Web preconditioner

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR PRECONDITIONING AND CORRUGATING AN ELONGATED WEB OF PAPER MATERIAL, WHICH COMPRISES A WEB PRECONDITIONER HAVING MEANS INCLUDING A WEB-HEATING DRUM FOR POSITIVELY GRIPPING AND FEEDING THE WEB FORWARD IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS LENGTH, A CORRUGATOR SPACED FORWARDLY OF THE FIRST MEANS HAVING MEANS FOR POSITIVELY GRIPPING AND FEEDING THE WEB IN THE SAME DIRECTION, MEANS INCLUDING A TENSION SENSITIVE GRAVITY ACTUATED DANCER ROLL POSITIONED ADJACENT THE EXIT END OF THE DRUM FOR FORMING A SALIENT LOOP HELD UNDER SUBSTANTIALLY A UNIFORM PREDETERMINED TENSION IN THE WEB BETWEEN THE DRUM AND THE CORRUGATOR, MEANS FOR DRIVING THE PRECONDITIONER AND THE CORRUGATOR TO FORWARD AND TREAT THE WEB, AND MEANS CONTROLLED BY THE POSITION OF THE DANCER ROLL TO VARY THE WEB FORWARDING SPEED OF THE DRUM OF THE CORRUGATOR TO MAINTAIN THE LENGTH OF THE LOOP FORMED BY THE DANCER ROLL WITHIN PREDETERMINED LIMITS, AND COMPRISING A SEPARATE VARIABLE SPEED MOTOR FOR DRIVING THE CORRUGATOR DRUM, AND COMPRISING MEANS CONTROLLED BY THE POSITION OF THE DANCER ROLL FOR VARYING THE SPEED OF SUCH SEPARATE MOTOR.