Patent ID: 8752460

Claim:
A method for perforation or pickup of material pieces or webs with a needle roll that includes a needle roll body mounted to rotate in a machine frame; needles that are movable relative to the needle roll body as the needle roll body rotates so as to be able to protrude beyond an outer surface of the needle roll body and perforate the material pieces or webs, and so as to be able to partially or fully retract therefrom into the needle roll body so that the perforated material pieced or webs is substantially removed from the needles and lies on the outer surface of the needle roll body; and a needle support that houses the needles, the needle support extending in a. direction parallel to an axis of rotation of the needle roll, being movable in a radial direction (R) of the needle roll, and having a pitch cam on at least one end thereof in which a roll rotates, said method comprising: rotating the needle roll body relative to the machine frame so as to (i) perforate or pick up the material pieces or webs with the needles in a protruded position and (ii) substantially remove the material pieces or webs from the needles as the needles return to a retracted position.