cutting member (62,162, 262), arranged on the arms (24, 124, 224) within the path of movement of the fabric web (36, 136, 236), for cutting the travelling fabric web (36, 136, 236) along a line which extends transversely to the direction of movement of the fabric web (36, 136, 236), in which the second roll (58, 158, 284) is arranged on the arms (24,124, 224) in order to come into engagement with the surface of the receiver roll (40, 140, 240) for the formation of a nip, in which the nip is situated substantially in the predetermined path of movement, whereby the cut edge of the fabric web (36, 136, 236) is received by the nip in order to bring about a winding of the fabric web (36, 136, 236) about the receiver roll (40, 140, 240), characterised in that

a) the first roll (56, 156, 280) and the second roll (58, 158, 284) are driven;

b) associated with the first roll (56, 156, 280) is an engaging means (64, 164, 288) which is movable into an operative position in order to engage the travelling fabric web (36, 136, 236);

c) the cutting member (62, 162, 262) is arranged between the first and the second driven roll (56, 156, 280 and 58, 158, 284);

d) the arms (25, 124, 224) are swingably mounted on a carriage (16) arranged movably on the frame (10) and are movable alternatively from a position above a substantially full receiver roll (40, 140, 240) to a position above an empty receiver roll (40, 140, 240);

e) as a result of the movement of the arms (24, 124, 224) in the direction of the empty receiver roll (40, 140, 240) the second driven roll (58, 158; 284) can be brought into the vicinity of the empty receiver roll (40, 140, 240);

f) the cutting member (62, 162, 262) for cutting the fabric web (36, 136, 236) is actuable when the second driven roll (58, 158, 284) is situated in the vicinity of the empty receiver roll (40,140, 240).

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the cutting member (62, 162, 262) has a rotatable knife which rotates at a rotational speed corresponding to the speed of the travelling fabric web (62,162, 262), whereby the latter is cut during its movement.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the first driven roll (56, 156, 280) enters into surface contact with the fabric web (36, 136, 236) by an engaging means (64,164, 278) being movable towards the driven roll (56, 156, 280), in order positively to engage the travelling fabric web (36, 136, 236) therebetween, and in that actuating components (66, 166, 282) are provided in order to move the engaging means (64,164. 278) selectively in the direction of the driven roll (56, 156, 280) and to engage the fabric web (36, 136, 236) shortly prior to the cutting of the material by the cutting member (62, 162, 262), whereby the fabric web (36, 136, 236) is held under tension upon cutting and is conducted along the path of movement after cutting.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that a third driven roll (286) is arranged on the arms (224) in the vicinity of the second driven roll (284) in order to engage the travelling fabric web (36, 136, 236) during the arm movement in one of the directions thereof.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that arranged under the cutting member (62, 162) is a second engaging means (68, 168) which is movable selectively into an operative position and by which the travelling fabric web (36, 136) can be positively engaged and can be fed to the receiver roll (40, 140).

6. Apparatus according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the first engaging means (64, 164) includes a conveyor belt arranged in the vicinity of the first driven roll (56, 156) in order, in its operative position, to engage the fabric belt (36, 136).

7. Apparatus according to at least one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the second engaging means (68, 168) includes a driven conveyor belt which is arranged in the vicinity of the second driven roll (58, 158) and which is movable selectively in the direction of the second driven roll (58, 158) in order, in its operative position, to engage the fabric web (36, 136).

8. Apparatus according to claims 5 and 7, characterised in that the driven conveyor belt of the second engaging means (68, 168), in its operative position, extends along a predetermined path of material movement.

9. Apparatus according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the cutting member (62, 162) includes a guide plate (60, 160) which has a surface part over which the fabric web (36, 136) is moved, in which respect the surface part extends along the path of material movement, and in that the driven conveyor belt of the second engaging means (68, 168), in its operative position, is arranged in the vicinity of the surface part of the guide plate (60, 160), in rectilinear alignment therewith.

10. Apparatus according to at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the frame (10) has a support which extends over a region in which a plurality of receiver rolls (40) are arranged, in that a carrying means is arranged on the support for selective movement along the support, in which respect the carrying means can be positioned above one of the receiver rolls (40), and in that the carrying means on the support is designed for performing selective swivel movements towards or respectively away from one of the receiver rolls (40).

11. Apparatus according to at least one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that an idler roll (54), which guides the travelling fabric web (36), is arranged on the arms (24) and the driven feeder roll (56) is mounted at a spacing from the idler roll (54).

12. Apparatus according to at least one of claims 1 to 11, characterised in that a third driven roll (286) is arranged on the arm (224) in the vicinity of and at a spacing from the driven feeder roll (284) in order to guide and to entrain the travelling fabric web (236) during the movement of the arm (224) in one of its directions of movement.

13. Apparatus according to at least one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the driven first feeder roll (280) and the driven second feeder roll (284) are so arranged that a predeternined path of movement for the travelling fabric web (236) arises therebetween which is disposed substantially in the vertical direction to the nip formed by the feeder roll (284) and the receiver roll (240) when the arms (224) are transferred into a position in the vicinity of the receiver roll (240).

14. Apparatus according to at least one of claims 1 to 13, characterised in that nozzles (290) for spraying a fluid are arranged on opposite sides of the travelling fabic web (236) directly above the cutting member (262) in order to assist the guidance of the fabric web (236) along its predetermined path of movement after the cutting.

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