Patent ID: 7300531

Claim:
A device for the intermittent application of tape to a material surface of one or more sheets of material moving in a flow direction, comprising: a controller configured to control the device during automatic operation; a tape applicator configured to apply tape to the material surface along a line generally parallel to the flow direction as the one or more sheets of material move in the flow direction; a tape cutter; a first lift for moving the tape applicator away from the material surface, where moving the tape applicator away from the material surface after applying a first portion of tape to the material surface causes an unattached tape portion to extend between the tape applicator and a final connection point on the material surface, and the tape cutter is configured to cut the unattached tape portion at a cutting point; and a tape gripper configured to grip the unattached tape portion at a gripping site between the cutting point and the tape applicator.