Patent ID: 6216975
Filing Date: 2001-04-17
Classification: G03B

Abstract:
A processing arrangement for processing web-shaped material which is wound onto reels before and after processing, said arrangement comprising:a processing station for processing the material;a transport means for transporting the material through the processing station;an unwind arrangement including an unwind reel for automatically feeding material to be processed from an unwind reel positioned in an unwind position;a windup arrangement including a windup reel for automatically guiding and winding up processed material, exiting the processing station, onto a windup reel positioned in a windup position; anda common reel carousel for receiving at least three reels including the windup reel and the unwind reel wherein the reel carousel cyclically in a stepwise manner transports reels which are removably mounted onto the carousel into each of the unwind position, the windup position and an exchange position; wherein furtherthe unwind reel is emptied after unwinding of the material for processing and the unwind reel is transported into the windup position to function as a windup reel; and the windup reel containing processed material is transported to the exchange position and removed from the reel carousel and replaced with a new unwind reel containing material to be processed.