Patent ID: 8109428
Filing Date: 2012-02-07
Classification: B21B,B21C,B23K

Abstract:
1. In a strip-treatment installation where a leading end of an upstream strip must be joined to a trailing end of a downstream strip, and where the strips are conveyed in a horizontal strip-travel direction and arrested where the leading end of the upstream strip is overlapped with the trailing end of the downstream strip in the strip travel direction, a splicing apparatus comprising: an upstream clamp vertically engageable with the upstream strip and horizontally shiftable transversely of the direction; a separate downstream clamp vertically engageable with the downstream strip and horizontally shiftable transversely of the direction; means connected to the clamps for clamping the strips and fixing the overlapping ends relative to each other; an actuator braced against one of the clamps and operable to shift same relative to the other horizontally and transversely of the direction with the ends overlapped to center the respective strip on the other strip; and at least one friction-welding head for forming a plurality of friction spot welds between the overlapping and centered ends.