Jacek Z Gajda, 77Southbury, CT

4505438, Mar 19, 1985

Apr 9, 1984

6/598200

Tadeusz Sendzimir - Waterbury CT
Jacek Z. Gajda - Woodbury CT

Sendzimir Engineering Corporation - Waterbury CT

B65H 1742
B65H 1748

242 55

A high capacity single coil strip accumulator for transient storage of longitudinally advancing metallic or other strip material usually supplied in coils which must be welded end-to-end to form a continuous web which is to be fed at uninterrupted speed to downstream processing equipment, e. g. , annealing. The single revolving accumulator coil is characterized by a variable number of convolutions and variable inner and outer diameters, with provision for continuously paying out of strip from its outer convolution, while intermittently adding new strip to its inner convolution. An independently rotatable cage with an axially locatable uncoiler for paying-off strip from a supply coil to said inner convolution has affixed thereto a joining device such as a butt welder, in the path of the strip from the uncoiler to the inner convolution. Upon the exhaustion of the strip from the supply coil, the tail end thereof is automatically gripped in the exit vise of the welder, and the latter with the cage rotate together with the accumulator coil until welding the leading end of a next supply coil to said tail end of said strip is completed. This causes partial depletion of the accumulator coil which is subsequently replenished by feeding strip from the newly joined supply coil at a higher speed than the payout speed.