Patent ID: 7073552

Claim:
An apparatus for forming a butt joint between ends of first and second plies to splice the first and second plies together comprising: pairs of upper racks extending end-to-end, each of the pairs of upper racks having first and second upper racks movable with respect to each other; pairs of upper mounting brackets, each pair of upper mounting brackets comprising a nonpivotable, first upper mounting bracket supporting a first upper rack of one of the pairs of upper racks, and a second upper mounting bracket pivotable with respect to the nonpivotable, first upper mounting bracket and supporting a second upper rack of the one of the pairs of upper racks; pairs of lower racks extending end-to-end adjacent the pairs of upper racks, each of the pairs of lower racks having first and second lower racks movable with respect to each other, the first and second lower racks adapted to support ends of the first and second plies, respectively; pairs of lower mounting brackets, each pair of lower mounting brackets comprising a nonpivotable, first lower mounting bracket supporting a first lower rack of one of the pairs of lower racks, and a second lower mounting bracket pivotable with respect to the nonpivotable, first lower mounting bracket and supporting a second lower rack of the one of the pairs of lower racks; a clamp drive operatively connected to the pairs of upper mounting brackets and being operable to move the pairs of upper racks toward the pairs of lower racks to clamp the ends of the first and second plies between the pairs of upper racks and the pairs of lower racks; and an engagement drive operatively connected to the pairs of upper mounting brackets and the pairs of lower mounting brackets and being operable to simultaneously move second upper racks and second lower racks with respect to first upper racks and first lower racks to firmly press the ends of the first and second plies together and form a butt joint splicing the ends of the first and second plies together.